#that they were like that one Simpsons meme

[macchiatosdumptruck]

Anybody confused on the Johnny is like Mr miyagi take or is it just me i don’t understand that take at all but I saw it around a lot on here and TikTok before I deleted the app

They're saying WHAT NOW

Literally the only way you can come to that conclusion is if you have a fundamental misunderstanding of both Miyagi's character, and the franchise as a whole, and also possibly just how relationships work

What are they on about

[ryukisgod]

“They appropriated androgyny”

I'm sick and fucking tired of people not fucking remembering that one of radfems first targets were BUTCHES. It was about dykes being masculine and hating that masculinity. You can find dozens of accounts from all the way back in the 70s of radfems targeting cis and trans butches alike. They steal from butches. They stole our fucking flag. They appropriated androgyny and drove a divide between butches and lesbians that identified as androgynous for YEARS. Don't you fucking DARE conflate being butch with being a terf or a radfem. If you knew an ounce of your history you'd know that radical feminism started as a movement to remove butches from the community completely, and also that butches/transmascs/drag kings and transfems/drag queens have a long history of solidarity, love, and trust considering the fact we're INCESSANTLY demonized even within our own communities. Butch/femme include transfemmes, it always will and ALWAYS has.

[hawkatana]

So, given everything that's happened in recent hours, I thought I might give people who don't know about Gundam some stuff to learn about. Hopefully I can give a balanced and not-racist take like some people.

What is Gundam?

Created by Yoshiyuki Tomino with help by Yoshikazu Yasuhiko and animated by the studio Sunrise (currently Bandai Namco Animation, though I refuse to call them that), the original Mobile Suit Gundam released in 1979 to initially-limited success, though would gain popularity through a combination of fujoshis shipping the characters, the sale of plastic model kits referred to as "Gunpla" and a recut of the series into three compilation movies throughout the early 80's. And as of 2024 is the 66th highest-grossing media franchise of all time, beating out Scooby Doo, Minecraft and the Simpsons.

Also, I'm pretty sure it's what sparked Japanese sci-fi's obsession with O'Neill Cylinders.

The original anime takes place in the year 0079 of the Universal Century, where the Principality of Zeon: a nation composed of orbital space colonies declares a war of independence against the Earth Federation. This "One Year War" has already claimed half the human population by series start and is waged through the use of "Mobile Suits": bipedal mecha powered by a fusion reactor capable of effectively fighting out in the reaches of space.

Main character Amuro Ray is the son of a Federation engineer who lives in an out-of-the-way space colony, though soon finds his home under attack by a Zeon infiltration. After finding the secret Mobile Suit project his father was working on: the RX-78-2 Gundam, he fights off the Zeon invaders, though finds himself and a bunch of other kids conscripted by the Federation to fight the forces of Zeon aboard the ship the White Base. Throughout his journey, Amuro and the Gundam fight many battles against Zeon, including against their mysterious masked ace pilot Char Aznable.

The series was responsible for the codification (but not creation, people get this wrong all the time) of the "Real Robot" subgenre of mecha, where the robots were relatively more realistic and used as weapons of war as opposed to the more fantastical "Super Robot" subgenre pioneered by Mazinger Z and Getter Robo.

A major theme of the show, and the franchise as a whole is "War is bad", as demonstrated through this meme:

Yes, this is the original version of this meme format.

Anyway, Tomino, a renowned pacifist who grew up in the shadow of Japan's involvement in WW2 tried to use his platform as an anime director to try and tell a story that would get people to realise war's futility and brutality.

So I hear you asking, "That's nice and all, but what about the space lesbians who beat Destiel on their home turf?" Well, let's get into that.

What is the Witch From Mercury?

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, or "G-Witch" for short is one of the more recent entries in the Gundam Franchise and a (very) loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Set in the year 122 Ad Stella, the solar system is under the de facto control of the Benerit Group: a megacorporation with borderline-medieval internal politics that maintains a system of capitalism that benefits Spacians at the expense of those who live on Earth.

Main heroine Suletta Mercury enrolls at Asticassia School of Technology owned by the Benrit Group at the behest of her mother: CEO Prospera Mercury of the Mercury-based Shin Sei Development Corporation, and wins a Mobile Suit duel against a bully in her own MS: the Gundam Aerial. This however means she has now won the hand in marriage of daughter of the Benerit Group CEO: Miorine Rembran, beginning a series of consequences that shape the very political landscape of the solar system.

G-Witch was a massive hit, both critically and commercially. The first episode: the Witch and the Bride attracting record numbers for the studio and the Gunpla kit for the Aerial is currently the best-selling Gunpla kit ever.

Contrary to popular belief, G-Witch is not the first piece of Gundam media to feature a female protagonist. That honour would go to the 2002 Japan-only manga École du Ciel, nor would it have the first queer main character, which goes to 1999's Turn-A Gundam (and if you were to ask any fan of the series, they'd so it goes back to the very beginning). But it became notable for its lesbian representation in anime (in spite of Sunrise's attempts to downplay it, to the anger of the director, writer, producer, artists, animators, cast, fans and even their own parent company Bandai Namco who forced them to back off).

One thing I need to clarify: You don't need to have watched the original series to enjoy G-Witch. They're not even in the same continuity.

So if you're interested in the series and you've only watched G-Witch, I'll give out three recommendations for you all to enjoy:

Mobile Suit Gundam 00

Gundam 00 takes place in the year 2307 (the only series to use our own calendar), where the world is divided between three global superpowers: The Union of Free & Solar Nations (The Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Japan), the Human Reform League (China, South, East, Southeast and Central Asia) and the Advanced European Union (all of Europe, including all of Russia west of the Urals) who each control a space elevator near the equator and wage proxy-wars in Africa and the Middle-East over Earth's dwindling resources. This eventually culminates in the emergence of Celestial Being: a terrorist group consisting of Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism and Tierria Erde, all of whom use powerful "Gundam" Mobile Suits and try to forcefully impose global peace on the Earth.

00 is pretty slow-paced and is more about the world than the individual characters, but said characters are really well-written, especially the characters from the three power blocs who are the de facto protagonists as they try to stop what are in their eyes a bunch of crazed terrorists preaching a hypocritical and incoherent ideology of "peace through force".

And to address the elephant in the room, this series is VERY post-9/11. Constant talks about terrorism, proxy-conflicts in the global south (especially the Middle-East), religious extremism, dwindling resources and the wars fought over them. While the franchise has always been political and of-its-time, you can just tell 00 was made in the mid-2000's. Again, it's good. But just something to keep in mind.

Turn-A Gundam

Turn-A Gundam is one of the weirder elements of the franchise for a myriad of reasons. Not the least of which being its unique setting taking inspiration from the famous sci-fi novel War of the Worlds.

In the Year 2345 of the Correct Century, human civilisation is at a level of technology reminiscent of the late-19th/early 20th centuries, save for the Moonrace on... well, the moon. As part of their queen Diana Soreil's plan to reintegrate both Lunar and Terran societies, several scouts are sent to the planet to set up their return to the planet. One such scout: Loran Cehack integrates into Terran society as a driver for the wealthy Heim family, though at a coming of age ceremony for the family's second daughter, a member of the Moonrace attacks the technologically-inferior Terrans. However, a mysterious mustached statue breaks apart to reveal a "White Doll": the Turn-A Gundam, allowing Loran to fend off the invaders. rest of the series becomes more of a mystery to how the supposedly-peace loving Moonrace could allow of such brutality.

The setting of the Correct Century timeline alone is one of the draws of Turn-A, though its excellent characters and compelling mystery also help a lot.

I do however have two warnings for people interested in watching it. The first is that this series was never dubbed. While it did receive an official sub in 2015, there still isn't a dub for the series. So if that bothers you, there's your warning.

The other is that there's a pretty big twist in the latter part of the series that while I will not spoil it here, it's such a big deal that I can't not mention it. It doesn't make any sense, and it actively detracts from not just the series, but the whole franchise. You'll know it when you see it. It doesn't ruin my enjoyment, but a lot of people don't like Turn-A for that alone.

Mobile Fighter G Gundam

Favourite entry. Don't care. It's peak.

In the Year 60 of the Future Century, war has been abandoned by the nations of humanity in favour of the Gundam fight: a quad-annual fighting tournament between Gundams representative of the countries of the world where the winner rules space until the next Gundam fight, all while leaving the Earth ecologically devastated in the fighting. Neo-Japan's Gundam Fighter: Domon Kasshu arrives on Earth seeking information on his older brother Kyoji, who killed their mother and led to their father's arrest before stealing the experimental Devil Gundam to Earth, beating up every Gundam Fighter in his way. However, he eventually learns of far more dangerous revelations about the incident.

G Gundam is to put it bluntly: bat-shit insane. And I love it. It basically took a look at the then-stagnating franchise in the wake of the wet fart that was Victory Gundam and said "I know what can save this franchise, Bruce Lee movies!" And it somehow worked.

Word of advice: watch it dubbed. Mark Gatha absolutely kills it as Domon every time, and puts just the right amount of ham into every line.

So yeah, that's some stuff on Gundam. This was a long post to write out. I'm gonna take a break now.

