#religious malarkey

[chinesegal]

What the hell, tumblr?

[iceiceicecold]

What Your Favorite Band of Brothers character says about you (revamped and based on personal experiences)

Winters- You’re either a pretty level headed person or your life is in complete shambles and you find comfort in characters that know how to handle stress.

Nixon- You love a good self destructive character and more than likely see yourself in them. Also, how is your undiagnosed mental illness treating u lately?

Lipton- You just want to be held and cared for so bad it’s not even funny anymore.

Speirs- You most DEFINITELY read wattpad stories as a kid. The mafia kind. You’re also unnecessarily horny on the internet and probably say he’s “Lana-coded.”

Roe- You love a good tragic and tortured character, I’ll give you that. You also listen to boygenius and love religious imagery.

Babe- I’m gonna take a wild guess and say you’re on some type of lgbt or autism spectrum.

Liebgott- You have a really weird self-confidence complex and read a LOT of enemies to lovers. I’m lowkey scared of you even though you’ve probably never hit anyone in your life.

Webster- You’re an artist at heart and view the world in a way that might set you apart from your peers. You can never and will never tell if that’s a good or a bad thing. Also you call grown men “babygirl.”

Guarnere- You have TERRIBLE taste in men and can never tell the difference between being mean or flirting.

Toye- Ditto ^ but also may I add you probably have a thing for people in uniform.

Buck- You are a very simple person. You like everything to just be kind of normal and calm all of the time. Sometimes you dip your toes in the water, but it’s more of a once a year kind of thing. Your favorite superhero as a kid was Captain America.

Luz- You are just cool. Very Ferris Beuller, Bill and Ted, Matthew Lillard kind of cool. You’re also probably transmasc or into guys to some degree.

Shifty- You’re either one of those “omg smol bean” people or you just love a good ray of sunshine kind of character. Your favorite pony as a kid was probably Fluttershy.

Malarkey- I’m so deeply upset just looking into your eyes dawg you need to take a nap and book a therapy session. Not a single one of you guys is completely and totally stable.

Renee- You so desperately wanted this show to pass the bechdel test and wished more women were included in the production. You’re also into women.

Perconte- You’re either really cool or you’re really annoying. No inbetween.

Bull- You really liked the SNL “Big Boy” skit with SZA

Muck- You want to be the funny friend so bad and you’re still not sure if you’ve earned that title yet. Mad respect though bc I know ur ass has seen supernatural in full. More than once.

Welsh, Penkala, Spina, Talbert, Grant, Martin, Penkala, Hoobler, Skinny- Either you’re lying to be different or you genuinely love a good underrated background character.

Blithe- Mm you’re lying lol

Sobel- Hey, girl! What the fuck!

[tetragonia]

Joe Toye's son about his father:

"He was a pretty religious guy and went to church every Sunday. He was even in a choir when he was young. He was always grateful for what he had. They portrayed him in the series as a quiet, almost morose kind of guy, but growing up, I saw another side of him. He wasn’t a backslapper, but he had a pretty good sense of humor. Babe and Malarkey both said that when the bullets started flying, my dad sang Irish songs."

I had chills reading this passage. Joe was amazing :')

[americanbrffan]

The DM article is a bunch of malarkey. It's filled with lots of hopes, which means it's wishful thinking at this point.

What *is* interesting is it specifically notes all this comes from "more recent friends" and not Harry's "oldest companions." [I'm assuming bc they spoke their minds.]

Common among his friends was the belief...the Duke of Sussex...had transformed into a strangely sulky figure, given to sermonising and self-centred psychobabble, and – worse – taking pot-shots at his family.

That at least was the narrative weaved by some and shared by many and is perhaps why Harry, angered by the criticism, was selective in whom he contacted.

Curiously, many of those yet to receive an olive branch are among his oldest companions, including fellow Etonians. Of those favoured, a number were friends acquired in more recent times.

And how absolutely noble of these friends to show clemency, esp. when they and their families weren't personally attacked...

Willing to forgive and forget, friends have responded positively and want to actively help him smooth a path back to the UK.

It is a measure of their capacity for clemency that Harry’s friends, unlike William, are now able to overlook these deeply wounding comments. A source said: ‘It is because his original intention was not malicious that there’s a path to forgiveness for him.’

Is this a 'friend' or the recently hired Archewell PR person putting together a strategic blueprint presentation?? 🤔 🤣

One friend has devised a strategy for how Harry might begin to start moving in UK circles again. ‘He has put together a blueprint and will show it to Harry if and when there’s an appropriate moment,’ said the source. ‘This person believes there is a real chance Harry could even carry out very low-key royal duties again one day.

ELF was seen with William and Kate at the Coronation rehearsals, so when he states, "It’s not something I’ve got a view on I’m afraid," when asked about leading the campaign for H's return, I think he means it. 🤭

Lastly, re: KC's being advised to forgive by religious leaders - Welby mentioned this before, in an article prior to The Coronation. KC didn't do it then, so we dont know he'll do it now.

[yeuc-c]

it’s 1:30am and I have testing tomorrow and my brain is full of shenanigans and malarkey that needs to be answered by the person who has created one of my now few hyperfixations. One, are fleshcousins related to that one strictly religious group. Two, are MR and fleshcousins related. Three, does poob prefer pancakes or waffles. Four, if pest was paid one optillion dollars to eat a bug would he do it. Five, could I hug Enphoso. Six, what would happen if DrRETRO and Enphoso met. That’s all for now

1. No, they are their own little species of things

2. No

3. Both

4. I wouldn't be surprised if pest already eats bugs

5. I don't think you'd be able to, but sure

6. They have met before! Dr. RETRO doesn't like its prices and thinks that they are a scam artist, but still buys things from Enphosos shop anywho

[scobbe]

I find it very interesting that people generally want one of two things from religion: they either want connection to the divine, or an ordered way of life. They either want to “feel spiritual” or “follow a wise teacher.”

Let me tell you: YOU GET BOTH!!! BOTH ARE INCLUDED!!

A truly spiritual life will align with a virtuous and ordered life in harmony with others. It’s actually when we begin to obsess over one or the other that we end up digging ourselves into holes.

This goes hand in hand with the two great modern misconceptions about religion: “the spiritual is a bunch of malarkey” and “religious morality is oppressive and harmful.” Absolutely true when we veer off into either extreme due to our own proclivities, but the inspired wisdom teachings will always tread the path of a life defined by goodness because it’s rooted in Goodness.

