#the joke is that it has nothing to do with the high intellectual art of the game

[imeverywoman420]

describe your dream man

Huge penis

tall

facially he has to look sexy. Idk how to describe but you know what a sexual man looks like vs a normal man. Their eyebrows are naturally tilted. They look like horny sharks kind of. Good bone structure. Like one of the hot killers from criminal minds.

smart but at stuff i know nothing about. Not politics and art and shit. Like smart in a kinesthetic/social way. Not in a nerdy intellectual way.

likes to invade my personal space and pick me up and pull me onto his lap or whateverrr

doesnt care about stupid Homosocial shit like impressing his bros too much. Or climbing the social ladder. I want a man that just wants to live in a cardboard box

He has to WANT to take care of me. I dont just want to be taken care of in a transactional score keeping way. I like to completely worship my partner because thats how i am. I do it for me. I dont mean financially support me rly at all but i mean in a cheerleader way.

he has to laugh at my jokes and think im so cute and silly and adorkable and quirked up

hold me when we watch scary movies. Bonus points if he watches the movies by himself before hand so he can cover my eyes at jumpscares

goes urban exploring and shit with me. Ghost hunting.

a wife but a manly man

High sex drive and no hang ups about sex

i want someone who sees me as a damsel in distress. Nobody else does i get treated like im The fat guy from full metal jacket or some shit by everyone else. I want him to make me feel like a GIRL A WOMAN I want someone who for once in their life sees me as a GIRL as a PRINCESS!!!!!! I AM TINKERBELL!!!! IM YOUR HARLOT STARLOT QUEEN OF CONEY ISLAND!!!

i want him to be my muse

But tbh i also want to be Besties. I dont just want to feel like oo hes my boyfriend hes a man im a woman. I want to be patroclus and achilles

he has to be really supportive of my interests. That is MAJOR KEY. Name my stuffed animals. Learn the different sanrio characters names for me.

above all else. I want him to be possessive of me. Not in a toxic jealous “i own you” way. But i want him to make me feel like hes actively choosing me. Every single day. That he would carry me around in his pocket if he could. I dont ever want to feel like hes with me just to be in a relationship and Have A Girlfriend.

Thank uou for letting me talk about my favorite thing ever

[carchariascarcharodon]

was thinking about robert shaw again today, and i wanted to do some archival digging to see if i could find some interviews he'd done in the past other than his appearances on the dick cavett show & the new england our way documentary (which honestly seem to be the only filmed interviews he's ever done).

i found over a dozen eighteen(!) articles, but there was one published in the guardian on july 16, 1971 that i found especially interesting! while he does talk about the usual things discussed in his interviews (his children, his work, his love of writing over acting) he does also speak (albeit briefly) about his being a socialist - which is really *not* what i would have expected robert shaw's political alignment to be ALKDGNSDKLGN it's so cool !! he was so cool.

it's a horrible, horrible scan though, & looks something like this:

so i've just gone ahead and transcribed everything to the best of my ability below. i've also made some slight changes to punctuation for the sake of readability. there were a lot of strange run-on sentences in the original article.

i'd happily share the link to the original document, but i found it via proquest and my university's name is directly attached to any generated permalinks :( issn is 02613077 and doc id is 185459069 though! interviewer/author of the article was terry philpott.

“Most people, you see, think that actors are stupid,” says Robert Shaw, stage, film, and television actor, playwright, and novelist (“The Sun Doctor” won the Hawthornden Prize). It is likely that most people think that there are two Robert Shaws. People who read novels think that there is a novelist called Robert Shaw, who has nothing to do with that dreadful actor who they occasionally see on television, or they think that he is the son of the son of George Bernard Shaw, and are too ignorant to know that he didn’t have a son. The popular image of Shaw shows him starring in films like “From Russia with Love,” “The Valiant,” “The Battle of the Bulge,” “Custer of the West,” and “The Battle of Britain.” He was a memorable Henry VIII to Paul Scofield’s More in “A Man for All Seasons,” [?] fewer people know him in the [?] adaptations of Pinter or as a stage actor. Shaw too is an intensely physical character, the man of the media who offers tips in drinking, the sportsman, the father of eight children, and the owner of four cats, who delights to drive at high speed. Even his novels, serious as they are, contain this intense physical aspect of their author. His priest in “The Flag” was a former miner, a man of great physical energies who harboured doubts about [?] and his faith. Halliday, the sun doctor, found his moral conflicts besetting him in the African jungle, and in between their philosophizing and perhaps [?], Slattery and Lewis in “A Card From Morocco” drink and rage. Yet in Shaw, the intellectual and physical seem in [?] compatibly at one moment, he is eagerly discussing sport; at the next, art; a discussion of politics with reference to Lord Liverpool’s ministries takes up as much time as a discussion on driving; he discloses his Socialist convictions with an angry gusto; makes what appears to be a thoughtful remark, but laughs suddenly and says that he was only joking. The challenge, egotism, sharpness of thought and quickness of word are not Shaw acting public Shaw, but the essence and reality. “I genuinely love to shock my readership into something,” says Shaw the writer, “But I am always thinking of how I can get their attention, of how I can shock them out of their smug, middle-class ways. I want to shock them out of their stupor, to shock them into awareness, to make them think. Everybody is shocking them sexually, but I am like the Jesuit priest, and I want to make the boy [thud?]” “There is so much sensationalism, now. How can you do that? I have got to get at them after they take my books off the library or book shop shelves. I know how Edna O’Brien does it, but the first pages of my novel aren’t those of the popular novels. I am a political pamphleteer.” Shaw believes very much in early formative [influences?], and perhaps his character can be explained by his upbringing. Born in Lancashire, he was eldest of the five children of a doctor, who committed suicide when his son was 11. “My mother was the total influence. She is an extremely strong woman, a puritan in the true sense of the word. We were thought of as a family of some social standing, the family to know in the village. While my mother used to tell me not to play with the ‘common children,’ from her I learnt also real humanity.”

Although his childhood was spent mainly in the Orkneys and Cornwall, the family lived near Bolton through some of the Depression, a period of lasting influence on his political leanings. His interests in writing and acting grew simultaneously at school. At 21, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company at Stratford-upon-Avon for two years, following them with a year at the Old Vic. As late as 1960 he was still known mainly for his role in “The Buccaneers,” although his first novel, “The Hiding Place” had appeared in 1959, and the year before that he acted in his own play, “Off the Mainland,” at the Arts Theatre, London. He supplemented his income by journalism, writing feature articles for “Queen” and [chairing?] television’s [lone essay?] at a regular literary programme, “The Bookman.” There he introduced to the television public a young novelist named Edna O’Brien, whose first novel, “The Country Girls,” had just appeared. “I write, first, because I have a childish desire for immortality,” Shaw says, “I don’t know why it is, but I have noticed that other people have it, too, although in an essay Adler wrote that it was not a desire strong in women. Secondly, I am a political writer. I feel very radically about some things, but only in a certain kind of way, not in a square-on political party way. I would like to influence people to a hard and tough radicalism. That is why I admire Orwell so much and I admire him even at his worst. We are surrounded by second-rate, trashy writers who are taken up and praised. It isn’t that I think Harold Pinter is the greatest playwright of the century, but even at his worst he is an intelligent writer.” Acting offers few compensations. “Films are a business and seldom an art form. It is a director’s medium. For obvious reasons, there are no good screen writers, because anyone with any sense doesn’t want to be one. The only films that I have been in that have made money have been the bad ones, so you’ll see what I mean.” He is currently playing Lord Randolph Churchill in the making of “Young Winston,” the Richard Attenborough-Carl Foreman film adaptation of Churchill’s “My Early Life.” Here there are some satisfactions. “It is one of the last big budget pictures. I have the best part, with the possible exception of Anne Bancroft as Lady Jennie Churchill. Hardly anyone knows anything about Randolph, so I’ll have to be bad not to be able to do something with the part. While he wasn’t the equal of his son, he was a very remarkable man. It is pleasant to be playing an intelligent man for a change. I have also got my best wardrobe since Henry VIII, so that is my vanity satisfied. Few are working in the industry at the moment, so even to be working is some feat.” Filming can occasionally offer deeper rewards. “There are some occasions when you are working with someone really good, like Joe Losey, and filming can become art and takes on something special. It is a sort of religious moment when you feel that you are really communicating something. It is probably an illusion, but you can also feel it when you write. It has only happened to me rarely with acting.”

He and his wife Mary Ure may go to Broadway in Pinter’s “Old Times,” but even stage acting Shaw finds of dubious interest. “There is an English mystique about the theatre, thus stage actors are knighted and film actors are not. I get bored by any stage play in about four weeks, but you also have an audience to respond to you. The great difference is that in the theatre you can dominate the audience, whereas in the cinema you can woo them.” For these and other reasons he would not leave acting. “I would like to say that. I was going to stop acting completely, but I can’t. Apart from the other reasons, there is, first, this childlike side in me that loves acting, and although I curse it at times, I think that acting is under-rated. It is certainly better than many professions; being a politician, for instance. Secondly, I can’t afford to be just a writer. I could afford it if I were prepared to live in a poorer manner, but now I am used to living in a certain way. Anyway, I rarely go out or buy clothes or spend much on myself, but I have a lot of dependents.” Acting, too, allows him to subsidise his writing: the National Theatre have just paid him £100 for his new play, “Cato Street,” which he worked on for two years, and he has another novel, “Flesh and Blood,” planned for publication next year. He is working at the moment on the second volume of “The Cure of Souls,” his trilogy, the first of which was “The Flag.” It will be set during the Spanish Civil War, a period and event of enduring fascination for him. But he does not see the trilogy as the work for which he might be remembered. “I keep getting little ideas which are more relevant, contemporary, and will be in the end more important. Conrad kept breaking off his larger works like ‘Lord Jim’ to write other works like ‘The Heart of Darkness.’ I am trying to achieve that kind of book.” Shaw enjoys his wealth. “It gives me power, but more than that, if you are proud and poor in modern society, it isn’t very pleasant. I was always willing to be sacked by a director. I can afford to be now, but I believe that every actor, whatever his material position, should be willing to be, too. Money also offers me freedom and space.” It is providing him with a large house in Ireland where he will indulge again his desire for immortality by creating a great garden. Shaw admits to some incongruity in a Socialist enjoying the comforts of the Savoy and talking about his wealth. He says it is a dilemma that has confronted him for some time, but he has reconciled himself to it in the knowledge that he is an autocrat, and does not know a talented person who is not. “Here I am living like a capitalist, and yet I believe that if there were a real chance of equality[,?] of opportunity, of real socialism, then I would give up all the money. It would all go. Definitely, definitely, definitely. That I really feel.”

