#shoutout if you know where that quote comes from

[sleep-nurse]

lost in this confusion lies the root of everything

[reasonsforhope]

The present isn't a dystopia. It's just a complicated, chaotic, sometimes amazing, sometimes brutal world.

The future is, I think, unlikely to become a dystopia in the sense we imagine it. I saw this for two reasons:

1.

First, I say "the sense we imagine it" because dystopias are based on the idea that all hope (for humanity, usually, sometimes all life) has been extinguished forever, and the forces of dystopia shall never be overthrown.

I don't believe that kind of world is possible - a world where there is never more hope. A true end to history. I don't think it's ever possible for all humans to stop fighting, as long as we're here. I have lots of evidence to based this on, much of which is called "all of human history." (And eternal dystopia is especially impossible if you look at deep time - there have been five previous mass extinctions, and life is still here.)

But it will not come to that.

Here's why:

2.

We have already averted truly apocalyptic levels of warming.

Yes, read that again. Let it sink in. This is what the science now says. We have already averted truly apocalyptic global warming.

To quote David Wallace-Wells, author of The Uninhabitable Earth, from his huge feature in the New York Times:

"Thanks to astonishing declines in the price of renewables, a truly global political mobilization, a clearer picture of the energy future and serious policy focus from world leaders, we have cut expected warming almost in half in just five years... The window of possible climate futures is narrowing, and as a result, we are getting a clearer sense of what’s to come: a new world, full of disruption but also billions of people, well past climate normal and yet mercifully short of true climate apocalypse." (New York Times, October 22, 2022. Unpaywalled here. Emphasis mine. And yes, this vision of the future is backed up by the current science on the issue, as he explains at length in the article.)

So we've already averted truly apocalyptic warming, and we've already cut expected warming IN HALF in just the past five years.

The pace of technology, of innovation, of prices, of feasibility, of discovery, of organizing, of grassroots movements, of movements in other countries around the world, have all picked up the pace so fast in the last five years.

Renewable technology and capacity are both increasing at an exponential rate. It's all S-curves, ones that look like this:

-via The Economist, June 20, 2024.

How much more will we manage in another five years? Another ten? Another twenty?

I know the US is about to fucking suck about the environment for the next four years. But the momentum of renewable energy is far too much to stop - both in the US (x) and around the world.

(Huge shoutouts to India, China, and Brazil for massive gains for the environment in renewables, and Brazil for massive progress against Amazon deforestation.)

We're going to get there.

Say it with me. We're going to get there.

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Realm SMP - The nitty gritty

I listened to Tubbo's rundown of Realm's features in the hour before the server opened, so here's some quotes + timestamps for folks who want to know the nitty gritty details about Realm's functions, tools, weapons, features, and more.

7m - Tubbo says he does have a team he assembled now, and it's costing him "Quite a bit of money."

Tubbo: To put all this together, to assemble the team – 'cuz I have assembled a team for this now – it's costing me a bit of money out the bank. [...] I'm going VERY out of pocket on this project."

10m - He reached out to a lot of his connections from working on Tubnet and got a custom rendered poster commissioned to announce Realm's first event.

Because of his show starting in December, Tubbo was worried he might not be able to give Realm SMP his full time, which is what prompted him to get a team.

13m 20s - The first event, Factions, is a long-form event, so even if a streamer isn't there on the event day (December 8) they can still play in the coming days. The factions won't be like more factions, MMO factions are different from Minecraft factions.

15m 30s - He has 3 events already planned - 2 for December, 1 in the new year

18m - Logs onto the Dev server

Tubbo: The Realm SMP is 100% vanilla, and while that is true in the sense that you can join the server using a vanilla client and it doesn't require any mods to play, there is some slight modifications within the vanilla game. Every single feature I've added to the server is to add to to vanilla features that already exist. It's not to take them away, it's not to make a different way of doing them, it's just to add more to the base game without destroying any already default Minecraft functionality.

20m - Shows off some weapons and tools

20m 50s - Tubbo says there's fancy leather which can be used to craft elytra.

Tubbo: Shoutout Philza! He's been on enough SMPs where he hasn't been able to get an elytra because the End is disabled. So there actually is a crafting recipe based on the elytra, but you have to unlock it based on skills.

21m 20s - Tool recap. Tool quality breakdown: terrible, shoddy, decent, good, great, flawless, masterful, fabled, and legendary. A terrible diamond sword would be worse than a masterful wooden sword.

23m - Skills recap. "Modifiers to my default player."

24m 30s - Skill point every time you level up a power level

32m - Going over custom things added to the server.

36m 30s - Mobs and hostile creatures will get stronger as players get stronger. Power scaling. Takes the highest level of the people in a group.

PVP and combat damage reduced to 10% when attacking with strong weapon.

38m 45s - No classes, wants everyone coming onto the server to be treated like an "average Joe" that can choose their own specifications.

Tubbo: I want them to kind of tailor their own custom class to themselves based on the types of specializations they pick in [different categories.

43m - Lives system clarification. Talks about death saving throws in DND. "If you die, it's equal to you failing a saving throw." If you lose all 3 lives, you'll be banned off the server for 24 hours, your stats are reset. "You are a new character, you are dead."

46m - Tubbo says he's cooking some lore for himself, but he's leaving thing open-ended so players on the server can tell the stories they want to make.

48m 30s - He scrapped the revive system in favor of the 24 hour ban

49m 30s - He encourages streamers to use Aypierre's translation thing for their streams and he's going to see if he can make a custom cheap version of a translator, but it might be a bit shoddy. "Obviously I'll speak and ask Quackity about stuff 'cuz he's the goat when it comes to stuff like that."

50m 30s - Banned items: mending books and mending enchants because it makes all the qualities of the crafts obsolete

51m 20s - Mob farms and other methods of automatically farming combat EXP are massively nerfed and do not work. "You cannot farm XP with farms." Mob farms are allowed, but they won't help much.

52m 30s - Trial chambers are enabled.

52m 50s - AFK farming skill XP is banned – not able to AFK fish or mine cobble gens (?).

54m 20s - He hasn't decided about Totems of Undying yet, but they may be necessary for custom boss fights and events. Totems of Undying don't work like people expect.

55m 20s - He just told members of the server not to be dicks.

55m 45s - Tubbo reiterates that he'll keep working on Realms as long as people want to play on it.

56m 45s - They started development for this server literally 5 days ago, and Tubbo reiterates his appreciation for Tangofrags.

57m 30s - He wants Realms to have a vanilla feeling with a specialized twist.

58m - He wants to add more people in the future, and tells creators "If I didn't respond to your message it's because I forgot! Not because I hate you! Thank you!"

58m 30s - Tubbo says he's hoping to add more people during the second December event

59m 30s - Tubbo says they're a four man army, technically five counting the person who made the event poster.

[holdmytesseract]

moodboard by @mochie85 divider by @fictive-sl0th <3

Summary: It's been a long time coming... But now the day for you and Loki to say 'Yes' and enter the bond of marriage has finally arrived. A covenant for eternity.

Chapter One - Of Cakes and Dances

Warnings for this Chapter: fluff, bit of suggestive smut

Word Count: 2,6k

a/n: We officially start our road to the wedding, guys! 🥳 In this chapter we have some cake tasting and dancing. Enjoy! 🤗

A huge shoutout goes out in this chapter to @chennqingg ! She crafted the beautiful wedding invitation! Thank you so, so much, my friend! 💚

💍 Chapter Zero °☆• Chapter Two 💍

Baby Fever Masterlist °☆• A Covenant for Eternity Masterlist (coming soon!)

A rather loud knock against the main door of Loki's (and now as well yours) apartment echoed through the hallway and rooms; even reaching you in the bathroom.

Not that this was a problem so 'early' in the morning - well, not usually, but today was Saturday and both you and Loki had your 'day off'. Given that fact, your fiancé was still sound asleep and you, well... You had just stepped out of the shower mere minutes ago.

"Gimme one minute, pwease!" You called out of the door frame; tooth brush in mouth.

After quickly getting dressed and at least halfway ready, you jogged towards the door; opening it slightly out of breath.

"Morning, babes!"

Natasha was standing in front of it; big smile on her face and a small sized parcel in her hand.

She immediately noticed your laboured breath and flushed face, of course - and Nat being Nat, she couldn't let this just pass.

"Had to dismount your princely stud first?" Your best friend asked boldy; throwing you a dirty smile and wink.

You blinked.

"What? I- No! Nat!" Once your brain had caught up you immediately 'defended' yourself; gently slapping her shoulder while laughing. "You and your dirty mind! Geez, I was just having a shower and about to get ready for the day. You were the one interrupting me and forcing me to hurry, babes! Besides is my..." You lifted your hands to draw quotation marks into the air, in order to quote Nat. "... princely stud still asleep."

The widow had done nothing but smirk and giggle while you had explained 'the situation'.

Now she shrugged her shoulders. "We both know it could've been both." "Oh shut up!" You giggled and then proceeded to hug her. Only halfway unfortunately, because the little parcel was kind of in the way.

"What have you got here?" You asked then; nodding at said rectangular carton box. "The reason why I am here." Your best friend smiled. "I was just returning from a run, when the postman delivered this for you - and I may have a guess what it is..."

The gears in your head were turning, until realisation hit you; eyes widening.

