#one if them was talking and it was such a human issue and i was kinda zonked and all i could think of was

[ultraericthered]

#i got to screen Wish before it released during a school trip and let me tell you something #even though we noticed the glaring problems with that movie immediately #i also noticed something i dont think many others did at that time #there was so much talent and potential being held back. if you read closely you can pick up on a cry for help from the creatives behind it #i want to elaborate but i think if you know. you know #and if you don't.. this post does a good job of shining a light on a small part of that cry for you #despite its many issues i think i still liked Wish. Not because i think it was a good movie but bc i think it could have been a great one had circumstances been different. #my heart goes out to those who put their souls and everything they had into that movie and others in similar situations #some of the creators had given a small talk before the screening and to me they seemed very emotional about it #i think what many people forget is that nobody can see a project's flaws better than the people who worked on it #but what they also see and you can't is everything more it was meant to be #please remember that the core of many issues in any project is that the people with the talent often do not have power to call the shots

Yes, all of that. And I find it ironic that the gifed scene is the one that got people saying "Hey, King Magnifico's not really much of a villain, he's got a good point! He's just upholding his part of a social contract with his citizenry and doing what he, as king, needs to do to protect their wishes but also protect Rosas by ruling out granting any wishes that might backfire and have dangerous repercussions for the kingdom and the lives of the people! Asha's just an ignorant spoiled brat for demanding anything more of him! Magnifico Did Nothing Wrong!" So when you take that position on what you're being shown by the story and not scratching the surface to look at what Magnifico is doing in-universe by not giving back the wishes he knows he will not grant and knows the people who gave them to him cannot remember and what the out-of-universe subtext of this is, you're siding with the Disney Corporate Executive Overlords. You're siding with Bob Iger's "they're not being realistic with their expectations" argument. You're siding with Chapek and Iger's practices done under excuses like "It doesn't fit the Disney brand", "mass appeal stories over personal ones", "people don't want to go and pay to see movies with girly princess titles", etc. You're siding with their practices of dumping content straight to streaming (or onto Disney+ not too long after they've hit theaters or TV) even when that actually limits profits that the actual creative teams can make from their own work, of tampering with the artists visions and how the finished product turns out and then punishing those artists if it doesn't turn out well, and of ignoring ideas for original creations in favor of contiunally milking their popular (and profitable) existing IPs. You're siding with people who make up an entire entity that say loudly to the faces of all those who put in the work, the skills, the talent, the passion and dedication to create art and content they feel people deserve to enjoy, in the forms they deserve to enjoy them "I decide what everyone deserves!"

Capitalism errodes into a force for human evil when the people at the top prove susceptible to three things in excess beyond mere greed and self-interest: unchecked power, irresponsibility, and indecency. King Magnifico is allegorical for that evil, with a bit of a communist dictator angle to him too since that's the end point of those exact same excesses and extremes for socialism. He's a major problematic fave for all kinds of reasons, but anyone who wants to tell me he's a good guy can kindly GTFO.

Wish (2023) dir. Fawn Veerasunthorn, Chris Buck

hey do you think the overworked creatives about to go on strike are trying to tell us something

article sources under the cut

Mattson, Kelcie. "How Disney Almost Killed 'Nimona.'" Collider, January 2 2024.

Earl, William. "Shelving Batgirl Was the Right Decision, Says New DC Studios Head Peter Safran: 'It Would Have Hurt DC.'" Variety, January 31 2023

Couch, Aaron. "Warner Bros. Reverses Course on 'Coyote vs. Acme' After Filmmakers Rebel." The Hollywood Reporter, November 13 2023.

Ridgely, Charlie. "Scoob! Sequel Director Revealed Film Was 'Very Close' to Completion Before HBO Max Cancellation." comicbook.com, August 2 2022.

Clark, Travis. "Staffers at the animation studio Blue Sky say it's 'heartbreaking' that Disney canceled its final movie, 'Nimona.'" Business Insider, February 18, 2021.

Harrison, Mark. "Why was the Batgirl movie cancelled?" Yahoo! Entertainment, January 31 2024.

Amidi, Amid. "Warner Bros. Shelves Fully-Completed 'Coyote Vs. Acme' For Tax Write-Off." Cartoon Brew, November 9 2023.

Lee, Alex. "Why Netflix keeps cancelling your favourite shows after two seasons." Wired UK, September 28 2020.

Tyrrell, Gary. "We All Knew It Was Coming." fleen.com, February 10 2021.

"Warner Bros. Reverses Course on ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ After Filmmakers Rebel." see: 3.

Bergeson, Samantha. "Warner Bros. Will Let 'Coyote Vs. Acme' Filmmakers Shop Movie to Other Distributors." IndieWire, November 13 2023.

Strapagiel, Lauren. "Disney's First Feature Animated Movie With Queer Leads May Never Be Released." BuzzfeedNews, February 24 2021.

"We All Knew It Was Coming." see: 9

@/scottderrickson. "I think it’s absolute bullshit that a studio can and does shelve the creative work of hundreds of people for a fucking tax break." Twitter, 10 Nov. 2023, 4:52 p.m..

[shapelytimber]

Wanted to paint some of my favorite characters, nothing more nothing less

[COMMISSIONS]

Way too much yapping like an embarrassing amount, the individual portraits and the template I used below vvv

I shouldn't be allowed to talk about my favorite characters- especially to people who (presumably) don't know them xjfkdk apart from the very popular ones ofc

ILLYA KURYAKIN (The man from U.N.C.L.E)

gay ass little Russian spy I love him he is so *dramatic* and a huge nerd and a Beatles fan and into fashion design- perfect pocket size blorbo ;w; also seeing a Russian character being given a positive leading role in an American tvshow from the 60s ?? Yes he lives in New York and works for UNCLE America.... But he is still a communist ?? Incredible ! Also I really like the fact he isn't given the cliché personality traits often given to Russian characters i e anger issues drinks a lot violent ect (looking at you shitty(imo) modern remake... What did you do to my little guy ;;). In a close contest with Spock for the "gayest man from tvshow" of the 60s..... And in my heart he is winning djdkd for me the gay subtext of muncle hits so much more because it's not a scifi show- it's closer to home, Napoleon and Illya were *like that* in the present day of the 60s, they were both human, and no alien fuckery made them go to the village more than once or play house in the suburbs or get attached ass up to get pegged on a regular basis... Truly a show that feels written by an old queen and a guy with the biggest fem dom fetish jkvjjkb (don't get me wrong tho I adore star trek tos and spirk too <3)

KUROO HAZAMA and PINOKO (Black Jack)

sometimes I rewatch some of the oavs from the 90s when I'm sad :) I had a huge phase a couple years back when I read nearly all the manga (should really finish it... Or reread the whole thing frankly), watched *all* the shows (bar young black jack, hated that shit) and idk I just love this venal bitch so much- him and his daughter and his conflicted feelings for his tboy ex that he still loves kfkfkf btw I'm dying for a modern take on this like please please please I'd love to see Kei Kisaragi's story rewritten a bit (trans character in the 70s sure was progressive but oh boy-), because him and black jack's relationship makes me so *weak*.... And maybe see him a bit more than in one story- anyway ! When it comes to his daughter Pinoko, it's very hit or miss- when the writers lean on the cute father adoptive daughter relationship it's great, when they lean more on the whole "she has a crush on him" (very much like a child in most case, and he *never* reciprocate thank god) and bring up the fact she is technically 18 a lot (she was an evil tumor trapped in her sister before he created a body for her- black jack shit dw), and she gets jealous of other women.... Well it's terrible and I'm uncomfy :(

EVA KANT (Diabolik)

Look.... You just can't show me danger diabolik 1968 and not expect me to become insane djdkdkdk she is so cool ;; !!! Her and her devious eel of a man (here as a panther, because even tho I haven't read the comic yet, I'm taking an educated guess that all the panther imagery is here to represent him, the lethal twunk always in the all black gimp suit... And if it's not then fuck my entire life ig fjfkkd), the cuntiest het couple you've ever seen, such freaks I love them ! Partners in crime that will blow up the tax offices of the whole country if you try to put a bounty on them <3 they are in the guilty faves category only because I'm this invested in these characters after 1 (one) movie fkfkf watched the first two remakes and was hmmm let's say underwhelmed, could have been worse but going after the 60s one ie peak cinema was hard... I went in fully invested in these heterosexuals and they still fucked up their romance and relationship ;; (don't spoil me the third one btw haven't seen it yet ! I know it's the yaoi one- which doesn't give me much hope for Eva tbh...) I'll soon start reading the comics tho ! Managed to find all twelve volumes of "Il grande Diabolik" in french for pretty cheap so I'm excited for that :D (might scan them and upload them online because omg I tried finding scans in *any* language and only found a dubious website that sold digital copies for 7€ a volume ??? What is this)

UTA (The Void / Тургор / Turgor / Tension)

Apathy girlyyyyy she just like me for real for real nfkfk what absolutely charmed me about her is yes her design, but more importantly her chamber's design (if you've never played the void, a sister's chamber is a space that represent her. You get a sense of who she is by exploring her chamber before finding her and talking to her soul it's great). The lonely island out at sea, her laying down on a suspended steel boat in a grotto, looking passively at the moon by a crack on the ceiling.... And the moon is looking back. Incredible ! I love this game so much

KIM KITSURAGI (Disco Elysium)

Do I really have to explain this one ? When I played the game with quiji I remember I kept saying "when Kim talks, we *listen*" djkdk we did get a good grade in Kim Kitsuragi and got him to dance in the church <3 this fucking centrist cop wormed it's way into my heart and many others because of course he did. The only Kim K in my eyes. Also funny anecdote : before I played Disco Elysium, I had one concept art masterclass where a kinda famous concept artist came to give advice, make us really stressed then give us a shitty grade.... And when I tell you this man looked so much like Kim ??? Same haircut, glasses, face with a scar *exactly* where Kim's portrait has a stark shadow on his cheek and he was dressed in an orange top- truly uncanny. Anyway, Kim is so fucking cool how does he do it

DARK VADOR (La guerre des étoiles)

*sight* not surprising if you know me... and to be clear when I say Vader I don't mean Anakin Skywalker, post barbecue only zouz here. I refuse to yap about this man djdkdk I already do that way to much in ao3 comment sections

And here is the template I used ! Don't know who made it tho sorry...

PS : all these where made in 2-3 hours each :D wanted to challenge myself by painting quickly, and I mostly (looking at the Eva Kant one that gave me trouble) succeeded !

