#like she was. even if she's not extremely religious she fr is like

[mr-nicegirl]

my mom saying something extremely catholic pilled and me being like woahhhh whered that come from....

[2rats1gogh]

Jaehaera’s death was so unfair of Grrm, Aegon shows mercy and spares a whole slew of Team Black members but in turn his little girl is murdered? Grrm couldn’t let that little girl live because he says it would’ve made the story ending too neat, yet not a single one of Daemon’s children die?

I hope she lives in the show, the line is eventually continued through Viserys II anyway. It doesn’t matter if Aegon III’s children are Daenara’s or Jaehaera’s.

The show has written it like none of the Targaryens or Velaryons worship the Seven and religion is a Hightower specific thing when most of the Kingsdom, including Targaryens kept the faith of the seven, even Rhaenyra. (btw, WHERE ARE BAELA AND RHAENA’S SEPTAS?! Velaryons worshipped the seven, they’re also quarter Baratheon even though the show ignores that connection. Rhaenys and Laena would’ve grown up with Septas)

So it makes more sense that Baelor the Blessed is the Great Grandson of Alicent Hightower and Grandson of Helaena. As does Jaehaera with a daughter named HElaena, one named after Aegon’s sister and her cousin Rhaena who took her under her wings and a son named after her brave uncle Prince Daeron the Daring. She and Aegon compromise and name their daughter Daena because Jaehaera will never have a son named Daemon.

Louderrr!!🗣️ Absolutely agree with everything. I love GRRM and I think he’s a great writer, but his favoritism of Daemon clearly shows in the ending of the Dance of the Dragons.

Like it just feels so insanely unfair. And don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I can’t sit through horrible death, because I can. The death of Ned Stark was horrible, but it was foreshadowed by Joffrey’s behavior, we should’ve seen it coming. The Red wedding was brutal, but is was understandable, and if you really think about it, it was entirely on Robb. Even Blood and Cheese would’ve happened anyway, because Daemon would want to “avenge” Lucerys, so it was unavoidable.

But Jaehaera literally could’ve lived and it would’ve made the ending much better, and much more poetic. The two descendants of team green and team black, united at last, in a marriage that would finally bring peace to the realm.

And about the religion: omg fr!!! It annoys me so much as well. It’s almost as if the show tries to villainze the fate of the Seven by making Alicent extremely religious and team black almost entirely non-religious. It always felt so weird to me. Like, the Targaryens and the Velaryons still worship the Seven?? Why does everyone forget about it?

And that would also give the possible connection of making Baelor the Blessed the son of Aegon and Jaehaera. And you’re so right about the names!!!

[vulcajes]

can you do remus for the series thing 😣😣

Yes I absolutely can

How I view him:

Literal wet paper towel of a man. Extremely pathetic and weak and just a little guy. He is the epitome of a wet cat. Just a shy, nerdy, loser kid who's just trying to not get picked on and do okay in his classes. The most quietest little guy and always tucked away in every setting. Refuses to be the centre of attention at any given moment. Even if he did something worthy of praise, he'd shirk responsibility for it onto literally anyone else. He also has no enemies because he's just so milquetoast that nobody could hate him. He isn't friends with everyone, but acquaintances that people kinda know. Just a cowardly little guy.

My fave hcs:

Extremely insecure about his looks to the point where he refuses to look in the mirror

Dyslexic but tried to hide it for the first year at Hogwarts

I don't necessarily think religion exists in wizarding aus but a muggle au I think he'd be Jewish or Catholic. Or even Jewish AND Catholic (Hope is Jewish, Lyall is Catholic)

Enjoys debating with his friends but also gets really quiet when debates start in class

Cries whenever someone says something mean about werewolves or about him and his crooked teeth or messy hair or freckles (he also just cries easily)

An absolute pushover who'd do people's homework without anything in return

Nail biter and he tries to stop by hiding his hands in jumper sleeves

Hates winter because it's always way more sucky to heal after a full moon when it's cold

Makes an excellent cup of tea. Designated tea maker in his friend group

Very close to Hope. Bonus points if it's deeply religious Hope who raised Remus the same way. He lives his entire life trying to be a good boy for her.

My fave ships:

Wolfstar — I mean... it's a classic. It's literally what this fandom is based on. You kinda have to appreciate it wolfstarbucks is also 10/10 imo

Moonchaser — again, iconic. Friends to lovers, shy x popular, nerd x jock. Why isn't it more popular what are we doing

Moonwater — in an au, I can see this working. They're both studious and would probably bond over that. However, platonic or romantic moonwater would NEVER work in a wolfstar universe

Moonflower — literally one of my fave platonic ships of all time. They're so tender with each other. They would act like a couple all the time and confuse everyone

Moontail — again, friends to lovers. They're both the loser 3rd wheels to prongsfoot.

Moonrose — shy awkward nerd and the actually insane person he's in love with <3 that's all.

Remadora — one of my lesser favourite canon ships I'll be fr but also. They're kinda adorable. She's so extrovert and he's so introvert . Also ... him seeing sirius in her eyes I'm sick Remus Lupin get AWAY from the Black family

[gauloiseblue]

Ngl, Éngel probably is very slightly luckier than Lawfully Kidnapped Wifey, because in the grand scheme of things, all she has to do is to hold her breath and outlive König The Heretic and she'll regain her halo and wings after a little while of repenting and then she's back to enjoying her life again being spotted in random forests. While IOFAB darling has to deal with König of The Flesh and Blood (I'm having fun with doing Arknights Alter names) for the rest of her life.

I can't imagine being stuck inside the house forever, man 😭😭😭 No amount of forest walks, garden walks, and touching grass will replace ACTUALLY being outdoors and talking to your friends about your hyperfixations for HOURS. The helper can't take care of me in that way cuz they can't even understand me.

Imagine being able to have somewhat financially stable adult money and still not be able attend cons and watch theater musicals live on stage or plain shopping random shit u like because some extremely selfish middle aged man decided that “yea I want that. She my pet wife now” I'd summon Mahoraga on him fr fr😭 My dreams of watching Wicked live on stage is going to come crashing down like how that building fell on IOFAB reader .

Y can't IOFAB König have a much more normal more enjoyable hobby? Like Gundam models or Figurine Painting

So yea, Éngel gets it very slightly easier cuz heretics will always face judgement unless reincarnation before redemption is a thing wherein she has to live a human life before going back to her celestial body...

Imagine if IOFAB König is just reincarnated Heretic König where his crippling addiction for angels turned into extreme ruthless selfishness and Éngel reincarnated as IOFAB darling. Soulmates in a twisted Legend of Zelda way (Nina/random murdered Fay for the third part of the reincarnation trio)

Sorry for the random long dump 😅

Zero, you really went from anon to the no. 1 theorist of IOFAB XD That's quite a character development you have there, I'd say.

I don't think any of them is luckier 🤔 she's an Angel, so she's like, a conglomerate's daughter who's taken away from the comfort of her home. Not to mention the religious guilt she suffers, and the fear of falling from grace. Angel isn't immune to earthly pleasure, so there's a chance that she can't go back to where she's used to.

I mean………. at least you have a loving husband…….? But dw, he doesn't exist <3

(Out of curiosity, did you talk to your friends about your hyperfixation? Like, did you tell them about COD fandom, and all the fics that you read? Did they know about my or other writer's fics? 🤔)

He does have hobbies, which is collecting guns and weapons, reading books (esp the psychology one, bc you know why), impregnating his wife, and hunting.

While reincarnation AU is interesting, I feel like a parallel universe makes more sense. Idk, I haven't think about it that much 🤔

Sorry I don’t get all of the game references you used 😅 I don't even know legend of zelda, except for the meme about breath of the wild speedrun.

[sunderedazem]

24. How do they feel about Hydaelyn? What was their perception of the Mothercrystal in the beginning, and how did that change by the end, if at all?

ohhhhhh this is a FUN ask ehehe. thank you!

So- first and foremost, it has to be understood here that Corrain is not religious in the sense that most of Eorzea is. He rarely prays, he actively blasphemies, he sympathizes VERY heavily with Shiva and is constantly annoyed by Halonic Inquisitors in Ishgard trying to use the church like a bludgeon to get their way. He was an orphaned Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te growing up in a *Gridanian* orphanage, who prayed to the Twelve for *years* as a child and...wasn't heard, and nothing happened. He stayed unwanted in that place until he was fifteen and joined the conjurer's guild as an apprentice in a desperate attempt to secure Gridanian citizenship.

So- he has a lot of resentment for the Twelve, and by extension for Hydaelyn as well. They did nothing to help him while he was at his most vulnerable (just gave him this stupid Echo) and so he...believes that they are real. But he does not believe that they are gods in the sense that they care for the creatures of the world, and thus he doesn't give a shit about them either.

And then he hears Hydaelyn's voice for the first time- and he's *terrified* because what the fuck. And also he's sixteen and she's telling him to- fight a war for her? Against those spooky shadow people? ....okay yeah, They need to get their asses kicked, so he'll do that if he sees them, but NOT FOR YOU, GIANT FUCKIN ROCK. He's doing it because it's right, not because a goddess asked for it.