[apocalypsenowredux]

you know everyone on the internet and irl always think that film majors that are film bros (tarantino fans) are the annoying ones but no one actually knows the film major hierarchy that exists alright no one talks about how the nolanheads and the scorcese fans are the ones you will always run into, literally no one is a tarantino fan like his name is a hush word in the department it's so weird. even a bunch of the profs refuse to say his name idk why everyone has that reaction and then creates a circlejerk about scorcese. boooooo. everyone hates fun (the real answer is that no one has seen the movies he references and suddenly im double weird for liking crappy 60s film AND tarantino wtf)

no but fr there's weird tension in film departments that no one talks about, like everyone thinks theyre superior to their classmates and acts like you are dirt (or are extremely annoying) if you like anything by tarantino, spielberg, or kubrick, but the most based and interesting person on the planet if you like scorcese, nolan, and wes anderson (then you have the few people that hate all of the above and think theyre intellectuals for doing so but also they hate fun). also another thing that's weird is that twin peaks is really big within the department but nothing else by lynch, like they get weirded out by stuff like blue velvet and his other movies idk whats happening

like the concept of "high art" vs "low art" is so alive within the student body and its actually fucked up

it's just like. guys. are we not all here because we like movies??? what the fuck are we doing?? everyone else in the school thinks this is a bird degree and that the department is a joke that doesnt deserve the funding/donations its gotten, why the fuck are we calling each other stupid? sorry for ranting its just been on my mind for so long now

more people need to just shut up and watch a shitty old movie. if we all could just calm down and turn our brains off while picking a movie and stop analyzing as we watch but instead absorb the content maybe this world could be beautiful. but i digress.

VIOLENCE AND SEX AND SUBSTANCES AND BLOOD AND BULLETS AND GRIME AND NEON AND SHADOWS RAHHHHHHHHH KEEP MOVIES CRASS AND OFFPUTTING AND TEXTURAL ARGHHHGHGHKGFJD !!!!!!!!!!@!Q!!!!

[sexualitiesresearchgroup]

Fanfiction & The Power of Making Your Own Representation

Hey besties, worsties, and those whose relationship with me is much more complex than that, let’s talk about fanfiction! We know it, we love it, and it has absolutely never been the topic of any controversy whatsoever! I see a lot of discussion on here about the literary merits of fanfiction– people like to say that Dante’s Inferno is just Bible self-insert and the like, and whether or not that is a joke (and I do believe that the majority of people saying this are doing it for the bit, it’s not the insidious act of anti-intellectualism that a lot of y’all think it is) this kind of rhetoric does reveal an underlying urge on a lot of our parts to try to legitimize fanfic as something that’s worth spending our time on. Whether or not your 20k word Destiel soulmate AU is high art, fanfiction does have a very real benefit, aside from just being fun.

It’s no secret that the majority of fictional media that’s coming out is Overwhelmingly Heterosexual, and it can be really difficult to find books, shows, movies, etc. that you can connect to as a queer person. Plus, there’s this overwhelming pressure for queer media to be perfect in how it deals with social issues, and while it is more than justified to be frustrated when media portrayals perpetuate stereotypes or are otherwise inaccurate, the environment for queer storytellers has become rather hostile, both from the industry they are climbing uphill to break into as well as from fans. As such, while media is steadily getting more diverse, many queer people still find themselves feeling alienated by the media they enjoy, and that’s where fanfiction comes in!

When mainstream media is sorely lacking in representation, queer fans take it upon themselves to create media that suits their needs, retelling stories as a form of social transgression, taking aspects of the normative and making it queer. French philosopher Michel Foucault discussed the concept of the ‘heterotopia,’ which has nothing to do with heterosexuality, believe it or not. Heterotopias are spaces that can “disrupt the normative processes and power—including heteronormativity and cisnormativity– within which society functions” (Llewelyn). These spaces engage with normative, mainstream culture while also subverting it: while it should by no means be where your activism ends, there is something personally empowering about, for instance, writing about two characters being gay when their creator has said something homophobic. It is a small act of resistance, even if it is not something that the showrunners will ever see. You’re carving a space for queerness within a larger space that either explicitly or implicitly rejects it, and that’s pretty cool! 

Writing gay fanfiction isn’t necessarily going to change anyone’s minds or get any legislation passed, but it has a very real value in how it allows queer people to take the media that they love and reimagine it, reclaiming it and making it something that they are able to see themselves in.

[yhwhrulz]

Morning and Evening with A.W. Tozer Devotional for September 24

Tozer in the Morning Man - The Dwelling Place of God - A Do-It-Yourself Education Better Than None

THIS IS WRITTEN FOR THOSE CHRISTIANS who may have missed a formal education. Let no one despair. A do-it-yourself education is better than none. It can be acquired by the proper use of our mental powers.

Our intellectual activities in the order of their importance may be graded this way: first, cogitation; second, observation; third, reading.

I wish I could include conversation in this short list. One would naturally suppose that verbal intercourse with congenial friends should be one of the most profitable of all mental activities; and it may have been so once but no more. It is now quite possible to talk for hours with civilized men and women and gain absolutely nothing from it. Conversation today is almost wholly sterile. Should the talk start on a fairly high level, it is sure within a few minutes to degenerate into cheap gossip, shoptalk, banter, weak humor, stale jokes, puns and secondhand quips. So we shall omit conversation from our list of useful intellectual activities, at least until there has been a radical reformation in the art of social discourse.

We shall not consider prayer here either, but for quite another and happier reason. Prayer is the loftiest activity possible to man, and it is of course partly mental, but it is nevertheless usually classified as a spiritual rather than an intellectual exercise; so it will be omitted.

I believe that pure thinking will do more to educate a man than any other activity he can engage in. To afford sympathetic entertainment to abstract ideas, to let one idea beget another, and that another, till the mind teems with them; to compare one idea with others, to weigh, to consider, evaluate, approve, reject, correct, refine; to join thought with thought like an architect till a noble edifice has been created within the mind; to travel back in imagination to the beginning of the creation and then to leap swiftly forward to the end of time; to bound upward through illimitable space and downward into the nucleus of an atom; and all this without so much as moving from our chair or opening the eyes-this is to soar above all the lower creation and to come near to the angels of God.

Of all earth's creatures only man can think in this way. And while thinking is the mightiest act a man can perform, perhaps for the very reason that it is the mightiest, it is the one act he likes the least and avoids most.

Aside from a few professionals, who cannot number more than one-tenth of one percent of the population, people simply do not think at all except in the most elementary way. Their thinking is done for them by the professionals.

After cogitation comes observation (in order of importance, not in order of time). Observation is, of course, simply a method of obtaining information. Without information the most powerful mind can produce nothing worthwhile. Philosophers have not agreed about whether the mind receives all of its ideas through the five senses or comes into the world with a few "innate ideas," i.e.,ideas already present. But we need not settle this argument to conclude that information is indispensable to sound thought. Knowledge is the raw material out of which that finest of all machines, the mind, creates its amazing world.

The effort to think well with an empty head is sure to be largely wasted. There is nothing like a good hard fact to correct our carefully constructed theories. God has given us our five senses, and these are most highly sensitive instruments for the gathering of knowledge. So efficient are these instruments that it is quite impossible for a normal person to live even a brief time without learning something. For this reason a child five years old may properly be said to be educated in that he has by observation gathered a few facts and arranged them into some sort of orderly pattern within his mind. A doctor of philosophy has done nothing different; he has only gone a little further.

While it is impossible to live even a short time without learning something, unfortunately it is possible to live a long time and not learn very much. Observation is a powerful tool, but its usefulness depends upon how well we use it. One of the tragedies of life is that the powers of observation atrophy when not used. Just when this begins with the average person I have no sure way of knowing, but I would hazard a guess that it is at about the age of twenty-five. By that time most people have formed their habits, accepted the conventions, lost their sense of wonder and settled down to live by their glands and their appetites. For millions there is not much to observe after that but the weather and the baseball score.

Lastly reading. To think without a proper amount of good reading is to limit our thinking to our own tiny plot of ground. The crop cannot be large. To observe only and neglect reading is to deny ourselves the immense value of other people's observations; and since the better books are written by trained observers the loss is sure to be enormous. Extensive reading without the discipline of practical observation will lead to bookishness and artificiality. Reading and observing without a great deal of meditating will fill the mind with learned lumber that will always remain alien to us. Knowledge to be our own must be digested by thinking.

Tozer in the Evening In the Pursuit of God - Introduction

Here is a masterly study of the inner life by a heart thirsting after God, eager to grasp at least the outskirts of His ways, the abyss of His love for sinners, and the height of His unapproachable majesty--and it was written by a busy pastor in Chicago! Who could imagine David writing the twenty-third Psalm on South Halsted Street, or a medieval mystic finding inspiration in a small study on the second floor of a frame house on the vast, flat checkerboard of endless streets - Where cross the crowded ways of life - Where sound the cries of race and clan, In haunts of wretchedness and need, On shadowed threshold dark with fears, And paths where hide the lures of greed… But even as Dr. Frank Mason North, of New York, says in his immortal poem, so Mr. Tozer says in this book: `Above the noise of selfish strife we hear Thy voice, O Son of Man.' My acquaintance with the author is limited to brief visits and loving fellowship in his church. There I discovered a self-made sch olar, an omnivorous reader with a remarkable library of theological and devotional books, and one who seemed to burn the midnight oil in pursuit of God. His book is the result of long meditation and much prayer. It is not a collection of sermons. It does not deal with the pulpit and the pew but with the soul a thirst for God.

The chapters could be summarized in Moses' prayer, Show me thy glory,' or Paul's exclamation,O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!' It is theology not of the head but of the heart. There is deep insight, sobriety of style, and a catholicity of outlook that is refreshing. The author has few quotations but he knows the saints and mystics of the centuries--Augustine, Nicholas of Cusa, Thomas Kempis, von Hagel, Finney, Wesley and many more. The ten chapters are heart searching and the prayers at the close of each are for the closet, not pulpit. I felt the nearness of God while reading them. Here is a book for every pastor, missionary, and devouted Christian. It deals with the deep things of God and the riches of His grace. Above all, it has the keynote of sincerity and humility.

Samuel M. Zwemer

New York City

Copyright Statement This material is considered in the public domain.

[permian-tropos]

Rax: When I was a boy, the Emperor taught me how to play this game as he did. He taught me how it represents the galactic political stage. And so, when the Imperator is lost, all of the other pieces do not deserve to exist. The demense must be cleared.

Adea: Sorry, I... I don’t quite see how he’d get that from playing shah-tezh? Isn’t it more like, if you lose, your strategy failed? You put your pieces in the wrong places at the wrong times?

Rax: Oh, don’t be too hard on yourself. The Emperor was a genius, a visionary. His style of play was enigmatic, arcane to learn and complex to imitate.

Adea: I imagine so, Admiral.

Adea: ...

Adea: Checkmate.

Rax: FUCK!! *flips the board, the pieces scatter*

Adea: Ah.

[drendarmorevo]

The Tip of the Iceberg

Amaris Civil War, narratively this is largely where the setting of Battletech begins and much of what is currently going on in the setting can draw its cause from this conflict, Stefan Amaris was the president of the Rim Worlds Republic whos noble family had a grudge against the Cameron family (the leaders of the Star League) going back generations. Amaris managed a masterstroke of a coup and managed to take control of the entire Terran Hegemony and successfully kill nearly every member of house Cameron [citation needed]. This started the throwdown of throwdowns as the commanding general of the entire Star League Defense Force, General Aleksandr Kerensky, did not like the idea of an usurper coming in and taking control, so Kerensky destroyed him in a thirteen-year long campaign of revenge that resulted in the destruction of the Rim Worlds Republic, the death of Amaris, and the unfortunate collapse of the Terran Hegemony and ultimately the collapse of the Star League government. This led to the eventual exodus of the Star League Defense Force, which led to the creation of the Clans as well as ComStar, and the eventual Clan Invasion of 3052 and well, yes, where we are now in the aftermath of the IlClan trial and the Battle for Terra. Tex (forthcoming) has a 3 hour documentary on this that covers the broad strokes of the conflict and Sven (forthcoming) has an eight hour documentary going incredibly in depth on the conflict.