[flowerbloom-arts]

1, 14, 15 and 16 for the simpsons OC asks! ♥

@paranormal-librarian

1 – How did you discover the show in the first place? Did it inspire you to create an OC right away, or later on?

I think I've always been mildly aware of the Simpsons (given how prominent it is in meme circles on the internet) and I had a... Let's just say mild obsession with Steamed Hams during its hey day back in 2018-2019, it wasn't until July of 2024 when I started getting obsessed with it again after diving into Big Iron memes that I started getting curious about Chalmers and Skinner thanks to YouTube recommending me a clip of Chalmers showing off his Honda to Skinner, and then my darling mutual @hunsa-jars found the ship wiki for ChalmSkinn, and then I watched Road to Cincinnati, and the rest is historyyyy....... Yaaaaayyyyyy!!!

It took me a while to get inspired to make an OC because I have to look at the landscape of the media I'm getting into and see the sorts of characters that haven't been done yet. It always has to be a character I thought would be an interesting concept or worth a good story to be told.

My thought process with Delilah stemmed from looking at the assortment of love interests Skinner had and thought "You know, wouldn't it be funny if Seymour had like, one girlfriend who really really wanted to kill his mom for him, because Agnes is kind of the root issue of all his concrete relationship troubles."

And so, a sexy undercover Slavic spy is born! I wanted to base her off my own real life experiences with Slavic culture that aren't really represented in American media - so rather than making her Russian I chose to make her Yugoslavian, or rather, an ethnic Macedonian from Yugoslavia before it broke apart. Her fake identity as a Western German immigrant is also inspired by my own mom's childhood in Germany.

I thought basing her off the flirtatious female communist spy trope you see in mostly British media would make for an interesting foil to Skinner's character as a Special Forces soldier who fought in Vietnam. Skinner is depicted as more explicitly anti-communist in the comics, and a post-Cold War Romeo and Juliet layer on top of the whole murder girlfriend story would be an interesting way to explore Skinner's connection to his national identity and whatever ideology compelled him to volunteer for the war effort in the first place, as well as present a more complex look at the other side of the conflict.

14 – How would you consider your OC’s role in the show? Are they a major character like the Simpson family? Are they more likely to just be seen in the background? Or something in between?

Delilah (or rather, Матеа), would be a one-off love interest for Skinner, likely somewhere before he started dating Edna in season 8. And I KNOW the show has an epidemic of one-off love interests especially for female characters and god do I wish they'd utilize characters like Mindy or Gloria more besides relationship stuff but Delilah's backstory is not exactly built to withstand the test of time, just like Skinner's backstory as a Vietnam war veteran (in fact we're inching closer to a state where him being an Iraq war vet would be a more logical backstory, which is terrifying to think about. He's be born in 1980 if he's still 44 y/o today).

If you really want to push me to come up with an idea for a re-appearance I think she'd come back as a substitute teacher again after having broken out of federal prison under a new identity and then becoming a semi-regular background character for space nerd stuff.

15 – If they were in the show, what would be your OC’s main gimmick? Similarly, what would more likely happen to them in an episode?

Again, Delilah would be a one-off love interest, but in terms of gimmicks... I dunno, what would really count as a gimmick? I think her struggling to regain a regular life in the US as a Slavic immigrant would be a fun, if sad, turn of events. She'd probably resort to threatening violence at the mildest inconvenience too, I bet.

16 – What would an episode centered on your OC look like? Are there specific themes that would be explored through your OC's life?

I think Delilah would be introduced as a regular substitute teacher from formerly West Germany filling in for Edna or Hoover because they're sick or hungover or in some other kind of school-ditching nonsense, or perhaps the school finally gains the budget to add an actual specialized teacher to the language lab, it doesn't really matter.

The episode continues with Delilah trying to seduce Skinner into giving her "special benefits", like a pay raise ("Damn capitalists and their tiny wages for educators!") where she finds out about Skinner's issues pertaining to his mom, like her freakish control over his love life (or lack thereof). Delilah makes the connection that she needs to get rid of the problem that causing Skinner to not solve her problem, and that would be killing Agnes, and therein lies the main conflict of the episode.

The episode would be about Delilah trying to worm her way into Skinner's pants and convince him to get rid of Agnes from his life under the guise of regular after-school hangouts as friends or as staff bonding activities, only to be charmed by his nerdy sincerity outside of work and the motivation shifting to killing Agnes because she's such a horrible mother to this poor, sweet man.

She'd find out about his interest in space which she shares and they'd go to a space museum and have so much fun there. She'd be such a Bad Girl about it to contrast Skinner's goody-two-shoes attitude, breaking in after operating hours and guiding him by the hand and bypassing the security systems with whatever Russian technology she still has in her arsenal, and when they have a very touching moment looking at the stars and Delilah revealing some of her heart to him, she drops the suggestion to Skinner that he should dispose of Agnes, which he's immediately taken aback by and declines, awkwardly leaving her afterwards.

The sunk-cost fallacy of their relationship pushes Delilah to do the job herself, because really, this whole time, she's been projecting her own parental issues onto Skinner. Her own father was an abusive man and the government killing him for treason against the state was the best thing to have happened to her. She thinks Seymour should be afforded the same relief from his own mother, too.

He's such a simple man who seems happy and given determination to live by the simplest pleasures and she wants that, she wants the same thing, she's felt so lost since the USSR dissolved while she was doing espionage in the USA and being stuck there ever since, she's always felt lost in her national identity since it was expected of her to conform to the identity of "Yugoslavic" which was dominated by the Serbs in her territory, it was Macedonian nationalism that compelled her father to commit treason, after all, but now she has no identity to be proud of. Every nation she could call allegiance to has been put to shame, every name she's given herself was fabricated for the same of those disgraced nations, and she can't even use her real name in fear of the enemy government punishing her.

She just wants a life spent on something that made her genuinely happy, and spending time with a fellow nerd at heart was the happiest she's felt in a while. So yes, she'll kill Agnes even if she has to climb the roof and point a gun at her herself. Skinner's puppy eyes, however, convinces her otherwise, and he seems to express enough sympathy despite his panic to call her down. But before she could make a change in her life, the police and federal agents find her and arrest her, never to be heard from again.

The Balkans have always been in a constant back and forth of territory and national identity, being invaded by empire after empire after united states and even still we fight eachother on borders, all the while the US has always stood firmly under that red, white and blue flag by comparison. It'd be a story about the identity crises of many slavs that had to deal with the aftermath of the Soviet Union falling apart in the 90s, having to deal with all the trauma that it brought and couldn't possibly heal soon enough.

Матеа had trained and lied and learned and killed and done so many things only for her nation to Lose, and that's such a massive blow to everything she built with her life. Everything she did suddenly became worthless, and she wanted to reach for and live vicariously through someone else who was happier by comparison, who had just one problem with a simple solution - if only true happiness could be achieved by killing one single person.

[marvelmaniac715]

I’ve always loved blackout poetry, I had to make some in high school one time and we were given a Harry Potter chapter which I thought was a weird source but it was still fun seeing new words created from words like sandwich, magic, rubber and nebula. Like that one Simpsons ‘Do It For Her’ meme but better.

[conwise]

PART 2 OF ME GUSHING ABOUT SHAPES:

Part 1

I'm gonna finish talking about my FMA sins designs because no one can stop me

For Wrath I used a rectangle since he already had elements of that in the design of his coat and that's pretty much his entire outfit. It also gave the feel of a sturdy/stronger character which I liked a lot given his authority as a military figure. And also he can put up a good fight. I pretty much just built his entire head out of rectangles

Pride is pretty much my favourite sin. Everything about his concept is so COOL. He was the one I was looking forward to doing the most and is my favourite of the designs.

He is a semicircle! Which is maybe a weird choice but I wanted him to be round AND sharp. He's just a little kid, which round shapes are good for, but is the worst of all the sins and has those toothy shadows, which is where the sharp comes in. I made the semicircles prominent where I could but mostly kept his overall shape very round and gave him sharp details. Small but menacing and I love the way he sticks out in the lineup

As I said before, Greed is ABSOLUTELY a triangle. Just a very spikey guy. It's probably the hair.

But unlike Envy, he's a triangle with a point on the bottom. I did this to differentiate the two since they were made from the same shape, but also just because it felt right? A point down triangle just feels... spikier somehow. I think I made his hair very spiky and then went from there but spikey just somehow fits his personality. I also repeated the point down in his eyes and face really just to drive the point home

Sloth is just a big old square. It's that thing about how square shapes imply a strong character and that's pretty much all Sloth has going for him. He's big, he's strong, he gets to be a square. It's not in the sketch but his weird outfit also does a nice job dividing up his body into even more squares

Anyways, I'm just gonna post the Marge Simpson meme again

[bubblybloob]

Hey, so this kind of turned into a vent. Be wary going in, but it’s important if you engage some with my stuff. I think I’ve been thinking about it more as btg has become more active, and wanted to get it all off my chest.

I’ve wanted to bring this up for a while now, after my popularity grew. I’m sure some people have noticed my lack of joy at the 500 followers milestone, and the 600 one, but it’s a bit more complicated than on the surface.

