#oh and the fact that it was Joe who brought the idea

[chillingxy]

I don't want to ramble in tags since I think this deserves all my thoughts, I'll reblog it without words after this.

This made me tear up. I joined the fandom when s9 started, I didn't really get to watch tfc's content while he was with us but I couldn't help but empathize with the people who did as they stated to grieve him. And the same thing happened when the hermits talked about him, in their own ways and at their own time, as grief should be.

The most recent one was when I was watching Grian's decked out most recent phase, he found "And old friend's pickaxe" and he said something along the lines of "Oh Tango, what a lovely artifact. I know exactly who this belongs to. I want to make it out with this one" and my heart warmed. Both from Grian and Tango because TFC was their friend and they will always remember him. Makes me feel like I would have liked his content, and in a way, some of their speeches make me think I actually got to know him.

And the fact that you researched for this absolutely warms my heart even more, I'm pretty sure I put some more prompts down in case someone would like to skip this because I know how it is to research something from a country that's not your own for just a gift. However that makes me even more impressed and grateful about this, you really picture what day of the death is like and how it should be as a community, not a sad day but just a day where you can share some experiences, remember, and have fun together. Thank you. Thank you so much for this. I can't say it enough. And I hope everyone who reads this also enjoys it as much.

Day of the death is for everyone, thank you so much again<3

Edit because I need to say more

"do you believe in spirits?" "For tonight, yes, I do believe in spirits" as they are hearing sounds. IT MAKES ME GO SO. I love that detail so much. He's with them, and he's doing what he loved the most, he's in the afterlife, being a true Hermit<3

@chillingxy Here's your secret spooky gift! Sorry it wasn't available earlier, the research for this was...a lot. Definitely a challange, and opened up my eyes a lot. So I hope you enjoy, and have a Happy Halloween, y ¡Feliz Dia De Los Muertos!

also @mcyt-halloween

On the 1st of October, Xisuma woke up, put on his helmet, and immediately sent a message in chat.

[xisumavoid]: Everyone ready for the meeting?

[FalseSymmetry]: yup

[Keralis]: Born Ready!

{TangoTek joined the game}

[xisumavoid]: Meet at spawn

He snapped on his elytra, marveling at how the gauzy purple fabric solidified into a harder substance before taking off into the afternoon sky. He planned the meeting to start the meeting as the sun set, so the spooky decorations (appropriate for the season) would really shine through. He chuckled to himself. Get it, shine? ‘Cause the lights…would…shine? 

Nevermind.

He ignored the extremely bad pun, instead choosing to focus on not crashing into Grian, who had somehow gotten to the meeting spot before him. Grian turned towards Xisuma as he landed, stumbled and finally managed to plant both feet on the ground a mere block away from Grian.

“Hello Xisuma! How are you doing on this lovely day?” Grian leaned in closer, rocking on the balls of his feet. Xisuma brushed himself off before facing the avian. 

“I’m doing good. How about you?”

 “Oh, I’m doing ghoul-d” Grian giggled after he said the last part. Xisuma sighed. 

“I really hope you’re not doing this until Halloween.”

“Oh, of course not! Once we get past Halloween I’ll start on my winter jokes.”

“Winter jokes? Grian…” Grian simply laughed before walking towards the prepared seats and plopping down on the nearest one.

“Don’t worry, you’ll love them!” He turned his attention to an approaching flier. “Hey Mumbo! Do you want to hear a joke?” As soon as Mumbo landed, Grian bombarded him with his next joke. Xisuma left the two laughing as he started to take inventory of his surroundings. 

They were in a forest close by to spawn. The trees not felled by the Hermits held themselves high, against both player and sky. Their boughs were decorated with soul lanterns and jack o’ lanterns, combining with the setting sun to cast an eerie light over the rows of chairs laid out in a clearing. He was quite proud of his setup. In fact, he was so busy admiring it that he didn’t notice Scar until he was blocking his view of the trees.

“Helloo, Xisuma, are you still with us?” Scar snapped his fingers a few times as Xisuma blinked. 

“Yes, I’m still here Scar, not AFK.” Xisuma scanned the clearing, suddenly noticing that seats were filled with antsy hermits. “Is everyone here?”

“Yes sir!” Scar mock saluted. “We’re all ready.”

“Excellent, let’s get this show on the road!” He rubbed his hands together before walking onto the stage in front of the chairs. He tapped the microphone twice, causing all the hermits to cease conversation. “Hello everyone, welcome to the monthly meeting! As you know, it’s October, so we’ll be covering possible Halloween events as well as housekeeping. But first, does anyone have announcements to make?” Immediately Tango raised his hand, waving it frantically before bounding onto the stage. His fiery hair whipped and flashes as he excitedly launched into a spiel about the next phase of Decked Out 2. Everyone pays rapt attention to his rant, because of course no one wants to miss out on Decked Out info. Then, after he finishes, another hermit takes the stage. Surprisingly, it’s Joe Hills. Xisuma briefly wonders if it’s about Deep Field, Joe’s massive pinball machine/main base. Considering the outer space theme, it seems unlikely to be updated for Halloween, but not impossible…

Joe placed both hands on the microphones before speaking. “Howdy y’all!” The crowd echoes with brief “Howdy”s and “Hello Joe”s before lapsing back into silence. Joe gives a small smile, then continues. “As y’all know, it’s been about a year since our dear friend TFC passed away.” Now the area is truly silent. Even the wind seems to have dropped dead in its path. “And…I think it’s safe to say that we all miss him. So recently, I wanted to find a way to honor both his memory and his legacy.” 

He began to walk across the stage, but at a slow, meandering pace. “I found a tradition, mostly observed in Mexico. It’s called “el Dia de Los Muertos”, or the Day of the Dead in English. It’s a collection of days in early November where the dead are honored, but overall it’s meant to be a celebration, not a wake. Now obviously, it would be hard to replicate the tradition exactly in Minecraft, but I have a plan to stitch together something like it. So if you can help out, please let me know after the meeting, and for everyone else, keep your ears open for an exact date!” 

Joe nods once, smiles again, then exits down the steps towards Xisuma. His eyes are focused on the floor, and his arms have migrated to a crossed position. As Joe walks past him, Xisuma grabs his shoulder as gently as he can. “Joe, are you good?”

Joe turned to face him, and X noticed that his eyes were a bit watery. Joe sighed before whispering, “I just…hope it’s enough. I miss him, you know?” He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “I hope we can pull it off.”

Xisuma patted Joe on the shoulder. “I know we can pull it off. And I’m more than willing to help with your plan. Just tell me what’s needed, alright?” 

Joe gave X a side hug. “Thank you. I appreciate it.” He turned to look X in the eye. “Now, what are the chances we can get marigolds on the server?”

---------------

The chances, as Xisuma found out, were none. 

See, marigolds were only available via mods, and the Aztec marigolds Joe had in mind had no mods to their name. So, as a substitute, Stress had provided orange tulips, and was scattering the petals around TFC’s old base. Keralis was sweeping away the dust and cobwebs that had accumulated since the hermits had been there. All the hermits were chipping in to clear and decorate the surrounding area. 

Except for Grian, who had made the excuse to wait for Scar’s “surprise delivery”. Xisuma doubted the truth of that claim, but whenever he brought it up to Joe, the man smiled conspiratorially and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s a surprise, X. You’ll have to see for yourself.”

Suddenly, Grian chirped and screamed, “Scar, be careful!!!” Xisuma looked up to see Scar barreling towards the group at…concerning speeds, to say the least. Scar yelled back, “I’m always careful!!” before proceeding to crash head first into a wall.

{GoodTimesWithScar experienced kinetic energy}

[GeminiTay]: LOL

[Grian]: WHAT PART OF BE CAREFUL DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND

{GoodTimesWithScar]: sorry guys!!! is the surprise ok?

Grian walked over to the place where Scar had splatted and gingerly picked up a plain white box. He peeked inside, and let out a sigh of relief. “Good, they’re still intact.” 

X wandered over. “What’s intact?” 

Joe, who had come over during the ruckus, reached into the box and pulled out a small skull-shaped object. “In Day of the Dead traditions, these are called calaveras,” he explained. “They’re treats for the dead, but we can also enjoy them. Look at the details I asked Scar to do!” X leaned closer, and saw that this particular skull was dyed bright blue on one side, but stayed white on the other. “Is that Jevin, by any chance?” Joe nodded enthusiastically. “I thought it would be cool if they looked like the hermits, even though it’s not traditional.” “It’s a really cool idea Joe! Really cool,” Xisuma said. 

They turned their attention to the rest of the base, which looked ready for a celebration. “X, do you have the photo?” Joe questioned. “Yup, got it right here.” X pulled a picture frame out of his backpack, walked over to the front wall of TFC’s base, and hung it on a conveniently placed hook. It was a picture of TFC, in all his black-and-white glory. Xisuma stepped back and admire both the photo and its surroundings. The golden petals, the soft glow of candles, and the last remains of a setting sun gave the whole base a warm light, the same that radiates from a small campfire. He breathes in, then out. Then he turns to the small crowd that has quietly gathered behind him. “Let’s have a good time, shall we?” Cheers erupted from the group. It will be a night of celebration. 

---------------

The party is incredible. Food is passed around, glasses are filled with bubbly potions, and everyone all around has a good time. Toasts are made to TFC, friends recall fond memories, and the light surrounding his ofrenda only grows brighter through the night. It’s a night of remembrance and reverence and love. 

Eventually, the celebration winds down to a close, as most of the hermits decide to head home when Bdubs begins to loudly snore on Etho’s shoulder (don’t worry, the laughter woke him up). They choose to keep the candles lit overnight and snuff them out in the morning. The crowd slowly exits the base, pulling out elytras and rockets as they go. Eventually, the crowd is down to just Xisuma and Joe. The two decide to walk around TFC’s home one last time before leaving for the night, and that’s when they hear it.

Somewhere off in the distance, the duo hears a soft clink, clink, clink. Joe looks over at Xisuma with a quizzical look. Xisuma shrugs his shoulders. He didn’t have a clue as to where the sound came from. 

There it was again, clink, clink, clink. This time Joe pointed over to a small hole leading downwards. It was TFC’s stripmine, located a few blocks away from his base. Xisuma motioned for Joe to follow him as he walked towards the entrance. 

Down they went, past stone and more stone and a few leftover coal ores. They reached an area where the clinking got loud. “Is someone strip-mining down here?” Joe asked. Xisuma scanned the area, but saw nobody, and no torches. “Well, I don’t think anyone’s down here. Should we head back up?” Joe nods once before making a beeline for the exit. They make it all the way to the top before Joe holds a hand out a block him. “Look over there.” He points over to where the hermits had gathered earlier.

The petals, previously scattered, were now arranged in a pattern. “Thank you,” both hermits mouthed the word silently before turning to each other.

“Do you believe in spirits?” Xisuma asked Joe. Joe thought about that for a moment then said, “Well, depends. What are the chances that Grian, Scar, or somebody else with a mischief streak snuck back to do this?” “Possible, but not likely,” X replied. “Then,” Joe concluded, “for tonight, yes. I believe in spirits.”