Tex, of the Black Pants Legion, a voice in the choir, documentarian and historian, Tex and his team have produced some of the best fanworks available to people interested in the setting. The videos he produces have incredibly high production values using original music, art, and in depth research to bring to the attentive viewer and student "S-tier Shitposts" that are the series "Tex Talks BattleTech." But its really not fair to call it shitposting, as these videos stack up, and are generally backed up by canon information whenever available. Tex and his team are responsible for many of the most common memes in the BattleTech community, but its important to note that Tex is largely a very humble person who does not enjoy being lauded for his efforts but does not hesitate the laud appreciation upon his team. All of the videos that they produce are used to support charities and good works, to say that Tex and the BPL are overall a force for good in both the BattleTech community and society at large is not a misnomer. Tex Talks are usually done from an "In-universe" perspective.

Sven, Sven van der Plank is a BattleTech Youtuber who has been doing some incredible deep-dives into the history of the BattleTech setting, its fair to say he is another of BattleTech's great historians and documentarians. While not as high in production value as one of the Black Pants Legions videos, Sven's vids are no less thoroughly researched and are presented in a more professional manner than a Tex Talk (less memes and jokes to keep the viewers attention, just raw history).

Big Red, BigRed40k is another Battletech YouTuber who has a more "dramatic" style to his documentaries which typically cover mechs, but can sometimes cover battles or people important to the setting itself. His videos are typically from a "outside" perspective and when a video is about a mech, both in-universe, and game stats are referenced. He tends to use a lot of gameplay footage in his videos.

The Unseen, ok, so, BattleTech is a miniatures game with an associated narrative, but the guys at FASA were good at stats and story, but not so great on art creation, so to get a game out the door they licensed a ton of early designs from other intellectual properties that otherwise have nothing to do with BattleTech. Unfortunately some of these licenses came through a IP house called Harmony Gold (spit), and they were assholes. So while early editions of the game were allowed to use the imagery as licensed initially, later editions and other uses of the BattleTech IP were suddenly not allowed to use the art and designs that had been used up to that point, this resulted in pictures of these mechs not being allowed, miniatures unproducable, and overall these mechs "disappearing" from the setting for a while until solutions could be made. These mechs were called, you guessed it, "the Unseen." This situation was not "fully" resolved for thirty years.

Critical Rocket, yet another YouTuber, his focus is not solely (just mostly) on BattleTech, but he has made significant contributions to the world of BattleTech and has supplied his own takes on mechs, vehicles and lore in the setting. Another guy worth watching.

Battletech Iceberg Meme. I feel like I could do a video (or a very long post) explaining every point here.

[lysol1201]

crack ass headcanons but this time they were written at 5am

made this at 5am when i was stressed over school in march and i spilled redbull all over my desk and setup (i was a video game art major so everything i did was on my PC and then redbull got all over it so my life flashed before my eyes. at least i'm graduated tho now lol)

has some 18+ themes on here, nothing explicit just some suggestive jokes.

this is a long one so enjoy bbg's

++++

-Mammon’s favorite marvel hero is iron man because rich bitch

-Satan relates to the hulk, he empathizes with him, satan goes full on empath mode with bruce banner

-“OH SHIT! A RAT! THERE’s A RAT! THERE’S A MOTHERFUCKEN RAT!” -Barbatos probably

-MC boutta blare the p*rnhub drums music in HoL, the people who turn their heads

Asmo (lmao duh, also like smirks and is like omg what video)

Levi (he knows what it is but didn’t like it, he prefers hentai thanks. also probs knows from memes, is embarrassed because he’s levi even if he isn’t a p*rnhub avid viewer)

Mammon (oh shit oh fuck)

Lucifer (avatar of horny)

Satan is an intellectual!!! (He looks lol catgirl shit in that history and you know it)

Beel knows the sound but doesn’t care or feel embarrassed cuz it isn’t something he indulges in and Belphie is asleep.

-Levi has had significant others in the past but all have been online and most just stopped coming online after a couple days

-Satan had a skrillex phase, don’t ask why, i just can feel it

-Barbatos once played his playlist when he was baking with Luke and Luke was like “can’t wait for smooth jazz” and suddenly fucken breaking benjamin starts fucking blaring “SAY GOODBYE! AS WE DANCE WITH THE DEVIL TONIGHT! DON’T YOU DARE LOOK HIM IN THROUGH THE EYES! AS WE DANCE WITH THE DEVIL TONIGHTT” and Luke had a breakdown he had to go home. Barbatos was no longer allowed to play his playlist around Luke. So Barbatos played Cooking by the Book in apology. Luke once again got angy and went home.

-Asmo has once convinced Mammon, Levi, and Satan to do a performance for a Christmas event and it was the fucken Mean Girls choreography. Levi weirdly got way too into it

-Asmo listens to NSFW asmr this isn’t a self projection okay look let me explain I tried it out of curiosity and then passed out like good ass ASMR until the sounds of fucking woke me up n e wayz that’s Asmo

-“Oh fuck, Lucifer found the pee drawer… in his study HIGH FIVE” -Anti-Lucifer League

-ButterSock owners:

Lucifer

Barbatos

Solomon

-“Beel stop, don’t eat your brother-“ -Lucifer

-Who can do the WAP dance the best, from best to worst

Asmo (lmao is that a question)

Barbatos (don’t ask why)

Belphie (weirdly good at things without trying, just kinda like his grades)

Solomon (just listen)

Satan (wasn’t going to let Lucifer be better than him)

Lucifer (could be better if he wanted to but he’s not sure whats worst, being the best at it or being the worst at it. settles with the middle)

Diavolo (mmm fuck)

Levi (probably practiced before it was brought up, but too embarrassed to use his full potential)

Mammon (too much force)

Beel (too distracted by “macaroni in a pot” lyric)

-Pacifist Route Undertale Players:

Luke

Simeon

Diavolo (dunno why I just feel like he’d just be happy to be there)

Beel

Renegade Route Players:

Belphie

Satan

Solomon

No Specific Route:

Lucifer

Mammon

Asmo

Both Playthroughs:

Levi

-Lucifer wears crocs

-Buys discord kittens nitro:

Satan

Levi

Is a discord kitten:

Asmo

Belphie (fakes identity for free shit)

Mammon (b urself❤)

-No Nut November Survivors:

Beel

Belphie

Satan

Barbatos

Diavolo

Simeon

No Nut November Failures:

Asmo

Lucifer (avatar of horny)

Mammon

Levi (someone looked at me, horndog)

Solomon

-“This one’s for you bbg.” *misses*

Levi

Mammon

Satan

Asmo

Belphie

Solomon

-belphie studies by listening to like audio shit and falling asleep to it, gets that shit engraved in his brain and he can sleep also win-win he’s unstoppable

-“Hey…. do you know about Candice? Candice dick fit in yo mouth.” -Anti-Lucifer League

-Mammon can outrun lucifer but he lowkey wants to be caught cuz its fun

-“Hey, what do you have?”

“A knife!”

“NO!” -Lucifer and Belphie interaction

-“If you enjoyed the Bee Movie, you’re going to Hell!” -Luke

-Solomon told Diavolo about Spaghetti Tacos from iCarly and Diavolo immediately made Barbatos make some. He loved it.

-Asmo gets Lucifer to do tiktok dances with him and Lucifer is good as fuck

-Barbatos is perfect at tiktok dances. and everything. he’s perfect.

-Belphie is skilled with firearms, be afraid (proof right here)

[siswritesyanderes]

Of the three Peter Parkers you described, which one would Sadie get along with best? Is that a different answer to the one you think is most likely to attach on her?

(For anyone new here, Sadie is my OC from two AO3 fics, now. She's very intellectual, she's into psychology, she has a dog named Brillig, she's black, and her age depends on the fic.)

TASM Peter would probably click with her best; he would be really charming and friendly, and it would feel like a normal courtship for a while, as long as nothing forces him to reveal his yandere side. He'd be extremely protective and stalkery after what happened with Gwen, but he'd also be amazing at hiding it. He doesn't want Sadie to find out about his Spider-Man stuff and get involved, like Gwen did.

He would most likely meet her in college. He's double-majoring in Physics and Biology; she's majoring in Psychology, with a minor in Art. They form a friendship, and honestly, if she really didn't want to date him, he might even stop at friendship, provided he can subtly stay close to her at all times. In his ideal scenario, though, they would be in an exclusive romantic relationship and she would never find out that he's Spider-Man. His flirtation would be very normal-seeming; she might notice the intensity in his eyes every now and then, but he could go a long while showing only subtle shades of obsession. (When they start dating, he can finally get away with making her his lock screen, home screen, desktop background, screen saver...)

If he and Sadie weren't dating and a romantic rival appeared, he would ward them off if Sadie hadn't noticed them yet or shown any signs of affection to them. If she did show that she liked them, he wouldn't stop her from forming a relationship with someone else. But he'd be watching that person closely. If they ever cheated, or acted too badly when they were in a poor mood, or anything he didn't like or trust, he would have to intervene. She'd never know, and they'd never return.

Whether they're dating or not, he'd follow her around as Spider-Man, subtly, not making a spectacle at all, and be brutal with anything that ever tried to hurt her. His highest priority is her safety, so those who harm her not only can't be allowed to ever do it again, but they also can't be around to tell people that Sadie is someone of interest to Spider-Man. Sometimes that means he has to kill them. He knows that's not what a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is supposed to be about, and to an extent that weighs on him, but being a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man didn't save Gwen, so maybe it isn't what the neighborhood deserves. Every time he hugs Sadie, this Peter thinks about how devastating it would be if anything happened to her. What kind of Spider-Man would he become, then? He hugs her for a good while.

He does everything he can not to show her his yandere side. If he ever fails to hide that part of himself, he would be extremely apologetic and might beg her to stay with him. Every bit of pain that had been hiding behind his little jokes and charming smile would start to come pouring out. For the first time, his desperation would be on full display.

MCU Peter would be a decent match, but his tendency to form active plans to woo the one he likes/loves is less subtle than TASM Peter's way of smoothly sliding into her life. And he also has way more resources than TASM Peter has; through his connections, he can use, money, futuristic tech, or even magic (Dr. Strange's) to make things work out for them romantically. This would overwhelm Sadie a little, since she is more comfortable with a go-with-the-flow style of courtship. But Peter is extremely friendly and loyal, and the obviousness of his crush is endearing. She would like him.

I'm imagining them dating in high school, but it could be a post-No Way Home situation, as well. In which case, maybe they've moved into the same building; she got an apartment close to her college, and he got an apartment due to the events of No Way Home, and they run into each other around the building. Or maybe he's swinging around as Spider-Man and she's walking Brillig and he asks to pet her dog, and they have such a pleasant conversation, and he's just so starved for that. They could meet any number of ways. However it happens, he's quick to introduce himself to her as Peter Parker, get her phone number, become her friend, etc.