"The wedding invitations!" Natasha nodded. "Yup! I mean, it's about time they arrive. We've only got three months left..."

Three months... Three... Natasha was right. Only 85 days left until you were going to marry the love of your life.

"By the Norns... How did the year go by so quick? I could swear Loki just proposed to me and now we are already getting married?" Your best friend giggled, "Well, like I already said... It was about time for Loki to get that ring." and handed you the parcel. "If you need help with these... You know where to find me." The widow gave you a wink, then turned to leave. "I'll see you!"

You smiled. "Bye! And thanks, babes!"

Later that Saturday - after you finished your business in the bathroom and Loki had made it to leave the bed as well, the both of you took a look inside the parcel together. Until now, you had just seen a rough blueprint of the invitations and not the originals. Excitedly, you opened up the package - and couldn't believe your eyes. They were absolutely stunning. Beyond your expectations. "Baby, look at that..." You carefully took one in your hands. Loki just chuckled, "I am looking, darling." and leaned over to press a kiss against your temple. "I love them!" You stated; eyes still clued to the green and golden card.

The god nodded approvingly. "Indeed. They are beautifully crafted. More than fit for an invitation to a royal wedding."

You giggled. "Yeah? Are they fulfilling the princely expectations?" Loki gently squeezed your side. "Of course, love." "Shall we send them out then? It's time, isn't it?" He smiled at you; blue eyes shining with love and anticipation. "I'd be more than happy to do so."

You and Loki spent the rest of the day with folding the invitations, putting them inside an envelope, labelled said envelopes and of course send them out. Some of them were handed over personally and some reached their receiver with a little help of seidr.

Sending out invitations wasn't the only thing you and Loki had to still 'get done' for the wedding. Oh no... Two big things were still scribbled on the 'to-do' list - of which one was to practise your wedding dance.

You and Loki had already chosen the songs and a 'choreography' was made. The only thing what you still had to do now, was practising. Your soon-to-be husband hadn't really a problem - given the fact that he was a prince. He learned how to dance in his youth.

As for you... Well... You struggled a little bit, but you were confident. Plus, you had the best teacher...

"No, my love," the god spoke through the music with a chuckle; shaking his head. A snap of his finger later, the song stopped. "You..." He adjusted your arm around his shoulder gently. "...have to keep your arm like that. Unless I won't be able to lift you properly." You sighed. "Sorry, babe. Asgardian dancing isn't my cup of tea, I'm afraid." Once more Loki shook his head; the man bun keeping his curls from tickling your arm. "No, don't say that. You never danced like this before - of course you need more time and practice." "Yeah, but... We already practised this about ten times..."

Loki chuckled. "Yes and you're doing wonderfully. Do you wish to know how long it took me to learn all this?" You just nodded. "Over a year." That left you speechless. "Exactly. Now come on." Loki got into position. "Let's do it again." You agreed; getting into position as well. "At least I can waltz and we have to practice part two of our dance not remotely as much..." "You say that as if it meant nothing, darling. I'd be so bold and say that not every Midgardian woman can waltz." "Yes, but-" "Ah.Ah," Loki tutted; interrupting you. "No buts. You are my dancing queen." His words left you blushing, and before you were able to say something, he 'switched on' the music again.

You quickly tried to focus; recalling the dance steps you had learned already - and it worked. It really worked. You smiled as you moved with Loki over the rich marble floor in one of the dance halls in Asgard.

Practising in Asgard? Yes. Why? Loki insisted, since one: The actual dance would take place here as well, so it was better for the practice and two: Because the professional dance lessons (if you would choose to take some) were for free. Plus, nearly every Asgardian was a literal dance professional...

Since you (and Loki) wanted to keep things even and make a mix of an Asgardian and Midgardian wedding, the dance consisted of two components. You'd start with the Asgardian part and then switch over to the Midgardian. Two realms, two songs - and actually two dances. The waltz was no problem for you, but the Asgardian dance style was...

With the ending of the last tunes of the beautiful musical piece, you and Loki took your 'final position' as well. Your right arm draped over his shoulder; hand resting on the nape of his neck. His right arm was in the exact same position. Your forehead was leaned against his; skin on skin and eye to eye.

The god smiled, "Well done, love." and broke the position to catch your lips in a small, gentle kiss. "See? You did it." "Almost," you corrected him, but couldn't help but smile as well. Loki rolled his eyes - still with that smirk on his face, "We'll get to it, I promise." and took a step back. "Let's start again."

Loki distanced himself from you and got into position, with his hands crossed behind his back. Then he snapped and the song started from the beginning. The both of you started to walk towards each other graciously. Once you were an arm length away from your soon-to-be husband, you curtsied. Just like Loki took a bow. In rhythm with the music, your right palm found his left palm; forearm to forearm and other hand neatly resting on yours and Loki's back - and so you started to dance.

Loki slipped into a fresh t-shirt, while he made his way towards the bathroom. Knocking gently, he called out your name; gaining your attention.

"Love? Are you ready? We have to go in about ten minutes. Unless we'll be late."

Loki's 'wake-up call' caused your eyes to widen slightly. You may or may not have forgotten the time a little bit while showering... "I'm on my way, babe!" You quickly hopped out of the shower and into a fresh pair of underwear, before blow-drying your hair - at least a little bit (It was late summer, so actually not a big problem since it was pleasantly warm outside.), and got dressed in your baby blue summer dress.

Once you left the bathroom, your fiancé was already waiting for you; leaning against the wall with the car keys in hand.

"Are we ready?" You smiled and stepped up to him; winding your arms around his neck. "Eager to go?" The god chuckled. "It's about cake, darling. Of course I am eager."

You giggled and pecked his lips. "Let me just grab my purse and then we can leave." Loki nodded; watching you walk past him.

The two of you had an appointment today at the best pâtisserie in down town New York City in order to do a cake tasting. It was about the wedding cake, of course and you both agreed that it would be best to try some things first, before you'd decide about the interiority of the three-tier wedding cake. The design and decoration was already set and arranged with the pâtisserie. Now you and Loki had to do the 'fun' part... Tasting different fillings and flavours.

Your destination was a twenty minute car ride away from the Avengers compound. Give or take.

Luckily the traffic was not a complete chaos, so you made it to arrive in time.

The pâtisserie was bustling with people - of course. After all, it was the best in down town; yes, probably in whole New York City.

With your hand snugly wrapped up in Loki's bigger hand, you waited patiently in line until it was your turn. "Hi, we have an appointment for a wedding cake tasting," you explained to the friendly looking young man behind the counter. His eyes widened when he looked at you and Loki; recognising the both of you for sure. "Oh, uh, yes, give me a second, please..." He said nervously, looked down and seemed to search for something, until- "Ah, yes. Please follow me." You nodded with a smile. The young man's cheeks reddened and he smile bashfully back at you.

You and Loki followed him then to a little back room with two doors, a small grey sofa, white counter and some bar stools. The wall was painted in a beautiful shade of pastel orange and a few art pictures hung here and there. It looked quite neat and cosy.

"Have a seat, please." The man gestured towards the sofa. "Riley will be with you in a minute." You smiled, "Thank you." while your fiancé gave him a nod. Once more the young guy smiled shyly and fumbled nervously with his fingers. "It's an honour to have you here, Ms. Y/L/N and Mr. Laufeyson."

For the first time since you entered the pâtisserie, Loki spoke up; leapfrogging you. "Well, it's a pleasure to be here." You silently agreed with the god; who still held your hand in a snug grip and made sure you were standing close to him.

Even though you were about to be married, he still showed the people who you belonged to. Guess some things never change, you thought with a smile; looking at your engulfed hand. You didn't care, though. Quite the opposite... Loki's slight possessiveness was attractive and admittedly sexy in your eyes.

The man opposite you blushed in a dark shade of red, "That's great to hear." before shuffling his feet. He was on the verge of leaving the room, but before he did, he turned around to face you and Loki once again; seemed now to have scratched all his bravery together and ask: "I-I know this is p-probably inappropriate to ask, b-but may I get an autograph l-later?"

You smiled brightly. The guy was kinda cute, you couldn't deny that. "Of course. Just hit us up before we leave again."

The young man's eyes twinkled with happiness - and relief. "T-Thank you." Then he left the little room and you and Loki alone.

About five minutes later, the other door at the side wall opened and in came a woman in 'workwear', bright pink hair, glasses and quite a few piercings.

You and Loki were sitting on the sofa - like instructed; hands still intertwined and resting in your lap. Your free hand was on Loki's thigh, close to his knee. When you saw the woman, you both stood up.

"Hi there!" She said in a happy, enthusiastic tone and crossed the distance to meet you and shake your hands. "I'm Riley, we talked on the phone. Nice to meet you." You shook her hand, smiling. "Y/N and Loki." The friendly woman winked, "I know." shook Loki's hand as well and gestured for the counter with the bar stools. "Shall we move over?" "Sure." You and the god followed her. She went behind the counter and you both got comfortable on the stools.

"Alright!" Riley drummed her fingertips slightly on the wooden surface; smiling. "We already talked about your wedding cake in general a few months back. All that's missing are the fillings - and that's why you're here today. I prefer to do that in terms of a tasting, because it guarantees that the cake is really after your taste. But, before we do that I have to ask if you'd like to make any last minute changes, regarding the style or decoration of the cake?"