[liliapleasesteponme]

Show me those fangs 🦇

Vampire!lilia x fem!human!reader

Summary - you explore a dark, gothic mansion alone on a dare from your friends and meet a much different fate

Making out, pet names (doll, sweet thing), mistress kink, degradation (its only one line), hickeys, blood, oral (r receiving), begging

@klien2000

Note - i imagine she was wearing this

"ok y/n, truth or dare ?" one of your friends asked. You were having a party with a few friends while your roommate was out of town and at this point you all a bit tipsy. You had replied 'dare' and the dare went along the lines of "you know that creepy mansion on the hill that everyone says is haunted ? I dare you to go into it alone. AND at night."

You didn't think it was haunted, but that it was probably just old and abandoned. You accepted the dare and, because it was nearing 10 pm, you put on a more presentable outfit and went out to complete the dare while the rest of your friends stayed the night.

Just as you got to the bottom of the hill, you felt a shiver down your back. You tried to brush it off but it did make you feel a bit more wary of going to the mansion. You began to climb the hill, feeling an increasing anxiousness. Once you reached the top, you faced a new issue. How to get in.

The gates were chained shut and the walls were high. At first it looked as though there was no way in but because the house was unkept, there was vines growing, giving you a way of climbing over the tall walls and into the garden.

The garden was beautiful, even though it was overgrown. There were bushes carved into animals (snakes, dogs, rabbits, ect) and colourful flowers amidst the long grass. It almost looked like a fairytale. The mansion was much different though. Dark exterior, gothic stained windows and statues.

You went up to the door and it immediately slammed open. 'ok, so maybe it is haunted' you thought with a hint of sarcasm. You stepped inside and were taken aback by how amazing it looked. Everything was like something out of a castle. There were portraits of old people on the walls, candelabras, gold-legged tables and a vase of flowers that looked like they'd only just been picked. You thought the flowers were strange but chose to move past it.

You made your way to what seemed to be a grand dining room. The table in the center was long and covered by a red and gold table cloth and on it was a glass of wine that had clearly just been poured. It suddenly dawned on you that this house may not be abandoned. You froze for a moment before quickening your pace towards the door.

Just as you reached it, it crashed shut so hard you almost fell down. You were trapped. You frantically looked for another exit but your attempt was unsuccessful. You thought you might aswell explore some more since you were stuck here.

When you got back to the dining room, you stopped for a moment to think about what just happened. All of a sudden, everything went black. You felt a pair of hands push you against the wall as you drop your bag to the floor. "why are you here ? Who are you ?"

For a moment, you couldn't breathe pressed up against the wall but the grip the person had on you lessened so you could answer. "I'm y/n. M-my friends dared me to come here, i-i swear i don't mean to cause trouble."

You began breathing very heavily and the person spun you around to be face-to-face. It was a woman, much older than you. She was wearing a light blouse and a fitting black and red corset. If you were being honest, you thought she was very attractive but that thought was quickly suppressed when she began talking. "well, well, what will i do with you, huh doll ?"

You were too surprised by her pet name to say anything, so you just stared at her for a while. Her eyes were a deep red, filled with rage and what you secretly hoped was lust. When you didn't respond she opened her mouth to speak again thats when you saw them. Her two large fangs. She was a vampire.

How had you not realised before ?

She must've seen your reaction to her fangs because she instantly closed her mouth again. For a moment you couldn't help but glance at her dark red lips. Somehow you weren't as afraid as you probably should have been, she only seemed to intrigue you.

"what ? Never met a vampire before doll ?" she asked, clearly amused by your reaction. You didn't know how to react so you just gently shook your head. "let me hear that voice, sweet thing"

You let out a shaky breath, "are you really a vampire ?"

"mm believe it doll," she said with a smirk "now then ... Back to my previous question. What am i to do with you ?"

She hesitated a moment before taking a step back and leaning against the grand table behind her. In that moment, you likely should have run as far away as possible, but you didn't. You stayed put, chasing the reason for your initial intrigue. The vampire decided to answer her own question, "you're lucky i've let you last this long really. Most of them are dead by now,"

A streak of fear ran through you as she said those last few words. Of course ! She's a vampire. How could she not kill people ? "besides, i think your different. You don't have that glint of fear in your eyes like the others usually do. Theres something different there."

She looked you up and down for a moment and offered you her hand. You took it with no hesitation. You'd begun to trust her, despite everything she'd said so far. "so, what's your name then, doll ?"

"y/n," you told her, honestly hoping that instead of using it that she'd keep using those pet names that had begun to grow on you. "and you ?"

"Lilia. But thats not important. You can call me mistress." You were slightly taken aback that she asked (or more demanded) that you call her mistress and even more so that her name was just as beautiful as her face.

With that, she began to drag you to another room of the mansion. Your mouth was open in silent awe as you saw more of the house, it really was like a dream. The two of you reached a large door, to which she pushed open to reveal a beautiful bedroom. The walls were a strong burgundy and the room was laced with golden accents, including the bedsheets.

You had taken a step forward to fully take in the room when Lilia spun you around to face her and embraced you in a passionate kiss. The kiss was unlike any you'd had before. It was fiery and fierce yet caring at the same time. You moaned into the kiss, giving the vampires tongue better access to you. As the kiss deepened, you felt her fangs brush against your lips. Her fangs aroused you further and your mind began to think that it may not be so bad if she bites you.

After a minute or two, you broke away from the kiss to take a breath. Lilia put her hand to your hair, using it to tilt your head to the side, exposing your neck. This is it you thought as she moved closer to your neck ... But no, not yet.

She began to kiss and suck on your neck leaving a trail of hickeys as she moved further down to your collarbone. You practically moaned out, "please, touch me."

She drew back, looking you dead in the eyes, "use my name first, sweet thing"

"Lili~" she cut you off as soon as you began, "not that one, doll."

"mistress, mistress please touch me. I need you." she let out a hum of acceptance, "begging already huh ? Pathetic."

You whimpered in response, gazing into her eyes. Then she pushed you onto the bed, climbing on top of you with hungry eyes. Her hands moved quickly to remove your clothes, leaving you fully exposed to her.

She was quick to focus on your breasts, teasing them with her fingers. She began to leave another hickey on your breast while her hands snaked their way down to your hips, holding you in place because of how squirmy you'd gotten.

Suddenly, she moved lower so her head was between your thighs. She began marking you again and you were becoming too needy so you let out a loud moan, pulling on her hair slightly so she would go faster to your aching pussy. This time she wasn't as reciprocative. She bit down on your inner thigh with overwhelming strength. Her fangs were deep inside you and all you could do was moan even louder.

Blood dripped from the wound when she pulled away. She licked up the remaining blood around the bite and moved so she was eye level with you. There was a small drop of blood that had fallen from her lip that she seductively wiped away. For a moment, you couldn't move due to what happened, you just watched her face and how her expression softened.

"are you ok doll ?" she asked with genuine care in her voice. You nodded you head but it wasn't good enough for her. She needed to be sure. "i need words y/n."

"im ok." you pushed out weakly. "please, i need you."

"i know what you need, doll, let mistress take care of you." her words gave you butterflies and your pussy was so needy for her right now. Her head was back inbetween your legs and she didn't waste any time in going straight for your pussy, licking a stripe down your wet hole.

After the first taste, it was like she developed an addiction. She plunged her tongue into you, making your back arch from the sudden pleasure. She moved her tongue in and out of your wet pussy feeling how close you already were. Your moans had become uncontrollable.

Her pace quickened as she licked and sucked your clit while her fingers were tracing the bite mark on your thigh,"hmph fuuck~"

"come on, you can be louder. I want to hear you scream." she emphasized each word in a way that drove you crazy. Your moans became louder and louder until you were convinced the whole town would be able to hear you. Overwhelmed by pleasure, you threw your head back against the headboard, only to be pulled back into the vampires sight.

"i wanna see you, doll. I wanna see you face as you cum for your mistress."

"please, im so close, please mistress, can i cum ?" she looked up at you and gave you a nod. You were on the edge and it look one more lick for you to cum in her mouth.

That was probably the best orgasm of your life. She licked up any excess and swallowed all of your cum. Your breathing finally settled as you came down from your high. She moved to lay next to you and put her arms around you, pulling you closer to her body.

This was nice, comfortable. Maybe being turned into a vampire wouldn't be too bad.

Let me know if you liked it <3

- aqua

[literaryvein-reblogs]

How do I write mean insults that's in character for a character to say? I'm personally poor at coming up with insults that don't sound generic or would actually cut deep, being mean in general. I want to write a snarky character with a dry sense of humour when it calls for it but don't know how to go about it.

He's also recovering from a superiority and inferiority complex.

As the writer, you know your character best, and what insults would make sense for them to say (also considering the bigger context of the scene). So, I'll just provide you with a compilation of prompts and notes from different sources, and you can choose which ones are most appropriate to incorporate in your story.

Writing Notes: Insults & Dry Humor

A List of "Sophisticated" Insults

Craven - having or showing a complete lack of courage; very cowardly

Fatuous - silly or stupid; complacently or inanely foolish. From Latin infatuate, which once meant "to make foolish," but which now usually means "to inspire with foolish love or admiration."

Insipid - not interesting or exciting; dull or boring

Obstreperous - difficult to control and often noisy

Obtuse - stupid or unintelligent; not able to think clearly or to understand what is obvious or simple

Pusillanimous - weak and afraid of danger. It's been used by such notables as Ralph Waldo Emerson ("It is a pusillanimous desertion of our work to gaze after our neighbours"), and the disgraced Vice-President Spiro Agnew, who called journalists "pusillanimous pussyfooters."

Sanctimonious - pretending to be morally better than other people. It once meant "possessing sanctity; holy, sacred." The genuinely holy aspect faded, and William Shakespeare is credited with first using sanctimonious to mean "hypocritically pious or devout."

Twee - sweet or cute in a way that is silly or sentimental. Just as buddy is believed to be a baby talk alteration of "brother", twee is a baby talk alteration of "sweet". Although twee is still considered a chiefly British term, it's increasingly popular in American English.

Unctuous - revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, and false earnestness or spirituality. Unction can mean "anointment" or it can name something used to anoint, such as a soothing or lubricating oil. That idea of oiliness led to unctuous, which can describe the slickness of false sincerity.

Vacuous - having or showing a lack of intelligence or serious thought; lacking meaning, importance, or substance

The insult would also depend on which other character it is directed at. Here is a list of "funny" insults for adults from Reader's Digest:

My days of not taking you seriously have come to a middle.

You are the human equivalent of a participation trophy.

If you were a spice, you’d be flour.

You may have a sparsely attended funeral.

I smell something burning. Are you trying to think again?

You’re like a lighthouse in a desert: bright but not very useful.