He would not be okay with romantic rivals; he would make a point of talking bad about them in Sadie's presence, making her laugh disapprovingly with his light quips and his clear ulterior motives, and then behind her back he would scare them off with a glare and some threatening words. He doesn't usually need more than that.

This Peter would also be brutal with anything that tried to hurt Sadie, but he wouldn't prioritize making sure no one knows that Sadie is important to Spider-Man. In fact, he makes sure the people who try to harm her know that she is Spider-Man's girl and this is what happens to people who come near her. Not so much killing; more horrible, horrible injury and pain. Those who tried to hurt her will never be able to do so again, but they'll mostly remain alive. They'll be an example. Unsurprisingly, while he doesn't immediately tell her he's Spider-Man, she doesn't go too long not knowing.

Unlike TASM Peter, MCU Peter is likely to show clear signs of yandere-ness around her. He might freak her out, but he'd be all smiles and consoling about it.

Aaaaaand, unlike TASM Peter, he could Gilded Cage her pretty easily. Even if it's post-NWH and therefore he has no easy Stark Industries connections, he knows that Happy's password is "password".

The version of Raimi Peter that I posit (and again, I don't have the best grasp on that character) seems like he would be an...interesting fit for Sadie, just because she prefers to make rules for herself as a means of staying honest and avoiding unnecessary confusion and uncertainty, and having someone else just show up with his own convictions and stipulations would initially annoy her. She likes making agreements and compromises with people she's already formed some foundation for a relationship with, but someone suddenly showing up in her life with ideas for how it could be improved would cause some friction. It would require her to sit down with him and hash out the ground rules and boundaries.

With him, it could be another therapist!Sadie situation; that would be wild, if their initial relationship is in the context of her giving him therapy, and he keeps trying to reciprocate her help even though it is definitely not supposed to go both ways. Or it could be another scenario in which she meets him in college and they study together.

[jonnnysuh]

could we get along with svt in real life?

A collaborative series by @vernonsnostrils and me (Nala)!

A/N: Lately Bee and I have been doing daily rankings for fun and we decided to share our very very specific and dumb insights with all of you. For this one we're ranking who we think could tolerate us......... <3 Warning: Dumb info ahead

NALA:

13.Wonwoo – looks scary. I also have a rbf so imagine us together omg. Everyone would think we’re vampires. No one would want to be friends with us so we’d only have each other.

12.Woozi – I feel like I know nothing about him :-( He’s an amazing musician, and does come off as a little tiny bit mischievous. I feel like Woozi is the type of guy I have every class with but then we graduate never saying a word to each other.

11. Jun – I think Jun is funny as hell but he’s so quiet. I’d want to be his friend but I wouldn’t know how to approach him. Everyone loves him tho so he has his pick of friends and it does not include me LMAO

10. Jeonghan – (this one kind of doesn't make sense bc he should be higher on the list,, but also?? i'm the one who made this list so fite me) but I think that me and him are pretty similar. We both have a side that’s devious and wants to create havoc but we’re also the mom friend that takes care of everyone and with that I feel like we’d butt heads/ be the designated parents which is EW I am 20 years old,, I'm no one's mommy YUCK.

9. Joshua – he’s also quiet but I know he has a good sense of humour!!!! Hypes up my bad ideas bc he’s not involved -- but he will be giving me a thumbs up in the sidelines. I feel like he’s the type to make me text the guy I have a crush on “Just do it. What do you have to lose?” UM my dignity??? Tf Josh.

8.DK – The human version of a “pick-me-up” He is so “no thoughts, head empty” and I am too. Let’s go cloud watching !!!!!!!!! Let’s pick flowers !!!! A good friend to text on a bad day bc he will literally tell you the most embarrassing thing that happened to him, and even though you’ve heard it before it’ll still make you laugh.

7. The8 – simple, really. He likes art and I love art. He likes fashion, I like fashion. I feel like we could talk shit together LMAO. He has the most specific roasts but they’re always on point. I need someone who’s a little bit mean in my life <3

6. Mingyu – I know I could bully him jokingly and he’d take it (bc he knows I’m joking) but it wouldn’t stop him from pouting a bit. I feel like he’d be scared of me at first LMAO. We both share the hobby of photography so my ideal day out with him is just wandering around with cameras and taking pics of things we think are beautiful. Also forcing each other to pose in front of a dirty brick wall bc “IT LOOKS COOL, TRUST ME.” “WAIT I DON’T KNOW HOW TO POSE THO” and then he’d literally have to mold me into a good pose bc I am Play-doh

5. Vernon – The calm to my crazy, convinces me not to beat someone’s ass. Walks into my room to say nothing else but “Spaghetti” and then leaves quietly. Doesn’t talk to me for 5 months but will send me a meme at 5am bc it reminded him of an inside joke we had. Live-texts his emotions to me while watching tv shows, and shares new conspiracy theories with me. He’s a little bit too chill, I need someone ready to fuck shit up.

4. S Coups – is reliable and gives good advice bc he’s also a ball of anxiety. Nags me to do the right thing. Messes with me a lot. Would stay on the phone with me if I was home alone and told him I heard a noise. Says “Calm down there’s no one there.” BUT he’d also say shit like “check under your bed”

3. Seungkwan– I feel like we’re just as annoying as each other. He has the biggest heart and is super encouraging and thoughtful. Half the time we’re joking around, and the other half we’re fighting. Very much love-hate. Capricorns and virgos are a superior duo. I said it.

2. Hoshi– all round good vibes. Chaos and Loudness matched. Doesn’t always have to be around a lot of people bc he creates the fun when it’s just us two. The kind of friend I practice flirting on and everyone’s like ??? “You’re in love with him” no bro I’m just bored… we just do this kind of shit and he is IMMUNE to my lovey antics by now.

1.Dino– We bully each other a lot but we also have each other’s backs. Definitely not ride or dies tho bc we will tell each other when the other fucked up. We are sarcastic dumb dumbs and that’s why we like each other. I feel like he would only tell me how much he cares about me on my birthday.

BEE:

13. mingyu – i literally don’t know what i would say to mingyu. “tall man” or “what up big boy.” i would be scared of him until someone taught me how not to be. like i gotta hang out with him in a group setting for three months straight until i can say hi to him when i enter a room. if i saw him i would simply just Not See Him.

12. wonwoo – like mingyu i don’t know if i’d have anything to say to him. him and mingyu both have popular high school boy personalities and that scares me.

11. josh – besides being californian, i don’t know if we’d have anything to talk about outside of in n out and traffic. he’s too pretty for me.

10. The8 – i feel like we’ve been over this for me. he’s too intellectual and polite i wouldn’t have much to say to him. but i feel like we could talk good shit about other people.

9. jun – i think i get along well with people with quiet funny personalities. like the kind where you don’t have to necessarily say anything but look at them and they’re telling you what they’re thinking. he knows that i know. so he kept reacting and looking at me. i think it’d take a while to develop a friendship though.

8. jeonghan – i wanna cause chaos with jeonghan. i want to do lots of things with jeonghan i feel like he would give me piggyback rides while sliding with his socks on the floor. he would tease me and i would be offended for five minutes while he pretends to tell me he’s sorry (he’s not).

7. dino – dino and i would be like twins building a sandcastle on the beach. that’s our vibe. like the kids you meet on vacation and play pirates with at the pool. relegated to the kids table kind of vibe.

6. scoups – he’s like the type to play catch with the stuffed animal in the room while we sit on the floor and chat. like he just arrived and is asking me about my day and picks it up from my bed and we throw it around while talking.

5. seungkwan – i think seungkwan and i could sit and talk outside on the patio when the stars are bright. like we could sit outside and stare out at the stars while i talk about my biggest dreams and don’t even need to see him to know that he thinks the world of me

4. hoshi – i see a lot of face masks. hoshi teaches me how to dance while they rest on our faces, but they keep sliding off because we’re laughing too hard. he has immaculate vibes, like the type to say “here for a good time not for a long time” but it’s an absolute lie because he’s there for both.

3. woozi – although i like to joke that he’s an evil little man, i think we could talk a lot about music and he would be very happy to teach me what he knows, and we’d spend a lot of time developing ideas and growing together.

2. vernon – he has the personality of my irl best friend, like a slightly chaotic aquarius who is horrendously hard to reach like 99% of the time. he’s the kind of guy who would try to make dinner but end up fucking it up so horribly that when i come in it’s like smoky and awful and the fire alarm is going off, so i have to air out the apartment and go get takeout and bring it home to my burned smelling apartment and eat it on the floor of the living room while binge watching a new netflix show.

1. dk – i just love the kind of joy and energy he radiates, like would be excited to do anything at all if it’s with me. would love to accompany me on any task if i just asked, like getting ice cream at 10pm and he’d know exactly what kind of flavor he’d get so it could accompany mine well when we inevitably switched halfway through the cone. saves the bottom of the cone, the chocolate tip, for me because he knows it’s my favorite.

[saphirered]

Would an individual ask about Caleb ending up with the reader instead of Essek at the end of campaign be alright? I love the wizard bois together, but I'm crushing baaaad on Caleb hehe. Maybe they teach and live happily ever after together, very domestic living after all the adventures they've had :3

Hoping to satisfy your Caleb crush. How's this for some domestic fluff? Enjoy! 😘

The first rays of sunlight are blocked by thick heavy curtains. Awake or asleep, Caleb’s sense of time never fails him. He wakes up bright and early on the minute precise but makes no move to truly start his day. How could he with the sight he wakes to? There you lay, in his arms, eyes closed in peaceful sleep. Never did he think he’d see you so relaxed, or allow yourself to be so relaxed. Sure your lives are not free of stress or the occasional disaster and rarely are your livelihoods in peril these days but compared to months ago that doesn’t even come close to the dangers you’ve faced together; dangers that the majority of the people will never know about. A moment of peace and quiet was just another luxury you and him couldn’t truly afford no matter how much you may have pretended. But now you finally know peace.

Caleb watches your eyes flutter beneath your eyelids and watches just a moment longer carefully trailing his fingers up from their place on your waist to your cheek, caressing it fondly as you sleep. He reminisces when and where your lives intertwined in that tavern in Trostenwald and the events leading you both here together in your shared apartment in Rexxentrum at the Soltryce Academy as respectable teachers of the arts you both love.

When you first met Caleb feared you. He feared you more than anything for you just like him had ties to the Cerberus Assembly but you did not suffer the same fate he had. Luckily your studies were of no interest of his former master and you were instead claimed by another sent out into the world to learn more and find your own way. He was so scared you might lead the Assembly to his nonexistent doorstep and at one point entertained the thought you were a spy sent to bring him back but you proved the opposite. When he revealed his story and you told him you would help him or die trying beside him he brushed you off. Persistent as you are you gave him the wakeup call of a lifetime saying that you’re not doing this just for him but everyone before him, everyone after him.

To Caleb you will always represent all that is good and pure in this world despite the horrors that may have shaped you, changed you for better or worse. He will always consider himself to be the luckiest man in the world to have you at his side as his confidant, moral compass, study-mate, intellectual equal, bailout, friend, partner, but most of all; his lover for he could not want for anyone else in the world. No one could ever replace you and no one can compare to you. You may tell him you’re not the most intelligent, quick-witted, charming or interesting individual in the world but to him you are and he will argue with you on that until you grow tired of him and are forced to accept. He certainly does not mind the fluster of your cheeks and kiss you offer to shut him up.