You and your fiancé exchanged a look and simultaneously shook your heads. "No, it's perfect the way it is."

Riley clapped her hands. "Alright. I'll go, fetch the things we need and then we can start, yes?" "Perfect, thank you."

Just a few minutes later, she returned with a big tray full of small, round cakes. They were neatly arranged and, of course, labelled. Riley put the tray down on the counter in front of you and Loki. Your eyes roamed over the different cakes with their different fillings and you just couldn't wait to taste them.

"Okay," started Riley with a smile. "I put together a wide range of different stuff and flavours. We've got some classics like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, but also a few special - some might say exotic flavours like mango, melon and matcha, and of course some which are refined with alcohol and coffee."

"Start which whatever you like." That was a sentence you and Loki didn't let yourself tell twice. You dived right in, always splitting the tiny cake in half and tasted the delicious treats.

Both, you and your soon-to-be husband didn't think that deciding on three different flavours for your wedding cake was that difficult - but by the Norns, it was. Almost everything just tasted absolutely wonderful and exactly that was the problem - and that you and Loki had different favourites...

"Okay, okay..." You said, taking a deep breath. "Compromise, babe. You decide on the top cake, I get the bottom one and we choose the middle together?" The god nodded; giving you a smile. "Agreed."

In the end, Loki chose chocolate-mint, you mango-maracuya and together you decided on something with a little kick - Baileys. Three completely different flavours, hopefully one for everybodys taste.

Here's the beautiful invitation @chennqingg designed!

Tags: @muddyorbsblr @mochie85 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @jaidenhawke @ijuststareatstuffhereok89 @multifandom-worlds @jennyggggrrr @mishkatelwarriorgoddess @fictive-sl0th @herdetectivetheorist @hisredheadedgoddess28 @chennqingg @princess-ofthe-pages @km-ffluv @brokenpoetliz @huntedmusicgardenn @lokiforever @stupidthoughtsinwriting @loz-3 @jaguarthecat @icytrickster17 @eleniblue @yourfriendlyslytherinhc @mypainischronicbutmyassisiconic @kimanne723 @lou12346789 @smolvenger @lokisrealpurpous @isaidoop @lokisgoodgirl @aagn360 @cakesandtom @alexakeyloveloki @glitchquake (Continuing in the comments!)

[chesie-blog2]

TGG analysis Part 1

Hi, this is part one of my analysis of the great game. In this post i’ll be highlighting moments which display Sherlock’s growing fascination with Moriarty and Moriarty’s undeniable obsession with Sherlock. I aim to (at some point) explain their dynamic beyond the romantic undertones already present in a lot of their lines. This is only an intro into my big theory - the analysis of pool scene.

*low k might be my fav ep

Sherlock’s obsession with Moriarty

Moriarty’s obsession with Sherlock

these may or may not be just shameless (intellectual) flirting

Here is what i wrote down while watching, might be a little sparse, but the important bits are all there. Also disclaimer: my formatting skills suck and i’ll be editing the post a lot post posting (now that’s a trippy sentence), because i can’t sleep at night knowing i don’t make any sense 💀

p.s. - every quote that's numbered is also provided at the end of the post (Moriarty's words said by the victims), they’re important as i think it’s Moriarty’s way of avoiding vulnerability.

There’s an explosion at Baker street. Sherlock is unharmed but gets a package. A pink phone replica. 5 pips = 5 bombs = five tests. On said phone a picture of 221C that Moriarty knew Sherlock’s seen before. in there Carl Powers’ shoes.

Sherlock gets a call (1): “Hello, sexy. I’ve sent you a little puzzle just to say hi.” Sherlock: “the curtain rises. i’ve been expecting this for some time”. He’s excited, and he’s been waiting for Moriarty to act ever since A Study In Pink. 

In the lab, right before Jim comes in. “Why is Mycroft trying to bore me, when someone else is being so delightfully interesting” ((ok not to be biased but that is literally sherlockese for “i have a crush on a boy 🤭” ))

Jim walks in, Sherlock looks at him(reads him in a fraction of a second). Jim looks Sherlock up and down. No but literally how did no one notice his weird fan behaviour around Sherlock?? Molly was invisible to him and he was speaking to John while staring at Sherlock.

(Also can i just mention how Sherlock says “tinted eyelashes” when proving why he thinks Jim is gay and the picture is of his eyebrows) 

Carl Powers, “it’s where i began” Sherlock’s first case - Moriarty’s first crime it's pink this time cuz this is so gay at the age of 14 (20 years ago). Tbh we don’t know if it’s Moriarty’s first crime but i just find it romantic to think so. Of course he could’ve committed that one just to get Sherlock’s attention OR his obsession with Sherlock started after that, because maybe Sherlock's involvement in that case led him to believe that they were “meant to be” rivals. Perfect opposites (i mean they’re like 80% similar but sure dude). Basically he felt personally seen by someone who had the incentive to dig deeper, beyond the standard practices of police work, someone who believes that there is more to see.

Sherlock solves the case, blogs about his findings, communicating with moriarty and making him stop the clock 3:“well done you, come and get me”. When alone Sherlock says to himself: “Elegant”.  “No, i can’t be the only person in the world that gets bored.” As one wise person has said: any emotion that is experienced by a character in private is real. (SHOUTOUT TO @asherlockstudy) This of course applies to truths as well, and here Sherlock is being as honest as possible. This line proves how much Sherlock truly needs Moriarty, someone who understands that inexplicable pain of being bored. Just by knowing that someone like that exists, Sherlock feels understood, freed from the loneliness of being estranged, from the discomfort of being a “freak”. This game is the highest form of entertainment, something that allows him to be himself and to be valued for it. But more on that in the pool scene.

Another puzzle, 8 hours. (5): “We were made for eachother Sherlock”*Sherlock smiles* and softly says “Then talk to me in your own voice”bro is cheezing after the call bro…

“Our friendly bomber. I am on fire!”(he’s having fun ☺️) 

(6):“you can come and fetch me” Sherlock is smiling like crazy again.

John: “It’s all meant for you”. Sherlock: “Yes, i know 😏” !!!!! (video 1 below for the face expressions) (btw I was literally just filming my laptop so sorry for the shit quality, I just want to have proof for my yapp :DD)

Like how special one must feel to have someone be willing to kill tens or even hundreds of people just to entertain you? It’s not even about the lives to be honest, just the fact that someone is creating these personalised little puzzles. Like, isn’t that hot? This is also one of the MANY moments when John expresses his disapproval for Sherlock’s involvement in this game, mostly the giddiness about it. This will be important later on (i’m edging y’all so hard with this hinting :Ddd but i’m writing this after everything else so oops).

Sherlock is kinda defends(?) Moriarty, when Lestrade asks why is the bomber doing this. Sherlock answers *shrug* “good samaritan”, Greg is all like ‘he’s a bomber, hello?’ Sherlock: “bad samaritan 🤟😗” (Idk what's with the emojis but I just wanted to show how relaxed and goofy he was about it all). Basically, Sherlock interprets Moriarty’s “game” as a personal service, despite it being morally questionable.(ok but bro can’t stay serious, like he’s smiling all the time “[we’re dealing with] something new 😁” )

Ok now that i’m going over everything for the millionth time i noticed that this moment here was one of the worst attempts of hiding his “intellectual crush”. Sherlock isn’t big for conventional morality, and i’ll touch on that later, but this was so unserious it almost seemed like he became more comfortable in himself. He began to see that saying out of pocket or perhaps cynical stuff like that is fine, however much of a crime against “preserving the social peace of normies” it seems to be. I made that shit up, hopefully y’all get what this means :D Having someone like Moriarty allowed him to question his own role in society and how he, despite often being against succumbing to what's normal(and boring), conforms to it, to society, which further strengthens his feelings of estrangement. We're getting kafkaesque in here, boys! (sorry)

“Novel” Sherlock realised Moriarty is a consultant criminal(he organises crimes but no one has direct contact to him). When John asks (again) why Moriarty’s doing this, Sherlock can’t help but smile. “i think he wants to be distracted” *says in a breathy tone(intrigued/touched)* (WAIT I didn't know I could only put 1 video omg I literally feel 80 years old, how does Tumblr work!? *crying*) So Sherlock was staring into space, his face lit up upon realizing that him and Jim are the same, that they experience the same things and blah blah blah he looks horny in this scene I legit don't know what to even say bruh. (I'm mad that I couldn't put the video in lmaoo)

No but fr John noticed Sherlock has an intellectual crush on Moriarty and was annoyed at how entertained (and fulfilled) Sherlock was by this morally grey game.

The golem was hired to kill the astronomer guy and his friend professor because they would’ve been able to expose that the painting was a fake based on the stars. Sherlock figures it all out: “Oh that is brilliant, that is gorgeous. this is beautiful. Love this!”. The gallery woman admits to the fraud. Sherlock learns that this is in fact Moriarty behind this. *smiles*. 

our baby boy solved everything and now is curled up, watching shit telly :( 

Sherlock was waiting for John to leave to write to (more like at) Moriarty *smiles*. He lied to John about having given the missile plans to Mycroft. Sherlock actively wants to keep John out of this, because of his disapproval, John finds Sherlock’s fascination with Moriarty repulsive. 