Don’t worry—the first 30 years of childhood are always the hardest.

May your life be as pleasant as you are.

You’re as useless as the “ueue” in “queue.”

Your face is just fine. It’s your personality that’s the issue.

...and for your character's significant other:

I like you. People say I have no taste, but I like you.

You continue to meet my expectations.

I’ll never forget the first time we met. But I’ll keep trying.

If genius skips a generation, our kids will be brilliant.

We were happily married for a month. Too bad it’s our 10-year anniversary.

I admire the way you try so hard.

You’re entitled to your incorrect opinion.

Have you tried doing it the way I told you to the first time?

The best part of watching a show with you is when you fall asleep because then I can watch my show.

Don’t call me crazy—you’re the one who married me!

You can always alter these to better suit your character. You can read the full list here, which also includes some insults for kids, best friends, and family.

Tips for Better Humor Writing

Humor writing isn’t all about landing a good joke (except for when it is). In creative writing, the effect is usually a bit more nuanced. Here’s a few writing techniques to get you started:

Subvert expectations. Try to undermine the audience’s expectations or reform them with structural elements.

Save the best for last. Humor is often a release of tension, so the sentence builds that tension, and the pay-off—the punchline—happens most naturally at the end. This is also sometimes referred to as the “rule of three,” where two thoughts act as a build-up to the final humorous closer.

Use contrast. Are your characters in a terrifying situation? Add something light, like a man obsessing about his briefcase instead of the T-Rex looming behind him.

Use good wordplay. Sometimes words themselves are funny, and just as often, their placement in a sentence can make a difference. Some words are just funnier than others, so make a list of those that amuse you the most.

Take advantage of cliché. While clichés are something most writers try to avoid, it’s important to recognize them,so you can use them to your advantage. Humor relies in part on twisting a cliché—transforming or undermining it. You do this by setting up an expectation based on the cliché and then providing a surprise outcome. In humor writing, this process is called reforming.

Use humor as a counterbalance. If you just pile on one terrible thing after another, it starts to become ridiculous, and people won’t buy it. Using humor is a great way to achieve the proper balance between fantasy and real life. Remember, if a roller coaster only did twists and turns the whole time, it wouldn’t be as fun to ride.

Level of Intensity

There are people who shrug off an insult (“That’s just the way she is”) and people who commit murder over an insult (“I’m avenging my honor!”). Plus, of course, everything in between. Which is your character?

To be believable, consider the following:

Personality. How hard does your character take events in general? Does s/he get really excited over good fortune and really depressed over setbacks? Then we’ll find it believable that s/he gets really angry and reacts accordingly.

The second cause of an intense reaction is the nature of the specific fight that you’re creating on the page. Lily Owens lets most of her father’s insults go by (“the art of survival”). But when he starts in about her mother, the topic is too important to Lily to gloss over. Lily’s reaction is intense. She runs away. Another type of character might merely have seethed silently. Still another might have fought T. Ray more intensively, setting fire to the house with him inside.

Finally, the strength of fights is culturally determined. Where public or even private scenes are disapproved of (upper-class London, old-money Boston, “well-behaved” families), arguments may be muted, even when the subject matters a great deal. In other cultures, volatility is not frowned on, and people may feel free to scream at each other in public. In extreme cases, murder may even be considered a duty, as in avenging a sister’s sexual assault.

Where is your story taking place? Are your arguers in tune with local or family culture? Maybe not. You can create interesting effects by portraying the rebels against the local mores: the meek child born into a battling family, the furious feminist in polite 19th-century English society.

On Dry Humor

Dry humor - is all about the subtle irony of the facts being stated plainly; it is the contrast between sentiment and reality that makes the situation funny.

The technique is known for its simple, often matter-of-fact declarations that will make the audience laugh or be perplexed (humor is subjective, after all).

With dry humor, delivery and intention create a sort of comedic cognitive dissonance or contrast. Sometimes it is as simple as using a bit of sarcasm, but it can also be more than that.

Dry humor lives and dies on the back of doing less.

Less facial expressions, less props, less setup—less is often more when it comes to landing the joke. You aren’t using a big, dramatic setup or a grandiose vocabulary to make your point.

Essentially, these jokes are derived from saying the opposite of what is meant or delivering them in a way that purposefully counteracts the supposed meaning of what is being said.

Dry Humor in Writing

The function of dry humor has often been to highlight the absurd.

It is effectively executed in moments where satirization of the circumstances at play require little more than noting the facts aloud.

When writing this sort of humor, quick, cutting accuracy is key to making the jokes land.

Simplicity is king, and an honest statement of the facts will always lead the way to finding the funny.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Humour ⚜ Laughter & Humour

Hope this helps with your writing!

[skill7spark04]

Ima be real, most men I see just want A woman. men that get several women care about attributes like that, because they can pull. but men who never pull just want to feel loved. mostly. women who don't pull many are often quieter about their prefrences, and even then their prefrences are few and far between, usually being something like "don't be an asshole" and "don't look like Nikacado pre 2024 reveal". but the ones who are the quietest on both sides, whether because they choose to, or are ignored entirely, often just wants to be loved. when you have so many options, you often forget to look for what's important, assuming that it is, and should be, a default trait. a person could be the hottest bitch (man or woman) and still be an asshole, because you assume the default that humans aren't assholes due to your experience. however, if you have little to no choice, then you really care about finding someone who actually is a good person, because you don't care about sorting through your options to find your perfect partner, you're just trying to find someone kind and loving, and they will be perfect for you. both sides I've seen point fingers calling each other shallow. but it's the loud minority that distorts our views. most women aren't on onlyfans and most dudes aren't fuckboys. most are quiet, content, and just looking for love without bothering the world about it. let's be honest. the reason why Men left is the toxic feminists mixed with the pandering of the right, such as Andrew Tate. men talk about mens issues, make their own spaces, and try to have discussion, and then are invaded by the worst side of the left (most of you are reasonable I'd like to think), and told that they are privileged (sure doesn't feel like it when even alleged SA, even if disproved gets you arrested and fired), and that the patriarchy blah blah blah. for example: National Mens day. national women's day is talked about on the news, people all over talk about it. but you so much as say happy mens day, you get hit with "oh, so you're celebrating bigots, colonizers, and racists across history?" well if we're going that route, Africans routinely committed genocide on each other in their own country, even selling off POWs to the British during the Triangle trade. that would make them slavers, right? so why do we celebrate BLM? do you hear how ridiculous that sounds? or worse yet: "men don't deserve a day" or "no wonder I felt terrible". again. this is a loud minority of people. usually a small subset of white American Women who think all men should die because of one bad experience. I'd love to believe the progressive all inclusive side of politics would include the Cis Het White Male. BUT DOES IT REALLY? (sorry, I shouldn't really talk politics, but I can't let this one slide. I enjoyed your observations, and it's interesting to know that it does in fact go both ways, confirming my hypothesis about the Loud Minority ruining everything by convincing the public that the majority thinks that way. most of y'all women don't hate men, or you wouldn't have dads or husbands or boyfriends, right?)

I know two men who are currently single. One is 26, and the other is 38.

I’ve spoken with both of them at length about what they want in a woman, seeing as they’re cishet and white.

They both immediately went for physical attributes. Thin, but needs to have a nice butt. Boobs can’t be too big. One likes short hair, the other likes long hair. They also went into facial features for some reason. That was the part that made me really uncomfortable as I hadn’t expected either of them to have been that focused on appearances.

Aesthetics came next. Both want ‘alt goth / witchy’ women. It should be worth noting both of these men said their potential partner can’t wear too much makeup.

Lastly came personality and interests. They both said this is the most important thing to them, but they also ‘have to be pretty’. Oh, and they need to listen.

I have some single ladies I’ve also spoken with.

It’s the opposite. They rarely care about looks. It’s about chemistry, emotional connection, feeling safe, and sharing common goals / ideals.

While I know it’s not ‘all men’ it sure as fuck is a lot of you. Also both of these men think they’re part of the ‘good cishet white liberal men’ who voted for Kamala, despite one of them not voting at all.

He’s the 38 year old. To make things worse, he’s trying to date a 24 year old. 🤷‍♀️ His criteria for a potential partner was also under the age of 30 because it means less baggage and they’re still ‘fun to be around’.

You don’t want to know what he doesn’t bring to the table. Either of them, rather. 😅

We do have a male loneliness epidemic, but it’s not women’s fault. We don’t owe you anything. We’re not vending machines you put tokens into and get sex out of. Male culture made by men and perpetuated by men has made men this way. And it’s your job as men to fix it, not point the finger at us and say it’s our fault for not wanting to be with you. Some of us like myself want to actually HELP you, but you guys rarely want to listen. You instead want to complain to us about our gender and how unfair we’re being by not giving you a chance.

We don’t owe you anything.

On January 20th, 2025 and forward, they’re going to try to take our rights. They may succeed.

Men have to take from us because they’ve gaslit themselves into seeing us as the enemy, despite having driven us away by their own actions centered around self interest.

“It’s not all men. But it sure is a lot of you.”

[nekrotiize]

It's a controversial take because everyone's stupid but I'm never going to stop calling fandom + shipping culture homophobic. Fandoms are consistently extremely homophobic, and shipping culture is consistently even more homophobic.

Yes, the way fandoms center men so religiously is obviously misogynistic. The only people who deny that are themselves misogynists. But the aggressive centering of men and the resultant fixation on male/male dynamics lends to this slimy coating of homophobia that nobody talks about. The misogyny is an issue, clearly. But gay men are, to most people in fandom, toys. We are sex objects to coo over. It's intensely voyeuristic. Every god damn interaction is scrutinized to hell and back, and the second a man shows any kind of emotional connection with another man, it gets pounced on, and he gets thrown into a mill that flattens him down to one of three deeply heterosexual yaoi tropes that are fandom's only way of processing the existence of gay men.

It doesn't even matter what that man is. A disconcerting amount of time, people will start fawning over the idea of literal rapists being gay with zero critical thought applied. As if gay men being painted as and assumed to be sexual predators isn't a method that's been historically used to literally legally murder us. (What the fuck do people think "Gay Panic" means, even?)

Gay men aren't given the ability to be human beings in fandom. We're not afforded nuance. We're accessories, we are constantly objectified, and no one ever takes the time to consider that we have cultures, and that we are real human beings. We keep getting shoved into the most heterosexual boxes physically possible for the easy digestibility of people who do not want to see us as human beings. Semes- sorry, I mean Tops are the taller, older, more masculine, capable men of the relationship. Ukes- oops, sorry again, I mean Bottoms are the smaller, younger, more feminine, and totally useless women of the relationship. It's painfully yaoi. Gay men in fandom are never given the opportunity to be regular men, because people are too busy turning everything into homophobic, misogynistic fetish porn of our existence to be normal for five seconds.

