#they're so cool why is it that they're never mentioned when people talk about op's canon trans characters

[franeridan]

am I the only one who finds it weird that luffy's mom still hasn't been mentioned once

[velvetvexations]

That sounds a lot like my interpretation of Boys Will Be Bugs~!

I bent over backwards and crafted an elaborate theory as to why Eminem's Abracadabra isn't too terribly transphobic, I can't judge anyone for making excuses for the media that's important to them.

I don't think characters just being heroic and sympathetic necessarily covers getting something like this badly wrong, but a lot of other Velveteers also chimed in, including this anon:

(Just realized this is pretty silly, feel free to ignore me/not answer this, I just saw One Piece mentioned and the hyperfixation jumped out.) But just to go to bat for One Piece a smidge as someone who is trans and read all of it, while yeah Okama(Queen Ivan) leaned very transmisognistc(which was made worse in the anime for some reason??) the intention for him, his subjects, and the other gender fluid character, Bon Clay, was meant to be good. It fell HELLA short, but there was an attempt at least. However!! I did want to add, the comic has been going on for a long time, and by one of the more recent arcs with two new, very clearly openly trans characters, things are MUCH better! The transfem one, Kiku, says outright when asked that she's a woman at heart which is accepted by everyone, and her story was really sweet and made me tear up(her anger is never treated as predatory or masculine, she's allowed to just be a woman who is also a samurai), and the other transmasc one, Yamato, is referred to as a boy by everyone despite him not changing his presentation at all, which is pretty rad imo given how hostile people can be to transmasc people with breasts, and both characters are allowed to bathe in the baths that match their genders at the end of the arc. They were still a little messy in the "yeah this wasn't written by a trans person" way, and certain misogynistic/transphobic parts of of the fandom on reddit get a little weird about Yamato, but I didn't see anything glaringly wrong with the way either of them was written like with Okama or Bon Clay. The vibe I got from the comic was that early on Oda meant well and included some characters who were intended to be positive rep but were messy and fell very short, but as time passed he figured it out and the more recent ones are genuinely phenomenal rep. Ofc that doesn't mean you need to read/watch OP(especially since again the transmisogny is worse in the anime?? still don't understand what happened there but Oda had no control over it) like god I would never tell anyone to do that lol, but I did want to just chime in and offer a perspective from someone who read it and felt like the more recent rep was really good and worth mentioning. Oda has his issues for sure, and has a lot to make up for, but based on what I've read he IS making up for it.

And, honestly, that makes me really happy! Oda always seemed like a cool guy and it's great to know he is in fact a real cool guy. According to @changelingfangs in the replies, he's friends with people in the subculture he based a lot of those characters on.

They're now just openly accusing me of not being a trans woman because trans women don't identify as AMAB and I'm apparently hostile to every trans woman that talks about transmisogyny.

...no?

It's a good theory and I think that plays a part in it for sure, but I think mostly it's just thinking it's the worse thing because it's their group's oppression. It again kinna goes back to that Lennon/Ono song with the n-word in the title, that's just how radical feminism works, trans/misogyny is the only thing that really matters.

Still, interesting thread to have spotted here and I think it's in that soup somewhere.

imagine thinking using a meme format is asserting a cultural claim to it

like seriously, has any Black person ever said that there was something wrong with "deracializing" either or even both characters in the Dis _ Look So Mad meme by substituting them with white characters?

[pawbeanies]

tagged by: @emo-mmy !!! hi!!! running around in circles around you thank you for the taggg

im. putting this under a readmore because i realized i like talk so much and then i got embarrassed because this is so long and silly and i go on a billion tangents. tagging games fun though !!!

last song:

covering my face with my sleeve paws i may be silly. lately i am getting into vkei bc beloved people in my life are like "you would like it!!!" and i DO !!! this specific song is actually a cover of the op of the 80s rose of versailles anime which like is in itself a whole other fun thing to talk about because of its like influence but like OK its a good somg. its a good cover. lareine is no longer together but like the members have gone on to do other stuff !!!!

favorite color: pink and blue !! i am indecisive and it swaps... but i like those the most

currently watching: sara z's video on dear evan hansen!! for some reason. my yt algorithm is like all musical theatre videos. or episodes of kitchen nightmares. i don't even think i'm all that into theatre but i like listening to people who know more tear into it

last movie: i was like in agony trying to remember what the last movie i watched was and then i remembered. its twilight. it was twilight. im on a vampire kick right now it seems (but also it was like at a friends house and i was only half watching because they brought their pet rabbit out to hang out with us and i was playing with it the whole time and it was BITING ME !!!!) (but also i was like locked in for the baseball scene. the best scene in all of cinema.)

sweet/spicy/savory: cruel i cannot choose one... trapped between sweet and savory because while i love spicy things i cannot handle them ...... i feel like i like sweet things sliiightly more but. hmhm. like when you eat too many sweet things you end up wanting something savory yknow .....

relationship status: single ........... there is an obvious reason why i think you can tell from my posting (its that im annoying and do not shut the fuck up .........)

current obsession: unfortunately the vampire book series i have been like talking about so much, silver under nightfall and its sequel court of wanderers !! i am thinking of what i wouldve done differently in the sequel fkskfksf (also coming to the horrid realization that they were like setting up pegging but i dont think my guys ever got pegged. whats the point. truly. heres my editors notes. why didnt the main character get pegged? like theres so many things that were set up and mentioned and that didnt come to fruition and thats not my only critique its not JUST about pegging. but the lack of pegging is like representative of many of the issues i have with the book. why didnt he get pegged. they bring it up MULTIPLE times and yet we never saw the strap. they describe it in universe as being "shafted" and YEAH i certainly feel shafted !!! i need answers!!!!!!!! im OPENING my googledocs and writing the fic where he gets pegged !!!!!) this will like pass in a couple days im sure. i think. i hope

um also my fun game blorbos i think. yah

last thing i googled: "pin feathers" like the kind that birds have !! i dont remember the context anymore but they're like. developing feathers on a bird and sometimes they have BLOOD in them and then they are called blood feathers isnt that cool... i wish i was a bird

tagging: not tagging anyone in particular because i'm nervous about tagging people fksjkf BUT if you see this and you wanna do it please pretend like i am !!! tagging you !!! do these !!!!!!!! im tagging you in spirit if you want to do these. tagging you with. my mind. yipee

[rallamajoop]

1. Have you seen the re6 promo campaign, the butcher shop one? I think it was in London. There are some photos, and while I think it's kinda cool to get any sort of creative campaign to promote a video game, I felt majorly grossed out by it. Which was likely the intent lol, but I also felt it was pretty misleading? Like, it implied that there was cannibalism involved in the plot. 2. Would you ever like to get another resident evil co-op game? And if so, what would you like it to be - the characters, the plot, the time line, etc.

So, I don't know if I've managed to be too subtle about the fact I think RE + co-op was always a terrible idea the last, er, every time I've ever mentioned it, but, well, I think RE + co-op is a terrible idea. I have never even played an RE co-op game (I'm very open about the fact my opinions on RE5&6 come entirely from watching cutscene compilations and let's plays) and the fact they are co-op is among the reasons I don't want to play them. I'm just not interested in co-op experiences, they're too contrary to what I'm generally looking for in games.

It's questionable whether horror + co-op + narrative is ever a good mix. It's hard to do atmosphere with multiple different players alternately screaming, laughing and ribbing each other, and co-op is too good at generating its own narratives via player interactions to gel with a strong narrative horror experience. I've heard of online multiplayer games working in horror settings ‒ scenarios where you're basically playing as the ubiquitous team of cannon fodder from every other horror film, whose job is mostly to get picked off one by one. But I honestly can't think of a single example of a co-op game with a strong narrative where the co-op is more than an awkwardly tacked-on gimmick. I mean, by all means, send me counter-examples here if you know of any, but the best I've got is, "well, I hear the Portal 2 co-op campaign was actually pretty good, but me and my sister couldn't get it working even back when we were still living together, so we never actually played it."

This is not to say that narrative + co-op is necessarily an unworkable combination. The one genuinely interesting thing I've ever heard of being done in a co-op/horror experience is that one sequence in Dead Space 3 which one player character spends hallucinating, so the two players are seeing very different things. And I'm sure there's way more that could be done with asymmetric gameplay experiences, not just in the sense of giving characters different weapons (or whatever else you're all about to tell me they totally did in that one RE Revelations game), but actively splitting them up, letting decisions made by one player affect the experiences of the other, building trust issues directly into the narrative ‒ you can't tell me there aren't possibilities there.

But the trouble with all those kinds of ideas is that they depend on someone building co-op in as a core part of the whole design, rather than an optional extra, and the audience for an experience that needs exactly two people to work (rather than one person, who can play without having to synchronise with anyone else's schedule, or a variable group of however many of your friends are free today for online multiplayer) doesn't easily justify the amount of extra work that'd require. Add in all the extra issues with local vs remote co-op, and whether the whole conceit falls apart if your two players talk to each other about bits the other guy isn't meant to have seen, and you can see why games like this don't get made. And even if they did, I don't know why you'd try to retrofit that many new ideas into a Resident Evil game, other than for cheap name recognition. I mean, you might as well try to sell me a Final Fantasy as a single player action game [insert sad laughter here].

