#never a wrong time to quote steven universe

[beauspot]

Loki Matters a Lot to Me *Long Post*

If you go on my page you’ll see that I’ve never posted about the Loki show or Lokius before so you might be wondering why now that the show is (probably) over? I always liked this show, and I considered myself a fan but coming out of it I wasn’t shipping anyone.

Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the dynamic Loki and Mobius had but I was just happy to have Loki alive so I savored that. Also I sensed some history with Mobius and Ravonna which I still think exists. I found all of the characters interesting. That includes this season but something about season 2 was different for me and I couldn’t figure out why.

Why did this show affect me so much? Why did this second season affect me so much? And particularly why did this ship, Lokius, affect me so much?

To understand where I'm coming from you should probably understand that first of all I am queer and even before I knew I was queer I had a want for queer representation. For me oddly enough it started with Owen Wilson in Night at the Museum. Jedtavius was a pairing I didn't even realized I shipped til I was older. The enemies to lovers thing was so cute and it pretty much got confirmed in the last movie.

(Just inconspicuously having your cowboy character quote Brokeback Mountain no big deal.)

I enjoy a good ship. As I got older however I began to crave real queer representation and I was lucky enough to find it in places like Steven Universe

And Adventure TIme

Then as I reached my mid to late teens I was able to see films like Brokeback, But I'm a Cheerleader, First Girl I Loved, The Miseducation of Cameron Post etc. Seeing these made me feel more secure in my sexuality.

Of course along the way I got dragged into non canon ships some of which were queerbait like Stucky or even worse, Stormpilot/Finnpoe.

The malicious part about all of these ships is the teams behind them waving these pairings out in front of people like a dog with a bone, hoping to draw them in to get their money knowing they had no intention of following through.

And I have become disillusioned with that. I have also become annoyed with fans of straight ships that oppose those queer ships acting like we're reaching.

I bring this up because there is a certain segment of sylkis(not all) and on a broader scale fans of straight ships that have this sense of persecution because fans of a queer pairing don't like their ship. It's weird and I am tempted to say it stems from homophobia. If you simply don't enjoy a ship that's fine. There are queer ships I despise, but try and assess where that hatred comes from.

There is a language that conveys romance and it seems like only when there is a minority involved do you guys become unable to understand it. This is an issue within most fandoms when it comes to not only sexuality but race in popular ships. For example, The Bear fandom in regards to Chef's Kiss, but I digress.

When a character feels the need to constantly touch another character that signals something, when a character fixes themselves so they look nice before they see another character that signals something. The way they talk, the way they act, how they are with and without one another says A LOT.

So why is it when we point these things out we get called delusional? Why do I feel like I'm going crazy every time I speak with someone about a queer ship? And why do I always feel the need to justify it?

Straight, white, pairings never have to justify their existence. They just are. Sylvie and Loki can fight, yell at one another, hurt one another, literally be the same fucking person and people will find that ok, but suddenly when people see Loki fixing himself before he meets Mobius we can't see love in that(you’re telling me this isn’t how someone acts when they see their crush unexpectedly)? We can't see loss in Mobius when he can't even do his job anymore now that Loki is gone? We can't grieve what could have been even if we find Loki as the God of Stories cool?

Why?

Mobius is the first person in probably thousands of years to tell Loki he’s not evil and he can be good if he chooses to be. We see how much this means to him. From this point on Loki is attached to Mobius like a puppy. Mobius becomes his person. I find something so refreshing about Mobius calling Loki out but then also offering him a path to redemption. He doesn’t let Loki slide, because he cares about him enough to know he can be better and Loki deserves to be better for himself.

So I was bothered by the way the finale was set up. I know they have the conversation about “the burden of glorious purpose” and often I am honestly a supporter of not everyone gets a happy ending even if they “deserve” it in a storytelling sense. I find the tragedy in that intriguing, but this didn’t feel good to me on a personal level. I didn’t walk away from the finale feeling sad but fulfilled, I walked away from it feeling miserable and empty. And I recognize that I attach myself to characters more than the general populace but I don’t really care? This hurt.

Loki wanted nothing more than for somebody to be there with him, to be for him, to love him and instead he ends up alone. Mobius ends up back in his timeline but he can't go back to his life. A version of him is already there and our Mobius doesn't even remember his children. Mobius doesn't smile at the end because he isn't happy. He's alone. They are alone and realistically there's a high chance these versions of them will never see each other again.

Does Sylvie seem bothered by that? No. She's ready to go live her life. And there’s nothing wrong with that, she took the gift Loki gave to her but Mobius is clearly, deeply hurt by Loki being gone. Because they found purpose in each other. In the order and chaos.

Having watched Good Omens and Our Flag Means Death season 2(along with the movie Bottoms starring Ayo Edebiri which everyone should watch 😁) in the same year I have become quite used to seeing queer rep in my mainstream shows. As the years have passed more and more queer characters are able to take center stage. So even though I knew Disney's track record I still held out hope because even the writer and composer saw the potential in Lokius.

Tom and Owen did too somewhat, but at the end of the day actors don't write the shows.

I think what bothers me most is that Loki is the first queer character in the MCU, we've seen him struggle and grow and learn to love and finally last season his queerness was made explicit (more than in Thor Ragnarok where he like fucked the Grandmaster or something). And they immediately paired him off with a version of himself.

Loki isn't gay so I'm not saying he had to end up with a man or anything you can be queer and end up with someone who is a gender different than yours my issue is a broader one which is, this story wasn't made to validate bi/pan people who date the opposite sex or whatever it was made to close Loki off to any other possibilities. One of those being Mobius.

Rewatching season 1 this decision is exacerbated because there are moments where they could have had him flirt with a man like when he was D.B. Cooper and boom we have on screen rep, but they decided “nah let’s just have him say it one time and then never acknowledge it again.” Again I want to reiterate, you can be queer and not be in a same gender relationship, but this is a television character. We don’t know their innermost thoughts like we’re reading a book we have to take them at their actions and we never got the opportunity for our first queer character to express that(at least in his own show because remember the grandmaster, but somehow that feels worse).

The executive producer recently came out and said Loki and Mobius were always meant to be platonic because they were trying to dismantle toxic masculinity by portraying “platonic male friendships”. A phrase I have grown to hate over the years because ALL WE EVER SEE ARE PLATONIC MALE FRIENDSHIPS. This is another parallel with issues I have with The Bear in which the cast and crew were like “why can’t women and men just be friends?” but only in reference to the black girl. Back to the topic at hand though.

Have you ever met a queer person who acknowledges they’re queer once and then never talks about it again? Especially someone with as much showmanship as Loki? Does that make sense to anybody? Even if he ultimately ended up with Sylvie(which I wouldn’t have liked but I digress) that would have been enough for me.

But instead we had this troubled character give up everything and everyone they love to sit on a throne they didn’t even want so that their friends could have a choice. So that they could have a life. And again I can find beauty in that, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. And I won’t pretend I do.

🥀End of Post🥀

sidenote ouroboros is so autistic tell me i’m wrong. he’s literally an autistic with no experience of ableism just pure autistic sunshine.

[skenisasleb]

Heya Tumblr doomscrollers!!

Here’s some stuff about me you should know. :>

Rick Simper Alert 😇

(and very big tone tag user)

Socials:

Character.ai acc: @skenisasleb

Or here’s one of my bots to find me easier:

YouTube: lilypad

Toyhou.se: XSkenIsASlebX

Artfight: skenisasleb

Identification:

Gender: Agender!

I can be called whatever you prefer me to be. You can use any pronouns for me. Including Bingus. Especially Bingus./j

Age: 17; which means I am a minor.

Tone Tags I Use:

/j = joking

/jbiw = joking but i wish

/srs = serious

/nsrs = not serious

/ot = off topic

/sms = save my soul

/silly = being silly

/q = quote

/lyr = lyric

/idk = idk whats wrong with me lol

/p = platonic

/isimdrnlnmjakeiafbifb = I sit. In my desolate room. No lights? NO MUSIC?? JUST ANGER!!! Killed everyone…. I’m away forever….. BUT IM FEELING BETTER— (mostly a dumbass joke tag)

Mental ailments (😔): Neurodivergent; ADHD and autism (I only suspect it though; I am not professionally diagnosed)

Though my ADHD is much more apparent, so sorry if I make no sense sometimes LMAO

Interests:

My interests change way too fast. Sorry if anyone follows me for a specific thing; I will most likely bail on that thing eventually 😭😭 (hyperfixations go brr)

Toilet Bound Hanako-kun

South Park

Raggedy Ann & Andy

FNAF

Evil Dead

Camp Camp

Invader Zim

Bravest Warriors

Cult of the Lamb

Rick and Morty

Moral Orel

Adventure Time

Over the Garden Wall

Smiling Friends

Ok Ko

Scott Pilgrim

Steven Universe

Good Omens

Popee the Performer

The Fifth Element

Craig of the Creek

Bluey

Friday Night Funkin’

Kick Buttowski (guilty pleasure show fr LMFAO)

The Amazing Digital Circus

Lackadaisy

Ranboo Generation Loss

Cuptoast

That’s Not my Neighbor

Mob Psycho 100

Roblox Regretevator

The Stanley Parable

Yaelokre

Music:

Wargasm (UK)

Lovejoy (Not a DSMP fan; just like the sound and Wilbur)

Kings of Leon

TV Girl

Mac DeMarco

The Killers

Arctic Monkeys

Paramore

Vacations

The Strokes

Fwango

Yaelokre

See my profile description for current hyperfixations and current status on art requests!!

Also, you can ship my OCs, canon or not, as long as its not sexual ^^

I ALSO HAVE THE RIGHT TO DECLINE CERTAIN ART REQUESTS, WHETHER BECAUSE IT’S INAPPROPRIATE OR SIMPLY BECAUSE I AM NOT INTERESTED. These are art requests, not commissions.

(I will add anything new to this if I feel the need to add more!)

