#shes NOT a 'good guy' by any means in the campaign. she has her own motivations etc

[shadow0-1]

🧐

[metalandmagi]

A list of underrated Christmas movies for everyone who is getting tired of watching the same things every year:

This year, I wanted to make a list of a few Christmas movies that I feel are a bit underrated and under-appreciated, because I’m tired of seeing the same things all the time. If anyone has any suggestions for their own lesser known holiday movies, please feel free to include them!

Arthur Christmas: An animated movie that should be a classic, but it was unfortunately lost to time because it had a horrible marketing campaign that made it look like complete shit. Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s not complete shit. It’s actually fucking amazing.

Arthur, the clumsy son of the current Santa Claus is known for being a lovable idiot who tends to ruin everything he touches, but when a little girl’s present is accidentally left behind one Christmas, Arthur, an elf named Bryony, and his grandfather (a previous Santa…so grandsanta) embark on a chaotic mission around the world to deliver the missing present. Every character in this movie is so fucking funny and empathetic at the same time. Arthur embodies the true meaning of Christmas in everything he does. Bryony is just…on another level entirely. Arthur’s brother Steve (a strategic genius who wants to use his new technology to ensure his place as the next Santa) is a perfect antagonist that the audience still feels sympathy for. They all just have such a fun dynamic, and it’s a crime that more people haven’t seen this.

Spirited: A fairly new addition to the Christmas movie ranks, since it came out in 2022 (but it was on AppleTV+ so no one watched it). Spirited is a modern, musical version of A Christmas Carol like you’ve never seen before (starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, who are an amazing combination in anything). If you’re tired of seeing endless retellings of Dickens' story, just watch this. It’s hilarious, heartfelt, and it brings a whole new perspective to the story in a way that I’m not going to spoil. And the songs go so hard it’s insane.

Happiest Season: A rom-com in which a woman named Abby desperately wants to propose to her girlfriend Harper over the holidays during Harper’s family Christmas party…only to realize that Harper’s extremely rich and conservative family doesn’t know she’s gay. Fun rom-com shenanigans ensue. Did I mention Abby is played by Kristen Stewart, and Harper is played by Mackenzie Davis? Also Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie, and that guy from Schitt’s Creek everyone loves are in it.

This could easily have been a completely different movie if the cast wasn't so funny and didn’t have such good chemistry. It starts out as a standard holiday rom-com, but I was tearing up by the end of this the first time I watched it. If you’ve ever felt like you’ve been hiding your true self from your family or if you’ve felt like you’ve never been good enough for them, I think you’ll see a lot to relate to in this. 

Violent Night: Another new addition to the ever-expanding list of Christmas movies, this aptly named action thriller also came out in 2022, and I feel like no one has spoken about it since, which is a crime because IT WAS SO MUCH FUCKING FUN!

When a grizzled, down on the world Santa (played by David Harbour) gets stuck in a rich family’s house while it’s being overrun by mercenaries, he has to Die Hard his way out and save the hostages (or at least the ones who are worth saving) before it’s too late. This was such a fun surprise, because violent action thrillers are so hit and miss for me personally. David Harbour is great. It’s just under 2 hours of watching shitty people get their comeuppance in unique ways. I’m so offended that it only has a 6.7/10 on IMDB, because this is a great movie to watch with a group of friends and some age appropriate beverages. Yeah, it’s not a masterpiece, and maybe my standards are low, but I had a great time with this.

Tokyo Godfathers: An anime Christmas classic directed by Satoshi Kon in which 3 homeless people (a former drag queen, a runaway teen, and a grumpy alcoholic) find a baby in a dumpster and try to reunite it with its family. This was the movie that tricked me into thinking Satoshi Kon’s other works would be just as comedic and wholesome as this one. It’s got humor. It’s got heart. It’s got twists and turns that will keep you guessing in the classic Satoshi Kon fashion. And the English dub is just as good as the sub, so you can’t go wrong either way.

Neo Yokio- Pink Christmas: Speaking of anime…I’ve talked about this one before, but I have to mention it again because it’s a staple for me every year. Pink Christmas is the Christmas special for the…anime (and I use that word in the loosest way possible) Neo Yokio…aka the one starring (and possibly made by?) Jaden Smith.

For anyone who’s never heard of it, Neo Yokio is a series on Netflix that is the closest thing to a professionally made Abridged Series we’ll ever have. The “plot” of the series revolves around Kaz, a pink haired guy who fights demons and does increasingly absurd rich people things with his robot mecha butler named Charles. The Christmas special involves Charles telling Kaz a Christmas story about the city’s Secret Santa competition for all the ultra rich people.

Look, there’s no good way to describe this one, but trust me when I say you don’t have to watch Neo Yokio to understand it, since even people who do watch Neo Yokio don’t understand it. In fact, I think it will be even funnier if you don’t watch Neo Yokio at all before watching Pink Christmas (but I encourage everyone to watch the series too, just because it’s more of the same insanity.)

Every line in it is pure comedic gold, not because it’s truly funny, but because it’s absurd and ridiculous in a way only Jaden Smith can be. I quote it incessantly while eating a Toblerone every year. 

Cabin Pressure at Christmas: Molokai: Okay, it’s not a movie or even a TV special, but I love Cabin Pressure so much that I had to include this too. Cabin Pressure is a comedy radio show (not a podcast, an actual radio show) that aired on BBC Radio 4 in the early 2000s about an airline crew for the world’s shittiest airplane. 

For anyone who watched season 2 of Good Omens, you might recognize the name John Finnemore as one of the writers. Well, Cabin Pressure is made by (and stars) the same person. The Christmas episode is one of my favorites of the series, and you 100% don’t need to listen to the entire series to enjoy it. It captures the humor and despair of being stuck with your co-workers on Christmas eve, but it keeps up the spirit regardless. This is another one I quote incessantly, and the whole show has become hardwired into my personality. PLEASE FIND A WAY TO LISTEN TO CABIN PRESSURE! I’m pretty sure the whole series is available on iTunes as an audiobook.

As honorable mentions, I want to include Rise of the Guardians and Klaus, because even though they have a fair amount of popularity, I still feel like people could appreciate them more. And sure, Rise of the Guardians might be more of an Easter movie, but it still includes Santa as a character, and he’s amazing. 

That's all for now. Sorry these are all specifically Christmas themed, but if anyone has movie suggestions for other winter holidays, please throw them in!

[bu-blegh-ost]

The time has finally come, @girlsonlytreehouse !!!

Today I shall share with you the fruits of my work. But first, allow me to take you on a journey I myself have been through while counting all of this shit down.

First things first, I decided to count the rolls in the context of the characters rather than the people playing them, simply because the luck of the actual people could not be measured accurately if I only take Riptide into consideration (and also I thought it would be more fun). The guys have several different campaigns, some that I do not have access to, so I've decided to seperate all their Riptide rolls into characters they play instead, cause then we can clearly see which character is the luckiest. But ofc if you want this to be attributed differently, the data remains unchanged, so that way you all can interpret the results however you wanted and still have all the info you need on hand.

Another issue were the advantage/disadvantage rolls. When a character rolls at advantage, they roll twice and the only roll that counts is the one that was higher, while the other is discarded and the opposite goes for disadvantage. So for example if you roll at Disadvantage and you roll a nat 20 and a 2, that nat 20 technically doesn't matter. Despite that I decided to count each adv/disadv roll anyway, because despite the fact that it does not count, it was still physically ROLLED, which means it contributes to the character's overall pool of luck. I tried to separate them at first so you guys can make your own decision whether to add them or not, but in the end I decided against it cause it was insanely hard to keep up with. There were just too many and too often, which led me to believe that it was fair enough to count everything as long as they actually rolled a dice.

Which brings me to the last complication, which is of course Gillion's Prophetic Screwup. At the beginning of the campaign Gillion was able to exchange anything that he actually rolled into a nat 20, and in return the DM can change any roll he does afterwards into a nat 1. That way there was supposed to be an equal number of wild unrolled nat 20's and nat 1's to balance Gillion out back to 0, but it didn't turn out this way. In more cases than not, Grizzly would either forget or fail to find a good place to screw Gillion over, so the ability bacame much too unbalanced. So they changed it somwhere in the middle of Edison Kingdom Arc. From then on, if Gill rolled anything from 1-10 it would automatically become a nat 1, and if he rolled from 11-20, that'd be a nat 20 instead. Either way these rolls had nothing to do with luck, as he wasn't actually rolling anything, thus I decided not to count these 'artificial' nat 20's/1's. However I did keep track of them nonetheless and I'll still give you the number of those, just separately, and from then on you guys can make your own decision on whether or not you wish to count it.

OOOFFF ALRIGHT.