The two stood in silence for a bit, before Joe suddenly said, “Well, I’m exhausted. I’ll see you at the meeting tomorrow?” The hermits had agreed to push back the next monthly meeting until after the Day of the Dead. “Yeah, see you tomorrow Joe.” Xisuma waved to Joe before heading off towards home.

Xisuma walked away, satisfied yet tired. Tomorrow was another meeting, another month, another day forward into the future. Yes, he missed TFC, but he knew that he and the other hermits would carry the man’s spirit with him until he too, faded away. 

Somewhere in the background, a wind picked up, swirled the orange petals, and carried them off into a twinkling sky.

[rosabell14]

The hunters of Artemis, Reyna, and Asexuality in Riordan's writing

I kinda started thinking about this since Reyna became a hunter. I could never articulate why I hated this Choice. I was asexual after all. Shouldn't I be happy about this rep? We Ace people barely get any after all. Then I realized that it's because I just didn't like the hunters as ace representation. And I didn't need to be grateful for mediocrity.

You want to know why the hunters of Artemis suck in general? And as Ace rep specifically? Because Riordan did not write them with that mindset.

Like people are so busy hailing this man as the king of representation in literature(blegh) that they forgot how heteronormative and white(sometimes racist) the original series was. Y'all really think this man was thinking about writing asexuals in the year 2007? Get real. What Riordan was doing was a white man trying to write feminism and failing (there's a reason most of his female characterization of female characters boils down to tough "not like other girls" characters who are dicks to the boys around them yet also to the girls around them if they're jealous)

Now onto the hunters.

The hunters when first presented in TTC are not a group of asexuals but rather religious celibates. Fantasy Pegan nuns if you may. The first problem arises when their ages are brought up.

"Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen..."

Remember, before ToA gave us Emmie and Jo, the hunters WERE all young girls. Now why in the world are they so young? Especially when in the actual myths, the hunters could come from any age whatsoever? Well the reason is a doozy.

"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked.

"Uh… a little."

"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray."

"Go astray?" I asked.

"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."

Hooo boy. What a way to phrase it. Going astray. Losing themselves. This kinda confirms that the reason why Artemis goes after young girls specifically is because she only wants girls who have yet to finish puberty. Girls have yet to discover their own sexuality. Now I'm not a representative of Asexuals everywhere, but I'm pretty sure most of us don't discover our sexuality at the age of ten. Let alone have the maturity to decide to become celibates about it. And let me reiterate: celibacy is not sexuality. Sure asexual people CAN choose to be celibates but it's not the same thing at all. In fact Zoe and Thalia are big cases for this. Both of them had liked men before(herakles and luke) but joined for their own reasons. Thalia to escape the prophecy and Zoe out of heartbreak. Hell, Bianca herself is mostly swayed by the idea of having no responsibility and a new family.

Now Rick does another thing that goes against the myths. The exclusion of make hunters. Artemis frequently hung around or taught male hunters who respected her. Daphnis, Scamandrius, freaking Hippolytus whom Artemis greatly cared about. Oh but we need to come up with bullshit reasons why Nico can't just join the hunt with his sisters so the hunters of Artemis are all: Ewww men. Also note how at no point does Riordan mention people who fall in love with women.

Now the next point is the oath itself. Artemis says this:

"What oath?" I said.

"To forswear romantic love forever," Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."

When I tell you that Emmy and Joe were retcons . Rick was freaking INSISTENT on the hunters being kids. Also note the three points: to never fall in love, to never get married, to stay a maiden.

I mean I think I don't need to explain why obsessing over the virginity of young girls is creepy. Does Riordan think girls older than fourteen can't keep it in their pants? And let me be adamant here Riordan only cares about the virginity Clause here. He mentions falling in love and marriage because he sees them inherently intertwined with sex.

Now onto the wording of the oath itself:

'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'

I mean you might be able to interpret men here as mankind and therefore excluding women as well. But I have many reasons to believe that Riordan didn't even CONSIDER women as a possibility(someone inform this man that lesbians existed smh 😞). Also note that falling in love is not mentioned in the actual oath but maidenhood is.

Now onto the next big issue. Percy Jackson's Greek gods and its chapter on Artemis. It basically confirms all of my problems.

"IT’S NOT THAT ARTEMIS HATED ALL MEN, just most of them. From the moment she was born, she knew one critical fact: Guys are kinda gross."

No mention of girls. In this chapter Percy(Rick) brings up Artemis' disdain for dudes over and over again.

“Let me be a maiden forever, Father,” Artemis said, twirling her finger in Zeus’s beard. “I never want to get married.---- But you can grant me a bunch of followers: ocean nymphs, river nymphs, wood nymphs—what the heck, how about mortal girls, too? Any girls who want to join me can become my followers, as long as they remain maidens like me. They should probably make the decision when they’re about nine years old, before they get interested in boys, because after that, they’ll be all distracted and of no use to me.”

Yikes yikes yikes. Ladies and gentlemen the age has been lowered to 9. Freaking 9. Also I guess girls older than that don't need Artemis' protection then? (the real problem is that older/married girls should be out of Artemis's jurisdiction and under the protection of other gods like Hera, Hestia, and Ares. But Hestia is barely there. Hera is terrible and the Amazons also suck)

Now when I tell you that Artemis' big point was about virginity, I mean it. This actually has mythological evidence.

The myths actually DO mention what happens when female hunters fall in love. Rhodopis and Euthynicus were two hunters who offended Aphrodite by choosing a chaste life so she had Eros make them fall in love. However note that they weren't booted out of the hunters for falling in love, but rather after having sex in a cave. THAT was what Artemis took offense to.

Another myth is the story of Aura. A huntress who offended Artemis by comparing their breasts(Greek mythology am I right?). Saying that her breast were better than Artemis' because they were smaller and hey maybe that means that Artemis isn't actually a maiden. Artemis punishes her by making her lose her VIRGINITY. She goes to nemesis for revenge. Nemesis goes to Eros who makes Dionysus fall in love with Aura and when Aura refuses his advances he ties her up and... Yeah you can guess where I'm going with this.

But hey! Those myths aren't in the Greek gods book. You know which myth is? The myth of C(K)allisto. And this one angers me so much I want to chew on the drywall.

The way Riordan writes it. Zeus turns himself into Artemis, brings Kallisto's guards down with the disguise, gets close to her and then when Kallisto REJECTS Artemis' supposed advances, forces himself on her. I need to say this again. Kallisto does not fall in love, she isn't seduced, she does not break her oath. But we still need a reason for her to be yeeted out of the hunters so her lack of maidenhood it is

“You were my favorite,” Artemis said. “If you had come to me immediately, I could have helped you. I would have found you a rich, handsome husband and let you settle into a new life in the city of your choice. I would have allowed you to retire from the Hunt with honor. You could have gone in peace. Zeus’s assault was not your fault.”

Kallisto sobbed. “But I didn’t want to lose you! I wanted to stay!”

Artemis felt like her heart was breaking, but she couldn’t show it. She had rules about her followers. She couldn’t allow those rules to be broken, not even by her best friend. “Kallisto, your crime was keeping the secret from me. You dishonored me, and your sisters of the Hunt, by not being honest. You defiled our company of maidens when you were not a maiden yourself. That I cannot forgive.”

I want to slap this man so hard he flies to the opposite side of the universe. We are not here to blame victims of assault guys! Except we are! But with extra steps. If you get attacked, it's not your fault, but If you are too scared to admit the truth then you deserve to lose your only safe space and turn into a bear. Oh nooooo Kallisto DEFILED Artemis' company by being an icky non virgin. The moment you lose your virginity even if it's not your fault you get punished. But not because I'm gross but because YOU lied. How terrible! And he expects us to feel for ARTEMIS???

But rosabell! This is how things go in the myths. What was uncle Rick (bleghhhh) supposed to do? I don't know... Choose a different version of the story? There are versions were Zeus/Hera are the ones who transform Kallisto into a bear. There are versions where Kallisto actively CHOOSES to sleep with Artemis. Granted it's still assault because she's being lied to but at least then, she'd have a degree of autonomy in the events. At least Artemis could rightfully accuse her of breaking her oath. But noooo, Riordan doesn't know lesbians exist. He actively makes Zeus into a canonical Ra*ist. Why is he on the throne again?

(the fact that this book came out AFTER HoH y'all 😭)

Once again, Riordan sees maidenhood(virginity)/love/marriage as intertwined. This is NOT what being on the aroace spectrum means. You can fall in love but not have sex. You can have sex but not fall in love. You can have sex AND still be an asexual. You can be married and still be a "maiden". Riordan doesn't get to claim to be such a progressive ally for retconning the hunters in 2017, TEN years after he first introduced the hunters because he suddenly remembered that lesbians exist.

Or more like because he doesn't know what to do with his female characters. The hunters more than anything are Riordan's heroine dumping ground. If you don't want it put them in relationships, either kill them(Bianca whose main purpose is to die) or make them eternal virgins(the hunters, Rachel). The fact that some people genuinely think that Calypso should have joined the hunters astound me. Girl suffered for years because of the gods and you all think that the best thing outside of Leo for her(not that I like Caleo) is to become a servant to the gods? Because you can't perceive a female character doing anything else if she's not in a relationship. Like with Thalia, this at least made sense on a strategic level because she didn't want to reach sixteen. Oh but we also don't know what else to do with her so she needs to want to be a hunter after the war is over so we give her a half-assed argument with Luke and now she can be all: wah wah Zoe you were totally right about boys. And the cherry on the cake is that she doesn't even get to be in the final confrontation with Luke or say goodbye to him because of a freaking STATUE. And after pjo her personality becomes Zoe 2.0 and her and Jason get ONE measly meeting.

When I first spoke of not liking Renya joining the hunters this is what I mean. Riordan had so many options with Reyna. Why did she have to leave her esteemed position which she worked so hard for? Two boys rejected her? Why couldn't she go reconnect with her sister more then? She could have joined the Amazons. But nooo Riordan was so allergic to the fans asking him wether she could be Bi or a lesbian. For the stupidest reasons too? Oh Reyna being a lesbian would come off as stereotypical because she got rejected by two guys beforehand! My dude, do you think people don't say the same thing about us who are on the aroace spectrum? That we say we are aro/ace because we got rejected before? Come up with a better excuse next time.

My brother in Christ couldn't even allow Reyna to talk about her sexuality and whatnot. It couldn't even be fully about her. No. He had to turn Reyna into his own mouthpiece admonishing the EVILLLL fans who may have shipped Thalia and Renya. He literally had her say the word "shipping". How cringe can you get? And then he had the audacity to admonish the fans by saying: Why does a strong friendship always have to progress to romance?

It's a sentiment I agree with but coming from this man, it's extremely hypocritical? I don't know Richard maybe because YOU are obsessed with shipping? No character can escape your shipping hands unless they're eternal virgins or dead. You literally turned the Argo2 into Noah's ark2. So much attention focused on shipping that the seven barely felt like friends.