[lunatic-fandom-space]

Oughhhhhh its like 2 am but im getting so fucking madddddd, I just saw someone be like "dont get me wrong, I love atla and I think Zuka is a great charater but I really think people with low media literacy really took away the wrong thing away from him" and I got kinda excited because I definitely think that about Zuko and him being held up as this great pinnacle of redemption arc writing but I feel like people rarely ever talk about it, but then the post went on and they were like "and by people with low media literacy I mean people creating cartoons nowadays, and by took the wrong thing away from him I mean theyre just giving everyone a redemption arc even though they didnt eeeeeeeaaaaarnnnnnn iiiiiittttt" and then the first thing in their tags was them complaining about steven universe and it made me so mad I didnt even finish reading the tags, I just blocked them. it was very lily orchard-esque if Im being honest

And like, okay, first of all, I think when people talk about Atla making redemption arcs more popular or "trendy", as Im sure this person would reductively say, I think theyre fundamentally misdiagnosing the issue. Atla didnt make redemption arcs popular in kids shows because it was a popular kids show and had a redemption arc in it, atla contributed to serialized kids media becoming more popular where redemption arcs are more common because idk, its just an obvious thing to write when you can write a continously flowing story where there are consequences and where characters can change, rather than having to reset everything at the end of an episode like with episodic shows. I feel like asking "why are there so many redemption arcs in serialized kids shows?" is like asking "why are so many prestige dramas about amoral assholes doing fucked up shit?" because its compelling, next question

Seriously though, while I as an adult like redemptions arcs in general as a tool for teaching kids about different perspectives and that people arent born evil and that life isnt just black and white, I can tell you now, kids dont watch kids shows to learn stuff, they watch them to have fun and drama is fun to most kids and redemption arcs are dramatic, so theyre showing up in kids shows a lot

So thats on redemption arcs in general, now lets talk about my issues with Zuko specifically, or rather, my issues with his arc being held up as the pinnacle of redemption arc writing. This is actually something that the original poster Im talking about mentioned as a positive, but Zuko isnt really a villain; hes an antagonist, but every season contrasts him against a Bigger Bad (Zhao, Azula, Ozai), Im pretty sure hes portrayed as atleast somewhat sympathetic as early as episode 3 of season 1 (although its been a while since ive seen the show so dont quote me on that), and he doesnt really have a lot to atone for because while he did believe in all the fire nation propaganda because thats what he was raised with, he clearly never liked doing what he was doing and didnt really want to do it. Like, all of his villainous actions have this air of being coerced somehow, which is fine, Zuko's arc isnt bad by any means, its a good character arc, but it is really annoying how it made people think that the only characters that its acceptable to redeem are good people who were manipulated, when I find redemption arcs about actual villains who actually did bad stuff of their own volition a lot more compelling.

It think it stems from a fundamental (and very christian) misunderstand of what redemption even is but this post is already very long and its almost 4 am now and my brain is turning into mush, so I'll save that for another time.

Tldr: Zuko's arc is an example of a good character arc, but I wouldnt say its an example of a good redemption arc because I dont feel that he was really that bad or was ever really portrayed as that bad, and I wish people would stop holding it up as the pinnacle of villain redemption arcs when its really more of a well-meaning guy who doesnt really know any better and is in a pretty tough spot rn that makes him do bad stuff redemption arc

[princess-of-the-corner]

Honestly, I always thought that TA's obsession on "plot twists" causes 90% of episodes to have aesops that are reverse of usual aesops trom cartoons

You know. Every time we discuss these bullshit plot twists, I keep remembering a quote from a Nostalgia Critic episode.

"How is that a good twist?!? We were never made privy to the idea that this was possible! In The Sixth Sense there were clues in the scenario that made it clear the twist could happen in this setup! Here they're just making up the rules as they go! And I know what you're thinking: "Oh, well, you didn't predict it so it must be a good twist!" Well, I wouldn't be able to predict if they all turn into Snowmen of George Takei, but that doesn't mean it's good! ...It would be more entertaining than this, but it definitely wouldn't be good!"

And like. The man has a point.

A good plot twist has setup. I've compared ML to Steven Universe's twists like the 'Garnet is a Fusion' and the reveal of Pink Diamond(and the secondary reveal of Rose being Pink) and Gravity Falls's twist of introducing Ford. Both of those series had little hints that had the fandom speculating since VERY early on. We caught on and made theories and fanfics and so SO much, and even then we didn't get everything right.

ML has either no setup, or the wrong setup.

The Sentikids are not set up at all. Sentimonsters aren't introduced until the end of Season 2. We don't get Human-shaped ones until the end of Season 3, which is when Felix also first shows up.

Chloé 'betraying the team because she's just an entitled brat' was not set up. They had multiple episodes showing her growing and changing. They had one where she learned to be a Hero in a crisis despite not having powers. They had an episode where the villains try to recruit her, and she tells them to go fuck themselves. Heart Hunter sets up her feeling threatened and betrayed and abandoned by holding her parents hostage, having Hawkmoth corner her while she's defenseless, and having Ladybug choose the only other Hero whose identity is publicly known.

[s-soulwriter]

Burning House -A story by me

Since I talk a lot about writing tipps,here is something I wrote !

TW: mentioning of death ,grief ,mental health and absuive childhood

"It's been four days now - four infinitely long days. Everything feels unreal, hardly graspable, and I still can't quite comprehend it. Sleep eludes me, eating has become a challenge. Every bite seems like an insurmountable hurdle. Marik is deeply worried about me. I know he's doing his best. In these moments, I feel like a teenager again. Tears keep flowing down my cheeks.

Yesterday, I cried because I couldn't handle the grocery shopping, The day before that too. My boss told me to take as much time as I need. My response was , 'I don't need time. My father and I were not close,' After her long, hesitant look, I apologized to her without really knowing why. Most people probably expect that you grieve the way they do, but that doesn't work for me. Of course, I feel tired and exhausted, but that doesn't mean I can't continue working. Marik advised me to wait a bit longer. 'I don't want you to rush into anything,' he said concerned, as if I were an impulsive person. To me, my father has been dead longer than four days , and with him, all the moments in which we could have talked about my childhood and all his mistakes have died.

When I learned of his death, I had just come home from work. I had placed my keys in a small, shell-shaped dish in the hallway that my mother had given me last Christmas, and then listened to the message on landline phone. I heard my mother's voice, who still uses the landline phone because she claims she can't handle smartphones. At first, I could hardly understand her words; she was sobbing and whimpering. It wasn't until I listened to the message a second time that I understood it: 'Father. The stairs. Fell. Died in the hospital.'

Since then, I've spoken with my mother a few times. My aunt Brigitte and uncle Steven have also reached out to offer their condolences. But I haven't managed to visit my mother. I moved out of home at eighteen, completed my high school in a different city, and went to university right after, where I met Marik. I haven't seen my parents since.

I still remember my father's last words vividly: 'If you just want to run away, then do it, but we won't take you back, you spoiled brat.' He never understood that I didn't feel comfortable with him.Not save, and that there were moments I wanted to talk about. This realization has set within me. He never tried to understand me, and now he never will.

The relationship between a child and their parents is hard to explain in simple words. I always tried to get understanding and acceptance from my father, knowing full well I would never receive it. I still hoped to prove myself wrong someday. There's a quote: 'If you were born in a burning house, you think the whole world is on fire, but it's not.' It never really burned for us. There were no broken noses and no thrown objects. My father never hit me, and my mother always wanted the best for me. Yet, it often felt so confined in the house that you could barely breathe. The fire simmered beneath the surface, invisible but palpable. Not a burning house, but a house full of smoke, where an explosion threatened every second and could sweep everything away. A house where T-shirts stuck to you due to the heat, and you had to hold your breath. A house where anger was swallowed to be able to smile and call it home. As a child, I always hoped that my father would set me free from this confinement, but by now, I've understood that he was the cause of it. Violence doesn't only start physically; it begins with small words.

Right now, I'm alone in the car. Marik is at work. He offered to take time off and accompany me, but I declined. 'My boss will understand. I'd like to support you,' he said concerned. 'I don't need it. I'll hurry and then be back quickly.' Marik wants to be there for me and protect me. He told me that after just a few dates. He even offered to set up an appointment with Dr. Marsch, his therapist, because he believes that sometimes you need someone specialized to talk to. I appreciate that a lot. I need his support, but ultimately, I promised him: 'I'll go in the morning and be back in the evening. It would be nice if you could cook something in the meantime.' My parents' house is only three hours away, and they never visited me during that time. My mother occasionally sent me messages, showing me what she can afford now that she no longer has to provide for me. 'Since we no longer have to support you, so many things are possible,' she said once, as if I had taken every dollar away from her. I've come to terms with it now and try to focus on the road and not the past.

Today is the funeral. The opportunity to ever talk to my father again is gone, and that's just the way it is. I'm trying to tell myself that everything will be okay if I just believe strongly enough.

I arrive at the cemetery. Most of the guests are already there, standing in front of the large church in solemn black attire, bidding farewell. I'm wearing a black jacket and a hoodie. As I step into the cemetery, a woman rushes toward me. She's elderly, with red hair, and as she hugs me, she begins to cry. 'Oh, Vanessa, it's you. I'm so sorry, poor child.' 'Hello, Nora,' I greet her. Nora was our neighbor. She had a little dog and used to inform my mother about every little mistake I made. She missed nothing except my father's angry words. She lets go of me. 'Your father was such a good man. Truly good,' she sobs. I nod, although he wasn't. 'I know he was. You're right, Nora.' She sniffs again. They didn't really know each other that well. 'He was always so great. Such a hardworking man.' I nod again. 'Have you seen my mother?'

Nora points in the direction of the church entrance. 'She's talking to a colleague of your father's. She's quite distraught.' I pass by her. On my way to my mother, seven people tell me how sorry they are. Four of them say how nice it is to see me, even though it's under these sad circumstances, even though they haven't made the effort to visit me in recent years. Five more people stop me, hug me, and swear it's such a tragedy because my father was such a good man. 'God always picks his favorite flowers from the field of people,' says a man who used to play golf with my father.

It sounds like something a thirteen-year-old teenager would post in their story. I don't believe in God, but I still reply to the man, 'Now he's in heaven. He has a better life there.' When I reach my mother, I'm so exhausted that I wish I could immediately get back in the car and return to Marik. My mother looks at me silently.

She's pale, with dark circles under her eyes, and I know she misses my father more than anything else. They were made for each other, just not really to be parents. Sometimes that happens. Some parents aren't good at being parents; they never learn . Some children aren't good at being children; they can't enjoy their childhood, or even have the opportunity to do so.