As for the RE6 promo campaign, no I hadn't heard of it, and now that I've looked it up, my thoughts are, "oh, a pop-up butcher selling cuts of meat constructed to look like human body parts? Yeah, sure, that seems pretty on-brand." A few fake body parts are not going to seriously gross me out (what made RE6 genuinely unpleasant for me was a mix of misery porn, toxic masculinity, and the random injection of bouncing-titty-monsters in the middle of yet more misery porn). Nothing really misleading about it either: RE has zombies, and zombies eat people. It's a publicity stunt, not a game trailer ‒ it's only there to get your attention in the broadest way they can come up with to grab some headlines (but if you wanna talk about real misleading advertising in game advertisements, that's a rabbit hole that probably goes all the way to China). But I'm guessing they probably weren't even really selling that shit, so you can always feel misled on that front if you like.

[fallingsatellive]

So I never do this (screenshot another's post to talk about it) but this one feels somewhat more personal to me, there is something so uniquely bothersome to me about "coining" terms that... well...

Terms that just exist already, that anybody who identifies with/as will already be using (or come to use eventually) and will not need a coining post to tell them their experiences are real and valid enough to be coined as an alterhuman or LIOM term. (I still don't entirely know what LIOM is? But that's OK. I digress.) Concepts won't need definitions or a list of ways one can be them if they're something as simple as "time traveller" and everybody who already is one due to, say, delusions is already going to know what it is and that delusions is a way you can be it.

If I'm a time traveller, I'm going to identify as a time traveller. I do not need a coining post and flag design for permission to do so, or for reassurance that my identity is real and/or other people have it too. (I know they do, and I know it's not!) I'm just going to be that, and when people need an explanation, I will explain it. Starting the conversation with a picture of a flag and a symbol isn't going to make it go any faster than I can manage with my own definitions and descriptions, or be easier to understand the particular psychotic cocktail of my brain.

OP also refers to what their blog does as not just coining terms but making. I don't know. It just feels odd. The alterhuman identity of time traveller was not invented on Tumblr in 2024. OP's blog does say that they do personally identify as the terms they coin (which is a change of pace from the usual problem I have with these posts), so hey, maybe they are the first! [before I can get booed off the stage] But the reason I actually know that, when usually I don't exactly check the blogs that do all these coining+flag posts, is because of this kicker:

I don't want to say it feels like claiming ownership over an experience. I really doubt that OP actually thinks they have authority over this or can stop people from using it even if they did. But it just feels offputting to me to see a DNI attached to a "coining" post of an experience I have had for years, like I would be untoward for claiming the label, claiming the reasons, or if there was a tag attached (there isn't) using it, if I didn't meet OP's DNI criteria. I don't even, but still. The only reason I don't coin "time traveller" myself is because I don't... see the reason or need for coining a term that I could just, use? (Well, that's the second reason, the first is that uhh I have never actually mentioned this aspect of my alterhumanity on this blog 👍) Maybe I just don't understand DNIs. You'll have to excuse me, I'm not from the 2020s.

I do want to commend OP at least for not only genuinely identifying as the thing they're coining, but also the inclusion of the term being for people who genuinely identify. I guess we have more in common than not. It is cool to know there's more people on here than I thought who have this experience.

Idk why getting mildly frustrated by things going on in the tags is always the thing that makes me come forward with a relevant identity that I never talked about before because I was too nervous

[bazooka-overkill]

hiiiii! I hope I’m not botherin’ ya, but I see you’d like some hcs (I’m a bit late lol) so I thought I’d share one of my good ol’ spooky tiger hcs if ya don’t mind some horror on your blog-

tiger’s clones aren’t clones, they’re actually ghosts or bhuts (vengeful ghosts from hindu folklore!) they’re all deceased family members that ended up possessing his body when he was younger cause he went upon their resting place unknowingly. and they’ve just followed him ever since. he’s managed to work out a kind of agreement that if they promised to behave, they could stay within his lil gem headspace.

the water gem is called Lahar, the snow gem is Sardi and the grass gem is Gaiya. they still care about tiger despite their circumstances, but death hasn’t been kind to their minds. sometimes they get out of hand, and that’s when problems arise for not only tiger but other boxers involved.

I’m so sorry for rambling op, I just like details snnsns but I hope the take is cool 💪

literally starts break dancing SCREAMS ITS OK ANON ANY HCS ARE NEVER LATE ON THIS BLOG TRUST. and trust me there is no such thing as rambling in my mind lmao. also also literally anything is allowed here as long as its not nsfw/flatout gore

this is the coolest take evr on great tiger's clones tbh; ive always just taken away that they're their own separate people, but still apart of tiger's "soul," in a way

stopp the thought that they're family makes me want to sob now. i can see them just kind of. bothering tiger like protective parents or something. tiger hasn't eaten in a hot minute? lahar's nagging him to go get or make a meal. hasn't been outside and touched grass? guess what gaiya's saying to him (99.999% get it wrong)

and the mere mention of them getting out of hand??? plus in the RING W OTHER BOXERS????? oh lord have mercy i can only imagine what could happen. i don't exactly have a good understanding/wording of what i can imagine lmao, but one things for certain: the wvba/ref has definitely had to stop rounds early because of the bhuts (am i using that word right).

damn now i want to see-- if nintendo makes a PO sequel/port on the switch or something-- the possibility of a TD 2 where great tiger and his ghosts (idk if i can use bhuts and ghosts interchangeably) lose control and mac has to counter and dodge like crazyyy.

if the above was added, i'd love to see what exactly happens when they go out of control. personally, i'd imagine great tiger gets all light headed and can barely move while his ghosts go absolutely haywire in the ring.

and that'd also explain why he's so nonchalant with them; they're his family members. when death decides to not torment them, i can see them being almost like,,, yknow family. you know that intermission cutscene right before the next round where they're all talking and great tiger tells them they gotta get back to work?

also,, idk if i want to be sad and think abt the possibility how great tiger had a strong bond with his family members before they died, but if that's the case i would imagine that's how great tiger copes; he pretends they're still alive, in that case.

GRAAGHHDHH now im gonna be thinking about this during my classes

[punkrogue]

I always feel so frustrated with how unimaginative Marvel is with Remy, the only interesting things he's had is New Sun and X-Factor. Idk if this is true, but I read there was some rumor that Remy was gonna be an alter ego of Sinister, which would've given the writers more to work with imo. I think why some writers like Rogue and Erik more since they're much easier to work with outside of shipping. Same with Kurt, whom I sometimes think Remy is a pale imitation of (Catholic, martial artist, looks demonic, ladies man, even his powers suit a thief more than Remy's). If Kurt and Rogue weren't siblings, I'd sooner ship Rogue with him than Remy. Also, since Remy can only charge non-living things, it just makes him look weak and limited compared to other characters. I don't say all this shit to be mean, but I do get frustrated with how little material he's given, and can understand why his character is constantly put on the back burner in various media compared to other X-Men characters.

Yeah I remember reading somewhere they'd thought about doing something like that with Remy and Sinister and I think instead went with New Sun? Something like that. Also considered having him be ANOTHER Secret Summers Brother and I'm glad we didn't go this route lol we need to stop the Summers-Grey family tree from taking over the whole X-verse while we can.

I'll say that I don't feel that Remy is a pale imitation of Kurt mainly because I feel Remy deals with a lotta things that Kurt really doesn't on a personal level (true parental abandonment like no margali in SIGHT kinda shit, street life, crime, child soldier gangland shit, the greys and blacks of morality etc). You see more of those things in his solos which can even get a bit of a noir vibe to them which is nice but people just rarely wanna put in the time and effort with Remy. They rarely get him so they knock him down into say, the TAS 90s Gambit mold and call it a day. Which is just ....... no one wants that. Not Gambit Haters, not Gambit Stans.

And I get what you're saying about his powers but I think if he could charge living matter constantly like he can as New Sun homie would be so comically OP. I think the real issue here is just again, fuckers don't know how to write him so they go for whatever's easiest. So it's all lame, dumb and boring. If they let him get funky with his powers a bit more it'd could be super cool.

The pro of Rogue and Magneto when made scene partners is that they do have much more solid pre-existing characterizations, vibes and "story packs". As a writer you can walk in and already there's a couple of things you can do which are kinda like Rogue or Magneto Classics. Remy not so much so he ends up being like, Rogue's loser sidekick which sucks.