So to summarize the absolute randomness I spew out in this thing: the connection between Sherlock and Moriarty is quite vague, but ultimately based on their eccentricity(and in this case it doesn't really matter if(more like "how") it's romantic). I'll talk about it all in the big post I PROMISE, this is just the intro so you can follow my impossible thought process. Another important thing: John as the symbol of conventionality and morality. That's it, I'll post again in like a month because the feeling of responsibility paralyzes me LMAO. ok bye ;)

+

Moriarty’s words said by the victims:

“hello, sexy. i’ve sent you a little puzzle just to say hi.”

“12 hours to solve the puzzle, sherlock, or i’m going to be so naughty”

“well done you, come and get me.”

“clever you, guessing about carl powers. i never liked him. carl laughed at me, so i stopped him laughing. This is about you and me.”

“the clue is in the name “janus cars”[s:why’d you be giving me a clue] why does anyone do anything? because i’m bored. we were made for eachother sherlock”

“you can come and fetch me” 

“i like to watch you dance” 

“you’re enjoying this, aren’t you? joining the dots.”

“nice touch this, the pool, where little carl died. i stopped him. i can stop john watson too, stop his heart”

[orbleglorb]

tumblr in the blaseball universe, part 10

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9

image descriptions: the first image is a thick black bar meant to separate posts. the second image is a thin gray bar meant to separate reblogs. they are used continuously throughout the post when appropriate. like right now

☎️ official-jessica-telephone 🔁

☎️ official-jessica-telephone

what happens if the real JT wants this URL. it's a part of me now. who do i become if i have to give it up

🐟 offishal-jessica-telephone Follow

she'll have to krill you for it

☎️ official-jessica-telephone

WHO ARE YOU

102 notes

☕ eyesinthedark11

every day with salmon weather for the past few months, my dad has miraculously "found" fresh salmon for us to have for dinner. should i ask him where he's getting it from

#personal #i know the answer. i just need the verbal confirmation

0 notes

Whoops, looks like this post doesn't exist!

🐍 gamer--gorgon

shoutout to the guy (who i think might be in our shadows?) that goes fishing during every salmon game. you should see if you can get anything from the floods

#if he's a shadows guy it's extra funny because he's gotta come up from new jersey #all the shadows share an apartment there #charla said she thought she knew him but every time she tries to get into the stands to talk to him he just disappears lmfao #i get it king. i really do

41 notes

☎️ official-jessica-telephone

what do you MEAN they're rebooting supernatural???

35 notes

☕️ eyesinthedark11 🔁

☕️ eyesinthedark11

i understand that this is ostensibly a terrible thing to say but i truly do not think parker macmillan did anything wrong. if my mom was the coin i woulda done worse. i wouldn't have only been passively killing

🦆 peripheral-duck

everyone wants to act all gifted kid burn out fleabag mommy issues #coquette #girlblogger but the minute mommy decides murder is okay if it gets her some money it's all "well why didn't PARKER do anything :/" you fake fucking bitches. bro got cursed to bring destruction in his wake and THEN cursed to wander everywhere. we're not going to question that??

☕️ eyesinthedark11

if the coin was my mom i would have burned the whole earth years ago. not even because of firewalker or anything i woulda just done that

#like you are looking at mommy issues supreme. you show some fucking respect #<- PREV #on one hand it feels really weird to say these things about a Real Guy who is possibly still alive #on the other hand. you fake bitches #if you've reblogged a fleabag quote i don't wanna hear shit from you #'maybe the fireballs didn't know what instability was' valid point! #but that does not mean they're not at fault. you know #idk why everyone expects parker to just. fix everything. #if he's in the vault then he's been 19 for like 50+ years. he suffers more than jesus

5 notes

🐶 catgirlfirefighter

it's somehow the league's best kept secret that mike townsend is deaf. people keep coming to me like, "idk how you're friends with the guy, he just ignored me, he's such a dick" bro he can't hear you. and also yeah he is a huge bitch

#right judgement wrong reason #mike if you're reading this. ily <3

112 notes

🦞 marketplace-shellfish

Hey has anyone heard from that guy who was making the "meatcute is not real and can't hurt me" affirmations recently? I can't tell if it's a bit or not but they haven't posted since.

#blaseball #san francisco #san francisco lovers #hopefully it's nothing and i'm just anxious lol

11 notes

[causenessus]

Loving You. | Haikyuu

inc. akaashi, bokuto, oikawa, iwaizumi, atsumu

written in 2nd pov (female reader implied)

song recc: help they all have a song AND/or a quote anyway hatachi no koi by lamp <3

word count: 1884 words

summary: "they love you. how do they show it?"

hello hyperspecific examples? hopefully they're fun to read and make sense!! shoutout to the boy whose bokuto's is based off of <3 also first time writing for atsumu so hopefully i did ok!!!!!

they love you. how do they show it?

hello hyperspecific examples?

akaashi

“have you eaten? (i love you). did you get enough sleep last night? (i love you). how do you feel today? (i love you). did you have a nice day? (i love you). will you come on a walk with me? (i love you). here’s some fruit i cut up for you. (i love you) (i love you) (i love you).” "you're my everything"

although he’s quiet i just think he’s so expressive

like he has no trouble saying “i love you” but also says it in so many other ways than just that

he cares so much about you you’re not even able to doubt it for one second. it’s like every question is just his way of saying “i love you”

“did you eat today? do you want something to eat?” “how was your sleep? did you get enough sleep?” all his way of saying i love you

he’s always randomly coming into the room you’re currently in, gently grabbing both sides of your head and just kissing you all over, no words, just adoration <3

again I don’t think he’d have any trouble saying that he love you but it just feels so much more intimate, easier, and meaningful for him to find ways to show/say it instead

he’s such a big fan of the three taps to say i love you (link to an image post about the original person who did this)

he’s always holding your hand in public, giving it three squeezes, he’ll be playing with your fingers when you guys are sitting together and suddenly he’s giving your skin three taps. he’ll kiss your forehead three times, he’s always telling you that he loves you <3

he just loves to be around you and he’s always looking out for you

if you guys have a class together and you unexpectedly don’t show up to class, he’s texting you immediately to make sure everything’s okay

and he’s always keeping you company while you’re doing things, from homework to cooking to just reading

if you need help or will let him help with anything, he’s more than happy to but he also just loves chilling

from the beginning of your relationship and even before when you guys were just friends, hangouts often went on way longer than they were supposed to and you often stay over at each others’ houses because neither of you can bear to leave the presence of the other <3

bokuto

“love is not an everlasting performance in which you attempt to retain the attention of your significant other but rather a release of control and putting faith into them and trusting them to choose to stay with you no matter what you have to offer.  to love and be loved is to rest.”

he trusts you so much

like yes this precious baby has definitely put his entire trust into a lot of people but you’re so so much more to him and it’s different <3

he feels so safe with you and he know he can trust you with literally anything, he does not hesitate to share or tell you anything

he’s following you around all the time like a lost puppy

guaranteed there’s been at least one time where he had to navigate an arena away from home without you and akaashi

he did not show up to warm ups

someone had to come find him huddled in a corner, alone and lost

that random fact about how you feel sleepy around the people you trust?

he can be so energetic with you but other times he can’t even keep his eyes open around you

he’s always falling asleep, his head lulling to the side and resting on your shoulder on train rides back home

sometimes he’ll be telling you stories and suddenly letting out the biggest yawn ever

he'll forget that he's talking because suddenly all he wants to do is spend his time curled up with you <3

he loves to lean against you or be in contact with you in someway, whether that be holding your hand (or just a finger <3) or a hand on your thigh, it makes him feel so sleepy but so safe

murmurs so many “I love you”s before falling asleep

because he trusts you he’s also so good at listening to you too

from the silliest of things to actual requests <3

this is about to get so hyperspecific bear w me pls

you’d just finished redesigning a profile for a social media account and in a passing thought, as you guys were laying with each other in bed, you happen to say, “you should change your profile picture at some point, kou. you've had it for years.”

you didn’t mean it anyway bad, just something you suggested since you had just reorganized your own profile but you still loved his current profile picture <3

but the next time you happened to see his account, you noticed it was a mirror pic from before you two had dressed up to go out a few months ago

“when did you change your profile picture, love? it’s adorable,” you smiled as you kissed his head while he was laying on you

“like 10 minutes after you told me to, i just had to find the right photo,” he mumbled, his voice muffled from your shirt that he had buried his face into

other times it’s things like helping around the house, asking him to wash the dishes while you’re cooking for example

he’s so willing to help but in the beginning, he was lost

he was so ready to wash them but darling could not find the soap

but he loves you so much he’s always working so hard to do what you ask of him so he’ll make sure he learns more about chores to help out more and ofc there’s always more to learn so he’ll always be following your lead <3

oikawa

“when you like the spotlight as much as i do, it’s quite an adjustment to realize that the real reason you might be here is to shine it on someone else.” "she looks just like a dream / the prettiest girl i've ever seen."