And...that honestly sums up the majority of his feelings toward Hydaelyn for a LONG time. He's spiteful, he treats her more like an adversary than a deity worth reverence- but he agrees with what she tells him she wants, and he disagrees with what the Ascians are trying to do, so he'll kick them in the teeth some. It's not for her- it's for the people of the star. For Corrain, the only thing really worth that kind of reverence is- the star itself. Not Hydaelyn- but the actual star, as it is. Its present, past and future, and all the life on it.

Then he finds out She's a primal. And....for him, nothing changes. So far- his goals have aligned with hers. But he's not doing it for her or in her name. He's doing what he is for the people and star he believes are sacred. So...if she oversteps? Does something that would harm the star? He's a godslayer already, what's one more?

What truly changes his mind about Hydaelyn is meeting Venat in Elpis. Meeting the woman she was. Realizing that at the core of the goddess he disdained for so long was an extremely fallible, kind, giving, and arrogant woman who- was just that. A woman given a god's power, and doing what she thought was best. What she thought she had to do.

He doesn't fully agree with what she did. Hiding the truth from the Convocation, closing the loop on time and dooming her own people to history and sundering and suffering instead of trying to change that foretold future. But she's a person, not a goddess. Expecting perfection from her, expecting miracles....it's the same thing people have expected from him since he was sixteen, and he knows how much it's fucked with his emotional stability. It's not a fair expectation to place on anyone. Even Hydaelyn. And with that in mind- he can think of her far more kindly. And so in the end, he doesn't call her Hydaelyn. He calls her Venat. And he tries to send her off to the aetherial sea with a smile, and having made peace with who she was and what she asked of him.

(That realization also changes how he views the Twelve. A lot of the resentment bleeds off here)

And then, last but not least- after Ultima Thule, he remembers who he was as Azem, and who Venat was as Azem's mentor, and who the architect of the Sundering was (Azem, in my canons) and that person's plans, and what she did to keep the possible future she'd been told about in Elpis from disappearing - and then and only then does he truly grieve for her.

Thank you for the ask!!! this one was really fun, hehe

[shmowder]

Is there a resource that says how old the characters are supposed to be? Or, how old do you headcanon them to be?

🐿️ anon, guilty of sending multiple messages so please, take as much time as you need to answer!

Yes! You can find the ages listed on the Pathologic Wiki here. They're sourced from VK posts the devs made.

It's not just the age, but also more abstract things like which animal the character represents, which body part and which colour.

Take Yulia, for example.

I adore the fact that she represents the ankle body part. It fits her extremely well since she was the one to design the roads to the town. Not to mention her limb and how walking can be painful to her and yet she is still the fragile ankle of the human body nonetheless.

The flamingo fits her too in a way. It's a bird that acquires the pink colour it's so famous for rather than being born with it. Did Yulia work hard for her genius rather than being naturally gifted? Does that affect her mental health?

She is a bird who can't fly and has to walk. She has a leg injury. She lives in a city where the river is poisonous.

As for the blue... I don't have much to say. I wish they gave us a hexcode instead of just slapping blue on it and calling it a day, yk? It would've been more specific since there are endless shades of blues out there.

Although, all of these notes and ages are about Pathologic classic characters. They might not all translate to P2, especially with how the timeline is changed there.

In P1, the polyhedron was built 10 years ago, and in P2, it was built 5 years ago. That drastically changes Artemy's age from 16 to 21 when he left the town.

Also. Do yourself a favour. Never calculate what age Nina was when she had Maria in P1. Ever.

And I absolutely love your asks! Never apologise for sending them or feel guilty. It made me so happy when I woke up the other day to them, and I'm writing up an answer to one, although it may take time to gather all the screenshots and my thoughts. You're amazing <333

Like fr. You're genuinely the only anon I have. It's dry af in this fandom. I only have two other asks rn which are requests for fics. Take as much space as you want lmao we're the only two people talking in this blog.

Sadly, Aglaya doesn't seem to have a VK post written about her. But in P1, she confirms that she is older than Artemy and of similar age to Maria in their reality. However, she mentions that she is older than him as a doll, but many parts of her body got replaced and newed, so it makes her fresher younger doll than his doll. If I had to give her a colour, it would be one from her image picked colour pallet here. Or maybe brown, like her eyes. Especially with how brown eyes are almost a symbol of humanity from how common they are and it giving it to the one character who is self-aware she is a doll and convinced she has no free will is funny.

For an animal, tho...hmmm. I'd imagine others to view her as a spider, but I think it's just a facade, even if it suits her.

An ant? A wasp?

a chameleon? Daniil says she changes her tactics with each person she encounters. How she used his anger against his to trick him while she used tenderness with Artemy who's guided by his heart.

A crane? They fit her colour pallete.

A crow or an owl? Any "Bad Omen" animal since inquisitors arriving is considered a bad omen in an itself

A mourning dove? They hold a lot of religious importance to rituals and she technically follows the church.

A dragonfly? They spend most of their lives in the baby stage, and when they finally look like what we consider an adult dragonfly, they only have 6 months to live. Aglaya spent all her life searching for an answer, and when she found it, her remaining days were cut short. They are a symbol of living life to the fullest.

Fox? I remember one of the characters describing her as one in P1. Or maybe it was a idom with "Foxy" that the translators added on their own to drive a message home. They are extremely cunning too. Can represent wisdom.

Which one is your favourite option? Or do you have another animal in mind?

For the body part, I'm thinking something that has to do with the heart or hands because I want her to match Artemy tehe. Maybe a ribcage since it protects the heart?

If we do go off of her personality alone and story importance, I feel like she represents the soul as much as Eva does but in her own contrasting way. Like in a left brain right brain type of way.

To even question your existence is a human trait. You can't prove the soul exists physically, and yet all of us at all times are aware of a soul. We are conscious and know something inside of us is doing this, but we can't find it anatomically.

Interesting detail, Aglaya's corpse in P2 doesn't have any organs. I checked it after the train death scene. She is the walking essence of a soul.

However, you find a gun in her body.

Is Aglaya a weapon? A tool for the hands to hold and use? Is that why she lacks organs? A dagger for Artemy's hand to cut open his enemies with?

So how could the steel dagger fall in love with the flesh and blood of the hands carrying it.

She might be the teeth, or the nails of the body in that case. Primitive weapons for the humankind before we invented spears. She might be the

I think she is the corpus callosum.

It's the part of the brain that connects the two halves together. You see, each brain half is fully functional on its own and controls one of each hands and looks through one of each eye.

The only reason they work in unison despite being two entities, is the thanks to the corpus callosum allowing them to communicate and act as one whole organ.

Cutting that connection, as in physically removing the corpus callosum, used to be a way to treat people who suffered from epilepsy. It's on the more extreme solutions when medication isn't working and the seizures are too frequent.

And it weirdly worked.

It fits her in a way, the anchor between two ships, the wires connecting the doll to the hand moving it.

I read from a different ask how she is your favourite alongside Yulia and Victor. You have amazing taste I tell you bc they are my favourites too! I am writing a long ass essay about it-

I'd love to hear your ideas about them and their symbolism animals/colours in the way. Also the look on your face when you find out that Victor Kain is 58 years old BECAUSE GODDAMN he looks so good for his age.

[thegeminisage]

SIIIGH it is star trek update time. last night we watched tng's "preemptive strike" and ds9's "the collaborator."

preemptive strike (tng):

well well well, if it isn't picard racially profiling more bajoran women. because that went SO well for him last time

yes it was also because of her "training" or whatever but like. it was because she was bajoran

rough time w this episode because picard was being awful to ro the whole time and it's so clear she loves him and cares about his opinion SO MUCH! but ro herself was amazing. i literally was cheering for her to defect the entire time and she finally did and i was SO HAPPY girl get her off that spaceship

on the other hand, it sucks that all her life is about the cardassians. she either is oppressed by them or fights them and she doesn't ever really get to break free of that ever. i guess it's better than serving under picard but :/

i looked up why she wears her earring on the other side and apparently it's to keep vedeks from feeling her pagh ie she's an atheist. queen.

did NOT like the section where she and picard had to pretend to be making out. her also fr making out with that other rando was gross. like, they put her in this situation, and she immediately has to pull a captain kirk and start using her body/sex as a tool in her arsenal.

icing on the shit cake is sending riker out with her to make sure she stays loyal when riker was the most skeptical of her at first and even made her TAKE OFF HER EARRING. he calmed down eventually and he was really nice to her here (and his outfit did slay) but that's still adding insult to injury

the collaborator: (ds9):

the emotional rollercoaster this one sent me on.

i hate vedek winn with a passion reserved for people who hate fictional characters because they've known people exactly like that in real life. the way she's like no i am nice and kind YOU are the mean evil one for always being so angry :) makes me homicidal. every religious south carolinian ever. so initially i was like "bitch shut up we all know youre framing his ass"

EVEN THOUGH I ALSO DON'T LIKE. BAREIL. it's a tough life i lead

i thought kira's orb vision where they were naked together was REALLY creepy*, and i was extremely disgusted when they fucked in whatever episode that was, so him and her fucking for a good section was like. gross.

*possibly this vision was supposed to be sexy instead, but i never stopped seeing him as slightly predatory after this

anyway, then i was like, i don't want winn to be kai because she sucks so bad, but it would be cool if he did it because then he and kira will break up! and kira can get back to having no romance whatsoever with odo until like season one million, but i'm a patient woman and i can wait.