I feel you tho on the shitshow that is comic Rogue-Kurt dynamics. I too can see the appeal and charm of them as a romantic ship just as much as I can see them working wonderfully as a sibling pair. My beef around them has been for years that we get this Big Reveal that Mystique is Kurt's Bio-Mom but after he has his initial freak out for a couple issues in Excalibur or Uncanny or w/e he was in at the time I forget I just remember Amanda is there this whole thing-- IT NEVER REALLY COMES UP AGAIN BETWEEN HIM AND ROGUE AND THEY JUST ACT LIKE NORMAL AND OCCASIONALLY MENTION THEY'RE SORT-OF RELATED IN A WAY THAT'S MORE OF A REMINDER TO THE AUDIENCE????? LIKE IT'S FUN TRIVIA INSTEAD OF A PLOT POINT OR IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP????

their first serious non-combat interaction was basically Kurt telling her to drop dead when she comes to Xavier for help when she's 17 and he's 21. He finally cuts her some slack after she ALMOST DIES IN A SUICIDE BY VILLAIN ATTEMPT to save Wolverine's fiance which makes Wolverine go "yeah okay fine your not total dogshit ig" so NOW Kurt'll stop being a raging asshole to the mentally ill teen lol (I'm shit talking Kurt rn but this is genuinely part of why I love him). Then there's MAYBE a couple of scenes that are outside of Action Stuff before the X-Men "die" in the late 80s and we get Excalibur where the two of them interact, the biggest of them is him FLIRTING WITH HER.

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #192

Now-- it's Kurt so this isn't anything really all that crazy. He jokingly flirts with like 90% of the X-Men. It's just the kinda silly funny quirky guy he is. But when I'm trying to think of say, Rogue-Kurt moments POST the Mystique Reveal that really feel like People Connecting or them Actually Being Siblings I draw a blank. This flirting scene is more iconic and stand out than basically all of their 00s and on interactions because it feels like a natural and very emotional conflict they WOULD have. He goofs around like he always does, her feelings get hurt, he realizes what he's done and feels like an ass and wants to fix it. EMOTIONS HAPPENED HERE, CHARACTERIZATION AND CONFLICTED OCCURRED. THIS CONFLICT AND LATER RECONCILIATION WILL LEAD TO A BETTER FRIENDSHIP AS WE GO! THANKS CLAREMONT!

Even at her wedding he's basically just like "well I AM her brother (remember? did you see that watchmojo listicle? have you read my wiki recently) and I AM blue so I should ALSO be in the wedding."

There's really not a lot of content of them like, hanging out, post 2004 or so. Some of that is just them being in different books but a lot of it just no one putting in the time or effort. X-Treme X-Men (2001) was all about Rogue looking into shit related to Destiny's writings and grappling with some Family and Personal Grief at the start there. Kurt shoulda been around for at least the first arc. Not thunderbird that absolutely nothing of a dude. It was the perfect setting to work on this issue that the 6 degrees of Mystique™ has made. One of the only other encounters between them I can think of that's post-90s is this:

Rogue (2001) #4

And this interaction is set like VERY SOON after she joined the X-Men!!!! So it's not even a truly modern scene of them just vibing!!!!

To me, they're NOT siblings. Not in the way Kurt is with Amanda who's his ACTUAL adoptive sister or even in the way that Rogue is with Bobby, Sam or Scott who she just has Massive Broship Energies with and it's entirely because their 6 Degrees of Mystique™ is tenuous at best for how much it would really matter to them. Kurt HAS a family! He HAS siblings! Mystique abandoned/lost him and never looked for him or intended to tell him about their connection until forced to. He was raised by Margali and sees HER FAMILY as HIS family and they think the same! Like that's a standard ass adoptive family vibe.

Rogue is found by Mystique and Irene and raised by them in near isolation ON ANOTHER CONTINENT and is never informed about Kurt even in a past "i had a baby and lost him" tense kinda way or Graydon either. To her knowledge growing up she HAS NO SIBLINGS OF ANY KIND. She meets and fights against and then beside Kurt with no idea there's literally anything connecting them but that they're both mutants and x-men for like, YEARS even IN canon. Their whole relationship is rocky as shit for a WHILE there and then she gets YEETED SECRETLY TO AUSTRALIA AND HE THINKS SHE DIED. And let's be clear-- sure he's upset about her "death" too but he is MUCH more upset over the "deaths" of Logan, Ororo and Peter who he ACTUALLY NAMES WHILE TALKING ABOUT THIS GRIEF. Because you know... THESE RELATIONSHIPS ACTUALLY HAD FUCKING SCREENTIME.

Excalibur (1988) #1

He's not a monster, he does give a shit about her, but realistically over the years VERY little time has been put into building ANY relationship between Rogue and Kurt of ANY kind and it's frustrating when they really wanna act like they've got one. They don't. And it pisses me off because realistically Rogue/Kurt is less fucked up than Amanda/Kurt and guess which one is canon. Because of the 6 Degrees of Mystique™ people don't really ship them even tho there's an even more Yikes Kurt ship that's canon and Does Not Seem To Fucking Die, there's been no real development of ANY kind of relationship between him and Rogue, they've lived their ENTIRE lives not knowing each other or not really being more than coworkers and Kurt has NO INTEREST in truly claiming Mystique as his mother which is valid-- she fucking sucks.

I think Rogue/Kurt has legs and it's aggravating to me because I also really like Rogue & Kurt siblingship! I grew up watching Evolution! The sibling vibes and friendship that grow naturally up between them even BEFORE the Mystique Reveal in that show are just CHEF'S KISS. But in comics they IMPLY a familial connection that really.... doesn't mean much... and then they don't show these two deciding it to make it mean something or organically falling into a good sibling relationship... so they cut off the dynamic at the knees. You'll be shit on if you try to go off script and explore a more romantic angle because "ew they're rElAtEd" (ignoring all the previously stated flaws in that argument), there's nothing in canon that helps you figure out how friendly they even truly are so good luck building something canon compliant and they just generally don't seem to even give a shit about this dynamic at all so without dipping into other adaptations/AUs it can be hard to find something to even SAY about them.

Like I'd love to see Rogue and Kurt engage like, finding out what the Mystique Reveal means to them and how they see each other. I'd love to see them becoming friends and then family. I'd love to see them making that CHOICE. Because really in this context it's a CHOICE. She's not his adoptive sister, Amanda is. She's not his bio sister either in 616, that idea got shot down early on. She's a girl his bio mom who is a stranger to him raised an ocean away while he was raised in a loving home with siblings he adores. They met when she was a villain, he vehemently disliked her until she almost died saving someone's life then he tried to at least be civil and friendly. He finds out Mystique is his bio mother and asks Rogue about her but at the end of the day feels no real connection to Mystique or her life. His mother is Margali. The circus was his family. He cares about Mystique, Irene and Rogue because he's a decent human being but like, not in the same amount or extent as his adoptive family.

You can't have a scene of him flirting, even jokingly, with her in the 80s then think a 1993 mom reveal some how totally erases that vibe. Especially when you then put like no effort into exploring that GOLDMINE OF A PLOT THREAD. They've got so few non-combat just hanging out and engaging in character development interactions in 616 canon I can count them on my hands. At this point you could spin a wheel and decide to give them any relationship dynamic and it could genuinely work because there's no real content of them in comics to use contest it.

Like at her wedding they bring up that he's her brother again. That shouldn't be something we have a "turn to the camera and remind the audience" moment about. That should be as "well duh" to me as Bobby being her best man or Scott and Alex being brothers. It's not. It's just not. Their connection is just a factoid at this point and I hate it. You can't close off all these other potential dynamics for them (romantic/enemies/rivals/shitty roommates/etc whatever) by making them connected via Mystique, having an line every like, 10 years that reminds us they're "siblings" (are they tho? are they really? is that how this works?) and kinda vaguely imply they don't hate each other which is really just riding on the fact that pretty much ALL the X-Men like Kurt and we the audience like both of them and then GIVE US NOTHING WITH THAT STATED DYNAMIC!

MORE TIME AND EFFORT WAS PUT INTO MAKING NATE GREY SEE MADYLENE PRYOR AS HIS MOTHER OVER JEAN THAN HAS EVER BEEN PUT INTO MAKING ROGUE AND KURT FEEL LIKE THEY'RE EVEN FRIENDS LET ALONE SIBLINGS AND I'M VERY MAD ABOUT IT!!!! EITHER GIVE ME WHAT I WANT OR CUT THE REINS AT LET ME DO WHATEVER!!!

fsdkjghksdl so i just get VERY heated about this it's a pet peeve of mine.

[jeff-from-marketing]

Hi, I'm going to be autistic about Halo for a minute, you're welcome!

I fucking love these games, I think Halo: Combat Evolved was probably the first FPS I played (not first shooter though, that title probably goes to Ratchet and Clank) and I very much have fond memories of couch co-op with various Halo games with friends and family. Genuinely one of my biggest wishes for a very long time was to have all the games available on PC, not just Halo: CE and Halo 2. And also the Forge mode for Halo 5 at one point but... we don't talk about Halo 5.

The thing I love about them so much beyond just the gameplay (which, let's be honest: varies quite a bit even among just the Bungie titles) is the stories they tell. Yes, there's the whole "humanity as the underdog" element that's pervasive throughout: people just trying to fucking survive as the seemingly unstoppable armies of the Covenant approach closer and closer to putting humanity in its grave. And yes, there's the questionable ethics of the Spartan program (among all the other shit ONI gets up to) as well as the ever alluring "big damn hero" aspect in the form of said Spartans. But that's not what I love about it.