[hplovecraftmuseum]

Lovecraft had a deep and pervasive interest in knowing TRUTH, the meaning of existence, and the limitations of reality his whole life. As a boy he searched the heavens with a telescope his mother bought him. HPL read voraciously, visited museums in any city he visited, haunted libraries, and was always aware of current events from newspapers. As a child - a genius child - Lovecraft studied the world's great religions. However, by age 8 HPL was a confirmed materialist. Despite his rationalism Lovecraft spent his whole life as a writer exploring concepts that were in utter conflict with his personal Mechanist/Materialist philosophy. Though HPL admired intellect and the principles of 'scientific method' he was at heart a poet too. Today many persons who consider themselves "Spiritual" even if not religious entertain the idea that one's 'soul', spirit or at least one's "mind" lives on after death. Some believe that because humans possess an advanced intelligence, because some have a knack at creating things that GOD or some ultimate higher power must be an entity of even greater intelligence and evolution. Intelligence is what separates us from all other creatures. We are the highest living expression of "evolution". At one time it was even speculated by some that if we could only take the right kinds of drugs, meditate on a certain level, or "think properly" that 'godhood' might be achieved! Well, one might say that that such views were just Hippie era malarkey, but the attitude is really nothing new. Lovecraft himself did Not see intelligence as a path to godliness. In his fictional 'mock religion' - my term not Lovecraft's - the " Vast Lord of All Things" Azathoth, was consistently described by Lovecraft as 'mindless' and an 'idiot god'. As to the idea that the human mind survives the body - as the brain ages and deteriorates the mind declines with it. The 'mind' then is a function of the brain and cannot survive without it. As to a soul, HPL explored the concept in many of his stories, but was quite firm that he saw no convincing evidence that such a thing really exists. The supremacy of 'mind'? Ultimately humans have overblown the whole concept! (Exhibit 464)

[sins-of-the-sea]

➳ : When creating OCs, what do you typically start with first? (i.e. appearance, name, a theme, etc.)

Monday Malarkey

Previously answered here! But the process of making OCs is multi-faceted, so I can talk on a different topic!

Once I get a narrative purpose, the next thing I tend to start with is archetype. Archetypes are SUPER helpful in helping me decide on how I want to write this OC. Not only will it help me get an idea of where to start, but to know what elements to keep and what to throw away, what rules to abide by and what to break, and so forth.

Archetypes are also important when it comes to genre and zeitgeist. And I do mean zeitgeist. The zeitgeist of today is not the same 10 years ago, or 20, or 30, or 300, or 3000. Once upon a time, it was scandalous for women to have their hair down and uncovered; nowadays, you can get ridiculed for wearing a scrunchy. This is by no means bearing in mind if I am writing a period character, I am talking about ALL times in ALL genres. It's about reading the room of the audience as well as the other writers, understanding the atmosphere of the setting, and making sure the character rightfully fits in. If I am to write a kickass pirate lady who don't need no man, I'm going to write her VERY VERY differently depending if I am writing her for either A.) POTC, B.) Sea of Thieves, C.) One Piece, D). Our Flag Means Death, or E.) An actual historical fictional piece that BOTHERS with period accuracy.

Also, archetypes are just fun to play with, period. The Seven Deadly Sins of the Sea are explorations of the spooky cursed pirate archetypes often used as antagonists and villains in adventure stories. I just happen to go the extra length to include real life religious folklore and sailor superstition to give a more timeless, authentic feel to them while still slapping my favorite anime/cartoon tropes on them because I write what I fucking want xD.

[dieu-mange-dieu]

𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙨: 𝘿𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙝 𝘾𝙝𝙪𝙜𝙩𝙖𝙞

Has an older brother and a twin sister, but he was born five hours before her and technically on a different day

Both have always made him feel like the baby of the family

Thought that the family cat was his sister for the first six years of his life (They lived in the same house and he knew her all his life, so how could they Not be related?) , was devastated to find out otherwise

Had his first kiss in primary school with his best friend at the time; both she and Dinesh were so grossed out that they did not speak to each other ever again

Moved to the U.S. in high school, graduated early and was accepted into uni at 16

Holds the fact that he graduated college over Gilfoyle (who dropped out)'s head. Gilfoyle does not give even one (1) fuck

Astrology nerd, knows everyone in the hostel's birth chart and checks his horoscope religiously

Is the type to make no-homo gay jokes at a party and then end up accidentally making out with a dude

(this happened. he had a panic attack in the bathroom afterward.)

Favourite drink: either a piña colada or a mai tai

Strongly dislikes the taste of alcohol

Pineapple is his favourite flavour

Favourite scent is the Oasis scent from Bath and Body Works (smells like pineapple, summer, and the pool)

Swiftie

Favourite colours are orange and turquoise

Played the "Maximising Alphaness" subliminal video on repeat while working out

He credits his drastic change in physique to that video

If he weren't in the tech business, his dream job would be either an elementary school English teacher or a wedding planner (he loves weddings and would spend hours designing his own future wedding as a kid)

Wanted a lot of kids growing up; still does but he kinda hates kids so he's conflicted

Had a huge Harry Potter phase when he was younger, his Facebook bio used to say "proud Hufflepuff 💛🖤"

Did not get his driving licence until he was 25 years old

He is 3 years older than Gilfoyle

(playlist under construction)

Spoilers (?) Ahead!!!

After Silicon Valley:

Invested 70 percent of his net worth into Dogecoin

Actually made money off of his investment, got out early and made bank

Was the best man at his cousin Wajeed's wedding

Directly after the events of The Pied Piper Thing, he and Gilfoyle fell off and stopped talking

One night about a month later he showed up at Gilfoyle's apartment with a box of doughnuts and a bottle of Tres Commas and demanded they talk

They talked.

Drunkenly suggested that he and Gilfoyle start a podcast.

They did.

It lasted 3 episodes before it was removed from all streaming services due to hateful content

He and Gilfoyle started their own company

Bought the house next to Gilfoyle's in late 2019, but they ended up quarantining together at Gilfoyle's place during the pandemic to at least keep some semblance of sanity

In interviews, Dinesh and Gilfoyle say it was the worst experience of their lives (what else would they say, that they properly enjoyed each other's company and solidified their complex and deep friendship? malarkey.)

Now resides in a cabin in Southern California

Has overcome his fear of dogs.

His dog's name is Buster.

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

Thaïs (La Scala, 2022): Reactions, Part I

another day, another olivier py production

yup! it’s an olivier py production alright!

the monks have apparently invested in neon lighting

despite this, we have some almost vienna levels of lighting

that’s better also why not use dreams as ways to estimate ETA i guess

LUCAS MEACHEM MY BELOVED!!!!

also what’s with the boys’ school uniforms

secondhand catholic guilt

this is not going to be the triumph you think it is, athanaël

“for the record: i’m telling you this is a bad idea”

it’s the little musical moments like these chords and texturing right here that make massenet a genius

very sleep much comfortable

athanaël: what the malarkey

“send help”

“STOP TAKING MY FOOD”

“dude litchrally i’m poor and you’re a monk aren’t y’all supposed to help the poor”

“i’m now going to physically assault you”

dude you didn’t even see thaïs. you saw a random woman without a shirt on. stop deluding yourself.

