#so appreciate them having a laugh

[delicatepointofview]

LEWIS CAPALDI & NIALL HORAN Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now (2023)

[mrmeepsmadmind]

rewatching this over and over again.. mainly bcs tarn makes soundwave into a manlet but also bcs it's hilarious

[skrunksthatwunk]

actually i'm still thinking about the moral orel finale.

he has a cross on his wall. do you know how much i think about that bc it's a lot.

a lot of stories ((auto)biographical or fictional) centering escape from abusive/fundamentalist christianity result in the lead characters leaving behind christianity entirely. and that makes complete sense! people often grow disillusioned with the associated systems and beliefs, and when it was something used to hurt them or something so inseparable from their abuse that they can't engage with it without hurting, it makes total sense that they would disengage entirely. and sometimes they just figure out that they don't really believe in god/a christian god/etc. a healthy deconstruction process can sometimes look like becoming an atheist or converting to another religion. it's all case by case. (note: i'm sure this happens with other religions as well, i'm just most familiar with christian versions of this phenomenon).

but in orel's case, his faith was one of the few things that actually brought him comfort and joy. he loved god, y'know? genuinely. and he felt loved by god and supported by him when he had no one else. and the abuses he faced were in how the people in his life twisted religion to control others, to run away from themselves, to shield them from others, etc. and often, orel's conflicts with how they acted out christianity come as a direct result of his purer understanding of god/jesus/whatever ("aren't we supposed to be like this/do that?" met with an adult's excuse for their own behavior or the fastest way they could think of to get orel to leave them alone (i.e. orel saying i thought we weren't supposed to lie? and clay saying uhhh it doesn't count if you're lying to yourself)). the little guy played catch with god instead of his dad, like.. his faith was real, and his love was real. and i think it's a good choice to have orel maintain something that was so important to him and such a grounding, comforting force in the midst of. All That Stuff Moralton Was Up To/Put Him Through. being all about jesus was not the problem, in orel's case.

and i know i'm mostly assuming that orel ended up in a healthier, less rigid version of christianity, but i feel like that's something that was hinted at a lot through the series, that that's the direction he'd go. when he meditates during the prayer bee and accepts stephanie's different way to communicate, incorporating elements of buddhism into his faith; when he has his I AM A CHURCH breakdown (removing himself from the institution and realizing he can be like,, the center of his own faith? taking a more individualistic approach? but Truly Going Through It at the same time), his acceptance (...sometimes) of those who are different from him and condemned by the adults of moralton (stephanie (lesbian icon stephanie my beloved), christina (who's like. just a slightly different form of fundie protestant from him), dr chosenberg (the jewish doctor from otherton in holy visage)). his track record on this isn't perfect, but it gets better as orel starts maturing and picking up on what an absolute shitfest moralton is. it's all ways of questioning the things he's been taught, and it makes sense that it would lead to a bigger questioning as he puts those pieces together more. anyway i think part of his growth is weeding out all the lost commandments of his upbringing and focusing on what faith means to him, and what he thinks it should mean. how he wants to see the world and how he wants to treat people and what he thinks is okay and right, and looking to religion for guidance in that, not as like. a way to justify hurting those he's afraid or resentful of, as his role models did.

he's coming to his own conclusions rather than obediently, unquestioningly taking in what others say. but he's still listening to pick out the parts that make sense to him. (edit/note: and it's his compassion and his faith that are the primary motivations for this questioning and revisal process, both of individual cases and, eventually, the final boss that is christianity.) it makes perfect sense as the conclusion to his character arc and it fits the overall approach of the show far better. it's good is what i'm saying.

and i think it's important to show that kind of ending, because that's a pretty common and equally valid result of deconstruction. and i think it cements the show's treatment of christianity as something that's often (and maybe even easily) exploited, but not something inherently bad. something that can be very positive, even. guys he even has a dog he's not afraid of loving anymore. he's not afraid of loving anyone more than jesus and i don't think it's because he loves this dog less than bartholomew (though he was probably far more desperate for healthy affection and companionship when he was younger). i think it's because he figures god would want him to love that dog. he's choosing to believe that god would want him to love and to be happy and to be kind. he's not afraid of loving in the wrong way do you know how cool that is he's taking back control he's taking back something he loves from his abusers im so normal