man has been living with a spotlight shining on him his whole life

but once he met you, he completely fell in love and he moves the spotlight to be on you <3

literally just completely worships you must i say more

he does not let insecurities slide he’s your #1 hypeman and will fight anyone who disagrees

people around you both have noticed that since you guys started dating, you’ve grown more confident as a result of his love <33333

it doesn’t have to be big changes, literally just things like you’re able to talk louder, voice opinions, or try new things because he’s always there to encourage you along the way

take it you’re a little shy and don’t usually talk very loud but you have to if you’re going to get everyone’s attention in a setting such as trying to manage seijoh’s volleyball team (good luck with that 💔)

you raised your voice and it worked so that you could quiet the boys down in order to explain a change in plans for practice

afterwards, tooru’s coming up to you with a big smile on his face as he rests his forehead against yours

“i don’t think i’ve ever heard you yell, princess,” he says, looking into your eyes but you can’t help but take what he says in a bad way, looking away

“i didn’t mean to yell at you guys, i just didn’t know what else to do,” you mumble back with a frown

he kisses it away with a small laugh, “no, don’t feel bad, pretty. we were all surprised but so proud of you. you never would have done that at the start of the school year.”

he’s so happy whenever you try something new and he’s always there to tell you how well you’re doing even if you don’t feel like it

if you show that you love him by supporting him in his passions and all that he does, he shows his love by supporting you 1000% back

iwaizumi

“there’s nothing softer and more gentle than loving someone with your whole heart and never once holding back when it comes to them.” "think i'm gonna love you 'til i'm dead / i can't wait to buy you things / a brand new diamond ring / this is more than just a fling"

man loves so hard

i cannot see him in a short-term or commitment-free relationship

if he loves someone, he loves them wholly and completely. he’s all in, giving you everything

even before you guys started dating he was always checking in, making sure you were doing okay and offering hugs if you ever needed them

you cannot tell me that he doesn’t give the best hugs ever <33

now that you are dating though it’s just an excuse to love you more and show it in so many ways <3

as i say every single time, i just know he loves buying you gifts

you’re always on his mind, in every situation, whether he’s walking around and sees something in the window of a store that he knows you would like, or when he’s going to go pick something up to eat, he’ll always buy you something as well <3

he’ll really do anything for you, too. ask and it’s almost guaranteed

“iwa, can i draw on u”

“anything you want, princess”

“can we go get ice cream?” (it’s midnight)

“yea, are you ready to go now, love?”

all he needs in return is your love

adores getting to take naps with you or just laying in bed with you and in public, he always has an arm around your waist or should, keeping you close

with him it’s a complete all-all 100% relationship from both sides, that's what love is to him

everything is shared between you guys from money to items to secrets, you guys have complete trust in each other there’s not even a question about it he’s so good at communicating and keeping everything clear

everything he has is yours if you’ll be his <3

atsumu

“the one that loves, does he come back? the one that loves never leaves, my dear.”

he just completely softens around you

in fact i could see him getting worse around other people because you’re just the only one that matters to him

you know those videos about gym bros with girlfriends who act all misogynistic and stinky at the gym so that girls don’t approach them? that’s him. (i tried so hard to find a video as an example but i could not pls tell me u know what i’m talking about)

if any girl other than you tries to approach him literally anywhere they’re about to be absolutely obliterated when he flat out ignores him. or, if they don’t get the hint and he finally acknowledges them, he gives them the dirtiest, coldest look known to man, his nose wrinkling as he turns to them

“huh? yer talking to me? why? piss off.”

everyone knows that if they have to give him bad news, it’s best to do it when you’re in his general proximity or he’s just talked to you because that’s when he’ll receive it best

it’s nearly impossible to anger him when you’re around, and even if he gets upset, he won’t blow up, he’s just too enamored by you <3

loves to hold your hand in his lap or have a hand on your thigh and he’s content with life

his voice always lowers and softens when he’s around you, and he gives you the sweetest heart eyes

he’s always looking at you and he’ll tease you a lot just because he adores your reactions but they’re all just playful jokes

“ya know, if you ever wanted to cheer for me when everyone goes silent during games, I’d let ya,” he told you once while he was keeping you company before a game on a bench

“what? I could never do that,” your face heated at the thought, “it’d just be me and everyone would look at me. someone would probably even get mad.”

he chuckled, shaking his head as he brought your knuckles to his lips, “that’s the point. you’d sound so cute, and they’d know yer mine.” 

if you ever had a problem with how he treats other people, he’d try to work on it if you talk to him about it

no promises, but he’ll do his best for his princess <3

[babydollmarauders]

MEDIA MANAGEMENT — JACK HUGHES (23-24 SZN PART 20)

au masterlist

y/ndevils00

liked by jackhughes, john.marino97, and 435,722 others

y/ndevils00 we lost.

well…we won.

but we lost.

we won 5-4 against the orange and blue fucks, but my best friends conspired against me and went against my explicit wishes and CUT THEIR HAIR.

@/dawson1416 @/john.marino97 I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME, ASSHATS!

don’t worry, dawson was jailed for his crime against me

anyways 😒

we racked up 5 goals tonight to secure our second win in a row for the first time this month! including goals from traitor number 1, captain slut, uncle lizard and my beautiful baby angel doll face, Jacky!!

i’m so proud of my boys for not losing their confidence and coming together to win another game!

and special shoutout to my great uncle lizard, who got us our game winning goal with TWENTY-SEVEN SECONDS LEFT! i truly thought we would be going to overtime and i would be out past my bedtime, but no! because Laser’s got my back! thank you, king!

p.s. if you saw, or if you didn’t see, my lovely boyfriend was the first star tonight! and with being first star, means doing an interview! tonight, i bet my sweet boy $20 that he wouldn’t call our wonderful captain a whore in his interview— and although i didn’t think he would… he took that bet! AND took it a step further by saying, and i quote, “Nico’s our whore.” oh how i love this man! sorry, i wasn’t aware that you were chill like that @/jackhughes . enjoy your newfound $20, my love! it came from your wallet last week!

p.p.s. Mathew Barzal, you bald headed bitch, stay away from my goal net and my boys

tagged john.marino97, dawson1417, jackhughes, nicohischier, and curtislazar95

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jackhughes when the hell did you take 20 dollars from my wallet?

y/ndevils00 remember when you were sleeping last week?

jackhughes i can’t say that i do because i sleep every night

y/ndevils00 yeah, lame. well, it was then

jackhughes you know i’d give it to you if you just ask?

y/ndevils00 yeah, so why ask?

lhughes_06 can’t argue with that logic, Jacky

jackhughes @/lhughes_06 i’m not appreciating this new thing where you two gang up on me

lhughes_06 oh really? cause i’m having a blast!

y/ndevils00 me too!

jackhughes yeah, i’m sure you guys are 🫥

trevorzegras remember dude, you chose this life

y/ndevils00 it’s a sad day when even @/trevorzegras understands

trevorzegras what have i done to you?!

y/ndevils00 @/trevorzegras breathe.

lhughes_06 @/trevorzegras bro, her answer is never gonna change. just accept it

y/ndevils00 @/lhughes_06 Lukey, you are my bestest friend in the world

john.marino97 hello?? right here!

y/ndevils00 @/john.marino97 shut up! bald men don’t get to speak!

curtislazar95 i got a special shoutout! you’re welcome, niece!!

y/ndevils00 of course you did! because you did great things!

dawson1417 i did great things too!

y/ndevils00 @/dawson1417 did you? did you, really? 😑

jackhughes @/dawson1417 the answer is no, dude. just say no

dawson1417 … no

user63 THEIR HAIR! THEIR BEAUTIFUL HAIR!

dawson1417 John made me do it!

y/ndevils00 that must be it because i know YOU would never defy my wishes

john.marino97 you liar! i didn’t “make” you do anything!

y/ndevils00 @/john.marino97 i trust nothing that comes out of your mouth

john.marino97 well then it’s a good thing that didn’t come out of my mouth. it was typed with my thumbs

y/ndevils00 @/john.marino97 next game, you will be jailed for your crimes AND your sass

dawson1417 @/john.marino97 😝

tofff73 why does Lazar get to be king and i’m queen?

y/ndevils00 because you give queen energy? what kind of question is that?

tofff73 you’re right, that was so silly of me

y/ndevils00 it’s okay! you were just feeling silly goofy! i forgive you!

nicohischier i thought he said horse

y/ndevils00 oh you sweet beautiful slut,, what sense would horse have made?

nicohischier makes more sense than calling me a whore

y/ndevils00 in what world?

nicohischier all of them?!

y/ndevils00 i do not believe you

nicohischier fine, yeah, whatever, i’m a whore

y/ndevils00 AH ACCEPTANCE! YOU FINALLY HIT THE FINAL STAGE OF GRIEF

nicohischier and what exactly was i grieving?

y/ndevils00 a normal life <3

nicohischier oh yeah, you ended any chances of that as soon as i met you

user02 2 wins in a row… are we… back?

user94 I THOUGHT THAT’S WHAT JACK SAID BUT I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT

john.marino97 does it really look bad?

y/ndevils00 do you want me to be nice or honest?

john.marino97 i can’t believe i’m saying this, but honest

y/ndevils00 it looks great. i just miss your curls!

john.marino97 they’ll grow back, i promise!

y/ndevils00 but how can you know?!

john.marino97 it’s MY hair??