IMAGINE MY SHOCK when kira was like talking about her problems to odo, who had alerted her to the prisoner being moved JUST as a consideration, and was doing all these data lookups for her JUST to be nice, and she goes "i love him" and his approximation of a head snaps up like it's on an approximation of a string

LIKE. HELLO??? WE'RE ONLY IN SEASON 2????? i got the impression they didn't get together until WAY late in the show and this is pretty direct confirmation that despite his very loudly objecting to the idea of romance in general he is ALREADY CARRYING THE TORCH........perhaps has been for some time?? me pointing to the ds9 soup hey is there PINING in this?????

i really hope kira/odo is good when it happens. i'll be so sad if it happens but it's bad. in my mind palace it's amazing. not that i don't love odo and quark, but quark has yet to connect with my psyche on a deeper level and odo and kira live in there rent free with sisko and julian bashir.

anyway, the plot twist about kai opaka was really REALLY good an unexpected, kira was FANTASTIC in this ep, and of course i'm insane about odo pining, but ultimately this is a bust bc we got the absolute worst of both worlds: winn is kai, AND kira and bareil don't break up. i was LIVID.

i then looked up to see when/if winn and bareil die and was relieved to discover he dies soon but she lives until the finale 😒 fuck offffff

TONIGHT: the SERIES FINALE of tng!!!! our suffering is almost over.......

[jeanmoreaux]

why did you dislike ses4? and was there anything you enjoyed recently?

oh boy. i think it would be easier to tell you what i DID like about the season. i can count it on one hand. (1) ruby. she's my queen. (2) adam making it explicitly clear that he identifies with the bi label. (3) gillian anderson. she's just soooooo ugh. i love her. (4) NONE OF THE BAD BITCHES CHOOSING OTIS. maeve and ruby both deserve better fr. (5) aimee reclaiming some agency. cannot even think of a sixth thing. that's how bad this season did not worked for me. i said i was not gonna rant but i guess now i am gonna rant a little (trying to keep it short for both of our sakes).

i think there is definitely some more technical and objective stuff that's wrong and with this season and then there is some stuff i personally didn't like but that may work for other people.

objectively, i think the writing was severely lacking in quality. it was SO LAZY. even uninspired. the plot was meandering and the arcs fell extremely flat as a consequence. they randomly introduced interesting internal and external conflicts, sometimes even towards the end of the season, that could have spanned the entire eight episodes, but then they often just drop those ideas like hot potatoes—sometimes by the next episode, sometimes by THE NEXT SCENE (e.g. otis basically taking over a surrogate parent role or feeling like losing his mom, basically everything ruby-centric that wasn't oatis-related, jackson questioning his sexuality, etc.)!! other storylines that didn't have to last for several epsiodes (like jackson's cancer scare) went on for way too long. and the storylines they kept up for several episodes were mostly half-assed. the vivian & beau thing was surface level at most (and rushed af), the ace thing was soooo buried and shoved aside for stupider plotlines (they did o so dirty istfg), same with their approach to adding to the discourse on disability/accessibility, the exploration of jean's sister dealing with her abuse was just almost non-existent, eric's storyline reconciling his sexual and religious identities relied an cheap gimmicks, maeve finding her voice as a writer, jean's postnatal depression (how half-assed that was truly hurt my psych major brain), etc..... and then they dragged these storylines out without giving them any *substance*. like. i SKIPPED two episodes and missed NOTHING (i even did go back to jump through it just now to verify and, yup, did not miss a piece of information i did not gain or infer from the episodes i watched). you know a story is aimlessly wandering around when people can skip 2h of content and not even miss a shrivel of character development. i'd claim almost all storylines and arcs were handled badly. the only one that was well-structured and well-executed (from a storytelling standpoint) was the groff family arc (mind you, not the individual arcs but their arc as a family). AND I DON'T EVEN AGREE WITH THAT STORYLINE FROM AN IDEOLOGICAL STANDPOINT BUT STILL I LIKED IT THE MOST BECAUSE WRITING WISE IT WAS AT LEAST COMPETENTLY HANDLED!!!! like, that's so unfortunate. for me. and don't even get me started on the tonal dissonance WHITIN scenes and BETWEEN scenes. it was so so jarring at times and made the humour NOT land AT ALL (especially the physical humour because holyyy shit what was that). idk if that's editing's fault or if the writers made these decisions or if the producers and executives are to blame, but the inconsistency of mood and tone just really made me feel disconnected from the emotional moment. felt absolutely nothing about what was happening to these characters.

on a more personal level, i took issues with the way they wrote some characters and the content of some arcs. they really reduced maeve's character to nothing (like. i am sorry but her dialogue is so flat and boring, the most meaningful thing she said all season was probably at her mom's funeral.) otis literally learned jackshit. he's still kind of a self-absorbed dick. o was so underutilised and disrespected (they didn't even try to make the ace thing an important plotline). aimee was turned into a grotesque parody of herself. eric's story focusing on religion was HELL to me personally. like, i grew up catholic (which is different to the christianity eric practices but still...), and ngl the way they handled his 'religious' awakening just sent me up the wall. as a queer person who was very involved in church life from a young age and had to reconcile her faith with her queer identity, i felt like his story made a mockery of that struggle and that inner conflict. the visions were ridiculous. it felt like the writers were making fun of the struggle queer people face when (1) wanting to meaningfully engage with faith and religion *OR* (2) wanting to distance themselves from organised religion. additionally it felt like they were making fun of religion & religious faith as a whole, depicting it as this almost psychotic thing to believe in god. and they completely decoupled eric's personal journey to faith from what religion primarily is about for many, many people: community and connection. like, sure, they briefly brushed it i theory, but neglected to real get into the emotional reality and complexity of it. they very much glossed over the fact that religious communities are a source for moral/ethical and social control and even when you disagree with some aspects of the doctrine you will still be affected by it if you grew up in those circles. and your personal reckoning with religion will probably be more tied to THAT (the fear of losing love/support/part of your social circle, ostracisation (because even when you're okay with who you are right from the start it's something that doesn't feel good even when you prepare for it....), feeling disconnected from your former self, struggling to build your own belief system that you feel lie it truly belongs to you etc.). his entire journey was lacking any nuance and complexity in my opinion. and maybe that's because i personally had a different experience reconciling my faith with my sexual identity. i wasn't a self-hating queer either, but breaking away from religion still was a change in my life that impacted me very real and convoluted ways!!! (also like let's be real him becoming a pastor is gonna solve what exactly??? go through the homophobic system to change the homophobic system??? HUH with what power??? you're better of starting a new church fr.) idk. another thing that bugged me was the lack of chemistry in intimate scenes. like. jo and i watched these scenes and. nothing. the lack of chemistry really made me so uncomfortable. it almost made me question if i really do like sex lol. ALSO WHYYYY did they force the aimee and isaac relationship for no reason???? that really didn't have to have to happen. not that i hate it, it's whatever, but i was just so BORING to me. same with the otis and maeve thing. THEY WERE SO BORING. their drama this season was so repetitive and reminiscent of earlier conflicts between them it made me want to rip my hair out. i think i stopped caring about them as a couple after season 2. they don't fit and they don't work yet still the writers were trying to make them a thing for no reason. i could go on but this is already longer than i wanted it to be (yikes). i just want you to know that this season did so many things so badly i ended up not caring about ANYTHING that happened or ANY of the characters (except ruby). they could have all just disappeared and i wouldn't have cared one bit because they were all giving NOTHING. so basically, the season felt like this meme to me, but with a heavy, all-permeating, very petty & derogatory undertone:

okay so now for the things i did watch and enjoy recently (i assume you mean movies/tv shows because i my monthly wrap ups cover my reading). there are quite a few things, actually! ofc i watched barbie which was fun, and oppenheimer which was Very Good. oh, and i watched and liked set it up, and my brother sat me down and made me watch the two spider verse movies with him which i enjoyed a lot as well! my other brother made me watch the new puss in boots (liked that one, too). i also watched the first couple of episodes of the bear and i am very intrigued (gonna continue for sure)!! also finished glow a couple of month ago which was quite good but sadly prematurely cancelled. other than that i have been mostly rewatching stuff tbh (recently e.g. fleabag, schitt's creek, atla, succession, and the occasional movies like p&p 2005, emma 2020. also been in the mood for a rewatch of god's own country & the ghibli movies.). other than that, the movies/tv shows i reblog stuff from are generally things i enjoyed in the past (or at least partly enjoyed). idk there's a lot on my 'to watch list' but i am only making my way through it super slowly jhghjgjhjgjh

[mint-moon25]

DEAR - KOREAN - GIRLS,

HUSBAND - AND - WIFE - THE - HERMANOS

LITTLE - HAVANA - MIAMI - FLORIDA

BOTH - IN - CHARGE - CALLED - ME - 'LIAR'