Without further ado, here are the nat 20's results (up to ep106):

Gillion: 52

Chip: 58

Jay: 55

Goobleck: 8

Surprised? Yeah I was as well. First things first I never expected this to be this close. And never in my right mind could I possibly predict that it would he CHIP of all people to have the highest score here. But I've seen it with my own eyes. And tell you what. Jay had this in the bag for most of the damn series. She would consistently roll good and always when you need a good roll the most. There were times when she would have such a massive lead it was unthinkable she could loose it. But then she would just kinda...stop rolling good for a bit and allow the other two to catch up. It just wasn't as visble if you don't pay much attention, but I thought it to be cute. It's as she was waiting for them <3 But she was still mostly leading. It was only the current arc that made Chip surpass her. After his terrible luck in Feywilde, he bounced back so strongly right after, that he managed to jump in front of the luck queen herself.

And now I bet you're curious about the other side of the coin. Give it up for natural 1's!:

Gillion: 55

Chip: 53

Jay: 52

Goobleck: 1

You see, I kind of expected it to be Gill, but I need you guys to know that this wasn't the case at all times. Jay? Yes. If there is one thing that's consistent is that she had the lowest amount of natural 1s at all times almost, but the person that was suffering from nat 1 curse for a long while was Chip. In the Feywilde Arc he would be so far ahead of everyone, that I was genuinely sure that there is no way anyone catches up to him. But then he popped off in the next arc with nat 20's and Gillion? Oh my gosh, Gillion didn't disappoint. I've never seen a man fail this much let me tell you XD He ended up with the least nat 20's as well, but I thought the difference would be much higher until he didn't roll 4 fucking nat 20s in ep 100 and then this double nat 20 attack roll in the Black Sea whduihdius AND HE CAUGHT UP AS WELL, more or less.

Idunno, maybe this is just how luck works, but it truly seems that the trio shares their successes and burdens almost equally. They support each other and in return fate has their backs as well. Honestly I couldn't have hoped for better results. Also can we give shout out to Goobleck, the true MVP? He's been on the show only for a while but look at this nat1 - nat20 ratio!!! Go goop man goo!!!

So now for the additional stuff that I also counted just for fun:

*Prophethic screwup nats:

Before the rules changed Gillion replaced 8 of his rolls into natural 20s, and in return Grizzly replaced 3 of his rolls into natural 1s.

After the rules changed he only got high enough number for 4 nat 20s, and a low enough number for 7 nat 1s.

So that together makes additional 12 nat 20s and 10 nat 1s from the prophetic screwup alone. I don't think they should be added, but the numbers are there so feel free to do whatever you want with them :)

Downs and death saves:

Throughout the campaign Gillion went down 14 times and rolled 8 death saves.

Chip went down 6 times and rolled 4 death saves.

Jay went down 4 times and rolled 3 death saves.

No shocker here, Gillion dies a lot XD

Knights:

In their journey Gillion knighted 4 people: Julien Booker, Clorton, Garrieth and Duke.

Corruption score:

Thus far each character has the following amount of corruption points (Black Sea):

Gillion: 0

Chip: 2

Jay: 3

Queen: 1

Gryffon: 2 (i think, unsure abt that one, may edit later XD)

Earl: 1

That is all I have for now. I may be clinically insane :)

Good day to everyone and I hope you found this data interesting. Take care <3

[cosmerelists]

Cosmere Characters' Favorite Fast Food Restaurants

As requested by @sharks-musket :)

I've done food-related Cosmere posts in the past, such as "Rock reviews food from across the Cosmere" or "Cosmere characters review food not native to their planet" or "What Cosmere characters would order at Subway".

But for today, let's consider what characters' favorite fast food restaurants would be, if such things existed in their universe.

1. Shallan: Five Guys

I cannot possibly improve on the joke that @epicmilly has already made: https://www.tumblr.com/epicmilly/762060066847424512/could-you-do-cosmere-characters-try-fast-food?source=share

2. Marasi: Dairy Queen

Steris: I cannot believe you still eat here. Steris: Multiple people have gotten food poisoning from the food! Marasi (looking up from the Blizzard she is going to town on): They have food here?

3. Kelsier: In-N-Out

Kelsier: I'm not gonna lie. I'm a sucker for any restaurant with a secret menu. Dockson: It's straight-up published these days, though. Kelsier: Well sure. There's no point to a secret that never gets out!

4. Hrathen: In-N-Out

Hrathen: I don't know how effective it is, but I appreciate that this restaurant prints verses from its holy text onto its packaging. Hrathen: I mean, it's the wrong holy text, but... Hrathen: [looks over to where Dilaf is standing on a table, ranting loudly] Hrathen: Some people take that more personally than others.

5. Lift: Sonic

Lift: They got tons of milkshakes, which is fun. Lift: But mostly I like all the carhops who glide around all graceful like! Lift: I haven't seen even ONE scooting around on their butt! Lift: That's how you KNOW it's a stormin' quality place.

6. Adolin: Wendy's

Adolin: I support redheaded women in business! Shallan: ... Shallan: That should sound so cheesy, but somehow it works when you say it.

7. Steris: Arby's

Steris: I think more restaurants should have slogans that simply state what food they have. Steris: "I'm loving it"? Presumptuous. "Have it your way"? Yes, that is how restaurants work. "Quality is our recipe"? That is not how recipes work. Steris: But "We have the meats"? Now THAT'S a slogan that tells you something about a place! Steris: ... Steris: What do you think? That's my Arby's routine. Wax: I think it's going to be a hit at the party!

8. Lopen: Taco Bell

Lopen: Not as good as chouta, but they have their own type of wrapped meats that are pretty good! Lopen: Best eaten drunk, if we're being honest.

9. Vin: KFC

Vin: You can get a BUCKET of chicken. Vin: It's a great food to chow down on while you're sitting perched on a roof in the darkness. Elend: I love you so much.

10. Wayne: Subway

Wayne: I order my accountants to eat there at least once a week to learn their business practices. Wayne: They made their $5 sandwich $14 for no reason! Wayne: That's the kinda business sense I wanna see in my guys. Daring: Great news! Your "This Sandwich Is Overprice Don't Buy It" campaign was a huge success! Call: People thought it was hilarious. They're selling like, well, like your overpriced sandwiches (since nothing is selling better). Wayne: Harmony DAMN IT!

11. Nightblood: McDonald's

Nightblood: I like how focused this restaurant is on slaying evil! Nightblood: There's the evil clown, the evil burglar guy, the evil purple guy, the evil guy with a burger for a head... Nightblood: They really promote lots of characters that need to be slain! Szeth: ...I sometimes doubt your ability to detect evil, Sword-nimi, but in this case, I know you are correct. Nightblood: Thanks! Nightblood: Wait, what was that first part?

12. Kaladin: Burger King

Kaladin: A lot of these restaurants have weird stuff, like a "Big Mac" or a "Prezel Baconator" or a "Doritos Locos Tacos." Kaladin: I like this place because it has "fiery chicken fries." Kaladin: Spicy. Made of a recognizable animal like a chicken. Fried. Kaladin: It all makes sense. It's all clear. Syl: [making her face look like the chicken on the box] Syl: This chicken sure is angry! Kaladin: It probably didn't want to be fried.

13. Dalinar: Burger King

Dalinar: The Way of Kings changed my life, and I feel that this restaurant, The Burger of Kings, will surely do the same. Adolin (in the tones of someone saying this for the umpteenth time): It's called Burger King. Dalinar (ignoring him): Already I ponder the deep philosophical implications of "Have It Your Way," which forces one to consider how every individual person has their own "way," their own journey, and must accept it. Adolin: Yes...I'm sure that's exactly what they were going for. Dalinar (peacefully munching fries): You doubted my visions at first, too.

[eugenedebs1920]

I’ve been a political junkie since before I could vote. I remember, I was in 3rd or 4th grade, listening to the radio when my mom was driving me somewhere. A news brief comes on and it’s about George H.W. Bush and Desert Storm. When the segment ended I said, “George bush sucks!” My mom got mad at me, not because of the statement, but because of the word suck, saying, “where did you learn that word Eugene?! Do you even know what suck means?” Honestly I really didn’t, but I knew it was an insult.

I have never! Not once, bailed on my civic duty to vote since turning 18. Presidential election, midterm election, special election, local. If I was given the opportunity to voice my opinion, I was about it.

I’ve always stayed pretty informed. Sometimes, like the current moment, far too much. The whole process fascinates me. Both the campaigning and the idea behind a representative , democratic election. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not wearing a light up, goofy hat. Although I did attend a Democratic National Convention once. Not the convention itself but I saw Rage Against the Machine perform for my second time, and the DNC time was free!

My first election I voted for Al Gore. I liked him. I thought he was smart. I liked his stance on the environment. I liked that he had the experience under Clinton that he had. I will also tell you, I didn’t then, nor have I ever, repped hats, or shirts, or flags of ANY president or presidential candidate. A pin or two the day I received em, or on my backpack maybe. Never though have I walked around with my political affiliation, or my affliction to a politician on full display. There were times when it wasn’t hard to tell with long hair, patchwork pants, big beard but.