Area Baritone Sings Magnificently And Loves The Floor A La Jonas

(“savannah that is prostration, a catholic religious ritual thing.” i am aware. let me be a little facetious.)

bouncer in the house

Area Baritone Gives Entire City Bad Yelp Rating (while continuing to sing MAGNIFICENTLY)

nicias’ outfit is a VIBE happy pride month everyone

like come on. fabulous. (also this tenor is GOOD)

“well i’m homophobic so.”

when even the LEAD (ish) TENOR tells you not to do something, perhaps you should not do that thing

it’s giving cabaret vibes

“you think he’s a hot priest like fleabag?”

“i mean…”

“one, please stop. two, i’m a monk not a priest.”

“okay now it just feels like you’re making fun of me :/“

i always love this makeover scene (even though there really wasn’t much of a makeover here and also the tempo was kinda weird)

STUNNING BEAUTIFUL MAGNIFICENT ETC ETC MARINA REBEKA MY BELOVED

“tomorrow i will be nothing more to you than a name…” that line always hits different

he’s Conflicted TM

okay but for real aside from the scene itself, the music is just so HOT

“i get you’re trying to ruin the vibe but really you’re just making it more interesting so haha”

✨showdown✨

she reads him like a BOOK

THE SLOW KICKLINE HAHAHAHAHA

and a parting challenge!

[xtruss]

Go to Texas to See the Anti-green Future of Clean Energy! Lessons For Liberals From Climate-sceptic Wind Ranchers

— Business | Schumpeter | January 12, 2023 | The Economist

For more than 140 years John Davis’s family has owned the Pecan Spring Ranch on the prairie lands of West Texas. He has a photo of his great-great-grandmother, known as “the sheep queen of Texas”, sitting in a horse-drawn carriage beneath a tree that still stands in front of the hay barn. It’s a tough business to maintain, even with a valuable herd of Wagyu beef cattle to raise. Yet when a renewable-energy developer offered Mr Davis a large payment to put wind turbines on his land, at first the staunch Republican—and former state congressman—turned it down.

His opposition was knee-jerk. “Clean energy has been branded a liberal technology. People literally say, ‘this is AOC coming into town,’” explains his son, Samuel, referring to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the left-wing congresswoman whose name pops up with almost flattering frequency among conservative Texans. Eventually, though, economic sense prevailed. As the family points out, at an average return per acre, cattle generate $8, deer hunters $15—and wind hundreds of dollars. It assures the ranch’s future.

Now hosting seven turbines, the family embraces renewables as religious converts would. Samuel is a representative for the Texas Land and Liberty Coalition, which promotes wind and solar energy among ranchers. His parents have bought a filling station, ripped out the petrol pumps, and are converting it into an electric-vehicle charging station (with a farmers’ market on the side). Your columnist sat down with the clan last month over a breakfast of quiche and tomato-jalapeño jam, before bouncing across their ranch in an electric buggy. He learned lessons about clean energy that challenged his own philosophical assumptions.

The first is that you do not have to believe in climate change to support renewables. Quite the opposite. For a portion of conservative America, things like climate change and carbon taxes are still viewed as big-government malarkey. Even greenery is despised as a term co-opted by the left. “When someone says we are embracing green energy, it’s like shoving an ice pick through our ears,” says Matt Welch, head of Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation, another pro-renewables group. “We just say clean energy.”

This is not just Texan recalcitrance. Wind power is abundantly harvested in states run by Republican governments and over land owned by climate-sceptic ranchers. The message they prefer is a more free-market one: that wind and solar are increasingly competitive sources of energy, help reduce electricity costs, foster entrepreneurship, and are no less American than oil and gas.

It is a surprisingly effective mantra. You might think that California, which talks a good game about climate change and green energy, is on the forefront of renewables development. But Texas is far ahead. According to a study commissioned by Mr Welch’s organisation, in the second quarter of 2022 his home state had three times more wind, solar and battery storage under construction than California. The Energy Information Administration, a federal agency, predicts that this year the share of renewables in Texan power generation will for the first time exceed that of natural gas.

That helps explain the next lesson. For all the mockery of AOC, it is from their own Republican ranks that wind-energy ranchers face the most antagonism—especially from fossil-fuel producers who fear being undercut by renewables. Organisations like the Texas Public Policy Foundation (tppf), which lobbies on behalf of oil and gas, and the Texas Landowners Coalition, backed by right-wing beneficiaries of the fracking boom, are fighting tooth and nail to curb wind development. The tppf’s battle extends to proposed offshore wind farms as far away as New England.

Jason Isaac of the tppf says his organisation helped convince the Texas government to let a school-district tax credit lapse on December 31st that encouraged renewables investment in rural Texas. He argues that such fiscal support distorts the power market, though that stance ignores other incentives for oil and gas producers. He blames wind for the blackouts across Texas in 2021 caused by storm Uri, never mind that an official report concluded that “all types of generation technologies failed”, including natural gas and coal. Republicans accuse liberals of “cult-like decarbonisation”, yet their policies hurt some fellow conservatives.

The third lesson is pragmatism. Even though Republican lawmakers unanimously opposed President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (ira), which provides hundreds of billions of dollars to curb America’s use of fossil fuels, red states like Texas plan to lap it up. The Davis family do not support the ira, but they hope its expanded federal tax credits will entice more wind and solar to rural Texas. The state also expects to attract big hydrogen and carbon-sequestration projects. Other Republican states like Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee are welcoming billions of dollars of clean-energy investments spurred by the ira. Even conservative businesses that lobby strongly for fossil fuels hope to benefit from the energy transition. For example, Koch Industries, an energy conglomerate, supported a big investment by Freyr, a Norwegian firm, in a battery factory in Georgia that will benefit from the law.

Don’t Waste Your Breath

The upshot is that there are ways to promote clean energy that do not rely on convincing climate sceptics that they are bonkers. A better sales pitch may be to play up the cost advantages of renewables rather than the climate benefits, emphasise their contribution to cutting air pollution rather than carbon emissions, and acknowledge that, owing to intermittency factors, natural gas may have a role to play in power generation for years to come. As Michael Webber, a professor of energy at the University of Texas, puts it, “It’s not unusual for Texas to do the right thing for all the wrong reasons.” In the end, everyone’s aim is a better future. As the elder Mr Davis says, many ranchers lucky enough to have oil under their land have benefited for generations. “We struck wind.” ■

— This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline "Not Green But Clean"

[earlgraytay]

thathopeyetlives commented on thathopeyetlives's post “Actually, something kinda clicked for me.  Sex-positive types don’t...”