So, there was something I haven’t really mentioned. It wasn’t ever really a secret, I just didn’t feel it was important, and was always taught it was dangerous to talk about and to dance around the subject if brought up. But I’ve noticed that the people on Tumblr find this kind of important to know when interacting. I know people on here can get really hostile, and this kind of became a secret because of that. I don’t know if it’s bad that I haven’t said anything or not, but I thought I should still make a post anyway.

So, I’m, in my country, since I know it might be younger or older in other places, a minor.

Okay most important stuff first. Yes, I’ve said or drawn mildly suggestive stuff, that’s mostly because I’m very unaffected by it and find it more amusing (I might be a little ace idk), though I do purposely keep stuff I make mostly tame simply because like- still technically a kid. I’ve seen stuff far more suggestive from afar before and just nod and say “mm, yes, that exists” and indifferently move the hell on with my life.

Being part of the STP community has been really strange for me and not all in good ways. I hate hate hate people looking up to me, or being jealous, or having anxiety talking to me because- in my head- I’m just doing everything and talking to everyone I can because I like making stuff and talking to people, and I feel so uncomfortable up on this pedestal where I’m held so high, but if I make one wrong step I’ll have tomatos thrown at me. It’s a really claustrophobic and isolating position and feeling and it makes me feel sick, anxious, stressed, and really really scared.

I like the community I’m in and friends I’ve made, but I’m really afraid I’ll say something unusual or wrong or maybe even offensive since I don’t know everything I’m supposed to say or do. I don’t know how to act when someone’s depressed, I don’t know how people feel about shipping, or designs for characters who canonically don’t have a physical appearance, or what the opinion is on all of the nsfw content. I do the Homer Simpson bush meme whenever I see it pop up because if there’s something that I do know, it’s that people don’t want minors reading their blorbos being sexy with each other.

(Side note: The amount of times I’ve accidentally clicked on an explicit fic thinking ‘Oo what’s this’ and then seeing what’s going to happen is… not staggering, actually. But enough for me to laugh in hindsight. I scroll to the bottom to read the comments to confirm my suspicions, and get the hell out. Happened with the same fics multiple times too because I forgot they were explicit and that I’d encountered them in the first place, wondered why I never read them and then boom, flashback, I never read the description like the fool I am).

And there’s the thing isn’t it. Some parts of fandom culture, it feels like all I can do is mess up. I just don’t know how I can handle all the fear of this attention?

Like, I don’t hate it. I like interacting, I like that people love my art despite my grievances with parts of my style, I’ve been so motivated to grow and get better because of everyone. You can all look at my oldest STP post and newest one and see the differences plainly.

But it’s really so much, and I’m as grateful as I am terrified. I’m terrified of hurting someone’s feelings when I don’t mean to. Like, what if I follow someone and they get excited because I’m a “big name” and then I decide to unfollow for whatever reason I might have at the time? I might crush that person’s soul or want to interact.

Despite my willingness, I do have problems with some ships, but I can’t voice any because what if I start a big argument with a bunch of people involved instead of the normal discussion I wanted to have? People are more likely to take my side because I’m the popular person, and we all know popular people are always right about everything and we must regurgitate their opinions without any thought put into how you actually feel. And then I’ll make whoever I was talking to retreat for a really long time, and everything will be awful and terrible forever and ever.

I can’t do that to people! I’ve been those people! I’ve was told things by people I looked up to and would get so so so upset, because I’m really emotional. I don’t want to hurt someone who might be sensitive like me.

I really just wanted to get all these feelings off my chest. Sorry if it got pretty venty. I’m open to discussing it, I’m still really scared to post this, it’s my only ever vent post, but I’ll try not to just save it in my drafts and let it rot.

[sagaapprentice]

A/N I Still don’t have an AO3 account. I guess I’ll get one next week? Again, I don’t know how it works. I grew up with FanFiction.Net and haven’t made another account on another site since I was in…middle school. So it’s been a while. But I want to write again and this has seemed to scratch that itch for now while I still attempt to write original fiction. (I have other ideas with these characters too that are rattling around in my head. I dunno. *Marge Simpson with potato meme* I just think they’re neat) Whenever I DO get an AO3 account I'll post everything there, too. I dunno how many chapters I'll write in the meantime but *shrugs*

Also, for the record, I love Elain. I relate to her a lot and I promise I have ideas for what I want to do with her here. Trust me.

Anyway, no beta, we die like everyone’s mom

The Golden Fawn (working title)

When people think of Private Investigators, often the picture in their heads tends to line up with some old film noir with those long cigarette holders and dames asking the ravishing hero for help escaping some nefarious plot that the police just won’t help with. Azriel found that when he told women he was a PI, they would bat their eyelashes and become suddenly very interested in him for at least one night (which was all he ever really wanted, anyway). But the reality of the job was a lot duller. About 90% of the time, he ended up following someone’s spouse who was definitely cheating and gathering information that would eventually make its way into some divorce proceeding that he occasionally got to witness as the couple battled it out if they were particularly vicious towards each other, but normally his job was done as soon as evidence gathered. In really interesting cases, he would be hired by both spouses independently to find out if the other was cheating (so far the answer was always ‘yes’ to both).

It wasn’t particularly exciting work, but it paid fairly well. It wasn’t where he thought he would end up in life, but it certainly could have been worse.

So when his brother, Rhys, begged him to take on a new client on a case that definitely wasn’t about infidelity, Azriel was, at the very least, intrigued.

“It’s about her sister,” Rhys said. “I guess she hasn’t heard from her in a while.”

”Maybe she just doesn’t want to talk to her family?”

“It’s more than that.”

”In my experience it usually isn’t.”

Rhys, sitting across from Azriel’s desk, looked at his brother with a pleading look in his eyes. “Please just help her.”

Azriel wasn’t used to the air of desperation he heard in his brothers voice. He normally liked to come off as cool, calm, and collected. Unflappable. Something was different. “You said this girl was just a friend, huh?”

The “yes” that Rhys quickly answered was not at all convincing but he let it go for now. “Look, Feyre, that’s my friend, she said her sister hasn’t talked to any of them since graduation. There’s been a couple photos on social media but she won’t answer any phone calls or reply to any texts. They’re worried about her and just want to know she hasn’t gotten into anything…dangerous.”

“Like what?”

Rhys hesitated, raking his hand through his hair and looking up, trying to find the right words. “Feyre thinks Elain got tangled up in some kind of cult.”

”You can’t be serious.”

”Look, will you just check up on her?”

Azriel sighed. “Fine. I’ll meet with Feyre and I’ll check to make sure her sister is okay. But she can’t be upset with me if it turns out she just doesn’t want to talk to her family right now-“

”It’s not that.”

”-and I better not be walking into some kind of Jonestown 2.0.”

”Jesus Christ Azriel can you not say things like that when Feyre gets here?”

Azriel rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. “Alright, when is she getting here?”

”I texted her and she said she was on her way. She should be here in about five minutes.”

”Is there anything else I should know before I talk to her? Anything you want to tell me?” He stared pointedly at his brother, knowing full well without having met her yet that whatever Rhys felt towards this woman would not be considered wholly “friend-like”, but, for whatever reason, it wasn’t a subject he was willing to open up about yet.

”She’ll tell you everything when she gets here but I promise you, something isn’t right. And you’re the only person I trust to get an actual answer.”

”And she trusts me?”

”She trusts me. But I know you won’t let her down.”

Azriel grunted while setting up his desk, grabbing a notebook and his favorite pen (despite the amount of firewalls and the VPN he had installed on his computer, writing everything down with pen and paper still felt like the most secure way to store most client information) and prepared himself for whatever it was he had agreed to.

At least it wasn’t another infidelity case.

Feyre walked into his office five minutes later. She was clearly distraught, but standing tall with her head held high. When she spotted Rhys there was a subtle ease in her eyes, but she hardened her face quickly as she turned to look right at Azriel. “So, you’re the PI brother?”

”Azriel, yes. And you must be Feyre?”

She didn’t answer, just sat in the chair opposite his desk and stared him down. “Did Rhys tell you what’s going on?”

Azriel waved his hand. “He gave me the basics but I want to hear from you. I know you’re worried about your sister and you want me to check up on her, but I need you to tell me what has you worried and what exactly you might think Elain has gotten herself tangled into.”

Feyre sighed. “I know how it must look.”

”And how’s that?”

”That my sister is a grown adult who just decided to cut off her family. That adults do that all the time and it has nothing to do with nefarious plots and families are often unwilling to admit to themselves that they possibly did something wrong to drive them away.”

Azriel raised his eyebrow. “And that’s not what happened here? You have a loving family who support each other and have never gotten into any big fights and you can’t think of a single reason your sister would want to escape them?”

”Oh god no, our family is awful.”

Well, that was a surprise.

”My father sits around doing absolutely nothing forcing my sisters and I to support ourselves, my grandparents cut all of us off completely because they were embarrassed by my father ruining his division of the family business, and my mother died when I was 8 from a car accident that may or may not have involved alcohol. Growing up in that environment is terrible and the three of us could probably keep the therapy industry afloat for decades if we had the money to actually pay for some therapists.”

”And…you don’t think your sister ran away of her own free will?”