That’s what has me so perplexed, not the hair and beard thing, but the devotion. I don’t get it. It would be different if it was, I don’t know, not Donald Trump! I mean, who really is that guy?

I saw him on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, a couple times as a kid, thought he seemed smug even then, I missed the whole Apprentice thing, didn’t even own a tv during that time. Was too busy living life. Is that where this follow derives from? I never saw one episode. I heard it wasn’t that good, nor did it have that high of ratings.

He isn’t a very elegant speaker. Go read a quote of his. When he says it, it kinda makes sense, but when you read one, it’s nothing. He says a bunch of words but he doesn’t say anything. It’s actually embarrassing that Trump quotes will forever be part of American history. Here’s an example from a rally when talking about Kamala Harris “back home to mommy. And she goes back home to mommy. ‘Was that you darlling?’ And then she gets the hell knocked out of her. Her mothers a big fan of ours. You know that, right? Her father, her mother. No, you always have that.” Mind you a couple things here. Right before this little snippet I clipped, he was talking about California and “whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, or independent this election is your chance to send a message”. Directly before, the next words are the mommy thing. It doesn’t piece together at all! Also. Kamala’s mom passed away quite a while ago from cancer. What is he even talking about!?

Now compare that to an Obama quote from 2004. “Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America - there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats.”

See. It’s coherent, it has a driven message, it’s passionate. I can get behind that. Not talks about Hannibal Lecter, and electric boats. I don’t get it.

Moving forward.

Let’s talk about his presidency. What bills did he pass? There’s the massive corporate and wealthy tax cut that did very little for 98% of Americans. What else? Anybody? “Well, he built the wall and Mexico payed for it” that is false. There have been small sections built, but scattered, not even one long area. He increased the national debt by over $7.5 trillion. His policies, or lack there of with Covid caused hundreds of thousands of avoidable deaths. Those stimulus checks to keep Americans afloat are the cause of the inflation that we just now got back to normal. When he had to “print” money to give us so we could survive, the value of the dollar went down because there was more capital with no transaction, so with less value the dollar represents, the more things cost in relation to it. Economics is some weird, complicated, almost dogmatic stuff, but it kinda makes sense.

Then there’s the whole not accepting the election results thing. I’ve written and talked about over and over again. It’s exhausting! This is BY FAR the worst thing potentially ANYONE has done to America. More so than the 9/11 terror attacks, Pearl Harbor, Boston marathon, that’s a bold statement. Yet, through his narcissism not allowing him to concede to defeat, and claiming the election was rigged, it is an immensely damaging assault on the very foundation of this whole American democratic experiment. His words have sown doubt into the fabric of democracy with his baseless lies. He absolutely had the right to contest the results, do investigations, recounts, audits, and file suit with the evidence he had supporting his claims. The thing is, he had no evidence, there was no proof of any fraud because, there was none. Thats the end of the behavior that was acceptable. When all those court cases were dismissed for lack of evidence, that should have been it, but no.

All the tweets, all the interviews, all the scheming and plotting, after the court cases and recounts and whatnot, that’s sedition! Thats purposely conspiring against the United States. He knowingly pushed false information to Americans, who believed their commander in chief, and perpetrated the worst assault on our nation’s capital since the Civil War. Thats treason!!

The fact that that wasn’t the end is flabbergasting! The fact he is still in the public eye, let alone running for the seat he so immensely betrayed blows my f*cking mind!!

I don’t care about party affiliation, first and foremost we are Americans. First and foremost our allegiance is to the constitution. First and foremost we abide by the law. This sycophantic groveling to this guy is disgusting! It’s saddening. It’s unamerican.

This upcoming election will, and is saying a lot about us as Americans. The outcome will reflect who we are. I’m not sure I can say with confidence what that is. In the words of 4th grade Eugene, It sucks.

[corroded-hellfire]

I genuinely wanna know about Brittany and Eddie's story. Like how did they meet? What kind of relationship did they have? Did they actually love each other at one point or were they just irrational horny?

I love that you want to know what led up to the toxicity that we see between the two of them now. That genuinely makes my heart so happy. Showing is easier than telling when it comes to the question “what did of relationship did they have?” so if you have any specific questions or scenarios you’d wanna hear about between them, I would be happy to elaborate! They did genuinely love each other at some point. Was it ever the same point in time? Ever the same amount? All things that are debatable. But yes, they both did truly love one another somewhere along the way. And as for how they met, I know Eddie briefly mentioned it to reader in the past, so I thought I might expand a bit on that here!

Warnings: Brittany cause she needs her own warning tbh, Eddie gets hard cause he’s a dumb young boy, reader is not in this

Words: 1.2k

[As You Wish masterlist]

It’s been a good day for Eddie Munson so far. He came up with a great ending for the campaign he’s been hard at work on, Ms. O’Donnell had a substitute, and Jeff booked a new gig for Corroded Coffin next week. Now, to top it all off, he has one of his best customers meeting him, meaning he’ll score some great cash.

Eddie sits on top of the picnic table, metal lunchbox at his hip, tossing pretzels in the air and trying to catch them in his mouth. Two have hit him in the nose and one in the eye, but for the most part, he’s doing pretty well at it.

Distant giggling catches Eddie’s attention and he puts his baggie of pretzels back into the pocket of his jeans. Chrissy is always a bubbly person but even she doesn’t just laugh to herself for no reason. But she’s not alone, Eddie realizes as he glimpses two green cheerleader skirts approaching through the trees.

Hawkins High isn’t a big school, so Eddie’s seen all the cheerleaders around, even if he couldn’t tell you their names. Honestly, he probably wouldn’t be able to pick out their faces either if they weren’t in their uniforms. Why pay attention when sports are so far out of his realm?

Eddie fiddles with his cross ring as the girls approach and he can hear them talking, laughing over something together. He wonders if the other girl is here to score something too, or just tagging along with her friend. If she’s looking to buy, what could he talk her into?

A twig snaps as Chrissy finally steps into the small clearing, her friend a step behind her.

“Hey, Eddie,” Chrissy says, already reaching into her sweater pocket for the cash.

“Hi,” Eddie greets, but his gaze is already stuck on the second blonde cheerleader. Usually, there’d be a goofy smile on Eddie’s face if he were staring at a girl he was attracted to, but he has enough self awareness in the moment to realize he’s actually giving this girl a pretty charming smile.

Chrissy looks up and sees the two of them looking at one another. Brittany’s smiling right back at Eddie and it’s a smile Chrissy’s seen her friend give a million guys. Sighing as she counts the cash in her hand, Chrissy wonders if she should warn Eddie or if Brittany’s gaze will even stay on the metalhead for more than this afternoon.

“Um, the usual?” Chrissy asks, stepping closer to the picnic table.

No response. Eddie’s attention doesn’t stray from Brittany.

Chrissy purses her lips, silently wondering how long these two can stare at one another before someone busts them out here for doing a drug deal. Sure, no one ever comes out here but if these two don’t stop with the heart eyes, someone is bound to come by eventually. Maybe the cops when the three students never come home from school. Brittany’s parents are definitely the type to panic if they don’t know where their daughter is every minute of every day.

“Eddie?” Chrissy tries again.

“Huh?” Eddie blinks, tearing his gaze from the curvy stranger in front of him. “Oh, right. Uh, yeah. Half ounce? It’s fifteen.”

Chrissy hands him the cash and quickly stashes the small bag of green buds he hands her into the pocket of her sweater.

“And um,” Eddie drawls, eyes traveling back to Brittany, “what about you? Anything I can get you?”

The blonde with the heart-shaped face walks forward, hips swaying with every step. She gazes at Eddie from beneath her perfectly made up eyelashes and gives him a coy smile.

“I don’t think there’s anything in that little black box to satisfy me,” she says, her voice sickly sweet coming from those pretty pink glossed lips.

The sultriness in her tone goes straight to Eddie’s cock.

Swallowing down a groan and trying to conjure visions of Wayne’s old army buddies drunk and rowdy to diffuse his boner, Eddie slaps his ringed hands on his thighs.

“Well,” Eddie says, pushing himself up to stand on the wooden seat of the picnic table. He walks booted heel to toe until he comes to the edge of the wooden plank, then hops down, crushing autumn leaves beneath his feet. “You’ll just have to let me know what I can do to satisfy you, then.” Eddie slips his hands into the pockets of his black jeans and quirks up the corner of his mouth into a smile as he takes a few steps closer to Brittany. “Might even give you a discount.”

“Hmm,” Brittany hums, eyes clearly raking up and down Eddie’s form as she chooses her next words. “That’s a lot to consider. I think I’ll have to take some time to think on that one, Eddie Munson.”