What I love is that how well it puts a face to the enemies you're facing. This also ties into why Halo 2 and 3 are my favourite of the main trilogy. The Covenant aren't just some faceless collection of aliens with the only nebulous goal of "exterminate humanity." They have a detailed structure to things, a way of order, their own views of the universe. And going even further, each species member of the Covenant has their own views on top of that. Going even further you also get groups within those members with differing views and ideologies. Hell, you even get to play as a member of the Covenant in the form of the Arbiter in Halo 2, giving you a first hand experience of it all. Which is why it is awesome getting to see what happens when those views are challenged; getting to see the Covenant fall apart, not because of humanity's doing, but just simply because certain knowledge caused a Great Schism among their people. Seeing the Sangheili (among other members of the Covenant) turn against their former masters; seeing the Arbiter turn from an enemy to a valuable ally. It's all so good. And it ends so wonderfully with Halo 3 as well.

Even the Flood get similar treatment. They're not just mindless creatures, they're actually scary with their intelligence. Gravemind in particular being a fantastic example of how to do creepy and unsettling while still being very intelligent.

Even Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach have fantastic stories in them as well, not to mention the soundtrack of the former. Both of which being fantastic stories of humanity just simply trying to survive more than anything, even when the Covenant are at the front door. But again, particularly in ODST, they're not just one track enemies you fight. ODST specifically introduces the greatest fren, and I will take no criticisms on that front. It's just very very good, highly recommend basically the entire Master Chief Collection.

I'm a little more negative under the cut, particularly about Halo 4 onwards. Feel free to stop here if you just want the feel goods and me being very happy about a very cool thing, I won't judge!

So you can imagine then, with all the cool things I just went on and on about, my sheer disappointment when every game from Halo 4 onwards does absolutely fucking nothing with any of that. As much as I have grievances with modern Bungie, they did the right thing by ending Master Chief's story with Halo 3. I'll be honest and say that Master Chief was never a super exciting character to begin with, which is also why the enemies being so well detailed sticks out so much to me. The world around Master Chief is fascinating: Chief himself is not.

You don't need Master Chief for a good Halo story.

Halo 3: ODST (to my understanding) is really highly regarded, and Halo: Reach is also (while not perfect) still a great game. Their stories hold up really well without the inclusion of Master Chief. The sections of Halo 2 that centre around the Arbiter are really solid and are some of my personal favourites in the game. The time for Master Chief had ended, he had a great send off in Halo 3. So why the fuck did they drag him back from the proverbial grave? There are so many other aspects of the universe they could explore.

We just saw the Great Schism and the Covenant fucking collapse in on itself, giving rise to a whole bunch of new splinter factions with differing ideologies. One of which being the Swords of Sanghelios lead by the Arbiter, actively working to make allies with humanity, which not all the Sangheili (let alone other former Covenant members) agree with. That alone offers a fuck load of things you could dive into for storytelling potential. I would pay good fucking money for a game with the Arbiter as the main character. It's already criminal that he's relegated to player 2 status in Halo 3.

Or you could take the ODST route, show us what the Human-Covenant war looked like from other angles when you're not a super soldier. Could even use this to do some wild experiments gameplay wise! Maybe a more grounded/tactical style game as a UNSC marine, or something with more stealth/subterfuge as an ONI operative or something.

Hell you can even do a Halo: Reach and just focus on another squad of Spartans (no Halo 5! bad! that's not how you do it!) if you really think you simply must have Spartans for some reason.

There's just so much of the universe to explore, so many other stories to tell. Yet apparently they're more interested in beating the dead horse that's called Master Chief until there's not even any solid bones left. It's genuinely a shame, there's few things that make me more sad than wasted potential of a really cool thing. Especially when all the other games beforehand have done such a great job.

[hasufin]

From a security standpoint, a lot of this is security theater and aggressively awful threat modeling.

As one commenter noted - she's alone, what the heck is that panic whistle gonna do? And you've got so many other toys which don't actually increase security at all - the cameras do nothing, I'm of the opinion that the fingerprint locks actually make a location less secure (they're not hard to beat, they increase the threat surface, and they serve as an indicator that this location is more likely to be worth attacking). Portable door locks are meant as a secondary safety measure in situations where you cannot upgrade the regular locks, such as in a hotel: if you're not confident in the locks on your own doors replace the fucking locks.

Moreover, you notice that at least one of those doors was half-height glass? Yeah... your clever little portable door lock and stuff isn't doing a thing when someone smashes that and opens the door. Which they can do because you're terrified of your neighbors and they won't give a fuck if they hear crashing from the house of the people who never even acknowledge their existence. You'd get a lot more value out of installing a better strike plate, replacing your wood doors, and actually talking with your neighbors. But people like this don't see TikToks about how great it is to have neighbors who will call the police if someone is breaking into your house, they see TikToks about these cool portable locks.

Unfortunately, I saw this kind of thing even in the corporate world when I was a security auditor. A lot of companies love to invest a lot of money in implementing AES512 encryption on their email server, and are in denial that the realistic use case is someone asking their underpaid and demoralized sysadmin for the password.

But that gets to the next part: realistic threat modeling. Why does anyone feel the need to employ so many measures, effective or not?

Well, the OP's mention of republicans is accurately targeted. I'll quote from Bob Altemeyer's The Authoritarians:

Authoritarian followers score highly on the Dangerous World scale, and it’s not just because some of the items have a religious context. High RWAs are, in general, more afraid than most people are. They got a “2 for 1 Special Deal” on fear somehow. Maybe they’ve inherited genes that incline them to fret and tremble. Maybe not. But we do know that they were raised by their parents to be afraid of others, because both the parents and their children tell us so.

These people were raised to believe Everyone Else is dangerous and they need a powerful protector. They're constantly awash in media which reminds them of this, which highlights it over and over. And that makes them more isolated, less safe, and more reliant on that very media for reassurance which will never come.

And that's the scary part. They're being told they need a powerful protector to save them from the Dark Forces, they're always anxious and scared, and nothing is making it better. And they're applying that same decision-making process across the board.

[aneldritchmoth]

ADMIN JESSE AU

Everything I'm bout to say is based on what the MCSM wiki says the admins can do. Not sure if everything on there is canon but OH WELL

That's the wiki page I based my stuff on.

Also I'm gonna divide everything into categories based on how I think them being admin would affect canon (such as his relationships, the storyline, etc.).

One last thing also, I'll be using he/they pronouns for Jesse. Not that this would affect anything in the AU, I just wanted to note that before we get into the notes. (Sorry to ppl who prefer the girl version of Jesse btw)

OTHERWISE HERE WE GO

RELATIONSHIPS

I think it would've mostly affected his relationship. Would he hidden the fact that he was an admin? I mean we do see Romeo shapeshiting so I don't see why Jesse wouldn't hide as we already know them to look like (depeding on what the player chooses ofc) or something.

I don't think Jesse would've openly said "hey did you know I'm an admin?" to Axel and Olivia and especially not random people. If I remember correctly people in the MCSM universe don't even believe that admins actually existed (until the end of season 2 at least), so yeah I think he would've kept that to themself. 

ALSO Would he have known they had OP powers? I mean I guess besides shapeshiting, WOULD THEY EVEN KNOW??? HOW OP HE ACTUALLY IS??? I think it'd be lowkey funny to see Jesse think to himself like "Oh yeah I can shapeshift, that's cool..." and moves on with his day like it's a normal thing. Logically I don't think he'd know that he was an admin, since no one believes them to be real, I imagine that info about them would be very rare and limited.

I don't think him being an admin would change much of Season 1 anywho, he'd shapeshift but that would be it. He still befriends Lukas, goes to find Soren, you know the deal.

For the Witherstorm, I think for one that Jesse would've been able to save Reuben from dying. Since it says on the wiki that admins can use telekinesis maybe while destroying the command block he'd subconsciously wish for Reuben not to fall and surprise Reuben starts slowly descending instead. Sure he'd be like "Oh phew" but also has no time to sit and ask "Wait how'd I do that? Did I do that??" since he has to focus on destroying the command block.

Small conclusion: Jesse wouldn't know that they are an admin, just that he can shapeshift. Despite that he keeps those powers to himself.

STORYLINE

I think the biggest change to the storyline would be Romeo's motivations. I mean he tried to keep the admins together once, who says he wouldn't do it again? Though I think Romeo would have a hunch on Jesse being an admin but his theory being comfirmed when they put on the prismarine gauntlet.

Imagine in the ice palace after Jesse and his gang win the clock challenge, this is how I imagine Romeo and Jesse's dialogue would go.

Romeo: And here I thought I'd never see another admin again

Jesse and the gang: ???

Romeo: UGH I'm talking about you Jesse.

Jesse: I'm not an admin though??

[awkward silence]

Romeo: You're joking right?

Jesse being clueless about the fact they're an admin is something I imagine would happen. So then Romeo mentions all the weird things that happened, his ability to shapeshift, Reuben slowly descending instead of falling the moment Jesse wishes for his pig's safety. You know all that jazz.

Obvioulsy Jesse and the gang would be to stunted to speak, in shock, I suppose. Imagine being told by someone you just met (that somehow knows everything you've accomplished so far down in near perfect details) that you aren't exactly human. I mean I'd be shocked too.