My mother gives me a brief hug. It feels formal. 'It's good that you came,' she says. 'Good to see you,' I reply. She doesn't ask me how I'm doing. She asks if my speech is prepared. 'I specifically asked you for it,' I nod, like a sheep. Always saying yes and amen. I've written a few words on index cards, which are in my pocket. Actually, I didn't write them myself. After my mother asked me to give a short speech, I had an AI write a brief eulogy for my father last night. The generated speech also describes what a good man my father was, a good father. I just want to get it over with.

The service goes by quickly. I hardly know how to behave. How do you feel at your father's funeral? It's my first time, and I can barely make out a word. As we stand outside by the grave, my mother weeps. The golfing man holds her tightly. Nora is crying too, endlessly. 'You can let it out,' a friend standing on the other side says. I say nothing. In my head, I repeat the words of the speech. Before my trip, I read them a few times. When the casket is lowered into the grave, there is even more crying. In the church, everyone had the opportunity to say their goodbyes at the open grave. I just stayed seated, didn't want to see him, didn't want to say goodbye.

I wish I could follow my friend's advice; I wish I could cry, maybe as much as I have in the last few days, but I can't let go here. I feel all the eyes on me, and it feels foreign. My mother says something. She talks about her great love, how they met when she was twelve, and he teased her in school. He pulled her hair, but she already knew back then in school that beneath the teasing was affection. Now, I want to cry even more. What an absolute lie. 'Life with him was the most beautiful thing in the world. Together, we had a daughter and a few damn happy decades. Whoever finds love has completed half the journey in life, and I thank Tom for walking this path with me. You were a good man. A good father, a good husband.' People nod and clap. Now it's my turn.

I go over to my mother. She hands me the microphone. A cold wind swirls around me, and I wish my jacket were thicker. I think of my warm office, or my bed, preferably the time from four days ago. I take out the index cards.

'Hello, I'm Vanessa, and my father is dead. That's why we're all here.' The words sound wrong, strange, peculiar. I read the next line with my eyes, but I don't say it out loud. I look at all the people who are waiting so hopefully, all with the same opinion: my father was a good man and a good father, they all say. They all claim. Suddenly, I become very angry. I look at my mother. I make my decision. 'I was asked to say a few kind words about my father, but the truth is, I can't think of many. I'll never be able to talk to him again, never be able to hope that he damn well apologizes for everything he accused me of, for never being good enough. But honestly, he would never have done that anyway.

All these years, he had the opportunity to reach out to me, and he didn't.' I hold my breath. The silence is almost unbearable. 'You're all right, my father was a good colleague, a good friend, a good neighbor, a good husband, but he was not a good father.' I hand the microphone back to my mother. Her eyes are wide open. She says nothing. No one says anything. People make way for me. I leave.

On the way to the parking lot, I feel like the whole world is watching me, and I imagine my father rolling his eyes one last time because of my words. On the drive back, I think of Marik and then of the burning house. The further I am from the cemetery, the more relieved I feel. Maybe I can eat something now, and maybe I should give Dr. Marsch a chance. The burning house and the world that's not on fire, that's really true. The world is not on fire. I have Marik and a safe home. I've built it myself."

[slymewizard]

I think its time to make a confession that I’ve been bottling up for a while now. I know that this might get me permanently exiled from the Adventure Time community but I just need to say it. And I’m sorry if I betray anyone with this opinion.

I didn’t like Obsidian.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good episode, I love the music and the flashbacks, and its still better imo than Wizard City (but to be fair that is not a high bar.) but it just didn’t really click with me for a few reasons. Before any of you get mad at me, let me make myself clear, I love Bubblegum and Marceline’s relationship. It’s one of my favorite couples in any series period. But thats precisely one of the reasons that Obsidian underwhelmed me so much. Episodes like Varmints, Sky Witch, and the Stakes arc established them as a badass duo who worked as a team. But during Obsidian, Marceline does most of the heavy lifting while Bubblegum just makes a lot of the problems worse. And I know that was a main plotpoint for the climax of the episode, but it just didn’t sit right with me to see Bubblegum so uncharacteristically inept. The team dynamic between them I had grown to really enjoy just didn’t feel like it was there.

Now this on its own wouldn’t make me not like the episode. It wouldn’t make it a favorite of mine, but I wouldn’t outright dislike it. Even at their worst Bubblegum and Marceline are still a fantastic couple and a joy to watch…

But then we have the glass kingdom.

Hooooooooo boy.

Ok I grew up with Steven Universe so I love Michaela Dietz and I mean no disrespect to her when I say this but GOD IS GLASSBOY ANNOYING.

Ok thats a bit of an overstatement, he has his moments, but unlike Y5 in BMO, he just feels kind of intrusive. And again, I get it, thats a main point of his arc, but I just never really GOT why he needed to be there. I get that theres a whole subplot but I would have enjoyed it a LOT more if Marceline and PB were the sole main characters. Heck maybe even throw a few more Simon moments in there. He just doesn’t really add much to the episode as a whole except an annoying third protagonist who really only exists to further his own subplot rather than the episode plot as a whole. (There were a lot of other ways Marceline and PB could have gotten to the glass kingdom.)

And then theres the subplot itself. I’ve come to have certain expectations for an Adventure Time plot. Call me entitled, but past the midpoint of the series it handled some pretty heavy topics with a lot of nuance, and thats part of why I loved it so much. It wasn’t afraid to talk about certain subjects that other shows tend to shy away from. And Bubblegum and Marceline were two of the most complex characters, so I had high expectations for Obsidian. And their arc, despite my problems mentioned above, delivered it well. The climax with them in the volcano and Marceline using the makeshift guitar to sing a heartfelt song that touched both PB and Larvo was genuinely beautiful and kept the episode from being a complete dud for me. But glassboy’s arc boils down to “Don’t make fun of people who are different than you are.” The second the royal advisors started making fun of him for his crack, I knew EXACTLY, what was going to end up happening. And wouldn’t you know it, by the end of the episode, everyone including the advisors reveal that they all had cracks this entire time because everyone is different and we should all learn to accept that…To quote John Mulaney, just because you’re right, doesn’t mean you’re interesting. This is a topic that any NUMBER of shows could have handled, and even then Adventure Time usually adds a bit of a twist or some nuance to even the most basic lessons, but the entire arc was just so cliche. The royal advisors talk exactly like they crawled out of a stock health class video about bullying. I may sound like a bit of an entitled asshat but am I wrong for feeling a little bit patronized?

So yeah I didn’t really like Obsidian. I’m not gonna make a sarcastic remark mocking people who would disagree I openly encourage you all to tear me asunder. There’s a non zero chance I will become the next Rick and Morty copypasta. I’m still learning about this stuff and if I missed some deeper meanings please let me know. And no matter what, always remember, I still liked this episode way more than Wizard City. That was barely anything for me.

[gazeshif-t]

And I also think that it hearing you talk about those very purposeful efforts towards cultivating a way to teach moral imagination to medical students reminds me of what I think has been a really meaningful and wide ranging debate over the last decade about the very purpose of higher education in the United States in general. And in particular, it makes me think of this really pointed and to me fascinating exchange that happened about ten years ago. William Deresiewicz, who used to teach at Yale, writes this very now very famous or infamous, depending on who you ask, essay in The New Republic called Excellent Sheep, where he makes this argument that higher education sees itself, especially elite higher education, sees itself as having these very sort of noble ideals and cultivating free thinkers and all these things. But that what it actually does, as he puts it, is mints, excellent sheep who are really shiny and really good at high test scores and getting, you know, prestigious internships and whatever. But if you kind of look under the hood and look under the surface, there is often not a lot of there, there, is the argument that he makes. But the thing that actually interests me much more than his original argument is that then as a very pointed response to his original essay, Steven Pinker, who’s a world famous psychologist at Harvard, wrote this response essay, and I’m going to quote a paragraph from his response essay. He says, “Perhaps I am emblematic of everything that is wrong with elite American education, but I have no idea how to get my students to ‘build a self’ or 'become a soul.’ It isn’t taught in graduate school and in the hundreds of faculty appointments and promotions I have participated in, we’ve never evaluated a candidate on how well he or she could accomplish it. I submit that if building a soul is the goal of a university education, you’re going to be reading anguished articles about how the universities are failing at it for a long, long time.” And the reason that that interests me so much is because it’s clear from the tone, even in just that quote, let alone if you read his entire essay, that he views this whole idea of -I’m not saying that building a soul is exactly the same thing as cultivating a moral imagination, but I certainly think they’re at least related. And it’s clear that this person, who, as I said, is a world famous psychologist at Harvard, one of the preeminent thinkers, I think, in his field of his era, views that derisively, right? Like, 'building a soul’ is in scare quotes to make sure that everybody knows that he thinks it’s such a silly idea that he would never put it without scare quotes in his own writing. Right. And I just find that to suggest such an impoverished view of what education is, like, what it means, what we’re doing as people who are teaching, sometimes medical students, sometimes undergraduates. And so all of that is to say that I give endless applause to you and your colleagues because I feel like what is needed is this sort of- because in medical school what that becomes -my formulation of what Steven Pinker is saying in medical school- is that it becomes entirely mechanistic or technocratic. Right. We are complicated machinists fixing complicated machines, which, you know, on one level is sort of fine. Like, you know, fixing the human machine can still be exhilarating in its way. But I feel like it just cores out the heart of the thing that brought us into medicine in the first place. And no wonder that we’re all burnt out if we’re working 90 hours a week being really complicated machinists, you could almost guess that that would be what would happen.

-- Tyler Johnson MD, The Doctor's Art Podcast

[hydra-collector]

Bruises Don’t Bleed

Voila! A fic! A Merlin fic!

Pairing: Merthur, could be taken as platonic Characters: Merlin, Arthur, mention of Gaius Words: 1,736 Summary: Merlin does self-harm, Arthur tries to help. TW: Self-harm, cursing, self-deprecating thoughts, death mention, almost panic attack

Notes: I’ll read self-harm fics, but they’re pretty much only cutting, which is something I can’t relate to. I wanted to write a self-harm fic that I could relate to more.

It’s fine. It means nothing. Sure, it hurts, but you’re perfectly fine, at worst frustrated at Arthur. 