BOTH - LAUGHING

PIGGY - BANK - AND - FREE - CHECKING

EXCEEDING - $2,000

NOT - EVEN - HARVARD - LAW - CAN GET

YOU - SSI - DISABILITY EVER - AGAIN USA

HERMANOS - NON-PROFIT - ORG

RELIGIOUS - ALL - NON-PROFITS

AMENDMENTS

'ILLEGAL - IN - USA - THAT - ANY - INCOME

IS NON-TAXABLE' - ALL - INCOME IS TAXED

EVEN - PRESIDENTS

OVERTHROW - OF - US GOVERNMENT

BETTER - LAW - AND - ORDER

CRIMINAL - CHARGES - WEEKEND

PRISONS - IN - FUTURE

NON-PROFIT - RELIGIOUS

1 MIN - DISAPPEARING - JAILS

CORRECTIONAL - FACILITIES

LEGAL

WOMEN's - IMPRISONMENT

MEN's - IMPRISONMENT

FRIENDS - OF - HISPANIC - MAYOR

(A - HOTTIE) - MALE

I SAID - 2 - MALE - IN - CHARGE

HIS - MOUTH - AS - HE - CALLED

ASIANA - A - LIAR

N CHAPMAN - PARTNERSHIP

BLKS - HISPANICS - WHITES

75% - OF - INCOME - SSI

CAMILLUS HOUSE - 70%

BECAUSE

SSI - BLINDNESS - $943

BLANK - MONEY - ORDERS

$707.25 - PUT - IN - WHITE

ENVELOPES - IN - N MIAMI AVE

DOWNTOWN - MIAMI

LAST - STOP - METROMOVER

FREE - TRAINS - EXIT

SCHOOLBOARD

CASE - MANAGERS - OFFICES

BLKS - HISPANIC - WHITES

FEMALES

$707.25 - X 3 = $2,121.75

GOAL - OF - SHELTERS - 4 - THE

HOMELESS - NON-PROFIT

RELIGIOUS

2 - MAKE - SURE - SSI - DISABILITY

ENDED - 4 - MANY - 4 THE HOMELESS

LAWSUITS

MALICE - AT - LEAST - $250,000 MAX

FINE - AND - OR - IMPRISONMENT

CRIMINAL - ACTIVITES

THEIR - LAND - BUILDINGS

US - LAW - NOW - $1.00

JESUS - IS - LORD

CONT ...

HALLMARK+ - IS - TAXED

NOT - OFFLINE - ONLY - WI FI

NOT - MOBILE - DATA

THE - HERMANOS

USUALLY - MALES - WHITES

HISPANICS

YESTERDAY - ENCOURAGED

IN BETWEEN - TENTS

WHITE - SHEET - NEXT - 2 - ME

HISPANIC - LOUD - MOUTHS

'DISTURBANCE - OF - THE - PEACE

WHEREVER - THEY - WERE

FRIDAYS

ENCOURAGED - ILLEGAL - PUBLIC

DRINKING - THEY - JUST - THROW

2 PARKING - LOTS - OVER - FENCE

SODA - CANS - BEER - CANS

EXPOSE - THEIR - PEE PEE

LIVE - RAW - URINE - PUTTING

LITTLE - PACO - THROUGH - MADE

IN - TAIWAN - FENCE - THEIR PEE

PEE - WEE WEE

THE - HERMANOS - MADE - CERTAIN

AS - WHITE - MALES - THEY R LOUD

TALK - 2 B - HEARD - ILLEGAL - PUBLIC

DRINKING - LOITERING - VISIBLY

THROWING - SODAS - BEER - CANS

ON - STREET - FOR - BUS 77 - 24 HRS

CAN - WITH - TIRES - HIT

AS - BUS - WILL - SWERVE - AND HIT

THEIR - BODIES - ON - CARDBOARD

SLEEPING - HEADS - ARMS - OFF

JESUS - IS - LORD

NEAR - ME - NICE - WINDS - I - FELT

SOMETHING - SAID - 2 - ONE - I CAN'T

BREATHE - WITH - MY - ASTHMA

THEIR - SMOKING - ENCOURAGED

MY - 2 HANDS - ARTHRITIS - UNUSUAL

HISPANIC - DOCTOR - MALE - SAID

I - DON'T - HAVE

PARKINSON'S - DISEASE

NOT - TERMINAL

EXTREME - PAINFUL ARTHRITIS

HAND - TREMORS - TREMBLING

NO - BIG

DOLLAR TREE

PAIN RELIEF - CREME - $1.25

EXCELLENT

MEDS - $1.25 - MAGNIFICENT

GOING - THERE - TODAY TOO

CHICA - I - FELT - WAS - BARKING

4 A - REASON

WHY - DOES - SHE - BARK - ALSO

OFTEN - LIKE - HAG - OWNER

LIKE - CHICA - FEMALE - DOG

DEBBIE MACOMBER

ROMANCE - WRITER

HOT MALE - KID - CUTIE - NAMED

HIS - CAT - I - THINK - 'DOG' - BUT

HE - WAS - ALLOWED

CAT - EVENTUALLY - DIED - COOL

CHICA - WAS - SO - HUNGRY

WAS - EATING - YELLOW - SOAP

HID - THAT - SOAP UNDER TENT

I - FOUND - CHICA - BROUGHT

HER - CHAIR - 2 - EDGE - OF - ROAD

SW 2 ST - 2 WAY - THERE - SW 2 AV

LONG STREET NAME - OTHER - SIDE

CHAIR - DRAGGED

SO - BROUGHT - BACK - 2 - TOP AND

1 MOVEMENT - HIT BOTTON - OF THE

CHAIR - CHICA - OBEYED - AND - SIT

SO - CLEANING - CUP - WHERE - SHE

DRINKS - ILLEGAL

SAW - WATER - IN - 2 - CONTAINERS

CLEANED - THAT - GLASS

ONLY - HAD - PURIFIED - WATER

CHICA - WAS - DRINKING - THE

MOISTURE - INSTEAD REMEMBERED

FILLED - UP - PLASTIC - ORANGE

CONTAINER

ANIMALS - DRINK - NATURAL SPRING

WATER - RAIN - WATER

NEW - HORIZONS

HERMANOS

TRAFFICKING - OF - HUMANS

2 - LITTLE - HAVANA

NEW HORIZONS - DRUGGING

EVEN - BY - THERAPISTS

AS - THEY - TOUGH - THEIR

BODIES

FATSO - ELENA - I'M - OLDER

TOLD - ME - IMPLIED

NEW - HORIZONS - HAS - SUCCEEDED

IN - STEALING - FR - MEDICAID - AND

MEDICAIRE - U - WILL - TAKE - MEDS

5 GOLD - MEDALS - CHILD - EUROPE

3 GYMNASTICS

2 FIGURE - SKATING

U - NEED - DEPAKOTE - MEDS

2 - SLOW - YOUR - SPEECH - STOP

YOUR - SINGING - LIKE - JULIE ANDREWS

SLOW - IN - WALKING - IN - DECIDING

ONE - MED - U - GIVE - THE - WRONG

ANSWER - ALWAYS - ON - PURPOSE

AGE 246 - USA

U - WILL - NOT - TALK - MORE - THAN

5 MIN - OUR - PSYCHIATRISTS

$328 - 20 MIN

NEVER - WENT - 2 - COLLEGE

HISPANIC - ELENA - FATSO

DOOR 1 - MALE - PSYCHIATRIST - WITH

GLASSES - HOT - HE's - MY - NEW ONE

ELENA - NO - SYMPHATY

TOPIRAMATE - 50 MG

ME - NO - LONGER - BLOOD FLOW

AND - I'M - ANEMIC

BIRTH - CONTROL - PILLS - OVER

25 YEARS

SHE - IMPLIED - YOUR - FACE

MY - RESPONSE - I - DON'T- LIKE IT

EITHER - GIVING - MY - TWIN - BOYS

MY - LIGHTNING - FAST - BRAIN

SINGING - ACTING - TOP PERFORMANCE

ATHLETE - MUSICAL - INSTRUMENTS

MY - GIFT - 50%

USA - PSYCHIATRICAL - MEDS

DESTROYS - KITCHEN - SINK - PIPES

FLUSH - IN - TOILET - INSTEAD

ABILIFY - ALL - CAUSE - DEATH

ELENA - WHY - DO - YOU - WANT - TO

LIVE - LONG?

HAVEN'T - U - SHOWN - YOURSELF

NAKED - 2 - DR NICHOLAS - MIAMI

FLORIDA - LAW - YEARLY

WHY - WE'RE - BUYING - ESTATES

IN - NORTH CAROLINA - MOST YES

BEAUTIFUL - TREES - I - USA SNOW

CHEAP - REAL ESTATE

VANDERBILT CASTLE

HORSES - THOROUGHBREDS

LOVESVILLE - ONLY - HORSES

NO - CARS - 50 MIN - FR

ASHEVILLE - NORTH CAROLINA

ASHEVILLE - 'FLY - WITH - THE - WIND'

FR - MEMORY - CHEROKEE - INDIANS

OVER - 4,000 YEARS - THEN - KICKED

OUT - WHEN - GOLD - WAS - FOUND ...