Then I can imagine panic or just very awkward stunned silence setting in the group while Romeo just floats in the corner like "Ah yes sweet sweet drama".

Small conclusion: Romeo wants to keep the admins to stick together, like the actual game. He learns and eventually reveals that Jesse's actually an admin in the ice palace.

BONUS ✨DAD FRED / ADMIN FAMILY AU✨

Before I get more into this I have to specify what I think a family would look like in minecraft. Personally I think if the babies would just spawn, that in itself is lowkey funny BUT there's still some requirements to meet.

Both parents have to agree and have to come to terms with the responsabilities of raising a kid. Said parents also would have 9 month to prepare the house so that the child may grow up as comfortably as possible.

Also lets ditch the nuclear family idea and say that in minecraft, raising kids is done collectively, as a community. So if the parents have difficulties or straight up just aren't suitable to raise a child, another adult can take the kid in.

I also think orphanages would work differently, as in, if the parents weren't suitable to raise their child, they'd dropped the kid off there. Either to get more ready to welcome the child home or for the kid to get raised by the whole community instead.

Obviously there's still cracks in that system and all but let's say this'll do for the AU.

So going into headcanons now,

I think Fred actually really loved to visit humans from time to time and that he was actually quite beloved among most villages and bigger towns. Fred would have like a human apperance though to blend in.

So time skip Fred's getting a kid YAY, you wouldn't guess who it is. THAT'S RIGHT IT'S THE LOVABLE JESSE!! WOO!! By the way the admin family would go something like this, Fred is Jesse's bio dad, Romeo's the cool uncle and Xara's the chill aunt. (I don't ship Romeo and Xara by the way, they act more like siblings that eventually sadly fell apart to me).

So Fred takes care of Jesse in his young years (0 to like 5 y.o) until eventually the tension between the three admins start to get to much and he becomes worried for his child's safety.

Fred (being beloved by literally everyone he's ever met) drops off Jesse at an orphanage explaining sadly that he isn't able to take care of him anymore. (Which he would be, but with the admin drama getting worse by the day, it's not safe for him to care for Jesse). The villagers are of course eager to help Fred and take Jesse under their wing.

Said village would eventually be revealed to be Binta's town in the underneath. In his early teens (13 to 16 y.o), he goes to adventure to the overworld and end up finding Olivia, Axel, Petra and Reuben there! He stays there until the Witherstorm Arc (which I headcanon him to be 17 almost 18 y.o while the Arc happens).

Small conclusion: Kids in minecraft are raised as a community but housed by their bio parents. Orphanages work for parents who have to get more time to be ready to raise a kid or for said kid to be raised by the whole community. Jesse's bio dad, Fred, can't take care of them anymore due to the admin drama getting too dangerous (we all know what happens to Fred.. Fs in notes). Jesse's taken in by Binta's eventually town in the underneath.

@willburzone. @7official7spacekitty7. @thinknamewhat.

This one's for you guys! I hope you'll like this AU as much as I do!!

[wardencommanderrodimiss]

Doing some research for the Tropius trainer thing I mentioned to you a while back, and I'm wondering what kinds of in-universe Tumblr posts might be made in a gameverse Pokemon world if a talking Tropius made the news? I'm not very well versed in Tumblr culture, so I was wondering if you'd have some advice.

Ooh, I love to think about social media in the Pokemon universe, but it's also difficult because I have to balance my interpretation of the Pokemon universe as a kinder, fairer and more just world than ours, against the brain worms that social media gives people.

A few types of people you would probably find posting about the "talking Tropius who is also a Pokemon Trainer" news:

-Person who thinks it's gotta be a hoax

-Person who's thoroughly convinced it's a hoax and is trying to explain how these videos must be doctored in a very self-righteous tone but doesn't actually know what they're talking about. Anyone with functioning knowledge of CGI/video editing/etc knows they're full of it and tries to correct them, but the OP keeps trying to engage them in long-drawn out arguments, and everyone else is watching in amusement as the post slowly devolves.

-Person from some obscure subculture (that everyone else thought left the site long ago) posting the most unhinged takes. I would in this case like to think it's someone who bought in way too hard to Team Plasma and is going off about how humanity and Pokemon Trainer culture have so thoroughly poisoned the world that now even Pokemon themselves have been corrupted and deluded by the Trainer's cruel and barbaric way of thinking. Everyone else tells them to fuck off because they're not taking this shit from someone who's still stanning the terrorist cult that tried to send Unova into a second ice age a few years back.

-Person with anxiety who's now afraid that all Pokemon can secretly talk and that their own Pokemon have the capacity to go around telling all of the embarrassing things that their trainer has said around them.

-Person who claims to have had a talking Pokemon in their family but they didn't get on the news for it so why should this fuckin Tropius--

-Person who really really loves Tropius and is thrilled to finally have an excuse to infodump all about their favorite Pokemon.

-the memes:

"i tried the gym challenge a couple years back and flunked out by the second gym and here's someone who doesn't even have thumbs doing way better than i ever did, not sure that's fair tbh"

"if all pokemon can secretly actually talk, I'm thinking about how my purrloin has been in the room every time I've explained the plot of some bad tv show that I never actually watched, so I really just hope whenever I let him out on his own, he's going around accosting random people by yelling at them about the D*stiel confession in the Paldean dub"

"imagine walkign down a route and seeing a Tropius and thinking you've got the change to catch a cool Pokemon but when you lock eyes iwth it it just barrels towards you and pulls out a pokeball. trainer battle time, bitch."

"is the Tropius trainer only allowed to enter five pokemon into a battle bc only six pokemon are allowed on each side but Tropius is also a pokemon"

"do you think somewhere out there there's an alternate universe where a crowd of Pokemon will sit in an arena watching six v. six human wrestling matches"

[pettyprocrastination]

Werewolf Poly FighterPilot thoughts nobody asked for

Pairing: werewolf!benny x werewolf!frankie, the beginnings of werewolf!benny x werewolf!frankie x Vampire!reader

Authors note: Happy spooky season everybody! I’ve toyed around with some poly FighterPilot (Benny x frankie) thoughts before and what better time than halloween season to talked about it! In this werewolves can like “smell” a vampire if that makes sense. Like I feel like to werewolves everybody has their own “smell” that they smell and is like “ah! that’s (Name)” if that makes any sense? No? cool. This is just beginning off hcs mostly on frankie and benny and if there’s a demand maybe ill show yall’s relationship together <3 Not edits or beta-read, take it or leave it this is yalls dinner tonight. shitty monster thots from a shitty monster write smooch smooch 

people i think would enjoy: @thesadvampire​ @ficsilike-reblogged​ @mostly-megan​ @captainsamwlsn​ @luxurybeskar​ @djarin-junk​ @madhyanas​ @max--phillips​ @humanransome-note​ @fleetwoodmactshirt​ @dilf-vader​

Frankie is the calmer out of the two 

Don’t get me wrong, they're both thought out, smart men. They were special ops after all

But Benny is young and impulsive, there are moments where he acts on feelings and feelings alone without thinking of the outcome. “That boy is all heart and no brain.” is what his mother used to say when he was younger. 

Their relationship didn’t start until they got out of the military. Before it had been lingering eyes, and some palpable tensions when one of them laughs at a joke and an adrenaline filled physical contact after a close call. But they never spoke on it. 

They never said anything while Fish holds Benny’s head in his lap during a particularly bad shift, or the way he cards his fingers through his hair while mumbling “I got you Ben. You’re alright.”

It had been Benny who took the leap after their service together. Calling him up and asking if he wanted to get some dinner together. 

“will the guys be there?”

There was a pause. “no, it’ll just be you and me ‘fish, that alright?”

But even then, Catfish was a man of humility and to put it kindly, painfully oblivious. So he didn’t want to assume anything and be wrong. 

I mean for fucks sake, this is Will’s brother. These men were his family. His pack. He didn’t want to fuck that up. 

it wasn’t until the waitress finally set their plates, well done burgers, no onions on frankie’s and no lettuce on Benny’s, that he finally said something. 

“I like you, okay?” The words came so suddenly from the younger Miller that Frankie found himself listening to his heartbeat, that was running wildly in his chest. “I like you a lot, man. And maybe im crazy but I think you like me too.”

Frankie took a moment to simply stare at him. Wide eyed and shocked and fucking ecstatic. 

“If im wrong, then shit, im sorry ‘Fish. We can forget this whole thing happened and just go back to normal, alright? But I can’t go another day without saying something.”

He had never seen Benny so nervous before. His usually grin was replaced with a drawn in bottom lip, chewing anxiously and eyes that skittered around the room. 

“could you please say something?”

Frankie smiled and knocked his knee against Benny’s. 

“You’re cute when you ramble, Miller.”

Benny sat up straighter and scoffed. “Fuck you, man.”

The weren’t being secretive, technically. They just, hadn’t mentioned it to the others. 

But Will knew Catfish well, and he knew his brother even better. 

Which is why he told them both sternly, as his coach and his brother. “training rule stays the same, alright? No sex before a fight.” and that was that. 