There's something comedic about how many people in fandom want to say they're progressive, accepting. Safe. How fandom is welcoming of everyone. Look, we've made all this representation! And every time, gay men are sex objects, the women are scapegoated to hell and back, the headcanoned trans men are always skinny white softboys not a single day over 21 maximum, lesbianism is maybe acknowledged 0.5% of the time and largely for brownie points, bisexuals are across the board made out to be overtly horny and often sexually aggressive, fans of color are harassed out of the community left and right, anyone on the aro/ace spectrums is called a freak and a killjoy for not participating in shipping, characters on the aro/ace spectrums are heavily included in shipping content with the excuse of "aros/aces can date/have sex like normal people, too!" with zero regard for what our love looks like, and there isn't a single accepted trans woman headcanon to be seen.

Fandoms are circuses full of dirty little liars with cotton stuffed in their ears and Shipping Culture is a disease.

And if you criticize either of them, the most annoying white liberals you've ever seen will start clutching their pearls because how dare you criticize something that's free?! Don't you know a lack of price point immediately negates any criticism?! Just laughable.

[callistocalavarni]

Shifting and using LOA with OCD

I feel like it's important to talk about how harmful it can be to ignore this subject. So if you have ocd or anxiety and still want to shift or use loa this post is for you. I want to stress that it is ok to worry about intrusive thoughts. Just because you dwell on an obssesion does not mean its going to manifest. However, I still feel the need to share ways you can prevent your intrusive thoughts from making you stress while shifting and using loa. First we need to fully know what we are dealing with and then how to fix the issue.

If you are not aware, OCD has four stages:

Obssesion - Unwanted, intrusive, and distressing thoughts, images or urges. (sometimes these thoughts are not clear and can just feel like impending doom without reason.) These intrusions are unwanted and are sent from your areas of your brain including the prefrontal cortex (orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortexes), basal ganglia, and thalamus. !!!

Anxiety - Intense fear and discomfort triggered by the obssesions. Dwelling on the thought, worring that you are a bad person by thinking a certian thing ( you are not ) or stressing that the intrusive thought will happen.

Compulsion - Repetitive behaviors or mental rituals performed to reduce the anxiety caused from these thoughts. ex; counting in your head, doing something untill it feels "even", washing your hands a certian amount of times, or even yelling and shunning the thought out of your head.

Temporary relief - The compulsions provide temporary relief from the anxiety, reinforcing the cycle. Once you do your compulsion it tricks your mind into thinking that these obssesions pose a real danger, and that compulsions are necessary in order to be safe. (these are what we want to stop so we can break the cycle.) And yes, telling the thought to go away and cursing at it is also a compulsion.

I'm going to start this of by saying, compulsions are bad. Please try not to give into them. I know it's hard at first and you will feel scared and uncomfortable but thats the point. You have to undo the cycle to build a new one. Compulsions give the intrusive thoughts meaning. We don't want this. If you give the thought meaning or show feelings to it your brain is going to think its important therefore it will keep sending you the thought. There is two ways to stop this, Ignore the thought, or decunsruct the thought (aka ERP.)

Ignoring the thought can go like this: Label the thought as intrusive but do not add emotion to it. But also don't push it away Ex; "This is an intrustive thought, I am going to think about something else now." If the thought becomes overwhelming and you can't get away from it, start manually breathing. This will distract your brain. We want to act like the thought is like any other thought you would have. The avarge human has about 60,000 thoughts a day. Do we remeber all of these? Of course not. This is because we dont attach any emotion or dwell on them. It's kind of ironic because this method is basically using loa. If we act like the thought is usless and not important it will become just that and our brain will stop sending us the thought.

Decunstructing the thought or exposing and response prevention (erp) can be a little more difficult. The goal here is to overcome the fear and expose our selves to the intrusive thoughts completely. I know it sounds scary but remeber if you have no intention of manifesting said thought then it simply won't manifest. (an intrusive thought saying you have intention does not count don't worry) I also use this to re script traumatic events or nightmares. Imagery rescripting is what I am going to call this method of moving away from your intrusive thoughts. Imagery Rescripting is a technique that is often used in therapy to deal with upsetting or significant images that occupy our mind and play a part in keeping our anxiety going. The problematic images that people often struggle with can be memories of the past, nightmares, or intrusive thoughts. You have probably noticed that with all of your intrusive thoughts or images, the common response is to try to avoid the image, to push it away, to shun it out of our minds. This is a very understandable reaction, unfortunately avoiding these thoughts and using a compulsion usually makes it worse. It makes us very fearful of the thought itself, giving the intrusive thoughts power over you, and therefore the thought becomes something more than a "just a thought." By rescripting you are no longer avoiding them. Instead you are actively approaching them. You run the full image/thought in your head and then re write it. You can do this however you want. Rescripting it can range from complete fantasy or staying in the guidelines of this reality. Ex; Inflating the image and adding different hues to it. Making the scary thing in the image look silly; this takes away power from it. Do you want Hatsune Miku to start e dancing on your fears? She totally can! Adding a comfort character or a s/o to the image and letting them change it for you/comfort you can also work. If it is just a thought I would try and see the full sentence of said thought and then change the letters in your head to make it say something else. Or you can make the letters change into silly little characters..make them dance! Important note - You have to first deal with the intrusive thought/image. You cannot skip over this part or else it will just be a compulsion. If it is to triggring have someone else in the room while you do it so they can wake you up from the visualization and help you ground yourself. I would only do this method if you know for a fact that you are ready to face your intrusive thoughts head on.

Crying or experiencing hard emotions while doing ERP is normal. Though, I did this alone, I would recommend someone you trust is there while you are doing it so if things get too overwhelming they can help you. I as well have ocd so most of this is from my personal experience.

If you have any questions about this my asks are open. :)

<3

[frozenjokes]

mumbo jumbo jealousy arc

ao3 link

“Tell me everything.”

Etho was expecting to get cornered by Scar at the first opportunity, but honestly, he thought he might get more than 24 hours given that Scar had a job. According to Scar though, ‘what else are lunch breaks for?’ He cited a concern that Etho might forget everything if left for too long, which seemed dramatic, but it was true that Etho never had the best of memories. However, most of Etho’s memory problems were due to an issue of Chronic Spacing Out, and there was none of that happening at the beach yesterday.

“Mumbo didn’t understand what Grian did with his face. Mermaids also shave. I don’t know why he was so confused. I just don’t think he liked it. That was his biggest concern yesterday.”

Etho knew that would get him, Scar cackling so hard that Etho was truly shocked he could manage to dial Grian’s number at the same time.

///

‘And while I was away? What did you talk about then?’ Mumbo was dying to know, and while he had planned to leave Altas and Etho alone while he tended to the humans, he couldn’t help checking back in on their conversation, needing to know every tidbit of information and human knowledge shared between them. Mumbo was just so curious, and learning about the humans from his original sources was great, but there was a certain catharsis in learning directly, having Atlas ask the questions and receive clear, direct answers.

But Atlas had been cagey in the few days that had passed after Etho’s visit, and while Mumbo had been hoping they would gain enough confidence to interact with a real human face to face, Atlas only cringed away at the sound of Scar’s voice above the water, more touchy than they were in the first place. Mumbo didn’t understand why. Sure, getting Atlas to change their tune about humanity as a species was a grand notion of optimism that Mumbo was not naive enough to play into too much, but this change was almost more unexpected; pure aggression to more of a.. discomfort? Disgust, maybe, like the smell of rot or infection.

Despite this, whatever was bothering them was kept tightly sealed. Though perhaps underestimating the power of human eyesight, Atlas did surface a couple days later to watch Scar and Mumbo in the shallows. Scar was playing some kind of game where he chased Mumbo’s tail, grasping at the fins. Scar’s grand move was a hearty leap to grasp his quarry, but a miss left Scar momentarily immobilized as he inevitably face planted into the sand. A perfect opportunity for Mumbo to batter Scar’s head with the very tail fins he was chasing. It was a good game, Mumbo quite liked seeing Scar flail and scream a little. As much as human noise could be a headache, something about it in the context of play made everything much more satisfying. Though, without this context, it probably sounded like Mumbo was ripping off Scar’s scalp with his teeth. Was Atlas wondering if Mumbo finally snapped?

Scar must have had a secret sense for when mers who hated him were around, because despite his engagement in active warfare, he noticed almost immediately, breaking off their game to wave, then deflating when Atlas retreated in the next moment. Scar sat in the swallows after that, arms wrapped around his legs with his chin on his knees looking distinctly sad, and despite Scar’s obnoxiousness when it came to Atlas these days, Mumbo couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him. Humans were social and loud, and this one just really loved making connections, even if he didn’t always know how.

“I don’t mean to scare him off..” Scar mumbled, and while Mumbo didn’t know what he was saying, he got the sense the human was referring to Atlas, “I just want him to come around, right? To know it’s okay.”

Mumbo didn’t know how to help him. He couldn’t explain, though with how pushy and nosey both humans could be, Mumbo was sure they had already heard from Etho about Atlas’s distaste for their kind. However, Mumbo could sing, and that quiet comfort was the best that he could offer for a downcast heart. It brought Mumbo peace to see Scar relax under his song.

…

‘I just don’t understand how you can be so comfortable with it, let it so close,’ Atlas had started, the words coming out of nowhere, hours after Scar had left. This wasn’t the first time this sentiment had been expressed, but judgement was not at the forefront of Atlas’s concern tonight, the mer shrinking in their discomfort. ‘I don’t think it’s natural behavior for humans either, it should be afraid of you, not interested like it is, especially not in me.’

‘They’re curious things,’ Mumbo whistled simply in response, and while he was a little tired of this line of conversation, he really did want to be patient. This was deeply antithetical to everything Atlas had known back home, and honestly, without the harsh edge to their questioning, the repetivity of the matter bothered Mumbo far less. ‘Scars especially is a very curious thing. You won’t have the same problem with Red.’

‘I don’t like it. Your Scars. I don’t like the way it regards you.’ Atlas’s clicks carried an emotion Mumbo couldn’t quite parse. He communicated this with a small flick of his tail and fins, asking for elaboration. Atlas was quiet for some time, deliberating.

‘Ghost had a few things to say about that human’s interest in us.’

Mumbo’s curiosity was instantly piqued, though Atlas only looked discomforted when Mumbo goaded them on, like they were hoping Mumbo would pluck the answers right out of their mind. This was distinct in its oddness; Atlas was not the type of mer to talk in circles. Finally, Mumbo had to prompt them vocally.