You’re just…

Merlin’s foot tapped hard on the floor. He was fine. Nothing to worry about. Nothing for anyone to worry about. The bruises scattered across his arms and hands meant nothing. He’d always been taught that pain was blood. This wasn’t blood, therefore, not pain.

Stupid, that’s it, stupid.

Harder. Hit harder.

It hurts.

It hurts cause you’re stupid.

His mind was fuzzy and scattered, packed with thoughts and emotions that shouldn’t be there. He needed to feel something to drive them away. Arthur’s resistance to touch meant… that feeling was usually pain.

There’s gotta be something he hadn’t done, there always is. Arthur always had something for him to do. He couldn’t just be here, sitting around, whacking his stupid self with a stupid spoon. So what hadn’t he done? He’d done the room, clothes, boots, armor-

Stables?

Arthur had asked him. Of course. The matter now is finding a place to hide his spoon. Arthur had found the last utensil, a fork, inside a cupboard. Fork was better.

Bang bang goes your head on the table.

He finally willed himself to stand up, the world suddenly rushing back in. He was tired. He was tired a lot.

Just hide the spoon and do the stables.

Right, focus. Arthur might be back soon, and if Merlin wasn’t doing work… well, he’d be much more stressed out than he already was. Where could he put the spoon? Under the bed’s too easily seen. Cupboard was discovered. Closet’s too big, he didn’t want to lose it again and have to steal more utensils. Somewhere he could remember, somewhere Arthur wouldn’t look…

The floor. The floor was good. He could pry up a board, lot of them were pretty weak anyway. Yeah, he’d do that.

Be quick, Arthur’ll come soon.

Merlin found a loose one in the corner near Arthur’s cabinet. Maybe loose enough to pry up with his hands.

It was an ordeal resulting in at least three splinters, but he was hurting anyway, what’s some extra pain? He decided to get them out before hiding the spoon, though. Gaius was bound to notice if his hand was bleeding in several places.

This was a mistake.

Ice shot up Merlin’s body as a familiar voice echoed his name dangerously close to the door. The open door.

You’re anxious about everything, but forget to close the door? While hiding something? You’re more of a useless, stupid bitch than you ever imagined-

His mind would have continued ridiculing itself if not for the impending approach of Arthur’s footsteps. Panic rose in his chest as he pulled down his shirt sleeve, trying to stuff the spoon in the floor simultaneously. 

“What are you doing?”

Wanting to die-

“Uh, I, well, you see,” he tried desperately for an excuse. “I was, um, checking the floorboards.”

Why would you say that? What does that even mean?

Arthur’s gaze became more confounded as he stared at Merlin, who was tugging at his sleeve, nervous. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be cleaning the stables?”

“Yeah, well, I thought that the floorboards would need… checking. They’re old, you know. Got to make sure they don’t fall apart.”

“If you’re trying to check the floorboards to make sure they don’t break, you’re probably not going to help it by stomping your foot.”

Stupid.

He flinched from his internal abuse, hoping Arthur wouldn’t notice. It seems that it wouldn’t matter if he did, though, as he had begun to walk over to Merlin’s incomplete hiding spot.

Oh god the spoon the spoon the spoon-

“Wait-”

Merlin said this with no plan of an excuse. He managed to fumble out a few sounds, but nothing to convince Arthur to stop. So he grabbed his wrist.

It stopped Arthur with the sudden contact, but at that point he could already see the torn up floorboard. He picked up the spoon.

“Merlin, I will be absolutely amazed if you have a valid reason you were trying to put a spoon in the floor.”

“I, uh, dropped it when I was looking for woodworms. Yeah.” He’d already used that exuse, but it’d have to do.

“You were using a spoon to look for woodworms?”

Merlin tried to argue back, but his tapping foot, shaking body, and hand curled tightly around Arthur’s wrist discounted any lies he tried to tell. 

Arthur looked down at the slender hand grasping his wrist and Merlin instantly let go. What on earth could be going on with Merlin? What- what- what-

“What’s wrong with you?”

Merlin’s breath nearly cut off. The voices in his head were joined by another, one that was sure to be true. Arthur had said it, it must have been true. There was something wrong with him, he was worthless, useless, stupid, and grasping his arms tight enough for the bruises to feel.

Bruises are better than bleeding. They’re like inconspicuous pain buttons.

“Merlin-” Arthur began to speak, but Merlin’s wide eyes warned him not to. Instead, he took Merlin’s hand gently, guiding him to sit down. Merlin flinched at the touch to his raw bruises, but said nothing.

Arthur looked down to where he was holding Merlin’s cold fingers. “What’s on your hand?”

And of course, Merlin pulled away, whispering a ‘nothing’. This is the wrong decision, like it always is, and only aroused more suspicion from Arthur. He took back Merlin’s arm, rolling up the sleeve.

Damn, that hurt. Couldn’t he be a bit gentler?

“What the hell happened?”

Merlin’s arm was covered in blue and purple bruises. Any touch to them would hurt. His arms would try to heal, but then only be exposed to more abuse. It was a never-ending cycle of constant pain. He wondered how much he’d really been hitting himself.

Arthur’s hand was far too rough on his skin, but warm. He’d developed an automatic aversion to touching his arms, so they were never warm. He relaxed into the touch, despite the pain.

“It must be all that violent training you do. Y’know, hitting me with a mace through a shield.” 

“Are you sure that could make these kinds of bruises? They’re… everywhere.”

Merlin felt his cover slipping. It had already, but now it felt like the spoon battering his soul along with being revealed. 

But… would it be so bad?

Yes. Yes it would. Arthur couldn’t know, because then he wouldn’t be able to do it.

That’s my point. Do you really want to keep hurting?

“Well, if it is all that training, you’re probably fine. You’re not bleeding or anything. The knights can deal with it, you’re not that much weaker than them,” Arthur said, barely believing it. He didn’t want to believe that Merlin wasn’t okay. 

His mind swarmed with more evil words. Worthlessness.

I… I don’t think I do.

“I’m not fine.”

“I’m not fine, Arthur.”

Merlin stood and retrieved the spoon.

“I did this to myself. I’m not fine.”

“Bleeding… does not equal pain. I’m not fine.” And he repeated it, that he wasn’t fine, each round making him feel it. He wasn’t fine, and that was the way it was. It wasn’t okay just because no blood showed, it wasn’t okay lying to himself about why. He wasn’t frustrated at his job or Arthur, he was frustrated at himself. Hated himself. Feared himself. Feared he might hurt others, kill others. Kill himself.

And he cried. Like anybody would, coming to face that they need and want help. Wanting to feel more than cold metal on bruises.

Arthur obliged to Merlin’s thoughts. He pulled Merlin from his chair and sat him on the bed, wrapping his arms around his middle, making sure not to touch his arms. Merlin hugged back, burying his wet face into Arthur’s shoulder.

They sat there, neither prepared to talk, just content to hold each other. Neither had to think, worry, do anything.

“What- what’s going on, Merlin?”

Merlin’s eyes let out more tears, but in a few minutes, he answered.

“I- I don’t want you to think this is your fault,” Merlin began in a muffled voice, “but I need… help. Every little task is too much. I have to do it perfectly, or it’s worthless. I’m worthless.”

Deep breath. It’s okay now, Arthur’s here.

“It started years and years ago, when I was a kid. My family had to keep me a secret, and that got stressful. Every conversation with someone was hiding something from them, the chance that they’d find out. Every wrong word could blow our cover, and it would all be my fault. As I got older, it got better, it got okay. And, eventually, I thought it was gone. I… was wrong. Please understand that this isn’t your fault, but it got worse when I started to work for you. I had to keep my magic a secret from you, and I just constantly wished that I didn’t have to. It was so much. And I had to constantly do tasks and do them correctly and any mistake could lose me my job. Make me lose you. I promised myself that I would keep you okay,” Merlin paused, “but I forgot about myself.”

Again, he started to cry, holding on tight to Arthur. The bruises hurt on his arms, but that didn’t even matter at this point. Arthur was here, he was safe. He felt a warm hand stroke his hair, letting Merlin sink into Arthur even more. Right now, he didn’t have to worry. He didn’t have to hit himself with cold metal to feel. Right now, he felt Arthur.

“I know you said it wasn’t my fault, but I did hurt you. I gave you task after task because it’s what you were supposed to be doing, but I ignored that... you’re a human, too. I ignored how you might feel. And I ignored how serious,” Arthur took Merlin’s hand, gently stroking the bruises, “this was.”

Merlin wanted to tell him how much he loved him, appreciated what he’d said and done, but words couldn’t form over a mix of happy, sad, and anxious tears. Instead, he hugged tighter. With every minute that passed, a bit of his bruised soul felt a little better.

Now, there was nothing expected of him.

No pressure.

No more spoons.

It’s- it’s

“It’s okay, Merlin.”

[thewoollyviking]

Absolutely, it’s just so demeaning how they talk about Pearl and they only do so in relation to this relationship because they wanna come as as edgy. At least that’s how it feels to me.

Let me tell you, if you asked them if Ruby loved Sapphire the same way “a pet loves its owner” they’re gonna twist themselves into pretzels to run away from their own argument.

And it honestly doesn’t surprise me too much that even something that’s so easy to disprove and even has notes from the creator of the show to disprove it is still being repeated by people like this. The impression I get from a lot of these folks is that they either haven’t watched the show in ages and don’t remember things properly or have never watched the show/stopped around the time Rose and Pearl’s history was given more focus and got their opinion from YouTubers…

And Steven Universe apparently had some horrid Romani curse that makes it so trolls and grifters make online careers doing bad faith criticism of the show. I will not mention she who will not be named but we’re both thinking of her.

That combined with that fact that a lot of the meat of Rose’s history had to be given to us in a rush to get to Garnet’s wedding due to pressure from CN means that it probably didn’t leave as much of an impression as earlier parts of the show.

All people remember was Rose’s big secret and the Diamonds crashing Garnet’s wedding. But because they often make really bold or edgy takes on Rose and her relationship with Pearl, they almost never back off when proven wrong. Instead they almost always double down.

Before I got yeeted from Twitter, I had arguments over Rose ranging from “Earth wasn’t her first colony” to “Rose totally knew about the Cluster and just didn’t tell anyone”. These people are just making up fanfic at this point and their entitlement when it comes to butting into corners of the fandom that don’t wanna burn Rose at the stake and vomit their animosity towards her unprovoked has pretty much taught me that the only way to get them leave is to just show a pic of a quote from Rebecca and calling them out as an edgelord.

