#she really said fuck you in the most insanely polite way I love her

[kaleighkarma]

I did a public speaking thing today about rent control and I didn’t cry! Someone said they liked my speech because I mentioned how raises weren’t at inflation if you even get one so I felt better!

[chrissdollie]

Dad Bakugo x mom reader - I need more children in my life 😭✋🏾

def calls his kid "squirt" and "buddy"

in mY universe, he has a boy and a girl bc he needs the best of both worlds

CALLS YOU "MA" GOODNIGHT

we all know he wakes up really early, earlier than you even, so he's the one to check on the babies/kids every morning to see if they're ok :)

definitely keeps schedules of you and your kids days like exams, report cards, if they're going to a friend's house, etc

yk how most kids tend to be like "ewwww" whenever their parents kiss?? not ur kids nono. first of all, your son is the quieter one. not that he's not talkative, he just has a little bit of a hard time expressing himself. anyhow, his sister is very loud. but either way, they both think its sweet. your daughter even said something like "i hope my husband kisses me like that" once (when she was an older kid tho lol)

your son goes to talk to you a lot. he adores you so so much. but one day when he wanted to hang out with you, you weren't home. you were busy running errands while katsuki was at home watching tv. your son started crying and katsuki was like wtf?? eventually, your son grew accustomed to speaking to katsuki. as he got older, he actually talked to him more than you.

teaches your son how to be a man :,) katsuki knew he was bitchy in his younger years and he didn't want either of his kids to be like him. he taught them both manners and how to properly have a conversation.

little pitter patter of their feet ran into your guys' shared bedroom on christmas morning and began jumping your bed. katsuki groaned and rubbed his eyes aggressively. "it's christmas, mommy!" your little boy shouted. "wake up daddy!!" your daughter shouted in his ear. "alright alright you rugrats"

at your daughter's kindergarten graduation (idk if everyone had this but i did lmao), katsuki was tearing up and although he tried to hide it, he had to remain the strong one while comforting you while you bawled your eyes out.

p.s your daughter is the oldest

when she brought home her first boyfriend... ooo chile

i see a lot of people writing how katsuki would act up but tbh in his older years, i think he'd be a lot more mature. he'd greet the dude politely and treat him like he would any of her friends

btw lemme just say: your daughter is a mommy AND daddy's girl. she loves u both insanely

honestly while eating dinner with the boyfriend or something, katsuki would be very blunt and not pay too much mind to him LMAOO he'd be like "'tis is great, doll" as if you don't cook dinner every week and it's only when your daughter brings up how he wants to work at katsuki's angency, where he perks up

"oh shit, no kiddin'?" and you smack his arm lightly.

well this changes everything! he practically gave the kid his blessing. "welcome to the family son"

your son doesn't really care about them together, he just doesn't wanna see his big sis get hurt. lets say that your son is 15 and your daughter is 17. "so, bf/n. have you fucked her?"

you almost spit out your drink like a cartoon. your daughter is shook, katsuki's rage from UA is all coming back to him, and the boyf is scared for his life

you, katsuki, and your daughter have a little talk after dinner

"use condoms" kats stated. "i- WH- nono you can have sex next year." you corrected but ur daughter is like huh?? "wha why next year?" you scoff. "because you'll be a legal adult thats why." "no offense, momma, but that's really dumb. when did you and dad start having sex?" she folded her arms. katsuki shrugged. "like i said, use condoms."

you and your daughter gossip like crazy alr?? ur like the gilmore girls except you're married and didn't get pregnant at 16 (almost)

and this is nothing new to katsuki, he's heard u guys gossip trillions of times. but when he found out you guys talked abouy HIM TOO??

he busts into the room. your daughter squeals and runs behind you. "hi honeyy-" he shushes you, "you guys talkin' shit 'bout me?" "nope" you guys say in unison. "there's this other guy, uh.."

[barrackspredator]

patrick hockstetter x naive fem reader? 😋

this has been in my inbow for about a year. TW: Patrick, mocking religion, Patrick gets his own second warning

The Pastor's Daughter

Patick x Fem!Reader Patrick Hockstter is God.

In his own head, of course.

However, before he is a part-time self-proclaimed god, he is also the son of Patricia "Trisha" Hockstetter, Derry's most devout Baptist.

And while he could usually get away with skipping out on Sunday mass, this one was different. A new pastor was being brought into the church as the last pastor had gone to the pearly gates, and Trisha, eager to push her son closer to God, forced him to go with her.

After a long morning of arguing, Patrick was forced into his Sunday best, booted into the car, and forced to follow his grinning mother down the aisle. Aside from the laughable idea of there being other gods, Patrick's least favorite part about church was entering to take a seat. The judgmental stares, the hushed whispers, the blearing white. It was enough to drive him insane. He idly gazed through the crowd of phony-worshippers, grinning pridefully whenever somebody would look his way in stunned horror—which was often.

Finally stopping at the second pew, his mother ushered him in, a beaming smile on her face despite the mischievous glint in her eyes. Patrick noted this, quirking his eyebrow at her.

"What?" he mouthed as he sat down, partially sitting on something. "Nothing," she whispered, unable to hide her smile.

"Excuse me?" A quiet voice whispered from beside Patrick. "I don't mean to bother you, sir, but you're sitting on my purse."

Patrick rolled his eyes, turning in annoyance. "Then yank it." He paused, staring at the girl before him. Your eyes widened in surprise, your cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"Oh, my apologies. I didn't realize... I thought you were a sir." You sheepishly laughed at your mistake, assuming Patrick was an older man. He stared at you, his eyes narrowing as he dissected every inch of you. Your eyes, your smile, your hair—the imaginary halo that glowed above your head.

"I am a sir," he growled, thinking you thought he was a girl.

"O-Oh? Really? Wow, you look so young!" You smiled wide, amazed by how young this "sir" looked.

"... Uh, yeah. I'm fucking 15, idiot." Patrick felt a sharp jab in his ribs, making him double over. He glared at his mom, who sneered at him until he turned back to face the girl. "My bad," he grumbled. The look of shock on your face was enough to make him smirk in amusement. Perhaps the most amused he'd ever felt in church.

"It's okay," you whispered. Your eyes were downcast as you tried to hold back a giggle. "You are very funny, uh... what is your name? Perhaps calling you sir would be weird as we are the same age." You looked back up into Patrick's eyes.

"Patrick." Another jab. "Hockstetter!" He glanced back at his mother, deeply annoyed with her antics. "Patrick Hockstter," he breathed out, placing his hand over his aching ribs.

You giggled politely, covering your mouth as you did. "Well, it's lovely to meet you, Patrick. I'm-"

"The pastor's daughter, right?" Mrs. Hockstetter interjected, taking you by surprise. You hesitated a few seconds before nodding your head. Patrick slowly turned his head to look at his mother as her plan clicked in his head. Did she really think the pastor's daughter would be a good influence on him? The thought was laughable. But this god had his own plan—to humor his mother. To get even.

He turned back to you with a charming smile. Well, as charming as he could pull off. "It's lovely to meet you," he said, taking your hand in his and gently pressing a kiss on your knuckle, enjoying how your eyes shot open. Church was suddenly starting to feel very entertaining for this god.

But of course, your father had to ruin the fun when he came out to begin his sermon and the choir started. You hesitated to pull your hand away, your eyes lingering on his until he turned away. Patrick only pulled away to hide his smirk, though. He didn't give a shit about the sermon, or the choir, or whatever the fuck his future father-in-law was spewing.

For that full hour, he sat there plotting. Every move of his had to be calculated, and they were. Glances here and there, brushing his hand against yours, gently thumbing your skin whenever it was time to join hands. And from every move blossomed a new splotch of red on your cheeks, which appeased him greatly. Even his mother looked pleased, and it took Patrick every bone in his body to not laugh at her failure of a plan. Oh, how he was going to make her look like such a fool!

By the end of mass, Patrick had you wrapped around his twisted, kind of fucked up, burnt finger. And with this newfound power, he got himself a date with the pastor's daughter at the junkyard.

To his mother's surprise, Patrick left mass with a big goofy smile on his face, giddy as he thought of the fridge he was going to show you on Friday night.

[archive-of-wax]

Got thinking about Bo and Trudy while writing an addition to this post.

I might be in the minority here but I actually think in a way, deep down, Trudy preferred Bo over Vincent. Sure, Vincent may have been well behaved, talented at her profession, and easy for Trudy to mold into what she wanted from a son. And yes, Bo's outbursts clearly drove Trudy up the wall, and I can imagine as he grew older they must have had the most legendary bust up arguments that made the house shake and could be heard all through the town.

BUT

If you subscribe to the interpretation that Trudy was a wild artsy party girl before she settled down, then Bo is very much Trudy's son. I can imagine her as Bo grew up, witnessing his charismatic ways, his can't-be-tied-down independence, his ambition ('When he actually puts his mind to something...' she might've said), and yes, even his temper, and knowing that was all her. Two peas in a pod, just butting heads constantly.