[sleaze4sleaze]

So. The rundown, and an explanation on why I kinda look not great in the photos lol

Long ass post warning

So, we get to the con, we're getting our barrings, wondering where the actor guests are and end up happening upon them in the back l've been vaguely nauseous all day. I see him and try so desperately not to dig my nails into my mom's hand after catching a glimpse of him. Nerves, excitement, little bit of awe because beautiful man hahah

Anyway, maybe three people in line counting us, we wait a second it gets to us and he's like "hey, l'm sorry I gotta do photo ops in like ten minutes I don’t want to rush you guys. But it’ll be like ten fifteen minutes and you guys can come back?” and mom and I are like no worries! He’s so courteous about it and it actually really eased my nerves a little

We walk around! We go back, he’s there and there’s one person there so I’m like okay! Great! I’m not the first one walkin’ up! So we wait a second I’m trying to get my shit together so I can speak coherently and somewhat confidently and not end up quiet like usual, it’s awful sometimes. Anyway! I do great! Normal human I don’t sound weird or however like an alien I feel (I cannot express how much I am not built to do shit like this). I gave him the drawing first thing and through it all was a blur but mom said he called it brilliant twice <3 I don’t doubt my skills but it is still, vulnerable. This one was never intended to be seen by him nor literally gifted to him, I poured a lot of reverence into it I probably wouldn’t have otherwise if I did it with the knowledge that he WOULD see it (difference between, ‘I want this to look nice because he’s going to see it’ and ‘I’m drawing beautiful man for myself :]’)

It’s photo time, I hand mom my bag and the lady at the table (most if not all the actor’s tables had a convention employee with them) took like ten photos. I initially tried to keep a respectful distance because like, I don’t know, I’m not gonna go in for a full side hug or whatever but immediately I get squeezed right into him. Good god. Not to be weird or crazy or whatever whatever but I will never forget how that felt. Or he feels. Or any of that. Yes he is as boney and solid as I imagined <3 but just that like ‘you’re real, and sweet’ is what’s getting me. and. Well, mom said it first but it is true with how firm of a squeeze I got, my future boyfriend has a touch to live up to 😤 (I do wish I was mostly joking, but I’m mostly serious). Truly, I scrunched up in surprise and it took a minute to even fully comprehend the fact I’ve been fully tucked into his shoulder. Gonna feel that hand on my arm forever! Not a bad squeeze! The perfect squeeze, to me .

He is genuinely so so lovely and I’m so glad I actually did this. And shoutout to my mom for being the reason I’m here. And for confirming afterwards to me that I did, in fact, not come off as nervous and excited as I actually was and that I handled it well (I was still clearly very happy to be here, obviously, just, chill about it) (I do not think I will handle any situation well ever)

I’m not proofreading any of this tonight I want to go finish typing up my. Journal. Before I pass out. But. I’m happy! I still have two more days, and I’m chill, excited to continue to have a great time with my mom and enjoy my first weekend away from the grandparents in. Two months

Art I gave him……. I do love this one a lot. And!! In lieu of a ‘proper’ autograph (that was an accident but I truly don’t care) the 31 quote I am going to get tattooed on my arm as soon as I can <3 another reason I kinda had to gift him some art of mine… something of ‘me’ to give to him in return of something of his (handwriting) that will end up on me

I’ll cry about this at some point. I wanted to earlier but I was still at the con and I am such an ugly crier it’s awful. Honestly still surprised how emotional this all made me

[irrealisms]

that bright, clear line liner notes

fic here if you haven't read it!

the title comes from that one animorphs quote about ruthlessness. it's one of the things that immediately springs to mind for me whenever i think about s4 spoke. the fic is... not actually about that, really; it's about the aftermath of that. getting to point B and looking back at the wreckage and going oh, fuck. something that struck me in his newest video which provided a lot of the inspiration for this fic is how much-- in s4 he is so purely goal-directed; everything he's doing is always for this, and no matter what happens, his only thought is how do i spin this back in my favor, with no thought given to collateral damage or irl feelings. and then, afaict, as soon as s4 ended and he actually thought about the past year he went “holy shit that sucked so bad”

my backup title for it was let future historians wonder from, uh, burn from hamilton. yeah, i know. but this fic cares a lot about ... what you do and don't make a matter of public record. choosing to keep some relationships and conversations private. controlling the narrative. parrot ultimately taking himself out of the lifesteal narrative altogether. and on a different level, i joke about feeling like a historian in my approach to unstreamed events and relationships on lifesteal, trying my best to piece together guesses about what happened from a varyingly biased and patchwork record. and it's also fun bc, well--hamilton is also fiction about real people :P

this fic was very much sparked from conversations i had about the most recent spoke video; i mention this in the end notes but i'd like to give extra shoutouts to @void-chara , @myrmica , and @taiey for conversations they had with me about the newest spoke video. this fic might still exist without those but it'd probably be different.

something i've been thinking about a LOT is the way that spoke is deliberately sort of cutting a lot of himself off from the audience? and the way that neither spoke nor parrot streaming means that the NPPP, from dupe war to end of server, gets a lot more privacy (and deliberate, post-hoc control over the narrative and information flow, when they do end up making things public) in their fallout than, say, eclipse did. and spoke himself, from very early s4 until Like A Week Ago, just... does not mention the NPPP in his videos. in his dupe war and wormhole videos he has to edit around its existence, it's not just that he's making videos about other things, it's very much him making a deliberate choice to leave it out. there's a bunch of possible motives you could extrapolate there--i tried to suggest a few different ones in the fic--but it's interesting to me! this is also a big part of uhhhhh why this fic had to be rpf and not something in character on the lifesteal server.

i like the little character note where spoke is really judgy of eclipse in general and zam in specific for the amount that they are emotionally vulnerable on stream. and then is like "wait no shit i'm trying to be a better person". that was one of the first things that popped into my head when i got the idea for this fic

all video view counts are accurate. when possible i tried to check wayback machine for an approximation of how many views they had at the time, since the fic starts in 2023. in general i tried to be as accurate as possible but i'm much less knowledgable in general about anything they do off-server so it's totally possible i got some details wrong lol

it was fun to write spoke and parrot bc they are both so oriented towards content. in different ways admittedly but like. spoke is ALWAYS thinking about views. he cares sooooooo much about the algorithm. and content is the implicit motive for a lot of lifesteal but i don't usually make it as explicit as i do in this fic bc, well, i'm usually not writing rpf! but in this fic the viewpoint character is just. CONSTANTLY thinking about specific view counts, which videos do well, how well they do in comparison to each other, what affects that, and i get to really draw that out. my beta for this fic, @fitmc , wrote me a lifesteal drabble once, formatting, and the author's note of it lives in my mind forever. The posing of himself for the camera. The fact that Lifesteal players are as sweaty about YouTube growth as they are PVP.

parrot on the other hand is oriented towards content in a way where.. a huge part of their conversation where spoke apologizes is that parrot can't quite bring himself to be mad because. it was good content. parrot keeps repeating that, and it's... when you sign up for lifesteal you're signing up for people to fuck you over for good content. that's the job description. he trusted spoke, not only in the way where he trusts spoke's words, but in the way where he trusted spoke to make the apocalypse a good video for parrot. and it was. so in some ways it was only half a betrayal? the unforgivable line for parrot would be if spoke had done that and it wasn't even good content. (extremely normal way to relate to your friend hurting you.) but parrot's...still upset, because it is still a pretty major betrayal of his trust. and so he switches to making content where Doing Fucked Up Mind Games To Your Friends In Real Life is NOT part of the job description. (also a lot of other reasons, the obvious one of which is "pays better and more consistently without a corresponding increase in work". but, yknow, The Way Lifesteal Is is also part of it.)

also writing about the fact that spoke blew up when he was 14 is. well i already knew this but also. Oof. spoke in this fic is NOT thinking about this as horrifying at all, he thinks it's awesome, but i the author think it's kind of horrifying. fame in general scares me & i have a particularly ambivalent fascination towards the sort of fame where your entire life is a story you're telling. if you've read enough of my other stuff you probably already know this. fourteen!!! that's a kid!!! and while he's 18 now as of a few days ago, even this fic starts when he's 16, like....he's so YOUNG. it's fucked.

“of course” is kind of a motif here. at first parrot is the one to say it to spoke but then i had a vision and edited the fic a couple hours after posting so spoke now says it back at the end.

i think this is... kind of weird for rpf? like--don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to claim any sort of superiority over other rpf writers. but it's also very focused on the fiction they are creating and the process of it, and almost entirely disinterested in their general personae or in aspects of their life that...aren't that. what can i say, i have specific demons. but like...most people who have demons primarily about a fiction and don't care as much about the author's life, including me, don't usually write rpf! i'm not sure i would write rpf of anything that wasn't lifesteal, bc my demons are so tied to the fiction, but lifesteal is so weird with c/cc dynamic that ... idk. writing rpf of them felt like what i wanted to do to process my feelings around the story they created together on lifesteal, bc ... the story they created together on lifesteal is in many ways the same as the story of them becoming best friends irl. when spoke goes far enough hurting parrot in lifesteal, he hurts parrot in real life. they're not easily separable. arguably this changes when parrot leaves lifesteal altogether and removes "~ic, as part of the story being told on lifesteal" as an option on the table for their interactions but this only pushes it further towards rpf in terms of resolution for them & therefore also for the story they told on lifesteal. idk! interesting to think about

i wrote this fic in like. 6 hours. and then did a couple edits the next day. total time between "starting the fic" and "publishing the fic" is only barely over 24 hours. i was possessed by the spirit of rpf i think

i haven't actually watched any unstable. i'm sorry.