His name on her lips throws him for a loop. Not that he wasn’t well-known around school for one reason or another, but the fact that she knows his name, who he is, and is still standing here flirting with him confounds him. Especially when she doesn’t even want to buy drugs.

“You know my name?” He’s aware it’s not the most suave thing to say, but his curiosity is far too piqued not to inquire further.

“I do,” is her only reply.

Eddie chuckles and presses a hand to his Metallica tee-clad chest.

“Isn’t it only fair I know the name of the fair maiden before me?”

Brittany giggles, her nose scrunching up as she turns her head to look at Chrissy.

“He is a nerd. But it’s adorable,” she says, looking back to Eddie.

Eddie sketches a bow, as if to further prove the point. It makes Brittany giggle again and the sound fills Eddie with excitement.

“I’m Brittany,” she introduces herself. “Brittany Sobachkin.”

Before Eddie gets the chance to say anything, Brittany grabs a black pen from an outer pocket of her backpack and shoves up the sleeve of Eddie’s leather jacket as far as it will go. The tip digs into his skin as she jots down seven numbers, replaces the cap, and puts the pen back in her bag.

“If you come up with anything you think can satisfy me, give me a call,” Brittany says.

Eddie stares at the numbers before lifting his head and nodding at the pretty blonde in front of him.

“I won’t let my brain rest until it comes up with something,” he vows.

Chrissy steps up next to Brittany and loops her arm through her fellow-cheerleader’s.

“Thanks, Eddie,” Chrissy says with a cheerful smile at the man, making it clear to the two others in the space that this is her initiating the goodbye. “Same time next week, yeah?”

“I’ll be here.” Eddie shrugs, turning to look around at the small clearing surrounding them.

“Will I have to wait that long to hear from you?” Brittany asks, lower lip sticking out in a pout.

“Absolutely not,” Eddie says with a bright grin.

“Good.” Brittany steps forwards and takes the pick necklace hanging around Eddie’s neck in between two of her perfectly manicured fingers. “I’ll see you around, Eddie.”

“You know where to find me.” He internally winces, wishing he could’ve come up with something better to say, but the girls are already turning away.

“Bye,” Chrissy trills, waving over her shoulder.

Eddie lifts one hand out of his pocket to give a single wave in return.

Once Eddie can no longer hear the girls’ fading footsteps in the leaves or twigs, he lets out a loud, large sigh, and collapses back against the picnic table.

“Well, fuck,” he says to himself with a small laugh. “I’m gonna marry her someday.”

[clemkruckinnie]

the pogues + their favorite holidays!!

john b’s always been a christmas kinda guy. some of his happiest memories are of him tearing open the wrapping on the few presents big john had been able to save up for, cross-legged under their little tree. is also 1000% the type to put mistletoe everywhere to kiss you (which backfires when jj shoves you out of the way, wanting a smooch of his own).

pope loves halloween! i know he kind of reads as the type to be a scaredy cat, but i feel like he’s a HUGE film buff, so he’ll gladly sit and marathon scary movies with you. he’ll point out how cool the practical effects are, or make fun of the terrible acting, you happily listening as he rambles. and if you’re passing out candy to trick or treaters? oh my GOD. pope is hyping up every kid and their costume, saves up for a month prior to make sure you guys hand out the big candy bars, just generally has the time of his life. he is ADORABLE.

jj’s favorite holiday is the fourth of july, not because he’s particularly patriotic, but because it’s the one day a year where he can set off as many explosives as he wants without having the police called on him. absolutely insists on grilling burgers on a charcoal grill so tiny he can barely do 2 at one time, so by the time he’s done everyone would be significantly hangry had they not blown through all the snacks everyone had brought. finds the perfect place to watch the fireworks days in advance, unable to tear his eyes away from the blinding colors for the duration of the show. it’s beautiful, watching the wonder in his eyes, truly carefree as he marvels at the fireworks.

sarah is a valentine’s girl!! she was 100% the little girl who made everyone in her class a special valentine, not wanting anyone to be excluded or feel less loved! she’s just obsessed with the vibes, too—pink, hearts, lace, etc. if you’re blessed enough to be her valentine? she is going ALL OUT- a little gift bag, a special dinner…certain activities after several glasses of wine during said dinner…..

though it’s less of a traditional holiday, kie’s favorite is earth day! it’s the one day of the year where no one is allowed to roll their eyes at her environmental campaigns. that and it’s the start of taurus season, because kie is 1000% a taurus and i will die on this hill <33 totally the type of gf to plant a tree for you on this day, or get you one of those turtle tracking bracelets (one to match her’s, ofc).

cleo loves thanksgiving! the girl is a natural born chef, so she’ll really jump at any excuse to cook. that, and she doesn’t really have family in the states besides the pogues, so anything to get you all together for a family meal is good in her book. if you show genuine interest in what she’s making, her heart absolutely SOARS because she really pours herself into her cooking. being her unofficial sous chef gets you points too because acts of service mean a lot to her.

[psychologicalwarclaire]

10 for Rise. Gimme warcrimes duo >:]

Donnie didn't realize just how much Witchtown hated him until he wound up in front of the majority of the town at Hidden City court.

Witches of all kinds shouted over each other, listing crimes that Donnie most definitely had NOT committed.

"--trampled my mushrooms!"

"--released the kraken into our town fountain!"

"--totally demolished my self esteem!"

"--ATE MY CAT!!!"

"-- and destroyed the statue of our great founder!"

Okay that one he actually had done. In his defense, he hadn't meant to blast it with his tech bo. Defense, however, was something he was missing.

He glanced over at the judge. "I don't know how Hidden City trials work but isn't there supposed to be someone on my side? I mean, ahem, with my superb knowledge of everything I could absolutely provide my own defense but, uhm..." I don't really want to do this all on my own, he finished in his head.

All of Donnie's knowledge of courtroom proceedings came from a show he and Raph used to watch together. Raph loved watching the good guys solve crimes and fight bad guys. Donnie loved the mysteries and collection of evidence. Neither of them found the legal stuff super interesting, so they'd discussed the real life logistics of the crime (whether Donnie could commit it, whether Raph could catch him, and how they'd avoid getting caught) during those scenes. Donnie wished he'd payed more attention.

The doors flew open with a BANG.

"PURPLE TURTLE!" Casey Jones yelled. "I AM HERE TO PROVE YOUR INNOCENCE!"

Donnie blinked.

The jury all looked at each other like she'd made a brilliant point, muttering and nodding along.

The judge stroked his beard. "Good entrance. One point to the defense."

There were very few times that Donnie didn't have at least SOME idea of what was happening. Now was, unfortunately, one of those times.

Casey seemed to appear right next to him. "SO! Got yourself in trouble with Witchtown, eh?"

Flustered, Donnie could only think to say, "I didn't do it! Their accusations are entirely--"

"HEY! That's MY job!" She cleared her throat. "As I was saying, Witchtown is tough, but I'm tougher! You're lucky I took this case, otherwise you would already be rotting in Hidden City prison."

"I-- Casey why are you a lawyer in the Hidden City?" Things were spiraling entirely out of control.

Casey grinned her insane grin. "I love yelling, fighting, arguing, squabbling, debating, etc. Passing the exam was super easy, too! The laws here aren't any more complicated than the Foot Clan laws. You know, normally I'm on the offensive. But I am Hamato Clan now! I WILL NOT BETRAY MY CLAN!"

Donnie couldn't help but be impressed. "Huh. What a strangely fitting career choice for you."

"INDEED! And the lawyer to politician pipeline is extremely fast. I shall build my way up to becoming a mayor, senator, and eventually I shall be the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES! Junior has already signed on to be my vice president. Our slogan is either going to be: 'Jones and Jones: we'll feast on your bones' OR 'Vote Jones squared and your lives will be spared'. Catchy right?"

Donnie's mind was already buzzing with how his Genius Built brand could be expanded by personally knowing the president. "Casey," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I will personally help fund your presidential campaign."

"Excellent! Now, we are in the middle of court so we can discuss that later."

"Oh yeah." Donnie had actually forgotten that he was literally on trial. Casey has the effect of being extremely distracting. "I need to tell you my alibi and--"

"Pffft, no need. What kind of court do you think this is?" Casey cracked her neck, and stretched her arms above her head.

The judge banged his gavel, which sent a shockwave across the room. The ground rumbled and the seats all slid back to open up a wide space in front of the stand. "We are now in session. Let prosecutor Gilby Gilbert of Witchtown and defendant Casey Jones of the Hamato Clan enter the ring."

The what?!

Gilby Gilbert, whom Donnie vaguely recognized from the Witchtown episode leapt into the ring. "That turtle is GUILTY!"

With a running leap, Casey Jones flipped into the ring and kicked him squarely in the chest. "Mr Hamato is more innocent than you and your corrupted, black market, embezzling town will ever be!"

The jury gasped.

"Flair, solid hit, AND a plot twist! Three more points to the defense!" the judge ruled.