Contrast that with Vincent. Even if he was the most polite and respectful child to ever exist, I can't imagine extroverted charismatic ex-socialite Trudy being able to understand or truly connect with her awkward introverted and mute son, whose reclusiveness is exacerbated to the extreme by a severe facial deformity.

It's like when a class graduates high school. It's always the fun misbehaving kids that teachers miss the most. Not the 'pleasure to have in class'. Vincent was easier to parent, but that doesn't mean he was the favourite in any meaningful way.

I feel like Bo and Trudy's dynamic is captured really well in this headcanon (I know the intro is slightly at odds with what I'm saying here but you get me). Trudy sighing in exasperation and doing that 'oh, you' head shake after tearing Bo a new one for whatever reason, deserved or not. Their relationship was volatile, when it got bad it was horrible. But the good moments, though scarce, were really good. They both knew they were difficult people, but it meant they really understood eachother, and it gave them a strong, yet undeniably complicated connection.

I also think Vincent knew, and he fucking hated it.

Bo always believed he was second fiddle. Why wouldn't Vincent have the same good times with their mother? More even? They're always cooped up in that workshop after all, surely they talk like that all the time.

But Trudy's investment in Vincent was led more by guilt and convenience than genuine love. And when Vincent stumbles into the kitchen at 3am to see Bo and Mama having a smoke and an actual genuine conversation, he swears to God Almighty he's never wished he was his brother more in his entire life.

The constant cycle of jealousy and inferiority it must have created in the twins would have been insane. To Bo, he was the black sheep and Vincent the golden child. To Vincent, he was Trudys talented protege, but Bo was her son.

[bambiilooza]

okay so ii thought this would be fun soooo

what epic saga is ur fav nd least fav, what is ur fav song in each saga, ur least fav in each saga, your overall fav and least fav

feel free to ramble and/or go off on a tangent about hidden meanings i fw that shit very hard

oh boy. these were really hard to narrow down. thanks for this ask btw, it was fun!!

my fav saga :

the underworld!! ik it's the shortest but each song is such a banger and it's the only one for where each song gets better from the last. all three of the songs are in my top 10 easy.

the polites cameo broke ppl's hearts ik but it was amazing to hear steven in the role again. i love his voice. anticlea was amazing too.

no longer you was actual fire. i LOVE epic's version of tirisias a lot and his voice is perfect. the orchestration in that song is actually beautiful and both actors absolutely kill it.

and monster? oh i'll take about monster later

least fav saga :

cyclops saga. i like it but i don't have strong feelings about the songs except for my goodbye. plot wise, it's important ofc but i dont find myself listening to it as often cuz it's just sad. i do like all the songs tho

i will say polyamorous the cyclops sounds REALLY GOOD in the remastered version. woah what a voice improvement holy moly

i really love my goodbye tho. that song is in my top 10. the 'YOU'RE ALONE!' is actually insane. i need like a 100 animatics for it. it's too good.

fav song in each saga :

just a man

i LOVE jay's performance here. this song made me cry when i first listened to it. i mean it's just everything.

i think most ppl thought 'oh musical about odyssey call epic probably silly boyish fun' and for the most part horse and the infant leads u on with that. then THIS SONG happens and ur crying on the floor.

i love watching animatics for it too. unlike most songs in epic, there is no action in this song, it's pure agony of a man grappling with one of the hardest things anyone can do and it's fucking amazing.

and i said it before just now but the VOCALS. stunning. perfect. jaw dropping.

in my ideal epic animated movie, what i want is for horse and the infant and just a man BEFORE the title card drop. and when ody sings the last line of just a man, it fades to the title screen. then it would be daytime and full speed ahead can happen.

idk if that makes sense but i think it would slay so hard.

my goodbye

OH MY GOD. THIS SONG. IT IS HEARTBREAKING

the callbacks to warrior of the mind takes me by surprise everytime like holy shit she really just said that?? then ody's 'YOU'RE ALONE!'

it's perfect. the pure rage from both of them is just so good.

it's my favourite saga ender. it's so cold and just wow. like athena was in one song before but the EMOTION from both of them is enough to make u wanna cry.

ruthlessness

see one part of my brain is like 'oh that's interesting the villain and hero have conflicting moralities and the hero may become like the villain and he is establishing the hero's thinking as flawed for his purpose.' then the other half of my brain is dead from how much steven rodriguez SLAYS the performance.

the lyrics are great as with all the song. the callback to remember them? chef's kiss. poseidon really sat down with his son and took notes for his villain number lol

but my fav things about it the performance. the poseidon voice is so so so so good. and i'm not saying it in a 'haha i find it hot' way. i mean i do but also, it's just perfect for poseidon. he sounds like if salt could talk and that's a compliment btw. his sass and personality is great too.

'but noooo' i just. i love poseidon's voice so much.

and i am shaking in my boots for get in the water.

there are other ways

i love the route jay went with the plot. this portrayal of circe is so important to me, i love her sm. i read the circe book just before the circe saga - and i liked it overall - but the ending left a horrible taste in my mouth so this was a very welcome change.

it's so well done. our boy ody '🥺my wife🥺'-ing his way out of the situation? perfect. ik it's more complicated but the end of the circe saga is such a good character moment for him.

and CIRCE. CIRCE MY QUEEN ILY.

her sympathising with ody and helping him is great. i love that she gets fleshed into, why she does what she does and when she sees the good in ody. she really is a loving queen and i love her sm.

her vocals - especially at the end - are stunning. i love tayla sindal's voice for circe. like with poseidon, that is the perfect voice for the character.

i really love gigi's animatic of this song and that's just how i imagine it happening. it's actually perfect. my fav song was a tie between this and done for but the animatic made me fall in love with this one.

monster

odysseus gives into the pam pam 🦖🦖

it's my favourite song in epic. i have a LOT of thoughts on it but i actually cannot put them into words.

mutiny

this one is fresh so my thoughts will not be cohesive. the amount of callbacks in this song actually kills me.

i cried at the livestream. exactly at the lyric 'ody we're never gonna get to make it home' i mean.

ODY. ODY not CAPTAIN. I CAN'T END THIS. poor choice of words nm

but i will say i've seen some takes on eurylochus that i definately do not agree with and he's one of my fav characters. i'm sad he's gone, his acting and presence was amazing and underrated in all the other sagas and he's just a great character.

least fav in each saga:

i like all of these songs btw. i don't dislike any song. i don't wanna got into detail cuz for all the answer is just i like the others more.

full speed ahead

polyphemous

storm

wouldn't you like

the underworld

different beast

winner : monster

second place : there are other ways

third place : ruthlessness

my overall least favourite song : polyphemous/different beast. again i like these songs, i just prefer others

[cinnamontoastcrunch-15]

I WROTE SOMETHING

Based off this post by @made-by-moon because it's stuck in my brain xoxo

Emmeline burst through the door to the break room, sending Benjy and Hestia jumping a mile. Not that she cared, she was too excited for that.

"Guys! Guess who just walked in?" She asked, barely leaving enough time for a response. "Sirius! Sirius is back!" Benjy gasped, Hestia's eyes widening.

"Alone?" Benjy asked slowly, and Emmeline could feel the apprehension in the room.

They all remembered what had happened last time.

Emmeline had been looking forward to Sirius' appointment for weeks. They had designed the tattoo together, and Emmeline was proud as fuck about how it had turned out. Also, everybody was waiting to see what was going to happen between Sirius and his 'platonic best friend' Remus Lupin.

Sirius had brought Remus to every tattoo he had gotten at the parlour since he had turned 18. From the moment his hand reached out and grabbed Remus' from the chair, so harshly that his knuckles were turning white and Remus literally winced, everybody knew that there was something going on between them. Sirius had heart eyes for the man, and Remus did nothing but admire Sirius whenever he wasn't looking. From then on, they all waited in bated breath for the day that the two of them started dating.

Until Sirius walked in alone that fateful day, offering Emmeline a half hearted smile.

"Hey!" She started enthusiastically. "We can wait for Remus before getting started." He shook his head, confusion washing over Emmeline.

"S'alright, he's not coming." He answered with a shrug. "Let's just do it."

As much as Emmeline was desperate to know what had happened, she knew how to get people to open up, waiting patiently until the right moment.

"I loved your concept for this. Most fun I've had designing a tattoo in a while." She started. Sirius, who had his free hand gripping the chair for dear bloody life, smiled.

"Yeah, I- I've been really excited for this one." He said back, wincing slightly as Emmeline worked.

"Mm, did you come up with it yourself?" She asked calmly, expertly.

"Nah, Remus helped me."

"Ah, right. Is he waiting for it to be done to see it for the first time?" She asked, eyes not lifting from the needle.

"He's- he's on a date." Sirius answered, deflated. Emmeline's eyebrows raised almost involuntarily, lifting the pen and looking straight at him. Remus 'you're doing great, love' Lupin was on a date?

"Seriously?" She asked, half expecting Sirius to make the same pun she had heard millions of times before. Instead, Sirius just glanced down. "Why aren't you there with him, then?" Sirius' head snapped up, stunned, eyes widening.