And now you lie asleep cuddled up against him, limbs intertwined, the sunset orange covers slipping from your shoulder. Caleb hears the birds begin their song signalling he must leave the warm comforts of your embrace so carefully he begins to untangle his legs from yours, his arm from underneath your head replacing it by quickly pulling the pillow above down. He begins to untangle your grasp on his shirt slowly removing your fingers one by one. A deep intake of breath on your end and adjustment of your legs below the covers has him worried he’s woken you up.

Caleb knows fully well you have your own ways of waking up on time and you would have asked him the night before if he ought to wake you, so since you’re not already awake he’ll give you every extra minute of sleep you can get. You deserve it so he’ll curse himself if he’s the one to ruin it. Once you have adjusted and he’s sure you’re still sleeping he continues and removes himself from the warm comforts you’re huddled up among longing for nothing more than to share them a minute longer and gathers his things. In putting his lesson plans, notes and a few books to pass the time for the day he bends down to allow the orange tabby to jump into his arms and sets the cat onto the table taking a moment to stroke its fur and give some chin scratches leaving the little beastie purring.

Ridding himself of his night clothes Caleb puts on his shirt, and trousers tucking the shirt into the waistband and moves on to his footwear as per his usual routine. He takes the vest set out for him and is about to button it up when he feels eyes on him. His first thoughts go to the cat but that one’s not the guilty audience so instead his eyes fall to you, propped up against the headboard watching him.

“Well don’t stop on my accord. Though, I prefer the clothes back on the chair.” Your voice is still riddled with sleep but you’re awake enough for your comments so Caleb feels justified to give you a disapproving scowl though he cannot prevent the smile from creeping up his lips.

“Good morning to you too.” Caleb smiles as you cover a yawn with the back of your hand. You pull yourself out of the bed and stumble over to Caleb until you’re toe to toe placing a hand on his cheek guiding him into a kiss. Your lips move against his and his arms wrap around you to return and welcome your efforts openly. Though, enough’s enough and Caleb breaks the kiss giving you one final peck in an attempt to kiss away the onset disappointment and pout on your end.

“No matter how much I’d like to continue, Astrid will have both of our heads we show up late.” Caleb runs his fingers through your hair kissing your cheek as you cross your arms. Is there nothing you can do to convince him to stay? He might be right about Astrid…

“Well, I do not have any classes until second period but if you’re so adamant to stay with me I can send the archmage a message to tell her you’re regretful to be missing your first class of the day and to find a substitute.” You’re joking. Not really. A joke hiding the actual offer. Caleb considers it for a brief moment purely to entertain the thought but he knows very well he shouldn’t.

“You know we can’t but how about I make it up to you with dinner and dancing and a night in? Just the two of us.” Caleb cups your cheeks stroking your cheekbones with his thumbs, a gesture he knows very well makes you melt.

“That sounds like an agreeable offer, professor Widogast.” Your acceptance brings another bright smile to his face and he pulls you into another chaste kiss to seal the deal. This time you’re the one to pull away.

“Best get you ready for the day then, lest you be late.” Your nimble fingers stroke down the front of his chest finding the buttons of his vest and one by one buttoning them up. Once you’re done you take a few steps back looking him over.

“Do I pass your inspection, professor?” Caleb laughs half the mind to do a little spin for you but he refrains instead lifting the cat from the table into his arms.

“With flying colours. I think his highness is inclined to agree.” You watch as the cat meows making himself comfortable in your wizard’s arms without any intent to go anywhere but alas, all good things come to an end be it for the cat or you. With some protests Caleb puts the cat back on the ground allowing the creature to skitter off to gods know where.

You pull open the curtains allowing the light of dawn to fill the room. Caleb already regrets the decision of not taking you up on your offer to call in late and miss his first class as you look absolutely radiant but he feels certain both of you will be missing second and possibly even third period if he does, so he must refrain. Tonight will make up for it. He’s already got the perfect place in mind for dinner.

You catch Caleb staring, his gaze following you as you pull at the heavy fabric until the outside world is revealed to you. You put a little sway in your step before you gather your own clothes for the day and change in your usual attire, slowly. Deliberately slow. If he’s already staring you better not waste your opportunity and make a show of it.

“No use in staying in bed all alone. His Highness makes for good company but he’s a dull conversationalist. Perhaps I’ll drop by Beau at the Archives?” You deliberate your events for the morning tapping your chin.

“If you do, tell the Expositor I have some more files for her to study.” Caleb, finally pulled out of his trance steps back over to you, or rather besides you to grab his bag and sling it over his shoulder. You know he’s about to be off so you wrap your arm around his waist as you guide him to the door. Not much you can change about the need for students to be taught the wonders of transmutation magic. While you may find times you’d want to spend more time together, in the end neither of you would ever want to give up teaching. There’s plenty of other times you can spend together happily. Or you can justify combining your classes for one reason or another as you love nothing more than to share your passions.

“I’ll see you in a few hours at the Academy?” Caleb watches as you fall silent for a moment, your focus drawn away.

“Yes, I’ll make sure he knows. We’ll be there. Thank you.” You speak but Caleb knows fully well it’s not directed at him. This has become a habit he’s very much gotten used to so he simply awaits for you to share the message.

“Astrid wants us for lunch. She threatened to limit your access to the library if you’re late.” Of course she does, Caleb thinks to himself. So the archmage may or may not have heard about his almost-arrest of the day before. He’d already gotten an earful from you.

“Of course she does. There go our lunch plans for our free period.”

“You’re the one to get arrested for- and I quote ‘encourage insurgence among young impressionable souls’.” You grin. Okay, you may have been a little proud of Caleb actively trying to do better but you could do without the accusations of treason. You’d rather not have Caleb spend the night in jail because word got out or he pissed off the wrong person. You’d expect this from Beauregard but had hoped Caleb would be more careful about it and so apparently thought Astrid. He’s in for a scolding according to her tone.

“Merely teaching young impressionable souls how to be better. Is that a crime?” You grab Caleb’s coat and help him into it as he offers you a ‘thank you’.

“According to the king, yes it is.” The amusement in your voice is enough to earn you a playful glare. You open the door for Caleb and he steps halfway out offering you one final kiss.

“Love you.” Caleb pecks your lips. You’ve drawn out the length of the kiss long enough and he’s already on the verge of running late now so no matter how much he may want to stay, he has to go.

“Love you too, Caleb. See you soon and for the love of the arcane arts; stay out of trouble.” You know he won’t make that promise as he can’t keep it but you still tell him to every time. You kiss his cheek stepping back and watching the wizard leave as you close the door. Nothing but a usual morning; sneaking out of bed, cats, kisses, a message from your friend the archmage, talks of treason and the love of two fate-entwined mages trying to make the world a better place.

[frankendykes-monster]

Space Jam: A New Legacy is content to be content.

The original Space Jam was a calculated marketing exercise. Michael Jordan was the biggest sports star of the nineties, and Space Jam capitalised on Jordan’s brand potential while also allowing the athlete to refashion his own narrative into a family-friendly mythology. Space Jam packaged Jordan for a generation, smoothing the wrinkles out of his story by presenting a wholesome family man making an earnest transition from basketball to baseball.

It also helped Warner Bros. to figure out what to do with their Looney Tunes characters, which had largely laid dormant within the company’s intellectual property vaults. There had been a conscious effort to revitalised the company’s animation with shows like Tiny Toon Adventures and even Animaniacs, but those classic and beloved cartoons were a merchandising opportunity waiting to happen. So the logic of the original Space Jam was clear, it was an excuse to tie together two potentially profitable strands of intellectual property.

Space Jam itself was something of an afterthought. The movie struggles to reach its ninety-minute runtime. It often feels like the production team have to utilise every scrap of film to reach that target, with extended riffs focusing on Bill Murray and Michael Jordan on the golf course and with a lot of the improvisation from the voice cast included in the finished film. The movie’s ending comes out of nowhere, and Space Jam struggles to hit many of the basic plot beats of a scrappy sports movie.

The movie itself was immaterial to the success of Space Jam as a concept. After all, the film only grossed $250m at the global box office, enough to scrape into the end of year top ten behind The Nutty Professor and Jerry Maguire. However, the film’s real success lay in merchandising, with the film generating between $4bn and $6bn in licensing and merchandising. Key to this was the success of the six-time platinum-certified soundtrack which remains the ninth highest-grossing soundtrack of all-time.

In some to trace a lot of modern Hollywood back to the original Space Jam. So much of how companies package and release modern media feels like an extension of that approach, the reduction of the actual film itself to nothing more than “content” that exists as a larger pool of marketable material. After all, the unspoken assumption underlying AT&T’s disastrous decision to send all of their blockbusters to HBO Max was the understanding that HBO Max itself was often packaged free with company’s internet. Movies would no longer be their own things, but just perks to be packaged and sold as part of larger deals.

In the decades since the release of Space Jam, the industry has become increasingly focused on the idea of packaging and repackaging intellectual property. It has become increasingly common for films to showcase multiple intellectual properties housed at the same studios. Simple crossovers like Alien vs. Predators or The Avengers now seem positively humble when compared to the smorgasbord of brand synergy on display in projects like The Emoji Movie or Ralph Breaks the Internet.

Interestingly, as Disney have steadily securing their intellectual property portfolio with additions like Pixar and Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. have becoming increasingly bullish about showcasing the depth and breadth of their bench. The LEGO Movie imagines a wide range of properties consolidated under one brand. Ready Player One depicted a pop culture user space lost in nostalgia for properties and trinkets. However, those movies also managed to tell their own stories, even as they grappled with the weight of brand synergy pushing down on top of them.

Space Jam: A New Legacy has no such delusions. It understands that it does not exist as a story or as a feature film. Instead, it has distilled cinema down to a content-delivery mechanism. The plot of the movie finds basketball star LeBron James sucked into the “Serververse” and forced to ally with the Looney Tunes in order to play a basketball game with the fate of the world in the balance. However, while the original Space Jam ran a brisk and unfocused ninety minutes, A New Legacy extends itself to almost two hours. There is always more content to repackage and sell, after all.

A New Legacy slathers its cynicism in nostalgia, directly appealing to a generation of audiences who have convinced themselves that Space Jam was a good movie and a beloved childhood classic. A New Legacy is built around the understanding that the original Space Jam walked so that it might run, counting on the audience’s nostalgia for the original film to excuse a lot of its indulgences. After all, it would be a betrayal of the franchise if A New Legacy wasn’t a crash and vulgar cash-in. In many ways, A New Legacy does what most sequels aspire to do, scaling the original film’s ambitions aggressively upwards.

As with the original Space Jam, there is layer of irony to distract from the film’s clear purpose. In the original Space Jam, the villainous Swackhammer planned to abduct the Looney Tunes and force them to play at his themeparks. The implication was that the characters did not want to be sold into corporate servitude, stripped of their own identity and rendered as crass tools of unchecked capitalism. The irony of Space Jam lay in the fact that the entire movie was a variant on Swackhammer’s themepark and the Looney Tunes were dancing to that theme anyway as Daffy puckers up and kisses the Warner Bros. stamp on his own ass.