Donnie was now very glad he had not been the one to plead (punch?) his own case.

"Turtle boy is against everything we stand for!" Gilby choked from inside a headlock.

"Since your treasury records show illegal trade with criminals AND many Witchtown officials who have been pocketing those funds, I'd say it's a good thing that Mr Hamato stands against you, you LOWLIFE!" Casey released the headlock, only to kick her opponent to the ground and curb stomp him.

Donnie was no longer worried.

In fact, as he watched Casey continue to kick Gilby (who had curled into a ball), he actually smiled. Perhaps the answer to science vs magic was brute force.

He had decided that when this trial was over and he and Casey had officially won, he was going to make her a fashionable Genius Built lawyer suit. He'd make it easily torn away to give her more points in style.

It was the least he could do.

[utilitycaster]

Jumping off the Bell’s Hells vs. Mighty Nein question…what does Bell’s Hells need most right now? What can Sam bring to the table that would make BH as complete as MN? Is it just “a life cleric” for maximum healing, or do you think there’s something better out there?

Hi anon,

You would need a drastic reworking of the entire party. One person swapping out can't fix it.

I'm going to stick to combat and not more general stuff [high INT doesn't matter much in combat unless that's your casting stat but GOD it's not optional in a longform campaign] but in short:

You're fucked by having two (mostly) sorcerers in a party. It's one of the least versatile classes by far; all the glass cannon of a wizard with a fraction of the utility. As my url indicates I am nearly always a caster main but also very much NOT a casters as blasters person and sorcerers are basically designed to be this (except divine soul love u dariax).

melee line is strong so that's pretty good, though Ashton's stuff is unpredictable by design and as a result they're a touch behind Yasha, and the fact that Chetney runs the risk of attacking the party in wolf mode is something of a liability that the Nein did not have.

None of the melee tank line has quite the range the Nein melee line had at the end: Yasha could fly; Beau was a monk; Fjord had a trillion short range teleport options and could also if necessary fly. Ashton, Chetney, and Orym have comparatively limited options and Ashton's can't be relied on. I love Ashton's subclass but whenever you can't control the situation you cede something in combat to someone who does. I do actually own a copy of The Art of War for non-douchebag reasons and I'm pretty sure it says that.

Really, hexadin is literally one of the most bonkers good verging on broken combos and if you don't have one you are probably at a disadvantage over a party that does.

For all I am a Rogue Hater Of Some Renown, they are very good in combat scenarios when on a party with a strong melee tank line. Burst damage is overrated but man it is kind of great when, simply because your melee fighters are doing what they do best, the rogue can eliminate a handful of d6s worth of enemy HP for free.

Fearne would need to be played very differently. This isn't a judgment of how Ashley plays her - I love her choices and feel they're in character. However, to compete with the Mighty Nein she would need to be played rather more like Jester, with a more even split of offensive and healing. She can do this, and sometimes does, but that's not her usual style.

The Nein had two main healers plus a hexadin plus Yasha had a little; Bells Hells has only one person with any healing at the moment.

The Nein had two people who could cast Counterspell. Laudna has no one to counter Caleb when he counterspells her counterspell.

This is very subjective, but also, I think the Mighty Nein really played to a lot of the cast's strengths mechanically, and Bells Hells are an expansion of their comfort zones, which is a good thing but it also means they play the Nein more optimally.

Anyway I think full cleric (most subclasses will do) is probably the wisest bet for Sam and if he can throw in a high INT score (knowledge cleric? wizard dip? Just a smart guy?) that wouldn't hurt, but yeah the Nein are still winning this one unless you replace like half the party.

[cringefaecompilation]

not to dunk on junior year again but i am noticing a pattern here with the treatment of certain storytelling elements here.

both bell’s hells and the ratgrinders were pcs that gained sapience. the difference is that the ratgrinders were villains and the hells are heroes.

one of the most love-it-or-hate-it aspects of campaign 3 is that it does not only focus on the main 7 or 8 characters and everybody else is tossed to the wayside unless they benefit them like usual. all npcs (with downfall, that's including the gods!) deserve a chance to have their story told and they are all written to be that. the generic runaway prince you have to help escape to a life of freedom! the cute little helper robot npc! generic spooky evil minions based on public domain monsters! the quirky quest-giving fae! the rough and tumble hired goon! the brave captain of the guard protecting a strong lady in charge!  yes, even imogen, who in any other story would be the sad little abandoned daughter of the bbeg who would mourn the hero killing her mother but understand that the hero had to do what needed to be done.

and again, you don’t have to like it!

but there is a weird sort of thing i noticed amongst all the critical role c3 criticism that reminded me of people defending fhjy. an undercurrent of insisting that all the ratgrinders (who were teenagers. who were groomed and then murdered.) were pure evil spoiled brats and just wanted to be handed everything on a platter because they didn’t deserve what the main cast earned their place as the main characters and made passive aggressive posts saying things to the tune of you know they’re evil right. very Watsonian with a staunch refusal to look at a Doylist explanation. it got so bad to the point where people were insisting that if you liked the ratgrinders and sympathized with them then you were a fascism apologist.

astoundingly enough c3 criticism has only scraped the surface of this sort of overdramatic accusation, but it goes in the opposite direction. if you like where the story is going and how it's being told, then you’re not a real critical role fan. the story should have just been about the characters fighting evil fae or just wiping out the ruby vanguard and everyone in it without all this stupid introspective discussion on power because it’s retconning the gods being bad guys! grey morality sucks, why can’t good guys just be good? they all feel like npcs except for imogen because she’s the only one with a chosen birthright!

(of course, if they say that last part out loud, that might not look so good for them)

 yes, we know the gods are imperfect. that’s what we’ve been saying this whole time. but all these passive aggressive gifsets of liam-as-orym saying that the gods aren’t pure evil and it’s stupid to think so or laura and matt ooc saying that the gods have a grey area don’t mean fucking jack if you turn around and insist the gods have zero flaws and everything they do is good, actually and Aeor Had It Coming.

important caveats:

the actors on d20 could not react to things they were doing in the moment. they were tired after filiming 3 episodes back to back and wrapped up their season faster than usual to join the sag-aftra strike. i am aware of this.

yes i know that d20 is a comedy improv series! that does not prevent it from having deep themes and character introspection! ayda aguefort and zelda donovan still very much exist and had their own arcs despite being npcs!

yes the ratgrinders were working with a man trying to kill and replace a goddess and yes he is a colonizing twat. however, doesn’t that also make it the fandom’s insistence that liking the kids is bad and fascistic but making ship art of him and the other teacher that killed all of them is totally okay? rules for he but not for thee? 

[deadpresidents]

If I recall correctly, weren’t you a pretty big fan of Bill Clinton for some time? I recall a lot of posts from you about him that were fairly favorable. When did you finally accept that he was a creep? Do you think there’s finally a chance of accountability? I am truly asking from a place of empathy as I know what it’s like to have someone you looked up turn out to be not so great.

No, you're 100% correct. I was a fan of Bill Clinton for a long time. He was President from the time I was 13 until I was 21, and for a kid who was into Presidential history and Democratic politics, he was a major presence in my life. I still think that he is probably the most naturally-gifted politician of my lifetime. Nobody that I've watched has been able to explain public policy or instantly breeze through complicated press conference questions like Bill Clinton. For years after he left office, I said that he should just be the guy who explains how things work to America; he's remarkably smart.

One of the craziest examples of Clinton's intelligence is that he had to figure out ways to make it look like he doesn't have the answer to everything immediately. Clinton's political advisers thought he came across at times like a know-it-all and that it wasn't a good look on the campaign trail. You know how one of the famous mannerisms of Clinton is how he'll pause while he's speaking and bite his lip, like this?

Well, that was done on purpose. Clinton's advisers thought that his quick, completely formed answers to complicated questions was unnatural and that he needed to make himself seem more thoughtful, so he'd pause and bite his lip almost as an intellectual speed bump. Paul Begala, one of the most important architects of Clinton's 1992 campaign explained:

"He was so smart about so many things but also could connect. The whole thing about his biting his lip -- that was coached. Because he would answer so fast. We'd say, 'Take a beat. Pretend you're thinking about it. Pretend you haven't already got an answer.' It was a studied thing to give himself a second to force himself to slow down."

So, things like that were why I was always so impressed and appreciative of Clinton's skills and political gifts.

But, obviously, as I've gotten older and come to understand his personal actions a lot better, it's really hard not to consider him a creep. I mean, the Epstein thing is obviously impossible to reconcile. Even if it there hasn't been any suggestion of Clinton actually abusing any of the girls in the way that Epstein did, he spent a lot of time around Epstein and it's gross. I think one of Epstein's victims said that Clinton was a "total gentleman" and didn't do anything wrong to her, but that photo of a very young girl giving him a neck message in what looks like an airport terminal is a really bad look. That was clearly after he left office, so that was post-Monica Lewinsky and Clinton should have had the awareness to not even put himself near that type of situation with a girl that young (or any woman who was not his wife) -- even if it was just a neck massage that lasted a short amount of time. Even if the girl offered to do it willingly and had no issues with it, that's not a situation that Clinton -- who was impeached and could have been removed from office because he had an affair with a young woman -- should have have felt comfortable with.