01 OCT 2024 - REPUBLICAN - PARTY

OF - FLORIDA - THEIR - GOVERNOR

DECLARED - HOMELESS - FUGITIVES

GUESSING - $2,500 - FINES - EACH

INCIDENT

US PASSPORT

TRAVELERS - CHECKS

INCREMENTS

MIAMI - POLICE - SHELTERS

NON-PROFIT - RELIGIOUS

NEW HORIZONS - PSYCHIATRY

TRAFFICKING - OF - HUMANS

DRUGGING

HEART - $35,000

KIDNEY - BLADDER - $9,000

HISPANIC - MALE - FRIEND

OF - WEIRDO - BOTH - INCHING

IN - ITCHY - 2 - TOUCH - MY

2 BICYCLE - TENT

RETAIL - $69.99

TENT - 1 PERSON

RETAIL - $129.99

BOTH - GRAND - THEFT

VALUED - $750 OR MORE

PREVENTING - OWNER OF

PROPERTY - USE - OF PROPERTY

ENJOYMENT - OF - PROPERTY

VALUED - IMPORTANT - AND

USEFUL - MEANING 1 AND 2

REASON - 4 - PURCHASE

'IMPORTANT - AND - USEFUL'

FLORIDA

CASTLE - DOCTRINE

MIAMI - RESIDENTS - DEADLY

FORCE - PROTECT - YOUR TENTS

ADVANCE - WITH DEADLY FORCE

STANDING - REMAINING - STANDING

GO - AND - USE ARMS - CONCEALED

CARRY - USE - WEAPONS - STAB

STAB - TWICE - OR - ONCE - STRONG

KOREAN - TV - DRAMA

'LOVELY - RUNNER'

COMBAT - KNIFE - $0.89 - LITTLE HAVANA

COULDN'T - BREATHE - YESTERDAY INTENT

SUBSCRIBING - 2 - DISNEY + - MOBILE DATA

NO - ADS - $15.80 - AGAIN - MIAMI - FLORIDA

'BUZZ LIGHTYEAR'

PART 2 - WAS - THERE - MAP - BACK - OF

CONSTITUTION - USA - BULLET PROOF 2

NEW - GMAIL - ADDRESS

NEW - YOUTUBE - SHOP KOREA

EATING - LUNCH - SW 7 ST - BUS 8 - 207

DOLLAR - TREE - SW 9 ST - EXCITED TOO

WHITE - TOWEL - $1.25 - WAS - SOLD HAI

[queer-ragnelle]

YES and the majority of adaptations completely fumble both these things. The Bing Crosby musical from 1949 has Hank, Sagramore, and Arthur frolicking around singing in commoner clothes for the majority of the segment. It’s got very little to do with any self reflection or compassion.

And you’re right Hank is wild and most adaptations can't handle his freak. The best ones in my opinion would be:

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1970)

This animated movie is the most faithful to the book. It covers a lot of ground, stretching through the fall of Camelot which most adaptations cut out. Hank still feels like Hank, he’s an arms manufacturer, so it makes sense he has a gun (so many just give him a gun from no where?), he gets to smoke his pipe and meet a variety of knights of the Round Table. It’s so accurate, La Cote Male Taile even directs Hank to Morgan’s castle, just like the book. Clarence isn’t made annoying which is a common problem. Sandy is cute, she tells Hank stories about other knights including Palomides & Aglovale of all characters. Whoever made this loved Arthurian Legend. Good narratively, bad to look at. I think there's like 10 frames in the whole thing. Pretty uggo.

New Adventures of a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1988)

This movie is insane. (affectionate) It diverges from the book significantly but it’s right in the title that it’s “new” so they’re forgiven. It’s a 2.5 hour meditation on life/death. It literally opens with Lancelot & Mordred discussing a dream they shared & then preparing to ring this bell in the Valley of Death which draws out your life force (it seems allegorical for the Holy Grail) when the “Iron Dragon” barrels towards them & Mordred flees. Lancelot ends up pulling Hank out of the wrecked plane—he’s a commercial airline pilot. He’s so deranged from moment one, crawling around on the Round Table smoking a cigarette & name dropping the knights he recognizes by their coats of arms. (Kay mention!) He’s just like me fr. But basically all the knights are wandering around a desolate wasteland looking for Eldorado. Yes really. Hank keeps returning to the “Iron Dragon” & hanging out with the skeletons of his dead coworkers & has vivid flashbacks of them all hanging out in the cockpit. He ends up winning Sandy from Sagramore & takes her with him, she’s also a freak. They have sex in a cave only for Hank to wake up in Morgana’s bed??? Insane. Apparently Hank’ll do anything a pretty lady tells him so he signs a contract with Morgana to be her king or something. She bites him & he signs in blood??? Then he wakes up again & he’s back in the cave but there’s no Sandy. Was she a tool of Morgan? Who knows! He runs into Arthur, who has taken it upon himself to dress as a commoner, & this movie takes it a step further as Arthur & Hank are sold into slavery. So they’re all in chains & Arthur refuses to get chummy with the slave driver & when Arthur starts shouting that they’re all people he gets beaten. Crazy movie. Also extreme in the religious symbolism they literally show a guy getting crucified. Hank becomes Jesus. It’s a whole thing. Anyway so once they’re back at Camelot, Morgana reveals that Hank has signed her contract & Hank sets it on fire because he’s a coward who won’t admit he messed up. Mordred ends up challenging him & they battle on top of the Round Table. Mordred wins & puts the sword point at Hank’s throat & Hank has a vision of death. So he panics & takes out a gun he had pulled from the airplane & shoots Mordred in the chest. Morgana freaks out & sobs over his body as Arthur descends his throne toward the chaos. He removes his gauntlet & throws it at Hank. Then all the knights of the Round Table throw in their gauntlets. They’re going to war against Hank for killing Mordred! So it cuts to them all in the desert wasteland, Hank is like Connecticut Rambo he has a machine gun somehow don’t worry about it. But Morgana & Arthur are in armor & embrace, they’re combining their forces to kill Hank. A huge battle ensues & Hank mows down knights with bullets. But the ending happens abruptly when Morgana sets the plane on fire & the explosion kills everyone. Hank keeps having dream visions of death (& Merlin) talking in his head so it’s all surreal at the end until Lancelot & Mordred’s conversation from the intro plays again, about the bell & how it drains your life force but they will be brave & do it. It ends on a long shot of Lancelot pulling the bell all alone as the only survivor of the story… for now. Standing ovation from me. Insanely powerful. I love when weirdo directors transform a story into something brand new. Viktor Gres I’m in your walls.

A Young Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1995)

This movie changes a lot as well but it’s enough to be interesting. Hank is a senior in high school in a garage band who accidentally electrocutes himself with an amp. He wakes up in the outskirts of Camelot where some people are fearful of his glasses, amp, & band t shirt of “false idols.” A knight rides up & offers to take the scary guy away to King Arthur so the people don’t have to fear. As they approach Camelot, the knight reveals herself to be Sandy! Kay & Ector help her dismount, then she introduces Hank to her fiancé Galahad & his dad Lancelot. Galahad doesn’t like that Sandy wears armor but he can die mad about it because Lancelot supports her. Anyway Arthur is fascinated by Hank but both Merlin & Morgan are his advisors so they’re like “burn him.” Obviously he survives & gets to hang out. He has Clarence in this one & he’s pretty cute & interesting. So Galahad is the romantic rival & he’s kind of a dickhead but not so much so to be really awful. Hank also gives Arthur helpful marriage advice by telling him to bathe & then says the king has a secret visitor who turns out to be Lancelot it was so homoerotic? Out of no where??? Anyway Guinevere returns & is happy her man is clean now thanks Hank. Arthur & Hank (& Clarence) do go undercover in commoner clothes & I really like how it’s handled here. They encounter this woman & her daughter Linet at this cottage & basically ask if they can stay for dinner since they’re traveling. The woman says yes & as the guests are eating, Arthur notices the hosts aren’t eating, & asks Linet why, she says “Not hungry.” So the hospitality ritual of Arthuriana is utilized here to show Arthur the error of his own ways imposing on people who have so little & still find the generosity to share. Fascinating. Ultimately the resolution for the Galahad situation is that they were going to have a joust & Galahad had a special lance to joust with so Hank makes his own secret weapon which is an umbrella that electrocutes people when they open it so he gets Galahad to do that to “keep his armor dry” & electrocutes him. Galahad sees god, & fucks off to find the Holy Grail. Hilarious. Hank is so chaotic. Anyway Hank gets back to his own time & all is well.

I fear I’ve been pavloved into liking Connecticut Yankee. I’m always excited to find something “new” and there’s so many adaptations of Connecticut Yankee that my dislike has turned to like. Maybe even love in some cases. Yikes.

[metalheadsagainstfascism]

Things you should not dress up as your Halloween.

Any serial killers whose victims or immediate families are still alive. (Don't dress as Jeffery Dahmer.)

Any cultural specific costumes (Don't dress up as a geisha, Indigenous person, Hawai'ian, etc) I'm aware Hawaiian is an indigenous people but I needed to list the separately in case the reader didn't know.

Any costume that relies on antisemitic or racist tropes (Jynx's style is often attributed to the Japanese style Ganguro but many Black people in the world see this style as Japanese Blackface, witches and goblins with a large nose and dark curly hair are seen as antisemitic stereotypes)

Any religious or spiritual figures from closed practices. (No Voodoo priestess or Kali)

No viking looks with facepaint (there is no historical evidence that Vikings wore facepaint and that myth only started because TV shows used indigenous looks to make vikings look like heathens. So that's extremely anti-indigenous.)