From my perspective, I’ve been switching off parts of myself for people who are indifferent to me or who even despise me for many years. This has been the sorrow of my life. (the other thing is that in the OP i was mostly addressing people who find our sexual ethics incomprehensible and come up with incredibly uncharitable/paranoid explanations, not just people who disagree.)So then the root of my converted faith is very much arising from the divine grace of the will to do that, for the greater good of the world and everybody who interacts with me ever. (“INSTEAD OF HOPE YOU SHALL HAVE A PRINCE OF POWER! AS HANDSOME AND HEARTBREAKING AS THE FAERIE LORDS! MORE TREACHEROUS THAN THE SEA! MORE UNMOVED THAN THE FOUNDATION OF THE EARTH! ALL SHALL ADORE ME AND DESPAIR!No! I pass the test. I will diminish, and live out my life as a pilgrim and, and remain Hoffnung.”)And I think it would be sad if the only thing you can say is only “farewell”, that shouldn’t be necessary and I expect the Lord who forgives sins in contrition and gives the strength to sin no more would help you to do this.

So first off- I’m sorry that happened to you. It wasn’t okay, and you shouldn’t have to have done that. But that’s mad unhealthy and if you can stop doing it without endangering yourself, it’d probably be better for you. 

... here’s the thing. When I said ‘turning off parts of yourself’, I wasn’t just talking about homosexuality or transgenderism. Have you heard of Osamu Tezuka? 

Osamu Tezuka, in case you don’t know, is the “father of manga”/”father of Japanese animation”. He’s one of the most influential cartoonists ever- in the West, he’s mostly known for creating Astro Boy and/or the controversy over whether Disney ripped off his work Kimba the White Lion. But he was super prolific and super beloved; without him, the Japanese animation industry wouldn’t be nearly as big or successful as it is today. 

And after Tezuka died.... when they went to clean out his desk, they found a giant cache of furry porn. Like, extremely lewd anthro art he presumably drew and kept tucked away where no one would find it. People were shocked and dismayed- imagine finding out that Walt Disney had a stash of Tijuana bibles and you can guess the reaction. But artists drawing porn related to their work, or writers writing it, is... it’s not that uncommon. 

If you’re an artist, you create things that appeal to you. Sometimes, the appeal comes from a sentimental attachment, or a philosophical interest, or an aesthetic attraction. Sometimes that appeal is because the appealing thing starts a party in your pants. 

Most of the time, though, it’s a mixture. Shakespeare wrote a lot about crossdressing, for instance- it’s a recurring thread through his plays that leans into themes of identity and liminality. It was also probably a matter of convenience- putting your boy actors in trousers was easier than getting them in a dress- and, in a society where men’s clothing and women’s clothing is strictly segregated, crossdressing is a pretty common kink. Shakespeare could have written crossdressing into his plays for any or all of these reasons- but if you took the crossdressing out of Shakespeare’s plays, they’d lose something, right? 

A lot of other artists are the same way. Look at the gorgeous curvy women that Rubens made a name painting, or Joss Whedon’s cinematic eye for barefoot waifs, or .... whatever the hell is going on with Don Bluth. There’s some evidence of desire in all of those artists’ work- but take out the object of desire, and the work loses something as a result. 

If you’re going to be a good artist- and, I think, if you’re going to live a good life- you have to understand what appeals to you and why. You have to know what you find interesting or exciting or arousing, you have to know what effect it has on you, and you have to know what effect it’ll have on the people surrounding you.  If you want to make something desireable, you have to know what you desire. 

....and here’s the rub. Most people are sexual creatures. Most people’s desires cannot neatly be cordoned off into ‘things I like for Teh Sex0rs’ and ‘things I like for innocent reasons’. And we’re not even talking about “kinky” stuff here. If you like fashion, for instance, you probably enjoy thinking about what certain attractive people would look like in certain outfits. If you’re interested in food and wine, you might daydream about cooking your beloved a certain meal or kissing the taste of wine off their lips. If you love music, there are certain beats that can get you going- especially if they’re loud and vibrate. 

None of these things are bad in and of themselves.  There’s nothing inherently wicked about a three-piece suit, or a pinot noir, or a loud dance song. In fact, someone else might find these things unpleasant or gross. It’s all in your mind- what you like, what you love, what you want. 

If you decide that your desires come in two flavours- ‘innocent’ and ‘sinful’- and that you have to purge all sinful desires from your mind and heart, you lose all the other parts of that ‘sinful’ desire. To steal a metaphor for a second- if you cut out your own eyes rather than look at something that makes you sin in your heart, you lose the ability to watch a sunset, to read a good book, to paint a picture, to gaze into your beloved’s eyes. None of these things are bad. None of these things hurt anyone- in fact, most of them do more good than harm. But they’re connected to the thing that makes you ‘sin’. Because the things you love and the things you want are often also the things you desire. 

If you really want to follow conservative Christian sexual ethics, you cannot remain yourself. Because your self is at least as much made up of the things you love and want and desire as it is your soul. You cannot keep those things close to your heart, because any one of them could suddenly become something that makes you a filthy sinner. 

You aren’t just diminishing yourself once; you are shaving bits of yourself off with a paring knife, every hour of every day for the rest of your life. You feel like you have to beg forgiveness for every slip, for every time you indulge yourself with something you love that God hates. 

Do you know what we call a human who makes other people diminish themselves like that? We call them a bully. An abuser. A complete fucking monster. Because that is what they are. Hurting other people- making them shave themselves down, deny the things they love, forcing them to grovel if they displease you? That’s monstrous. 

If your god exists, saying a simple ‘farewell’ to him would be far too kind. 

[otherperson12]

Random Band of brothers headcanons pt.1

change my mind

George Luz craves for people acceptance so he jokes with everyone to please them

Bull stay hungry after every army meal (big boy needs big meals) but he keeps sharing of his plate with everyone

Eugene Roe smokes a lot (at least five cigarettes at day, one in every meal)

Frank Perconte hates bugs and is the responsible of keeping the barracks clean (he is obsessive).

Carwood Lipton knows how to knit

Skip, Penkala and Malarkey smokes weed with Chuck and then asks Bull for food

Bill makes the best real italian pasta, he cooks and very well

Bill used to box with his brothers and then with Toye and Liebgott in the army

Dick Winters is a religious baby virging boy (is the mockery of the other officers)

Popeye is skinny but likes to fight (he ends at med bay)

christenson, tipper, chuck and shifty are a choral quartet. (Christenson is a musician, plays piano, guitar and banjo) sometimes Toye joins them

Every time Luz makes a funny comment or something stupid, Martin is like: "what am I doing here...".