I say this as a big SU fan: If I had to give Steven Universe one glaring L above all else, while fully recognizing that it may be at least in part due to the final season & Future being so rushed:

It’s having Rose and her death be so heavily suicidal-coded (the art books went in on how much she loathed herself and thought she was incapable of changing, so) and yet ending the series with Steven being so irreconcilably angry with her and the impact of her death that he locks a reminder/representation of her away in a place he doesn’t visit so that he doesn’t even have to acknowledge her existence.

Granted, the finale ended with Steven getting therapy and clearly improving his relationships with the Gems, Greg, and Connie that were similarly causing him grief, but Rose in particular is a very specific case in that we don’t see whether he improves his feelings on her, and because she’s dead she isn’t an active presence in his life that he’s compelled to reconcile with. Greg is his dad and Connie is his girlfriend, he has to like them to keep them around, but there’s no incentive with Rose.

There’s also Greg, Pearl, and Volleyball still loving Rose even with the full picture, but to me that feels barely there anyway, a half-hearted tack-on.

I still have a big gripe with the movie for tacking on Rose’s treatment of Spinel and making Rose seem even worse than before, purely because neither the movie nor Future remind the audience of the ways she eventually improved. It felt like the writers went too far when they had already given us Rose’s story in reverse and already had the characters react negatively to the news she was Pink Diamond in the original show.

There’s obviously room for audiences having to remember these things themselves and that a narrative doesn’t have to point these out all the time. But a narrative bears responsibility for the way it frames things and the way it wants or expects an audience to view something.

Rose’s redemption arc being shown in reverse IS cool, in concept! But when the audience insert protagonist and a lot of other characters get this reverse arc and act like the terrible things are the conclusion of her self, that these secrets aren’t her past that she left behind but the mask being ripped off and the true evil monster being revealed for who she is… it doesn’t leave a good taste in my mouth.

That’s certainly part of why a good chunk of the fandom hates Rose the way they do, bc to a non-negligible extent the show is fostering their view, playing it out on screen without actually correcting it.

It’s obviously realistic and possible and downright good & compelling for someone to have a very negative response to another character’s death (suicide) and the fallout they’re left with. But a character who dies in such a way, especially Rose. deserves to be given sympathy and respect within the narrative.

[funnylittlefella]

My problem with the fashion in miraculous.

Part 1 Marinette.

This is going to be a long rant on why I don’t like the fashion in miraculous, which seems very negative but it’s probably just me over analyzing everything.

In 2015 Miraculous: tales of ladybug and chat noir was released, at the time there were already other rivaling cartoons (such as Star vs the forces of evil, Steven Universe and Gravity falls being the most popular ones) What made Miraculous stand out from other cartoons that were aimed for kids/preteens was the 3D animation, this made the show quite popular, especially since Disney's new 3D animated films such as Frozen, Tangled and Big Hero Six was quite popular especially on tumblr (because of the re-colours and redesigns of Rapunzel/Elsa and whoever else into a hipster or some other god awful fashion trend from 2010-2016)

Miraculous is STILL airing today meaning that when I was in grade 6 I was watching it, now I'm in my last year of highschool and we are finally seeing development in the show (sorry) however we have not seen any character changes in clothing which I know we don't see much but I feel as if Marinette wears the same 4 outfits and I WOULD LOVE to see a storyline where Marinette is maturing and decides to change her hairstyle and her clothing choices.

Lets analyse Marinette's everyday outfit.

Marinette wears a white singlet top(tank top?) with a black outline/trim, on the singlet top we see a flower design that appears to be a cherry blossom or lotus. Over the top of the shirt she wears a dark grey blazer jacket with a white inside with pink polka dots, she sports this same material but inverted so it is pink with white dots on her purse. For the bottoms she wears hot pink jeans which appear to have the same polka dot pattern on the cuffs as the jacket she wears, the jeans also have some weird ripped/line structure too them which has been added with a white stitching. She wears baby pink ballet flats with a slight heel and black lining and a bow.

I don’t really like this outfit, it’s very boring and I think that Marinette being an aspiring fashion designer would wear something bold that shows off her skills and her own personal style. I also believe that Marinette would be on trend, while being ladybug could potentially leave her with not enough time to come up with new designs, I think it would be a good concept for Marinette to be wearing a new design once in a while. (Even though I know it will be the same polka dot,baby pink, flower fabric that marinette seems to have 10000 yards of.)

For example, in Gravity Falls Mable would wear a different sweater each episode (don’t quote me on that I could be wrong)

Mabel wore the same structure of outfit each episode yes, but it was new each time. And while I wouldn’t consider this the height of fashion, it suits Mabels personality and shows that she is different from the other characters who wear the same outfit every episode.

SPOILERS FOR GRAVITY FALLS

Mabels constant changing of sweaters shows the chaos of her character, you never know what to expect with her, which is why she played a vital role in Bills plan, she was unpredictable and let her ego and own happiness succumb to her chaotic actions.

This would be an easy concept to implement into miraculous and would fit with the context, perhaps Marinette would make a new piece of clothing to wear each episode, it could start off with smaller accessories that slowly develop into larger pieces. If Marinette is sad, it could reflect in the item she chooses to make.

However that isn’t the main problem of the outfits, my problem is that I hate them, I’m not judging you if you like them in any way,shape or form, but personally I cannot see a normal teenager wearing these outfits, there is only few characters whose outfits actually make sense.

For example, Marinettes outfit feels more mature, as if she is working in an office, this does not fit her character at all, and while the colours are bright, the structure and presentation of the pieces gives off the boring dull feeling of working in an office and makes her look much older.

Now here is what I would’ve liked Marinette to wear each season. (considering the dates of releases)

Season 1 2015

In season one we are introduced to Marinette, considering Marinettes age 13. Bare with me, I understand these years are arguably the worst for fashion.

The reason why I picked this outfit is because it reminds me of Marinette, Taking inspiration from 2015 trends, we see Marinette following basic trends such as off the shoulder and denim materials, however, I believe she would add her own style by adding the polka dot pattern to the inside of the jacket (like her original blazer) and the skirt. This look is generally what I would consider to be basic Marinette, she could wear this throughout each season since it is a outfit that could fit into any time frame (2000s-2020) with a few alterations.

Season 2 2016.

2016 was also not a good year for fashion but oh well I digress. This season we get to meet new characters, including new miraculous wielders and love interest. This is also when we get a Marinette birthday episode shower her growth symbolically or whatever.

I decided to add ‘edge’ to this outfit, since we do see Marinette get hurt in a few episodes and struggle with having to choose the right people to wield a miraculous. on the left, I chose a bomber jacket since they were incredibly popular at the time, and dark heels to show Marinettes change, however underneath she wears bright pink jeans and a white turtleneck, this is to show that she is still soft and caring.

Season 3 2019.

this is where it gets much better since the trends and fashion were actually really good this year. We see a lot of important points in this season, we get backstory about characters, learn more about the Miraculous lore, AND we see Marinette be very mature and put Adrien and Kagamis happiness over her own.

This is how I think Marinette would dress and yes they are 4 very different styles, but I think that she would want to show variety not only in her work as a designer, but also as a person, Marinette wants to grow.

Anyways that’s all for now, yes this post is very much all over the place and I start point and leave them without conclusion, but it was fun for me.

EDIT: in my research I decided to change my idea lol, Marinette doesn’t wear the item she makes because it’s too expensive to have a character wear a new outfit each episode, but instead we just see her making a new item.

[thealtoduck]

Incorrect Harry Potter quotes but with my oc Juno Rosier

Warnings: the word suicide is used once.

——

*Juno when Ron got the howler*

Molly: Ronald Weasley! How dare you steal that car?!

Juno at Ravenclaw table: *gasp!* *quickly stands up from his seat* Cho! Cho! A howler!

Cho: *pulls Juno’s arm* Sit down, for god’s sake man.

Molly: I am absolutely disgusted! Your fathers now facing an enquiry at work and it’s entirely your fault.

Juno: Oh my god! So embarassing!

Molly: If you put another toe out of line we’ll bring you straight home!

Cho quietly giggling: To be fair, that is proper embarrassing.

Juno: Social suicide more like.

Source: Chanwills0

——

*Juno, Hermione and Ginny in the middle of the night in Grimmauld place*

Juno: I’m gonna have chocalate cheesecake.

Hermione: You bought a whole cheesecake?

Juno: For an emergency.

Hermione: What kind of emergency? Nuclear war?

Juno: Depression.

Source: The Golden Girls

+

Juno whispering to Ginny: What’s a nuclear?

Ginny whispering back just as confused: I have no idea.

——

*Hermione taking Juno to a muggle clothing shop for the first time*

Hermione: *Grabs a regular basic t-shirt* How about this?

Juno: Thanks but i’m not putting that on my body…

Source: Steven Universe

——

*Juno atempting to cook food for the Weasley family + Harry and Hermione at Grimmauld Place*

Juno to Sirius: Uhmm so because the cheesecake has not gone to plan, we resorted to plan B which is going to the supermarket and buying a cheesecake and were just gonna smuther it in a load of rubbish, nice sweets and hopefully they’ll never know.

later…

Ginny: Did you make this cheesecake all by yourself?

Juno: Yeah.

Molly: It’s excellent dear.

later…

Juno to Sirius: I don’t feel bad about the cheesecake coming from the supermarket, because i tried, i attempted it and it wasn’t my fault that it went wrong.

Source: Little Mix

[e350tb]

Steven Universe: Future

I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately.

OPINIONS under the jump.

So it took me about eighteen or so months to realise this, but I’ve finally come to the conclusion that I don’t really like how SUF was handled.

I like episodes of SUF on their own; Bismuth Casual, Why So Blue, Guidance, the Pearl one (I forgot it’s name lmao), etc, etc, etc, but as a whole, I just feel like the way the arc is handled is... not the best?

I feel like I’m stepping on eggshells.