No Blackface. No yellowface (dressing up to look Asian). No dressing up as an Indegous person. No dressing up as a Mexican person. No costumes dressing up as a specific race or ethnicity.

No culturally insensitive costumes. No Nazis. No Muslim suicide boomers. No slaves. No confederate soldiers.

No "sexy schoolgirls" or any outfits that sexualize minors.

No Harry Potter stuff. Please let JKR's memory fade so we can't all pretend like she never existed.

No homophobic or transphobic bullshit. (Dressing in drag is okay as long as it's not transphobic or racist)

No fatphobia or abelism. Missing limbs for your pirate costume is fine but like. No "mental patient" or some "psychopath" or stupid shit like that.

No terrorist. What the hell.

Before you dumbasses are like "Well I guess I'll just not because you're taking all of the fun out up it!" There's a lot of great ideas.

Cosplay characters (as long as you don't do blackface or yellowface. And any Japanese costumes don't include Japanese WW2 styles. You're good.) But fr you'd be suprised how many anime characters have Japanese WW2 clothing styles.

Puns. Everyone always loves a good cereal killer costume. Maybe Taco Belle?

Disney Princess. Same rule as above. No blackface or yellowface.

Animals are fun.

Superheros as long as you don't do blackface or yellowface.

Your favorite book character? Percy Jackson? Dracula? Frankenstein?

Fantasy creatures? Goblins and witches are fine if you don't use antisemitic trope. Werewolves are fine if you don't do anti-indigenous tropes. Vampires. Dragons.

Horror movie villains? There's a lot of good ideas there, as long as your villains don't use anti-indigenous or voodoo or hoodoo tropes.

SCPs

Professions? Firefighter? Teacher? I'll even accept a cop if you want to make a pig joke.

A good period costume? Like a gentleman with ba monocle and cane or a lady in a hoop skirt? As long as it's not Nazis, WW2 Japan, Indigenous, or otherwise offensive.

There's like, so many amazing ideas without being a racist dickwad. And I'd LOVE to see some dragons or SCPs this Halloween. Or some really awesome book character that you hyperfocused on. That'd be SO COOL.

(If you dress up as your favorite book character, feel free to take a picture and send it to the author. That makes their fucking DAY.)

But fr. There's SO many options without being a bigoted asshole, and quite honestly I think those options would be more creative and unique and STAND OUT.

Seriously, though. If I see any kids dressed as dragons, they can have the whole damn candy bowl.

-fae

[mihrunnisasultans]

Becoming Elizabeth, Abuse TW + some remarks on historical discourse

I did liveblog The Spanish Princess here last year, but tbh this year have less of energy for longer posts and most of TSP liveblogging was mockery anyway because it was hard to take Fr*ost’s work seriously.

Here we do might finally have a serious discussion.

And at the same time, I personally do not feel that much strength to do commentary each week.

I put some loose thoughts on twitter here - . And I will reserve final judgment until the end of how it all plays out the whole and to what it leads to.

/Bear in mind I haven’t seen ep 3 yet and simply decided to post it before I do to get certain things off my chest/

Definitely love Mary so far and how there is focus paid to her feelings on the religious issue as well, and that not only Protestants had to face intolerance and persecution. 

What worries me is some claims that due to Elizabeth sleeping with Se*ymour, “she’s disrespected and shown in bad light” and “romanticizing this as consensual relationship because still a child ‘agreed’ to sleep with an older predator”. Uhm?

Listen, I get people might not approve of things going this faar on show because I am myself not a fan of this and I do think the writer does like the “gritty and dark” tone too much at times, but no way the relationship is presented as romantic or consensual, as the screenwriter even made clear in behind the scenes commentary.

It’s not consensual, either. S*eymour’s manipulations are so odious he does try to give it an impression of being consensual, hence his repeated questions to her whether she wants it. He knows what he is doing and that “consent” is included there for purpose. Because yes predators might say that their underage victims “consented”. Even the victim might believe so because of such manipulations and feel ashamed. None of this changes the situation and erases the abuse. Him wanting to ensure “she wants it” only further highlights how disgustingly manipulative he is and how well he thinks on his “plans”. /Oh wait I also read now that the author confirmed on twitter the “consent gate” was SPECIFICALLY included to show the abuse… I mean it was obvious anyway to anyone watching in a not taking-stuff-at-face value way/

And making a teenage girl yield to her manipulator is not disrespecting her or painting her in a bad light, either. You can disapprove of the writing choice in other terms and all, but again painting the image a woman is not a victim if she is “perfect” and immune to manipulations and never giving in to them.. Is wrong. And it’s not healthy to portray situations like this only in that manner - that of course the only option is seeing her stop herself before it’s too late because she’s Elizabeth, THAT strong queen, how could she fall into predator’s trap?

/And same with jumping to conclusions with Katherine Parr, only because she is shown to be more pragmatic and ambitious than usual and not purely the “bookish momma” people are used to, so for some people she is immediately “villified”.. only because she is not as saintly as in some other depictions. Again you can disagree with the depiction, but such extremes do not do these women service either./

Yielding there does not make Elizabeth less of a victim and Se*ymour less of a predator. And it does not make their relationship “romance”.

People who are criticizing the show  because “it romanticizes the relationship by making her sleep with him consensually”... ok, you are using big words here, but think of the implications of what you are saying again.

Same with people again going how it’s “romanticizing” because Se*ymour is played by a handsome, charming actor. So all abusers are ugly and creepy? /And anyway that fangirl of his running his fansite hating this portrayal just shows me it is right lmao./

People with such criticism would want to the shows to always portray grooming and abuse in one stock way for it to be acceptable - he’s ugly and basically with neon sign saying “I’m the abuser” and she obviously does not fall for his bullshit at all, instead makes all the smart decisions, even if she’s a lonely, traumatised kid who lost both of her parents living in very hostile environment, who unfortunately finds herself in situation that the only person who makes her smile around is the one using her most.

Same with people still not getting unreliable POVs either - and the show so far goes from such vulnerable, confused teenager’s POV and hence the claustrophobic mood of the whole show.

And TBF that brings me again to what I hate in general in fandom discourse regarding historical shows - people believe all their historical faves always behave in a rational manner.. Or how they would behave. Or rather SHOULD behave. And cannot envision those people were flesh and blood humans who had their own weakness and even uncharacteristic behaviours caused by random impulses or sudden emotion. And yes not everything made into history books.

My pet peeve is people screaming “historical inaccuracy” at every turn without realising something like “real history” does not exist. Of course there is undeniable dry facts that we know happened (who became king and in what year etc.),  but a lot of discourse is based on what we have evidence for and what against and even that is always interpretative in the end. I hate the “it didn’t happen!” approach, I always say “we have no evidence for” is a much better standpoint to discuss.  And historical TV shows often must fill blanks on stuff that is usually not part of “chronicle like reporting” and delving into the personal and behind the scenes, sooo yes all this screaming “not historical” to get you cookie points and to try to simply put stuff that way instead of simply stating “I do not like this personally” IS annoying (and with Tudors here at least we do have some decent amount of sources, including first-hand ones, but e.g, with Ottoman history on ladies from closed harems the issue gets 10x more annoying)..It’s the same as claiming “bad writing” at every turn, when what bothers you is in fact it did not go the way you wanted / complied with your vision.

And to Anya Reiss’ huge credit, she did mention the issue on her twitter, that “how history went” is  often how we THINK it goes, only one interpretation of many.

You can disapprove of something personally and be honest with it instead of trying to make it some bigger issue thing. 

It went much longer than I intended, but yes it’s always the same issues that pop up and they annoy me, so let’s just have it dealt with I guess. It’s not even in favour of show because I am so far neutral on it, but I already saw elements of discourse that tire the fuck out of me. Like we cannot truly have interesting, complex discussions if people halt them by claiming “romanticizing” just because it does not portray the grooming as they *think* it should in some stock simplified way or it’s “historically inaccurate” often based on simply the interpretation of evidence or lack thereof they themselves choose to believe in.