A tradition had been made. For full moons and ruts, Benny would accompany Frankie to his cabin out in the woods. Far away from hikers or any nature junkie that would stumble upon it. 

“my grandfather made it.” he explained. “we’ve got uh, a long running generation of shifters in the family. He thought it’d be best for us to have a place to escape to, you know? Without worrying about hurting somebody.”

They’d spent the next few days in a haze. Fucking and chasing and hunting like animals together. Before they’d return back home with satisfied smiles and a myriad of marks on their skin to cover up before the others gave them shit for it.

Now they were in love. Committed to each other to the point where Frankie, damn his heart, had caught himself thinking about a potential wedding, far in the future. 

But that didn’t mean they were blind. Sure, they noticed other people from time to time. If Frankie saw a man with a bright smile and toned body, he would let his eyes linger. The same way Benny would grin as the waitress paid extra special attention to him while taking their orders. 

It’s natural, neither of them caused fights over it. Because at the end of the day they loved each other. 

But you, had thrown a wrench in those plans. 

The bar had been packed that night. Benny couldn’t figure out why just yet. There was no game on or long expected fight for patrons to bet on and drink themselves dead over. But they were still packed in like sardines, to the point that Frankie found himself hitting shoulders with five people as he went to get drinks for the table. 

He had finally waved down the bartender when you walked by. 

The interaction didn’t last longer then 7 seconds at the most. You had just been trying to make your way through the crowd. 

Hand softly laid on his chest with a mumbles “excuse me, sorry.” and a sympathetic smile thrown to him as you were pressed up against him before slipping between a couple and disappearing. 

He tried to remember what he was doing before, but all he did was watch your form blend into the crowd until he couldn’t see you. 

Bar. he was at the bar. What was he going to order?

He couldn’t remember, all he was focused on was the way your hands laid on his chest and the way you smelled, fuck you smelled amazing. Rich and smoky and intoxicating. 

He felt like it should have tripped some alarm. That there was a crimson red flag waving in front of his face that he couldn’t see cause he was too busy thinking about you and the way it lingered around him. 

“hey, buddy!” the bartender snapped him out of his stupor and he stopped himself from growling before he realizes just what was going on. “either order something or fuck off, its a busy night.”

When he came back to the table, nobody seemed to notice. They were all too sucked in to a story Pope was telling about his sister and her trip to Paris. 

It wasn’t until Benny wrapped an arm around his shoulder and leaned into Frankie’s space that he froze. 

“you know, if you stared at her ass any harder I might've gotten jealous.” He could hear the tease in his voice, there was no anger or resentment.

Frankie swallowed dryly. 

“she uh...she smelled funny.”

His boyfriends sharp laugh shook off the fog that clouded his head. Benny always had that affect on him. 

They both returned to the conversation at hand, but even Benny could smell the sweet aroma that curled around Francisco and found himself enamored with it. 

[cyle]

well that's a lot of questions. my ask box is open, y'know.

What IS going on with the polls?

it's actually pretty simple: we rolled it out to a small percentage of users (10%) to see what would happen, and now we're fixing bugs before we roll it out more. this is actually a fairly common rollout strategy for us, except in this case everybody really wants polls, so people notice that it's not out wider yet, and the bugs are a bit harder to solve than we had expected. usually we'd be out to 100% by now. we're trying to get it out to everyone as quickly as we can.

What are the chances of being able to sort my own archived posts for posts I am the OP of? Or only posts I have added to?

the odds are kinda low right now, to be honest. we've never indexed posts by whether they're a reblog or not, so adding that kind of index for literally tens of billions of posts is a big ask. not impossible, just very difficult. also, there's very little evidence that many people would actually use such a thing, so it's hard to prioritize. looking back, i wish we had implemented that kind of index in the beginning, but also it'd be huge.

Do you actually get the suggestions when I type @ staff on something, do you actually see it?

no, but i follow the "tumblr staff" tag, and often things pop up from there that we pay attention to. the actual @staff blog is a group blog and i don't think anybody is monitoring its activity page, because it'd be way too much for anyone to parse through. but really, paying attention to support tickets and what's trending is a clearer picture of what's going on across the platform.

Is there someplace you are keeping people updated about the roll out of features and plans? [You tumblr, not you personally]

yeah, please follow the @changes blog for this. that's exactly why we started that blog.

Dark blue [aka actual blue and not cyan] letter option? [I am absurdly happy about the yellow letter, thank you <3] Thoughts?

now that you mention it, that seems like a funny oversight to me. no tumblr dark blue as a font color option? lol, we should fix that. (no guarantees that we actually will, that's up to our design team, really.)

Can I get more spacing in the numbered+ lists? I always find myself trying to override the automatic list making because it squishes everything together too much.

this is a perfectly good thing to send along as a suggestion to Support, and the design team can look at the problem to see if more spacing makes sense.

i think

you may be right

on web at least?

tho the spacing isn't that bad

i dunno if i'd want the spacing as wide as our paragraph-spacing

exact suggestions would be fun to have tho, what would you want?

What's it like working at tumblr right now?

it's good, it's interesting. tumblr today is different in a lot of ways, but it's the same in the important ways. i just spent a week with tumblr's division leads (head of design, the COO, head of ads, head of trust and safety, all the other cool kids, etc) to talk through our 2023 and beyond strategy. all i feel comfortable saying right now is that there's some fun stuff ahead. it's gonna continue to be a wild ride for all of us.

I bet Tumblr specifically excluded me from the list of people who get early access to polls because of all the mildly snarky bug reports I submitted regarding the new post editor's unpredictable whitespace trimming behaviour.

[razrbladekiss]

Tyrants | Chapter Four - Peril

WORD COUNT: 5.1k

WARNINGS: Mentions of death, drug use, Tig being Tig. The usual SOA shit. Sorry Donna..

She always saw the beauty in darkness. The lugubrious belle that came alongside the moon and stars and whatever else lurked amidst the murk of nighttime.

Isla was cliche in that sense.

She was cliche in the sense that she adored watching the sun set, swallowed by the mountains and high-rise buildings as the evening fell and Charming was painted black.

And maybe it was mostly melancholic because of the horrors that swathed that small town, but it was still beautiful nonetheless.

She still liked to bask in the scenery, to discern the marvel of her home, from the highest point she could access. And, sometimes, she liked to take somebody along with her so she wasn't completely alone.

"Why'd you still come up here?" Ope asked, pulling himself onto the roof as she sat with her back to the wall--puffing on a cigarette.

"Because it's quiet." She was content, comfortable with her response. "And whenever I'm looking for Jax, or Gem, or my dad--or they're looking for me--this is where we're almost always found. Just people watching, or reminiscing, or having a few minutes to ourselves away from the chaos downstairs."

It wasn't an unknown safe space--Gemma had told her that JT and Clay would climb up there during the earliest days of the club--but it was special.

Jax, Opie, and Isla spent time up there as kids, too. Because they were bastards and were always running from their fathers--and den mother--and the roof of the clubhouse was their go-to.

She never really got out of that habit. She'd spend hours up there if she could, just watching as Charming bustled beneath her. And she liked that it was separate to the garage, but everyone knew where to find her if they needed her.

"It clears your head, being up here." She added. "I have got so much shit going on right now--between work, and my personal life--but coming up here is like a refreshment, I guess."

Opie understood what she meant because he was also seeking comfort in the night. Riding through dusk, spending time alone on his bike as he cruised the streets of his quaint town, relishing in the darkness because it was strangely comforting to him.

He liked to be alone. His thoughts were brutal and they seared his brain left and fucking right, but he liked his own company.

"Wish I thought about comin' up here when I was released from holding." The man chuckled, balancing a cigarette between his lips. "Stahl grilled the fuck outta me."

"She did?"

"Yeah. She really fuckin' did." He added, grunting as smoke blew from his nostrils. "Did she get you? I know she got Gemma."

"Nope, she didn't. I don't know why, though. She interrogated everyone else. Starting to feel a little left out."

Opie chuckled, smiling a bit. "Be glad. It's obvious that she's used to getting what she wants."

"And did you give it to her?"

"Fuck no." Isla smiled. Proud. "She can cross-examine me all she fuckin' wants—I'll never sell the club out."

"They know that, Ope."

"I know." Half confidently, he nodded. "Just—Stahl made me second guess it all, y'know?"

Nobody in Charming--aside from the PD--knew where that despicable bitch came from, and nobody cared to ask.

What they did know, though, was that she had her heart set on making that town a living fucking hell as she strived to eradicate the Sons of Anarchy by getting to its members.

She'd grilled everyone she could've. She cornered Gemma when she was out running errands, leaving the grocery store with a sour taste in her mouth when Teller told her where to fucking shove it.

Same went for Jax, and Clay, and Chibs, and Tig, and...Well, all of them told her to get fucked, actually.

None of them caved. None of them wanted to sell the club out because there was no reason to.

Well, there was a reason to, but no desire to.

There'd been murders. Three, to be specific. And one of them just happened to be a police officer--which was quite unlucky, but it wasn't awful.

They hated cops.

What they hated more, however, was the idea of getting caught by them. And Clay was. Somehow, anyway.