But beyond that, as I've gotten older and as we've all gotten better about recognizing these things, his relationship with Monica Lewinsky is what bothers me because of the position that he put Monica in. She was in her early 20s -- barely older than Clinton's own daughter at the time -- and he was President of the United States. Listen, I don't have any room to criticize someone for dating younger women (seriously), but it's the power dynamic and the manner in which he treated Monica when things started to get difficult for him. That poor girl was in such an unimaginably nightmarish place because of what Clinton did and how he -- the incumbent President of the United States -- spoke about her publicly and treated her privately. When you think about it in terms of a relationship, it's just a crazy situation. And the poise that Monica Lewinsky had then and now speaks volumes about the person she is and has become, so it just makes Clinton look that much more terrible in comparison.

It is disappointing because I was a fan of President Clinton for most of my life. And, like Richard Nixon, he was so gifted when it came to his intellectual powers and, in Clinton's case, his political skills, that his flaws and his actions were overlooked for too long. I don't know what kind of accountability there might be for Clinton now that he's been out of office for nearly 25 years and is a few years away from his 80th birthday. But I can say that I feel like I know who he is now and "creep" seems like a pretty fitting description.

[danwhobrowses]

nothing to see here just a crazy shipper guy going crazy over Callowmoore under the bit, if that's not for you then go about your business

So fellow Callowmoores how we feelin' this morning/evening? Because it's evening right now and I'm still bouncing off the walls in my mind

The one post could not keep me contained! No seriously the amount of tags I put in hit a limit and doesn't show them all

I mean yes we didn't get a kiss (yet) but goddamn we got so much, it has possessed me, deranged me, it's leaking outta my brain I gotta talk about it, so either jump out or buckle up because this overflow is gonna be long

First off I just gotta talk about how so many things almost lined up how I imagined them because it just makes it feel like they looked into my head and thought 'hey that's kinda good'. Like, I wanted Fearne to take the shard at Mori's, it was a safer space for her than the Ziggurat which is tainted by bad memories (this and other campaigns), I just didn't expect it so soon, thought they'd at least have a full rest first. In fact I had a whole scene in my mind where in a desperate gambit Delilah took over Laudna while she slept and just knocked on Ashton's door in a form of dread going 'where's the shard Ashton?'. It's key to this I promise not only because I enjoyed the idea of Ashton not taking any of Delilah's shit (plus for you Imodnas out there the mental scene involves Ashton whispering 'Imogen's in danger' to wake her, they also ask where Paté is because they still have that 'Paté is Delilah' theory) but it also expanded on the possible helplessness Ashton would have being unable to assist Fearne with taking the shard

'You're a child, Ashton. A blunt instrument that charges blindly into harm, would you really risk Fearne's life to earn her forgiveness? You know what it can do, what happens when you can't protect her from it?'

Of course, Ashton would never give Delilah the shard, which would frustrate Delilah since she can't manipulate them, but the comment weighs on Ashton a little. Which is when the whole waking Laudna happens and she leaves, but Fearne is in his room (the Vox Machina bathtub scene being inspiration), having asked to sleep there for comfort and asks them if it worries them. Which is where I often got to use this quote

'I don't believe in fate, but I believe in you'

And it sticks with me because it's super romantic, but also on-brand for Ashton, there were variations like the longer 'things only affect our path if we choose to believe they do; fate is complicated, the gods don't give a fuck, and I don't wanna even think about legacy anymore, I don't believe in them, but I believe in you' but then the next morning comes and Ashton gives her the ring, since I forgot about attunement there were instances where it was a sneaky sleight of hand thing, and Fearne completes the process. Of course, with weeks to go on there were a lot more scenarios like Fearne pickpocketing the Ashton doll to practice talking to and putting it back, Ashton seeking Mori for advice, herbal tea visions where Ashton entered their own mind and encounters the empress while on the outside Delilah possesses Laudna to try and drain the power from them, one where the shard having been reshaped through Ashton is less intense on Fearne for the first 4 rounds (since they blew up on the fifth) because Ashton's essence is containing and dissipating the hostile energy, and one where the group secretly vote against Ashton being there for Fearne taking the shard (Imogen, Laudna, and Chetney 3 to 2 against Orym and FCG) but Fearne as the decider pulls them over because she needs them there, stuff like that I'm sure fanfic writers could consume to their heart's content (and are free to, go nuts). But these scenes stood out because it had elements of stuff that are linked to or actually happened in the episode; Fearne does take the shard, Ashton endorses that Fearne is the only one who can take it, Ashton gives her the ring and Shattered Vigor is apparently a thing where Ashton is practically taking Fearne's pain to protect her, that alone is enough to go insane over.

And can we talk about the ring for a moment, because like THE RING. I'm not talking about generically either I mean that this ring has been significant to the shard saga ever since Ashton claimed it. It was found on the corpse of someone infused into stone, into the earth, right between the whole eidolons stuff where Ashton connected with an Earth elemental and then the Grau Dashari stuff with the crystals they merged with their hammer and then the Bor'dor incident, that could've easily been a titan-based punishment. Also, Ring of Volcanic Flesh, like Ashton's stone arm? And if that wasn't enough, what was the first thing Fearne stole from Ashton when they reunited? The ring, the act that broke down Ashton's walls as they let out a most heartfelt 'I missed you, so much' the ring that Fearne stole right off of Ashton's fingers only for them to willingly put in her hand to protect her, because just as they said at the clock tower, everything they have belongs to her. And while legacy and hubris had a part in the shard incident, part of it was also for Fearne. I don't believe there's any situation where if Fearne said she wanted the shard at the clock tower Ashton would've said no; Ashton knows that Fearne was key to the shard dislodging in the lava, they sensed it was in a way key to both of them, but there was no reality where Ashton was gonna force Fearne to take the shard if she didn't want it. And yes it blew up in their face, much like Fearne they saw an image of themselves they didn't want to be, their soul broke with the realisation that they hurt the one person they never wanted to hurt, but thanks to Percy they also realised that they had to change. It wasn't enough to see everyone else having someone at the reunion and internalizing 'if someone has to not come back it's gotta be me' they had to make steps towards being the person the Hells needs them to be, someone who can come back with them.

Which is where last episode started setting it up, and I didn't speak much about it at the time because other than the pretty plain 'I would've rather died than hurt Fearne' insinuation (which in turn was confessed to save Fearne from falling) there was only crumbs that could be interpreted other ways; for instance Birdie's tale with Athion and Olly being somewhat of a parallel to Tevan and Ashton, the formers wooing Birdie and Fearne with temptations of indulgence while the latters drawing their attention by being subjects of intrigue, defiance and kindness, plus they saved the latters (Birdie literally via escaping the prisons and Fearne emotionally and literally), or before the Orym conversation when Ashton takes 'one last look' Taliesin looks towards Ashley last. But I knew there was poetic significance to Ashton failing the communication trial, Marisha sensed the vibe too, but even though Fearne was nervous about guiding Ashton, the fault fell to poor dice rolls (and Liam not keeping shtum and summoning thunderwasps) and once again Ashton in an attempt to prove themselves falls flat on their ass in front of the person they most want to prove it to. And that did break my heart a little I must admit because as poetic as it was who hasn't been there? Ashton's journey of proving themselves has been laden with failure too; being unable to protect anyone from Otohan led to them almost being TPK'd, being unable to keep the group together at the Malleus Key led to the group being scattered, and then Team Trauma's stuff - Orym was despondent and Laudna's a wreck, got a random 'shepherd's boy', a powerful Cobalt Soul teen prodding about the solstice and all of Deni$e here added as mainly combat support, loners but no leaders, Dawnfather angel thinks them insignificant, dark spirits trying to consume their only leads about the Hishari - and the moment Ashton started to trust Bor'dor after the pipe vision what happens? Betrayal, Hunger of the Shadow and Delilah is let back in, Ashton couldn't even keep Laudna safe from herself, they reunite, try to sort out their shit with their past, discover that they might have a destiny to fulfill and end up being too willing to die in place of others, and unable to protect their new family from themselves, because of these recent failures it was important that Ashton proved themselves in the trust trial.

And thankfully they did, there was no way to prove that anyone was a Doppelganger and yet, Ashton still trusted Fearne; twice saving her from the flora even when told to leave her behind. And they were close to another failure when the branch was snatched - after their attempts to keep it safe by throwing it in the pool alone - but they trusted Chet and Orym (father/son duo) to cover more ground while they helped Fearne. And even when FCG told Ashton 'I think it's Fearne', and when Imogen was untrusting of Fearne, Ashton abandoned their held action to save FCG from the brambles because they knew Fearne could be trusted. They trusted Imogen to connect to Ruidus and as mentioned endorsed Fearne to take the shard.