Why does Reyna need to join the hunters? She can choose to not relationship without having to become a servant to female Peter pan.

This is actually a really adequate metaphor when you consider that Emmie and Jo say that they have not met Artemis in YEARS and Apollo mentions that the two of them were lucky she let them LIVE. god can you imagine joining Artemis when you are 9? At an age when you have still not finished maturimg cognitively and therefore shouldn't be trusted on taking a freaking celibacy vow(were you even given the talk yet that age) and after 70 years you decide you want to leave? If you're lucky Artemis will part with you on good terms but SIKES every person you probably knew before joining is now dead. Where is THAT angsty Bianca fic?

Speaking of Bianca. How she was handled also angers me. In another post, I've already talked about how the hunters barely gave her adequate information before letting her join.

How Zoe was the main reason for her death. Zoe KNEW that at least 2 people might die in the quest she was given and yet she decided to bring the least experienced girl to the quest and couldn't even watch her properly.

But you know what else pisses me off? The fact that THEY should have been the one to tell Nico about his sister's death. I've always hated how Chiron made Percy the CHILD tell Nico the other CHILD about his sister dying. But more than anyone, it should have been the hunters' responsibility. Bianca was THEIR responsibility. She died in a quest to save Artemis. The least they could do was tell her remaining family of her fate. The Doylist reason of course is that we need to kickstart Nico and Percy's complicated relationship and have Percy discover that Nico is a son of Hades. But in universe, the fact that they immediately fuck off from the camp upon regrouping makes them come off as extremely selfish. We don't even know if Bianca was given a funeral by them or not. We see Artemis being upset about Zoe but we never see her react to the news of losing Bianca.

[tonycries]

Five months ago me and my ex were arguing and he brought up the fact that over a year before that he had went through my phone expecting to find me cheating and instead found over a hundred drafts of fanfiction in my docs that I wrote and he didn’t watch anime so he had no idea who any of the men I was writing about were

Oh my god WHAT 😭 I had to read all that n' then re-read that first bit five separate times to make SURE that it said "ex" PHEW 😭😭

I can already see him reading through a toe-curlingly filthy draft and being all "who the hell is go JOE 😡" SUUUUPER glad you got out of that lovely, sending my best wishes <3

[burreauxwrites]

“LOATHING” - (joe burrow x oc)

CHAPTER TWO - “pinkie promise”

word count: 2k

warnings: angst, cussing, a bit of fluff if you look hard enough.

winnie practically skips towards the school cafe; she’s absolutely elated. tryouts were a success and she ended making the team as the libero. she’s excited beyond belief, and she can’t wait to tell her friends. but as she heads that way, something, or someone stops her.

“ugh…oh my god…it’s you…” emma sneers.

of course. the chippy blonde who always had to get her way somehow.

at first, winnie looks around in confusion. surely they mean someone else. she points at herself as if to ask “me?”

“yes, you,” emma scoffs, folding her arms, “that little stunt you pulled the other day with joe was not cool.”

raising an eyebrow, winnie shrugs. “what stunt? we hate each other’s guts right now,” she explains, laying out their dynamic at the moment, “me cussing him out isn’t a stunt.”

she can’t believe she’s explaining this to some…girl. anyone can see the fact that winnie wants to strangle joe, and vice versa. they are not happy with each other, which is an obvious thing.

“well, i think you should speak to my man nicely…” emma threatens, though is it really a threat? to winnie, it isn’t; in fact, she’s willing to engage in some banter.

before winnie can get a word in, someone coughs behind her. she turns, and sure enough, it’s joe. and to her surprise, he’s not glaring at her or saying something snarky. he seems rather annoyed with…emma?

“what’s going on?” joe asks, rubbing his forehead slightly as he looks between winnie and emma.

winnie watches as emma points and laments dramatically, whining about how she was being harassed and this, that, and the third. if she hadn’t been so annoyed, winnie would’ve found it comical almost. after all, she barely even got to get a word in.

“look,” joe says, looking at emma, “just…leave it alone. it’s no use stressing yourself over this.”

“but she was mean to me! and you!”

“i really don’t care. leave her alone.” he groans, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

truthfully, joe has no idea why he’s coming to winnie’s defense. he’s not really fond of her right now. he doesn’t expect to be fond of her. but it’s something about the way she was being treated, he supposes. he could recall those days in middle school all too well when people made fun of winnie. it’s almost…like some sort of weird deja vu thing. and well, he can’t help but act on it.

joe and winnie watch as emma storms away, pouting as she slings her bag over her shoulder.

confused, but slightly grateful (she guesses), winnie looks at joe. “what the hell was that about?” she questions, having so many things that she has to ask.

“what do you mean ‘what the hell was that about’?” joe grumbles, folding his arms. “i defended you. she was bothering you. wasn’t she?”

she can’t just…lie. she was being a pain. “i mean, yes,” winnie exhales, “but that doesn’t mean i couldn’t handle it by myself.”

joe chuckles, partially in amusement and partially to hide his shock. he’s never taken winnie as the defensive, “i’ll kick your ass” type. at least…not the winnie he used to know. back then, she was docile, meek, she couldn’t even hurt a fly, even if she wanted to.

“so what i’m hearing is, you’re not thankful for my help.” joe looks at winnie for a response.

ugh. how was she supposed to answer that? say no? yes? she was thankful that he got emma to go away. very thankful for that. but she’s still aggravated with him. beyond belief. she’s still hurt. he’s been nothing but mean to her.

“i could’ve lived without it.” winnie murmurs.

“bullshit,” joe derides, shaking his head, “you would’ve started crying the moment her voice even slightly picked up. or at least…the old winnie i know would’ve.”

winnie notices his voice softens a little at that. the old winnie. she doesn’t want to admit it, but it does warm her heart knowing that there’s some part of her that he remembers.

ja’marr brought up a good point of trying to reconcile with joe. but winnie has no idea what to say or do. the past few interactions they’ve shared has left them more and more annoyed. though at the same time, maybe it’s a risk that’ll be worth taking. if the two of them become friends again, then that’s fine. if not, then that’s also fine.

“i um…gotta go. my friends are waiting for me,” winnie mumbles, looking at joe, “but…i want to talk with you. after school.”

intrigued by this offer, joe hums. “about what…? i have important stuff to do later, and i can’t waste time.”

“oh my god, just meet me at the entrance to the library, okay?” winnie sighs in exasperation, throwing her hands up. she walks away, muttering under her breath “he’s so fucking difficult.”

and now joe is stuck with two decisions. he can just not speak with her and live on with his life. he doesn’t really have any strong desire to speak with her. but by judging her tone, she really needs to tell him something; either that, or some other thing. and he’s curious.

the thought of reconciliation doesn’t exactly cross his mind, but he doesn’t think he’s opposed to it. in fact, it’d make him a bit…joyous.

he shakes away the thought, going on about his way. he doesn’t have time for such frivolous affairs anyways.

——————————

with a sigh, winnie stands in front of the entrance of the library. she doesn’t know what on earth she was thinking. there’s no way joe will actually want to speak with her. at least she doesn’t think he will. the two are currently absolutely pissed off with one another. very…very pissed off.

suddenly, she hears footsteps coming her way. and it’s actually joe. he doesn’t look thrilled, but it’s something. at least he showed up. she honestly expected him not to.

her gaze softens slightly as she looks at him. “you came…”

“not by choice. ja’marr practically forced me to,” joe clarifies, his tone cold as he folds his arms, “so you can thank him later for that.”

oh…right. winnie nods, her eyes hardening once again as she looks away. of course he didn’t want to do this. he really wanted to be anywhere else but here.

the both of them walk into the library; it was essentially empty. there were a few other students checking out books or looking for sources for various reports. they situate themselves on a cozy couch in the corner.

silence fills the air for a moment as the two stand there. this is awkward. god, why must this be happening? it’s

“i saw you made the volleyball team.” joe chimes in, not looking at winnie.

she nods. “yeah,” her voice is soft and almost a bit tender, “i did. i would ask if you’re proud of me, but…obviously i don’t think you care.”

care? well, he can’t say he does per se, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised. he’s known her for a long time, but she’s always hated sports. she was a nerd, and still is, but now she’s on the volleyball team? it’s a bit impressive, he guesses, but that’s not exactly the point.

“i’m more surprised than anything,” joe chuckles, leaning back against the couch, “i always thought that being athletic was never your thing. you always preferred reading and other stuff like that.”

“fuck you…” winnie groaned.

“you wish.”

“absolutely not.”

joe laughs, a bit of a hearty laugh. the disgust on winnie’s face was comical. he’s always gotten a kick out of annoying her. the way her nose scrunched and her lips formed a small pout. it was…oddly adorable. ugh, he’s getting all mushy and stuff. gross.

meanwhile, winnie is deep in thought. does she address the hatred that’s currently between them? or does she take things slow and try to form a somewhat amicable conversation first? does she tell him about her crush she once had (that is, if ja’marr hadn’t already told him)?

after some thought, she opts for the first option. but what about their dynamic does she even start with? she’s primarily hurt about the overall abandonment of their friendship.

“joe…,” winnie starts, looking over at him. she doesn’t know what to even say, other than one thing.

“why?”

confused, joe looks at winnie. “why what?”

“just…why?” she murmurs, her eyes filled with sadness.

“we made a promise,” she continues, her eyes burning with tears, seeing his face.

“we promised to still be friends. to never ever forget each other and our bond. and now look at where we’re at,” she rambles, blinking a little, “you almost act like i don’t exist! and then when you do, you treat me like shit! you treat me like i’m nothing to you! and you know what makes this all worse?” she whispers, her voice on the verge of breaking, “you meant the absolute world to me.”

joe’s gaze slightly shifts. it becomes tender, worried even. the girl that was his best friend is crying. all because of him. but what does he say to this? he let’s out a huff, shrugging.

“stuff happens…”

winnie exhales in disbelief, shaking her head.

“really? stuff happens?” she hisses, the sadness in her eyes turning to rage. “you know what? you’re right, stuff does happen. but i just want you to know,” she says gently.

“i was ready to give you my heart.”

“i know…”

“oh…so ja’marr told you,” winnie crosses her arms.

joe gives her a nod. “yes. he did,” he confirms, looking at winnie, “you’re stupid…”

“stupid for not…telling me.” joe finishes.

winnie nods, looking down. “well…i can…kind of agree there,” she admits. even though she was moving, she still should’ve taken that chance and share her feelings, even if nothing came out of it.

with her tear stained sleeves, she sniffles as she dries her face. “i was worried that you’d hate me. but i guess i don’t have to worry anymore. you already do hate me.”

joe sits in silence for a moment. he didn’t know how to explain it, but he doesn’t hate winnie. and he wants to tell her that. but obviously, he’s kind of at war with his pride. it’s a weak move to pull back and act like all the stuff he’s said to her lately doesn’t matter. but it does. it’s tremendously hurt his friend, the person who he stuck with through thick and thin (and vice versa).

he responds in the best way he can, placing his hand on her knee. “hate’s a strong word.”

winnie cracks…a small smile. joe used to say that when she’d rant to him about the people who pissed her off. “so…you loathe me then?”