[anonymocha]

finally coming out as a dyke in 2023 is realizing i dont need to pretend to simp that Guy just because everyone else in my friend group does

[moeblob]

And then his husband enters his life and is like "do you have toe beans as a dragon? is that a thing? do reptiles have toe beans?" and Sascha looks at him like "I do not know the meaning of those words in that order..."

edit: ...I forgot my own OCs scar (now included)

[nerdy-hyperfixations]

LET ME EXPLAIN! I started the playlist because I noticed a lot of songs used cannibalism in regards to love and relationships, and I wanted to collect the songs so I could analyze why!!! Its not weird guys I SWEAR ITS FOR RESEARCH

[mueritos]

a small moment of kindness that touched me today. speaking about our struggles as grad students in class with classmates. our small group is all BIPOC; another latine and two arabs, one who is palestinian. we are speaking very honestly about our fears and frustrations. feeling useless. feeling scared. upset at the world and its horrors. angry at other peoples' silence. but at the same time so so full of joy and hope. i talked about being scared of being forgotten, and we continued on with our group task of creating a liberation health triangle.

professor transitioned us back to the full class and while our professor began speaking again, my Palestinian classmate--so beautiful and with the most wonderful curls--leaned close to me and whispered "I'll never forgot you." I almost didn't hear her so i whispered back, "what?", and as sweetly as the first time she said, "I'll never forget you. And I'll never forget what you said last semester. You were the first person in this entire program who spoke of your frustrations. I felt less alone."

the walk home from class was very cold, but i could not help but let myself repeat the moment in my head over and over again.

[rottkitt]

me desperately checking tumblr for more sour screen (or at least taco) content but the first wave of art ended and now i’m just gonna have to be sad about it and keep checking

also HI OMG? i woke up to like 40 different tumblr notifications i love you guys so much *mwah*

have even more sour screen as a token of my appreciation! :)

[waywardstation]

So when I played Violet a while ago and I took Miraidon to climb the mountain that surrounds the great crater I came across some Garchomp floating around near the top.

It looks ridiculous and funny in the game when they just hover in place and then turn towards you to pursue you… I just saw a video of that on X and it reminded me of Jörmun and “I wont leave you behind“ and… is Jörmun due to her size able to fly???

If so then she got a hell lot more dangerous in my book. Maybe she isn’t due to being battle-worn but she’s still fast!

OHH OH OH I LOVE THIS QUESTION THANK YOU NOW I GET TO GUSH ABOUT IT

This is one aspect of her that I’ve been fighting over with myself for a long time, because depending on whether she can fly or not will split her up into two different designs and behavior/fighting dynamics.

Jörmun is an Alpha. In IWLYB I really emphasize how massive she is and how while not literal, her build gives the appearance that her musculature has outgrown her skeleton. She is HEAVY.

I’ve had two thoughts on this — either she has become overgrown to the point she can no longer fly (and can only glide short distances) or I give her a much bigger wingspan to accommodate for her body. (Because in my head I do imaging that realistically those flaps on those arms help them fly)

Option A would sort of keep the same Garchomp build, but Option B would turn Jörmun into a wyvern/pterosaur with the sheer size of the wings I’d need to give her. An actual dragon guarding the mountain.

It would be SO SO FUN to write (AND DRAW) her like this big beast with huge wings to give her flight — because you’re right, I think that would make her so much scarier. You could not escape her on land or in the sky.

But, as of now, I’ve been writing her as option A — she isn’t capable of flight due to growing out of those wings, but she can manage to glide short distances. Because it has been fun writing her as this hulking monster that is almost too heavy for her own legs, and crashes back down to the ground with the struggle to fly.

Also, it has given me a reason to keep her secluded up in the mountains; if Jörmun could fly, she would be an absolute terror to the Pearl Clan settlement (and she is at some point in HFBE), but if I strip her of flight, she will probably opt to stay higher up in the mountains — it would be easy for her to glide down, but she would not want to climb all the way back up that mountain.

TLDR, I go back and forth on this, but right now I have that she can only glide short distances, as she cannot fly.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS ASK ANON!!! :)

[fumifooms]

was not expecting how head over heels i'd fall for marchil- i stg there's something they put in the sauce like goddamn! and i've loved seeing your posts analyzing their dynamic, really helped articulate what i was feeling. i was wondering if you had any fic recs, or any recommendations for ships with a similar vibe? i'm hungry for them...