Feyre shook her head. ”Despite everything that’s happened, my sisters and I have always had each other. I admit that the last few years I haven’t really been there for them. I’m the youngest, trying to finish my undergrad and working two jobs. But Nesta, my older sister, her and Elain have always been close. While Elain was in undergrad, they lived together to save money. They talk every day. Or…they used to.” Feyre sighed. “She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology six months ago, and cut off contact with all of us five months ago. None of us have been able to talk to her, either in person, on the phone, or via text message. I would file a missing persons report but she’s been on social media posting photos of these…people. People none of us know or have ever heard Elain talk about. We looked into it a little bit and it turns out its some kind of church, but none of us have ever been religious.”

Azriel wrote everything down, still not completely convinced that maybe Elain left on her own, but maybe there was something here. If nothing else, he could at least assure her sisters that everything would be alright, and that he would be paid well for it (Rhys insisted). Plus it was better than tracking down some asshole CEO who was banging his 20 year old secretary, promising to help her with her career (they never helped, they just liked to dangle it out of reach to keep the power imbalance).

“So what is it you want me to do?” Azriel asked. “Do you just want me to try and contact her? Make sure she’s okay? Investigate the group itself?”

Feyre hesitated, looking over at Rhys for some kind of comfort, before looking back at Azriel. “Actually,” she started, “I was hoping you could…join them.”

”You…want me to join a group that you think is a cult?”

“I just think that would be the best way for you to find out if this group is really dangerous or not.”

”That’s a bit out of my wheelhouse…”

”Rhys said you were top of your class at the Academy!” Feyre blurted and Rhys winced.

Azriel turned sharply towards his brother, “Did he now?”

Being a Private Investigator wasn’t exactly his first career choice. At one point he thought, maybe, he should join the police force. He thought it might help him recover from his childhood if he felt like he was helping people. But the truth was…the other people at the Academy? His classmates? All of them reminded him of his family. They didn’t want to be cops to help people, they wanted to be cops to feel superior to them, control them. He lasted a week after training before he couldn’t stand it any more and left. Occasionally, he would tell his clients that he was a “former cop” (technically true) but never the extent of it and he definitely had never told anyone but his brothers that he was “top of the class” (whatever the hell that had meant).

“Please,” Feyre put both her hands flat on his desk, a pleading look in her eyes. “I just want my sister back, The three of us…we really only have each other. I don’t want to lose her.”

Azriel rubbed his temple, “Alright, I’ll see what I can find out about this group. But first,” he turned the page on a clean sheet of notebook paper, “I need you to tell me everything you already know about this so-called cult your sister is in.”

[random-musings-of-life]

A (Mostly) Comprehensive List of Tumblr Holidays

I saw this post about Tumblr holidays/celebrations, and there were a ton of them, so I decided to make an organized list and their meanings. I am also adding famous "fandom holidays" to this list. Feel free to point out any I missed/explained incorrectly and I'll add them!

Tuesday:

Supernatural Tuesday --- an episode of Supernatural was about a time loop where it was always Tuesday. Can be posted on any Tuesday.

Leave the Bog --- a meme with a drawing saying "When it's safe to leave the bog" and an arrow pointing to Tuesday. Can be posted on any Tuesday.

Thursday:

Out of Touch Thursday --- a video of the cast from the anime Lucky Star dancing to the song "Out of Touch" by Hall and Oates. Can be posted on any Thursday.

Thursday the 20th --- a screencap of a rapper in The Simpsons with a gold necklace that says "Thursday the 20th". Can only be posted on Thursdays which are also the 20th of their month.

February:

Galentine's Day --- February 13th. From an episode of Parks and Rec where Leslie dedicates this day to celebrating female friendship.

March:

Pi Day --- March 14th. The first digits of pi, 3.14, line up with "March 14" or 3/14.

The Ides of March --- March 15th. The day that Julius Caesar was assassinated. Many memes and jokes are made about him, the assassination in general, or bad luck.

Evergiven/Suez Canal Anniversary --- March 23rd. Refers to an event where a ship, the Evergiven, got stuck in the Suez Canal.

94 Meetings Day --- March 31st. From an episode of Parks and Rec where April doesn't think this day exists and books all of Ron's appointments then.

April:

April Fools --- April 1st. Also a real world holiday. The most popular prank is Rickrolling.

Mishapocalypse --- April 1st. On this day, Tumblr users spam one specific photo of Misha Collins, who played Castiel on Supernatural, where he is looking at the camera wide-eyed.

Neil Banging Out the Tunes --- April 13th. Refers to a photo of a rat by a children's keyboard with the caption "Neil banging out the tunes April 13th 2006".

Homestuck Day --- April 13th. The birthday of Homestuck, a web comic. It is/was one of the most popular fandoms on Tumblr.

It's Gonna Be May --- April 30th. Comes from a GIF of Justin Timberlake singing the song "It's Gonna Be Me". In the song, he pronounces "me" like "May".

May:

Star Wars Day --- May 4th. It comes from a pun between "May the force" and "May the Fourth".

Revenge of the Fifth --- May 5th. It comes from a pun between "Revenge of the Sith" and "Revenge of the Fifth".

June:

Let Papyrus Say "Fuck" Day --- June 16th. Someone who was annoyed with mischaracterization of Papyrus from Undertale established this holiday and it caught on.

July:

Dashcon Anniversary --- July 11th. Dashcon was a poorly organized attempt to hold a Tumblr convention.

September:

21st Night of September --- September 21st. The day referenced in the catchy disco song "September" by Earth, Wind, and Fire.

Frodo and Bilbo's Birthday --- September 22nd. The joint birthday of Frodo and Bilbo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings.

October:

Mean Girls Day --- October 3rd. This comes from the part of the movie where Cady's crush asks her what day it is.

Treat Yo'Self --- October 13th. From an episode of Parks and Rec where Tom and Donna have a day to pamper themselves.

November:

November 5th --- Multiple holidays. It's Guy Fawkes Day (a holiday in Great Britain where effigies are lit to celebrate the failure of a traitor), and some people post screencaps of the movie V for Vendetta, where it's mentioned. November 5th, 2020 specifically had three huge news items: rumors of Vladimir Putin's resignation, Destiel (a ship from Supernatural) becoming (one-sided) canon, and the controversy over counting electoral votes in the U.S. election.

Life Day --- November 17. The equivalent of Christmas in Star Wars.

December:

Christmas Adam --- December 23rd. It comes from a Tumblr post making a pun on "eve" and "Eve" (from the Bible). As the original Tumblr post describes, it "comes before Christmas Eve and is generally unsatisfying".

Almost Christmas (Means It Wasn't Christmas) --- 11:59 P.M. on December 24th. This is from Ace Attorney, a video game where you're a defense lawyer. The fact that it's not quite Christmas is a crucial piece of evidence in one of the cases.

DL-6 --- Christmas/late December. This is when one of the most famous cases from Ace Attorney (mentioned above) occurs.

Other:

Annoy Squidward Day --- either January or February 15th. This refers to an episode of Spongebob where Mr. Krabs votes for Employee of the Month; a screen cap shows Spongebob pointing to the 15th day on the calendar with a sticker of Squidward on it.

Fuck this Post and Happy Birthday [Fictional Character] --- any character's birthday. The original Tumblr post starts out with a user saying "People who celebrate fictional character birthdays are annoying, pass it on", and another retorts with "FUCK this post and happy birthday, Sonic". "Sonic" can be replaced with a character of your choice.

[andrebearakovsky]

My SCF Game 7 thoughts

lbr the panthers clinched that win when they brought out Roberto Luongo to do the pregame drum thing. There is no better motivator for that team. That was essentially management doing the simpsons “do it for her” meme

I lost my absolute fucking mind during the Sam Reinhart eventual cup-winning goal; not because of anything Reinhart did, but because of Dmitry Kulikov. It was one of my favorite types of plays: he fucking swiped a goal out of his own crease and then they immediately went down to the other end to score. That’s a fucking two-goal swing, because of him. My head was spinning over this play. Honestly I personally believe this play even more than the goal was what won them the Stanley Cup. (Along with some sick plays from Bobrovsky.)