‘Say what you mean?’

‘It has..’ the hairs on Atlas’s shoulders prickled, ‘Courting motivations.’

Mumbo imagined that if the humans heard this, they’d laugh so hard that their lungs would fail to support them. He himself let loose a delighted trill, much to Atlas’s alarm.

‘Did you know? Does it not disturb you? Why didn’t you warn me!’

Mumbo waved them off with his tail, ‘Scars is not interested in you, don’t be ridiculous. Their fascination with mermaids mirrors my own curiosity with humanity. Whatever Ghost told you, they exaggerated.’

Atlas was not to be persuaded. ‘They seemed certain.’

‘Human emotion is difficult enough to read on a human-born. Ghost is particularly difficult to decipher, and they do nothing to make it easier. If your intentions are to study the basics of human language once Ghost returns in their proper form, you’d benefit from spending a little time near the beach. They’re expressive creatures, Scars especially.’

Atlas didn’t need to say a word for Mumbo to know they hated the idea of that in any capacity. ‘That one worries me.’

Mumbo couldn’t help but snort. He hadn’t been intending on telling Atlas this as he knew he’d never hear the end of it, but Mumbo figured it would be worth it to quell this ridiculous anxiety.

‘If there were to be any courting between human and mer, it would be between Scars and I only. If Ghost was feeling snide, that’s what they were referencing.’

It looked like Atlas didn’t know if they wanted to snarl or flee. Mumbo got the message loud and clear, though a deep satisfaction turned his tail inward in a soft curl. He was pleased, even if the status of whatever relationship he and Scar had kindled was unclear. Mumbo didn’t particularly care! He quite liked the human casual, the relationship without commitments. He liked having Scar’s attention, far more than he’d ever cared for a mermaid’s. It was novel. Special. And honestly, human or mer, Mumbo had never known anyone else to hang off everything he did and said with such keen interest.

‘Surely you’re not serious,’ Atlas finally said, to which Mumbo purposely misconstrued the meaning.

‘We won't be trading scales any time soon, no, no.’

Atlas seemed to short circuit at the suggestion that this was even on the table, then clearly chose to ignore the sentiment, shaking themself off, ‘That human is not to be trusted. This- Practicality aside, this is deeply disturbing.’

‘If courting is all about practicality to you, I recommend you never find a lover.’

‘You can’t just exclude semantics from these discussions! What is it expecting of you? You of it? You can not mate, you can not occupy the same spaces comfortably- even besides the concept of interspecies courting being entirely antithetical, there is just no way something like this could work long term!’

Flippantly, Mumbo turned away, ‘I can do whatever I please.’ He could waste his time responding to all those questions, but what was the point when Atlas didn’t care for the answers. It wasn’t like Mumbo cared for the answers either, his interest solely in living freely and indulging in whatever was currently sparking joy. So what if he acted on fleeting whims, it’s not like he was hurting anyone.

‘I don’t trust it,’ Atlas said when they realized Mumbo would not be humoring them anymore, ‘Ghost spoke of an interest in the sea. Anything with fins, scales, and sharp teeth. They made it sound fickle.’

‘Ghost’s own disinterest in courting infects every word they speak about it, mermaid, human, or otherwise. Scars does not care for you; they will be too busy looking at me.’ Mumbo gave a pointed flick of his tail, all his fins now twitching in annoyance. Scar was outgoing, he went out of his way to put himself out there, but Mumbo would not consider him fickle. Whatever Scar and Grian got up to was none of his concern; as far as he knew humans were just like that, fighting over each other and mating with reckless abandon. There was still so much that Mumbo did not know about humans, but these weren’t the things that would keep him up at night. Mumbo was experimenting! He was having fun! As far as he could tell, so was Scar! It wasn’t- It wasn’t fickle! Fickle. Ridiculous.

Mumbo abandoned Atlas on the sandy floor, withdrawing in a huff to the burrow where he kept his things and slept.

His mind wandered. It took him down a path he hated to travel, though his thoughts lingered on the end of it all, defending Scar from the monster he seemed so eager to befriend. No one had been pleased about this, but Scar didn’t care at all, and while Mumbo had struggled to glean the meaning of everything he was doing and saying, Grian had admonished him for.. Scar had been chasing a monster whose scale had already been traded (metaphorically, at least. Mumbo had looked, and he saw none of Joel’s dark scales etched into theirs.)

Mumbo had been so startled by the question of mermaid monogamy that the implications hadn’t fully set in. Not that he was bothered if humans took multiple partners, honestly, that surprised him very little, but..

What if Scar really was only interested in fins and scales? It didn’t matter who they were attached to or the things they'd done to hurt someone.. Mumbo’s gut coiled. Was it so simple? If Etho had said it, insisted that’s really all Scar cared about- once Scar learned of Etho’s condition, had he pursued them as well?

Maybe Mumbo was the novelty.

///

“-one hundred years, Mumbo, one hundred years! The whole team got cursed by that goat, that’s why the Cubs never won a World Series for that long, but they pulled through! The curse is broken! Well, that specific curse at least. Apparently the Cubs have a lot of curses, like, a lot, Bdubs and I were looking that stuff up for a while last night, just all sorts of baseball stuff- sports fans are very superstitious it turns out! Who knew? One hundred years. Pretty cool!”

“Your ice is gonna melt, bud,” Grian called from where he was fiddling with his fishing gear; Mumbo was thrilled to see him back at his hobbies! Scar jumped to attention, looking mildly sheepish before babbling on.

“Well, I just wanted you to know where the name came from. Cub. Cubby Cub Cub. Cubby Wubby Cub Dub. Bdubs and I couldn’t stop with that last night, just Cubby Cubbing for like an hour, Etho just about killed us. But I was thinking about it, and I was like, huh! If this mermaid is sticking around for the foreseeable future, he needs a name! He- it- they- ohh, I don’t know what to call Cub actually! I wish you could ask them what they’d prefer..”

“I doubt it cares, Scar,” Grian said again, answering a question Scar did not ask. “People pronouns probably don’t mean anything to mermaids. Etho said gender was different for him, right? Probably the only reason he calls himself ‘he’ is because that’s what Joel started calling him.”

“Well I don’t want to call them it.”

“Then don’t.”

Whatever Grian had said must have made perfect sense, Scar shooting up like he’d had some great epiphany. “Great point! Anyway, I’ve been a little down because I know your friend doesn’t like Grian and I and that’s okay, but selfishly it's also extremely not okay to me and I need them to like me. I need it. But clearly my current methods aren’t working, so I was like, what else can I do? And then I didn’t come up with anything. So I called Grian! And Grian suggested delivering a gift through you, which was a great idea, but I was stumped on what to give them, y’know? I figured no human stuff, you like the humans stuff but- oh! That reminds me, I’ve got a trinket for you, don’t let me forget it- Anyway, I asked Etho, and Etho told me to stop calling him, but then after I called five more times he told me that Cub would never like me which was rude and also sad. After that though, he told me it’s really hot on the surface compared to the deep water, and that you guys have to travel a little ways out to actually hunt, and I thought well, why not give you a frozen treat! At first I was just gonna bring some still frozen fish in a cooler, but Grian, genius Grian, suggested I let you have the ice too! I got you a biodegradable bag for it and everything, but I hope you don’t try to eat that too. Do you like to eat ice? I do. Dentist said it was bad for my teeth and I had to stop, but sometimes I just can’t resist. Whatever kind of ice they put in your drinks at restaurants, that’s the good shit. Can’t let it go to waste.”

Scar retreated back to his and Grian’s bags, where he heaved a new container up off the sand, waddling back with it in his arms. Must’ve been quite heavy; Scar had never brought something like this to the beach before. Mumbo’s interest was piqued, though Scar never left the box’s side, making it frustrating to investigate. Oh, what he wouldn’t give to pull it off the beach and right into the water, then he could have his way. Scar seemed to anticipate this though (it’s not like Mumbo had a history of stealing! This was blasphemy!), using his body as a shield from Mumbo’s grabby hands and positioning his weight strategically so that he could fall on top of the box if Mumbo made a break for it anyway. Foul human, Scar never had any fun.

“Now, most of this is for Cub, but I have some for you too of course. Not even portions- I’m just trying to make a good impression here, I hope you understand.” Carefully, without turning his back on Mumbo, Scar opened the box, pulling out a- fish. Oh. Well, Mumbo was a little underwhelmed, he wouldn’t lie. It was quite stiff too, and almost shiny? Actually, now that he was seeing all this together, he recognized this box. Scar used to bring it often when Mumbo’s tail was busted; did he think he needed to provide food again? With all due respect, Mumbo hoped not. He wasn’t trying to be rude though, Scar must have hunted very hard for this fish! He took it, but nearly dropped it at the revelation that it was cold.

Now, this wasn’t entirely new, and fish given by the humans had always been a little cold, but never to this degree. The fish was nearly frozen solid- no wonder it was so stiff! Mumbo was utterly perplexed, but he didn’t want to give Scar the impression he was ungrateful, so he proceeded to devour the whole thing. It wasn’t unpleasant, not by any means, but seeing Scar’s delighted smile made all the strangeness worth it.

“Gift.” Scar started, and Mumbo perked up, paying closer attention now that Scar was actively trying to communicate with him. “For Cub. Gift for Cub.” Scar pointed across the lake, which was rippling in the light breeze. “For Cub.”

Was.. he trying to give something to Atlas?

“Gift for Mumbo.” Scar produced one bag from the box, handing it over gingerly. It was tied tight at the top, and cold. Holding from the bottom, Mumbo felt a lot of loose pieces inside. Scar pulled another, larger bag up as well, struggling to point over the weight of it. “Gift for Cub. Cub.”

Cub. Mumbo had never heard that word before, but Scar had been saying it quite a lot today. Is that what he’d decided to call Atlas? Mumbo gave him a thumbs up, relatively sure he understood Scar’s intentions, and briefly set down his own gift so that his and Scar’s hands would not have to touch in the exchange. He couldn’t help but notice that Atlas’s package was bigger than his own, but it was possible this was on the account that Scar had given Mumbo part of his gift early, showing off what was inside.

“Go now,” Scar said, almost shooing Mumbo back. He got the idea, though was a little confused why Scar wanted him to leave so abruptly.. it’s not like the fish were fresh. Regardless, Mumbo dutifully delivered the parcels, waking a sleepy Atlas on the lake floor.

Immediate suspicion was a given. ‘What is this.’ However, Atlas sensed the cold, sparking interest as they drifted closer.

‘I think Scars has realized they can’t reach you on the surface. This is a new method it seems.’