"What d'you mean?"

"Sirius." Emmeline started, looking back down as she started tattooing again. "He's come to every single appointment you've gotten here for two years. We've all been waiting for you to start dating."

"Oh my god, I thought I was going mad." Sirius exhaled in a rush, and everything just started pouring out of him. "I swear to god, I was this close to actually asking him out. I finally started to think that he liked me back, maybe I wasn't insane, I was in with a chance, and then he just- he told me he was going for lunch with some guy called Edgar."

"...right."

"He forgot about this."

"Well, did you knock some sense into him, tell him he should have been here?" Sirius shook his head, inhaling sharply as Emmeline worked.

"Felt mean. Just messaged him to let him know it was happening and told him to have fun." He answered. It was Emmeline's turn to wince, then.

"Sirius..." Emmeline trailed off, trying to find a way to politely express her opinion. Sirius beat her to it.

"I know, okay? I'm a fucking coward." He groaned, letting his head drop back in his frustration. "I'm an idiot and I should have told him how I felt, but it's too bloody late now! He's going to run off with this Edgar guy and and that'll be the end of it! I'll never see him again, he'll forget I exist!"

Yeah, Emmeline thought he was being a little dramatic, but she'd opened the floodgates, she just had to let it happen.

Sirius' phone started to buzz, and he grabbed it with his free hand. Emmeline glanced up and caught a glimpse of the name 'Moony' on the screen, along with a photo of him and Remus together. Sirius picked it up quickly.

"Hey." He started, somehow managing to have pushed the deflation out of his voice. "Yeah, I am. No, don't worry, it's fine, I'm not mad. You don't have to do that, I'm okay. Mhm. No, I don't want to screw up your date, don't leave. Yeah, I'm fine. Honestly. Okay, cool. See you later, Moons." He hung up, setting the phone back down. "He offered to come now." Sirius explained to Emmeline, who had stopped tattooing for a second so that Sirius could think throughout the phone call.

"What, is his date over?" Emmeline asked, Sirius shaking his head in response. "So he offered to abandon his date to come and hold your hand." She said to him, stunned that he wasn't seeing what everybody else was. "And you said no."

"Yeah, I did." Sirius said, sounding confused. "I didn't want to screw up his afternoon."

"Why the hell did you say no?! Friends don't leave their dates because their friend is getting a tattoo, Sirius!" Emmeline wanted to drag the two of them into a small room and lock it until they sorted their shit out, honestly. This would have to do, instead. "If I wasn't currently inking something permanently onto your arm, I would be telling you to bloody run to him." She said, shaking her head to herself.

None of them had seen him since.

A month had passed, no appointments made, everyone wondering what the fuck was happening between the two of them. If anyone was bored in the staff room, they'd talk about Remus and Sirius. Speculate, make bets, they needed to know what had happened.

That was why Emmeline was over the moon when he walked through the door.

"Not alone. With Remus, Remus is back!" She exclaimed, Hestia letting out a cheer and Benjy clapping.

"Is it too much if we all go and say hi? I need to know if they've sorted their act out." Hesita said. "Oh, I fucking love walk in Wednesdays!"

"Let's just go out together." Emmeline said and, as Benjy and Hestia stood from the table, "Wait! Bets now, are they together or still 'best friends'?"

"Oh, they have to be together." Hestia said, Benjy nodding in agreement.

"Mm, I'm not so sure. Sirius is scarily good at pretending to be unbothered by Remus dating."

With that, they all walked out into reception.

Sirius and Remus were sat side by side, Remus' arm snaked around Sirius' waist as he listened to Sirius talking. They were quite clearly oblivious to the three artists watching, as Remus leaned in and kissed Sirius, cutting him off. Emmeline's eyes widened as they both pulled away.

"What was that for?" Sirius asked, a little breathless. Remus just shrugged.

"Wanted to." He answered, smile on his face. Benjy cleared his throat, the two of them jumping a mile.

"Are we interrupting something? Something long overdue, maybe?" He asked. Sirius, who was quite clearly biting back a smile, apologised quickly.

"Sorry, sorry. We're, uh... we're actually getting matching tattoos, this time." Sirius said gently, Remus reaching out and grabbing his hand.

Fucking finally.

[adhdemongirl]

I just finished my first playthrough of Metal Gear Solid. It was mostly blind (except for some pop-culture osmosis) and on normal difficulty. I wrote down a lot of my thoughts and live reactions because I thought it might be fun to read through. So have fun doing that if you want to:

-I really like that you have to watch the briefing through an extra menu option before hitting start. Just adds too the vibe

-50 Huskies. Genuinly why haven't I heard of that before?

-The controls are definitly something. I also kinda hate that the camera is so zoomed in that I spend most of my time looking at the radar

-God, I love ps1 wobbly textures so much

-The Hind is so sexy

-Why the fuck are chokehold and throw on the same fucking button?!!!

-Snake seems to be only slightly less horny than Kojima

-So was the Darpa Chief a psycho mantis illusion? What's going on here? Really nice intruige building btw

-Revolver Ocelot is such a bastard. I already love him.

-This boss fight was so weak. Teally hope the rest isn't that bad, but I honestly do not exspect much.

-I really love how Grey Fox (at least I think that's him from cultural osmosis) has a really wobbly eye. It clearly isn't part of his base texture. Just keeps moving around. I don't know if that's on purpose, but it's a great effect.

-This game really has some opinions on the mic, huh? Good for it, honestly. Shame that it has "the Gundam problem™"

-Did Meryl just say she hid the key in her pussy?!!!!

-Smoking damages you. Amazing

-Deepthroat

-Vulcan Raven feels like he's probably really problematic. I don't know enough about the first nations to know for sure, but I also don't think Kojima knows shit. That being said, I still think he's kinda cool

-The boss fight wasn't though. I feel a bit sad, yet vindicated.

-Uii, they're just toying with Snake! Fox-Hound are such cocky bastards. I love these guys so much

-Yooo, it's just like my japanese anime!!! (also piss. but that's like some anime too, I supose)

-Nice gimmick with this boss, sadly still shit

-Have I mentioned how much I love the wobbly red eye?

-Otacon is so pathetic. I love him.

-Who could have predicted that building the torment nexus from my favourite anime *do not build the torment nexus" for the military might be a bad idea? At least he knows he fucked up I guess.

-I haven't mentioned this so far, but the pacing of this game is honestly really good. There is always something happening, some gimmick being used, it's really great work

-Having to follow Meryl into the womens restroom to talk honestly doesn't feel that good.

-Holy shit, thry put so much efford into Meryls textures. Kojima is so fucking horny. Why can I see her nipples?!

-Psycho Mantis gas a really neat design, but I might also just have a thing for gasmasks.

-So I'm playing on pc and the way they did the "switch the controler port" thing is by having you switch out your controler for the keyboard. It's a really cool idea for how to preserve that moment. Unfortunatly, keyboard controls feel somehow even worse. 4/4 on kinda shit bossfights so far

-My dude is death monolging for so fucking long

-"Oh no, a tense moment! Better make the player run through half the map!" Insane design choice. Honestly dogshit.

-Using the sniper felt like dogshit as well. 5/5 on shit boss fights

-omg she's so fucking hot arf arf arf

-Liquid is such a whiny bitch. Only member of Fox-Hound I didn't love on sight. But maybe I could love to hate him. We will see. Also more Revolver Ocelot, yay :3

-I can see what they were going for with the torture minigame. Forcing the player to mash a button, thereby hurting/"torturing" them outside of the game as well. Neat idea.

-I like the negativ opinion this game has about nationalism, (liberal) politics and america

-"At least 20th century Russia had an ideology" I love both Shalshaska and this game

-"That's paricide! -yup" lmao

-I adore the 2D maggots

-Otacon is crushin on sniper wolf almost as hard as I am

-They are really stretching playtime by having you run back to the same point over and over again. It'a noticable and definitly not in a positive way

-the time bomb is a nice touch

-omg the hanky makes the doggos luv you <3

-I literaly just went through this part, why do they play a flashback?

-Naomi is shipping Snake and Meryl so hard lmao

-PS1 RATS!!!

-I hate those stairs with a passion

-The Hind is so sexy

-You know "Do you think love can bloom, even on a battlefield" has been memed to death, but it's honestly such a good line

-The Hind was the first boss fight that was really fun for me.

-The Elevator ambush fucking got me lmao

-Noooo, I don't wanna kill her (especially because it'll probably be another shit boss fight)

-I hate being right sometimes

-Wait, she's kurdish?! I should really check up on rojava, give a bit to the kurdish red crescent again

-Wow, her death really did make me feel bad :( (even though she took even longer to die than Psycho Mantis)

-That whole scene also made me really apreciate the music in this game. It's been great the whole time, but here especially so

-Master Miller being like "her story is bullshit, Hoover was to racist for that" is so fucking funny.