If you look closely as the final clock ran out you could see Sam Reinhart like inching his way towards Bobrovsky so that he could be there to hug him first lol

Man I am so happy to see the panthers win. Not just because I always love to see a franchise win the cup for the first time, but I love Sasha Barkov, I love Matty Tkachuk, and if you’ve followed me for awhile you know I loooooove Vladi Tarasenko (and also Niko Mikkola), and it’s so satisfying seeing that group win together. And also guys like Okposo and OEL and Bobrovsky and Kulikov getting their cups after a long long time

Man I got emotional when they showed the entire Tkachuk family crying

Matthew winning the Cup before his brother (and dad) is a victory for oldest siblings everywhere

What are the chances that later Taryn gets her hands on the Cup and then brags to Brady about how she can touch it but he can’t lol

When they showed the commercial with the cup champ merch there was some kind of poster that featured a rat on it lmaooo

I predicted the Cup would go from Barkov to Ekblad to Okposo. Barkov totally threw off my predictions when he gave it to Bobrovsky first (a surprise but not surprising) and Ekblad didn’t get it until like seventh or something

As expected ESPN totally fumbled coverage of all the cup lifts lol. They did not get good footage of Barkov lifting it the first time, but in fairness to them I’m pretty sure Barkov skated in the complete wrong direction; instead of skating towards the camera he yeeted to his right. And they totally skipped Rodrigues’ cup lift, I think that’s the only one I didn’t catch. I was waiting for him and then suddenly they’re at the black aces and I hadn’t seen him so I think the broadcast missed him. I think he might’ve been after Lundell; when they cut away from Lundell’s lap they were away from him for a bit long so I think that might’ve been when Rodrigues was. Anyone who was watching Sportsnet plz confirm to me if that was true; Canadian coverage is always better and I plan to see if I can find footage of this later

The voted most punchable man in the NHL is now a cup champ

The look on Paul Maurice’s face when he lifted the cup was too much for me, made me emo

Fuck OFF Roberto Luongo lifting the cup!!!!! That made me emo and I imagine there is nothing more satisfying for panthers fans to see. They did it, they truly did it for Him

Apparently in Matthew’s interview with sportsnet he said “you know I couldn’t let Edmonton win” lmaoooo he’s such a little shit 😂

I love that they were playing a bunch of Pitbull in the arena when they were doing cup laps. Very appropriate

I really think they should’ve played Sweetness at some point. I know it’s not technically their goal song anymore, but like it’s Their Song

Lost my mind at them going for seconds with the cup laps lol, I’ve never seen anyone do that before

I don’t care what the mainstream media says, Sasha Barkov won the conn smythe. To me.

At some point tonight Matthew Tkachuk is definitely stealing the Cup and jumping directly into the ocean with it

I can’t wait for them to bring the Cup to a Miami Marlins game and just take over the arena. No one goes to Marlins games, they could probably actually take over the park or just all steal seats directly behind the plate and no one would care

I feel a bit bad for McDavid but ONLY McDavid, but only a little bit. He really did try his damndest. But like sorry my dude, maybe don’t be on a team with absolutely atrocious vibes. Idk what it is but the team, the media, and the fanbase (sorry) for the oilers just give off the most rancid vibes. And so I’m really fucking glad they didn’t win, they were rubbing me the wrong way all playoffs and they would’ve been completely insufferable had they won and I’m glad we don’t have to go through that. And this also means ekane doesn’t win and the Corey Perry losing in the cup final curse continues!!!!

I said this early in the playoffs but I kind of wanted McDavid to have to suffer a bit more before he finds playoff success. I think it’ll feel more satisfying if he’s gotta grind for it and *finally* win it later in life. People thought he’d be on the Sidney Crosby track? No, I want him on the Alex Ovechkin track. I want him on the most painful yet ultimately most rewarding track

And also: absolutely fucking SUCK IT, mark messier. ESPN shoved Messier and his stupid fucking uppity self down our throats all playoffs and it was so fucking gratifying to see both the rangers and oilers go down. If I never saw that man again in my life it would be a blessing get that man off my tv forever

Now, for Panthers fans: I had a thought. I did some looking at the Panthers roster, and of all the guys that I would consider “regulars” on the team, they all automatically qualify to get their name on the Cup based on games played/played in a cup final game except for 2 of them: Josh Mahura and Jonah Gadjovich. Do you think the panthers will put their names on the cup?

At the end of all this, I am feeling happy and content. Way to go, Kitties

[farawaysoph-ie]

The Sunshine Court Incoherent Whatever (pt.1)

Okay. Okay.

I just finished The Sunshine Court and 1) Jean Moreau what have you done to me? 2) Jean Moreau what have(n't) they done to you?

I started this, then went and re-read tkm (bc the obsession was always latent and never gone), so I could compare both Neil and Jean pov and well, suffice to say I'm not okay and I feel too much.

Thank you Nora Sakavic, it was painful and amazing.

I have a long train ride so I might as well bring back my incoherent whatever after *checks the notes* 4 years :')

As always this will be so full of spoilers.

(Unrelated spoiler: the train ride wasn't enough)

Let's start with the general:

After loving Neil maybe too much the shift to Jean took awhile to adjust to but now I'm ready to fight at least three mafia families, every single hater (fictional or otherwise) and the FBI for him

Jeremy Knox was everything, but like everyone on here, what are you hiding Jeremy?? What's going on??

Cat and Laila, my beloved ™️ the care these two effortlessly gave made me cry

This whole book was a serious trigger for me, but I'm in too deep with this series, imagine me like that Simpsons meme, I did it for my new french son

Characters, thoughts:

I said before the Ravens were a cult, but I hadn't really understood that statement. Every time Jean spoke of them it hit deeper and deeper how messed up and unfair it all was.

Boy am I happy that Riko is dead, like I didn't really wish anyone the fate of being shot by an unfeeling older brother, until Jean's pov hit me like a high speed train.

Andrew spoke exactly one word in this, still was iconic and a scene stealer, how in character for him

I forgot how much I always want to slap Kevin Day when he's trying his best to be annoying, it's because I love him, I swear! (But seriously his relationship with Jean is so complex and well executed I will think about it for a very long while)

I didn't give much thought to Renee and Jean relationship in tkm, but it broke my heart here, it's when I started to actually tear up, I love them so much rainbows, a cool evening breeze. I can't.

"Tell me something"

"Where are you now?"

The whole dynamic of the Cat&Laila& sometimesJeremy's apartment

Cat teaching Jean how to cook + motorbike ride (open roads)

Laila taking him to shopping

Jeremy wanting to make Jean Moreau the Person his success story

Neil dragging Jean towards survival without giving him a choice, again and again: he sent Renee as gentle bait, closed a deal in his name with a mafia boss, promised him he would win against Riko in his name too, promised him again Riko was dead, ordered a hit on his rapist, offered to delay the talk with the FBI, linked his sister to his name, to survival and to what he deserved. I NEED more interactions between them, I am not above begging.

I have to get a better idea on the other Trojans, but for now the policule was cute, I need more Cody and less Lucas. Like I can understand where he was coming from? But he needs to shut up now, you made your mess man, now go play Exy like you were supposed to.

I miss the Foxes :'(

Wymack! I almost forgot everyone's favourite dad-coach: he showed up, brought alcohol, got more tired, delivered care to yet another traumatized child, spent a whole day on airplanes to bring him to Los Angeles, left him money for clothes&co. bc he's not doing this again, answered his call when he was having The Breakdown. Best dad-coach ever in the history of dad-coaches.

Plot things:

Jean at the beginning was so scared and in so much pain it took a while to get a clear picture of him as a person

Still loved all his salty comments and insults, he couldn't help himself

Renee sitting with him and caring with Abby and Wymack :')

Jean being afraid of going back and of not going back to Evermore, hating the ones that got to leave

The self harm and all the people in this that fought him to keep his hands from his neck, his scars, himself

"I am Jean Moreau. My place is at Evermore. I will endure."

Jean not believing in Wymack care, waiting for the act to end and the other shoe to drop

The disbelief at Kevin being away from the court and him admitting he went at knifepoint (and meaning it literally), sometimes this was a comedy

Wymack, Jean, and the burning of houses

Jean's opinion of the Foxes going from those mediocre fools to those mediocre madmen to the madmen that actually beat Riko Moriyama

Wymack putting Jean's phone in the freezer and hating computers

“That man is years overdue for a high-speed, head-on collision.” couldn't have said it better, but Neil was already on it at that point

"Jean knew better than to look for anger in his stare; the best Kevin could manage was bottomless guilt."

“It was my only chance,” Kevin said. “I knew you wouldn’t come with me.” “My place is at Evermore,” Jean agreed, “but you did not have to slit my throat on the way out.”

“Your blind loyalty to those clowns is exhausting.” “Some of them you like,” Kevin reminded him. “Don’t you dare,”

Nathaniel "Hello Jean" Wesninski vs Jean "Go away" Moreau

This whole conversation went very differently compared to tkm: like there Neil came, dropped a metaphorical bomb, glossed over the explanation and went away trying to convince Andrew they are something

Jean was ambushed by two of his most complicated acquaintances (???) and their "pet goalkeeper" (god I need Andrew's reaction to this "nickname", but I guess no one will ever say this to his face, Neil would be too busy fighting you at the suggestion to ever repeat it), had his worldwiew turned upside down with no chance of having a say in the matter, then was left alone with Kevin Day and the aftermath.

So yes two different conversation; also I kinda forgot of the deal about Neil and his smile

“Everyone who has tried to tame him has failed.”

All for the game: a summary

There was no getting away; there was only getting through.

Jean Moreau who (hasn't) hurt you, part some of too many

What really makes it messed up is that on one hand there was Riko and his mad cruelty and on the other there was an entire team of bystanders At Best: some people were an active part and then pretended, no sympathy for them; others decided to ignore the truth to survive and get what they wanted, which I can understand but I guess they still didn't have the decency to shut up when Jean got away. The anger that crawled through my skin when the smear campaign and the notebook/postcards/magnets thing happened. You should have stayed silent until the end you fucks.

“Do it, then. It wouldn’t take much; we all know I have brittle bones.”

Jeremy pov kinda gave you whiplash, with him waking up super early, helping homeless men, but then you start noticing all the things he avoids almost effortlessly and like, what are you hiding sunshine man??