So there’s this TV Tropes page called ‘Diabolous ex Machina.’ To quote directly from the page, it’s ‘the introduction of an unexpected new event, character, ability, or object designed to ensure that things suddenly get much worse for the protagonists, much better for the villains, or both.‘ And a lot of SUF feels like it’s specifically designed to break Steven in a way that comes off a little contrived. Like, there’s nothing wrong with Lars deciding to go back to space, or Sadie’s band breaking up, or all the Cool Kids leaving town in one way or another; but it all happening on basically the same day is where it gets a little... yeah. And having the episode where Greg comes back to help Steven immediately followed by Mr. Universe, with basically no time for Steven and Greg to actually chill a bit, is also a bit contrived.

There’s also the fact that we never see Steven’s recovery after IAMM also grates at me. It sort of grants credence to the idea that SUF is kind of misery porn.

Now, a lot of this is probably because CN only gave the crew twenty episodes, but I still think it’s a legitimate criticism. (And we couldn’t get any Steven recovery episodes but we could have A Very Special Episode? I like AVSE but still.)

And a lot of the season relies on everyone in Steven’s support circle (with the exception of Connie) basically completely failing him; the gems failing to follow up on his mental state after the cactus incident, Greg completely failing to read the room when Steven’s angry in Mr. Universe, Peridot promising to stay with him and then disappearing off the face of the Earth until Everything’s Fine, so on, so on). Basically, if all you watched of SU was this, you’d be forgiven for thinking Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl were antagonists. The plot also kind of relies on Steven being an idiot at key moments; yes, Steven’s a romantic, but he’s not catastrophically stupid enough to propose to Connie (and I’ve said before that that episode makes Garnet look like a complete dick. Like, there’s no interpretation of Together Forever that doesn’t make Garnet look like a total douchecanoe.)

And then there’s Jasper.

Jasper is one of the best characters in the season, and in the end she was basically just a plot point to further Steven’s angst slide. She didn’t even really get a resolution. Her whole arc is just there to make Steven a murderer feel sad. It’s kind of a waste.

So yeah, I don’t really like SUF as a whole. And I’m okay with that.

Does this mean I think Rebecca Sugar is a hack? No, of course not! Just because I like a creator doesn’t mean I have to like everything they make. You want to see a real hack, look at Butch Hartman.

Does this mean I’m leaving the fandom? No, of course not, I love this world, warts and all. I can’t write Connverse in Amphibia.

I guess I’m just writing this to say I didn’t like the SUF ending, and that’s okay. And I took so long to tell myself that because I was scared of being less of a fan because of it, or being told I’m wrong. But now I care less about those sorts of things. I like things the way I like them.

Bismuth Casual still slaps though. Such a good episode.

[kittyprincessofcats]

She-Ra S5 E08 - Shot in the Dark

There might be spoilers for the rest of the season in this post!

I absolutely LOVE this episode, and at first, I couldn’t really put my finger on why I liked it that much. And then Noelle tweeted this:

And yeah, that’s what it boils down to. This is the first *happy* Catra episode since... basically since “Once Upon a Time in the Waste” - and back then, the happiness didn’t last long.

(I also just think that story of AJ being so worried about Catra and Noelle reassuring her with every script is so adorable. I love to see how much they all care about these characters.)

Now let’s get into the episode!

- “Why does space hate me so much?” Yeah Glimmer, as I’ve said before, your powers don’t work in space because otherwise things would be way too easy and this show would be over way too quickly.

- “So, your plan is to, what? Ram through an armada of ships?” “No! ...Maybe!” 😂 I love Adora.

- The way Catra’s hands are shaking when she tells Adora they’re going to get caught... oh, baby 😢. And how Adora suddenly looks so worried... gosh, these two.

- Catra and Adora playfully arguing over whether or not Catra ‘defeated’ them in the past is so cute. I love this kind of ‘former enemies’ bickering and it’s why I was so glad they didn’t wait until the very end of the show to redeem Catra.

Bow: “Adora, Catra’s right.”

[Everyone’s eyes go wide.]

Bow: ... “That felt weird to say.”

😂 Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Bring on all the ‘former enemies’ bickering, please!

- So, is this just because Wrong Hordak’s “brains were scrambled”, as Bow put it, or do all the clones randomly blurt out that Horde Prime has a weakness whenever they hear someone ask about it? I’m going to assume it’s the former. Also, the way he keeps blurting out more and then denying that Krytis exists is super funny.

- I like how they set Krytis up before with Catra having visions of it back in Taking Control - still pretty convenient that just hearing the name lets her make the connection, but I’ll take it. (Is it meant to be some lingering effect of being connected to the hivemind that she’s having visions of it again now, or is it just her remembering what she saw before?)

- I love the detail that Darla’s information on Krytis is locked and they need administrator clearance to access it. Shows again that the First Ones aren’t that different from Horde Prime - they were also ashamed of their failure to conquer Krytis and tried to hide the information on it.

- “In- In- In- Incorrect. It is located nowhere, because it does not exist, because Lord Prime destroyed it.” I honestly think this line should be a meme. When you want to hide something from someone (but you know it does exist), just quote that exact line (kind of like “There is no war in Ba Sing Se”). I once said it to my sisters when they asked about certain fanfics I wrote as a teenager. (“Nope, they are located nowhere, because they do not exist, because Lord Prime destroyed them.”)

- Changes in the opening: Micah, Spinnerella, Scorpia and Mermista are now standing mind-controlled around the Heart of Etheria in the villains’ shot. They’re also all missing from the final heroes’ card. In that final shot, Perfuma and Sea-Hawk both look sad now, and Netossa looks angry.

- Catra touching her neck when she sees the spire on Krytis... 😢. I’m here for the angst, but I also just need Catra to get lots of love and comfort after everything she’s been through.

- Can we talk about how absolutely ADORABLE her space suit is, though? Bow is absolutely right to coo over those ears. And when she tries to take it off with her foot? And Adora laughs about it? And Catra smiles when she sees her laugh? ❤️❤️❤️

- Wrong Hordak still denying that Krytis exists while currently being on Krytis is absolutely hilarious to me. It reminds me of flat-earthers or anti-vaxxers, or people who try to deny Covid exists (while others are currently dying from Covid) - not that any of those are funny, of course. I just mean that wrong Hordak nicely demonstrates how ridiculous they can sound.

- Catra calling out the Best Friend Squad on how dumb their plan is and then reacting with “Honestly, what did I expect?” is absolutely iconic. They really were missing her as the team’s braincell all along.

- Bow and Glimmer teasing Catra about her “first mission”, Catra grumbling that she’s going to kill Adora’s friends, Adora responding with a really calm “Please don’t” - everything about this is perfect. 🤣

- Also, small detail, but I love how Catra has a hard time walking in her spacesuit because she’s not used to wearing shoes.

- The remaining rebels looking around the destroyed camp is really sad. Frosta immediately trapping Castaspella in ice and checking her neck is great, though. That’s what they should have been doing all along. Why didn’t they also check Shadow Weaver’s neck, though? I know she’s intimidating and all, but there was no way of knowing if she’s chipped.

- “How did the rebellion lose so many of our finest members and yet we’re still stuck with you?” Castaspella’s asking the real questions! I like how literally no one in the rebellion likes Shadow Weaver. (Though honestly, I’m also glad she’s not chipped. Imagine how hard fighting a chipped Shadow Weaver would have been.)

- “But if you try anything, I won’t hesitate to strike you down.” Castaspella said ‘I won’t hesitate, b*tch!’

- Every single part of Wrong Hordak’s existential crisis (and Entrapta’s handling of it) is absolutely hilarious. I’m not going to quote all of it here, but pretty much every line of it is comedy gold. My favourite moment is probably “It seems Wrong Hordak has begun to question the meaning of life” (and everyone’s annoyed expressions at his crying) 😂😂. (On a more serious note, though: As much as it’s played for laughs, Wrong Hordak turning his entire worldview around in such a short amount of time is also pretty epic.)

- Catra just cutting through that door - damn, she’s strong! And I love Adora’s blush! (Yeah, the door was probably just an illusion, but my point still stands. She’s at least strong enough that it doesn’t seem completely weird that she'd be able to just cut through a door like that.)

- “You have an arrow that turns into a magnifying glass? I can’t believe we were losing to you guys.” 🤣🤣 Catra realizing the people she was fighting are actually idiots will never not be funny.

- It goes hand in hand with Bow realizing Catra is actually a cute kitty with an adorable sneeze. Good stuff. And the way her tail gets fluffy when she insists she’s not cute? D’awww. (Bow saying “The angrier you get, the cuter you are” reminded me of that scene in Steven Universe where Peridot loses her limb-enhances at the beginning of her redemption arc and Steven calls her cute and “an angry little slice of pie”.)

- Castaspella’s cape getting stuck in tree branches and the like is pretty funny, ngl. This is why Edna Mode said “No capes”.

- Shadow Weaver saying that her gifts are “far subtler” than mind-control is very fitting. Her thing is manipulation, after all. She doesn’t need to control people’s minds when she can just manipulate them and raise them in a way that’ll make them do what she wants. It’s scarier than mind-control in a way because it’s far more realistic. Mind-control doesn’t exist in real life, but manipulative parents (or just manipulative people) who will mess someone up emotionally? Very realistic.

- I like that you can tell that something’s off about Entrapta’s voice this time if you pay attention to it.

- “Seriously? How have you guys stayed alive this long?” Yup, the people you were fighting are idiots and you’re the braincell of the team now, Catra.

- I love the creepy music when Entrapta tells them it’s the first time they’ve talked since the last floor.

- Also, I love how Catra’s first instinct is to just launch herself at Melog, even though you could tell she was terrified just a moment earlier.

- I really like the moment where Glimmer realizes there’s magic on Krytis, especially since she doesn’t have her other powers right now.

- Melog bonds with Catra because they have the same sneeze ❤️❤️

- “Are you... are you petting the thing that’s been trying to kill us?” I love this whole moment 😹. I also love how Adora is so protective of Catra and immediately yells “Get away from her!” when Melog seems to get angry.

Catra: “I’m sorry. I got angry. It’s something I’m working on.”

Adora [with sparkling eyes]: “Aww, you are?”

Catra: “Yes! Now can you please...” [deep breath] “Yes. I am.”

I love everything about this. Catra genuinely working on her anger issues, Adora being so touched about it (remember back in Taking Control where she wished that Catra would ‘at least try’?), Catra having to hold back her anger because she realized Melog responds to emotions - perfect. ❤️😂👍

- Catra is so sweet when she calms Melog down. And the moment where they form their bond is really nice.