-I sadly already know that he's Liquid, but that whole convo is also so fucking sus

-In the intro for the Vulcan Raven rematch now. This game is really trying to be as racist as Hoover, huh?

-Wow, those were some fast working ravens

-Wait, did Naomi actualy kill The "Darpa Chief" (Decoy Octopus)? Did she inject Snake with some gene-bullshit in the beginning that kills certain people? She is a genetecist after all. Maybe something targeting those "soldier genes" the game keeps babbleing about?

-I like how they wrapped up the "new kind of nuclear weapon" plot. Sure, a railgun is kinda insane, but they manage to justify it.

-Can you imagine a world with less US-american SDI spending? Incomprehensible plot point tbh

-Ha, I was right! Naomi fucking killed them! I feel so smart! (FoxDie is a bit on the nose though)

-Love how Metal Gear Rex looks btw. A rwal beauty. Even more sexy than the Hind

-The russians involvement in all this does honestly feel very in character

-Are they going to make me activate the nuke for Liquid? Would be a nice twist.

-Why does it feel like Liquid is so horny for Snake? He's so obsessed, it's embarrassing

-I hate how they make me run around to change the key. Honestly just stretching out the game. Kills some tension too

-a fucking trapdoor got me lmao

-The runback is soo looong!!! It's okay, your game is allowed to be 20 Minutes shorter, you don't have to stretch it this way

-Final confirmation for Naomi being a tier one assassin

-She's Rhodesian?!!

-I kinda love Naomis character and her motivations, I think

-Cambell is a bitch as motherfucker btw. He has been for the whole game, but I feel like I need to mention it at some point

-Ha, fucking knew that thing with the nuke

-The Liquid reveal is really well made btw.

-Liquid Snake doesn't know shit about genetics. "I got all the ressesive genes" Dumb motherfucker

-Rex is so fucking sexy

-Otacon designing Rex with a weak point because he thought Rex would be cuter that way is so fucking valid

-Nice Gray Fox backstory

-Boss fight is shit as well btw

-Wait, this game does the whole hotline miami "You enjoy hurting people" thing???

-Super Baby Method

-Liquid (and by extension Kojima) still don't know shit about genetics

-I like the fmv bits a lot btw

-I should look into both Iraq wars I think

-The voice acting in this game is surprisingly good btw

-The final fist fight on top of Rex was almost comedic

-I don't completely buy the romance with Meryl

-On the other hand, I completely get why people ship Snake and Otacon

-Wait, Liquid's still alive?!

-Well, now he isn't

-I really liked the ending. Nice message

-He's called David?!

-I liked the game way more than I exspected, even though it has a bunch of flaws

-It also had a way smaller focus on stealth than I exspected

-I'll probably do a short, comprehensive post on my thoughts as well

Thanks for reading. Feel free to ask me stuff

[injailoutsoongato]

YANDERE

Who ever knew the relationship with someone like a fighter would ever go wrong?

(Yandere, Obsessed Justin Gaethje x Innocent Reader,)

(REBLOGS ARE APPRECIATED BY THE AUTHOR- LEAVE A COMMENT)

He was a nerd. A complete nerd. Some said he still was a goof, which he was. But it was really what only the media saw, as much as you were wanting to deny it, it wasn’t any use. He was the same violent man from all those years ago, the nerd became whatever the hell he was now. Who really knew what happened, all you remembered since thst night where everything changed. The prom night, during it one of the more popular guys, the arrogant meathead was constantly all over you. There was no need to even put effort to think about it as it was very obvious those people just wanted to take your innocence away, Justin knew this all damn well and he would be so damned to know someone would just go ahead and do that while he was there, as long as he was with you. No one was gonna get to you. He would just flunk you out of that little blissful sleeping state to make sure you were here, safe infront of him.

Beauty is pain. They said

Pretty little Y/n fell victim to it all the time, she was pretty, she was a virgin, she is pretty. When she was asked out she often turned them down politely since she really wasn’t ready for a relationship, she was yes and adult. But she really wasn’t as prepared yet, and those men went a far as to call the female a whore for doing so. When all she did was turn them down because she didn’t want to, bruised ego. Much. But in all honesty even if Justin wasn’t the most attractive, he had something in him that made her flutter. He had subtle actions though. The way he always got a whiff of her when she passed by was unnoticed but that was the sad truth. He was just as lovestruck with her, he wasn’t a healthy guy to be with. And his compete 360 in what he was compared to before and now shook everyone to the core, even you. His constant compliments towards her. His gentleness with her made y/n melt and get all flustered. He couldn’t. Her chubby cheeks were just so adorable. When they filled with a reddish-like, hue and how her expression shifted to the embarrassment she always felt sent this shiver up his spine. How could he resist her when she was as sweet as this. He could go on for hours talking just about you. He left so many love letters in hopes of confessing. But that pig meathead would push Justin and you around all the time and it drove Gaethje to insanity. He really was gonna the touching you and let that slide? Seeing the guy look, breath, or touch, anything like that near you instantly sparked up Justin’s jealousy. Breathe.? Was overboard. But touching you and looking near you was what was the main issue, he knew all the guys wanted to get into your panties. Justin wasn’t like that. He cared, he really did. But it broke him when his love letters were ripped by the same guy, and you were stolen away.

“I’ll just have you someday, that pig might aswell fucking die for all I really care. I asked for something and I want it, why won’t you just see that I do this because.” He paused. Hands gripping your cheeks. “Because I love you?” No. This wasn’t right. This was wrong. But those doe eyes looked fooled so already…

Just the lovesick look on his face said everything, he wasn’t sincere.

“Are you..going to kill me?”

You feared the day he got bored of you.

[horizon-verizon]

The fact that Alicent’s stans deluded themselves into thinking that she’s the reason Rhaenyra wasn’t beset by assassins in episode 9 and did something because she raised her voice to someone but the moment her father talked to Lord Westerling she remained in silence, it was his refusal that saved Rhaenyra, not Alicent.

And sending terms for Rhaenyra to deliver her toddler sons to live under Aegon II’s sadistic will as hostages is hardly defending Rhaenyra or doing any good to her, that’s fucking miserable, it’s insane how y’all believe that those terms were good, it’s awful on the show and on the book.

I get it now Alicent spent 10 years harassing and tormenting Rhaenyra and her underage children, openly saying she wanted her father there to take her side even tho she knew her wishes meant exile or even death to Rhaenyra because she was trying to influence the inevitable and protect Rhaenyra, true love 😍

Delusion--sometimes they are fun, harmless birds caressing us into safety, other times it's a steel band slowly starving us of or own intellect.

What really irks me are the damn terms being mischaracterized as harmless stipulations as if the greens (Alicent & Otto) are far more likely to be uncharitable to Rhaenyra's children than the reverse.

[Regardless of truebornness or illegitimacy, bc w/their regard for those not-illegitimate kids when they did live at the keep, they already showed they don't care all that much for how young and vulnerable and worthy of protection a child is; Daemon is more or less under rhaenyra's thumb and no I do not care about the choking scene bc no it is NOT even consistent with DaemonxRhaenyra--if they wanted to establish Daemon was abusive towards her, they should have shown scenes of him intimidating her or something in episodes 7-8! so I do not even think of this scene as HotD "canon" and you cannot convince me otherwise! just as I do not think Criston is Dornish in the show no matter what Alicent said or what he looked like--esp since if he was Dornish, it's far more likely he'd still look pale bc the northernest Dornish--the "stony" Dornish as Daeron I later calls them--are paler people who look your "typical" Westerosi..the Martells' looks are not ubiquitous in Dorne! Write better, and then I'll perhaps respect your storytelling.]

And while there are some sweet and rational rhaenicent shippers out there, the ship simply never made sense in the way that it was written in the show. Their development as close friends was never shown, and for how different they are, it needed to be shown! Especially with:

how Alicent really didn't seem to understand Rhaenyra as a person for her to act as she does in the Sept episode and attempting to reinforce "girls don't involve themselves with the politics of men" despite Rhaenyra being the freaking heir // while this is happening, Alicent visiting the king, with there being no sign of even hesitance , guilt, or desire to tell Rhaenyra about it--similar to how Criston should have known Rhaenyra would never leave with him and abandon her family or "duty" or the prospect of becoming the first queen of Westeros after years of everyone's doubt (2)

how she uses her queenly-stepmotherly authority over her (3)

how she continues this in her approach to her in that "queenly" way, accusing Rhaenyra PLUS the implication of her disapproving of her actions despite having to have known how Rhaenyra has felt Viserys has shunted her for most of her life....(4)

From the beginning, alicent has been too much of a ruler-follower to appeal to rhaenyra AND she has thought that for rhaenyra to be happy or at least content with her life, she must also conform to the obedient social rules of feminine conduct--ignoring any presence of inner conflict Rhaenyra has had or pondering over it.

[docholligay]

Hm, this puts to mind of something, and I'm about to ramble so forgive me if you can.

I am a person of high standards, let's say, and I think my only saving grace in all this is that I am equally hard on myself.