[lavender-twilight23]

I’ll probably do more posts like this as I start sharing how I experience the X-Men movies but

X-MEN HEADCANON: Charles Xavier is an Empath

I’ve had this headcanon for a while, in the back of my mind, but only recently have I begun exploring it in my fanfiction and actively looking for hints in canon that could potentially point to it.

I myself am an empath in the sense of feeling/taking on other people’s emotions and feelings to the point of if someone is venting to me about something, their tone, body language, and what they’re saying can almost ‘transfer’ their emotions to me, and when it comes to feeling people’s emotions, there was a time where I felt someone’s frustration directionally, like I knew the person feeling the emotions was on my left. Interesting stuff. But I like to think that Charles is the same way.

James McAvoy has said that he thinks one of Charles’ strengths is his “empathy and his capacity to care for others.”

And mind you, though telepathy lends itself to direct connection to someone’s thoughts and mind, I don’t think that necessarily means that Charles feels their emotions too. Thoughts are thoughts, and emotions are emotions.

In X-Men: First Class, before Charles even sees Erik, he senses him, whether through Erik’s power, emotions, or perhaps all of the above. Maybe it was Erik’s blinding and powerful rage that Charles sensed.

Charles has shown to be incredibly intuitive and in tune with certain characters, their emotions, and their pain. Especially in Days of Future Past, he suffers from hearing people’s thoughts all the time and feeling their pain. Not just hearing their thoughts, he says he’s feeling their pain, and he says to Logan that “…I don’t want your suffering.”

Also shoutout to James’ incredible acting- that subtle muscle twitch in his face in the second gif??? Just with that tiny movement, you can see Charles’ fear and pain.

And a very telling scene is, of course, the scene between past Charles and future Charles, in which future Charles says:

“If you allow yourself to feel it, embrace it, it will make you more powerful than you ever imagined. It’s the greatest gift we have to bear their pain without breaking. And it’s born from the most human power: Hope.”

I relate to this quote so much though, especially the ‘bear their pain without breaking’ and the ‘born from the most human power’ parts. Empaths unite??

Then, in X-Men: Apocalypse, when Charles talks to Erik through Cerebro, he says, “I feel your pain and your loss.”

And then Erik responds, “You think because you can see into my head, you know how it feels?” This implies that Charles IS feeling some sort of emotion from him, and Charles even sheds a tear soon afterward, maybe feeling Erik’s second hand grief.

And to wrap this all up, there’s a scene later on in X-Men: Apocalypse when Jean, Scott, and Kurt are in the helicopter and Scott is crying over Alex’s death. I think Jean’s experiences as a telepath are still relevant to this character study because in terms of telepathic powers specifically, she and Charles have essentially the same power in that regard.

Anyway, Jean comforts Scott by saying that Alex felt that Scott was the one who was gonna do something with his life, and Scott asks, “How do you know what he felt?”

And Jean responds:

“I know what everybody feels.”

That’s it right there! It’s still a headcanon to me, but I love love love imagining it and picturing it and imagining him with the same experiences as me. And it’s something that I think is plausible in canon. Still, I like to think about it. And character studies through Tumblr posts and headcanon discussions are fun too.

GIFs made by me in Canva! ☺️

[frownyalfred]

tips for starting out writing fics?

i honestly don’t have that much writing experience but am also a perfectionist unfortunately and know i'll criticize whatever I write. i know the only way to improve is to actually write so any tips for starting out are appreciated 🙏

Hey anon! I totally understand where you're coming from. Us writers can be so hard on ourselves when our writing doesn't come out perfect.

My usual tips for getting started with writing are below. Take them with a grain of salt, I am just a lowly fic writer, but I did complete a BA in a writing-intensive field and was a journalist for a few years, actually.

Write as frequently as you can. Even if it's just short snippets or quotes. I like to write dialogue ideas down on the treadmill sometimes.

Let others engage with your writing. Ask friends to look over drafts (shoutout to my love @musicalgirl4474) and post your fics, even if they're not perfect! Letting things sit unseen does your writing a disservice, even if it feels better.

Read as much as you can. Read fics in your fandom, and from authors whose writing style you enjoy. Figure out what they're doing that you like -- is it the pacing? The humor?

Write what you want to read. This is the best motivation, in my opinion. If you can write a summary for your fic that you would click on instantly as a reader, you're doing something right.

Don't let perfect be the enemy of good. Spelling mistakes happen, even in published novels. So do characterization errors or plot holes. Even if you spent 40 hours on a single fic, it still won't be perfect. But it can definitely be good, or even great!

Engage with other writers. Join some discord groups with other authors! Reply to tumblr posts about writing. Discuss your fic ideas with fellow writers.

Remember: You do this for free. Improving your writing can often be a full time job. Hell, actual writing is a full-time job. If you need to take a break, or step back, that's okay! Comments, kudos, praise and criticism are all optional. You don't have to agree with anyone, or change anything about your writing if you don't want to.

Comparison is the theft of joy. Don't spend time looking at ratios, or comparing yourself to bigger authors/blogs. Everyone's situation is different, and so is their writing approach.

I hope these help, anon! I am by no mean the end all, be all of writing. If anyone else wants to chime in, it's much appreciated! I'm also happy to offer any insight on what I personally do, but as I said, everyone's approach is different.

[transhawks]

saw a post of yours from awhile back wondering if horikoshi has read frankenstein & i’ve been waiting for someone to bring this up bc dabi is frankenstein’s monster. there’s the obvious evidence like how he’s drawn in tribute poses from the movies & he’s got stitches yknow. but also the whole thing with fire? in the original novel it wasn’t “grr fire bad” it was the monster learning that fire could hurt him but could also be used as a tool which he comes to appreciate. not to mention the monster’s main character motivation being he’s going on an angry rampage bc his creator (in this case endeavor) rejected & abandoned him bc he was a “failure”. the parallels are there you have got to believe me

So I've been a "Frankenstein, and I do mean the book not the movies, influenced BNHA" truther for years. I think what should be debated is whether Horikoshi read the original or not, and how much Ito's 2018 adaptation influenced the manga. I personally think if not the book, what he did read was Junji Ito's adaptation of it. Apparently Ito's manga is a very faithful adaption, which means a lot of the really amazing lines Shelley wrote and themes are in there, and I personally think they fit it better than the Universal Pictures attempt at Frankenstein, which was kind of a "low-brow" adaptation of Shelley's work. Horikoshi has long been a Junji Ito fan - our first panel of Tomura at USJ is an Ito homage, and I've spoken at length about how Hawks's mother is another shoutout to the great master of Horror manga, being named for one of his most popular characters.

So, yeah, I think you can see the influence pretty clearly. I have a franken!dabi one-shot somewhere because I felt the influence way back when I got into this manga years ago, and I think it still holds up. I'm just not sure if we can say he hasn't read the original even outside this adaptation, because as far as I know, it's a fairly popular book in Japan as well and the first Japanese translation came out in 1953. Anyway, this is making me feel guilty about not working on my league meta where I essentially partition the entire meta with Frankenstein quotes.... Have one last Frankenstein panel with a parallel.

[storiesofsvu]

Thursday Funday!

IM SO FUCKING READY. Sometimes I do wish that rita appearances weren’t like.. advertised. I really do want an episode where I am fully not prepared and she just waltzes on screen with no warning. Like.. I’d die…

Okay, what a cold opening that was, creepy and obsessive and I like it.

“just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should.” Accurate.

I both like and hate the way AI is brought into shows now, like it’s being showcased as something that’s not great most of the time but it’s also just scary the shit they come up with that it does/can do and that stresses me out man. Its fucking terrible.

Jfc the height difference between shaw & the lieutenant LOL she so smol.

Why does olivia always look SO much better on the OTHER law and order shows except for her own.. like… cmon guys, do better

Okay the last time a captain used a rape kit dna to find a perp olivia SCREAMED in her face LOL.  But also yes this is a VERY big issue that will make victims not move forward or get kits done. But also WHY isn’t there a SEPARATE and PRIVATE database for rape kits to be a part of??!!

FUCK

(yes rita just showed up)

Oh she is BACK baby. Oh god… this is giving me theories and so many ideas of not only the gap in time that she’s been on the show (aka in court) and the drastic different physical appearance. Oh man. Oh fuck. This is gonna be my only thought all fucking weekend. Why must I go to work?!

Oh sweet jesus fuck. The delivery of the line “someone who has been *raped* before” from rita made me feel things deep in my soul (and they are things that only confirm/further my thoughts, woof) (not to mention further comments from olivia, oh god there is SO MUCH SUBTEXT HERE!) (gifs & my theories to come later this weekend!!)

We are SO BACK.

LIKE, the little quips, the head tilts, eyebrow raises, ugh YES. The acting/characterization is exactly how it should be and SPOT on.  First suit was meh, second suit was fucking fire (and pretty similar to one of the ones she wore in 25 acts). I don’t want this to be over. PLS let her come back more often.

Also this episode is honestly super good plot and writing and pacing wise so I’m here for it.

I honestly REALLY do enjoy that mothership is basically Nolan getting a strip torn off of him by women he works with every week LOL

Olivia PLEASE. If it was casey who’d gotten that guilty verdict you would’ve come in screaming. Nolan deserves it.