- So, can Catra understand Melog because of their bond, or because they’re both cats? I’m assuming it’s because of their bond?

- Melog’s backstory is really sad. But Adora offering to take them to Etheria is a really sweet scene.

- I like the parallel between the Best Friend Squad realizing that magic is Horde Prime’s weakness (and that the only planet he ever failed to conquer had wild magic) and Shadow Weaver telling Castaspella that the First Ones weakened Etheria’s magic and they have to set it free.

- “Stop me if I try to take the power for myself.” I’m not sure how I feel about that line. I like how SPOP has very much written Shadow Weaver as ambiguous so far. She’s not a good or nice person by any means, but is she at least on the side of the good guys and really trying to help now or is she still only after her own selfish goals? I very much did not want Shadow Weaver to get any sort of redemption or forgiveness, and I’ve always interpreted her as still being power-hungry. So, I have mixed feelings about this line. I like that it canonically acknowledges that Shadow Weaver is still tempted by power and might actually try to take the magic for herself, but asking Castaspella to stop her if she tries makes her look more selfless and like she’s taking precautions against it. (But then again, could Castaspella even stop her if she tried? I’m pretty sure Shadow Weaver is the stronger one of the two. So, you could still read this as Shadow Weaver being a master manipulator and only saying this so Castaspella will feel more inclined to trust her and go along with her plan - while knowing full-well that she could easily defeat Castaspella if it ever actually came down to it.)

Glimmer: “So, just to make sure I get it - We’re going to go running through a Horde blockade while relying on the magic of a creature we just met?”

Catra: “That about sums it up, yes.”

You know what this means - Catra’s a part of the Squad now!

- “Punch it, Darla!” I still love that the ship’s name is Darla. Also, all of their expressions when they fly through the blockade should be a “draw the squad” meme.

- Catra holding Adora’s hand and getting embarassed about it ❤️❤️ (while Adora is dumb and doesn’t even notice).

- I did not expect us to get a Glitra cheek kiss this season, but I’m not complaining! Also, Catra complaining while Glimmer and Bow are hugging her is such a cat thing; I love it.

- “We made it. We’re home.” Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is actually the first episode this season that ends on a happy / hopeful note and not on some kind of cliffhanger. And I really like that. This is where the “space arc” of season 5 offically comes to and end and I’m glad it has its own little happy ending. (And as much as I like the final episodes of the season, the space arc is still probably my favourite half of it.)

I love this episode, mainly because of what it means for Catra. She’s finally happy, she saved the day, she’s bonding with Bow and Glimmer and constantly flirting with Adora, and she has an amazing therapy cat now! I loved all the bickering between her and the others and how she’s starting to open up to them. Also, Wrong Hordak was absolutely hilarious in this episode and I commend Entrapta for having the patience to deal with his existential crisis. This was a really nice way to wrap the space arc up and bring the Squad back to Etheria.

[Previous episode]   [Next episode]

[witchbitchheadedtoaditch]

Shadow Work Prompts

Objectively, I'm really bad at using shadow work prompts. I kind of hate them. That being said, I find I really get a lot of good introspection and such done when I respond to quotes or lyrics (likely because I'm a literature student), so I thought I'd share some of the ones I've got written down to work with!

From The Midnight Gospel

People really try to avoid the consideration that they're going to die and that people they love are going to die.

It opens your heart, it breaks your heart open. (Speaking about death)

Our hearts have been closed, because we've closed them. We've defended ourselves against pain. And this [death] opens them.

Opening your heart hurts.

If you inquire into the hurt, you know what you're experiencing is love.

[Death] is an incredible teacher.

The closer to physical death I get, the more real I get.

Love is supportive. It holds us. It has a quality of benevolence that we might have never noticed.

What is it that has the quality of benevolence? .... reality.

This experience of love energy is so powerful, that to combat against it, we build an entire life, an entire ego, to try not to feel it.

Ego death is a transfiguration.

Love isn't going anywhere.

The time of death is uncertain, but death is certain.

We suffer more if we resist the flow of the river.

There's no way to stop a heartbreak. How do you do that? You cry.

No matter where you go, things are always gonna be the same if you don't change.

Through love, all pain will turn to medicine.

From Steven Universe

Love takes time and love takes work.

If there's a chance I could make it better... shouldn't I try?

Are you insecure about your relationships and how you're perceived by other people?

Is it weird I'm getting numb to this?

If you're the one protecting me... then who's the one protecting you?

There are millions of possibilities for the future! But it's up to you to choose which becomes reality.

You are an experience. Make sure you're a good experience.

I never asked for it to be this way. I never asked to be made.

I am made of love, and it's stronger than you.

I struggle to stay strong because I know the impact I have on everyone.

Humans lead short, boring, insignificant lives, so we make up stories to feel like we're a part of something bigger.

Comedy is derived from fear.

You are going to be something extraordinary; you're going to be a human being.

Sylvia Plath Quotes

God, how I ricochet between certainties and doubts.

If you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed

I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.

Kiss me, and you will see how important I am.

Perhaps when we find ourselves wanting everything, it is because we are dangerously close to wanting nothing.

The silence depressed me. It wasn't the silence of silence. It was my own silence.

I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery--air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, "This is what it is to be happy."

Let me live, love, and say it well in good sentences.

Yes, I was infatuated with you: I am still. No one has ever heightened such a keen capacity of physical sensation in me. I cut you out because I couldn't stand being a passing fancy. Before I give my body, I must give my thoughts, my mind, my dreams. And you weren't having any of those.

Is there no way out of the mind?

I desire the things that will destroy me in the end.

I like people too much or not at all. I've got to go down deep, to fall into people, to really know them.

We should meet in another life, we should meet in air, me and you.

I talk to God but the sky is empty.

I must get my soul back from you; I am killing my flesh without it.

I felt very still and empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo

How we need another soul to cling to.

I have never found anybody who could stand to accept the daily demonstrative love I feel in me, and give back as good as I give.

I didn't want any flowers, I only wanted to lie with my hands turned up and be utterly empty. How free it is, you have no idea how free.

What horrifies me most is the idea of being useless: well-educated, brilliantly promising, and fading out into an indifferent middle age.

Eternity bores me, I never wanted it.

I am terrified by this dark thing that sleeps in me

How frail the human heart must be--a mirrored pool of thoughts

People or stars regard me sadly, I disappoint them.

Margaret Atwood Quotes

War is what happens when language fails.

Ignoring isn't the same as ignorance, you have to work at it.

Whatever is happening to me is my own fault. I have done something wrong, something so huge I can't even see it, something that's drowning me. I am inadequate and stupid, without worth.

Better never means better for everyone... it always means worse, for some.

You are your own voyeur

I read for pleasure and that is the moment I learn the most.

A rat in a maze is free to go anywhere, as long as it stays inside the maze.

You can only be jealous of someone who has something you think you ought to have yourself.

A truth should exist, it should not be used like this. If I love you, is that a fact or a weapon?

If we were all on trial for our thoughts, we would all be hanged.

Touch comes before sight, before speech. It is the first language and the last, and it always tells the truth.

The best way of keeping a secret is to pretend there isn't one.

I am not your justification for existence.

Hatred would have been easier. With hatred, I would have known what to do. Hatred is clear, metallic, one-handed, unwavering; unlike love.

But some people can't tell where it hurts. They can't calm down. They can't ever stop howling.

What am I living for and what I am dying for are the same question.

Sylvester McNutt III Quotes

The pain that came to you is not always a choice, but keeping it on you is. Stop the obsessive thinking related to it, and allow the pain to fade away.

The practice of staying present will heal you. Obsessing about how the future will turn out creates anxiety. Replaying broken scenarios from the past causes anger or sadness. Stay here, in the moment.

Remove yourself from people who treat you like your time doesn't matter, like your feelings are worthless, or like your soul is replaceable.

Everyone doesn't need access to you. Some people are draining and they don't even know it. You're allowed to say no, you're allowed to not answer calls, you're allowed to break plans, and if you need to save yourself do it.

Knowing me, I'll probably post more of this kind of stuff at some point :)

[antiloreolympus]

7 Anti LO Asks

1. ok, tell me if im wrong here, but i physically cannot find lo hades attractive because he just looks like a tumblr sexy man version of snow miser from those old stop animated christmas movies. like theyre literally the same 😭

2. I absolutely hate how everyone is making Persephone to be this bubbly little girl who is way too nice, and in LO’s case it’s the worst. Sure Persephone is associated with spring, but spring isn’t only flowers and happiness. Spring brings aprils rain, burning sun, in some places it’s hunting season, and animals which were hibernating wake up and go and hunt other animals and you know, kill them and eat them. Spring is uncontrollable weather, one moment it’s warm a couple of minutes later it’s cold again. Today is sunny tomorrow there’s a storm. Associating Persephone only with the good parts of spring makes her a weak and one dimensional character, especially since she is also knows as queen of the underworld. Spring brings as much death as it brings life. It is not a cutesy season and associating Persephone with it and just making it this cartoonish is a dumb move. In some panels Hades talks about how there were some moments where spring seemed much more wild and uncontrollable, since Persephone was the one doing the work. Why can’t we see that in LO? If Persephone is spring why isn’t she wild and uncontrollable as well? This part of Persephone should have been written from the beginning, instead of seeing a little melancholic girl who can’t say no to people.

3. LO could have beee more creative with the modern timeline tbh. Poseidon could have been like a Steve Irwin type with a sea-life tv show. Zeus could have been a fantasy version of a Prime Minister. Hera could be a socialite. Apollo could have been the leader of a band (the muses are his background sisters/musicians), i could go on. LO just went "uh, they all have vague businesses and cell phones" and that's it. Oh also they video tapes, you know a thing no one has used since 1997.

4. I just remembered that in a chapter when Hades and Persephone were talking, Hades told her how she seemed sad at the olympus party? And it doesn’t really make sense bc why would she be sad? She got the freedom she wanted, she’s going to a party without her overbearing mother, she’s with a friend? And since she’s so friendly and bubbly wouldn’t she be able to make friends straight away? She knew Artemis, Hera and i’m guessing Hestia and Athena must have been there as well. Was it so hard for her to just move around and see who she knew? And then we have creepy Hades who is like “you seemed sad, like me, at that party 🥰🥰” like??? Just bc you are sad and don’t like your life why the hell do you think other people are too?