Piney's old "friend"--Nate Meineke--needed quality, albeit illegal, guns with no traceability to attack the convoy that was transporting one of his friends from point A to point B. And it went as swimmingly as possible...

Until June Stahl was put on the case and found that idiot's phone at the scene after dropping it mid-ambush.

Clay just happened to be the last person he had called. Which then caused the investigation to point toward Charming.

They all knew the Sons were guilty of supplying those weapons. Who else would it have been? They were known for running illegal firearms without batch numbers from a quaint Californian town whose name didn't quite fit its image.

It was blatant, though nobody gave it up.

But Stahl tried her damndest to get answers. And when she didn't, she targeted the member that she saw to be the most vulnerable--after a hit went wrong and he failed to cover his tracks--and Opie just happened to be that guy.

She questioned him for hours. She practically held the man captive in that little cell until he caved. But he didn't--and he wasn't going to, either.

He was loyal. That's one of the reasons why Jax wanted to patch him back in.

"Yeah, I know." Isla got to her feet when she heard Tig yelling for her downstairs. "But you're the strongest guy I know, Ope. I don't think Stahl, of all people, is gonna get to you."

He shrugged her off, flicking the butt of his cigarette to the gravelly ground of the roof.

Opie had changed. Not much, and it wasn't very apparent, but he'd changed. Chino had changed him, she thought.

He was still dedicated to his club, still in love with the reaper and the responsibility that came with the patch--but Opie Winston lacked that flicker of enthusiasm now.

"How does your dad feel about you being back at the table?"

"Said he's proud of me."

He was a man of very, very few words. But the tone that he took--the sheer relief twined into contentment--spoke a greater volume.

Piney would always support his son, feel a sense of gratification from his involvement in the club. And, of course, Ope felt grateful to be back--but it was different now.

He'd served time for his club. Donna consistently argued that they sold him out and that he was fucking stupid for running back into the arms of SAMCRO.

But it was his brotherhood. The Sons of Anarchy were his family--his lifeline. He was nothing if not blessed to be patched back in.

"And I guess that wife of yours isn't too happy about it?"

"How'd you reach that conclusion?"

"Well," she ignored that Tig was waiting for her, standing directly in front of him. "If she was genuinely thrilled about you being back here, she'd have been coming to Gemma's dinners, and spending more time at the clubhouse with us. But she isn't, and I'm starting to realize that she probably hates me now."

His head shook. "She doesn't hate you. It's just...It's just raw. Weird being back, I think."

"She didn't even have to leave. She knows that."

Donna did know that. But there was always something about Gemma. About the way she let things slide so often, how she felt that she had Clay so pussy whipped that he'd be at her every beck and call--but, really, that was redundant. Because Gemma let him get away with fucking murder.

Literally.

"Is she gonna be there tonight?

"Of course. She wouldn't miss Jax's son coming home." He got up, reaching for her hands. "Sorry that she's been so distant with you, Isla. But she's just been stressed out--money worries and the kids and stuff, y'know?"

"Yeah, I know."

Donna wasn't traditionally a worrier. But five years worth of finances, being a single mom, and fretting over her husband potentially not making it out of prison alive, just did that to a woman.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"I don't think so." Grateful for her offering, though recognizing how damn stubborn his wife was, he conceded. "Thanks, though."

"Anytime. And if you change your mind, or need me, you know where I am--"

"Isla!"

"He is getting on my last fucking nerve today." She groaned, flipping Tig off as she looked over the ledge. "I'm coming! Give me a minute!"

"I've given you plenty of minutes! Just get your ass down here!"

"Just go," Ope chuckled, leaning down to peck her cheek. "We can have this talk another time."

Isla turned back to him, frowning. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Go 'n talk to him--I'll see you tonight."

He was such a nice guy. So considerate, kind.

She loved him a lot.

The flouncy sundress rose to the middle of her thighs as she sauntered through the clubhouse, hearing Trager talking--rather conspicuously, though slightly muffled--to somebody on his cell.

"C'mon, Tiggy. Why'd you yell at me?"

He waved his hand to shut her up, gesturing for the blonde to follow him out of the clubhouse and toward his bike.

"Yeah, cool. K, brother--see 'ya later. Bye." He hung up and slid the phone into the pocket of his cut, swiveling to face Isla with a smile. "You ready?"

"For what?"

"The party?" Tig told her, watching confusion sweep over her face. "I'm taking you over 'cuz you want a drink and don't wanna drive home after? And that you're probably gonna end up heading home with Juice, or something--"

"Juice?"

"It always happens," he shrugged, pointing at the helmet he set out for her at the back of his bike. "We all head out, you get too drunk, you take a liking to Juicy, and you try to ride his dick."

"What?" Isla got herself situated behind him as he got on first, her arms wound around his waist. "That was one time. I've only slept with him once, and I told you it'd never happen again."

"And why is that?"

Her cheeks flushed red, the engine revving sending vibrations through her entire frame.

"Because he was too gentle." Tig's foot collided with the kickstand.

"And the little Catholic girl likes it rough."

She felt the solid gold crucifix burning a hole into her chest.

"Yes. I like it rough." He groaned, leaning into her. She swatted at his chest over his shoulder, laughing heartily. "Just take me to see the baby, dickhead."

The bike sped out of the lot and Isla was loving the thrill of being on two wheels. She'd always liked being stuck to the back of somebody's Harley--but she'd never own one herself.

Isla was like Gemma. She felt stable enough riding with somebody, but riding alone--being in control of the motorcycle--was fucking terrifying.

Jax and Opie had encouraged her to take a ride at one point, but it didn't end very well, and Chibs spent the best part of two hours trying to stitch his daughter back up whilst Gemma castigated the two imbeciles who thought it was even reminiscent of a good idea.

Weaving through traffic gracefully, freely, was appealing to her, however. But she wouldn't be caught dead--alone--on a fucking bike.

Plus, she quite enjoyed being taken places. Escorted by a member of the club. It was safe.

The wind whirred and whipped around them, and she wished she didn't make the effort with her hair tonight. It was ruined, tousled to within an inch of its life, and she dreaded the thought of having to brush the knots out in Jax's bathroom.

Still, commuting via Harley was a hell of a lot quicker and had a few more benefits than commuting via car.

But the looks that they got were piercing. Horrible. Mainly from Hale stationed beside his squad car, watching as Isla and Tig raced down the freeway.

"He likes you." He spoke over the roaring engine when he hit the first stop light all night. "He hates that you've never given him a chance--"

"He's a cop, and I'm the outlaw's daughter. I've been raised to hate his kind."

Tig nodded his approval, setting off once again when the light switched to green and all opposing traffic stood still.

At one strange point in time, David Hale had his sights set on Isla Telford. He was in love with her. Completely besotted.

And she never gave him a second glance because, for one, she wasn't interested. He hated that she was so close to Jax and Opie, but not him, and he wished that she'd push herself away from the bad guys to grow closer to the heroic law-enforcer.

But he was a control freak above everything else, and Isla was just a free-spirit. She was loyal to her friends and family but she didn't want to get tied down, and she didn't want to become friendly with a fucking cop.

The only cop she liked was crooked. And Unser was in a similar spot to her--a little too affiliated with SAMCRO, but not completely doted on. Though, they were both strangely essential fixtures, and Clay would've been lost without them.

"Juice is here." Tig taunted as he helped her off the bike, holding her hand when she stumbled over herself a little. "Try to keep those panties on."

"Can't make any promises, Tiger." Her growl was seductive, though he knew that she was fucking with him.

She'd given up rebuking his claims, instead feeding into them because, with Trager, she couldn't seem to win. He was sleazy, and she loved that back and forth.

What she loved more, though, was that he was comfortable. He was a strange man, and nobody really understood just where he came from, but Isla liked that she could make jokes of any kind around him. He was easy to get along with. Easy to love.

And, man, did she love Alex Trager.

"If you do fuck him, though, would you make a video?"

Isla stepped into Jax's front room, turning on her heels. "Who said that we haven't already got one?"

She chuckled and wandered into the party, leaving Tig with a few convoluted thoughts and even more raunchy questions.

"Fuck. Gemma taught her well." He grumbled under his breath, reaching for the beer in Half-Sack's hand.

He slumped on the couch, motioning for his usual lay to sit in his lap as he watched Juice fawn over his little blonde friend making conversation with some other random woman already.

"Yeah, totally..." she agreed with whatever the girl was saying, but her eyes were glued on Tara. Just floating around the party.

She felt bad that the doctor was alone. Despite all that she thought of her, being out of ones depth in such an intimidating setting wasn't very nice. And Isla was an empath.

"D'ya think anyone 'round here has any nail glue?"

"Gemma might." She smiled, pointing toward the kitchen.

Grateful that she managed to shake that one off, Isla weaved through the small conclave and sat beside Tara, offering a friendly face during a time of such discomfiture.

Her heart was aching, the sheer nervousness was palpable, and she knew that Tara felt the same way too.

But Isla just sucked it up. Because she wanted to talk to her, and had to be the one to initiate it.

"Thanks for coming." Her smile was wide, genuine.

She offered a beer to the brunette, hoping that she'd take it.