‘Scars..’ Atlas repeated the name, distaste prickling across the hairs on their shoulder. Whatever intrigue they previously possessed seemed to die, repeating themself. ‘What is it.’

‘Fish, I think. Can’t say I know why, but it’s not poison.’

Atlas’s tentacles twitched in their suspicion. Mumbo couldn’t blame them, clicking, ‘You don’t have to eat them. They’re odd, frozen. Not inedible, just different.’

Mumbo couldn’t tell if the gesture Atlas lent him was amused or mildly incredulous, ‘You’re crazy.’

‘Not the first or last time a mer will call me that.’ Mumbo made to undo the ties on his own bag, only to be frightened as tiny shards of ice floated up and out in every direction, along with one or two fish. Even Atlas looked surprised, though Mumbo was silently delighted at the little trill that left their throat.

‘Stupid, stupid animals.’

‘Effective at least!’ Mumbo tried, all in good humor.

‘I’ll just sit on mine in that case.’ Atlas curled around their own gift, melting over the cold with closed eyes. Mumbo hadn’t planned on speaking, but Atlas intercepted before he could have anyway. ‘Not a word. And don’t let that human trash float away, they’re always shitting up the water.’

And with that, Mumbo was quite pleased for a while. He didn’t care either way for the ice, though he did enjoy chasing and eating the floating pieces. However, Atlas really seemed to be enjoying the cold, which was great! Mumbo was quite pleased Scar had found a way to get through to them, even if the human didn’t know it yet. When the two mers first arrived here, Mumbo had really been getting fed up with Atlas’s whining, but this was the hottest place Atlas had ever visited by far, and Mumbo felt for them when Atlas was still suffering in the heat after Mumbo had long since adjusted. Mumbo was very glad he happened to bring them here at the start of the cold months.

Mumbo left them like that, returning to his humans. Despite the fact that Atlas would rather be skinned alive than tell any human they liked their little offering, Mumbo couldn’t help but give Scar a thumbs up. Scar’s expression of unbridled delight was worth the wrath of Atlas if they ever found out. Mumbo had to hand it to him, it was thoughtful, even if the ice wasn’t supposed to be the main event.

Mumbo felt less good the moment he realized how much bigger Atlas’s gift was than his. Atlas didn’t notice; at least Mumbo was pretty sure they didn’t, they weren’t even interested in the fish, but they certainly noticed the next day, and the day after that. It was absurd, honestly! And maybe it didn’t matter, it didn’t matter, this was such a stupid thing to get caught up on. Scar was working harder to befriend Atlas because they were the one he needed to prove himself to, it made perfect sense! Atlas benefitted far more from the ice anyway, Mumbo was glad they got more of it- he gave all his to Atlas anyway! Atlas wouldn’t even eat the fish, but- he didn’t know! It was about the principle!

He tried not to let Atlas see he was bothered. This was impossible, every itch of irritation painted clearly in the picture of his constantly flicking fins, but Mumbo did try. Atlas might’ve been nearly as uncomfortable with this as Mumbo was; the last thing they wanted was Scar’s attention, and they wanted even less to get between them, especially if this was courting behavior. Honestly- Mumbo really didn’t know!

It didn’t matter.

At first, Mumbo attempted to remedy his own insecurity by bothering Scar incessantly for the next few days. When this didn’t work, Mumbo ghosted him. But then Scar got sad, just wailing at the beach for hours (minutes), and Mumbo caved to a day of typical activities. Scar did not take well to being ignored, and not in the way Mumbo wanted either; he was just persistent, deterred by nothing but straight up aggression, and Mumbo wasn’t trying to be aggressive! Scar just needed a healthy dose of his own medicine, to have his feelings minorly hurt or feel like some kind of replaceable commodity or- whatever. Mumbo only wanted to stop feeling like Scar would be perfectly content with any other- No!

This was so stupid!

Mumbo would show him. Humans could be expendable too- Mumbo could love just about anyone as long as they had legs!

Wait a minute. Grian had legs. Yes. Yes! Grian had legs! And he would be back soon- oohhh this would be perfect. Sure, after shaving Grian had gone down a couple pegs in terms of attractiveness- not that this mattered, but come on! He looked like an infant! Something about the death of that mustache which sparked Mumbo’s original inspiration was so deeply tragic, but he would persevere for the cause!

Mumbo would break Scar, he would regret ever- ever- Scar would surely regret!

[nightmareweaverz]

What is Love? (Mr. Gap x GN!Reader) Part 3

Part 1 || Part 2

CW: Minor character death, canon typical violence, a bit of gore, slight angst

Wordcount: 2538

Here is the third part of "What Is Love?" The next part will be the last one! This has honestly been a lot of fun to write.

Room after room after room, you’ve traveled. Each time a resident appears in your path, you ask them if they know where the exit is. It does not yield many results. If there’s a word for elevator in the other language, you don’t know it. And that, perhaps, is not aiding your search. Still, you persist.

Robin’s frightful nature doesn’t improve much over time. At the very least, it’s keeping him safe. He doesn’t enter rooms before you do and he doesn’t touch anything before you’ve confirmed it’s safe. Part of you is grateful for it.

“Could we rest somewhere for a bit? I'm getting a little tired,” Robin says gently after what's probably been hours of walking.

“Yeah, I suppose we should.”

Sparing him any additional injuries has come at a price. After the incident with the toys, you’ve chosen to run from many residents whom you would’ve had no issue subduing on your own. A fight comes with greater risks of injury. As a result, you may have depleted him of energy.

A tiny room, containing a couch and two smashed lamps ends up as your chosen temporary base. Before you allow Robin to sleep there, you check every piece of furniture to make sure nothing hides beneath or inside of them.

He tries to get you to rest with him, but you refuse. Someone has to keep watch. And you’ve come to learn your new body can work on two types of fuel: blood and sleep. You can supply it with one of them later and it will last you plenty of time.

For now, you slide down the wall, just outside the room and settle in a criss cross position. The absence of anything to read makes you wish you’d put in the effort to carry at least one. Perhaps you should search for a bag or backpack after you send Robin off.

Instinctively, you glance around in search of holes in the wall or ceiling. There are none. This is a little disheartening. Despite the way you last parted, Mr. Gap has somehow become someone you’re capable of missing.

Then you suddenly feel something poking your back. Your immediate reaction is to jolt up, crowbar held in preparation. Only to find that you’d set yourself in front of an open drain. Your void dwelling companion is staring back at you, happy with himself for startling you.

“Oh. Hello,” you greet him normally, as if your previous encounter didn't end with you insulting him.

“Human leave?” he asks.

It takes you a moment to realize he isn’t talking about you.

“No. They sleep. Me protect.”

This, for some reason, makes him grimace. Does he dislike Robin that much? They haven’t even interacted yet. What does he have against him?

“You not like they? Why?”

“They not fun.”

You expect him to elaborate, but he does no such thing. Similarly to how he explained why he hangs around you a while back. Because “you are fun.” Whatever that means. You shake your head in defeat.

“Me bored. You give paper?” you decide to try your luck. You’d even be willing to give him a few fingers right now in exchange for something to do.

He seems to be considering it. When he speaks again, you expect him to name his price, hopefully an organ you’ll have an easy time parting with and wouldn’t take long to heal.

“Me want touch.”

This is… new. He hasn’t mentioned any form of touch ever since you gave him that little lesson on romantic love. The fact that he now wants it for a reason other than curiosity makes you feel… odd. Restless, in a way. Like there are flies buzzing in your stomach.

“Me give touch, you give paper,” you conclude.

“Yes!” He sounds a little too happy about this arrangement. But there is no telling what he’s thinking, as usual.

You reach inside the drain and set your hand on top of his head. His hair feels rough and a little damp like the rest of him. You feel a few tangled knots as you caress it gently. Although he must’ve been expecting one of the gestures you’d shown him before, he appears intrigued by this as well.

“Not special touch?”

“You not stay what touch. Me give touch.” It is your turn to be smug.

The corners of his mouth drop and his eyes narrow in annoyance. Was he really hoping for kisses and hand holding? Why do you find that cute?

“Give paper?” you ask, now suddenly feigning innocence.

Still mumbling grumpily, he shoves a magazine your way. It’s impossible not to giggle at his displeasure. He really is bad at reaping what he sows.

You turn your attention to the magazine he gave you. This time, it’s a travel magazine. A surprisingly new one. It’s a little damp and the edges of the pages are curled, but the pictures still have vivid colors and the paper hasn’t yet gained that old, yellowish appearance most other books here have.

But when you look at the cover more closely, you hesitate to open it. It features a tall building. One that looks similar to the one you always used to see on your way home. Home…

You flip through it slowly. And with every page you turn, a suffocating ache grows in your chest. There are pictures of breathtaking landscapes, cliffsides, beaches, jungles, pools and cities. There are pictures of people eating ice cream, pictures of busy streets and local dishes, of bread and potatoes and cake and spicy sauces. You don’t even notice your hands have started trembling.

You eventually stop at a picture of a flower field spread over two pages. Purple flowers reign over half its surface and, above them, a deep blue sky occupies the rest. You can almost smell the perfume, feel the wind in your hair, see the fluffy clouds idling by. The ache in your chest is becoming unbearable.

“What wrong?”

Mr. Gap’s voice suddenly yanks you out of your sorrowful daydream. You’re surprised to find he hasn’t left yet.

“Not like paper?”

You shake your head. “Me like paper. Me want… me want to go where paper show. Me not go. Me different.”

You wonder if someone like him can even understand what you're feeling. He can go wherever he pleases using his little teleportation ability. Meanwhile, you're stuck here. Forever.

He doesn’t say anything at first. Perhaps he’s confused again. But then he declares: “Me good! Me research.” Then he’s gone.

What it is he is hoping to research, you don’t know. But Mr. Gap has surprised you before. Maybe he’ll do it again.

You try to push any depressing thoughts aside and resume reading the magazine without thinking too much about what you will be missing out on for the rest of eternity. You are mostly successful.

A few residents pass by, but none try to pick a fight, which comes as a relief. Eventually, Robin finally emerges from the room. He appears to be in a better mood.

“I needed that. Thank you for keeping watch. It helped me sleep soundly.” He smiles. You're not sure you've seen him smile until now. It suits him better than the constant frightful expression he always wears.

“Don't mention it.”

You set the magazine down by the open vent and take off, motioning for Robin to follow. It would not be wise to dally anymore. Anytime now, he will begin to change. You have to get him out before that happens.

He does as you ask without protest.

“So, um. How much longer until we reach the exit?”

“I don't know. The hallways always change. But we're looking for an elevator. And it's best we find it sooner than later,” you respond.