[cvastals]

look i kno i said i wasnt gna bring a 6th until i was caught up w replies bt i kno gunner well n therefore felt like he deserved his time to shine in the rp so i beg of u pls plot w him looks at u all like :B

* axel auriant, cis man + he/him | you know gunner paxton, right? they’re twenty-two, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, four years? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to bizarre love triangle by new order like, a million times this year, which makes sense ‘cause they’ve got that whole curling up for days in bed wearing a hello kitty comfort shirt, stuttering in the face of affection, and hand me downs two sizes too big thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is july 31st, so they’re a leo, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( bri, 23, est, they/them )

background.

middle child of the paxton family, cliff being the eldest and wyatt being the youngest :D

they lived at the top of a hill in a trailer in a trailer park neighbourhood in laramie, wyoming so to say the least that fucking sucked for everyone involved

the trailer was so small that all 3 boys ended up sharing a room, gunner and wyatt sharing a bunk bed bc they cldnt fit 3 beds into one room it really was every childs nightmare bt they quickly grew used to it tbh

gunner was always more of an artsy child than invested in sports - though he does enjoy baseball and continued even to this day after their dad made him join SOMETHING in middle school - so he never rly earned their father’s respect, but he was always close with his mom since they had the same calm temperament

(depression/anxiety tw) he also gained a list of mental health issues that their mom had as well, including social anxiety and major depressive disorder

(violence/abuse tw) their father always encouraged pretty volatile behaviour and it caused a lot of physical fights and arguments between the brothers when their dad told them the best way to get over it was to start hurting until someone tapped out, it was just a chaotic and pretty abusive household but no one knew and their mom definitely wasn’t going to say anything about it to their dad

(missing child/kidnapping/anxiety/depression tw)  wyatt went missing on a weekend that their parents were gone because of a trip they won, and things just got worse from there, high school was really rough for gunner, his anxiety grew worse as time went on that no one found wyatt, their dad grew more hostile towards them, cliff left home in the middle of the night never to be seen again (merely leaving a note so that the family didn’t think they had a case of two kidnapped children), and their mom just grew sicker, it was rare that she would ever leave her room and if she did it was in fits of random energy where she would do something spontaneous and completely unnecessary to their house as a way of coping

the two years that gunner was at home after cliff left were pretty brutal and as soon as he could, he was fleeing wyoming and going to school in irving

(internalized homophobia tw)  things are far better now that he’s out of his home situation, but ofc he still has a few personal things he’s working thru; the paxton’s were raised in an incredibly religious household, and he’s got some classic Catholic Guilt going on upon realizing that he’s not jst attracted to women n he avoided talking abt it forever/stayed in the closet fr far too long bt he’s sort of come out now in his own way even tho he does still get a bit nervous talking abt it rly

he’s also ‘dealing’ rn (just pharmaceuticals) which is frankly funny to think abt bc this man is abt as threatening as a care bear bt money is tight all things considering and a librarian job doesn’t rly cover it, and with the amount of meds he’s on, plus incredibly frequent doctor’s visits, needing to pay for extra epi-pens, inhalers, etcs. bills add up so he’s cutting back his meds n selling wht he can spare which is . so unhealthy bt thts life in corporate america baybee!

details.

is literally allergic to everything. grass, cats, most fruits, milk, most nuts, bees, latex, probably more i cnt even keep up w them its pathetic

u can catch him strutting around town w his blinged out epipen holder (aka blinged out w pins of his fav horrors movies) LKSHDGKLHSKLDG

if things cldnt get worse he also has quite intense asthma so he carries an inhaler with him at all times

n to make matters even WORSE he frequently has dizzy spells n bad memory problems bc of all the concussions he’s suffered from (about 8-9 at this point) as well as consistent migraines that can b literally debilitating sometimes

awkward n jst a bit of a Weirdo to b frank like he barely knows how to converse with ppl

didnt have any friends in high school so took the time to teach himself rly weird things, knows a fuck ton of magic tricks, can yodel, juggle, solve a rubix cube with his eyes closed in under 30 seconds, just extremely weird and specific things

can honestly b a bit mean/barbaric to ppl he’s not close w/doesn’t kno - has told ppl to their face before he doesn’t enjoy talking to them bc he has no concept of social constructs/norms

loves 2 film random things at parties, makes him feel more comfortable at them n he makes short films of them all after

going off that fact he did a film internship in nyc during the summer and is trying to find a job in that field

doesn’t realize demisexuality is a thing so he’s never been that fond of sex but has this stigma in his mind that that makes him Broken so he still Tries n it jst doesnt go well tugs my shirt collar

connections.

ppl who r more into under the counter meds than Hard Drugs n buy off him?? probs wld have to kno him some way hes too scared to sell to Random randoms

ppl he went to school w? :D

some friends………. hes awkward bt he means well…………

ppl he has a crush on/unrequited crushes either way wtvr floats ur boat he crushes quite easily but never does anything abt it fr the most part

a mans he wld Risk It All fr (aka a guy tht he actually has a crush on n is Extra Awkward probs a lil mean to bc hes still New to That)

some enemies tbh, he has a temper n he tends to blow up rarely bt it happens n when it does it actually can b quite scary JKSHDGLHSDG

a muse….. mayhaps?? someone he always wants in his film projects

awkward past hook ups/one night stands where one of them cut ties off cuz every time they got together gunner acted like he was embalming a body for a funeral

current hook ups/fwb’s w ppl he’s actually close w/is comfortable w so its nowhere near as bad SDKHSLDGHKLSDGH

Anything u Desire

[nix-that-rad-lass]

You are being purposefully disingenuous and deliberately misconstruing my words. You are arguing for the sake of arguing and not to reach a conclusion.

I’m not saying gold star lesbians have to include non gold star lesbians in everything, everyone deserves their own spaces, but it’s possible for there to be multiple lesbian spaces- some for gold stars, some for non gold stars, and general lesbian spaces.

It’s not like I’m saying you have to fuck men to be nuanced. I’m saying you can be kind to women who are in vastly difference circumstances than you who are still lesbian. You can have your own gold star only spaces, I think that’s great! But not every lesbian is gold star, so I don’t think non gold star lesbians should be purposefully excluded from general lesbian spaces.

I’m going to provide a few examples of reasons a woman may happen to be a non gold star lesbian.

Ex 1. Arranged marriage. This is still common in many places. Sometimes it’s very difficult to escape, especially places such as South India or the Middle East. In rare cases, women may be beaten or even killed for refusing an arranged marriage. Are women in these situations who have externally pressured sex or relationships with men because there is essentially no other option not lesbians, even if they only experience attraction to other women?

Ex 2. Being in a highly religious area or even a religious cult, such as an Amish or Mormon settlement, or even just a small town in the Bible Belt of the southern US. Religious indoctrination is extremely common in these areas. Many girls are raised either not being told that it’s possible to exclusively love women, leaving them confused and probably feeling broken inside, or are told they will be disowned, kicked out, and/or socially shamed if they are attracted to women. Is it any wonder that girls raised in what is essentially a patriarchal cult would be scared of escaping it, scared of letting their homosexuality be known? Is it any wonder some may feel pressured or even trapped into a relationship with a man, despite it being one of the worst things they could possibly experience? Fear of isolation is very powerful. More powerful, still, is the fear a young woman may have of losing everything she has ever known- her family, friends, community....

Ex 3. Being in a country that is violently homophobic and is known to imprison or even kill gays and lesbians. Places such as Russia or Estonia, or places under Taliban control. Is it hard to believe a woman would find it a safer option to have a “beard” to appear straight and stay safe, stay alive, than to be openly lesbian? Some women are brave enough to be openly lesbian despite this. But are you really going to shame those who aren’t? The will to survive is strong. Are you really going to say a woman who is with a man to survive despite hating it every second and wishing she could be with a woman isn’t a lesbian?

These may seem like extreme examples, but they happen. If you can’t empathize with women in these situations, you aren’t going to be able to empathize with women who are non gold stars in lower stakes situations.

Before you pull the “rape doesn’t count” card, a lot of these situations lead to extreme levels of indoctrination and thus coercion. A lot of the women who may fall prey to this may not realize what they experienced was even rape. To them it may have been sex, that they just really hated. Are they not lesbian even if they only love other women?

Not to mention many women who live in more “progressive” environments who feel extreme social pressure to “give men a chance” and thus do it just to get it over with despite not really wanting it. Maybe they consented, and learned they most definitely are or aren’t lesbian.

Trying something out of social pressure is frankly just another form of coercion. Some may even say that social pressure and coercion is another form of rape, in which case almost every incident of a non gold star lesbian comes from a case of this, meaning a rape by coercion- whether extreme or subtle.

And again, depending on circumstance and individual, some women would not know or consider socially pressured and coerced sex to be rape, so making that exception with no nuance is still cruel to them.

Lastly, consider: humans are hypersocial creatures. One of our most deeply rooted, “lizard brain” fears is exclusion from our group, is isolation. So is it any wonder that threat of isolation is enough motivator for a woman to go against her sexuality to prevent exclusion of the group? That’s two very deep biological instincts, and in a lot of women, one will win over the other. For some, that’s the instinct to find a way to stay with the group- even denying their sexuality. For others, they risk isolation and exclusion if it means they don’t have to face something equally repellant to them- a relationship or sexual contact with the sex they are not attracted to.

You can be proud of being gold star- of overcoming every ounce of patriarchal propaganda that was thrown at you and indoctrinated into you, be proud of only loving women even in the face of hatred. I think it’s great.

But you can also be kind and understanding to women who were not in the same position.

Being lesbian doesn’t inherently mean being iron willed and extremely brave and willing to risk your life.

Sometimes that’s what gold star means, in some environments, because that’s what you face to be openly lesbian in some circumstances.

But gold star is a subset of lesbians. Not every lesbian is going to be one. It doesn’t mean you can’t still have spaces only for gold stars, it just means that on the broader topic of lesbianism, there is some room for other women who have other experiences. You can have a smaller circle of gold stars within the larger circle of all lesbians.

I think it was you. Thank you for defending Non Gold Star lesbians but not shitting on Gold stars. To tell the truth I think there is a lot of fake Non gold star lesbians that hurt the actual ones and give us a bad name. It actually feels rather alienating and lonely. Thank you.

I tried my best. It’s not perfect and I don’t have the answers but I think nuance and kindness helps both sides of the argument. Non gold star lesbians deserve acceptance and kindness. Gold stars can be proud without being assholes.