I know right, marchil gripped me in a chokehold out of nowhere and still hasn’t let go… The sauce was designed by the demon for me to get addicted specifically. It’s been too long since I haven’t written fic for them. I’m still chipping away at my Marcille & Chil arc analysis I know I always mention it and I started the draft in January but I SWEARRR… Season 1 is ending next week :/ On the upside I’ll probably be more focused. After that analysis, which is only analyzing in depth like one aspect/half of their intertwined arc btw so who knows there might be a part 2 one day, I kept thinking it’d prob be my last marchil analysis but let’s be real, probably not. Every week I find something new to point out about them aah…… Dungeon food, ahh, dungeon food…

Fanfic rec wise, well first I have my own marchil fics, to which I mostly recommend Grind Me Down Sweetly, and then feel free to browse my marchil bookmarks for what seems good! I don’t know what your tastes are but Shroomyystar makes super good angst (and smut), my favorite being 'Til our fingers decompose, keep my hand in yours about Marcille getting deathly sick and the dilemma to confess or to not confess, incredibly haunting piece of bittersweet but soul-crushing angst AND character study. Like wow! Chilchuck I need to throw you in a river. I want you beside me is cute bedsharing banter. From me to you makes my head spin and makes me shake my screen. And- *gets dragged off before I can mention more* Meanwhile on the flipside, Anita_Amai (the first ao3 marchil writer, still going strong 👏👏) is especially great at offering short and sweet pieces, the tone is usually light and comedic and it always makes me smile and giggle, gives me fluff attacks, the fics always a strong good scene or theme idea too. Just browse and pick any, it’s a good time. There’s soo many more. Honestly I recommend just diving into the ao3 tag and start reading. You can start by kudos and read the highest ones first to dip your toes and get the community classics one out. Early on there was a recurring anon writer who did great bittersweet domestic confession stuff like this one, lifespan angst oughh... Wherever you are now thank you for all your work 😭💖 A lot of new marchil writers are starting to post too! A csm asaden fanfic writer legend just joined the tag so marchil will probably finally get some multi-chaptered fanfics haha~ But yess there’s unrequited angst, there’s self-sabotaging angst, there’s domestic fluff, there’s falling in love and bantery fluff, bunch of good stuff <3

As to ships with similar vibes: The closest I’ve seen so far is honestly weirdly close, it’s the protagonists from a romance comedy josei called Dame na watashi ni koishite kudasai or Please love useless me! I don’t want to spoil but there’s even the guy needing to move on from a doomed love + emotional distance issues and the gal slowly invading his personal life/social circle and my god… They were coworkers, he was rude, he’s a workaholic, he’s reliable, she’s sunshine and needs to get some reality checks... The banter. THE BANTER. He represses and she copes by simping for fictional characters. He made, like, a mutual aid community for ex-gangsters. They dress up in silly costumes sometimes. They’re weeeird about each other in an unlabelable way before dating in a way (in a fun marchil in canon way). It’s so funny she’s cracking open his convoluted personal drama like her morning newspapers. There’s more there’s so much more. Give up on your dreams, make money, love loses 🔥🔥 It’s honestly just a great fun read, it’s such a mood. Haven’t read the sequel yet but there’s one so really if it hooks you you’ll be fed well and for a while. The greatest bits are too spoilery but here, have the vibe.

Howl’s Moving Castle, specifically the book, and there’s a ton of themes and narratives that are so fitting for them that I couldn’t possibly all list, I already made a post on it here if you’re interested in all the details and similarities and my AU thoughts haha.

Teen Titans 2003 the show, Beast Boy x Starfire. THAT’S RIGHT I’M A BBSTAR, BAM! 💥🫶 Jokester that’s dependable x sweet and idealistic but strong and protective. Short gremlin and tall beauty. Friends-coworkers to lovers. Very soft fluffy slice of life ship I like it a lot, and I wrote a fic for it hehe. Might do more one day, I have a bunch of prompts written down and a series I really wanted to get to sob.

I almost forgot to mention Shrek. It’s SO FUNNY how well it goes sometimes… Chil Shrek, Laios Donkey, Marcille Fiona. I want to say Mickbell could be Farquaad but even Mick doesn’t deserve this slander… Shrek 2 fear that he’s not prince charming enough for her oughh. Laios getting to be a horse good for him good for him. Winged Lion singing I need a hero. Someone stop me.