And sure, in my mental scenarios Ashton gives her the shard, doing the same she did for them, but I did say almost like how I imagined. And Ashton still did everything they could, plus Imogen comforted their visible worry, but once it's complete they're just in awe, and then their own spark awakens through her touch, a touch they were unafraid of even at the threat of newfound fire, and now for the first time ever they feel whole. She saved them, and now they finally feel complete, and now this time Fearne is agape, Fearne is in awe, and everything she had hoped Ashton would gain from taking the shard before has come to fruition through her, and it's just, joy, pure incorruptible joy, a kindred connection that belongs to just them. Plus a big piece of paper for all the new powers they are excited to learn about from each other, with each other, and while Matt can talk about there being risks to them because you gotta balance the combat the narrative significance is still there.

But dammit they need to kiss, I've yelled it enough times in my head; like the lava, the clock tower, before and after Fearne took the shard, the only times they did kiss was before the solstice (the forehead kiss) and the ziggurat and both preceded bad times, they deserve a proper one, not one at risk of being a goodbye, something precious, irreplaceable and theirs to have, to share. And I don't know if they should use the patented 'can I kiss you?' or take a tip from BeauYasha and use 'I wanna kiss you so bad right now' or find something else to make their own but I desire it so much, had it happened this ep I probably would've melted out of my seat. They're awkward and nervous but they gotta take the leap, Ashton needs to realise they're loved and maybe even be told that they deserve it even when they feel they don't, and Fearne has to take a risk too, the shard put doubt to her decisions but that doesn't mean she can run from her strong emotions. It doesn't fix everything of course, but sometimes people heal better together than apart. As a currently vorbed half-elf once said 'drink the courage first'.

Curiosity continues to send me after the ep, and while some people are attempting to blemish or rain on the parade (I mean, I try not to speak ill of other ships in general, but if you're gonna be negative about it you can at least do it in your lane, your tags not ours) I am still just riding the high of the possibilities. True, the unknown can make me nervous, and I will admit the group has to give Ashton and Fearne space (they're just excited, and with the bloody bridge hinting to be a final moon-based battle there is that sense of urgency) Imodna had nudges sure but they have been a bit heavy-handed and kinda chaperoned around them, Fearne and Ashton seldom get time alone, one can hope they can get that time with each other next episode.

[fantasyinvader]

I was thinking about it some more, and the idea that Edelgard isn't merely some tyrant makes sense. There's one thing that puts Edelgard apart.

Remember how the Japanese script outright says that Edelgard is using an information campaign? That's what Seteth is alluding to. Imperial soldiers fight to the bitter end for her because they've bought into what she's been telling them. They believe that they're the good guys, but they don't think deeper on it. And this is what Edelgard does across Houses and Hopes.

She has made the commoners believe that she's fighting for them, but at the same time will also put her ideals ahead of those commoners. If her reforms don't benefit them, it's their fault. But we also get Ferdinand's paralogue, revealing that the Imperial troops were also conscripted and those who resisted were executed. Likewise, it's shown that part of the unrest in the Empire is due to Edelgard starving the civilians in order to feed her army, while Hopes outright says that the reforms Edelgard put in place largely favor the nobility and oppress the commoners. Meanwhile, Edelgard is also going around saying that any nobility who submit to her get to keep their positions. She has the Agarthans believing she's dancing to her tune, and goes around saying she's not attacking the faith. Meanwhile, Edelgard is also shown to keep her own allies in the dark, withhold information while at the same time blaming people for things they didn't do while taking credit for Byleth's leadership to make herself look good. Hopes has her going around saving the nobles who pledge themselves to her, despite how this conflicts with her ideals, simply because doing so make her look good.

Edelgard is still a tyrant, but she can convince people to join her by saying whatever she needs to. But this is where the Fodlan games misstep. Follow me on this: Part of Verdant Wind's message is the importance of getting to know people and clearing up any misconceptions you may have about them. In Claude's case, it's him realizing that the Church isn't the big bad he thought they would be and in fact would help him achieve his own goals. Hell, he'd probably cry tears of happiness over Seteth's solo ending and would be pissed at Treehouse trying to make Seteth look bad in their translation of it (they turned “Seteth became less strict” as “Seteth stopped being intolerant” before going into Seteth working to make Fodlan more accepting of other faiths). So with that in mind, look at what happens when we spend time with Edelgard.

We support Edelgard over Rhea, and Edelgard just keeps lying for the rest of the game, with the Japanese text having the information campaign and her manipulating TWSITD. At the end, it's telling us that Edelgard knows more than she's letting on, and to be worried about what she's keeping from people. She's depicted as a liar who then goes on to centralize power on herself and push ideals on Fodlan that run counter to her supposed hero speech while killing Rhea. And to top it all off, the devs confirmed that Edelgard being the villain seeking conquest was meant to be a twist, meaning the cute anime girl in White Clouds was the misconception of her character and all the negative shit we see later on is meant to clear that up.

So the game is trying to make me feel bad because I'm fighting someone who tried to manipulate me into ignoring the horrible shit she's been a party to and then who goes on to do horrible shit herself and spread a toxic ideology. You're trying to make me feel bad for fighting someone who will turn herself into a literal monster in her attempt to rule the world. That's not sad, that's tone-deaf and no amount of “uwu she wanted to walk with you and was even reconsidering her path” can excuse that because at the end of the day she choose to be a dickbag. And this ignores all of her victims, both current and would-be.

It basically reminds me of Miyazaki talking about how otaku ruined the anime industry. How they don't like looking at real people, they like looking at anime characters and go on to make more anime characters rather than realistic ones.

[lol-jackles]

Sorry if you've already spoken on this but here is my question:

Concerning TW, why did Jensen drop the ball so bad on this? While screwing over Jared and SPN's legacy over a hot mess - I thought he wanted to show he could do good without Jared and create a "SPN"ish world with himself at the centre. But he barely did any marketing for it, seemed unbothered during press time (irritated even w/ Danneel) and seemed to not care about the story, characters or the shooting. I mean the man didn't need to make something to memorable but he seemed to not even try while putting his post-spn reputation on the line.

He even brought his wife as a partner on a show (spn) she never cared about. It couldn't have been simply a big F U to Jared for being the actual lead of SPN. If it was simply narcissism, that man is deep in it then... or he is simply as simple-minded as his wife (no offense... but after hearing her talk... gosh darn)

Jensen’s business model has always made my eye twitch, it's why I keep offering to manage his career for free. There's a reason why most actors should never be in charge of their own projects.

As actors we're supposed to do research, research, and more research. Jensen doesn't do research because he has tons of raw talent. But to quote Einstein, "Genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work". Without hard work, that talented kid is just going to be a normal kid. Jensen's acting method is largely instinctual, and he applies the same method to his business model. When Jensen acts, he doesn't go into a scene looking to do a scene, instead he goes in to give over to how the other person makes him feel, he doesn’t worry about how he’s going to say his lines, he says them intuitively. That's fine for acting, up to a degree. That doesn't work in business.

"but he seemed to not even try while putting his post-spn reputation on the line."

Like most celebrities, Jensen's idea of being a businessman is slap his face and name on a product, let others do the work, and sit back and wait for the royalties to start rolling in. Just look at how he handled his first #SPNFamily tee-shirt campaign in 2015, it was barely the default minimum.  And that’s fine, a lot of celebrities do that. But it’s not ideal for somebody who wants to create something.  It’s easy to have ideas, but it’s very hard to turn an idea into a successful product.  

To actually run a business on a day-to-day basis is not Jensen's forte. Like how some people are enamored with having their dream wedding and not thought about the work that goes into a marriage. Post-SPN, Jensen doesn’t have a Jared to pick up the slack for his under-functioning handling of his prequel project.   We saw the preview of this during the YANA campaign:

Jensen & Misha: Hey guys we're launching YANA! And click the link below.

Fandom: Cool, so what is YANA?

Jensen:  *puts his head on Misha’s shoulders* There’s a link below!

Fandom: But what is YANA about?

*Literally 20 minutes later*

Jensen and Misha: *clowning* Don’t forget to click on the link be….

Fandom: Fuck you, assclowns!  Where’s Jared?

*24 hours later Jared explained what YANA is about on his Facebook even though he’s not part of the YANA campaign*

Fandom: Thanks Jared! Wow that only took 2 minutes.

Me: It literally took 2 minutes.

As for Jensen bringing on Danneel into the $PN brand, they’ve been trying to raise Danneel’s profile for at least 5 years and thought ingratiating her into the $PN fandom that she had no part in cultivating would be a swell idea.