[chocolate-parfait]

(same nonnie here!)

usually they’re tilted but i’ve never seen one that’s opened before. we actually had hemisphere skylights at my secondary school which were pretty cool!!

and the RELIGIOUS CONNOTATIONS!!!

youre so right, light is often symbolic of god and angels and considering jean’s life this theory of the skylight representing that is even more true. according to history ‘jean’ was visited by an angel who told ‘him’ to fight in the 100 years war to make dauphin charles VII the king of france.

they even could be representative of jeans relationship with mc and how he sees her. (i have finished his route so i may be incorrect but from what i’ve seen) mc is jeans light and takes the ‘position’ that the ángel did in his mortal life. not only is she his call to action but she brings this light and sense of purpose back into his life. he also seems to revere mc and sees her as this otherworldly being (which holds true considering she is from over 500 years in the future). she is the one who pulls him out from the depths of his misery. she teaches him important lessons (both emotional and physical ones), just as the bible would’ve been ‘jeans’ moral education in his mortal life. so for the skylight to be metaphor of the position mc holds in his life isn’t a stretch.

can you tell i do english lit a-level? probably lmao

(sorry it took me kinda long to answer, i was collecting my scattered braincells)

I MEAN I have tilted windows in my house and we can open them? Of course it depends on the building and the room in which the window is in (if it's in a room with a very high ceiling for example, there would be no point in opening it) but windows aside-

Window anonie your brain is... king sized... and the way you worded it makes me like Jean even more! Plus, I thinks that MC's personality really goes well with Jean's character, especially when looking at his background and all. I find Jeanne d'Arc a very interesting historical figure, and it's nice to see the different portrayals other series/games have of her! (Like the fate series' Jeanne which is just,,, beautifully enchanting)

Okay no but fr I think it would be very nice to take a look at symbolism in other routes too!! And despite me not being extremely religious, Bible references are always very interesting! Though I'm not sure everyone has them? I guess we had them with Jean since he's.. well, he's Jean d'Arc

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Sun., Nov. 29, 2020

Commemorated on November 16_ Julian calendar

The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew (+60)

     The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, was also named Levi (Mk. 2: 14; Lk. 5: 27); he was an Apostle from among the Twelve (Mk. 3: 18; Lk. 6: 45; Acts 1: 13), and was brother of the Apostle James Alphaeus (Mk. 2: 14). He was a publican, i.e. a tax-collector for Rome, in a time when the Jews had come under the rule of the Roman empire. He lived in the Galileian city of Capernaum [Capharnum]. Matthew, in hearing the voice of Jesus Christ: "Come, follow Me" (Mt. 9: 9), left off from his duties and followed the Saviour. Christ and His disciples did not refuse the invitation of Matthew and they visited at his house, where they shared table with the friends and acquaintances of the publican – who like the host were publicans and known sinners. This event extremely bothered the pharisees and scribes.      Publicans, in collecting taxes from their countrymen, did this with great profit for themselves. Usually greedy and cruel people, the Jews considered them pernicious and betrayers of their country and religion. The word "publican" connoted for the Jews the sense of "public-sinner" and "idol-worshipper". To even speak with a tax-collector was considered a sin, and to associate with one – was defilement. But the Jewish teachers were not able to comprehend, that the Lord was "come to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Mt. 9: 13).

Matthew, acknowledging his sinfulness, recompensed fourfold anyone he had overcharged, and he distributed his remaining possessions to the poor, and together with the other apostles he followed after Christ. Saint Matthew was attentive to the instructions of the Divine Teacher, he beheld His innumerable miracles, he went together with the 12 apostles preaching to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mt. 10: 6), he was a witness to the suffering, death, and Resurrection of the Saviour, and of His glorious Ascension into Heaven.      Having received the gifts of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which descended upon the apostles on the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Matthew for the first 8 years preached in Palestine. And before his departure to preach the Gospel in faraway lands, at the request of the Jews remaining at Jerusalem, the holy Apostle Matthew in his Gospel gave account of the earthly life of the Saviour of the world – of the God-man Jesus Christ and His teaching.      In the order of the books of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew comes first. Palestine is said to be the place of writing of the Gospel. The Gospel was written by Saint Matthew in the year 42 ([AD – "Anno Domini" or "Year of the Lord",] i.e. after the Birth of Christ), in his native Jewish language, and then translated into Greek. The Hebrew text has not survived for us, but many of the linguistic and cultural-historical peculiarities of the Greek translation remind of it.      The Apostle Matthew preached among people having quite certain religious expectations about the Messiah. His Gospel manifests itself as a vivid proof that Jesus Christ – is the real Messiah, foretold of by the prophets, and that another there would not be (Mt. 11: 3). The preachings and deeds of the Saviour are presented by the evangelist in three divisions, constituting three aspects of the service of the Messiah: as Prophet and Law-Giver (Ch. 5-7), Lord over the world both visible and invisible (Ch. 8-25), and finally as High-Priest offered as Sacrifice for the sins of all mankind (Ch. 26-27). The theological content of the Gospel, besides the Christological themes, includes also the teaching about the Kingdom of God and about the Church, which the Lord sets forth in parables about the inner preparation for entering into the Kingdom (Ch. 5-7), about the worthiness of servers of the Church in the world (Ch. 10-11), about the signs of the Kingdom and its growth in the souls of mankind (Ch. 13), about the humility and simplicity of the inheritors of the Kingdom (Mt. 18: 1-35; 19: 13-30; 20: 1-16; 25-27; 23: 1-28), and about the eschatological revelations of the Kingdom in the Second Coming of Christ within the daily spiritual life of the Church (Ch. 24-25). The Kingdom of Heaven and the Church are closely inter-connected in the spiritual experience of Christianity: the Church is the historical embodiment of the Kingdom of Heaven in the world, and the Kingdom of Heaven is the Church of Christ in its eschatological perfection (Mt. 16: 18-19; 28: 18-20).      The holy Apostle made the rounds with the "good-news" [euangelia in Greek or evangelium in Latin – the meaning of the word "gospel"] to Syria, Media, Persia, Parthia, and finishing his preaching work in AEthiopia with a martyr's death. This land was inhabited by tribes of cannibals with primitive customs and beliefs. The holy Apostle Matthew by his preaching there converted some of the idol-worshippers to faith in Christ. He founded the Church and built a temple in the city of Mirmena, establishing there as bishop his companion by the name of Plato(n).      When the holy apostle was fervently beseeching God for the conversion of the Ethiopians, during the time of prayer the Lord Himself appeared to him in the form of a youth, and having given him a staff, commanded him to put it upright at the doors of the church. The Lord said, that from this staff would grow a tree and it would bear fruit, and from its roots would flow a stream of water. And in washing themselves in the water and eating of the fruit, the Ethiopians lost their wild ways and became gentle and good.      When the holy apostle carried the staff towards the church, on the pathway there met him the wife and son of the ruler of the land, Fulvian, who were afflicted by unclean spirits. By the Name of Christ the holy apostle healed them. This miracle converted to the Lord quite a number of the pagans. But the ruler did not want that his subjects should become Christians and cease to worship the pagan gods. He accused the apostle of sorcery and gave orders to execute him. They put saint Matthew head downwards, heaped up brushwood and ignited it. When the bonfire flared up, everyone then saw, that the fire did no harm to Saint Matthew. Then Fulvian gave orders to add more wood to the fire, and frenzied with boldness, he commanded to set up around the bonfire 12 idols. But the flames spread to the idols and caught on even Fulvian. The frightened Ethiopian turned to the saint with an entreaty for mercy, and by the prayer of the martyr the flame went out. The body of the holy apostle remained unharmed, and he expired to the Lord (+ 60).      The ruler Fulvian deeply repented his deed, but still he had doubts. By his command, they put the body of Saint Matthew into an iron coffin and threw it into the sea. In doing this Fulvian said, that if the God of Matthew would preserve the body of the apostle in the water, as He preserved him in the fire, then this would be proper reason to worship this One True God.      On that night the Apostle Matthew appeared to Bishop Platon in a dream vision, and commanded him to go with clergy to the shore of the sea and to find his body there. Together with the bishop on his way to the shore of the sea went Righteous Fulvian and his retinue. The coffin carried back by the waves was with honour taken to the church built by the apostle. Then Fulvian begged forgiveness of the holy Apostle Matthew, after which Bishop Platon baptised him, giving him the name Matthew in obedience to a command of God. Soon Saint Fulvian-Matthew abdicated his rule and became a presbyter. Upon the death of Bishop Platon, the Apostle Matthew appeared to him and exhorted him to head the AEthiopian Church. Having become a bishop, Saint Matthew-Fulvian toiled much at preaching the Word of God, continuing with the work of his heavenly patron-saint.

© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.

St. Fulvianus, prince of Ethiopia, in holy baptism Matthew (1st c.)

He handed over the Holy Apostle Matthew to fire, but seeing the miracles leading to the death of the Holy Apostle, believed in Christ and zealously preached the Christian faith. Later for his saintly life he became worthy of the rank of bishop. He died in peace.

Mark 16:9-20 

9Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.11 And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.12 After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.13 And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. 19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

Corinthians 4:9-16 

9 For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! 11 To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. 12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13 being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. 14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. 15 For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, imitate me