Sometimes I want to beat my ass in a bathroom, I get so mad at myself. "Why can you not just shut up?? Why do you have to be so critical? Can you chill out for literally five fucking seconds, jesus christ you are impossible to like!"

I'm hyperactive and dogged and loud and impulsive and a million other fucking irritating things that I often wish I was not (What would it be like to be one of those people who can be quiet and still?) But chief among them, is that I am so fucking aggressive, and so argumentative, and so stubborn.

This is something I am constantly working on and it feels fucking SISYPHEAN, and literally my only real improvement is I no longer fucking hit people. I genuinely get so upset with myself, because my NATURE is so unlikeable sometimes*. It's a goddamn miracle i have friends at all.

I get upset at myself about these things sometimes. Though I guess not upset enough or I would figure out how to change it, but I digress.

So. A year ago? Maybe two. A friend and I were talking in a group, and I don't even remember quite what about, but I think I said something to the effect of the above, that I am sometimes a junkyard dog and I annoy myself. And she said something I think about a lot, about anything being able to be used to the good, and about shochets (a kosher butcher) specifically, and how people who have the sort of personality to do that are needed, too, not just people who do 'nicer things.

I doubt she remembers saying it, it very likely wasn't an important moment to her, but it is the small comfort I give myself sometimes when I get frustrated with myself. AGAIN. I think, "Well, someone needs to kill the sheep the right way and all that."

And then I try to think about the fact that I am the person people call if they need to move out of their ex's house. I'm the person who won't let someone get in front of you in line at a crowded bar. I'm the person who will call your insurance five times with detailed notes. I'm the person who gets the money back from Delta. I'm the person, today, who was asked to bring up something at the congregation board meeting because I'm happy to get into a fight. I protect my friends. I fight for my community. I'll kill the sheep, fuck it. Has to be done.

So even I, rough though I am, have my purpose in this life. This is no excuse for me not to work on, you know, being a nasty piece of work, but I have my uses. I am a sharp object. Anyway, these sort of things always get me thinking about the things I don't love about myself, but then I come back to that memory of the shochet, and having my uses.

ANYWAY SORRY I WARNED YOU THIS GOT INSANELY LONG

Regrettably, I am not the person to teach you to do anything politely ahahha. I however absolutely can back your play in any situation! You know you're in trouble when I really get that rural growl on.

*I know literally everybody likes Mercymorn because she is great, but I have to tell you I did not intend to feel so deeply about a character in a Muir book, nor identify with one so clearly, but I think about that line, “This is the chance for unloveable Mercymorn–critical Mercymorn–to show you that she is the most capable of her name.” All. The. Time. God. Kills me.

[turtlemagnum]

an attempt at my final thoughts on the star wars prequels, for now at least:

while i overall loved them, easily the worst aspect of the whole deal were the blatantly racist aliens. explain to me why jar-jar and the gungans had to talk like a poor imitation of a jamaican and why the greedy alien bugmen had vaguely asian accents. fucked up, man

all that being said, jar jar wasn't that bad from an annoyingness perspective. i think i remember laughing at him getting hurt at one point, even. the prequels definitely would've been better without him, but i feel like if you literally just changed his voice to something more normal and tweaked his dialogue to be a bit less juvenile we could've had someone actually enjoyable to see on screen. i'm a darth jar-jar truther btw, it would've been really funny if he just randomly started talking like a normal person and pulled out a red lightsaber

i loved the performances of the women especially! shmi and padme especially, you can definitely tell they both gave it their all into their performances. i think from a writing perspective shmi could've been written with a bit more complexity than "anakin's mom", but by god did her actress really sell that whole world weary downtrodden vibe convincingly. padme was also lovely throughout the whole thing, i definitely feel like she carried the brunt of making her and anakin's relationship feel legit (even if anakin's actor also did a stellar job). maybe it's just that i'm biased in favor of women but GOD did they do a good job

anakin and obi-wan both did a stellar job, i especially loved their banter at times. might've been a tad quippy for some people's tastes but it was nowhere near like, marvel movie snark, y'know? anakin was definitely the most awkward part of these movies, but to me that adds to the charm. and that segues into my next point nicely, i think

now, maybe i'm reading way too deeply into this and i'm insane for this, but am i crazy for thinking the dialogue in these movies is reminiscent of how autistic people communicate? like, that might be why most people hate it, because most people are neurotypicals, and that's why it felt so natural to me personally. i 100% doubt it was intentional, but damn dude i gotta wonder

one last thing, i absolutely loved the politics in these movies. i know that's one of the more divisive things, but i feel like it's what really makes it all work for me! palpatine playing 4d chess and manipulating both the republic and the separatists into a position in which he'll ultimately get complete control!!! him subtly manipulating anakin throughout the whole thing, if you have your eye open for it it's fucking everywhere!!! how it shows a steady decline from a liberal democracy to a dictatorship so damn smooth that it feels like a natural progression!!! how fascists turn love for those around you into hate towards your enemies, god dude!!! a big part of this is just palpatine's actor being amazing but the prequels really made these movies for me

one last thing is the jedi. i love how fucking flawed they are!!! the arrogance, the blindness, the ultimately good natured intentions being clouded by their fucking code, god dude the jedi are so good in this!!! i loved how poorly they handled anakin, him constantly struggling with his emotions and instead of teaching him how to constructively deal with them they just tell him to ignore them entirely. it really makes his fall feel... inevitable. it all makes sense, to me. i once heard somebody say that the greatest tragedies are outwardly preventable but inwardly inevitable, because in order to prevent them the characters would have to be fundamentally different people. that's the jedi, to me, that's anakin too. had the jedi code had been different, maybe it would've been different. who's to say

[ladycatofwinterfell]

✨

Jeyne W meets Ned and Cat for the first time! Also lighthearted modern au <3 I might continue this just because it was fun to write

“Your parents are so scary” Jeyne whispered.

Mr. and Mrs. Stark were standing not far away from the entrance, looking out over all the people. Mr. Stark had a way of keeping his face completely neutral while his eyes were cold as ice that was unnerving, to say the least. Not that he wasn’t nice, Jeyne had heard he was always perfectly polite and kind, even, but that somehow made him even scarier. What was he actually thinking? Mrs. Stark didn’t look as cold but there was a sharpness to her that was impossible to not notice, as if she was searching for weakness. While it was a lot easier to tell what she was thinking that worked the other way around for her. One could tell she was annoyed or upset. Jeyne had observed them from afar all night.

They rarely looked at each other as they spoke, never so much as a glance. Still they seemed to be in perfect sync.

“You don’t have to be afraid of them” Robb said with a smile. “They can be sharks sometimes, but not to family. Except their siblings sometimes, but that’s different.”

“Sharks?”

“They’ll circle around their prey, closing them in, before attacking. It usually ends in a bloodbath.”

He really wasn’t making it any easier for her. And though it was obvious that he was joking it didn’t make her any less nervous.

“And what does that mean?” she questioned.

“That they both grew up in insane corporate environments and were taught to be cutthroat before they could spell cutthroat in order to do good business. But they’re really nice in private and I know they’ll love you. Mom has been asking to meet you for so long.”

That wasn’t necessarily a good thing. Maybe Mrs. Stark wanted to meet her to see if she was as bad as she thought. Maybe Mrs. Stark would hate her. Maybe Mrs. Stark already hated her.

Jeyne felt like she was going to suffocate, it must have been noticeable on her face.

“Really, Jeyne, you don’t have to worry” Robb said and then pointed towards Mr. Stark. “His nails are pink because my little cousin wanted to paint them, he’s soft. And Mom is… well, Mom.”

It was hard to tell if what Robb said was true from that distance. If Mr. Stark’s nails were truly painted pink it had to be a very light pink.

“Theon says your mother is super scary.”

All she had heard from Theon were things about how scared he had been of Mrs. Stark when he was little.

“Don’t listen to a fucking word Theon says about my mother.”

“I haven’t heard him say–“

The shiver that ran down her spine made her unable to keep talking. She was quite sure of that hawks didn’t have blue eyes, still that was what she was most reminded of when Mrs. Stark’s eyes met hers.

Jeyne was unable to look away, stared as Mrs. Stark said a few words to her husband. Then he also looked towards Jeyne. He considered for a moment before answering his wife.

“Have I upset them?” Jeyne whispered.

Robb threw a quick glance at his parents.

“Not at all, they just look like that.”

Then Robb waved at them and Jeyne wanted to sink through the floor as they began walking towards her and Robb. Still she tried to smile.

Robb’s parents were not any less terrifying up close. On the contrary they seemed to grow scarier with every step they took towards her. Though they seemed happy. At least Mrs. Stark seemed happy.

“You must be Jeyne!” Mrs. Stark said with a smile as soon as they were within hearing.

She was tall. As tall as her husband. A head taller than Jeyne.

“It’s lovely to finally meet you!” she continued before Jeyne could confirm that she was indeed Jeyne.

“You too!” Jeyne said, hoping they couldn’t hear how nervous she was.

“You’ve probably figured that out by now, but we’re Robb’s parents” Mr. Stark said.