“I see…”

His expression shifts into nervousness. You want to reassure him that he will make it out, that you’ll make sure of it. But that’s something you aren’t sure you’ve even convinced yourself of yet.

“Do you like reading?” he asks eventually.

“I do, since I started living here. It helps pass the time.”

“My boyfriend also likes reading. He drags me to bookstores sometimes. His favorite are murder mysteries, but sometimes he picks up those useless self help books that don’t actually help much.” Tears glisten in his eyes. “I… can’t even remember what I last said to him before I ended up here. I hope it wasn’t anything bad…”

Boyfriends and bookstores, wanting to say sweet words to loved ones before you disappear. All of these bring back that awful annoying ache. The reminder they are not for you anymore. Part of you pities him and another is so envious that it hurts. Because he still has hope.

“...what's he like? Your boyfriend.”

Robin sniffles and rubs his eyes as he walks. “He's kind and considerate. Sometimes he can be a little exasperating. But that's part of loving someone.”

It is? In books and shows, they always show it as some sort of blissful feeling that melts your insides and makes your life perfect.

“This may sound like a weird question. Sorry. But how do you know you love him?”

“I think about him often. And when he's not there, I wish he was. And if he were to love someone else, I'd lose my mind.” He grins bitterly.

That sounds oddly simple. No flowery language or everly complicated declarations. Just wanting someone at your side. It actually sounds pleasant.

“Are you in love?” Robin asks suddenly, taking you by surprise.

“Why would I be?” you answer with another question.

“Usually, when people ask things like this, they're trying to understand their own feelings.”

“I've just been reading. And the love in books confuses me. I was wondering if it's the same in reality.”

Robin laughs. “Of course not. In reality, it's a lot more mundane, though you can still have romantic moments. Fiction highlights the good parts. But there's both good and bad. Sometimes your lover will eat all the cookies before you get home or they'll refuse to put on headphones while listening to music. But then when the jar is entirely full and the music is gone, you miss even the less pleasant things…”

It sounds like Robin really loves his boyfriend. You wonder what it's like, being that important to another person. Could someone like you have that?

There comes that ache again. You push it down, hide it somewhere deep inside yourself.

“...we'll get you back to him.”

Robin doesn't respond, but he smiles fondly.

Your conversation is cut off when you notice someone approaching down the hallway. Immediately, you prepare your crowbar. But as the figure draws closer, it proves to be someone familiar.

It’s Mr. Stitch. Out of all the people you could’ve been reunited with since you’ve returned here, it had to be this guy. And to make matters worse, he recognizes you as well.

“You!” he calls out and points. “Me know you!”

Robin quickly retreats behind you like a scared duckling running to its mother.

“Who they?” Mr. Stitch points at Robin next.

“They friend. You go. Me not like you,” you state bluntly.

Your declaration only seems to amuse him. That awful smile of his grows. “Friend? Me not take?”

“Me smash your head when you take.”

Mr. Stitch does not look deterred in the slightest. If anything, he seems more interested after seeing your reaction. You should've seen it coming, knowing him and how much he loves messing with people's emotions.

“Where you go?”

“W-what are you guys talking about?” Robin asks, growing more nervous by the second.

“Nothing important. In fact, it's about time we leave.”

You grab Robin by the arm and drag him after you.

But as you attempt to pass by Mr. Stitch, he suddenly swerves behind Robin and holds him in place. In your irritation and panic, you get ready to swing at him. But then you notice the knife pressed to Robin's neck. You freeze in place.

“You angry?” Stitch asks, for you refuse to give him the respect of an honorific any longer. He is loving the worry mixed with furry on your face.

“Let them go.” You try to sound imposing. You hope you do. Whenever you're about to kill someone, you play the innocent and sweet act, so they wouldn't see it coming. Intimidation is not your forte.

“Where you go?”

“We leave here. Go other world,” you begrudgingly answer.

“Me know where! You play! Fun!”

Your jaw clenches in annoyance. It’s getting harder and harder to think straight. This is bad. If you lose control now, you are going to kill both Stitch and Robin.

“Not play. Let human go.”

Focus, focus, focus. You can do it, you can get him out safe. You need to.

Stitch tilts his head, seemingly weighing his options. He must be entirely unaware of the fate awaiting him.

“You not play? You not fun. Me eat huma-”

Before he gets to finish his sentence, you raise your hand in his direction.

Go to hell. Go to hell. Go to hell.

Then you bring it down. All that is left of him is a pile of blood and guts.

Robin screams in terror and immediately backs into a wall. His pants are stained red, but he is unharmed. The horror on his face brings you back to reality.

“Robin, I had to do it. He would’ve killed you!”

“How did you do that?! He suddenly became minced meat. You didn't even touch him!” Now he's trembling.

You take a step towards him and he takes one back. The way he's looking at you has gone back to the way he looks at all the residents. You know why and yet, it still hurts.

“Please don’t do anything stupid. It's too dangerous to go on your own.”

For a moment, you think he's going to take off running. But slowly, he stops trembling and nods. Then he begins to walk the same way you'd been walking before Stitch showed up. You follow at a distance, head hung low and hand wrapped around your crowbar so tight that it stings.

You go the rest of the way in silence. He doesn’t start up anymore conversations and you don’t dare attempt it yourself. It’s not the first time someone’s condemned you for taking a life. But it’s the first time it has an effect on you.

And then you finally find the elevator.

It sits under an eerie green light, just like it did when you found it in the past.

“This is it. You can go home now.”

“Is this really the exit?” He steps towards it cautiously.

Before he's close enough to press one of the buttons, Robin turns around to face you. “I… thank you.”

He doesn't sound certain about his choice of words. Maybe he would've rather called you a monster.

“I hope you and your boyfriend are happy. Don't go wandering into anymore strange buildings.”

He nods, avoiding your eyes. Then he turns and, as the door opens, he says over his shoulder: “Goodbye.”

Just like that, he’s gone.

And you lose your mind.

[alianoralacanta]

I want to believe this. I really do.

Williams' statement is standard boilerplate for this situation, entirely compatible with Williams having mentioned the concussion. Perhaps I no longer like the ambiguity constructed by what is not being said, in the context of other developments in F1.

However… nothing in the link says a concussion or any other form of head injury was mentioned or tested for. MotoGP has started reaping the consequences of obscuring a drop in testing quantity and quality in concussions, and I don't want F1 to follow suit, because having a good solid testing protocol sometimes isn't the complete solution one would hope it to be.

I'm going to take the opportunity to talk about F1's concussion protocol. This is because it is the first sport to have a concussion protocol at all, and as such it has some differences in how it operates compared to other sports' protocols.

F1 Concussion Protocol (historically)

Sid Watkins devised F1's first concussion protocol in 1998, with help from Gary Hartstein (his deputy) and Indycar doctors Steve Olvey and Terry Trammell. This used a combination of three tools: 1) Baseline testing. At the start of the season, Sid Watkins got every driver to complete a series of tests. Jacques Villenueve, anticipating a problem that rugby has notably had in subsequent years, suggested he could deliberately underperform at baseline to maximise his chances of returning to play in the event of a crash. Gary told him that if he caught anyone underperforming, he'd ban them from competing for a month because he would assume they already had a concussion. In the end, the competitive nature of drivers meant that they performed their best - drivers wanted to be able to tell others in their gossiping sessions that they'd beaten (or held their own) against each other.

2) Computerised assessment of responses. Using a computer program, Sid and Gary were able to consistently check drivers at the medical centre after large accidents. Eventually, the threshold was set at 15 G because in F1, accidents below this rarely result in anything worse than minor soreness and bruising. The computer remembered previous responses and used them to help make an objective diagnosis. For many years, ImPACT was used, though I do not know whether this or a different program is now used. Originally, this took 20 minutes to run, including some gaps in between tests (while the computer worked out the results) that made space for tool #3:

3) Asking questions. There's a certain subjective evaluation to assessing a concussion, although there are systems that allow a lot of them to be identified objectively. Concussion often affects how someone arrives at an answer, which in 1998 wasn't something a computer could assess very well. However, if a driver said something completely out-of-character or was obviously a guess at the correct answer instead of simply recalling it from memory, a human doctor can make the correct diagnosis that way. The F1 protocol, unlike many other sports, specifically allowed return to competition at the same event if it was possible to medically demonstrate that recovery was likely to have occurred. However, it had and as far as I know still has a high threshold for that permission.

Possible Issues With the Procedure

The protocol is not foolproof, and it does rely on drivers making sure they self-monitor for aggravation of symptoms when next in the car. Nobody has yet devised a concussion protocol that 100% reliably assesses someone for driving at over 100 mph while they are sitting in a medical centre, nor is this likely to occur.

It also depends on the FIA being given accurate information. This doesn't always happen. Max Verstappen and Red Bull hid the fact that Max had a concussion during parts of the second half of 2021 successfully, until after the FIA could penalise either for doing so. Earlier than that, in Sochi 2016, Carlos Sainz somehow managed to get through one of these evaluations without mentioning to the medical team he had concussion (and without anyone on his team doing so either). Hopefully this makes my lingering concern about this matter make more sense. (As well as why I think the FIA did the best they could with the Colapinto situation, regardless of what information it did or did not have).

i dont want to defend williams but like some of you need to start fact checking. franco was medically cleared to race. williams didn't make him race while medically unfit. chill out

[pumpkin-spice-serval]

TADC Episode 4 Predictions

I made these November 9th and shared them on Instagram, they're slighly outdated post-trailer, but I thought I would post them here anyways :D I'll put in orange any new thoughts I had as of the trailer today (btw I had a hunch that this would be the Spudsy's episode due to the whole TADC café thing). I'll also put my new predictions at the bottom:

Caine makes an adventure where the humans have to work at “Spudsy’s” and serve NPC customers (seems I got this one right)

Puts Gangle in the “manager” position (this one too)

Zooble decides to join the adventure for once, perhaps? My thoughts are maybe this is because Zooble is closest to Gangle in the circus, and Gangle wants some moral support from Zooble during this adventure because of her big role, and they oblige (Zooble is part of the adventure and it seems Gangle interacts with them in one of the scenes... so! This might be right! Abstragedy shippers rejoice!)