“hm…no.” joe shakes his head. he sighs, looking at winnie. “i…i’m sorry, really,” he says, reluctance but truth in his voice. he’s realized that he’s kind of new to this amending friendships thing, “i uh…i guess i wanted to seem cool and stuff.”

“but, you did it at the expense of our bond…” winnie frowns, “i understand wanting to fit in and stuff. but we had something. years and years, we were friends. best friends.”

joe sighs. “i know. and it was so idiotic of me to destroy that,” he nods. “i don’t expect you to forgive me, but…i truly am sorry.”

hmm. now she had to make her choice. she could easily hold a grudge against joe for life. be bitter and depressed about it. but there was something in the bottom of her heart that couldn’t let her be angry.

with a breath, winnie gives a small smile. “i forgive you,” she nods, watching joe’s face shift to relief, “but…if you do something stupid, i’m never talking to you again.”

“oh, you wouldn’t do that.” joe laughs.

“wanna bet?” winnie raises an eyebrow.

“depends on how much money we’re talking.”

the both of them chuckle for a moment, leaning back and taking in a bit of quietness. it’s nice, knowing that there’s a chance to fully rekindle their friendship. winnie looks at joe, her face gentle. “seriously though. you promise to not fuck up again?”

joe nods at her, “of course. i promise.”

“pinkie promise?”

joe looks down at winnie’s small finger; he can’t help but reminisce on all the promises they’ve made. again, far too many; but this one is different. he chuckles, linking his pinkie with hers.

“pinkie promise.”

——————————

not a super long chapter, but an angsty one. BUT they’re friends again…for now ;)

[alicepao13]

Hudson and Rex S02E07

Took a break but we're back.

I like the episodes in the woods. I don't much care to go in the woods but I like watching them lol. The shots are really beautiful too.

That's a nice shot too lol. Although, what the actual hell is going on with... is that supposed to be water? Are these dust particles? What?

Note that there is no tattoo on his arm yet.

Rex: Why the fuck am I doing this, Charlie?

"Is this the dog I read about on the paper? The one who can find anything?" That's... not exactly what Rex does.

Parks and Recreation fans know.

They're already in love because I'd hit him with the trash bags.

I think Rex is leading the interrogation on this one.

Time for a hike!

Oh, Charlie. He's a city boy. And we also learn that he hates spiders. Sarah, on the other hand, was a Pathfinder which, aside from what the word implies, I have no idea what it entails.

Who made the executive decision for the shot to stay there for like ten seconds?

I believe Emmanuel Kabongo also guest starred in S6 in the superhero episode.

"They can't keep us here long. We're cops". Oh, they could very well keep you but who would want to?

Yay, Kendra! Finally.

"It's the 21st century, Charlie, you don't have to choose anymore". Words to live by.

Oh god, Sarah, that was so subtle.

Children, please. We're in the middle of an investigation.

The flirting continues in the lab. It's really a wonder they manage to solve so many cases when they are like this all the time.

The mug says MUGSHOT in it. Do you have any idea how long it took me to figure out that downstairs is a coffee shop? Also, how many precincts have a coffee shop in the ground floor? SJPD is living it up.

"That's right, I brought my dad this time and he's gonna kick your ass". Disregard the fact that they have like two years of age difference, whoever is the captain (or in charge) at a precinct immediately gets awarded with the "tired parent" title because they will be the person who will be holding the rest of them back from doing stupid shit.

"Are you posing?" "Google Earth. Always taking pics."

lol Charlie and Valentine fighting for who is the alpha team. I know who's ending up in jail, though.

Again, I would like a scene like this with Charlie and Sarah, please and thank you.

While Charlie was ultimately right, at some point there was no evidence to support his theory that Alia was innocent and not the culprit in all this. In other words, he was just being stubborn. Contrary to what many shows support, you can't lead an investigation based on your gut.

"You're the best cop I've ever known and I'm the best ranger you've ever known". Considering that you two don't exactly live in a metropolis, that's... insignificant.

Joe's "...otherwise it's not a nation worth protecting" line is good. I mean I don't want to write all of it but it's good.

That's a ferocious beast! So pretty, though.

Felt cute, might delete later.

Jesse asking Charlie to give his entire theory for Valentine being the culprit while Charlie is running and trying to catch his breath lol

Let Charlie have his angst moment! Don't inform him immediately that Rex is fine.

See, Valentine easily snuck up behind Best Cop.

I'm sure that Charlie and Kendra fucked after this episode, when Charlie went back to the woods to "check how the wolf was doing".

I love that Charlie doesn't want Sarah to realize how much of a total boor he is when it comes to art. Like she doesn't know! Don't worry, art knowledge is not your selling point.

Establishing "team as family". I actually like the subtlety of this one, I don't like it when in shows they keep saying it. Let it happen naturally.

I guess these are the best screenshots of these photos I've taken. 1080p, baby! I'll put these here as well since this has gotten too long once again.

[takeachillpillshawty]

British Riddle this, British Riddle that.

Have you all considered Cockney Accent Trey?!

Here. Me. OUT.

I feel like Trey would have a Cockney accent, but he toned it down a bit when talking to other people outside of Queendom of Roses.

I can just imagine during a unhappy birthday party Trey is just running his mouth off, Riddle nodding and agreeing with him. Ace and Duece adding their tid bits in and Cater has no fucking Idea what either of them are saying, especially Trey. Ace can understand him clearly, either is dad or older brother has a Cockney accent same thing with Duece. ( I think ace would have a Cockney accent, but not as thick as Trey's he probably learned it from his dad or Brother. It's not thick but you could hear it in his voice.)

I don't know if Savannah claw boys would have accents.... Maybe Leona or Ruggie...

Bronx or transatlantic Floyd. Please, I can't be the only one. I can HEAR IT in his dialogue. Oh and Italian accent Azul, and I know I get it. Azul the mob boss of his dorm having an Italian accent?

I pick accents for some characters based of four things, if it's a character with animal features( merfolk, beastmen), a character based of a mythological creature ( faes) or where the Disney movie they were based off takes place, and finally by their names.

And seeing that it's confirmed by Disney that the little mermaid took place in Italy or near a location of Italy.. I think it would kinda fit Azul.

And I think the last dorms are dead give aways the last two are if you know your mythology.

Let's knock this one away completely, we all know. Everyone knows that Kalim and Jamil are Arabic, from the way they are named to the culture. ( and I believe that the scalding sands may follow their own version of the casting system... Based on in game dialogue.) Do I believe that they would have Arabic accents? I could hear it especially with Jamil.

Now for the Pomefiore boys. We already know Rook is French and Epel has a southern country accent.

But Vil is German. Are you going to look him dead in his attractive face and think he ISN'T German?! Look at his last name! I'm pretty sure you won't find some random Joe with the last name Schoenhiet and not think he is German. And a fun detail that Jamil and Vil have is that in their respective language their names mean "beautiful". Jamil means beautiful in Arabic and Schoenhiet means beautiful in German.

It would be very cool to hear Vil speak with a slight German accent when the English dub releases.

Now onto my boys.

It's a dead give away as well with this one, they're Greek. Idia is based of Hades from the Disney movie. And ortho....Ortho is just here for the vibes.... I haven't played book 6, and maybe they make a reference to a Greek mythology.... Who knows.

And finally... The last ones.... Diasomnia.

Now I had to do a bit of research on this.....and had two options, German or French. And like one of the points I brought up is looking at the characters names and location. The two characters were Lilia and Sebek (fun fact Sebek, is an alternate form of Sobek an Egyptian crocodile-headed god.)

While digging into their names I found out that in lilia's name the "Van" in his name is German, more commonly used for royalty. It fits him being affiliated with the Royal family in Briar Valley. And for Sebek, well instead Sebek I had to work with Sobek a surname name used in what? German. And so we know that Briar Valley is most likely the Twst equivalent to Germany...or something ( take with a grain of salt)

And the one nail to finish this coffin.... Fae, the species they were based off, is tied to many folklore some being French....and German. And with all that points I made, I have to give this ones to the German side. And I think hearing Sebek shout " WAKA-SAMA!" in a thick German accent is scary and hilarious.

( and please be reminded that most of these are some headcannons I made about some of the characters due to the culture behind their characters. Some of this information is no way cannon to the story of Twst, and If the English dub comes out and the characters don't sound like what they are headcannoned to be don't harass the voice actors. )

Thank you for reading!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Nick Anderson

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 15, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

Today House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) canceled tomorrow’s votes and sent the House of Representatives into recess until February 28.

Before recessing, Johnson refused to take up the national security supplemental bill the Senate passed early Tuesday morning, providing aid for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and humanitarian aid for Gaza. Johnson said the House must “work its own will” rather than vote on the bill at hand because the measure did not include border security measures.

Yesterday, Johnson told House Republicans that the House will not be “rushed” into passing foreign aid, despite the fact that Ukraine’s desperate need for ammunition is enabling Russia to regain some of the territory Ukraine’s troops reclaimed over the past year. 

But is it a rush? President Biden asked for additional national security funding in October 2023. A majority of lawmakers in the Senate and the House support such a measure, but Johnson bowed to the demands of MAGA Republicans and said he would not bring such a bill up for a vote unless it contained border security measures to address what they insisted was a crisis at the southern border of the U.S., apparently banking on the idea that such a compromise was impossible.

But Democrats were so desperate to pass the Ukraine funding they see as crucial to our national security that they agreed to give up their demand for a path to citizenship for the so-called Dreamers, those brought to the United States as children and reared here but now stuck in citizenship limbo. So, after four months of work, Senate negotiators produced a bill that offered much of what Republicans demanded. 

Once it was clear a deal was going to materialize, Trump demanded it be shut down, likely because he has promised his base that on his first day back in office, he will “begin the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” and a new border measure would both undermine his campaign message and stymie his plans. Although the border patrol officers union endorsed the Senate national security measure that included border security provisions, Republicans killed it. 

Senators immediately went to work on a national security supplemental without the border measure, passing it with 70 votes on Tuesday morning. Johnson indicated he would not take it up, right about the same time that Trump renewed his attack on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that underpins U.S. and global security. 

“House Republicans are…siding with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Tehran against our defense industrial base, against NATO, against Ukraine, against our interests in the Indo-Pacific,” the White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said yesterday, and President Joe Biden has repeatedly warned that “[f]ailure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.” But Republicans, too—including Trump’s vice president Mike Pence—are begging House Republicans to pass a version of the measure.  

Perhaps to pressure Johnson, House Intelligence Committee chair Mike Turner (R-OH), who is a strong supporter of aiding Ukraine in its fight against Russia, yesterday released information about “a serious national security threat,” urged all members of Congress to view the intelligence, and called on Biden to declassify all information relating to it. That threat appears to be antisatellite weapons Russia is developing, but they are not yet operational. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) of the Senate Intelligence Committee expressed concern that the disclosure might have revealed intelligence sources and methods.