Donald Hobbles (my sweet baby boy) is ALWAYS hungry and tries steal food (he is very clumsy)

Sisks, at first, was shocked by blood and all of that but then he understood that is part of war

a large part of the company goes to the brothels together and shares the same whores

Malarkey cooks but doesn’t taste too well and anyone has the heart to not eat it because he is standing with big puppy eyes waiting for everyone to eat his food

Skip is a fucking stealer (takes everything from the poor malarkey)

EVERY TIME that the comapany has their passes Floyd is like: “I’m gonna need more condoms”, Roe gives him five and Tab uses them all

Joe Toye is very ashamed of his lack of education and when no one sees him he practices his reading.

Liebgott took Eugene's scissors to cut the boys' hair. (Doc is like: where I put my fucking sizzuhs…)

Roe takes everything (medical stuff, blankets, extra socks for other, etc) from Perconte and Frank always tries to avoid him

George hates showers (me too, George, me too) so Lip (as the responsible mother she is) has to drag him to the showers like a 7 years old kid

Nixon buys everything for Dick (like a sugar daddy)

No one can beat Toye at arm wrestling (maybe Bull)

EUGENE ROE AND LEWIS NIXON EPIC CHESS GAMES (and george luz is the commentator as if ir were a baseball game)

heffron got his first real binge and bar fight thanks to bill guarnere

[auxiliarydetective]

Fandom List

Yes, there are some weird ones. I do not control the hyperfixation

The A-Team · Band of Brothers · Dawn Of The Dead (2014) · Descendants · Die Drei ??? · Five Nights at Freddy's · Ghostbusters · Hogan's Heroes · In Space With Markiplier · Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer · K-12 · Night At The Museum · Le Petit Prince · One Piece · The Orville · Die Rosenheim-Cops · Sanders Sides · Star Wars · Star Trek · Steven Universe · Who Killed Markiplier · The Umbrella Academy · VoicePlay

ATTENTION, my ask box is currently broken! Avoid sending anon asks if possible. Check this tag for updates.

OC Masterlist

Caution: Long post! But there are treasures awaiting you, my friend...

Q&A for my OCs and fanfics is always open!

All OCs are listed with their age at their introduction

Side note: I wish I could put collapsable thingies in posts, then it wouldn't be so long

The A-Team (1983 - 1987)

A. Karma "Kit" Kelley, 24, nonbinary/genderfluid + omnisexual

Character Tag: x

Love Interest: Templeton "Faceman" Peck (Ship Tag: x)

AO3: The Changeling

Faceclaim: Kristen Stewart

The official reason for Kit's nickname within the team is because they can make incredible transformations using a makeup kit, but it's an open secret that it's also an excuse to compare her to a kitten. A former trapeze artist, she's strong, agile and decently flexible. Kit absolutely loathes being referred to as a woman unless they're consciously presenting as female for a mission (but I still mostly use she/her when writing fanfic because it's the 80s). Her most defining feature are the large birthmarks on her face, shoulder and thigh that you can see here.

The A-Team (2010)

Karma "Kit" Kelley, 20s, trans male + omnisexual

Character Tag: x

Love Interest: Templeton "Faceman" Peck

Artist, soldier, troublemaker. Hand-picked by Hannibal despite his rebellious reputation, Kit Kelley is a member of the A-Team, an elite military unit that has gone eight years, eighty successful mission. That is until a mission in Baghdad goes awry and Kit's career as well as his right to live his truth is torpedoed. With a spectacular chain of prison breakouts, the A-Team's mission to clear their names and reclaim their honor begins.

Band of Brothers (2001)

Anita Reed, cis-female + bisexual

Character Tag: x

Love Interest: Donald Malarkey

AO3: WIP!

Faceclaim: Ana de Armas

Anita is hard-working and energetic. She joined the WAC to do her part, to finally feel like what she does can move something. Her path eventually leads her to working as a parachute rigger in Aldbourne, England. There, she meets the paratroopers of Easy Company, which is bound to change her life forever.

Descendants (2015 - )

Diana, 15, cis-female, pansexual

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: India Eisley

Diana is the daughter of Diaval and maybe the worst villain on the Isle - meaning she's horrible at being a villain. She just can't help it, it's in her nature to be kind-hearted. While her father is proud of her for it and her friends at the very least tolerate it, others aren't as happy about it. Among those is Maleficent. When Mal, Evie, Carlos and Jay are invited to Auradon, she sends Diana with them, transformed into a pet blackbird, as a last chance to prove her worth as a villain.

Claire Frollo, 16, lesbian

Character Tag: x

Faceclaim: Renée Rapp

Claire Frollo is rebellious and anything but religious, but she'd be lying if she said the imagery of it all didn't appeal to her.

Ghostbusters (1984)

Chandrah (all pronouns)

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Anthony Turpel (male), Juno Temple (female)

Chandrah is a demon, summoned by some kids in the middle of a parking lot. Now trapped in this dimension, it decides to explore a little, eventually stumbling upon the university lab of the doctors Spengler, Venkman and Stantz. Disguised as the human male "Charlie Drake", he befriends the three scientist, accidentally getting himself dragged into hunting his fellow spectres and undead.

Good Omens (2019 - )

Philomel, Embodiment of Love

Character Tag: x

Love Interest: Crowley & Aziraphale

Faceclaim: Jane Levy

When Philomel was born in the Garden of Eden, birds sang and they say that angels and demons were at peace for that moment alone. Crowley and Aziraphale were the first people she met and fate - or perhaps her own nature - kept sweeping her back towards them time after time throughout history. Especially after her fall (that she still believes to have been a misunderstanding), she is practically glued to them by the hip. They were with her in the beginning, so why shouldn't she stay with them until the end? And so, Philomel, known to humans as Venus Acidalia or Melanie Sapphice, proceeds to try and stop the end of the world, if anything to give her two lovers the chance to confess their love instead of having to kill each other... and because she has fallen just a little too much in love with the world herself.

Hogan's Heroes (1965 - 1971)

Viktoria "Vicky" Brandt, 24, cis-female + bisexual

Character Tag: (x or x)

Love Interest: Corporal Peter Newkirk (Ship Tag: x)

AO3: Vicky Allen

Faceclaim: Marilyn Monroe

Vicky is the wife of a young SS General... and also secretly an SOE agent by the name of Zoe Allen. To make things even more complicated, she's in a secret relationship with a prisoner at the POW camp she's working at. That's not a lie, she's working at the camp - just not actually for the Germans, but for Colonel Hogan and his Heroes.