But yeah I really do have a hunch that they have a good friendship and we will see that in this episode

Gangle uses her power as manager to give Jax the worst possible tasks/jobs, Zooble is very entertained by this and eggs it on, thus Gangle gets a bit carried away (I still think this might happen lol)

Jax snaps and goes to tell Ragatha about the “figurine thing” (nothing about the trailer shows this coming up, but we shall see)

My theory is this is something harmless albeit a bit Tumblr-coded LOLL she probably has mini figures of all the circus members and role-plays scenarios with them, like ships, or her whacking Jax or something, and one time Jax walked in on it and used it as blackmail

I feel like maybe Jax and Ragatha will get into an argument during this episode as a sort of prelude to their two consecutive episodes–I think their characters are heavily linked to one another and we will get more foreshadowing of that in ep. 4 (I was talking about a more serious argument, this might happen, but it seems the episode is very Gangle centric so I might be wrong)

Zooble apologizes to Gangle at the end of the episode, for getting caught up with harassing Jax vs. actually being good moral support, Gangle forgives them of course

Updated Predictions:

Gangle seems to have a very different personality in this episode. She also seems to go through a little bit of an emotional crisis. I have always wondered if Gangle is some type of neurodivergent (numerous possibilities here from social anxiety, to long term depression, to autism, etc., I definitely feel there's something there) and may be "masking" her true self because she's scared to open up, especially because of Jax. That's why she's so nervous without the comedy mask, it's like a security blanket to her, and it also may be why Caine gave her a new mask, trying to help but instead fuelling her issues with self image and giving her a toxic positivity issue.

Adding onto that, I think that's why we may see her having a mental break during the episode, and perhaps confiding in Zooble about it, feeling like a failure or like no one cares about her or would like the real her. Zooble, feeling out of place themself, would definitely be the type of person to comfort Gangle, if in a more calm and pragmatic way.

I noticed Gangle getting into a possible argument with Ragatha, of all people, in the trailer. I also think Ragatha has a sort of fake positivity to her, not in the manipulative sense, but in the people-pleasing sense, and the denial sense. She is trying to cope by being as upbeat as she can but that can only go so far. We can see her suffering with burnout, and Gangle definitely is not helping. I think that Gangle will be a sort of foil for Ragatha in this episode, showing her that being too positive and chipper can cause other people around you to feel worse, not better.

Caine has a "suggestion box" in the trailer, and it seems like it's filled to the brim. I think, as a B-plot, we will see Caine have a bit of his own identity crisis, stressing over the fact that there's so many things the digital circus members want to be done differently by them, and he'll be in a frenzy to figure out how to fix it. Definitely some good potential for his development here!

Finally, I think we will get some more insight into Zooble in this episode, through the lens of Gangle. I already discussed this a little, but I feel like it's implied that they're friends in the trailer (although I have an abstragedy bias, so I could be wrong). I think Zooble may open up more about their identity and insecurities in an attempt to help Gangle work through hers.

Well, that's my analysis and predictions, I hope you enjoyed reading them!! :D

Kit

[firestorm09890]

Y'ALL. Y'ALL so for a long time I've believed that "the sun" in Meursault's story is Carmen, and I went to check Hell's Chicken's dialogue to see exactly how he said that he'd dealt with distortions before, and... you know what else he said?

To my knowledge, it is a phenomenon where an individual morphs into a form often unfit to be considered “human”. It has no known causes, and the appearances were all different.

Unfit to be considered human.

Meursault, who, in his book, was judged by the court to be soulless.

Meursault, who has EGO for Cyborgs who have been so mutilated they barely act like people anymore; a murderer who was experimented on until ceasing to be human; a sheep named after Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, a novel about the humanity of androids and the inhumanity of humans; and now a rose that can't help its bloodsucking nature, based on Carmilla, a vampire whose story emphasized the duality between her vampiric traits and her human ones.

Meursault, who answered Heathcliff's ironic question of if he had metal for brains like this:

I'm placing my bets now, that line from Hell's Chicken is foreshadowing for Meursault's canto even more than "I have witnessed a number of [distortion] cases in the past" was

[batri-jopa]

Nan Goldin (full speech)

Opening Speech 'This Will Not End Well' at Neue Nationalgalerie (Berlin, 22. Nov. 2024):

The four minutes you spent standing in silence represence one one hundredth of a second for each of the 44,757 people killed in Palestine by Israeli forces. Half of them children. 10,000 of them burried under the ruble. And the 3,516 people killed in Lebanon by Israeli forces. And 815 Israeli civilians killen on October 7th.

Were you uncomfortable? I hope so. We need to feel uncomfortable to feel our bodies under siege even for a minute. Those are the official numbers, however there is other reporting that the direct and indirect deaths from this war is closer to 186,000.

Why did I feel I have to talk tonight? This is my lifetime retrospective but there is nothing from the past year and that's missing. The museum kept its promise to allow me to talk and I thank them. But they claim that my activism and my art are separate even though that it has never been the case. The last year has been Palestine and Lebanon for me. Since October 7th I found it hard to breathe. I feel the catastrophe in my body. But ut's not in this show.

Why am I talking to you, Germany? Because tongues have been tied gagged by the goverment, the police and the cultural crackdown. This is the city that we used to consider refuge. Now over 180 artists, writers and teachers have been cancelled since October 7th. Some for something as banal as a like on Instagram. Many of the Palestinians, 20% of the Jews.

Why am I talking here? I decided to use this exhibition as a platform to amplify my position of moral outrage at the genocide in Gaza and Lebanon. I saw my show is a test case. Is an artist in my position is allowed to express their political stance without being cancelled I hope I'm paving a path for other artists to speak out without these being censored. I hope that's the result. Why can't I speak, Germany? Criticism of Israel has been conflated with antisemitism. Anti-Zionism has nothing to do with antisemitism.

[loud applause from audience]

This is a false equivalency used to maintain the occupation of Palestine and to supress those who speak out. The word antisemitism has been weaponized. It's lost its meaning. In declaring all criticism against Israel is antisemitic it makes it harder to define and stop violent hatred against Jews.

[voices from the audience: "Hundred percent, yeah!"]

We are less saved. Is that all, Germany? Meanwhile islamophobia is being ignored. The goverment's weaponization of antisemitism is being aimed at the Palestinian community in this country and those who speak out and support for them. Germany is home of the largest Palestinian diaspora in Europe yet protesters met with police dogs, they met deportations and stigmatization.

[Another applause from audience]

Are you Listening, Germany? Yesterday the highest criminal court in the world, the ICC officially issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare

[Voices from audience: "Lock them up!"]

for crimes against humanity, for the widespread and systematic attack of the civilian population of Gaza. The ICJ is talking about genocide. The UN is talking about genocide. Even the Pope is talking about genocide. We're not supposed to call it a genocide.

Are you afraid to hear this, Germany? This is a war against children. Children are directly targeted, shot in a head. On average a child is killed in Gaza every 10 minutes. They're intentionally destroying the next generation. The children, who lose their entire families are asking to die. What have you learned, Germany?

[Audience: "nothing! Nothing!"]

My grandparents escaped the groules in Russia. I was brought up knowing about Nazi Holocaust. What I see in Gaza reminds me of the pogroms that me grandparents escaped. Never again means never again for everyone.

[Long loud applause from the audience]

Israel defines itself as the eternal victim, which means you can never be blamed and so is incapable of victimizing others. Why can't you hear this, Germany? There has been a genocide unfolding on our phones for the last 14 months in real time. The first genocide that's ever been live streamed. The heroic journalists are risking their lives to send us daily dispatches even as they are targeted by bombs and drones. 137 journalists have been targeted and killed since October 7th, mostly Palestinians. Israel doesn't want a record left.

What don't you see, Germany? We cannot look away. Can you imagine if it was possible to watch the war in Vietnam, the etjnic cleansing in Bosnia or even the Holocaust live stream on your phone. Would we have turned it away? Even if we are incapable to change what is going on, we need to bear witness. And we need to amplify the voices of the Palestinians. But there is still an opportunity for the world to step in and stop this horror. Why are you afraid to hear this, Germany?

There is a total eradication of the conditions for life of an entire population. The Israeli generals have made their intentions clear: to mow the lawn. This is clearly ethnic cleansing. It was a landgrab from the beginning. Most people have been displaced multiple times and now there's going waterfront real estate on Palestinian land at synagogues in the US. The loss of civilian life has been intentional. If there was a terrorist in the tunnels of the New York subway system wpuld they drop a 2,000 pound bomb on the entire subway? Why can't you see this, Germany?

It's a domicide as well. 88% of homes have been destroyed in Gaza. Almost every Palestinian has been forcibly displaced. The entire infrastructure of Palestine has been destroyed. The hospitals, the schools, the universities, the libraries. It's also a cultural genocide. Why can't you see this, Germany?

In a country like Israel, where everyone is a soldier, extreme violence has become accepted. Cruelty and cynicism have become the norm. There are thousands of hours of TikTok video of soldiers committing war crimes. They prosecute themselves: smashing up home, dressinh up in women's lingerie, celebrating burning villages, bragging of killing children.

I'm talking to America: this slaughter would stop if the US stopped arming Israel

[Applause from audience]

US has spend $22 billion on military to aid to Israel, 69% of the weapons being used in the slaughter are US made and 30% are from Germany.

[Voices from audience: "shame on you! Shame!"]

I will not stop talking to you America. This is not just an Israeli war, it's also an American war. Cirporations are profiting wildly, their stocks of skyrocketed as the US vetos cease resolutions over and over.

Why am I talking? Because advocating for human rights cannot be antisemitic

[Long applause from audience]

because I use words people here feeling danger to say because the Israel and Germany use the Holocaust and memory culture to manufacture innocence. Because social media is shutting down pro-Palestinian voices. Because of potentional starvation of an entire population. Because of the occupation of 75 years that has to be ended. Because Lebanon is beginning to look like Gaza.

What do we need to do? Millions of people around the world are scream8ng for a ceasefire, for an arms embargo but their goverments are not listening. We need to demand an arms embargo. Meanwhile it's about time to stop policing our allies. If we're on the same side we should support each other even if we have different methods. Agree that our anger need to be channeled into action. The most important thing is to take to the streets

[applause from audience]

The more of us there are the more of us there are.

Video on Instagram in case YouTube was unavailable:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCwVWtqiwID/?utm_source=ig_web_button_native_share

Nan Goldin Opens Exhibition In Berlin With Fiery Speech Against Israel | United States

[xxplastic-cubexx]

it doesnt need to be said but its genuinely so funny how at-the-hip charles and erik are in krakoa like they really had the green light- the OBLIGATION- to be as obnoxiously close to each other as possible and abused that right to the fullest extent

[moeblob]

Look, I just think it's VERY funny and on brand that I thought of an entire premise of colorful characters for half the cast and immediately drew the only one void of color.

[bisexualcherdegre]

D:BH Rarepairsweek 7 | @dbhrarepairs

Day 3: Hank/Markus After the revolution, Markus and Hank are both trying to deal with the new situation they've been handed. Their paths cross.