Rita’s suits are giving very presidential and I am here for it.

Tbh I really hoped the girl would get off but I was also very certain that wasn’t going to happen.

Why is it over already? I need more. I need so much more LOL.

Svu time…

Guys for a solid hour there I fully forgot Velasco existed. Like.. Joe who? I only know Ms Calhoun.

I’m like.. 99% sure he’s not gonna be in tonights ep LOL. Who ever would have thought of a day where I was more into OG than SVU lol

Not just a judge but a *federal* judge. Well fuck.

OP! there he is!

Yeah this is one of those super fucked up situations. I lowkey called it from the start when she said “why do you remember more about my childhood than I do?” esp when she’s the younger sister. Trauma= memory loss.

Not me sitting here going “man I really wish there was more cop/investigation in this episode” cause like, I am lowkey bored and wanted more Velasco and kate content. When 97% of the time I’m yelling “MORE COURTROOM” lolololol. This was Scanavino’s time to shine.

Bruno looking fine af though

God this shit is so fucked up.

Shoutout to peter for killin in this episode. Glad they finally gave him something to work with.

I WILL say that I do miss the courtroom sass, from ALL the lawyers. Like, a lot of people focus in on Barba being the sassy one but like, literally all the ada’s have the same if not more sass. Ms Alex “you can have a toothbrush” Cabot. Ms Casey “you’ve just got funky sperm” Novak. Do I even need to quote something from SONYA?? (ugh man I miss her, maybe I’ll watch some old svu after this…) And I’m not saying Carisi lacks this, cause he’s got it, especially in the older seasons when he was a cop. The writing is just lacking nowadays. Give them more personality PLEASE.

VERY heavy Olivia focus tonight, especially between both shows.

Still feels weird to have 4 hours of l&o cut down to only 2. Like.. what am I supposed to do now with the rest of my evening? It’s only 8? I’m just gonna sit  here in silence and fixate about rita for 9458504540549i4923 hours…

[theaviskullguy]

KAITO????

L;KHSdG;LOKJSDFHGL;JKDSFGH MY BOY MY BELOVED THE MAN WHO INDIRECTLY LED TO MY QUEER AWAKENINGS

Why I like them/why I don’t

I am the biggest fucking fan of characters with fucked up family relationships. and characters who are guard dogs. Kaito happens to be both. Off to a great start.

He has daddy issues, that's canon, but he fucking adores haruto. to the point where he sacrifices his health and morality (at least in the sub kinda). And he is very much a guard dog!! hes protective of hart and later his friends to a self-sacrificial degree. This motherfucker. hrm. i love him.

his voice in the english dub is also really fucking hot. there is no fucking way he wasnt a part of my gay awakening back when i thought i was a girl.

What I like about their appearance

Everything. like the man is Hot. that dramatic coat, the d-gazer tattoo... part of me wishes he got more than just a pallet swap with photon transformation but its fine hes still cute. I want to run my hand through his paintbrush hair.

Do I prefer their dub names or original names?

Since theres no legal way to watch the sub and i havent been able to find it on the yar har har websites (i dont even know where to look, really), i grew up on the name kite. However, when i write him, Kaito is his full name, but Kite is a nickname (the same goes for hart! haruto is the full name, hart is the nickname)

OTP

i assume you're not counting selfshipping (if you are. me and kaito. absolutely 100%). oc ships its with my oc wynn, and canon ships? the galaxymastershippers are onto something. kaito and mizael are fucking insane i think theyve kissed Once

NOTP

Other than the obvious of kaito/haruto. kaito/yuma. i dont know why, i just. Do Not Like It. i get it, its a yugioh staple to ship the protag with the rival but i just. dont really understand dokidokishipping

OT3

I am not aware of any ot3s from zexal. however with arc v. yuto/shun/kaito. i dont know if that has a name, i just call them the xyzs trio, but its a concept ive rotated in my head a bit

Favourite card they use

I once traded an entire deck for one of his cards. I got this pack of 3 decks and i had a friend that didnt have a deck but got her hands on one of kaito's cards. my favorite one. so i asked "hey do you want one of my decks for that card", she said "yes", and i traded away an elemental HERO deck for Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon.

Favourite moment they were in

theres so many,,,, my top 3 i think is his entrance (fucking ICONIC.), the 3v1 verses Faker, and his moon duel with Mizael. However shoutout to that one scene and i cant remember which episode its from where we see him shirtless. When i tell you younger me was replaying that scene a lot. i mean it

Least favourite moment

i know i just said my favorite was the 3v1. but its also my least favorite from a dueling standpoint. Coolness factor its through the roof but like. faker thats not how 3v1s work. you might have the combined life point total but your 3 opponents dont share life points (if they did theyd also have 12000 i believe. i might be wrong dont quote me on this), and also. this is my biggest gripe,

WHY DO WE NOT SEE KAITOS PAINS AFTER THIS. Like he still uses Photon Transformation in the future so why the fuck do we not see him with chronic pain which, by all accounts, he should have!! even if its minor like showing a cane leaning against a wall or a heating pad. Come on. give me kaito with chronic pain its canon why dont you do shit with it.

Would I smooch, marry or kill them

im marrying that paintbrush twink. youre getting wedding invitations. other galax youre my best... person. i dont know if theres a gender neutral version for best man. it will be an autumn wedding and haruto is the flower boy

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 62 – The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings

This is the latest book I never would have heard of if it wasn’t for an award nomination (WFA for Best Novel, in this case). Overall, I was left dearly wishing I had liked it more than I did – it was so thoroughly soaked in imagery and references to a whole milieu I only barely know enough about to catch all the references flying over my head. Unfortunately by the final act the whole thing just collapses into a mess of spectacle without much in the way of connective tissue or context.

The story follows Perilous “Perry” Graves, his kid sister, and his best friend/crush Peaches (who is clearly an ersatz Pippy Longstocking but for some reason this is almost literally the only reference the book doesn’t explicitly acknowledge). They live in Nola, a fantastical alternate New Orleans full of zombies, animate graffiti, sky trolleys, and music that is indistinguishable from magic. After the magical songs that sustain the city escape/are stolen, it’s up to the three of them to get them back before Stagger Lee (the song) hunts down and kills the others for his mysterious partner. There’s also an extended subplot with Casey, a recently returned Katrina refugee in what seems to be our world, discovering that his and his cousin’s graffiti and other art is very literally magic and can come alive when he isn’t looking. Things just generally get messier and harder to explain from there.

Above everything else, the book’s a love letter to New Orleans. The sheer fascination and affection Jenning’s has for the place just about oozes out of every page. The geography and the culture and especially and overwhelmingly the art. Now I know barely anything about modern pop music and even less about classic jazz, but Jennings is either a massive fan or an incredibly confident bullshitter, and either way it’s an absolutely loadbearing part of the book – famous jazz musicians appear as magicians and ghosts, snatches and stanzas of different songs are quoted liberally, and of course the songs themselves are the driving engine of the plot. I, at least, just kind of let all the references wash over me and try to figure them out from context, and also started listening to the namedropped songs as I read. But even without really knowing the subject, the sheer love for the culture that just suffuses the book is really incredible endearing. Which is good, because it’s absolutely the main actual draw here.

The dialogue also deserves a shoutout – both because there’s a fun line you can draw between the characters that talk like actual people and the ones that intentionally present themselves like cartoon characters, and also because it’s the first book I can recall reading this year where people speak in AAVE. Plus, as a matter of style, when songs or certain ghosts were speaking telepathically the book used a different font for what they were saying, which is the sort of flourish that I always like when it’s not too overused.

While the surreal, exaggerated sort of magical absurdism works very well for the setting of Nola, the plot is...just kind of a mess. You almost get the sense the book was written in one sprint and then never revised – the protagonists are constantly getting help out of nowhere exactly as they need it to solve their latest problem, and revelations of plot critical information exactly when it’s needed to keep things moving abound, whether there’s any setup or justification for it or not. The metaphysics that underpin Nola are all vague and confused, which really wouldn’t be an issue if the entire third act didn’t turn on on the villain being wrong about them. The end result is a finale that feels like a bunch of big set piece scene the author had been looking forward to writing without any real connective tissue linking or supporting them.

Also, like – it is a major part of Perry’s arc that a year before the events of the book he had a run in with a monstrous caricature of a Jim Crow era hanging judge, and it has traumatized him sufficiently that he had steadfastly refused to try and do any magic since. The judge is later revealed to be an escaped bit of living graffiti, with absolutely zero relevance or deeper significance, and never appears on-screen again. Which just feels like some sort of narrative malpractice, honestly.

I’m also just left a bit disappointed with the villain – or, specifically, the wasted potential. Like, the idea of The Storm as this primeval elemental force that wants nothing more than to drown the world is a pretty great villain for a magical New Orleans, honestly. And there was something there of graffiti and music and just art being this engine of joyous hubris letting the city exist in defiance of its inevitable doom – but you really have to dig to get at it, and most of the other personal plots and heroes journey stuff burying it was far less compelling to me.

Anyway yeah, in the end this very much felt like it was style over substance, but on the other hand the style was excellent. In the end I kind of feel like this was ill-served as a book? Not that it’s necessarily impossible to write a novel that’s mostly about music, but this was really begging for a medium that could include a soundtrack.