Jim Knopf und Lukas der Lokomotivführer (movies, 2018 + 2020)

Helena, 13(?), cis-female

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Holly Earl

Helena grows up on a tiny island with two mountains, a smaller one and a bigger one, that has barely enough space for the houses of its residents and a train station plus rails for steam locomotive Emma. Her father Lukas is the engine driver, but her interests lie much more in reading and other quiet, precise tasks. If anyone takes over his job one day, it'll be Jim, the adoptive son of shopkeeper Ms Waas. When the king of the island declares that Emma has to leave to make space for houses for the kids for when they're adults, Lukas, Jim, Emma and Helena leave the island, beginning the adventure of their lives.

K-12 (movie, 2019)

Honey Penelope, minor, demigirl, sapphic

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Isolda Dychauk

Image: Artbreeder, edited by me

Honey is the daughter of Miss Penelope, one of the teacher's at school. Just like her mother, she never speaks, but uses her powers to change her gold necklace into the shape of words if necessary. Nobody knows whether her name is really Honey. It could just be because the liquid gold looks like honey when she transforms it.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

I've reached the image limit 😭

Varsha Devi, ?, bisexual

Character Tag: (x)

Love Interest: Dr. Henry Jekyll

Faceclaim: Banita Sandhu

Varsha is a pure mystery to the League when they first meet her. There's something about this beautiful woman in her fine saree and jewelry that's vital to the Nautilus, but nobody knows what it is. Nobody except Nemo, of course, but he keeps his mouth shut almost as tightly as Varsha, who never speaks a word. But when everything starts falling apart in Venice, Varsha's facade, too, shatters.

M*A*S*H (1972-1983)

ENTER PICTURE HERE ONCE I'M BACK ON DESKTOP I've reached the image limit

Euphemia Iris Winchester, 20s, bisexual

Character Tag: x

Faceclaim: Amanda Fix

Iris is charming, open-minded and cheerful, beloved by practically everyone at the 4077. With how popular she is, you wouldn't think for a moment that her and the less than social Charles Winchester are related - until they start bickering and full-naming each other, of course. A known enabler of chaos, her and Hawkeye get on like fire and gasoline and if Hawkeye won't provide her with shenanigans, she'll just provide Klinger with a new dress and her jewelry instead.

Mario Universe; Mario & Luigi Series (2003 - )

Princess Sherry

Character Tag: (x)

Avatar Maker by: AzaleasDolls

Sherry is Peach's younger sister, raised away from the palace and given a magical amulet to protect her from Bowser. But when a plot against her sister is unveiled, Sherry is finally allowed to step into action.

Night At The Museum (2006, 2009, 2014)

Bára Heiðradóttir, physically around 16-18

Character Tag: (x)

Love Interest: Ahkmenrah

AO3: The Völva

Faceclaim: Frida Gustavsson

Bára is a völva, a Viking witch, but also one of the many exhibits coming alive at the Museum of Natural History at night. A motivated helper for Larry during his nightly duties, she's free-spirited and witty - and in love with the Pharaoh, even though she has never seen him.

Le Petit Prince (TV show, 2010-2017)

Sonata (of the Utopians)

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Anna Lambe

Base by: katsu-bases (I think)

Sonata is the younger sister of the Utopians' diva Euphonia. Her voice isn't as strong or beautiful as her sister's, but she loves to write poems and songs - with magical properties!

One Piece (1997 - )

(note: Names are written in the last name - first name format; faceclaims are given just in case I need them after the live action movie comes out)

Aether Luna, 18/20, cis-female + straight

Character Tag: (x)

Love Interest: Vinsmoke Sanji (Ship Tag: x)

Faceclaim: Elle Fanning

Base by: Destinys-Heart

Luna is a moon spirit that somehow got caught up in the Straw Hat's shenanigans. Before she knew it, she fell in love with the crew and head over heels for their cook. From then on, she sticks with them like a guardian angel.

Charlotte Inari, 14/16, cis-female + ace + panromantic

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Joey King

Base by: Louane-Knight

Inari is the twin sister of Charlotte Pudding, Sanji's future fiancé. But she doesn't know all of that. Dragged away from home because of her devil fruit powers, she grows up all across the Grand Line, finally ending up with Enel and being saved by the Straw Hat Pirates. By law of her devil fruit, she has to stay with them now - and casually gives everyone a heart attack when she mentions she's Big Mom's daughter.

One Piece Live Action (2023 - )

*Curse you, image limit!*

Akaito Coraline, 18, cis-female & bisexual

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Jenna Coleman

Part of a long legacy of tailors, Cora is a childhood friend of Sanji's. She's kind, caring, and compassionate but freezes at every touch.

The Orville (2017 - )

Raevyn Caelia Maumahara, 26, cis-female + bisexual

Character Tag: (x)

Love Interest: Gordon Malloy (Ship Tag: x)

AO3: All Our Yesterdays | The Emissary

Faceclaim: Alexandra Daddario

Image: Artbreeder, edited by me

Originally Alara's successor as Chief of Security on the USS Orville (note: I made Raevyn before Talla was introduced), Raevyn is transported back in time on accident. After dealing with Pria Lavesque, Raevyn has to explain herself to the Orville crew of the past. Since there's no way to send her back to the future, she stays on board. This gives her plenty of chances to do things she was simply too late for in her original timeline or that went horribly wrong, including a fresh start on her relationship with a certain helmsman. Half terrestrial, half aquatic Tehiko, Raevyn is an excellent swimmer and has electrokinetic and telepathic abilities. Sometimes, they do her more harm than good.

Die Rosenheim-Cops (2002 - )

Eva Gardner, 31, cis-female + pan

Character Tag: (x)

Love Interest: Michael "Michi" Mohr

Faceclaim: Isis Valverde

Eva appeared out of nowhere. One morning, she just showed up and now the homicide division has an apprentice from the US. Or trainee. Assistant? Assistant seems like the most fitting word since Eva dislikes being trained and likes throwing in ideas. Sometimes a little aggressively. Aside from having a young, motivated coworker, Eva's presence has the added bonus of there being someone else besides Inspector Hansen who doesn't understand the Bavarian dialect - and of taking some work off Michi Mohr's shoulders.

Sanders Sides (2016 - )

Eve "Imagination" Sanders, basically a child but ageless, genderfae

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Keira Knightley

Eve represents Thomas's Imagination. She's not a side, but the embodiment of the concept. Thomas associates imagination with a little girl playing in a flower field, so that's why she's feminine-lloking. On top of this, Eve is also younger than any of the sides because it took Thomas a while to get an understanding for what imagination was. Everyone's little sister, Eve is also responsible for letting Thomas interact with the Sides and for the mind palace - which can sometimes lead to her getting possessed by one of them if they need more control.

Squid Game (2021 - )

Lee Byeong-ho, cis-male + gay

Character Tag: (x)

Faceclaim: Ahn Jae-hyun

Byeong-ho is an old lover friend of Sang-woo’s from Joy Investments. He used to work there in a low position until Sang-woo helped him reach his dream of becoming an actor by financing his education at university. However, this caused them to have to go into a long-distance relationship. In this time, Sang-woo went into debt and Byeong-ho fell victim to a gambling addiction, further pushing himself into debt too. They both lied to each other about this. But when they both join the Squid Game, it throws them both into turmoil.