He extended a hand towards her. Jeyne suppressed the urge to dry her hand on her skirt and then shook it. Mr. Stark’s handshake was as firm as she had expected it to be. And his nails were pink, just as Robb had said.

“I like your nails” she said.

She hoped it would land, that he wouldn’t in some way be offended by it.

There was a hint of a smile on his face as he raised a hand to look at his pink nails.

“Catelyn’s niece has recently discovered nail polish and I’ve always had trouble telling the little ones no.”

“He spoiled our girls rotten when they were little” Mrs. Stark told her. “I expect he’ll do the same to yours once you have them.”

“Mom!” Robb exclaimed. “Don’t say that!”

Mrs. Stark grimaced at that.

“Sorry.”

[possibilistfanfiction]

i love how ava’s being very anti instution is clear in your stuff, i feel like some fics forget that about her or in trying to show that beatrice knows her stuff accidentally make it come across as if ava isn’t politically aware & needs to be lectured on politics by Beatrice

when canonically ava’s literally a abuse survivor who was abused because of her disability and had religion used as justifiation for her abuse and so is kinda more than a little against institutions and systems

anyway as a disabled person it’s more than a bit exhausting to read “abled person lectures disabled person on politics” regardless of authorial intent, so just wanted to say thanks for staying away from that, reading your ava characterization is really a breath of fresh air

absolutely! ava is so so so smart!! most gaps she has, at least for me canonically, are because she just didn't have access to any sound schooling (obviously — especially with history, but also just basic civics? exposure to different politic? etc). so it's like, of course ava wouldn't know that the nazis persecuted & killed queer people if she learned subpar history (undoubtedly with the shittiest pedagogy on the planet) from nuns who hated her — but once she learns it, she's immediately like oh. that contextually makes sense in a horrible way. fuck them. like it's not an issue of politic but just of nuanced & additional information — in the real world i'm sure ava's politic would (of course) grow (as hopefully all of ours irl continue to do lol), but it wouldn't be a real shift in politic, especially bc of an able-bodied person lecturing her or something. it would just be one that contains more concrete events, history, current povs, etc, because she would just learn more & have access to stuff!

i also think like you said that when bea lectures in the show, that's mostly about ava just being goofy when she needs to be serious, or definitely just not understanding the insane situation she's found herself in — which contextually is fair, but i don't think would happen with politic or ethic sort of beyond the halo/battles, etc. even her like 'you should think about someone other than yourself' is mostly motivated by ava's mission/the ocs's mission; ava is selfish but she has every right to be. & of course that's ava's main character arc growth: realizing that, while she always wants to be selfish (kissing bea), she has been put into a role that is far greater than her. that's a politic in itself, really

in reality bea probably has more to learn about politic & anti-state ethic than ava lol. i get why this isn't A Thing in the show but if i choose to throw them into NOT the catholic church lol, it's a reality that bea is a queer woman of color, specifically an asian woman, which does matter — in ways that can hurt but also in finding community & history that informs/builds a particular politic. i feel like it's incomplete to not at least include that a LITTLE. but yah bea like... rly fucks w The Institution at least for some of the show. she's got a lot to unlearn!

& yes i TOTALLY agree that ava's abuse & disability (even if people choose to write her as no longer disabled which.... a choice but ok lol) would absolutely eventually really inform her politic. i simply haven't gotten to this yet but ava finding disability justice (& by that i obviously mean like intersectional disability justice led by & designed for queer & trans folks, especially qtpoc) would be so fucking cool for her! communal care? anti-state abolition? abolition of Institutions (psychiatric, medical, etc) that harm that are rooted in white supremacy (& specifically the church)... she would LOVE it. she would be so into it. it would be such a respite & passion & joy for her as she got older & realized she has such purpose through her experiences, without the halo & without any holy wars. also they would both be thoughtful about thinking transnationally which rocks.

anyway yah i feel like out of the two of them ava is actually the most likely to like a) access information in "non-academic" ways; b) have a more radical politic just inherently. not that i think bea is like a shitty neoliberal person forever or anything bc... she would also be v smart, but ava is awesome.

[clarajohnson]

the magicians s1e8

I AM NEVER GETTING OVER THE MIC DROPS

eliot waugh is an underrated mirrorball character

my hatred of mike can't really be overstated... he is more obstacle than man to me

"this is quentin, this is alice, they are nerds"

the circles under alice's eyes are a major part of her charm to me

alice quinn asking if quentin is in love with her after approximately one week of fucking, insisting that she wouldn't have had sex with him if she wasn't a wild animal, being disturbed that she can still smell him... Your Honor She Does Not Like Men. also she's autistic.

okay gretchen is adorable why don't we see more of her

hell is real and it smells like axe body spray

THE MIKE BUNNY INCIDENT IS SO FUCKING BAD

dear quentin i'm giving up magic thanks for nothing and go fuck yourself

bad marina outfit

further watching of episodes i've forgotten may change this feeling but i do get a sense that marina was interested in julia in a not entirely self-serving way. in another life they were partners in every fuckin sense of the word.

poor eliot "things aren't usually worth caring about" waugh putting his outfit-choosing energy into a little gremlin renfield when quentin is doing his best (terrible) impression of margo just to help him

RICHARD !!!!!! MY FRIEND RICHARD

"who said that?" "some dick"

if i was there i would've thanked alice for bringing flashcards

it is so crazy that eliot first tells the indiana story to fucking mike but "becoming me was the greatest creative project of my life" is a wonderful line so i can almost forgive it

watching a show after selecting a blorbo is crazy bc i'm watching a tragic scene of a man who's lost his magic and i'm thinking sucks to suck :/ shouldn't have told q to go off his meds

the knife wielding mike does is kind of like anti-choreography

penny don't call the medical professional treating you "woman" challenge

"i'm not here to feel any better" kind of a total summary of eliot's character

richard calling hedge tattoos "ink" is so charmingly youth pastor of him

my feeling is that most of penny's ripcord speech to alice is based in a personal hatred of q but i also do like that he'd care about alice enough to say it

(q voice) no better time to info dump about international politics in my favorite children's books than while penny is dying

honestly q takes the "fillory is real" news in stride, considering the person that he is

on my first watch and again now i find what julia is doing MUCH more interesting than the brakebills storyline. also there's something incredibly appropriate about her praying to a harvest goddess her first time.

they're FUNGIBLE. YOU'RE FUNGIBLE.

god these people have boring most prized possessions

the jane reveal blew my fucking mind my first watch, then for her to fucking DIE immediately after? that's the kind of insanity that makes you believe in this show

HOWEVER, fuck you all magicians writers for punishing eliot for opening up by making him kill his first serious partner

i love love love alice's checkerboard door and i do not believe that she is enjoying heterosexual intimacy behind it

[theheroheart]

Finally saw Chess in Oslo.

Here are lots of observations, mostly on staging/acting and things you don't get from the cast recording. Somewhat in chronological order, except for overarching stuff. (Some observations dip into deeper analysis, oops.) Some things you might know if you've seen Svenska Chess.

CAST:

First of all I got alternate (Sanne Kvitnes) and Arbiter (Cornelia Børnick). Florence was absolutely fantastic, she killed it. Easily could've been main cast. Arbiter was absolutely solid, but she didn't blow me away - but then it's kind of hard to do that as the Arbiter. Think I like both of them better than main cast, but it's hard to judge fairly without having seen them.

Rest was as expected. Adored Freddie, but I already did. Anatoly is fantastic. Svetlana surprised and impressed me, her acting improved my opinion of her. Molokov's great, but less notable. Ensemble was solid, there's a few notable ones that delighted me.

TRANSLATIONS:

Since I'm one of the only really avid Chess fans who's also Norwegian, I feel like I should comment on this.

I think the translation is fantastic. It flows well, it's overally very intelligible, it's emotive, it uses some fucking fancy words like "polemic", it's the right level of cheesy...

Adaptation-wise they also did a lot to make the story as clear as possible, adding context when necessary. Without delving too deep in the broader political context, which they don't lean as heavy on.

There's bits I would change, but overall it's really solid.

OBSERVATIONS:

ACT ONE WOO

They did such a good job establishing the shitty homelife of the Sergievskies - not in the relationship way, but that they live in a tiny apartment, and Anatoly does so much for Russia that he never gets to see his family. They even list things: tournaments, performances, greeting and handshaking workers and students, political functions... It illustrates his struggle much way than just making vague statements.

Properly showing Anatoly's homelife at the beginning is also such an improvement to just off-hand mentioning it in a way you don't really feel it.

Related: it's really obvious how much Anatoly is controlled. They make unspoken points of the passports several times. And Molokov always keeping a watchful eye. KGB guards everywhere, and blocking reporters from approaching him.

The 80s costuming is a delight. The wigs and mustaches are wild. I need to draw Freddie's sparkly party shirt cause it was insane.

I knew Freddie spilled wine all over Anatoly, but I did NOT know that that he grabs a (male) reporter's face with both hands and plants a big kiss on his lips. Barely a minute after he comes onstage.