In A New Legacy, a sentient algorithm – Al G. Rhythm – is cast as the movie’s primary antagonist. The film gestures broadly at a satirical criticism of the modern film industry, with Al G. Rhythm shaping and warping the future of movie-making by suggesting things like computer-generating movie stars and producing a constant array of recycled intellectual property. A New Legacy recognises the machinations of Al G. Rhythm as unsettling and horrifying, with throwaway jokes about the theft of ideas and the violation of privacy, but the villain largely serves as a smokescreen to let the movie have its cake and eat it.

After all, A New Legacy revels in Al G. Rhythm’s plans. LeBron James is turned into an animated figure and dumped into classic Looney Tunes shorts like Rabbit Season and The Rabbit of Seville. The film understands that while the audience might be afraid of the algorithm, they also yearn for it. After all, it isn’t Al G. Rhythm who structures A New Legacy so that the film spends an extended sequence touring the company’s beloved intellectual properties.

A New Legacy is really just an investors’ day presentation that celebrates the sheer amount of content that Warner Bros. own. It’s not too difficult to imagine the film screened investors before the Discovery deal, as proof of just how many viable franchising opportunities existed within the copyright of the company itself. It’s a weird and unsettling showcase, in large part because it feels like that warning from Jurassic Park. The studio were so obsessed with whether they could do a thing that they never stopped to consider whether they should.

The film’s middle section includes a whirlwind tour of the properties owned by Warner Bros. After Bugs “plays the hits” with James, the two set off on an adventure to recover the other Looney Tunes from other beloved Warner Bros. properties. Some of these advertisements make sense: Daffy and Porky are living in the world of Superman: The Animated Series, while Lola seems to have found the Wonder Woman from the Bloodlines animated films. Others make much less sense in a movie aimed at kids, like the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote hiding in Mad Max: Fury Road or Yosemite Sam living in Casablanca.

Of course, it’s debatable how much of A New Legacy is aimed at kids, as compared to the kids of the nineties. Its target market seems to be kids in the late nineties who never grew up, because they never had to. Elmer Fudd and Sylvester are hiding out in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Granny and Speedy have taken refuge in the opening scenes of The Matrix. While the original Space Jam featured odd pop cultural shoutouts to things like Pulp Fiction, at least that was somewhat contemporaneous.

To be fair, there is no art driving these choices. Many of these references serve to point the audience towards established properties. It is a sentient recommendation algorithm for HBO Max and a handy way of stoking audience interest in upcoming projects like The Matrix 4 (December 2021) or Furiosa (June 2023). It is a helpful reminder that Superman: The Animated Series has been remastered in high definition to stream on HBO Max. Foghorn Leghorn even rides a dragon from Game of Thrones to remind viewers that the show is streaming on HBO Max and that there are prequels coming.

It’s all very bizarre, but also strangely lifeless. The climax of the film finds the inevitable basketball game played in front of a crowd of familiar pop culture icons drawn from a wide range of sources: King Kong, The Iron Giant, Batman ’66, The Wizard of Oz, The Mask and many more. It feels very much like a surreal power play, a company showcasing the depth of its own vaults at a turbulent time in the industry. It leads to weird moments, like Al G. Rhythm even quoting Training Day, perhaps the film’s most unlikely draw from the “Warner Bros. Intellectual Property Vault.”

The most revealing aspect of the movie is its central conflict, with Al G. Rhythm cynically manipulating LeBron’s son Dom. Dom is convinced that his father doesn’t understand him, that his father is unable to see that his skill lies in video game coding rather than old-fashioned basketball. Rhythm is able to create a schism between father and son, using Dom’s code and his anger to attack and undermine LeBron James and the Looney Tunes. It’s a very broad and very archetypal story. There are no points for realising that Dom eventually comes around to his father and accepts that Rhythm is a villain.

However, it signals an interesting shift in these sorts of narratives. Traditionally, these sorts of generational conflicts played out between fathers and sons, with fathers presented as antagonistic and sons presented as heroic. The original Star Wars saga is built around Luke Skywalker trying to wrestle and grapple with his father Darth Vader. In Superman II, the eponymous superhero is forced to confront Zod, a representative of his father’s generation and the old world. Even in Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne is set against his surrogate father figure Ra’s Al Ghul.

The metaphor driving these sorts of stories was fairly simple and straightforward. Every generation needs to come into their own and take control of their own agency within the world. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi ends with Darth Vader dead and Luke staring out into the wider universe. Times change, and each generation has an obligation to try to create a better world than the one left to them by their parents. In the conflict between parents and children, it has generally been children who have prevailed.

However, in recent years, the trend has swung back sharply. It’s notable that the villain in Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens is an errant child who doesn’t properly respect his parents, and that Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker ends with order restored when the protagonist takes the name of the beloved heroes of the older films. Shows like Star Trek: Picard are built around the idea that kids need their older generation of parents to swoop in and tell them how to properly live their lives.

A New Legacy is an interesting illustration of this trend. The movie ends with a reconciliation between LeBron and Dom, but it is very clearly on LeBron’s terms. Dom is manipulated and misled by sinister forces, and his father has to save him while realigning his moral compass. Father knows best. It demonstrates how the underlying logic of these stories has shifted in recent years, perhaps reflecting the understanding that perhaps the older generation won’t surrender the floor gracefully.

As with Ready Player One, there’s a monstrous Peter Pan quality to A New Legacy. It is a film about how the culture doesn’t have to change. It can be recycled and repurposed forever and ever and ever. At the end of Space Jam, Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny parted ways. There was an understanding that the two worlds existed apart from one another. However, A New Legacy ends with the collapse of these worlds into one another; the “Serververse” manifesting itself in the real world. As LeBron walks home, Bugs asks if he can move in.

Of course, with HBO Max subscription, the audience can take Bugs home anytime they want

[orangerosebush]

Craquelure

[ao3 link here]

From the author Myles na gCopaleen and the playwright Samuel Beckett, Artemis Fowl I had taken the names he would give to his twin sons. By naming them in this fashion, the Fowl patriarch borrowed from the wit and prosperity the writers had blessed their home country with.

And what beauty there was in those writers’ success — to be beloved for the words one scratches onto a page. That was the purest milk and honey; a writer can claim better than most that his success is the result of the magic within his mind, rather than the tools lent to him by another man or the work appropriated from another.

Years before the twins were born, Artemis Fowl I would bestow his name upon his firstborn. To give someone your name is a gift that can only be given once, and once it has been passed down, it cannot be revoked. In this sense, the process of name-giving is like cell division; where there once was only the one, now stood Artemis Fowl I and Artemis Fowl II. The creation of an heir is a second act of reproduction that produces the child — although Artemis was first born as a son, the gift of his name brought him forth into the world as the heir.

Perhaps Artemis’ own intelligence reinforced this fate. From the moment Artemis could speak, he effortlessly adopted the mien of his father. And how could he not? His was a mind, ravenous, whose desire to consume the world around him would always be whet, never cloyed. When the stream of cruelty refuses to be struck by drought, it is no wonder when a carnivorous lamb is produced.

Did this mean Artemis was wicked at his core?

No — though what he was at his core, not even he knew. The only thing that could be said with any certainty was that he was not enough his father for either of their tastes. When Artemis was a child, he’d not yet learned to treat the world as his thing to plunder, and when the water of the Murmansk Fjord rebaptized Fowl Sr.’s heart, Artemis had grown too cunning and cruel to ever fully kill the vampire he’d become. He was both too little and too much, both too early and too late to match the pace of his father’s moral waltzing.

All of this was readily apparent to Myles.

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It is a terrible thing to be born to replace another. However, Myles knew in his heart of hearts that such a statement wasn’t wholly applicable to his situation. When you replace something, you expect it to be gone forever. “Forever” was an absolute that could never apply to Artemis. Myles was nothing more than a temporary replacement, for his brother’s return had been expected.

The problem at hand had nothing to do with love.

Of course Mother and Father loved Artemis, just as they loved Myles and Beckett. If anything, Myles could quietly revel in the small victory of love, for Father, despite his best efforts to appear neutral, loved Myles more than his older brother — or at the very least, was able to love him more openly, more easily.

During the first few years of his life, Myles got to have a taste of the difference between love and a legacy. While Artemis was missing, Myles, unwittingly, played his role. It felt like the world’s most exhilarating inside joke; to know of the grand plan that was your future, unbeknownst to all the people around you who didn’t understand. Myles should have known this was never going to last, however. If Father truly believed that Artemis had died — if Father had believed in Myles — then Myles wouldn’t bear the name he currently bore. Rather than having the name of a decently respected author tacked onto him like an afterthought, he would bear the legacy of his father. He could have been, should have been, Artemis Fowl III.

(Was this an immature understanding of the depth of the grief felt over Artemis’ loss, or was it Myles’ left-over instincts from his days as the heir to be attuned to the water of his father’s crocodile tears?)

But Artemis returned.

Oh, how Myles hated him! How quickly this return relegated Myles to the role of merely being a son once more. Artemis, the prodigious-rather-than-prodigal son. Artemis, with his capacity for miracles and endless belief in his own abilities. Artemis, who when their Father talked about the past, was a figure that ambiguous represented both Artemis Fowl I and II. Artemis, who left for three years and came back with an eye that no longer resembled Father’s eyes.

Ever since Artemis returned, Myles dedicated himself to the cause of tearing down false idols — he disavowed the faulty flying machines of da Vinci just as he mocked the hypotheticals of Einstein’s Big Bang. These intellectual titans were frauds waiting to be unmasked by Myles — Myles, who held all the answers, and who wasn’t afraid to proclaim that he did.

What did the gift of getting to play with Father on uneventful Sunday mornings with Beckett matter when compared to the gift of being seen as an equal?

Perhaps the real source of Myles’ petulant rage was the fact that even more than the recognition of Father, he craved the recognition of Artemis. His older brother, his dead-and-alive sibling, his kin who was both the father and the son — Myles wanted so dearly to belong to the world of magic made possible by some unknown, special quality that seemed to suffuse Artemis with a brightness noticeable to all.

When Myles had tentatively tried to explain these sentiments to Beckett, his twin had been mystified. Beckett, who had always been more like Angeline, found the tale of fathers-sons-and-brothers inscrutable. Mystified by his brother’s frustration, Beckett had countered Myles’ confession with the facts he had available: Artemis loved the twins, and Beckett knew that Myles loved Artemis in turn. They were family, Beckett had argued, and they all loved each other — Myles simply got confused because he overthought things so often.

It was the worst response Beckett could have given. The fact that Artemis got to slide neatly back into his old life, sending the family dynamic into free-fall, wasn’t fair — Artemis shouldn’t get to just win . Every moment Artemis spent back home was a moment he was cheating Myles out of what had been his. For Myles to care for his older brother all the same… it was the most humiliating defeat he could have been served. Maybe if Myles had been born first, if he’d gotten to be the second rather than merely Myles, things would be different.

If Myles had just been allowed a fair shot, perhaps brotherhood wouldn’t feel like rivalry.

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From Ovid's "Metamorphoses"  trans. Charles Martin.

Daedalus and Icarus

[Daedalus warned:] “Listen to me: keep to the middle course, dear Icarus, for if you fly too low, the waves will weight your wings down with their moisture; and if you fly too high, flames will consume them; stay in the middle and don’t set your course by gazing at the stars”…

And while [Daedalus] was instructing him in flight, he fit the untried wings to the boy’s shoulders.