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)

*Once again, image limit*

K'Rala, nonbinary + pansexual

Character Tag: x

Love Interest: Tasha Yar (& others)

Faceclaim: Emma Corrin

K'Rala is half Vulcan, quarter Betazoid and quarter Aenar, making them an extraordinary telepath. But their biggest passion lies in engineering, leading them onto the Enterprise under Captain Picard. Raised under the watchful eye of their traditional Vulcan mother, K'Rala maintains a professional, logic-driven air, suppressing their telepathy and all emotions. Only one person on board can claim to have seen them genuinely smile - Chief of Security Tasha Yar, who they have some less than logical feelings for. But when that bond is tragically broken, it's up to the crew of the Enterprise to put their friend back together because nobody is alone on the starship Enterprise. Through the cracks of their grief, K'Rala emerges as a brand new person, easing into their emotions and determined to give back what love their friends gave them ten-fold.

Star Wars (1977 - )

Lan "Lani" Skywalker, 19, cis-female + aroace

Character Tag: (x)

AO3: The Rule of Three

Faceclaim: Amrita Acharia

What if the children of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidale had been triplets, not twins? And what if the third child had been raised by Ahsoka? Lani was a special case from a very young age, being the most emotional one of the twins and struggling with using the force on command. Still, she's the only one getting Jedi training throughout her teenage years. Just when she thinks she's on a great path to becoming a Jedi knight, Ahsoka disappears and Lani is left to fend for herself. Meeting her siblings again turns her life upside down and she starts losing control again. Still, her goal remains the same: All she wants is to make her father proud.

Steven Universe (2013 - 2020)

(old image, definitely needs a redo...)

Indigo Pearl, sapphic

Character Tag: (x)

Base by: TFAfangirl14

Indigo used to be a Pearl in Pink Diamond's court before her "shattering", during which she lost her owner. Upon being integrated into Blue Diamond's court, most of the pink hue was drained from her system, gaining her her signature indigo color. Due to her past of belonging to Pink, Blue kept her very close, keeping her as a second personal pearl. Wanting to take revenge for her original diamond's shattering, she ends up on Earth, becoming caught up in the Crystal Gem's business.

The Umbrella Academy (2019 - )

Kassandra Hargeeves, 30, cis-female + asexual

Character Tag: (x)

Scene Rewrites: (x)

Faceclaim: Kaya Scodelario

Kassandra, also known as Number Eight or The Seer, has the power of telepathy, with the unfortunate handicap that she can't tell anyone about any secrets she finds out. With her powers rendered mostly useless to Reginald Hargreeves, she uses them mainly to be there for her siblings and comfort them. When this becomes too much for her to handle, she leaves, but she can never let go. Years after she leaves, her father dies and the family comes together again, leading Kassandra down an emotional journey. Also, the world is ending.

Vocalization (My VoicePlay fanfic)

Evelynn Carter, 21, cis-female + bisexual

Character Tag: (x)

AO3: Vocalization

Faceclaim: Danielle Rose Russel

Image: Artbreeder

Young, childish and insecure. Those are the three words that describe little Evelynn. That is until she meets five men on the way back from a bad party. From then on, fate glues her to them and she goes from an unpopular, scared loner to a cheerful acapella singer in less than six months.

[wwhatev3r]

hi!! may i have a ship? A rowboat preferably. No I'm sorry that joke was dumb.

So basically a quick summary of my appearance: my friend calls my eyes sea glass (green&blue mixture), i am 5'9, my hair is super curly & brown mixed with red highlights. I tend to look sad even though I am not?? But also I am pretty smiley???

Personality oh boy here we go!! i love music. I think last year i got around 30k minutes of listening to music on spotify. Is that a flex? You bet it is bestie. Geography and History are like my hyperfixations. I am memorizing continent's countries. Oh and I love baking + cooking. Also I love kids lmao. I am jewish!! Went to ncsy. I wear a magen david necklace and have since my bat mitzvah. I am either quiet or super talkative. I tend to say the most outlandish things in the most casual tone. Which causes people to laugh lmao. I also have photoshopped cowboy hats on all my friends & myself. Yeehaw. My humor is pretty solid imo, like I could be a stand up comedian... i think? Idk im an infp and my love language is acts of service. On the downside; i got some spicy mental health & struggle with confidence!! I am always afraid people don't actually like me. Bc guess who has gotten bullied over her body? This girl!! This was super long im sorry I am in a talkative mood!!

I ship you with...

George Luz

Note: GIRL-...Let me just say that I love your personality. Let’s be friends, you sound like an incredible person. I love your energy, just by reading the request you hyped me up. Anyway, I hope you like it. P.S: The rowboat joke took be my surprise, I liked it. 

For👏Sure👏It’s👏George👏Motherf*cking👏Luz! But, let me tell you, I think you would be best friends with Malarkey and Skip too. But yeah, there you have:

You both are just CHAOTIC.

Listen, I’m not even joking when I say that the other day, me and a friend were talking about how we imagine the Easy Boys as girls and I said that Georgie would have super curly brown hair. 

Perfect for each other, It’s destiny right there.

I’m taking this ship request as a wedding arrangement, I’m sorry. 

He helps you memorize the country’s continents with cards. 

And if you get them all right, he gives you whatever you like. 

Just imagine this man’s face when you are telling him random history facts and tea about historical figures. 

“...yeah, and he decapitated her.” You told him.

“What? Are you shitting me? (OoO) I knew she should have never married him. I told ya.”

King and Queen of knock knock jokes. 

Actually, you are both better than knock jokes! Way more funnier.

I can see a scene of you both holding your laugh to not awaken anyone at night. 

He thinks you’re the funniest person he knows, because your comedy is natural.

And OMG, this man would kill just to hear you laugh all day. He loves it so much. 

You start singing a song and George is like:

“Shut up, I was just thinking about that song!” 

He loves to dance!!!!!!!!!!

He knows you're an introvert but when the pub is less crowded or is just with your closest friends, he pulls you to dance with him. 

This man can’t cook. Periodt.

He will burn the kitchen to the ground, but if you’re cooking he tries his best to help you out. 

I don’t think George is religious, but he would be pretty supportive of your beliefs.

I truly believe he would learn more about it and support the traditions. 

Imagine, if you were in Easy Company with him at Bastogne; Christmas was really shitty there but he made your whole day, month and year by making you a star of David with sticks and gave you 9 mini candles for you to celebrate hanukkah. 

Also, he finds your necklace so pretty.