And now, rather than taking up the national security measure, the House has recessed.

National security and border measures are not the only things the House is ignoring. Since this is a leap year, putting February 29 on the calendar, the recess will give the House just three working days to pass appropriations measures for the 2024 budget before the stopgap continuing resolution to fund the government expires on March 1.

The appropriations process is so far overdue that it threatens to become tangled in that for 2025, which is set to begin March 11, when the White House is expected to release its budget proposal for the year. 

While they have been unable to make headway on these measures, on Tuesday night, Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to impeach Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, blaming him for an increase in migrants at the border. Johnson has named as impeachment managers a number of Republican extremists, including Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Clay Higgins (R-LA), and Harriet Hageman (R-WY). 

As Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan of Punchbowl News reported: “This is the most chaotic, inefficient and ineffective majority we’ve seen in decades covering Congress. It started this way under former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and has gotten worse under Johnson.”

Trump and his MAGA supporters are demonstrating their power over the Republican Party. Trump is trying to install hand-picked loyalists, including his daughter-in-law, at the head of the Republican National Committee, where she vows that “[e]very single penny will go to the No. 1 and the only job of the RNC—that is electing Donald J. Trump as President of the United States.” 

When Trump was in office, his team installed loyalists at the head of state parties, where they have worked to purge all but Trump loyalists. MAGA Republicans are continuing that process. After Senator James Lankford (R-OK), a reliable conservative tapped by Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to negotiate a border measure, produced one that favored Republican positions, right-wing provocateur Benny Johnson called those like Lankford “traitors…spineless scum” who must “be criminally prosecuted.” 

That demand for purity appears to be radicalizing the House as Republicans inclined to get things done, including five committee chairs, have announced they will not run for reelection. Meanwhile, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene yesterday said that British foreign secretary David Cameron, who is urging Congress to pass Ukraine aid, “can kiss my ass.” 

But the MAGA agenda is falling apart in the courts. True the Vote, the right-wing organization that insisted it had evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, has told a Georgia judge that, in fact, it has no such evidence. Their claims provided the basis for the arguments about voter fraud highlighted in right-wing pundit Dinesh D’Souza’s film 2000 Mules. 

Today a grand jury convened by Special Counsel David Weiss, whom Trump appointed to investigate Hunter Biden, indicted former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov for making a false statement and creating a false and fictitious record about Hunter Biden. Smirnov has been a key witness for Republican allegations about Biden’s “corruption” since Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) released Smirnov’s unverified claims about a year ago and other MAGA figures spread them. Matthew Gertz of Media Matters noted that Fox News Channel personality Sean Hannity’s show highlighted these allegations in at least 85 separate segments last year, including 28 monologues. Now a grand jury has grounds to think Smirnov lied. 

Trump’s personal problems also continue to mount. 

Today Judge Juan Merchan confirmed that Trump is going to trial on his criminal election interference case, with jury selection beginning on March 25. Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Trump with 34 felonies for falsifying business records in order to hide critical information from voters before the 2016 election. Prosecutors say that Trump defrauded voters by illegally hiding payments he made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about their affair before the election. As Andrew Warren put it in The Daily Beast, the case “is about a plot to deprive voters of information about a candidate for president—information that Trump and his allies believed to be damaging enough to hide.”

And yet Trump’s MAGA Republicans are calling the shots in the House, and their refusal to support Ukraine threatens to empower Russian president Vladimir Putin and thus to lay waste to the rules-based international order that has helped to prevent world war since 1945. Conservative pundit Bill Kristol noted earlier this month that “politics is often a stage on which people act in bad faith. Still, the demagogic opposition of House Republicans to the border/Ukraine bill, when they've all said the border is an emergency and that Putin should be stopped, is just about the baddest bad faith ever.” 

The implications of that bad faith for the country—and the world—are huge.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[obsessivelollipoplalala]

Okay I'll write in points here because it's long

It started with Freddie saying something like they are gonna stay together until they die and I thought how poignant it is in hindsight.

I loved Brian May's insights the starting was very sweet with him telling us that him and Freddie shared rooms for a decade, that he knows him really well and about how shy he was until firmly saying that he was gay even if people don't want to believe it. There was another person saying the same thing, I forgot her name but I think it's unfortunate that it's really common for people to outright ignore or deny any queer artists' identity just because they don't want to deal with whatever biases they have going.

Roger Taylor was really mad about the media/tabloids attacking Freddie and I get it especially The Sun because it's still trash today. Just vile and immoral for no reason.

Then it went to them saying that the band had a guess of what's going on with Freddie because they saw him disappear for treatments and coming back with scars but not wanting to believe it so they just never brought it and made a whole album before Freddie ultimately told them.

All the pictures with Jim Hutton were really cute I have to say and his sister saying that she was told that he was the gardener but he was around every time she went to her brother's house so she put 2+2 together lol.

The minute Anita Dobson came on screen I was trying to remember where I had seen her then I remembered it was the doctor who clips that were going viral on Twitter. But she seems so sweet and she had really cute story about how she became friends with Freddie and how he introduced her to Jim. She did say that Freddie told her when he couldn't sing anymore he'll die and that's she thinks what happened. She also seemed really sad that she lost contact with Jim I guess they were close.

Also I got more songs from this documentary so I'm really happy about that, I just googled the lyrics.

I didn't know Elton John was really close with Freddie, he seemed so heartbroken in all the videos they played of him.

Also Joe Elliot was there that was a surprise, was he friends with Freddie? I know I have heard Robert Plant talk about Freddie Mercury before. I secretly adore the idea of all these frontman that people like to pit against each other being friends in real life.

I might watch the tribute concert or atleast the George Micheal's part of it, he sounded so good and David Bowie was clapping from the sidelines during the rehearsal ( I get it, he was superb )

I feel like I got insights to the entire band' dynamic so thats nice because we have all heard Bands going like oh we like each other, we are a family but when one of you is gone and how the rest treat their memory is the true test of that.

I'll respond in bullet points lol

Brian was great in the documentary, and is one of Freddie's most consistent defenders, especially in regards to his sexuality. I love when Brian talks about knowing Freddie so well through sharing rooms and talking about his shyness, because you can just feel the fondness there and get the distinct sense that he loved Freddie the human being as opposed to the showman, which can't be said for everyone who knew Freddie

Yeah, The Sun was particularly vile, and the band really hated the press. Brian wrote the song "Scandal" in 1989 for the album, The Miracle, because the press was hounding Freddie (and Brian about his affair and divorce, but that's another story). I can't remember if this documentary mentioned it, but the fact that the press had set up a camera to see into Freddie's bathroom is just so vile

The Miracle is the album that they made before Freddie told them the truth. If you listen to the album, there are a couple songs hinting at what's going on, because as you saw, the band knew something was wrong. Fun fact: one of Brian's favorite songs that Freddie wrote is "The Miracle" because Freddie was able to write about beautiful things while he was sick

Lol yes, Kashmira knowing that Jim was Freddie's partner was funny

Yep, Anita was in Doctor Who! Her most famous role was in EastEnders in the 80s. There's another interview where she talked about an episode of that show being viewed by millions of people, and overnight people knew her face, and Freddie called her up like, "Guess who's in the paper, darling ;)" Anita was a true friend to Freddie and visited him while he was ill with Brian. Yeah, her theory that Freddie stopped fighting when he couldn't sing anymore lines up...Freddie's last song was "Mother Love"; Brian was the one who wrote it, but Freddie had to go home before it was finished because he was feeling unwell. He said he'd be back, but he never returned to the studio...And yeah, that doc revealed that Anita kept in touch with Jim to some extent. I really wonder what that relationship was like

Yes, Elton John was very close to Freddie! He still tears up when he talks about receiving a Christmas gift from Freddie a mere month after he passed...

I can't remember with the Joe Elliott thing tbh. I think he knew Freddie? I also feel like I'm remembering that he called up Brian after Freddie passed to check in on him, so maybe he was on friendly terms with the band, yeah

The doc does show how close the band was towards the end and how protective Brian and Roger are of Freddie's memory at the very least, yeah. It's really a great doc and I'm glad you watched it and got something out of it

[jinxthejubilee]

Hiii!! I’m the same anon who requested the “Recruiters w/ children” little thing and I’m here again with more Recruiters fluff because i have no sense of self control/j

I was searching for Recruiters fanArts and my brain randomly started throwing cute scenarios abt them, and one of those were about the Recruiters on a tickle fight?? Idk, maybe all of them were having a little sleepover together and Jack started it just for the chaos of it (i can definitely see him doing it), or maybe it started as a Joke on Apple (because non of them would get tired of picking up on poor boi Appoi lol) and the others ended up joining on a way or another. Think about it, it would be super cute!! If you like share ur own headcanons/scenarios about it, it would be interesting to read.

Also, not related but can i be ur Fluff anon? I would like to let u know wherever i come here to share more fluffy things Ö

Hello again! This is the first time anyone has come to me and asked me to call them by an anon nickname! I'm honored! Of course you can be Fluff Anon!

I hope you don't mind, I went a little off script for this ask. But I still had the core idea in mind.

Now, without further adieu, let's set the scene!

-------------‐---------------------------------------------------------

The Sleepover War

So, one would think that a sleepover with your colleagues would be nothing but blustering, posturing, and chaos beyond anyone's imagination.

Well, you'd be wrong! For the first two anyway...

Chaos is inevitable with this crew. It follows them wherever they go. Hence, why the idea of a slumber party sounded off alarms in the more "mature" recruiters' heads.

Even so, the night hadn't been nearly as terrible as they'd thought it be. Sure, there were complaints here and there, competitiveness ran amok throughout the games they played, and no one could agree on the movie to watch, but it was...fun. Really fun, in fact.

And somehow, by some miracle, all of them had settled into a moment of peace.

Apple, Ms. Hades, Veil, and Hock were playing cards that Jack had brought, Joe, Faja, and Malfie were watching a movie with Malfi attempting and failing to convince them both that he'd make a better leading man, and Dalmatia and Pretty Scar were not-so-secretly eating the leftover food from the kitchen.

This left one remaining character: Jack. Who was starting to get bored. Sure, the peacefulness of all this was relaxing, and watching the card game had been fun for the first two hours, but it was so dull now to watch Apple win over and over again. That smug bastard. So to satiate his boredom, he grabbed the nearest pillow he could find....

...and threw it right at Apple's face.

Apple Poison 🍎

Oh, come on! He was just at his 37th win!

After getting over the sudden shock at what had just happened, Apple glared at the card boy, who gave an innocent look in return. Feigning an apology. But Apple knew.

He was challenging him.

Well then, if it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he'll get!

The elder recruiter throws a pillow right back at Jack, and from there, it begins.

Apple gets some wins in himself, but Jack is more nimble and fast, so it ends up at a tie near the end. Such a shame, too. It was a battle of epic proportions.

Though he probably would've won overall if the others didn't start throwing pillows at him as well. Traitors...