What actually broke me about his povs was him noticing all these details about Jean, and then misinterpreting them, bc whatever he's been through Jean has had it 100 times worse and this doesn't even factor in Jeremy world. I'm pretty sure he'll get the whole truth in the end and I'm scared of what it'll do to him.

Also Jean being like Ravens always had to keep secrets and then spilling most of them almost unprompted, let's laugh in order not to cry

“He hasn’t played a clean game in years,” Kevin admitted, “but he knows how to follow orders. If you tell him to submit, he will.” “Literally the most awkward way you could’ve worded it,” Jeremy said.

This will keep coming back, Kevin please. (He 100% ships it, one of us)

The Foxes catching the too tired Trojans and Jeremy being like, you are all approved (I need the two teams to interact now)

Also the Trojans being like how are they still standing, Neil how are you still running??

Someone pointed out they wanted Neil to interact with Jeans closest teammates bc if he is a madman by Jean standards, what would normal people make of him? To which yes, but also guys consider this: Neil said to Cat and Laila that they were terrifying after the semifinal, he took a step back when Jeremy opened the door and silently invited him in. I need Neil and the floozies to interact so Neil can experience real fear.

Mafia bosses have nothing on wholesome people, the true weakness of one Neil Josten

Jean immediately hanging up on Jeremy will never not be funny

When you get to the title of the book and it's Jean insulting people <3

I will Never, NEVER, get over the "nineteen". Never.

I love Abby but when she told that bit about fighting back, It Hurt. She probably didn't really mean it and didn't know everything bc how are you supposed to keep fighting when you are fifteen, alone and forsaken in a place that is built to break you? As it has been pointed out, Neil had rebellion beaten into him by a mother that chose him and ran; Jean had a sister that he hoped to protect and parents that sold him away like property. Five months were actually a long time.

Dobson keeps being iconic, I don't know what to think about the I don't know how exy works bit: I mean I've been obsessing with this and still don't know how exy works (plz don't hate me), but at the same time it was such a power move and got Jean to talk

“Of course it’d be you, you tedious malcontent.” “Good morning to you, too.” Nathaniel held up an oversized bandage.

You see why I need more of their interactions, right?

Nathaniel was different; he always would be. He wasn’t a Raven, but he was, same as Jean. He was Jean’s misplaced forever partner, an unfulfilled promise Jean had stopped believing in years ago.

You can now be forever partners while you tear down your families :)

I think that I'm stuck on the two of them bc while Kevin broke a promise to save himself (to which no hate, when dealing with madmen like Riko you have to save yourself) and still couldn't, not completely, Neil was a promise made and broken by other people. Jean hates him bc they were supposed to share a destiny and all the misery, but I think very deep down he knows that if Nathaniel had come to the Nest they would still be nursing wounds and appeasing a tyrant. Neil is the one that stood against Riko when Kevin wanted to hide, the one that gave him courage by example, the one that dragged Jean away from the Ravens, both for selfish reasons (taking down Riko) and better ones (paying him back for saving his life a the Nest).

But still

“You are only here now because you are an abominable cockroach,”

Funny how Neil forgot to tell us about the breakdown about Kevin's tattoo, he was probably thinking about the match. Junkie.

The cheese drawer guys, ???

To this day I still can't decide what was more iconic: Kevin Day switching playing hand halfway through the game and pretty much scoring everything until the last second, Neil being so fast that it made up for him being a shitty defender, Andrew crossing the court to keep Neil from being murdered (I'm biased, but still iconic moments all of them)

Experiencing this match from Jean's pov was amazing writing, like the countdown of the last ten seconds, the Riko-Neil bit without volume but from a different angle (I didn't really realize everyone was able to see the King attempting murder live on TV, but hey perspective)

Run, Jean thought. He didn't know if he was thinking it at Andrew or Nathaniel. Run.

"That wasn't a miracle," Jean typed out. "That was the Foxes."

:')

When Jean found about Riko though :'(

The shudder that wracked his chest should have been revulsion, but it fell dangerously short. This didn't feel like joy or relief; it only felt like loss. [...] Who was he without them?"

I loved that he woke up to Renee and Neil though, the rainbow and the witness

Renee always hitting the point, this wonderful girl

"Maybe you're mourning the wreckage he made of your life. You're allowed to grieve what he took from you."

"It's impressive, isn't it? How easily these monsters die in the end."

Neil Abram Josten said I'm done letting monsters ruin my life and my people, he actually promised.

When he called him Neil guys, tears

Also I found peculiar that when thinking about the room he destroyed Jean calls it "Neil's dorm room", not Kevin's who he's known for actually longer. It's what makes me think that they have a chance at not being misplaced forever anymore.

Renee either hits you with hidden wisdom of the universe or with practical and brutal advice, and we love her for that

The two of them, the Two Of THEEEEEEEEM

Jean noticed how Andrew and Neil moved like they were caught in each other's gravity, in each other's space more than they were out of it, cigarette smoke and matching armbands and lingering looks when one fell out of orbit for too long.

Just leaving this here.

The airport bit :'(

"Men like Wymack didn't exist. They couldn't; they shouldn't."

Enter Jeremy Knox and his yo-yo in the middle of said airport. Flawless.

This man was put on Earth to test Jean, at least that's what he will keep thinking from here on

The rest of this book is Jean having conversations with people and not understanding them, bc he's been living for five (seven) years in a cult. It is an escalation pretty painful to watch, I think the Trojans are all of us :'(

Question: will Jean end up teaching Jeremy French? Will Jeremy learn by himself? I think I'd probably prefer the latter

Cat, the mess, the music, the tour, I love her so much

Jeremy "he's a little off" Knox, he was trying

Barkbark von Barkenstein

Jean Moreau and the real world (bubble tea? you have to shop for stuff? you sign things yourself? you leave campus? someone help this disoriented french bean)

"Something had gone horribly wrong at Evermore"

oh Jeremy

Watching Jeremy regret almost all his questions :'(

“Three fractured ribs. Sprained LCL. Twisted ankle. Broken nose. That’s most of it.” That’s most of it.

Laila, who pushed and got angry for Jean and didn't back down despite him lashing out, my beloved

You look like a Ken doll." + "This isn't blond."

"Not Grayson.[...] Please." that one made me sick, the writing made me feel even only a part of what Jean was feeling and it was enough to feel sick

The water :'(

Jean just leaving when confronted with Laila and Jeremy in swimsuits was very bi of him

Lucas coming in looking like a well know nightmare and the Ravens dropping like flies

I didn't ask.

It's not like I didn't know, right? But I still died inside

Zane and the betrayal

Jeremy didn’t let him get away with it. “That’s not the issue and you know it. I don’t want to crowd you.” “You are not them,” Jean said. “Kevin would not have sent me here if you were.”

Jean taking one look at the doctor sent by the coaches and going nope, Dobson will be definitely better

Jeremy seeing the nightmares and the scars and not being able to do much:(

A hand on his chin startled him into looking up. When he met Jean’s eyes, Jean only said, “Focus on what’s important.” “I am,” Jeremy said. Jean opened his mouth, closed it again, and let go of Jeremy without a word. Jeremy snagged his arm when he started to turn away. “Who did this to you?”

I'm sorry did he just

“It’s not about size, anyway.” “Defensive,” Jean said, tugging his glove straps with his teeth. Jeremy straightened in indignation. “I don’t have anything to be defensive about.” Jean lost his grip and bit his lip, and Jeremy hurried on before either of them could think too much about that double entendre.

“Say ‘yes, Jeremy’.” He had the distinct impression Jean wanted to roll his eyes. “Yes, Jeremy.” Jeremy forgot everything else he could have said in favor of staring. It was the first time he’d heard Jean say his name.

Are you seeing this? Yes? Good, let's go on

“If I ever make you uncomfortable or make you feel unsafe, will you promise to tell me? If you don’t trust me enough to tell me what’s wrong and why, at least trust me enough to tell me that something is wrong. I can’t fix things if I don’t know there’s a problem. As your captain and your partner, don’t I at least deserve the chance to not be a villain in your story?”

The pool bit :'( and after when they tell there are no pools at Evermore. Riko is so lucky to already be dead :)

You’re forcing us to hurt you without giving us any say in the matter.”

Watching Jean trying to navigate his interactions with the Trojans was painful, frustrating but also hopeful. This boy has been hurt so much and so often, he doesn't get what normal looks like anymore. But the Trojans don't let him get away with it (even if it breaks their heart and the coaches will probably get a lot of grey hair from this)

"Your safety and happiness will always be more important than our season.” “You are naïve.” “Maybe you’ll define success by how we do this season, but I’m not obligated to do the same. You are going to be my success story: Jean Moreau the person, not Jean Moreau of the perfect Court. You take care of one, and I’ll take care of the other.” “That is not how it works.” “Is there a rule against it?” “There is no merit to it. This is all I am.” Jeremy ignored that and asked again, “Is there a rule against it?”

Jeremy gay panicking and the photo of Renee

The floozy line!

Every time Jeremy goes "our coaches" or "our teammates" all I can think in my head is "someone will die" "of fun!!!!"

Jean wondering if the Trojans have something against recruiting tall players xD

“Thank you for worrying about them. You’re a good man, Jean Moreau.” “A ridiculous sentiment,” he said. “I mean it,”

This man didn't even second guess himself, he had to ask because he knew and it didn't even occur to him to be silent. Excuse me sir? Shut up you are a good man

“I assumed the Trojans were idiots,” Jean said. “Now I think you are all insane.” “It’s a step up,” Cody said. “I’ll take it.”