In terms of your lack of confidence and mental health issues, George would be as sweet as always. 

In case you’re truly sad, George puts you over the whole world. Write my words. 

He holds tears when seeing you cry, and makes himself look stupid to make you smile.

He makes sure you know you don’t need to please everyone, since that’s impossible, and that you don’t need to be perfect to be loved, and he also says a lot  that both a flower and the ocean are beautiful and are completely different. 

You caught him a ton of times playing with your curls. He just loves your hair so much.

AND YOUR EYES! HOLY SHIT, he loves your eyes. 

“My god, what I would do to swim in those pretty eyes of yours, It’s a shame that they look like they would cut me like a blade.” 

Sometimes you’re just standing there, living your life and he just comes to you like:

-“Hey, honey, are you sad?”

-“No George, It’s just my face.”

-“Your face looks depressed, is she ok?”

Anyway, he makes pretty good impressions of country boys/cowboys. (yee yee)

So, George has a lot of nephews, and I’m pretty sure he likes to take care of them more when you’re present.

It feels more safe for him and the kids love you more, you’re the cool aunt. 

It’s a little bit of a battle to take care of them, on one side there’s you trying to make them eat lunch, and on the other there’s George giving them ice cream. 

But, in the end you both work pretty well as a team; you guys find a good balance.

I hope you like it, I loved your request. I had a lot of fun writing it <3

[geometricalien]

OKAY I finished Life is Strange True Colors and it's time to give my hot trash opinions that no one asked for :) (spoilers will be below the cut)

I avoided almost everything released about this game because I did not want any spoilers whatsoever and I think that served me well.

I also came in with an open mind, I gotta say I was weary since deck nine had all of the control and I didn’t particularly like before the storm that much it was fine though.

All that said True Colors was beautiful. It has excellent graphics, compelling characters and side plots for each character, the power system was new and cool. I wasn't sure how being an empath would translate but it worked well in mechanics, was epic, and suited the theme of not just the game but Alex.

I played for about 10 hours Thursday with some breaks to stretch and get food. So needless to say, I was having a great time.

It has excellent sets and even though the power mechanics are exactly the same each time it's still fresh and creative in how these emotions can shape the world around them.

This is just a personal nitpick nothing actually important, the town is a fictional Coloradan small town and as someone who grew up in a neighboring state with similar small town/mining/outdoorsy communities- or visiting them- the town buildings were fantastic! I loved main street, I've been in towns with that exact same style. But the flower bridge and the deer were just... a tinge over the top, it felt like you were trying to sell "Paradise" way too hard. But besides that I loved the towns vibe!

I felt... a little burnt out being able to play all of the chapters at once, I think part that made the lis community so strong was that it had time to build and react to the episodes together. It gave us time to theorize and make fancontent. Versus binge gaming and shot like a bullet into the air, done too quick. I don’t feel as connected to the characters because I’ve only been with them for 14 ish hours vs months

NOW THAT BEING SAID- the pacing was good, it gave us the reins being able to free roam the map at nearly all times and it never felt like we were being dragged down

Overall, True Colors is a great addition. Had amazing voice acting graphics, characters, and themes. I definitely recommend checking this game out

Spoilers now abound:

Going back to an earlier comment- almost all scenarios where you used Alex's power in depth were fresh and interesting. My favorites being Ethan, Charlotte, and Eleanor. I bring this up because Duckie's was the most dull- which you could say matches because he is normally the life of the party so... feeling empty or dull makes sense for him. But then Pike’s was also similarly lacking in environment, so it didn’t feel as fulfilling

I loved loved loved episode 3. The larping was so much fun and I was tickled with the turn based fighting. I especially loved when Ethan made the world come to life, my heart lifted in pure joy.

The two main romance interests are... interesting. Ryan's insight and caring nature drew me to him the instant we met while Steph sort of came off... as separated? But as we became friends with them both it became super hard to chose. And at the end seeing their reactions to the bomb drop showed so much characterization. Steph's ride or die and Ryan (in my playthrough) just had someone challenge his entire life view of course that's hard to take in within 30 seconds. I got that religious gay trauma, I get it.

This is where I feel spacing out the episodes could've also helped with our fondness of characters. After Ryan didn't believe me I didn't want to pursue him anymore, my affection was weakened

However I chose to forgive both Ryan and Jed despite feeling like I missed the character development to reasonably make that decision. I understand this entire game is shadow work for Alex and it is growing her emotional intelligence by miles but I think I would have preferred more sign postings from the game saying "hey bc of your choices you are growing" which wasn't really true because-

Alex was suppressing her sadness, fear, and anger from her traumatic youth. So in episode 5, reliving all of those moments were the chance to level up in emotional intelligence. It felt odd to learn exactly everything at the very end but again it's okay because she was suppressing just like Jed which made her able to understand his emotions and walk him through them

TALKING ABOUT THAT TALK WHO GOT GIFS??? I NEED TO SEE HER EYES GLOWING AND FLICKERING WITH COLOR

I loved the parallel/bookendings of chapter 1: Side A and chapter 5: Side B, I'm a sucker for that shit

It's obvious that alot of care and heart was put into this game, it has layers and the more you peel back the more it reveals thematically

Now I got to compare it to my biggest criticism of LiS and Before the Storm, and ultimately the reason why I love LiS2 more than either of them. Does your choices actually matter?

LiS? No. The game ended with an ultimatum that made all of your choices in the end not matter and LiS is sold as a "your choices actually matter" type of game so seeing that be a load of malarkey always puts a bad taste in my mouth

Lis:bts? No. It's a prequel. I can admire the idea of "life may be futile but make the most of it" while you can and that definitely encompasses Rachel's side of bts. But that doesn’t negate the fact that this is more a game with a straight plot than LiS

LiS2? YOU GOT 4 ENDINGS AND YOU CAN ONLY CHOSE 2 AND ITS NARROWED DOWN TO HOW YOU PLAYED THIS GAME- THATS WHAT I CALL A CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE/YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES

True Colors? I think TC lies somewhere between LiS2 and LiS in this aspect. Its definitely very railed, I think in every one you will get Jed to confess, so it depends on how you go about convincing him, romancing, and deciding your future to... well... decide your future. I can't fault it. It left it up to the player to decide and to not be screwed over by our previous choices (cough cough) and that is the crowd pleasing choice.

So, in the sense that it all feels very railed until the last 15 minutes when they spin us on an ice rink and say "freestyle baby"- it's fine. I'm not mad about it. But it does make me wonder what would've happened if we don't have any of the committee members on our side? Would we leave town effective immediately? Would the truth even have gotten out? Because if that's true... I would bump it up in the "does your choices matter?" 

You make choices and those choices have consequences, sometimes out of your control. That's what LiS2 perfected and what I want to see more in this franchise.