There’s also zenmiyo from Touge Oni but no one reads that </3 I gotta get to my review/lore analysis about that manga it’s sooo good a fave read of mine from last year. Like it’s so fucking good. It keeps just ramping up and getting more crazily good. Scrolling through some pages rn and it’s a unique blend of comedy, philosophy and awe-inspiring visuals and creativity. Well, sort of like late Dunmeshi actually. If it had a fandom any bigger I’d be all over it constantly. And I’d also recommend Harahara Sensei / Timebomb Teacher if it had any english translation, one of my fave mangas also. It’s about mafia, and a goody two shoes willing to go through a corruption arc to save her sister x stern rude mafioso who’s there bc he’s poor and on a revenge mission, never had any other option growing up etc etc. Ok he’s not that Chilchuck but the dynamic does have that "grow up and see the world for what it is, a shithole. It’s been hell for me" vs "ok you have a point. But also have you considered not sacrificing your humanity and emotions in a self-destructive pursuit" (not that she’s in the position to talk lmaoo) like ohh my goood him throwing his popsicle stick in the fire that she lit over a corpse, it haunts me.

From the marchil Discord it’s also fun to notice ships some of us share… Csm asaden, some combination of LotR elf x short guy, fair amount of dunmeshi ships overlap too. Haven’t found the overall common thread quite yet and I’m forgetting many that have come up but lol some off the top of my head.

[balkanradfem]

you need to start your turbo capitalist cutthroat chestnut business RIGHT NOW or I'm revoking your feminism membership card!!!111!

taken to feminist jail

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

Me with my Raised in Amphibia au: hehehe polyam wives. Queen Marcy and her two royal consorts against her evil dad 🥰 just the three of them against the world. Love each other more than anything. Unconditional loyalty.

Me with my role swap AU: what if Sasha purposely destroyed Marcy's sense of self and everyone cheered her for it. What if the bad guy was in the good guys' side and the good guy was in the bad guys' side. What if the abuser was regarded as a hero specifically because they manipulated and tormented their victim into submission and said victim was considered evil and worth punishing by everyone except for a couple of criminal toads.

[skitskatdacat63]

2005 Chinese Grand Prix - Fernando Alonso(ft. Flavio Briatore)

[spacedlexi]

it honestly frustrates me when i see people reduce the ericsons cast down to "just some teens in the woods" acting like theyre no different than any other group of lone teenagers from other existing properties and treating them like an overused trope

it is sooo important to acknowledge the "troubled youth" aspect of the whole equation. theyre not just some random teens in the woods clem stumbles across. these kids were abandoned by their families for their various "difficulties" and fucked up by The System before the outbreak even began. and then once zombies started roaming the streets their familes never came back for them and the adults that were in charge of taking care of them just left them there to rot in that old boarding school (except for ms martin who was like their lee 🥺 the only person who ever saw them as the scared traumatized kids they were and died protecting them)

the whole aspect of them already being fucked up by the adults that controlled their lives is like.....kind of important when discussing the whole "delta is stealing kids to force them to fight in a war they have no real part in and want nothing to do with" aspect of the season. and its important when comparing them to clem and her journey of also suffering at the hands of the adults around her forcing her to become self reliant. AND its important when discussing the "just trying to build a safe home (and future) worth fighting for in this world that wants them dead" aspect of the season as well

these kids were forced to come together to survive. and a Lot of them didnt... theyre the only family they have left and you can tell that even when they argue with each other theyre still a close knit group who looks out for each other. theyre a Real family before clem even gets there (and its why what really happened with the twins and brody and marlon hits them all so especially hard)

all of this is what REALLY makes ericsons such a perfect home for clem. its a Real community of her True peers. theyre not Just teens. they mightve had a layer of safety clem never had by at least having walls to keep them safe. and having the benefit of the school being hard to find. its the only reason theyre still alive when clem shows up. but theyre also some of the only people who can Truly understand where clem and aj are coming from. and its why it hurts so much when they vote to kick them out. but its also partially why she merges back into the fold so easily when she returns. plus the fact that shes Really the only one who has any idea what shes doing. shes their rock and she makes them feel safe because underneath it all theyre still just those scared traumatized kids ("EVERYONE is scared, clem..." vi was Definitely including herself in that 'everyone'), and on some level, so is clem

they saved clementines life. and she saved theirs. "the school was supposed to help them with their trauma, now they help each other" its about the LOVE the COMMUNITY the SUPPORT!!!! and thats the shit that makes good zombie media honestly 👌

[dragonnarrative-writes]

37 and 55 for the ask game ❤️

Hi friend!