The Hungarian revolution flashback is heartbreaking. The ballet is lovely and sad, but what's notable is that while it's happening, Florence is sitting on the stairs and crying her eyes out. Like she's having a PTSD flashback.

What's interesting is that this Freddie's rudeness feels less spiteful/defensive, and more... like a controlled performance? He's very intentionally disrespecting them. This Freddie doesn't lose his temper.

Of course, then they go to the opening party, and Freddie very clearly flirts with (or lets himself be flirted with) two ladies. (Listen, the man desperately craves approval and attention from women. Mommy issues.)

Florence goes outside to get away from the party, and to have a smoke. That's when she sings Nobody's Side. Can't remember for sure, but I think this scene has lots of focus on hotel staff in the background.

Notably there's two hotel staff that have an ongoing background romance most of the show??? They slow-dance while tidying a hotel room. They smooch every now and then. And then much later on, when Florence shows her heartbreak at the waitress, the waitress gets notable stage attention in also reacting to the heartache? (Then when Anatoly shows up, said waitress immediately steals Florence's coffee and gives them both wine, which was absolutely hilarious.)

One detail I REALLY enjoyed about the actual chess match, is that they both note down the moves in their notepads after each move. This is a big chess thing I can't remember ever having seen in a production.

And then Freddie leaves the match. Which he does by.... very calmly standing up, picking up the tiny Russian flag, then gently placing it in the middle of the board. Then he slowly walks away from the table. Takes his jacket. Calmly walks away. It's the least dramatic walk-off I've ever seen, and it was kind of a delight. And goes back to what I said about Freddie's carefully controlled performance.

Quartet is still a great song but man I remember nothing about the staging because it was very unremarkable. Florence is fucking pissed at Molokov though, and it DOES really show off what Freddie says about Florence hating Russians.

Also the Arbiter is such a bitch and I love her.

And then in the hotel bar again, Anatoly approaching Florence and she's so uninterested. And then he starts weirdly quoting Dostoevsky, and she has the biggest WTF face, and it's hilarious.

They did do a good job of showing Anatoly actually proving to Florence he's not awful, by him talking about how he heard about the Hungarian revolution, and implying some unkind things about the Russian government. And then he asks about Freddie and she's like "None of your fucking business" and he apologies and leaves, but then she's like "ACTUALLY I'M LEAVING HIM."

And then she sings "Not Me" (rewritten Someone Else's Story), explaining her frustration with her relationship with Freddie, directly to Anatoly, which I also did not expect. (This will happen multiple times in this show!)

And then ofc when Anatoly flees with Florence to defect, we get back to more proof of Svetlana's sucky life. We see her visiting a church with Micha, and being escorted out of there by armed guards. Who pack her suitcase for her. And then when she sings Where I Want To Be Reprise, she crumples and cries over her suitcase, and it's so heartbreaking.

And then we get to the fancy party, and apparently Freddie is from Pennsylvania? Lol ok. And Arbiter is partying with the head of the police.

There we this one reporter I absolutely adored. Comedically hilarious, and the 80est 80s. Real impressive mullet.

And then Florence and Anatoly invidually dealing with the press on each side of a room, singing Mountain Duet in a very different context that I'm used to. Also enjoyed how every time each one sang, their respective journalists would freeze-frame to show it's internal monologue only.

And then there's the headline of "Anatoly's defecting, and he's in love again", and THEN YOU SEE FREDDIE WALKING THE STREETS, HOLDING THAT NEWSPAPER.

And then he sings the Pity The Child prequel, and fucking breaks my heart. He's bitterly critizes them, but then also says "Is this true? Did I deserve this? Truth is, she was my only friend... Now I'm left lonely on my own again." WHY IS THIS NOT ON THE CAST ALBUM.

Fuck tho, but I love a sympathetic Freddie.

You get more Florence backstory - she fled to the US, but her mother and brother (uncle?? just guessing based on actors) got caught when they tried to flee.

During Anthem, the backdrop has mountains and sky -- which slowly turn to red during the course of the song. Which is GREAT when later on, Svetlana sings her "Who Am I" song and says "He paints Russia's sky red."

ACT 2 LET'S GO

Opening on Argument is such a choice? So wildly different from ONiBangkok. The vibe is extremely different and intense.

Freddie's in the hotel room with the newspaper when she comes back. Also he drinks whiskey. I love this song though, Freddie is SO spiteful - something he didn't really get until Florence appears to be leaving him. Honestly, this Freddie really isn't that much of an asshole TO FLORENCE. Until she hurts him first.

But what really hurts is that when the argument ends, he just sits down on the bed while she packs her suitcase...

And he sings Pity The Child to her. This makes me absolutely feral, let me tell you. The way he turns to look at her when he sings "Just in case they said no". The way she gradually becomes sympathetic while he opens up, about how his parents abused him. (They are explicitly abusive and violent, not just neglectful.)

And then when he gets to "I was only her son", he breaks down and cries, and Florence walks over and sits down next to him, and he cries into her lap, desperately clinging to her. And then as she comforts him, he tries to kiss her - and she pulls away. And gets up, grabs her suitcase, and leaves.

And then he continues the song, sitting there alone. FUCK ME UP, CHESS.

And then Svetlana appears, still closely controlled. Micha is taken to a different room and there's nothing she can do about it.

And then you get Endgame prequel! Anatoly's "you all think you see a man", they just like, put here. And you know what, it works great? Because it's when he's been dragged back by the KGB, and he's calling out their opinion to them.

And then he walks into the hotel room and Svetlana goes to embrace him and he PUSHES HER ASIDE, and starts ripping into her about how she's "letting herself be used as a tool". She is VERY JUSTIFIED in calling him out, because yeah, they've made it really obvious she's been forced to come here. And somehow HE'S complaining? I love her calling him out here.

And Micha comes in and hugs Anatoly - and Svetlana goes to hug Micha as well, but Anatoly turns, pulling Micha away from her. Ugh.

And then Svetlana leaves and sings her heartbreaking song about how she's a powerful woman who's been loyally waiting, and for what? She's on a bench, and she collapses on the ground crying. And Florence walks by (not knowing who Svetlana is), and gives Svetlana her handkerchief for her tears. CHEKOV'S HANDKERCHIEF, this will come back later on.

And then Florence alone in the cafe, breaking my heart with Heaven Help My Heart. (Also the waitress's heart, as previously mentioned.)

And then Anatoly shows up and we get Merano reprise (yeah that's a thing now). And then Freddie shows up, VERY DRUNK, and we get Totally-Not-The-Deal. Which is just Freddie calling Florence out, pubically saying awful things about her. Freddie's lowest point, right here.

Freddie throws like, peanuts at Florence or something by the way. It's funny as fuck. He grabs a reporter's camera. AND HE SHOVES THE LOVELY WAITRESS SO SHE FALLS OVER, which, Freddie, please. He's actually kind of grabbing Florence at this point.

And then when Anatoly and Florence both call him out on his shittiness, after the song Florence just stares Freddie down, until he dejectedly walks away.

(WHY IS THE DEAL NOT ON THE CAST ALBUM???)

And then we get everyone panicking about Micha being missing. Except for Molokv, who has taken Micha out and has given him a yoyo and a glass coke bottle. Amazing. (He also leaves an envelope inside a newspaper on the bench. The Arbiter's lesbian lover assistant will pick this up.)

And then you get Florence and Anatoly undressed in the hotel room, and EXCUSE ME, WHY IS YOU AND I NOT ON THE CAST ALBUM? I mean it's a short version, less than 2 minutes, but I love a completionist cast album.

Lyric appreciation: "You and I, shaking like leaves. Whirling along the path of hope. Standing in the middle of the storm. We're woven together, now and forever." That's some evocative, descriptive language, right there.

Arbiter reprise: The reunion of the chess players. FREDDIE IS SO POLITE, smiling, offering his hand to Anatoly, taking pictures with him. Honestly, Freddie's ability to keep it together in these situations makes it SO MUCH MORE INTENSE when he does fall apart.

And then Florence and Svetlana get to meet, and guess what, THEY SING "I KNOW HIM SO WELL" TO EACH OTHER, I told you this would happen a lot. And it's fantastic, instead of two isolated viewpoints, Svetlana's first opening up to Florence, then it's them having a disagreement. It changes some lines, when Svetlana says "he'll choose his own way and leave you", she's saying it to Florence, not to herself. And Florence says, this is what she wanted to avoid.

Anatoly tracks down Molokov, demanding to see Micha. And then calling Molokov out hard, saying they've known each other 15 years, and listing examples of his loyal service that are despite the fact he still lives in a tiny apartment and can barely support his family.

And then Anatoly calls Molokov a bachelor and says he's not allowed to criticize his family. AND THEN of course we get Molokov's backstory song.

Which I'll admit I always feel weird about, but it was way better in context. Molokov using it to give Anatoly insight into what he's sacrificed. (And the lovely ballet dancers acting out the failed relationship helped.)