Jack Heart ❤️

What? Don't tell him that no one else had wanted to do that! He had it coming to him!

Jack focuses mostly on Apple during the fight, but he lands a few hits on the others, too. Like they say, the more the merrier!

This goes on for a while until Jack realizes that Apple wasn't giving up anytime soon. So, he resorted to drastic measures...

Tickling!

After getting the elder on the ground, Jack, Hock, and a few others hold Apple down and start tickling!

Unfortunately, Apple broke free, and the war went on once again, ending with a tie. Well, that was kinda anticlimactic.

Still fun though! Absolutely no regrets!

Malfi (Malfie) 🪞 vs. Eight Foot Joe 🐙 vs. Faja (Farja) 🌹

Malfi laughs at the duo's antics until a pillow lands on him.

Great! Now his hair is ruined, and Faja and Joe have the nerve to laugh at him?! Retribution is nigh!

He takes a swing at Joe, who promptly uses his tentacles to grab the sofa cushion, then at Faja, who was too distracted with laughing at Joe to notice the incoming attack.

Red with rage, Faja also grabs a pillow and hits Malfi full force.

This leads to a stand-off between the three of them. Cue the cowboy showdown music.

It goes on like that for a while until they slowly rope the others into their fight.

They finally call it quits about two or three hours later after getting it all out of their system.

Mr. Dalmatia 🐾 and Pretty Scar (Mzuri) ✨️

They both peek their heads out of the kitchen to see what the fuss is all about.

After finishing her snacks, Mzuri pulls Dalma into the room to join them.

PS throws the first pillow at him, to which Dalma grabs a few and chucks them at her.

Once in a while, Dalma will double team with Jack against Apple. He can't leave his best bro hanging!

It's actually PS who gets the idea of tickling her opponents. And that gave Jack the idea of holding Apple down and torturing him until he gave in. She actually helps Jack hold him down for a while until she gets distracted, and Apple finds a way to escape.

After that, Mzuri mostly focused her efforts on Dalma. Likewise, Dalma finds anything left to use against his hyena foe.

Their match ends when Preety Scar lands her foot on top of Dalma's chest and declares herself victorious. Dalma, in an attempt to get her off of him, pulls her leg down, and she crashes onto the floor with him.

As they stumble to get back up, they both lose their balance and end up in that clichéd "floor kiss" pose.

While annoyingly blushing (Dalma) and happily blushing (PS), they finally get up, head back into the kitchen to grab a snack, and just watch the rest of the matches.

Veil 🔔

Veil's first reaction was curiosity as to why a pillow had just been thrown. To which Hock explained that a pillow fight had just been challenged.

Growing up, Veil had never been to sleepovers before. She had heard about them and the customs that went along with it, but she never had the chance to partake in any herself.

So when Hock reminds her of what a pillow fight is, Veil is surprised by how she's forgotten all about the youthful traditions that usually happen at sleepovers.

She then asks Hock if she'll join in, to which she finds Hock loading up stock with all the pillows she sees, hands Veil a few of them, and aims the rest at Apple.

Veil sits there for a while, wondering if she'll join, until she sees the others joining in. So she goes for it!

She throws a couple at Hock and Jack, who invites her to help them hold down Apple. She even gets to land a few hits!

After Apple breaks free, Hock turns her attention towards Veil. They have it out for a while until they both get tired and end up joining Dalma and Pretty Scar in watching the two main parties fight.

Lady Hock (Hook) 🪝

In Jack's defense, Hock had been wanting to knock Apple down a peg these last few rounds, so him throwing the pillow at Apple was pretty cathartic.

Being a pirate and all, Hock knows practically every card game in existence. But even with all of that experience, Apple was still a few points ahead of her, and she would NOT let that slide.

Now, in fairness, it was interesting seeing this side of Apple. He hasn't been nearly as cold and aloof as he has been when she first met him. He's changed, not a whole lot, but quite a bit.

And he wasn't all bad during the card game. He noticed that Veil had trouble understanding how it worked and actually helped her. That was different!

But, if there's one thing that Hock's learned about Apple, it's that once Apple wins at something, he gets smug. Insanely smug. Not the incredibly boastful type like Malfi, but quietly smug. And with an annoying smirk to go with it.

Oh, it's on now, pretty boy.

Hock takes the first pillow bashes on Apple before turning on Jack. She still hadn't won the game yet, dude! You brought this on yourself!

After a while, she starts bashing everyone else. She's very acrobatic, so it makes it more fun to watch her duck and avoid the pillows being thrown at her.

You go, girl!

Ms. Hades 🔥

She honestly should've expected this..

The peace was nice while it lasted, at least.

MH hangs back to watch all of them, not wanting to partake in such childish antics.

Really, Apple and Jack couldn't let go of their pride and boyish behavior just this one night?

Oh, just wonderful! Now they've got the rest of them acting like animals! Terrific!

ONE. NORMAL. NIGHT. was all she asked for when she agreed to this slumber party idea! But noooo! MH could never be so lucky! Ugh! Now those pillow feathers will scatter all over the pla-!

-wait. They're not really fighting, are they?

They're...playing. They're playing. Huh. Well, that's...unexpected.

MH will admit, in the time that she's known them all, she'd always assumed that they'd never get along with one another. They were simply too different. Heck, why else would the gods and goddess on Olympus not care for any deities of the Underworld? They were all too dissimilar in personality and background to ever get along.

And yet, here they are. Fighting still, yes, but not seriously. They were playing. Playing.

Heh, bless the Fates.

Ms. Hades joins Veil and Hock before settling down with them and watching the rest of the teams "battle."

You know? Maybe this sleepover thing wasn't such a bad idea after all.

The night ended with tossed pillows on the ground, feathers everywhere, and a movie playing static on the TV as the gang fell asleep.

[shoujoboy-restart]

But is that your opinion or a fact? I guess the whole thing surrounding BLM and PragerU has me very confused since everyone else says some things about them and that they are not actually a university and then there's the fact that it's founder Dennis Prager said something that he thinks nothing wrong with indoctrinating children. Is that being taken out of context because every school's kind of does the same thing about schools teaching students to hate white people while being gay supposedly or is there some disagreement I'm not understanding?

it kind of feels like it's going to lead into that whoever I'm listening to are idiots and don't know what they are saying even though I can't just simply call everybody who thinks BLM and the civil Rights movements are somehow terrorist groups. It's like saying voting for DeSantis or Trump is better than Biden and everybody else is just fear-mongering about them even though I haven't been hearing good things about the Republican candidates and if we say something about Biden in the whole issue surrounding his son, honestly I'm starting to feel like the Hunter Biden stuff is too overhyped and I don't really think Joe Biden is involved in whatever dealing his son is involved as I'm not hearing anything major coming out of it and the Republicans are seemingly more focused on that then the sexual allegations against Biden or his whole deal with the classified documents which hasn't been brought up at often by either side. It's all Hunter this Hunter that and his father is involved in some crooked scheme needs to be impreached.

Let's go by parts.

My opinion is that Prager U uses of real and valid criticism of the organization calling itself BLM to attack people who are fighting against police brutality and racism, it is a fact the org BLM is a profit seeking with many of their CEOs having millions in their banks while not helping, the same way it's a fact that 94% of protest associatied or connected to BLM peaceful and the other 6% are still unfound on whether the violence and chaos was actually caused by protesters since there been multiple cases of confirmed infiltration by far-righters and cops.

I mean if the dude says "indoctrination bad" but then straight up says "actually indoctrination based" because it's for what he believes then ain't really much context that can save that lol most of the crying about "indoctrination" complaints are parents of highschoolers mad they can't obcessively control everything their child do and having a panic attack over the idea their kid won't be a carbon copy of them, I'm sure leftist parents do that as well but conservative ones actually demand their entire state to uphold that.

As a whole the Hunter Biden situation is just...pointless? Oh no, the son of a politician is a druggie and pays for prostitutes...and? Arrest the asshole or not for all I care, they are trying to claim that somehow this would have swayed peoples voting, It is republicans trying really hard to scrape the bottom of the barrel for reason to impeach Biden or attack his image, when as your self pointed out there enough to do just that, but again, since Trump also has allegations and shit.

Also I'm pretty sure the reason why Biden isn't being prosecuted and investigated for documents is because he actually did everything he should have done and the documents were literally a handful of documents in a safe, but on that I could be wrong, while Trumpie literally had boxes on top of fucking boxes in every corner of his damn home for some reason, together with multiple of the documents being classified, which as president at the time he could have just declassified them so it wouldn't be as much of a issue.

But if you want my advice as someone who used to be a anti-sjw? I didn't even stop being one at first because of how factually wrong the whole ideology was, is because almost every figure head I followed was becoming actual neo-Nazis, turning out to transphobic and homophobic while using gay and trans people as shields, constantly getting caught bold face lying(Blaire white) or just grifting as "apolitical" while having nothing but praises to the most extreme right wing lobotomites out here. Steven Crowder was having a 50 million contract and a extra 1 million whenever needed to just attack trans people 24/7, a lot of right wing content is unironically just corporate backed propaganda to regress society, the entire fox news teams was exposed for admitting they thought Trump and his supporters were loonies and that "election fraud" narrative is just bullshit they started talking because another right wing channel was syphoning their viewers whenever they said something like "Trump isn't a god and he made mistakes" in their lawsuit brought by Dominion.

I'm not saying you need to become luxury communism that believes in a 100 genders, but genuinely, the grift within the right is real, at least when leftists say some crazy shit, you have 90% they actually believe in what they are saying, while a right winger is probably just saying the shit to gain a chance of being employed by the likes of Prager.

If you want a really good channel to teach you some rhetoric and how to catch people saying shit without foundation I really recommend Mia's Rhetoric, she's not a bleeding heart leftist or anything, she's very progressive obviously but because of her knowledge in rhetoric she's really good at deconstructing arguments from fallacies to how people signage affects them, linking this video in specific to topical obviously.

[snorkling-in-sodasea]

Moments of Stupidity 5

Well, I did a little looking at the calendar and planned it. I mean, when Moments of Stupidity, as far as the amount of Helluva Boss episodes go as of now, would end. The days throughout this month will be scattered. Some in a row, some with days apart, but it should still be done by Halloween. And the newest episode, since it should be out on Halloween, I'll do a post on that sometime early November. But onto the next episode where everyone's a fucking moron!