Answered 55 over here!

37. How do you choose where to end a chapter?

This one is really hard! Structure wise, after much discussion with @sentientcave, I generally try to keep chapters the same length. Word wise, that's usually about 2500, plus-or-minus 200 words. It's a good measure to keep myself from being long winded. Of course, I have chapters that are longer and shorter, but it's a good to have a ballpark goal.

The last part of this post mentions making a new paragraph any time you would imagine a change in camera angle. I think that helps me a lot when it comes to ending a chapter. If this was a movie, where would the camera fade out in a way that I could pause and refill my drink or run to the bathroom?

To that end, I try to consider the pacing of the story. Save the Cat Writes a Novel is an amazing resource that has helped me identify what needs to happen in a story to feel satisfying. Without thinking about pacing, I end up drawing a single scene out F O R E V E R. (Which is fine, honestly, if that's what the story calls for, but it doesn't help me get any closer to finishing the tale I'm trying to tell.) It's not a perfect resource, but I recommend checking it out.

OH! I almost forgot to add - I also actively remind myself that whatever I'm writing isn't the last thing I'll ever jot down. I don't have to cram every idea and scene and interaction in there. I can put it in another chapter or another story or even do an AU of my own work and write another version of the story.

Ask Game

[trashcanwithsprinkles]

Ive just had an insane au idea: so you know how fontaine has alot of human trafficking for some damm reason? Well what if it got so bad and the fontaine goverment is doing nothing to stop it or even supporting it (this part would require either furina and nuevillette bashing or for them to not have as much control over fontaine as they seem to) that mondstat and venti catch wind (heh) of it and basically invade to take control of the situation (assume varka pops back up due to hearing about this aswell) possibly even working with the house of hearth who havve trying to deal with the problem.

interesting idea but this would indeed necessitate shafting furna or neuvillette's control over fontaine. furina i can see but neuvillette? might be easier to just make part of the reason why shits fucked is bc something happened to both of them and the phantoms and maison gestion are trying their best to manage the city on their own without a leader

this would ALSO necessitate either a) varka turning out to be an actually competent man and good leader (which with jean's situation it'll have to have some sort of explanation to be believable) and that all the men he took with him being actually also competent and good at their jobs or b) that you magically make the knights of favonius actually good at their job. like they couldn't get rid of a handful of fatui, i can't imagine the amount of concessions and au exceptions that'd need to happen for them to succesfully tackle a disaster of the magnitudes you're proposing. so like- unless you want to make a 'the knights are actually competent' au, you'd have to bring varka along and you'd have to necessarily make him and his men hypercompetent.

this would also somehow need to factor in fontaine even wanting to collaborate with mondstadt in specific about this. like i know the proposal of mondstadt being the ones is bc of freedom and whatnot, but like

realistically, mondstadt would be the last nation fontaine turns to. do they even share borders? plus sumeru's corps of thirty and eremites and the canonically-superior-combat-force millelith are literally right there on their doorstep. mondstadt would be like. not their first option AT ALL hahah

and the venti argument of him spearheading the operation in the name of freedom doesn't even work because chances are venti is gonna sleep through all that. again, you'd have to somehow justify venti being awake for this whole mess, either bc something happened in mondstadt (in which case why'd they go deal with fontaine's stuff if they themselves have problems? it'd have to be like- ok we got our shit sorted out, lets send our already tired men away on another mission and unman our possibly fresh-off-conflict ie vulnerable nation), or because... he just decided to wake up? i'm p sure he doesn't get to choose that, else any respect i have for him would just vanish. when he does wake up i think it's implied it's bc shit is happening in mondstadt? so why'd he wake up for fontaine??

anyway- interesting idea, but you'd have to do some real legwork to make the au believable. in the end, though, an au is an au and what do i know about believable aus. cyanide narwhal is literally right there LMAO