The practices, the scars pt2

“It is all I am, Coach.”

“We did not want outsiders at Evermore.” “Except Neil,” Cat said. “Neil was a special case,” Jean allowed.

#accurate

You’re hurting me.” “It has been toward for five years,” Jean said, looking past Jeremy at the scrimmage that was still going on without them. “It is not that easy to undo.” Jeremy frowned at him and echoed, “Five? You were only with the Ravens for three.” “I moved into Evermore two years before I enrolled,” Jean said, and hauled Jeremy to one side. The stray ball that had been coming for them ricocheted off his chest instead of Jeremy’s back, and Jean scooped it up on the rebound with a quick snap of his wrist. He hurled it across the court toward Cody one-handed before finally letting go of Jeremy. “I will try harder.”

The notebooks breakdown hurt so bad bc Cat and Laila being angry for him (they are all of us), Jeremy trying to mediate bc he's been there, he pushed and Jean broke and he doesn't want to hurt him, and Jean who confesses his secrets without meaning to, just to realize and panic. What a recipe for a disaster.

“How dare they blame you for anything after what they did to you. How dare you grieve them.” It hit like a sucker punch, but Jean’s frustrated rejoinder was worse: “They don’t know.”

They don't know, but they could guess. They could smell the blood. They joked about his brittle bones. He was sixteen. I'm not sorry for the mercy I don't have after finishing this book

Jeremy could only watch in wretched silence as Jean tried to walk himself back from the edge. He cast his phone aside in favor of catching Jean’s face in his hands, and the way Jean flinched at his touch was almost his undoing. “Hey,” he said quietly. “Hey. Jean. Look at me.” Jean refused, and Jeremy grasped desperately for anything that could bring Jean back to him. He seized on the only thing he could and threw Jean’s words back at him: “You are Jean Moreau. Your place is here with me, with us. I’m your captain. You’re my partner. We’re supposed to be doing this together, aren’t we? Stop leaving me behind. Look at me.” It wouldn’t work, but it did. Jean opened his eyes to meet Jeremy’s stare. “I told you not to ask me about him.”

I had seen the quote before reading but no one told me what followed ç.ç

He felt a tremor in Jean’s hands, and for a blinding moment he was sure Jean would lean into the safety of this silent confession. But Jean only sucked in a slow breath and said, “Now I am not safe with you, captain.” Letting go of Jean was the hardest thing Jeremy had ever done. Everything in him railed against this, and for a moment he regretted giving Jean a way out.

I was not crying, I swear.

“I’m sorry,” Jeremy said, because he didn’t have the strength for small talk or a softer approach right now. “Did Riko break your hand?”

That was one heavy conversation and it's just the start (Jeremy is Not Fine™️)

He is not used to having a voice, and he has never had power. I cannot promise he will ever talk to you.” “I will wait as long as it takes,” Jeremy said.

Still best boy

And maybe in many ways he still was, but a martyr could still be a monster when the cameras weren’t rolling.

Boy do I have news for you (do you think Jeremy will know that Riko didn't kill himself? Does it matter? I think not knowing this particular detail would be fine, I still don't really know how much this sunshine boy can take (more than I expected but still))

Did I mention that I really love the apartment trio? Cat and Laila agreeing to silence but still being angry (drag them girls, draaaaag them), the dinner and movie and Jean not getting up to leave

Did I mention Lucas is free to shut up and play? :) Because I get that you are angry, but 1) it's not your decision to make, we don't need your conspiracy theories 2) it's not Jean problem, he has enough of them leave him alone

“Ask him why he’s so sure the rumors are true. Ask him what his part in it was. If you’re going to believe him just because he’s blood, then at least make him tell you the truth.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Lucas demanded.

And Jean still deciding not to lie, he may be an asshole but almost everyone he has known didn't deserve him

Also I don't know where Lucas got the audacity? You think there is something the justifies breaking a player's ribs?? What is wrong with you, you are part of the sunshine court

The dread when asking if Grayson was home

The bike ride :')

Now that they were settled, he expected an interrogation or a reason for this unscheduled trip out. When she failed to explain herself, Jean finally asked, “Why are we here?” “I love it here,” [...] “I don’t know. I just felt like some fresh air would do you good. There’s nothing like a ride to get you out of your head and into the moment, you know?” Jean considered that for a minute. “Thank you.”

Jean waited until he was out of earshot. “I don’t understand.” “Trust us,” Jeremy said tiredly. “Neither do we.”

Jean vs the Trojans, a summary

The monster shows up and it was a mess and Jean has never had a break, literally never

Which was extremely literal bc Lucas wanted to talk and then Neil shows up

I need a separate post for the last pages bc I started this 24 h ago and I want to do it justice. So part 2 coming.

Edit: I misspelled Jean's surname *facepalms and goes to hide*

[chongoblog]

Hey there was this mashup on tumblr I don’t thiiiink u did where it was called like I Hate This Genre So I Added A Bunch of Stupid Samples On Top and it sounded like a Snail’s House thing and the samples were like random memes including OJ Simpson quotes lol and anyway I’m looking for it please help me find it.

Sounds like something @paper-mario-wiki might have made, although I might be confusing it for another one she made.

[jewishbarbies]

So from what I've gathered, for the last year Taylor Swift basically egged on her fanbase to harass her prev prev ex and people around him with some crazy accusations and theories being made up, whole thing intensifying tenfold prior to recent album release, because of very targeted marketing and now what she essentially said is that his worse offence was... /checks the notes/ being too depressed to get married??!? And that she still eggs on her fanbase to harass him by liking shady posts about him even post album release? And that she's using mental illness in her new music video like an aesthetic? And that majority of her album is actually not about prev prev ex, but about her last ex and she has some serious resentfulness towards her own audience calling them "vipers dressed in empath's clothing", because they were worried about her dating slimy, racist, sexist, neonazi adjacent edgy twink, who openly said that his favourite type of porn is the one that focuses on brutalization of black women done by white men, or as he called it "ghetto gaggers"?? But to her it's just "Me and my wild boy and all of his wild joy" and "I know he's crazy, but he's the one I want"?? /lisa-simpson-sitting-at-the-table-meme/

yeah that’s about right

[runby2]

HEYHEY I haven't caught up with this blog in a while!! It's good to see you guys again!!

For the system ask meme, can I do ☕ and 👻?

hello!!! it's good to see you again! <3

answered by 🐈 honey!

☕️ - what is switching like for you?

switching is a very complicated thing, and it can happen differently each time! Sometimes an alter will force their way past me when I didn't even know they were there, and it will feel like I'm being possessed or something. Sometimes I feel like I fade away. Sometimes I get mannerisms of the other alter before they fully wash over me like a different color, and I black out memory wise. Sometimes we can work together sharing the brain and I can see them controlling me and letting me add in my own thoughts. Sometimes I feel like I become them, and blurring is a little uncomfortable. I don't feel like me, but I am me! It's wild, but we cope with however it happens!

👻 - do your alters/headmates have different voices or speech patterns?

yes! i actually caught three instances on accident!

here's angel's voice in one of our youtube videos!

here's sunny's voice

here's my voice! (trying to do a marge simpson impression)

kristoph's voice is in a video we can't share, but his voice is deep and kind of smooth. He sounds sarcastic the majority of the time but in a teacher kind of way. Like he's asking you to push back.

apollo's voice my partners have referred to as 'stern' and confident, but not too deep. His voice cracks sometimes when he's yelling about anything.

Klavier's voice is deeper than apollos, and he carries a slight german accent, and apparently knows a good amount of proper german despite us not even being from germany or ever learning german.

[warningsine]

Just over a year ago, a woman told a crowded room that her ex-husband had kicked and slapped her. She described him throwing a phone at her face. She described him penetrating her with a wine bottle. “I remember not wanting to move because I didn’t know if it was broken,” she said. “I didn’t know if the bottle that he had inside me was broken.” While she said all these things, people laughed. People called her a whore and a liar. People cheered for her ex-husband, and made posters and T-shirts emblazoned with his face.

Only about 14 months have passed since Amber Heard was mocked and shamed on a global stage. But, apparently, that means it’s now high time to relive it. This week, a new three-part series from director Emma Cooper drops on Netflix (UK viewers can also watch via Channel 4 on demand). That’s right folks, we’re back in the hellscape that is Depp v Heard.

There are certain legal cases that transcend courtroom drama to become full-blown ‘where were you when’ cultural moments. Usually, these ‘trials of the century’ are criminal trials. Charles Manson in 1970; OJ Simpson in 1995. But, occasionally, a different calibre of case will grip the public consciousness – one that spins around sex and humiliation; one that strikes to the heart of how contemporary culture understands gender and power. In 1991, attorney Anita Hill testified that Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her while she worked as an adviser to him. The Senate ultimately confirmed Thomas’ nomination, while Hill received death threats. Just a few years later, as the new millennium swam into view, another sex scandal rocked American society. This time, the main characters were President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. Despite Clinton eventually admitting to having had an affair with Lewinsky, for many years the court of public opinion was clear in its verdict: Monica Lewinsky was either a whore, or a liar, or both.