And then when he's calmed Anatoly down, of course he GOES STRAIGHT INTO THREATENING HIM. Saying he's going to play his last chess match ever, and lose. And then he'll be admitted to the hospital in Moscow. And then he'll release a statement saying his attempted defection was done after taking large amounts of pills and alcohol. And that he regrets the problems he's caused his family and country, and recinds the defection. And Florence will be kept under close watch, but that's it.

"What will happen to your family if you choose to stay in the west, I don't want to get into right now."

And as Molokov is saying this speech to Anatoly, there's this quiet ominous background hum that just gets louder and louder and more intimidating, and it was actually really effective and REALLY making you see the threat and the control.

And then you get a very cool scene as Endgame starts. Anatoly standing there in a spotlight, back against the audience. In the distance, the choice is lit in evil red. As they start listing grandmasters at him. You see him crumpling under the pressure - at "Capablanca", he falls to his knees.

I thought this would be GREAT if Anatoly chose to win. You don't have Talking Chess, but you have these grandmasters calling to him, like the true "win for chess" moral. But if he loses, are they judging him? Saying he's failed?

Endgame staging is actually real simple, everyone lined up. Awesomely backlit choir in the far back. Then the board is taken out, and the last match begins, and it's very intense. Freddie looks focused - not as laid-back as earlier. Anatoly looks harrowed.

I especially loved when Freddie and Molokov share the line "The clock is ticking down the minute - the circle is complete". And everyone is singing - this final move, will he resign?

And nearing the end of Endgame, Anatoly is describing the different pieces desperate attempts ("The pawn wants to be sacrificed, rook at the end of the line, a weaked knight galloping towards the king's court"), and as he does, Florence/Svetlana/Molokov all shouting at him, and he holds up his hands against each one when they yell, like he's trying to shut them out.

And then.... he picks up his king, and he lays it down. Resigning. How do they make a chess match feel this dramatic?? It's really good.

And then You And I Reprise. And during one moment, you can see Freddie in the back (back to the audience), surrounded by people, wearing a giant wreath and holding a trophy proudly.

As Florence and Anatoly draw closer, they ALMOST kiss, it looks like they'll be together - but Micha runs in and hugs his dad. And oof, man. He asks Florence to forgive him and that he loves her - IN FRONT OF SVETLANA AND MICHA BTW, who start walking away when they hear this.

And then as they part ("You and I, shaking like leaves. Whirling along hope's path. We stand in the ruins. We're woven together -- parted forever.") Anatoly goes back to his family. And get this, Svetlana walks across the stage and HANDS FLORENCE BACK HER HANDKERCHIEF. Absolutely ruthless. I adore it.

The next part is all Story Of Chess reprise. Freddie gives Florence her suitcase, and tries to get her to leave with him. She refuses and pointedly walks the other direction.

The Arbiter's lesbian lover assistant gives her the envelope full of cash, but Arbiter lets her keep it I guess. But then Molokov shows up and gives Arbiter a briefcase? The fuck does this even mean, I don't know.

Final 'You And I' now. Florence: "Is my fate controlled by someone other than me?" Anatoly: "Do we have free will? My answer's clearly no."

And you see Anatoly in his depressing Moscow apartment. And Florence in her own apartment, and oh yeah SHE'S PREGNANT. In case you hadn't heard about that little tidbit.

CONCLUSION:

This is the most downer Chess. What's even the moral? Shit sucks? Don't count on love, you'll only be hurt? It's awful.

HERE'S THE THING: STILL FUCKING LOVE IT THOUGH. It was a fantastic ride. I enjoyed the downer ending. Even if I can't possibly argue for why it should be that way.

I feel like it does "show, don't tell" better than a lot of Chess versions. It doesn't just state things, it shows you why/how. It made me feel for Svetlana in a way I haven't been able to before.

It provided that fantastic fresh intepretations/stagings of songs I've never seen before.

And it showed a version of Freddie I almost never see - way less chaotic and volatile than I'm used to.

It's interestingly very light on literally anything American. Anatoly's defection never really happens, Walter doesn't exist, there's no politicians or delegates... The only American seems to be Freddie. If anything, it's more against Hungary vs USSR. It feels decidedly Eurocentric, which I guess makes sense given it's Norwegian and based on the Swedish adaptation.

Anyway I adored it. Probably new favourite version???

Glad I've already got tickets for 3 more performances before it closes. Trying to resist getting ticket for yet another one. But I might give in if I get on at a great seat.................

ANYWAY BYE, HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS RAMBLY MESS.

EDIT: Forgot to mention Florence's full name is Florence Csilla Vaszi. Which is pretty awesome.

Anatoly (spelled Anatolij in this) and Molokov call each other Tolya and Sascha, which also shows how long they've known each other.

[scarletlizzard]

Secondly, on a more serious note. I rlly wanna know your experience living in the south. I grew up in neoliberal California and Washington but fell in love w Texas this year. I’m rlly rlly considering moving there next year.

Essentially I feel like I spend SO. MUCH. emotional energy vibe checking ppl. Bc ppl here r so neoliberal and fake! You have to rlly dig deeep to know ppl’s true values. And sometimes they’ll seem cool but then switch up on u and are like surprise! And say some whack shit like “trans ppl r only valid if they pass” or make some joke ab being gay but it’s ok bc they’re “and ally and well versed in queer culture”. And I’m kinda tired of having to vibe check so hard all the time. There’s also a lack of nuance in ppl’s understandings of history theory and social justice issues. But in Texas, I noticed that 1) u don’t have to vibe check ppl bc they’ll just straight up tell u they hate u and u can just stay away from them which makes things so much simpler when u don’t have to decipher shit and 2) the progressive ppl are just all radicals!! Bc in a state where they’re the minority thought, they have to be so secure in their values that they’ve done the research!! They know the theories!! They know the TINGZ. And they’re rooted in their beliefs. They don’t just say/believe things bc their liberal parents told them to without understanding WHY. It was kinda refreshing to interact w all these ppl ngl.

I only know one person from the south (became friends bc she moved here to CA) and she said she feels the exact same way ab both places. But that she feels as though despite not having to vibe check ppl, she’s still tired bc she’s constantly swimming upstream as a radical queer TM in the south just bc of statewide politics. And always having her rights be in a precarious status.

So I’m curious ab your experience living in the south as a queer TM. Do u have a similar experience? And curious what state u r in if you’re open to sharing! This also is a deep ish q so I understand if ur not comfy talking ab it and u can just ignore this ask!!

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👹

Where to begin! This might be a bit long, warning 😬

First off, I'll say I live in Alabama. Texas is MASSIVE. There are good areas and really, really bad areas. I'd do a lot of research into specific areas before you made a move or traveled. I visited Austin, and it was nice. It seemed very welcoming? There were pride flags in most of the bars I went to, and it was in October! (I know some will just put them out for June)

As for being queer in the South, it's honestly such a toss-up. I think wherever you go in the world, most people are going to be fake, unfortunately. I worked with this one guy at a restaurant, he was about my age, we went to high school together, he knew about my dating girls, we even hungout after work occasionally! He's super country, drives a big truck, etc. , but was so nice and treated me no different. Asked about the girls I was talking to, SO casual. Last week, he shared on Facebook a vile, hatred post against Pride Month and LGBT in general. I was shocked!

The specific area I'm in is not as bad as some areas in the state. But it's always the looks rather than them actually saying something. Sometimes, it's just not even comfortable to hold hands walking around. It's hard, and it's very weird not to be accepted. Trans people have it even harder with all the medical laws. Women's rights are being stripped. It's honestly a political nightmare here. Don't get me started on the fucking OBSESSION with Trump.

It's really not necessarily always a political thing, but a religious thing. Religion here is absolutely insane and I don't think people understand quite how serious it's taken. Just in the state of Alabama, there are almost 13,000 churches. Think about that... that's INSANE. There is a church on every corner in my town, we probably have between 10-15. My town is not that big!! Separation of church and state here is an absolute JOKE. Some truly take into consideration to 'Love thy neighbor', but others only pick and choose who they want to treat with kindness.

It's not always easy, and sometimes I feel like I'm constantly having to hide a part of me. Coming out was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life (especially since I didn't even have control over it happening), but, as I said, it's so different in different areas. Every time I feel any progression, there's always someone to take it back two steps. It's more welcoming each year, but the ones who won't accept it can be just so, so hateful.

The South is a beautiful, wonderful place to live that is truly SO diverse when you think about it. The beaches are gorgeous, the forests are breathtaking, and the food is fantastic. The people can be so welcoming, but you just have to be careful who you trust, in my opinion. At least, if anything, you'll most likely be treated with that Southern hospitality and good manners. There's only been a handful of times in my ENTIRE life where I've been directly spoken to in a rude manner about my sexuality.

This was a lot, and I apologize if it raised more questions than answering your thoughts 😅 In short, I love and hate the South. It's different every day, and I wish more than ANYTHING it was more progressive. If it was, I truly believe it would be the most perfect place to live.