Harvest Moon Festival -

The first instance of stupidity is probably when Blitzo had the bright idea for a pep talk to Moxxie when Moxxie was gonna take on the hell hog. Seriously, unless Blitzo was intentionally a jerkass there, which is definitely a possibility with him, then you have to be spectacularly stupid to say all that Blitzo said and not expect someone's self-confidence to take a nose dive upon hearing it

There's also probably Millie when her parents treat her husband the way they do. It's not like they really hide how they feel about Moxxie. I doubt they're even trying to. So Millie should have noticed her mother rather roughly elbowing Moxxie or notice that her father being clearly enough mocking when Moxxie brought up entering the Pain Games himself. There's also Joe and Lin's faces at first seeing Moxxie that episode. Then Millie still says the 'they'll accept you eventually' crap. It's like, 'do you notice anything about how your husband is treated?'. Even if Millie is holding onto hope for all her family to get along with each other, there's a damn limit to how they can act towards each other

There's definitely Millie just charging in and attacking Striker when catching him hurting Moxxie. It's crazy that Striker could still move around with little to no problem after getting fucking stabbed, repeatedly, in his back but Millie would have increased chances of winning if she just kept her cool like in, funny enough, Exes and Oohs. Yeah, she was weirdly overpowered there and didn't even make a damn dent here but I still feel the coolheadedness made some difference

There's also Millie treating Moxxie like he's the dumb one for not using a gun and even forgetting all about it. Maybe Moxxie should have used his gun when he tried escaping but, given how fast and competent Striker was in his debut episode, there's a real chance that Striker could have smacked it away or even use it against Moxxie. Besides, Millie wasn't even there until she just happened to hear some noise and went to investigate. How does she get to judge how well her husband did before she showed up? All without even asking how it went, no less

Oh, and I forgot this one, but there's the fact that Millie got her leg caught in a wide open bear trap when she was thrown down into the cellar, basement, whatever. This particular stupid moment goes to Millie's family, cause they're the ones who just carelessly left freaking bear traps laying around! Maybe if we saw some hellish vermin or whatever that only a bear trap can catch them, that'd be some explanation but no! We just have an active, ready-to-trap bear trap that anyone can just carelessly brush their foot or their tail against it and make it go off on them. Even if everyone in the family was told about the traps and they knew to be careful, there's still the fact that Millie fell into the damn thing. That means everyone is still vulnerable to falling on it by accident. So why the fuck would anyone just get that freaking careless with leaving around bear traps like this?

There's Stolas's behavior throughout the episode but I'll mention that, along with his flirtation with Blitzo in Loo Loo Land, will come up later. Because really, this kind of stupidity spans over multiple episodes that adds extra layers of stupid. Might as well just mention it all in its most prominent episode. This also applies to Wally Wackford, even if it's not to the same extent as Stolas

Striker, for several instances. 1, having a holy rifle in his possession out in the open where just anyone could come across it, especially if Striker's really gonna get in trouble for having it. 2, not covering the damn gun whatsoever. It was strange that Moxxie thought a glow from under the door was what's strange but it's what got his damn attention. Besides, instance one is definitely a reason why the gun should have been covered up at least. 3, throwing Millie and Moxxie in the damn basement. Fuck seriously, even if you thought of just hightailing it out of there right after you finish your hit, there was a very real chance someone could have found them before then or the couple could have escaped themselves. Which they did. Because you apparently didn't even check Millie and Moxxie for any weapons they could use, let alone any gun that can blast a hole in the locked door. In fact, instance 4 is no checking for weapons on your captives. And going back to the likelihood of someone finding Millie and Moxxie in the basement, most likely any of Millie's family, then that's gonna be a bunch of pissed off demons after Striker's ass, including Blitz since the writers like saying that he cares about his employees. Then Striker will probably have to kill more than he has to just to live for his next paycheck so that's instance 5 now

If there's any stupid moment of Moxxie's, it's not shooting Striker when he had the fucking chance. Especially when he was at the damn door that could have whacked him should someone come in. Actually, Moxxie should have shoot him before the fight even started. Considering that the show establishes that he's the best sharpshooter, then Moxxie definitely should have been able to get Striker without getting his boss. (And seeing how Striker's character got butchered big time in his second and third appearances, then yeah. I'd prefer Striker in his debut appearance shot dead)

Joe and Lin for taking pride in being meatheads. Seriously, if they're treating Moxxie as not worthy of respect because he researched about war and strategies and is physically weak (at least in this episode), then they take pride in the fact they themselves have little to no intelligence in their heads and have only muscle to back themselves up in life. Probably good thing if they just plan to stay in Wrath their whole lives, since every native there is bound to have the same line of thinking. For whatever worth that thinking could possibly have to the average Wrath citizen

Oh, and Joe and Lin apparently decide to care more about how Millie lost a fight than whether or not she could have been killed by the farmhand the parents themselves have hired and even lecture their daughter like she's wrong for getting hurt. Seriously, they're only the second best parents because the other parents - whether it's ones of main characters or that the main characters are parents themselves - are even worse! (And who is the best parent in Helluva Boss, at least in my my opinion, you may ask? Blitzo. Because yeah, if there's anything Blitzo doesn't screw up in, it's being a father to his daughter and never stop loving her no matter what. As far as I remember, the only thing Blitzo doesn't do right concerning parenthood is disciplining Loona when she seriously needs to be disciplined)

I guess Stella, too, since she had the bright idea to just yell at Stolas that she's talking to an assassin that she's hired to kill him. She's probably just lucky that Stolas is so stupid as to not take it seriously and that Octavia was wearing earbuds (Because I'm hoping that Octavia wouldn't be so stupid to still think her parents still like each other after hearing that her freaking mother legit hired an assassin to kill her father. Horrible, selfish, and incompetent father he maybe, Octavia still loves Stolas and would be devastated at just hearing it. And yeah, I don't know if I said it before, but I agree with some well-put posts on how Stolas isn't anywhere near a good dad as a good chunk of the fanbase believes so I can't agree with 'good dad Stolas' anymore)

[sharpth1ng]

Hank Williams anon. I grew up with country music and I love certain artists tbh (Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton)and I am SO here for Billy and Patsy Cline! An uncle of mine loved Hank Williams and that was his favorite HW song, which always cracked me tf up, and I can't imagine any other country song more hilarious than that for them to hook up to, esp those lyrics "Son of a gun we'll have big fun". I am so happy it's made you laugh as well! 😌 YESSS lmao @ Billy's ego death. He would eternally cringe and Stu would never stop reminding him of it. NEVER. I find the idea of Billy suffering like this hilarious so to make it even worse for him I'm headcanoning that is Stu's dad's favorite HW song, he sings/whistles/listens to it a lot and that has definitely happened since they hooked up to it, when Billy's at Stu's, at which point his soul left his body while Stu was killing himself laughing. I can see Stu incorporating those fucking lyrics into everything too, like they'll be talking about framing Mr.Prescott for the massacre at the party and he'll be like "Goodbye, Joe, he gotta go, me oh my oh". and he loves the fact that he is the only one who can get away with doing this to Billy. lmaooo you are so right about that 91 song, Stu absolutely would. and totally with the lyrics too. Headcanons fully accepted! I can picture him either saying lyrics that sound like something he might be saying seriously when they're hooking but they sound too long/or rhyme so it takes Billy a minute, OR just flat out saying lyrics like the ones from that 91 song and Billy's like... sonofabitch (I love the idea that in the au where they live and they are still together in modern days he stillll does this and Billy will be like IT'S BEEN 30+ YRS AND YOU'RE STILL ANNOYING AS FUCK. Stu: It's been 30+ yrs and you're still down bad as fuck /smug). lmao yesss that "Stu's love language is being annoying" tag! my love language is so similar and my s.o would literally never speak to anyone else who tormented them as much as I do, so it is ridiculously easy and funny for me to picture this😌 and lmaoooo I apologize for the length of this!

No apologies necessary this is so funny anon- Also cause you brought up Dolly, another Stu song is dumb blonde.

GOD Billy at the Macher house after dinner, Mr Macher standing up after dinner to clear the table, starts fucking whistling the song

Stu:

Billy:

Also yeah I’m such a big fan of them as this old married couple, fully still behaving like teenagers with each other. Billy keeps threatening to leave and it just gets less and less convincing every time, and Stu is SO SMUG.

40 year old Stu like: Hey remember that time I got you to fuck me to my dads favourite song?

40 year old Billy like: I can’t wait to die so I never have to think about this again.

LMAO good shit anon, keep torturing the s/o with that lol shit agenda 🤙🏻

[quesadillawizard]

Reposting from Old Blog

what the fuck is up everyone I got a story idea from a dream I had after only getting two hours of sleep on a work night. deets under the cut.

FIRST RECORDING OF THE DREAM’S INFO SPAMMED IN A CHAT

oh god its like fleeting images bushes turning into wings people could use a man that was a lantern given human form a horse buggy with no horse but it had spider legs being on the run from someone bad with a gang of kids a diner called Bazooka Joe's somethinga bout an old traffic tunnel it was vaaaaaaaaaaaaarely vaguley pkemon related then it swapped to minecraft the man who was on the run with the kids looked like the humanized version of jack skellington i draw sometimes the bad guys were these giant long dragons one of them made out of corn husks and one was all black and called The Ugly and like, the guy was leading the kids around and showing them all kinds of cool shit so they wouldnt be scared while subtly keeping an eye out for the dragons who like, knew him personally I think they were either trying to get home or get them to a certain point in the weird world because there were a lot of nonsense things kind of like in the phantom  tollbooth oh well time to go to work on two hours of sleep but those two hours gave me that

After spending all day thinking about it at work and telling a few oher folks about it, I arrived at a first draft of what would become the story’s bones.

So there are four kids who are at a camp (ala digimon) who get lured into the woods by a strange light and then find themselves in this weird out of place town that seems nearly abandoned but has tons of weird touristy attractions like places to eat, shop, rides to go on, and generally neat stuff because its empty adn NO PARENTS HERE!!! and this tall dude in black with a sick mustache who calls himself Mr. Fetch swoops in to be their tour guide and leads them through all kinds of whimsical fun shit some of it's dangerous, some of it's weird, but most of it is fun and HE is also super fun because he's all magic and shit While he's hanging with the kids, he starts getting sort of attached to them (sorry spilled my water) then, at one point, they are attacked by a monster and they try to defend Mr. Fetch because they see him as a feeble old man and he is Moved by this and steps in to Stop Them From Doing That and gets his ass kicked in a very significant way as he fends off the beast he is Injured  and loses the use of a lot of his powers during the fight but he doesn't let on because he doesnt want to scare them and also EGO the monster that he fended off goes back to tell a weird gross black dragon called The Ugly that there are children in the town The Ugly used to be a beautiful dragon, one of a pair that had a falling out because The Ugly wanted to use the powers they had for evil and that made them gross and so the other dragon left him and sealed him in a tower so he couldn't hurt anyone The Ugly desires the SOULS AND BLOOD OF CHILDREN so that he may become beautiful again and attract his mate back (he misses the fact that he was who made himself ugly) He communicates with his few servents with a husk puppet of the other dragon he made to keep himself company with He also keeps himself company with a bunch of objects that were in the castle that he brought to life sort of like a reverse beauty-and-the-beast situation and these objects are his lackies that he uses to hunt down anyone youthful and beautiful it is revealed that Mr. Fetch used to be a lantern and was the first object that The Ugly transformed but he put too much magic into him and gave him free will and after a little while of being his servant, decided FUCK THAT and became a free agent of chaos in the town Mr. Fetch makes it like, his life's duty to fuck with The Ugly his original plan was to lure the kids into the world, parade them in front of The Ugly like NENER NENER and then whisk them away home before anything bad happened since The Ugly cant leave his tower but now Mr. Fetch is injured and caaaaaaaaaant do that nearly as easily as he thought he could and now he's gone and gotten ATTACHED to the kids the light in his lamp is out and more lackies are coming after him and the kids so he's trying his best to finish this little wonderland trip with them without letting them know that they are in Actual Danger now instead of Fun Danger and THAT IS WHAT I HAVE

this is all VERY scattered but I wanted to have it somewhere as early as I could to show my work.