5. I don’t understand why every sheltered character (usually if not always female) is always like “uwu I’m innocent and don’t know about the bad things in the world! I act shy at first but in reality I’m open and extroverted!” I mean some people who were sheltered are like that and and there’s nothing wrong with it but it’s never deconstructed or seen as creepy in stories like LO (i.e. naive young person x powerful older person power imbalance) why can’t we have a “I struggle to properly communicate informally with people my age and it affects me deeply, I’m cold and distant but I feel lonely at the same time, I’m outcasted for my interests because I‘ve been closed off from the world” type? A story about them developing relationships and getting some character development whilst still being introverted would be interesting, but I guess when you have female characters like that they can’t be sympathetic /s

6. I think Rachel shot herself in the foot when it comes to Persephone's act of wrath and the stans are basically fixing her mistake in their mind. If stans really wanted to pull the "she's a god, gods just do those kinds of things nbd"-card, Rachel should've actually made it no big deal. Instead, she put in place that gods cannot just kill mortals willy-nilly. Eros was going to be reprimanded for his Heartbreak Act of Wrath, but basically got saved by Zeus' General Horniness because, well... Zeus I guess? 🤷‍♀️ But the rules are there. If it's not okay for Eros, why would it be okay for Persephone? I low-key hate that I'm agreeing with Zeus the hypocrite here, but he is right: Hades (and the stans) are biased.

7. I'm only partially sarcastic when I say that I am low-key jealous of Rachel. I don't think I would be getting away with such an inconsistent art style- and I do mean in every way possible, she literally admitted on Twitter and I quote: "my drawing style is inconsistent, but I think that's part of the charm? Being flexible is what allows me to stay engaged with projects I've been doing for years now".

Don't get me wrong, there's an art style improving over time, heck there is a creator realizing a certain art style just doesn't work well on the long run and -TELLING THEIR FANS- it will change from the pilot chapter on, but then there's.... whatever Rachel is doing. Seeing how much the crew of Steven Universe got shat on for having inconsistencies while two animation studios were working on it just makes me wonder why Rachel doesn't seem to get that bs from her stans. At least Steven Universe has character sheets....

[kaleidoscopek9]

ALRIGHT-

SO

I've had this list of headcannons just sitting in my notes app of my phone and I wanna put it somewhere so 👀

(These are heavily inspired by what I could gather from the skele boys in @bonelyheartsclub! I just threw in a few of my own.)

-----------*

Sans

- Does a LOT of stargazing and has quite a few space-themed knicknacks and clothes in his room. He's got a telescope too!

- Dad jokes. Any time is prime dad joke time. He's never let an opportunity slip past him.

- He's an absolute prank master. You're considered lucky if you happen to avoid the ones he's planted around the house like bombs waiting to go off.

- He's cryptic as fuck. Always giving half-true answers to every question. Occasionally he may slip up and give you a brutally honest response, but that's only with the people he trusts most, and he finds being open to be very difficult.

- He's constantly referencing memes and vine quotes from days of yore. He practically has a database of every meme ever in his head, and he doesnt let it go to waste.

- Cuddling with him is basically a one way ticket to nap-town, and you constantly find yourself waking up to him smooshed against you on the couch after dozing off. For being a skeleton, he is a surprisingly comfortable snuggler.

-----------*

Papyrus

-So much baking and cooking. It's his favorite past time, and the kitchen never smells the same when he's done making whatever he's making in there (it's 12 times out of 10 pasta) And while his cooking may be sub-par, you never say no when he asks you to try his latest dish.

- He's always up to go shopping with you. It never matters where. Malls are his favorite, especially the big grand ones with fountains and huge windows. He makes it a point to bring spare cash because you KNOW he's going to ride the mini marry-go-round even if he can barely fit in the seats.

- You two love to binge watch cooking channels. Always discussing which foods would be the most fun to make, writing down recipies, and having a hell of a time trying to pause the show at the right points to get all the information down.

- Papyrus is notorious for game nights. He's always pulling out boards and cards that you've never heard of before and never starts a game until he's absolutely certain you know the rules. Winning of course, is always his prime goal when it comes to games, but if he senses you're on a particularly rough losing streak, he MAY slip up. Occasionally. Just enough so you can win a game or two. Or five.

-----------*

Blue

- Hyper as all hell. You give him a reasonable dose of sugar or caffeine and he could power an entire city for a few hours without breaking a sweat.

- If he had been in high school, Blue would have been a theater kid. He's always humming a tune from a Broadway show or Disney movie, and he's got a pretty good collection of songs on his brother's Spotify playlist.

- This guy will blast Steven Universe music at full volume he has no shame.

- If you are ever driving somewhere with him, an aux cord is a MUST. Singing in the car is a very frequent thing with you two, and you'll only get out after the song is over.

- He likes cryptids! Mothman is his favorite and he firmly believes he exists somewhere.

- He's your workout buddy. If he manages to drag you to the gym with him, that is.

- Blue hates seeing you down in the dumps, and is always trying to cheer you up with his quirky puns and jokes to get you smiling again.

- He'd be the best motivational poster ever. Whenever he picks up that you're going through a rough spot and falling behind on self-care, he knows just what to say to put the spark back in you again.

-----------*

Stretch

- Radiates goblin energy.

- A goddamn meme lord.

- He's made two or three widely known viral videos and nobody knows it was him.

- You need someone to go to an anime convention with? Stretch is your guy. He's god awful at planning stuff out, but he'll make sure you both have a good time, no matter what happens.

- He's really big into nerd culture, and he DMs for a dungeons and dragons game every week.

- He'll occasionally smoke, but he doesnt have lungs, so he does it more for shits and giggles than anything else.

- As lazy as he seems, he is very reliable. If he knows it's something important to you, he'll get it done. Chores though, he's a lot more iffy with.

- He really likes bees.

-----------*

Red

- Talks big talk, but he's actually a huge softie.

- He's basically a big pillow with sharp teeth that can curse.

- A nervous wreck.

- His brother shops at Hot Topic. He shops at Spencer's. Very convenient.

- He's a pretty big flirt and throws out little compliments and things to butter you up from time to time.

- If you take Red into a Dave and Busters he will win the most expensive prize at the booth in about 2 hours. (He knows how to cheat at every single game)

- He's a competitive gamer, and has a pretty impressive following on Twitch.

- He can go from loud and brash to quiet and insecure in a matter of moments, depending on the situation.

- He loves to bake, although it's something he will never be caught dead doing.

- Comfort is not his strong suit, but he will defend you without a second thought.

- He can be a little clingy and will text you now and again to ask what you're up to, just to ease his mind.

-----------*

Boss

- Professionalism is his game.

- The walking embodiment of Hot Topic.

- He loves to listen to rock and screamo music. He's also got a thing for Disney villain songs.

- You need some punk biker or vampiric goth fashion advice? Boss got ya.

- Skellator Man.

- Out of all the skeletons, Boss has the biggest ego.

- He hates admitting he's wrong. He would rather DIE than admit he's fucked up something.

- "I am not nice-"

- He could kill a man with his high heels.

- If it's got spikes he'll probably wear it.

- Tsundere. Tsundere. Tsundere. Tsundere. Tsu

- Did I mention he's a cold blooded tsundere.

-----------*

Nox

- Small angery man.

- He listens to a lot of classic and instrumental music. He finds it very sophisticated.

- Wakes up obscenely early in the morning. Always followed by a cup of the most bitter coffee on the planet.

- Comes up with the best insults. He could roast someone so hard that they'd dissolve into a pile of soot. He could glare at you and you'd cease to exist. He's that good.

- WILL step on you without remorse.

- Threatens to kill someone on a daily basis.

- Very rarely has spare time for himself. He's always keeping busy doing something.

- Loves dark, dry humor. A child falling off a swing will have him laughing for a good five minutes.

- Has a stone cold poker face.

- He might have a softer side to him. You may never know because of the walls he's built up around him.

-----------*

Rus

- He absolutely adores animals. He volunteers at the local animal shelter and plans on adopting every single dog there.

- Rus has a massive sweet tooth. Donuts are his favorite, and you can easily bribe him with anything sugar coated.

- A road trip master. You put him in a camper and he knows exactly where he's going and what he's doing.

- "Going off grid, fuck yeah- I pull out my credit cards and shred 'em."

- Hiking, camping and geocaching are some of his favorite things to do. He loves to explore the wilderness and it's like he has a built-in compass for finding his way.

- His ideal date is going to a Wal-Mart and causing absolute chaos by riding bikes around and tossing all of the inflatable balls from their displays.

- Cryptidcore energy.

- Rus loves watching Buzzfeed Unsolved and ghost huntings. He's a big fan of Supernatural and Stranger Things, too.

- Stutters and slurs his words a lot. He's got some speech impediments from the gold canines in his mouth.

- A bit lacking when it comes to social skills, but he can be extremely caring and sweet.

-----------*

Ash

- Very soft-spoken and awkward. He doesn't get much social interaction and is still figuring some things out.

- He's very self-aware of the wound in his head. Whenever he has to leave the house he wears some sort of hat to cover it up.

- Practically lives in his garden. He understands plants more than he does human beings, and he spends time daily tending to whatever he's growing.

- Him and his brother are both vegetarians, and the smell or sight of meat makes them both feel sick to themselves.

- Has trouble sleeping due to his reoccurring nightmares. He will often sit in his garden late at night to help calm himself.

- Radiates soft energy. He would absolutely give the best hugs out of all the skeletons.

- Very touch-starved. Physical affection is something he rarely recieves, and he probably lingers with touches a lot longer than he should.

- Unintentionally makes God-teir jokes without realizing it.

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Poplar

- Very well-educated in a lot of things. He really likes stocking up on useless factoids and making up his own just to mess with people.

- He answers Jeopardy questions with concerning accuracy.

- He enjoys going out to eat, and he's always up to try fancy foods.

- He likes photography and reading. He is well into the Harry Potter series.

- Poplar is prepared for anything at any time. A lot of stuff doesnt phase him at all, and it's difficult to catch him off-guard.

- He's willing to try anything new, once.

- Always willing to help out with schoolwork if he thinks you're seriously struggling with it.

- He's always carrying around small planners and notebooks to write in so he can keep track of things.