…[When Icarus] audaciously began to play and driven by desire for the sky, deserts his leader and seeks altitude. The sun’s consuming rays, much nearer now, soften the fragrant wax that bound his wings until it melts. He agitates his arms, but without wings, they cannot grip the air, and with his father’s name on them, his lips are taken under by the deep blue sea that bears his name, even to the present.

And his unlucky father, now no more a father, cries out, “Icarus, where are you, where, in what region, shall I look for you?”

And then he saw the feathers on the waves and cursed his arts; he built his son a tomb in the land that takes its name from Icarus.

Daedalus and Perdix

As [Daedalus] entombs his child..., he is observed, from where a rank ditch drips, by a chatty partridge, who chirps cheerfully and makes his wing tips flutter in applause: A novel and unprecedented bird, and one who’d only lately been transformed, O Daedalus, because of a misdeed that, for a long time, will be held against you.

For, as it happened, the inventor’s sister, quite unaware of what the Fates intended, entrusted her own son[, Perdix] to Daedalus’ instruction, a likely lad of twelve, who had a mind with the capacity for principles and precepts; … Daedalus envied him, and headlong hurled this lad of precepts from a precipice, the steep acropolis Minerva loves, and lying, said the lad had slipped and fallen.

But Athena, who takes care of clever people, snatched him from harm, changed him to a bird, and covered him with feathers in midair. His former brilliance, like his former name, he kept, although the former was transformed into the swiftness of his wings and feet.

...

[note: Perdix is the word Greeks had for “partridge.”]

[bonsai62]

Part 1: The Compatibility between Pisces and Capricorn

Hello everyone! Today, since I am hella bored and have nothing to do this fine evening, I am going to talk about the relationship between our two boys; Yuji and Megumi and how much they represent their signs so much.

Before I get started, I am not going to talk about their sex life even though it’s kinda important if you are into astrology, however, for this case I won’t because both of them are minors. But if you want to read more about their comparability then be my guess and look at the underline links. I will provide links in the discussion so you can have a better understanding on how the signs are and use manga pages for you to visually see it.

Also, excuse my English. I am very bad at it! Even though it’s my first language I still have lots of errors in my writing!

Also beware of manga spoilers too!!

Let’s get started on this very long essay!

Traits of a Pisces: Itadori Yuji

Positive: Compassionate (top), empathetic (middle), & creative (bottom)

We also have: Warm/gentle, caring, intellectual, animal lover, and romantic

Here we have the positive side of a Pisces and let me tell you it screams Yuji so damn much. Yuji is such a compassionate guy. I don’t think I have never seen a character who is very compassionate like Yuji (I have but we are talking about Yuji here lol). He can empathize with a whole lot of people and no matter what the situation is he understands. Yuji doesn’t need to have the same experience as someone because he can feel and get in their head to make him understand what their going through. Which brings me to that he has a really high empathy level when it comes to people (I can relate a lot because I have the same thing). However, having a lot of empathy isn’t all that’s cracked up to be but I’ll talk about it soon.

A Pisces is also very creative and they love hobbies. One of Yuji’s favorite hobbies is, I have a feeling is sports but that just based on what his old school thought of him + the baseball game. Plus cooking! Cooking is an amazing hobby and it lets you get creative with your hands and skills! I like to imagine that he is the best cook throughout the school and loves to share with his classmates and have them rate his cooking lol! Cooking is also a relief of stress so I can also imagine him having a bad day and just ends up being in the kitchen.

Now....

Negative: Overly emotional (top), impressionable (bottom), closed off (middle)

I messed up the order lol

We also have: melancholy, lazy, stubborn, moodiness, etc

Yuji is a very emotional person. We have seen him at his best and at his worse. He is such an emotional person that he felt bad for killing Choso’s brothers. His emotions gets the best of him when Junpei died, Megumi was hurt, seeing what Sukuna has done in Shibuya, and Nanamin/Nobara getting destroyed by Mahito. It’s an unhealthy feeling because we’ve seen Yuji get distracted with his injured friends and him kinda fucking up on his fighting. Another unhealthy trait that Yuji had is not talking about himself. We’ve seen him not talk about his feelings and I mean personal deep feelings that’s always going to be in the back of his head. Like when Megumi knows that something happened to Yuji but Yuji simple doesn’t want to talk about and closes it. He doesn’t really like talking about himself and rather hear other people/helping other people rather than face his own demons. If he’s facing his own demons, he rather be doing it on his own.

I also want to point out that many people think that he gets over people’s death hella easily. No... that is not true whatsoever. The boy has been through so much trauma that eventually you just get so tired of crying about it and you don’t have the energy anymore, you eventually start telling yourself “it is what it is” or “what can I do now?”. Noabra is a perfect example. He didn’t need to cry because he had the biggest mental breakdown when it happened. So when he asked Megumi about her status... he just had to say “alright”.

In my theories... she is definitely alive. Again, Gege is playing half of you guys. She is gonna pop out in the next couple of chapters or even the one coming up next.

Another things that I find interesting in Yuji which according to the links I put, Pisces tend to trust people easily:

Ease of being cheated: A desire to see the best things in other people makes the Two Fish very impressionable individuals. They trust others without any suspicions and often suffer from their frivolity. Any pressure of stronger people is accepted as a command for them and they easily agree with them without any doubts.

For instant, Todo and Choso. Those two mf were about to kill him but they didn’t because of what Yuji’s mind fuck did (I know Gege sensei said that isn’t a theory but still it’s mind fuck lol) He instantly call Todo his best friend like I can hear Nobara (Big sis) twitching somewhere lol. Whenever I think of Yuji and Todo’s relationship, I think of Vinny and Paula D from Jersey Shore haha!

Any who, while trusting people isn’t a bad thing, you still don’t know what their intentions are and everything. It’s a very naive thing to do.

But I felt for Yuji and Choso... Yuji didn’t have much of a choice...

I would like to know what changed Yuji’s mind into staying with Choso. I’m curious how Yuji “trusted” being with Choso after everything that went down. Yuji is a very forgiving character too (minus Mahito). But now, I think we can see that Choso has no bad intentions towards Yuji because he “might” be his brother. And their so cute too!!

On to our other boy!

Traits of a Capricorn: Megumi Fushiguro

Positive: Resourcefulness (top), discipline/patient (middle: also thank @pantherbeamish for the photos!), and reliability (bottom)

We also have: Responsibility, loyalty, diligence, team player, etc

Megumi is a very interesting character. Whenever I see him I get more interested in him. He is exactly what you would describe a Capricorn. We have seen Megumi be resourceful when it comes understanding how curse energy works thanks to him. He is very detailed when it comes to explaining and also a very patient man when Yuji, who doesn’t know jack shit about the Jujutsu world. Never, not once, does Megumi call Yuji an idiot for not knowing all these things. That’s what makes him amazing because if it were other Shonen mangas, the “rival” would’ve called Yuji an idiot. The only time Megumi ever calls Yuji an idiot is when Yuji literally does or says something stupid. To me, that is normal and not being a dick about it because we all know that if we had a friend like Yuji we would’ve stared at him like “why are you like this...”

It’s me... I’m a lot like Yuji lol

But no, he is very patient and tries to explain everything to Yuji as best as he can. I have this thing where almost everyone relies on Megumi a lot because he’s a serious guy + very responsible with his tasks. We see Maki trusting Megumi too. Like the time when Megumi was hyping Yuji up saying he can beat everyone in the Kyoto school if they didn’t use curse energy (something like that lol). Yuji also can confirm himself that Megumi is very reliable. He mentioned it while back at the prison because both sibling duo thought they were lost.

Negative: Sensitivity (top), seriousness (middle), reservation (bottom)

We also have: Unforgiving, criticism, suspicion, pickiness, etc

Just like Yuji, we have seen Megumi’s negative side a lot but it’s simply because he’s sensitive and thinks logically. Sometimes, I also feel like he thinks through his heart as well but that’s just me. That is where the sensitivity comes along. Megumi is hella sensitive he doesn’t need to show it because you can feel it.

In the article:

Sensitivity: It is better not to offend Capricorns who are very sensitive people. They can’t stand being laughed at and remain serious in public but feel badly deeply in their souls. Even a minor joke can result in resentment from their side!

In many, many occasions we have seen everyone fucking around or getting on Megumi’s nerves, especially in our recent Jujustroll where Gojo is saying a bunch of nonsense and embarrassing tf out of Megumi. His seriousness gets in the way and that’s what makes him sensitive.

On the side note: I also wanted to add something. As I was reading a few articles, some mentioned that Capricorns are... bland. Please, Capricorns!! No me ataques! I just find it interesting that someone, like Todo, who thinks Megumi is boring. Todo honestly thought he was boring since he first asked him what was his type and while Megumi gave us the best answer, Todo expected something more fun. But no, it was boring. Also, Megumi lives a simple life. Now, I’m not saying that Megumi is boring because as a matter of fact I like how simple he is. He likes to keep things neutral. Personally, on his activities he is considered “bland” and honestly, I can see why but I would still go out my way to enjoy it with him if I was his significant other lol I also feel like he has a good sense of style in fashion. I’m saying that judging from the official arts + “Lost In Paradise” because in that ED Megumi be looking like a bowl of fruits. A bowl of snacks lmao!

But, anyways! Megumi is also reserved to himself. He does not like talking about himself at all (hon hon does that sound like someone?). He doesn’t open up to a lot of people but I kinda feel like he does with Gojo but that’s just because Gojo raised him and he just knows when Megumi is feeling a certain way. Also, I bet Gojo just knows when Megumi is having a bad day too. We witnessed him just being in his own bubble in the current arc that is happened in the anime. Yuji and Nobara calls him out about him being so reserved to himself. He does eventually tells them what is going on, but it takes a lot for a Capricorn to open up and it’s totally understandable. I feel as if you want a Capricorn to open up, you have to let them give you time for them to get to know you. Give them your intentions and put in the effort to make them trust you.

Now in to the fun part!!

1. Trust:

Positive:

Articles 1: They will often understand each other well enough to respect their relationship and keep it clear of dishonesty

I’m a use this imagine again btw because this speaks their relationship clearly

I think what I truly love about their relationship and love the idea of them being an endgame is the trust that they have for one another(even though someone is gonna die). They barely knew each other for 2 months and their chemistry is off the mf charts.

The picture above isn’t just them having an eye opening moment but the fact that they trust each other to save one another.

Megumi had saved Yuji so many time

Yuji had also saved Megumi so many times

Tbh, when I was thinking about Megumi coming in to save Yuji from Yuuta and Naoya, I thought it would be the same as when Yuji saved Megumi and Maki from Hanami, but we got something better. We got to see Megumi never doubting Yuji and always making sure that he gives him as many chances as he gives. I hope that sparks a realization for Yuji because sometimes I always felt that he doesn’t really acknowledges Megumi doing a whole lotta things for Yuji. I’m still complaining about it because if he can say “thank you, best friend” to Todo or “thank you, Kugisaki, for letting me know that I am not alone” to Nobara, then he should definitely see how much Megumi gives a fuck about him.

I expect a “thank for being by my side and never doubting me” for Megumi.