[zevzevarainai]

your ask made me realize......i don't know any of your ocs (outside of RPG protags). tell me about them please? 👀

ok i'm putting this under a read more because it's slightly embarrassing but not enough for me to not post it. i am also insecure about my drawerings. i'm working on it.

Ok so the only actual original ocs i have are revamped versions of ocs i had based off of toys when i was like 11. yeah... i'm owning it.... quarantine was a time for all of us. i used to have dnd ocs as i wrote my own campaign but they've been abandoned as a result of a messy falling out.

anyway these were like a branch off of a game my sister and our friends used to play when i was like 6 like a 2nd generation type of deal though that's only relevant for one oc. the premise is basically i had toy dragons when i was a kid and i was like "yeah they can shapeshift into humans" because that's the coolest shit when your 12. And when you're in your twenties and mentally ill you make it Serious.

so now it's like a humans hunted dragons so they didn't really come out of hiding but society is a'changing... there aren't a lot of not-shapeshifting dragons left.

it's not very thought out but dragon hybrids as i call them until i think of a better name (i won't) are split into 3 groups of views -

1) coexistence (main guys are here) 2) resent humans, either cannot shift or are ashamed of their human form. They either hide from humans or, if they have the means to, attack humans. They value pureblood dragons and strength. Because of this, they abandon runts and outcast shifters with a human parent. 

3) believe in coexisting with humans, but believe their ability to command two forms puts them above non-shifters, so they should be ruling over them. Some humans agree and have devoted themselves to serving these shifters.

Also these guys go by 2nd names because humans can't pronounce the guttural dragon language sounds (this is my explanation for my less than creative naming system at 12). I also made like physical logistics for their human appearance but we don't need to get into that rn

this is Dramill [dray-mill] (he/him) which child Carly made up as a combination of Draco + Windmill (the toy had a tail that has a webbed bit, looks like a windmill thing, whatever). He is a water dragon (fresh water variant). His bio-family hates humans, he ran away as a teenager and accidentally became a leadership figure for coexistence after finding his found family during his run-away-teen-travels.

He discovered healing powers for water-elemental dragons, he is basically green Katara, except Dramill sacrifices his energy to heal the person. Minor injuries don’t take much out of him. The worse the injury, the harder it is on him. If rushed, it is harder on him.

The first two members of Dramill's found family are Flame (left, she/her) and Smokey (right, he/him). They are twins and both raging homosexuals. If you couldn't guess, they are fire elemental dragons. Dramill found them after their mother was killed by humans and they were attacked a few weeks later.

Flame: Cold exterior, aloof, nonchalant nature, but has a good heart underneath. Too cool for you. Has tattoo sleeves on both arms, nose stud on the right nostril to match her twin's, undercut on the right side.

Smokey: Sarcastic, covers feelings with humor. Has several piercings: multiple ear piercings, double eyebrow piercing on the right side, nose stud on left nostril, nipple piercings, and a stud tongue piercing. All gold colored.

Last two members of Dramill's found family are Frost (left, he/him) and Iceberg (right, any pronouns). Biological siblings and, you guessed it, ice dragons. Iceberg was abandoned by their parents for being a runt; Frost followed his father on a hunch and refused to abandon Iceberg, so he was also disowned. Frost took care of Iceberg on his own until Dramill, Flame, and Smokey found them.

Frost: somewhat introverted and slow to trust others. Fiercely loyal and protective.

Iceberg: Not very good at fighting, doesn't particularly enjoy doing it. Has a lot of confidence interacting with humans.

Okay our first human this is the one i was talking about who is the daughter of Baby's First OC and her preexisting character husband. If you can figure out who the preexisting character is I might have to delete my blog. This is Mary (she/her) she is the daughter of a big name CEO and is set to inherit the company. Mary is confident and smart, which she has to be as she's somewhat famous. She stumbled across Dramill squatting in the forest that technically belongs to her father and eventually befriends the whole squad. She uses her influence to promote coexistence between dragons and humans.

And yeah, Frost is her love interest, this ship has been canon for like 15 years and now it's actually thought out dynamic wise

Next is Chadsworth (right, he/him) who was made as a joke character for 12 year old me but now actually has character traits. Early on his whole deal was he had a massive one-sided crush on Mary and was like obsessed with her. That still kind of happened but he was like 13 and is ashamed about it.

He grew up very poor and later entered the foster program. It was Not Great and he ran away, briefly living on the streets until he befriended a girl who was taking culinary lessons from a woman with fairly-successful catering company. The woman let him stay and he was very helpful with cleaning and chores; when he got a little older she paid him so now he cleans for a living. Chadsworth met Mary when she and her mom were picking up and order. They became friends, but Chadsworth soon developed an unhealthy crush on her-- that was less a crush and more idolization and envy of her life, but he wouldn't unpack this for several years. Frost fuckin' hates him because of this. Chadsworth later apologized to her and Frost but it doesn't matter Frost despises him.

As the picture gives away his love interest is Smokey which is a more recent development (thanks, the sims)

Last one this is JunTae (they/them) who was not in the childhood toys and made semi-recently. I was messing around in the sims... They weren't made to be Dramill's love interest but stumbled into that role. They are a shadow dragon from the forests around Korea (hence the name) who was born into a clan that hates humans. They didn't know any other way until their clan was fighting Dramill and them and Frost beat them up almost real bad until Dramill stopped him; Dramill healed them and they saw their found family dynamic and was like ??? They're like you know if you want to leave like look us up we'll help you, think about it, and eventually they did. Iceberg picked out the name JunTae

JunTae used to be scared of humans and is now curious to learn but still cautious. Good friends with Dramill and Iceberg. Self-conscious and anxious but wants to help. Calls Dramill "Millie" and is the only one allowed to (because Dramill's got a big fat crush on them)

[nokingsonlyfooles]

“Rather than talk down to you and tell you what to believe,” he argued, Democrats should “listen to hard-working Americans.” [which does not include trans people who want their rights protected]

So here's what comes of holding election victories as the highest moral good: Why, it looks like there are more voters that want to crush minorities than there are minority voters. Funny how that works out. Perhaps, in order to continue the "harm reduction" we should be a little more flexible about who is a human being deserving of human rights. For heaven's sake, of course it's more important to [insert other issue here] than to make sure your "daughter" can participate in track and field like a real girl... or go to the bathroom... or get healthcare... or live. What do you mean some of you also have "sons"? Or... whatever that is. Please, their existence is of limited political value, stop confusing the issue. Look, we've already accepted that a certain amount of children are going to die to keep us in power, are you really that upset we want to roll the dice on yours?

By the numbers, the fascist/war criminal outreach didn't cause Republican voters to get right with centrism and ask for slightly less fascism/war crimes as a compromise. Nothing succeeds like excess! However, they have an explanation on deck for that, it's not new:

“They painted her as something I don’t think she is,” Rendell said. “They painted her as a far-left liberal.”

As always, there are Democrats pushing back from within the party, but courting fickle leftists who won't let you kill their child and blame the child posthumously just doesn't have wide appeal. The authoritarian lockstep voters won't hold politicians accountable! Please-please-please can't we have some more money for the claw machine, so we can try picking some of those up again? They'll help us win lots of elections! A half-fascist, half-nonfascist voter base would be philosophically ideal! Can't you all just get along? Come on, you all want cheaper groceries! It's a big tent!

"Who shall we alienate from their inalienable rights? Show of hands!" is not a winning situation for minorities of any kind. If we're doing trolley problems, we're going to pull the lever and aim for the less populated areas. And we'll congratulate ourselves on a job well done while wiping the blood off our hands.

(I suppose I should add that teaming up to form some kind of solidarity-based minority supermajority, if all we're going to do with it is pull the lever and mow down the people who've been mowing us down, would be kind of a lateral move. We really ought to stop the trolley, although I am seeing a lot of people who prioritize lever access.)

The way we count votes, assign representatives and allow ballot access is very good at muting the voices of the marginalized. All the little things, and a few big things, really add up. We're not going to vote it all better under the circumstances - we haven't done it in over 250 years, and, in fact, have put a lot of effort into making the stacked deck more subtle and entrenched. That's not what I asked for, but that's what I got. You too?

Democrats aren't the good guys. Supporting them unconditionally doesn't help them fight the "bad guys" it makes it easier for them to be bad guys too. Don't quiet down and fall in line, or if and when they ever win an election again, this is what you're gonna get.

But, in case this is all you're gonna get for the foreseeable future, team up and take care of each other. Draw outside the lines. Circle around the children like musk oxen and make a safe space. The school doesn't own sports - and, frankly, they might push your kids to permanently damage their health for trophies and funding. Hell, the school doesn't own education. There has to be someplace your kids can learn AND use the bathroom AND not get shot AND not be exposed to COVID on a regular basis. If you can't drag the school system there, what can you build as an alternative?

Same goes for every other institution under attack.