In a sense, the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial, which took place from April 11 to June 1 2022, in Fairfax County, Virginia, combined elements of all of these previous ‘trials of the century’. As with Clinton and Lewinsky, a relationship between a younger woman and an older, more famous and more powerful man was under the microscope. In an echo of Hill v Thomas, during which lawmakers accused Anita Hill of suffering from a ‘delusional disorder’, a psychologist hired by Depp’s legal team ‘diagnosed’ Heard with borderline personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. Like Charles Manson, the man at the centre of proceedings was also the figurehead of an obsessive fan club. And if that fan club grew to resemble a cult, in its slavish devotion to Depp against all reason, it’s largely because, like Simpson’s trial, the whole thing was televised.

However, one key difference between Depp v Heard and these other previous high-profile trials, is the influence of social media on public opinion. The trial was not only ‘televised’ but also TikToked, live-streamed and memed. The tagline for Cooper’s three-parter Depp v Heard even bills the trial as ‘the first trial by TikTok’.

The show opens with the Hollywood sign flickering into Amber Heard’s face on a red carpet. There’s old footage of Depp and Heard on the Hollywood walk of fame, at a dinner, and stepping off a boat in Venice glitch and distort into shots of Los Angeles freeways. News anchors read headlines about the couple, and about the trial. The screen glitches again, into a tree lined highway in Virginia. More clipped footage, more contextualising news clips. Then one anchor raises an important issue – a crucial factor in the trial proceedings that, a year on, often gets lost in the heady internet fog of misinformation, conspiracy, clout-chasing and PR campaigns. Why was the whole sorry spectacle staged in Virginia, when neither Heard nor Depp live or work there?

Well, the ‘official’ reason Depp was allowed to sue in the state is because the news outlet that ran Heard’s article, The Washington Post, “houses its printing press and online server in Fairfax County.” Yet, it’s also because, under Virginia law, the trial judge can decide whether to allow cameras in the courtroom.

Heard’s team tried to exclude the cameras from the trial. At a pre-trial hearing in February, attorney Elaine Bredehoft noted there was already a huge amount of media attention on the trial, as well as scrutiny from what she described as “fearful anti-Amber networks”. “What they’ll do is take anything that’s unfavourable,” Bredehoft said, “they’ll take out of context a statement, and play it over and over and over and over again.” Depp’s team, on the other hand, wanted the trial televised. “Mr. Depp believes in transparency,” his lawyer, Ben Chew declared. It should have been a sign of what was to come that the judge sided with Depp. “I don’t see any good cause not to do it,” Penney Azcarate, the chief judge of Fairfax County, announced. Others saw it differently. “Allowing this trial to be televised is the single worst decision I can think of in the context of intimate partner violence and sexual violence in recent history,” Michele Dauber, a professor at Stanford Law School said in May 2022. “It has ramifications way beyond this case.”

One of the ramifications of Judge Azcarate’s decision is that Depp v Heard is now on our screens. But, none of those quotes from various legal professionals are taken from the series. Indeed, there are no expert voices at all. There is no narration. No one who was involved in the trial is involved in this directly. There is no ‘broad view’, or ‘behind the scenes’, or ‘recontextualising with the benefit of hindsight’. This is a documentary in the loosest of senses. Early takes from the other side of the pond have been split – some critics have suggested it “casts the trial of the decade in a new light”, while others have deemed it “nothing more than a tactless win for pro-Johnny fans”. Perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that the trial itself was so notoriously divisive. Personally, I’m inclined to agree with Audra Heinrichs of Jezebel, who described the docuseries as playing “like a highlight reel from hell”. 

If Depp v Heard suggests anything, it’s that people consuming the trial were biased. Well, that’s hardly a scoop, and to my mind, it’s certainly not worth the full, three-hour docuseries treatment. The series doesn’t dig into the motivations of the anti-Amber content creators or their backgrounds. For example, one prolific poster and top Depp stan who is featured extensively but anonymously in Cooper’s three-parter is Andy Signore. Not long before the Depp v Heard trial began, Signore had been fired from Screen Junkies, the YouTube-focused company he founded, for a variety of sexual misconduct allegations. Having set up his channel Popcorned Planet after being dismissed, Signore now posts livestreams about ‘daily news’ and ‘pop culture justice.’ Mainly, he covers what he characterises as the injustice of the #MeToo movement. Signore more than doubled the following of his YouTube channel during Depp v Heard. He made more than 300 videos about the trial, ratcheting up millions of views as he built a new reputation as a crusader for ‘justice’ and, crucially, making money in the process.

All the content creators immortalised in this series, and many more besides, were making money – but this also isn’t discussed or made explicit in Depp v Heard. Cooper presumably believes this allows the content to speak for itself, and lets the viewer weigh up their own thoughts, becoming another member of the public jury. But the true effect is just blur – an endless stream of stuff. Just how much money were all these #JusticeForJohnny content creators making? Was there a coordinated and well funded online PR campaign for Depp throughout the trial, fuelled by bots, as many alleged post-trial? Depp v Heard has no answers, just more clips. He said, she said. No thoughts, just vibes.

I wrote about Depp v Heard last year as the trial was ongoing. Then, I felt like I had to maintain some semblance of neutrality in my discussion of the ‘facts’ of the case itself. The piece wasn’t about who was ‘right’, or who was telling ‘the truth’ – it was about how strange the spectacle of the case had become, and how dangerous a precedent it seemed to set, if trials about intimate partner violence could be spun into comic TikTok clips. I didn’t want to come down on one ‘side’. I wrote that “treating an ongoing defamation trial, featuring graphic and distressing testimony about physical violence, coercive control, and sexual assault, like […] Netflix’s latest true crime documentary series is, at best, distasteful and, at worst, actively dangerous.” Now, as Netflix’s latest documentary series opens up the can of worms again, the only true takeaway is how little we’ve learnt since then.

[butcherlarry]

Weekly Fic (and Meat) Rec 50

Holy moly! This is my 50th fanfic rec list! I have to admit, these have been fun to make each week. Along with these fic recs, I also have a meat rec for you at the end! It's an interesting one, heehee.

To Err is Human, to Purr is Batman by Internerdionality - Batfam with a little Superbat, wip. Bruce gets turned into a cat by Batmite. It's super adorable :)

how to divide the conquest of they sight by streetlight_skeletons - Batfam, complete. A case fic. Something Bruce got into while on patrol is causing him to attack Dick.

Patchwork Pod by Ktkat9 - Superbat, wip. More mer Bruce AU! Still on the look out for missing Bruce!

Stand Up for Yourself by UnicornVomit - Batfam, complete. Jason gets in trouble at school, but Bruce has his back :)

The Return by lurkinglurkerwholurks - Batfam, complete. A re-read for me. A fic about what happens after Bruce gets back after being lost in time, especially with the relationships within the Batfam.

Bruce Wayne and his vampire boyfriend by Speechless_since_1998 - Superbat, complete. Jason runs into Tim at a gala. Tim tries to convince him that Bruce's boyfriend (Clark) is a vampire. Shenanigans ensue.

have your cake and eat it too by amyritter - Superbat, complete. Clark is sad he can't get hickies :( Good thing he has a creative partner :)

As promised, a meat recommendation! If you're from Pennsylvania, you already know it, it's scrapple!

Here is the Wikipedia entry for it:

I was introduced to this dish when I was in college! One of my meat science professors was from that state, and he wanted to teach the processed meats class I was in how to make it. It's actually a pretty interesting dish! Leftover pork meat and pork offal are ground up, mixed with spices, buckwheat flour/cornmeal/wheat flour, and water. It's cooked down and put in to loaf pans so you get that loaf shape. It's sold fully cooked, so you could eat it as is when you buy it, but it's traditionally served sliced thin and pan fried on both sides to get that nice crispy crust. I like to eat mine with maple syrup! It's a nice contrast of sweet and savory, I think.

At one of my previous jobs, I worked in a pork packing plant in Pennsylvania, so we made this! It would be served in the cafeteria as one of the breakfast options, and they would DEEP FRY the slices. They were nice and crispy then!

I think what I like so much about this product is the whole thought process that went into making it, so the packer/butcher shop owner could make money from inexpensive parts of the hog. It is literally made of the leftover parts of the hog that no one wants to eat by themselves (hearts, livers, kidneys). Also, the flours and meals added to extend the product tends to be pretty cheap compared to the meat. The water added as well is also pretty inexpensive. It's a way to create value out of parts of the hog that people would normally not eat, while making it tasty (in my opinion) too! It's problem solving at the meat butchery level!

I know some people might read/look at this and think "gross!!", but I just think it's neat (insert Marge Simpson potato meme here). I also have some good memories that I associate with scrapple when I was going to school and when living in Pennsylvania. ALSO, we have this new thing going on at my work where all the food labs get together and discuss what's happening in our labs each month. The R&D director said that he's open to suggestions to showcase interesting food products in our industry at the end of the meeting. I suggested this to my boss and he didn't like it, probably because he thinks it's gross or something. This is my little "fuck you" to him (that he will never see since he is a straight white man who has no idea what Tumblr is).

Happy reading (and eating!)