[rabbitindisguise]

*puts my close reading analysis glasses on* oh it gets better

There is one way of analyzing it (the backhanded "damning with faint praise" that amounts to just "intellect" and "focus" for an entire man's life). But there is a second and equally important one, and it's the acknowledgement of the suffering caused by Kissinger and the anger from people who are affected by (or condemn) those actions.

Many people are celebrating his death, but he can't just say "oh same" (and honestly I don't even know if he feels that way personally, and it wouldn't be entirely helpful even if he did). But that doesn't mean the feelings of people who were wronged by Kissinger or furious about his crimes any less important. So he begins by pointing out Kissinger's role in politics, with "I was a young senator, and he was secretary of state." Politics is the means that Kissinger used to do many terrible things. Bringing it up like this is talking about his feelings about the war crimes even if he's not saying he's talking about the war crimes. Biden specifically brought up the elephant in the room in the second sentence. And that's basically the only thing the paragraph discusses.

Biden follows that up with "we often disagreed. And often strongly." More or less: he doesn't condone any of it. He chooses to bring this up and focus on this even when this is not typically the thing you say about dead people (culturally) in America. Biden is treating this man with the same amount of respect as Republicans gave Obama during his administration (read: absolutely none, yet subtly enough people sounded crazy when pointing it out). This is just a toe over the line of what's socially acceptable to say, couched in the format of sympathy, while being a scathing criticism. This message isn't a direct response to idk a newscaster asking about his opinions on Kissinger's actions* so it's unusual to bring up negative things in this particular context, and yet he's doing it. Biden cares that much about how much he disagrees- or that people know he did and does disagree- that even giving condolences after Kissinger's death has to be full of condemnation.

Following that, he says "and from that first briefing-" which has a couple different moving parts. The first is that the fact that he established that he disagreed with Kissinger early on and brings up no common ground to connect them (Joe "let's all see the good in each other" Biden). The second is that during this entire time Biden knew Kissinger, and despite having "intellect" and "focus," they never developed common ground to speak about after his death. This essentially says, when put together, "what a waste of skill." And "what a horrible way to spend life."

As if that wasn't already damning enough, he adds on "long after retiring from government, he continued to offer his views and ideas to the most important policy discussions across multiple generations." Basically: not only did Kissinger not ever create common ground with Biden's political positions during his career, he didn't even manage it after he retired despite staying up to date on politics going forward. This all says he was terrible, he learned nothing, he died without adding anything positive to the world.

The final bit doesn't really add much but he says "condolences" rather than other expressions used towards a grieving family. "Sorry for your loss" is notably not used here. It's a very stiff and formal phrasing too, though I'd have to read other similar posts to see if he takes on more genial tones in his writing about less celebrated deaths. More or less I'm reading this as "get fucked" in president speak.

The original posts short paragraph more or less spells out the worst parts of his atrocities: the fact Kissinger kept choosing this path even though he had every opportunity to stop, the lack of remorse, and the deep unfairness of his continued participation in society long after he retired. Biden doesn't offer praise or forgiveness. He doesn't talk about how we should come together as a nation to mourn Kissinger. Hell, he barely even acknowledges Kissinger actual death. This is a moment taken to address the people who are furious he loved as long as he did, and committed as many atrocities as he did.

In summary,

Kissinger: *dies*

Biden:

There's probably going to be some students writing literary analysis on things written by Biden at some point, with all the available digital messages, and I hope this is included because it is dense with hidden meaning.

*even in that situation people are supposed to water down criticisms but there's a lot more freedom to say what you really think than in these contexts

This is some cold-ass shit. As President, Biden has to say something. But he can say it in a way that says nothing and everything.

I want to shake the hand of the staffer that wrote this because this is absolutely fucking superb.

I know we (in general but especially neuroatypicals) prefer things to be clear and straightforward. But occasionally, you can do things in full view of the world like this. And that's kind of incredible.

[percontaion-points]

Click here for the rest of the series!

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 31

But even before the spell, when he was still a ghost, I was always able to see Tristan, even though I couldn’t see the other ghosts in the cemetery. Maybe Tristan and I shared something deeper than a magic spell: an ancient connection? Maybe our souls were linked and I would always be able to see him, no matter what.

I think the worst thing about this book is the fact that I have read similar ideas, where their souls are linked, he’s dead in some way, etc etc… 

So I KNOW that they can be done a lot better than this.

Like the bar is on the ground here, but the author brought a backhoe. 

“Your job is to send Tristan back to being a ghost, or worse. Who says that is the right thing to do?”

His life ended long before your own mother was even born. It’s not right for him to be back here, let alone for you to start a life with him (yeah, I read the summary of book 3; so sue me). 

He seemed to be deep in thought for a second, but then he shook his head. “I am sorry. I cannot. I have to fix it. I must find … Tristan,” he said stoically. 

Crap. He was a stubborn thing! So, perhaps he wasn’t motivated by power. “Then, can I talk with your supervisor?” I asked, thinking of my mom. Whenever she had received bad customer service, she would throw out that line. 

I wouldn’t believe this if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. She’s literally turned into a Karen in order to try and save a boy that she’s only known for a few months now. 

 “You and your strange, silly human habit of naming us. Most of your kind call her Death.”

 I stared at him with my jaw hanging open. “Come again?” I said in a choked voice. 

“The creature you call ‘Sky’ is Death,” he replied. 

WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU THINK THAT THESE BEINGS WERE?! SANTA’S ELVES?! 

This girl is 100 pennies short of a dollar. This entire fucking series. She’s so goddamn STUPID. 

“I will wait until you meet Death. But if I don’t hear from you by the next New Year, your connection with him will cease to exist and you won’t be able to protect him any more … I’ll find him then.”

Why did the book bother with the drama of Ms. Violet’s second-hand info through Tristan if Vigil was only going to tell Joe/the readers like this? 

Why is this book so poorly written?

I needed to meet Sky and pray that I was clever enough to persuade her against taking Tristan from me. Ironically, Death was my only hope.

Chapter 31 summary: Tristan does his disappearing act in front of their friends, which obviously freaks them out. However, most of them start discussing how he can use his powers to get test answers… because of course they do. 

Harry is the only one who’s a little unnerved with the idea of Tristan and Joe being a couple. But not because they had the entire siblings thing going on. Oh no, he’s upset because he usually has a “couple radar”, and it didn’t pick up on the two of them. It’s obvious in hindsight, but he’s still upset about it. 

That night, Joe finds herself in the place where she usually meets with Vigil. He explains to her like she’s 5 that he has to correct the error of Tristan coming back to life. Joe then plays the “Can I speak with your manager?” card, which obviously startles him. He explains to her that she has, and that it’s the “goth girl” that she’d named Sky. However, the only way to meet her is to die, which Joe has apparently done twice now. But as you can imagine, this is hardly recommended. 

[rygoespop]

The King of Street Fighters: A Knockout Festival Visit (Chapter 36)

Scene opens at the Pao Pao Cafe in Metro City, where Terry was chatting with Luke and Jamie, as the Knockout Festival was going on

Luke: Wow! I’m surprised that this Knockout Festival is a great idea Terry!

Jamie: Yeah, we never did something like this before, is it common in South Town?

Terry: Nah man, but the festival is fun

Luke: I see

Blue Mary: *walks up* Yeah, especially since me, along with Terry, Andy, and Joe have made arrangements to have a festival held

Terry: Yep

Luke: Well, what do you say we have fun at the festival?

Terry: Now you’re talking my language Luke! Let’s go!

At the Knockout Festival in Metro City

Luke: Whoaaaaa

Jamie: This is big

Terry: Yeah, I know, the people of Metro City are enjoying

Luke: What about visitors from South Town?

Terry: I’m sure they came man

Jamie: Well, how about we get on with celebrating?

Terry: Ok!

Soon, came an announcer

Announcer: Ladies and Gentlemen, Kyo Kusanagi has won two rounds?

Luke: Kyo?

Terry: Wait a minute, I know that name *he hurries to the fight*

Kyo has defeated his 2nd Opponent

Kyo: The fire, always burns

Terry: Kyo!

Kyo: Terry? Hey, it’s been a while

Terry: What brings you here to Metro City?

Kyo: Well, knowing that things are a bit boring in South Town, I figured why not pay a visit to this city

Terry: R-really?

Kyo: Yep, in fact I brought some of the fighters with me

The other fighters include Kim, Rock, B. Jenet, King of Dinosaurs, Haohmaru, Nakoruru, Darli Dagger, Iori, Shermie, Yashiro, Chris, Kula, Hinako, Shingo, Shun’ei, Isla, Ryo, Robert, Yuri, Najd, Duo Lon, Leona, Ralf, Clark, Athena, Luong, Chizuru, and Antonov

Terry: Kim? Rock? Guys!

Kim: Hey Terry, it’s been a while

Rock: It’s great to see you again!

Haohmaru: Let me say, congratulations on defeating M. Bison twice

Terry: Dawh, thanks Haohmaru

Duo Lon: But the problem is, we couldn’t find Rugal

Terry: Oh don’t tell me we have to deal with him, he’s basically worse than Bison and Geese combined

Ralf: Oh he is man

Clark: Last time we tried to stop him, he vanished

Terry: No matter what, we’ll be ready when he and Bison both attack

Kyo: Yeah, we will

Luke: Ummm, Terry, who are they?

Haohmaru: *sees Luke* Huh? Hey Terry, who are your new friends?

Terry: Oh! Where are my manners? Guys, meet Luke Sullivan, and Jamie Siu

Luke: Hey

Jamie: What’s up?

Kyo: You must be the Luke Sullivan? Nice to meet you

Luke and Kyo shook hands

Luke: Yeah, and you must be the Kyo Kusanagi

Jamie: Heh, I never thought I see a real Samurai

Haohmaru: Yeah, and you have your own drink

Jamie: Yep, it’s a special herbal drink

Terry: Well then, how about we celebrate this Festival, a two on two!

Luke: Now you’re speaking Terry!

Kyo: Sure why not?

Jamie: I’ll be your partner Kyo

Kyo: Alright, your with me

Terry and Luke get in fighting stances while Kyo and Jamie did the same thing

Announcer: The two on two battle is about to begin, Terry and Luke vs Kyo and Jamie

Terry, Luke, Kyo, and Jamie all charge at each other, unknown to them watching from the top of a building, a new fighter was watching the fight

Vox Reaper: Tch, typical Terry, I would win in seconds

Vox Reaper walks away after watching the fight

Scene cuts to black

To be continued