Articles 2: Pisces, who prefers to hand off important decision-making to dominant Capricorn, feeds into the goat’s need to be in control. On the flip side, Capricorn trusts Pisces to attend to its emotional needs—something that can be very difficult to allow at first.

This is interesting because a lot of the time Megumi is always making the plans and the choices. I feel like Yuji tends to rely on Megumi a lot because Yuji respects the way Megumi thinks (I’m not saying he doesn’t do that with anyone either).

Another thing is that:

“Capricorn trust Pisces to attend to its emotional needs-something that can be very difficult to allow at first”

I want to use Yuji asking Yuuta to kill him if Sukuna comes out especially for Megumi’s sake as an example of “emotional needs” because we see that Yuji does not want to be anywhere near Megumi because of Sukuna. In Yuji’s emotional state, he would rather have Yuuta kill him than Megumi. A lot of people also have this head canon that the reason why he asked Yuuta to kill him instead of Megumi is because Megumi already has a lot on his plate or something. I forgot the theory lol

But... I have a feeling that Megumi is gonna end up killing Yuji at the end because it should be him...

But yes,

Let’s see where things end with the current event that is happening now.

But unfortunately, I have to stop right here because Tumblr only allows 10 images in one post. Tragic!

I do hope you guys enjoy and please comment if I’m missing anything with them! Let’s hope I won’t take long with part 2 because I’m hella busy at times! Overall, tell me what you guys think!

[yhwhrulz]

Morning and Evening with A.W. Tozer Devotional: September 24th

Tozer in the Morning Man - The Dwelling Place of God - A Do-It-Yourself Education Better Than None

THIS IS WRITTEN FOR THOSE CHRISTIANS who may have missed a formal education. Let no one despair. A do-it-yourself education is better than none. It can be acquired by the proper use of our mental powers.

Our intellectual activities in the order of their importance may be graded this way: first, cogitation; second, observation; third, reading.

I wish I could include conversation in this short list. One would naturally suppose that verbal intercourse with congenial friends should be one of the most profitable of all mental activities; and it may have been so once but no more. It is now quite possible to talk for hours with civilized men and women and gain absolutely nothing from it. Conversation today is almost wholly sterile. Should the talk start on a fairly high level, it is sure within a few minutes to degenerate into cheap gossip, shoptalk, banter, weak humor, stale jokes, puns and secondhand quips. So we shall omit conversation from our list of useful intellectual activities, at least until there has been a radical reformation in the art of social discourse.

We shall not consider prayer here either, but for quite another and happier reason. Prayer is the loftiest activity possible to man, and it is of course partly mental, but it is nevertheless usually classified as a spiritual rather than an intellectual exercise; so it will be omitted.

I believe that pure thinking will do more to educate a man than any other activity he can engage in. To afford sympathetic entertainment to abstract ideas, to let one idea beget another, and that another, till the mind teems with them; to compare one idea with others, to weigh, to consider, evaluate, approve, reject, correct, refine; to join thought with thought like an architect till a noble edifice has been created within the mind; to travel back in imagination to the beginning of the creation and then to leap swiftly forward to the end of time; to bound upward through illimitable space and downward into the nucleus of an atom; and all this without so much as moving from our chair or opening the eyes-this is to soar above all the lower creation and to come near to the angels of God.

Of all earth's creatures only man can think in this way. And while thinking is the mightiest act a man can perform, perhaps for the very reason that it is the mightiest, it is the one act he likes the least and avoids most.

Aside from a few professionals, who cannot number more than one-tenth of one percent of the population, people simply do not think at all except in the most elementary way. Their thinking is done for them by the professionals.

After cogitation comes observation (in order of importance, not in order of time). Observation is, of course, simply a method of obtaining information. Without information the most powerful mind can produce nothing worthwhile. Philosophers have not agreed about whether the mind receives all of its ideas through the five senses or comes into the world with a few "innate ideas," i.e.,ideas already present. But we need not settle this argument to conclude that information is indispensable to sound thought. Knowledge is the raw material out of which that finest of all machines, the mind, creates its amazing world.

The effort to think well with an empty head is sure to be largely wasted. There is nothing like a good hard fact to correct our carefully constructed theories. God has given us our five senses, and these are most highly sensitive instruments for the gathering of knowledge. So efficient are these instruments that it is quite impossible for a normal person to live even a brief time without learning something. For this reason a child five years old may properly be said to be educated in that he has by observation gathered a few facts and arranged them into some sort of orderly pattern within his mind. A doctor of philosophy has done nothing different; he has only gone a little further.

While it is impossible to live even a short time without learning something, unfortunately it is possible to live a long time and not learn very much. Observation is a powerful tool, but its usefulness depends upon how well we use it. One of the tragedies of life is that the powers of observation atrophy when not used. Just when this begins with the average person I have no sure way of knowing, but I would hazard a guess that it is at about the age of twenty-five. By that time most people have formed their habits, accepted the conventions, lost their sense of wonder and settled down to live by their glands and their appetites. For millions there is not much to observe after that but the weather and the baseball score.

Lastly reading. To think without a proper amount of good reading is to limit our thinking to our own tiny plot of ground. The crop cannot be large. To observe only and neglect reading is to deny ourselves the immense value of other people's observations; and since the better books are written by trained observers the loss is sure to be enormous. Extensive reading without the discipline of practical observation will lead to bookishness and artificiality. Reading and observing without a great deal of meditating will fill the mind with learned lumber that will always remain alien to us. Knowledge to be our own must be digested by thinking.

Tozer in the Evening In the Pursuit of God - Introduction

Here is a masterly study of the inner life by a heart thirsting after God, eager to grasp at least the outskirts of His ways, the abyss of His love for sinners, and the height of His unapproachable majesty--and it was written by a busy pastor in Chicago! Who could imagine David writing the twenty-third Psalm on South Halsted Street, or a medieval mystic finding inspiration in a small study on the second floor of a frame house on the vast, flat checkerboard of endless streets - Where cross the crowded ways of life - Where sound the cries of race and clan, In haunts of wretchedness and need, On shadowed threshold dark with fears, And paths where hide the lures of greed… But even as Dr. Frank Mason North, of New York, says in his immortal poem, so Mr. Tozer says in this book: `Above the noise of selfish strife we hear Thy voice, O Son of Man.' My acquaintance with the author is limited to brief visits and loving fellowship in his church. There I discovered a self-made scholar, an omnivorous reader with a remarkable library of theological and devotional books, and one who seemed to burn the midnight oil in pursuit of God. His book is the result of long meditation and much prayer. It is not a collection of sermons. It does not deal with the pulpit and the pew but with the soul a thirst for God.

The chapters could be summarized in Moses' prayer, Show me thy glory,' or Paul's exclamation,O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!' It is theology not of the head but of the heart. There is deep insight, sobriety of style, and a catholicity of outlook that is refreshing. The author has few quotations but he knows the saints and mystics of the centuries--Augustine, Nicholas of Cusa, Thomas Kempis, von Hagel, Finney, Wesley and many more. The ten chapters are heart searching and the prayers at the close of each are for the closet, not pulpit. I felt the nearness of God while reading them. Here is a book for every pastor, missionary, and devouted Christian. It deals with the deep things of God and the riches of His grace. Above all, it has the keynote of sincerity and humility.

Samuel M. Zwemer

New York City

Copyright Statement This material is considered in the public domain.

[umabitchiguess]

So I have some thoughts on writing for television and the concept of “pandering”

It makes my blood boil when tv writers and networks disdain the idea of “pandering” to fans and act like network television is too sophisticated an art for the masses to understand, and treat fans like an enemy to their art.

Yes I am talking about Supernatural

Now, I don’t know the intimate details of the network or authors or actors previous words on destiel so maybe I’m exaggerating something here, but these are just my observations from what’ve I’ve seen this week. I do know that Spn fandom is not perfect, and some people definitely go too far. The writers have a right to creative license that isn’t required to align exactly with audiences’ wishes. That said, I’m seeing a problem here that has nothing to do with fans just “disliking” the fate of a single character or ship. I haven’t watched past season 11 and I haven’t been in the fandom for years but I’ve been dragged back in in the past month because Of Course. And the fact that some people COUGH the C*W COUGH see cannon destiel as “pandering” is just upsetting, but also deeply ironic.

The only reason, I repeat, the ONLY REASON that supernatural ran for fifteen seasons instead of five -an extra TEN SEASONS- is because of fans. The first five seasons of the show have a clear, cohesive arc with a satisfying ending. It came back for more because of its popularity.

For anyone who doesn’t know what popularity means (sarcastic) it means that the show has high enough ratings and enough of a dedicated fanbase to justify renewing the story, because you know you will have an audience. Fans are the reason that the show ran for as long as it did, and characters like Cas and Bobby stuck around because they were beloved by fans. Calling Destiel “pandering” is ridiculuous, because by the very same logic, ALL of the show is formed by “pandering”.

Which brings me to my next point

I think that the disdainful use of the word “pandering” when it comes to television is kinda hilarous when you think about it in a historical context. Television is arguably the most viewed art form in the modern-day west. It has the least intellectual pretentiousness, and network can be viewed by people of most any economic class. Television is the entertainment “for the masses” if you want to get Shakespearean. It’s (broadly speaking) the most accessible for a number of reasons.

Speaking of Shakespeare

Shakespeare is considered by the US to be fairly highbrow literature, and by the rest of the affluent west to be one of the greatest writers ever. That was NOT the case during his lifetime. Theater was not considered high brow literature at the time, and it was the most accessible form of media. It was the entertainment for the masses. Literally. Anyone could see a Shakespeare play, they just stood on the floor and maybe payed the equivalent of a single cent if that. And you know what Shakespeare did all the fucking time?

He “pandered” to his audience

Oh sorry I meant “he understood that his work would be put onstage and he would get paid and his theater would stay open if he wrote what his audience- the source of his income- wanted to see.” He wrote his plays with enough layers to them so that anyone from any economic class with any level of literacy could enjoy them. Deep overarching themes about love and mortality and humanity drew in the educated upper class people who would buy real tickets , and in the very same play, swordfights, dick jokes, and a coherent plotline entertained the less educated audience. (I’ll write a whole thing about the extensive queer history of Shakespeare plays later). He tailored his art to what he knew the audience would respond well to.

How does this relate back to Supernatural of all things? Well, I’m glad you asked!

I’m not here to compare supernatural to Shakespeare because there is a clear difference in writing quality, but neither of them were considered highbrow in their heyday, and were written for public entertainment. But Shakespeare knew how to play to his audience, and the C*W clearly doesn’t. They disdain “pandering” when that’s exactly what they should be doing. But instead of writing for their people that have been the reason for the show’s continuance, they aim to appease a bigoted audience instead.

In general conclusion,

There is no part of the show that has not been influenced by fans one way or another, save MAYBE the very first season. Yielding to the fans that so ardently support Destiel is not a weakeness on the part of the writers, but actually a strong choice from a business perspective. Supernatural has its issues, but an ending where the two of them are alive and in a cannon relationship would be an incredibly powerful form of representation, and would be narratively satisfying, and I bet would have an amazingly positive reception that could serve as an example for future television shows. Instead, we get whatever half baked censored mess we got. This is why disdain for fans instead of just going with the flow gets you nowhere.

It’s late where I am but I wanted to get this all out of my system while the craze was still happening, I’ll probably edit tomorrow