"Thanks for asking me here." Tara accepted it, glad that Isla remembered she wasn't particularly a wine girl like herself.

Christ. This is awkward.

"Trust me, you were the first person I asked to come tonight."

"How so?"

"Well," a little bit more comfortably, she faced her completely, "you've literally nursed Abel back to health. You've been there every step of the way. You've been the best surgeon. And, as much as I hate to say it, you helped Wendy so much, Tara. I'm really thankful for all that you've done for this family."

"It's my job." She tried to brush the comments off, but her heart definitely fluttered at the praise.

Isla never changed. She was still the sweetest soul, she thought.

"I know, but you've had it rough with this lot--with Gemma, I mean."

"She isn't anything I can't handle." Confidently, she asserted.

"I know, and I'm glad that you're able to stand your ground." Reluctant, a hand landed against Tara's palm.

She jolted a little bit, but softened into the embrace.

It was comfy, warm. Prosperous, perhaps, because it meant something. Tara not jerking away and leaving once Isla offered a friendly embrace, was promising.

They spoke about the baby for a little while, and shared a few laughs at Tig's expense. It was strange, really. To be talking to her ex-best friend was strange, but she'd missed it.

Donna joined the mix, too, and it was starting to feel like old times. Isla recognized that they'd never slip back into that routine, the dedication to one another that they'd known when they were kids--but it was nice.

The conversation stuttered and it wasn't able to flow as freely as what she might've liked, but it was a start.

To know that she had something resembling an acquaintanceship with two women she admired, was nice.

And Jax introducing his baby to his brand new home, to his extended family that were already so fucking dedicated to him, was just the most wonderful thing ever.

"What about a beer?" Clay joked, holding the bottle close to Abel. Jax laughed, though he shook his hand away. "What? Grandpa can't give him his first beer?"

"No, he can't."

"I'll take it, though. If you're offerin'." Chibs grabbed the Budweiser and twisted the cap with the leather grip of his glove.

He gestured to Isla, tipping it toward her. "Want some?"

"No, you're alright." She went back to her wine, smiling at that little bundle of happiness in Jax's arms, wondering how the hell he'd gotten to be in this position now.

But it was because of Tara. Her commitment, her talent, and sheer want to help that angel through the roughest patch that a baby could have possibly been thrust into.

How Gemma could still loathe that girl--after everything she did--was beyond her completely.

Tara was the unlikeliest hero in Abel's story.

"Why is it that every time I see you, your highlights get more chunky?" Gemma smiled at the comment, turning to see her favorite girl, flaunting the most beautiful smile.

She handed Isla the bottle of whatever wine Chibs could get this evening, unable to quit beaming at the thought of her grandson finally being at home. Where he belonged.

"I told you I'd do them for you, Gem."

"I know," she nodded, playing with a few strands of hair, "I was gonna ask you, but you've been a little distant this week--didn't wanna add to your workload, baby."

"That's super considerate of you. Are you alright?" Isla teased, holding a hand to Gemma's forehead.

She slapped it away with a laugh. "Fuck you. I'm always considerate."

"Sure you are. That's why Wendy is here, right?"

"No," her head shook, "she's here 'cuz this is her house. If I had it my way, she'd be out on her ass faster than what you could even say 'crank whore.'"

Isla wiped at her lips with the back of her hand, tipping her head toward the blonde in the living room.

"I thought you made sure she was gonna be here tonight?" Confused, she quizzed.

She was under the impression that Wendy was starting to grow on her. After she'd tried to kill her, of course.

"I did," Gem confirmed. "But only because I knew it'd be awkward between her and Tara."

Amazed, or maybe fucking horrified, Isla simply glared at her.

It should've been obvious to her--plain as day--that Gemma Teller doing a good thing was simply a bullshit facade, built in order to take away from the fact she wanted to do an inherently bad thing.

But Isla liked to see the good in people, so it wasn't. And that really was one of her mot fatal flaws.

"She thanked me for letting her stay, too."

"And what'd you say to her?" Almost as if she didn't want to know the answer, she asked.

Black nails danced along the rim of her wine glass as she leaned against the counter, watching everybody enjoy themselves as they bitched and moaned.

"That she's lucky to be alive."

"Jesus, Gem," her head shook disparagingly, disappointed perhaps.

But being surprised that the woman made a threatening comment toward Wendy, was just as stupid as being surprised at Tig for fucking another hooker during his free time.

"You've gotta keep her close, ma. She's the mother of your grandson, the woman your son did love at one point."

Ma. The word rolled off her tongue unintentionally most of the time, but she didn't hate it.

Gemma was the mother figure in her life--hell, she was the mother figure in a few of the Sons' lives--and it didn't feel weird using that around her. It was affectionate. She adored it.

"Jax never loved her," matter of fact, she retorted. "They got drunk together. They smoked dope together. They didn't love one another--"

"They got married." Isla reminded her. "They have a kid together. They have a lot of history."

"Just because they have history, doesn't mean they love one another. You've got history with him."

Her chuckle was throaty, almost a full-on splutter. "We have not got that same history--we're friends, Gem, you know that's different."

She supposed the blonde was right.

There was hell of a contrast between friends for life and friends with benefits--and Gemma knew that. She just didn't like that Jax gravitated toward Wendy when he'd always had Isla right there in front of him.

Though, she was more than aware that the pair didn't look at each other that way--she still lauded the thought of the two together.

"I still hate her."

"I know," Isla laughed at Gemma's irritability, sipping on her wine, enjoying the sight of everybody having a damn good time.

"She's checking into rehab, too."

"Really? Where?"

"Some place in Oakland, I think." Gemma added, smiling at Clay when he wandered over to the pair. "But you didn't hear that from me."

"You think she's gonna stick to it?"

"Couldn't tell 'ya." He answered for his wife, leaning in to press a chaste kiss to Isla's cheek. "She's determined though, I'll give her that."

"Yeah?" His nod was optimistic--strange for Clay Morrow. "Well, I'm glad she's working on herself, anyway. She's got potential."

"You hate her."

"I know." She didn't refute the assertion. "But I'm still happy for her."

At least somebody is.

She wasn't lying. Wendy was a good girl, a woman tortured for no good reason. And she felt for her, she really did.

It'd been a shock, finding out that she was pregnant. But it wasn't like they weren't expecting it--what with the rate she and Jax were going at it.

From the start, Isla and Gemma were worried. She was notorious for her crank habit and the girls thought she was going to kill herself before she had the chance to see her son into the world.

And that almost happened, didn't it?

The doctors at St. Thomas were fucking miracle workers--Isla was on pins and needles waiting for a call to say that Wendy and Abel were okay.

But she tried not to dwell on that, now. They were both as healthy and Abel was as happy as he could've been, so Isla was content. She wasn't pleased, but she was comfortable with the way that things were going.

Tara, however.

"No!" She yelled, backing out of the nursery. "No, fuck you, Jax."

Juice stumbled backward when she nudged him out of the way, pulling her purse from the kitchen counter.

Isla and Gemma couldn't not stare.

"Tara, c'mon!" Jax called after her, but it was too late.

The front door had been slammed shut and the party came to a complete standstill. A thickening tension was shrouding the group, and things were only just starting to simmer.

"What was that all about?" The blonde asked Juice, leaning against the island.

She didn't want to prove Tig to be right but, after a few glasses of wine, Juan Carlos Ortiz was starting to pique her interests.

He swallowed thickly, watching Clay leave the room. "He said something about Wendy--wanting to keep whatever it is that he and Tara have going on the down low so it doesn't set her off, or something."

Makes sense.

"He has a point. She's doing really well lately." He continued. "Jax would hate to stunt her progress by shoving his relationship with Tara in her face."

Isla was rattled.

Jax hadn't talked to her in days, and she wasn't aware that so much had changed. She wasn't aware that he had established a relationship with Tara Knowles.

Again.

You know what they're like--like two fucking magnets or something. They always find a way back to one another.

She was too irritated to reside in that same room as Gemma, now. Knowing the conversation she'd initiate the second that Juice left was too fucking much. So she left first, instead.

The living room was almost empty. Just Clay, Bobby, Tig, and Chibs sat around the couches as Donna, the kids, and Ope were preparing to set off.

Everything was annoying her, now. She hadn't made the effort with Donna all night, but she was pissed that she hadn't started to say goodbye to her yet.

Isla was so fucking irritated that she didn't even want to talk to Tig, or her father. So she didn't.

"Where're you going, petal?" Chibs asked, hindering her plan to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the night. He knew that she'd crack a smile at the nickname.

"I was just wandering. Not really sure what to do with myself."

"Come sit down," he gestured to the space between himself and Tig, and wound an arm around her when she met the leather. "I've missed 'ya."

"Tonight? Or just in general."

"In general. It's been a few days, love."

"I know, I'm sorry." Her head rested against his Sgt. At Arms patch, and she sighed. "Work has been so fucking busy and I feel like I haven't gotten a moment to myself this week."

Isla only worked a part-time gig at some shitty salon just on the outskirts of Charming--edging into Stockton--but she hated her job.

She hated driving into the city every morning and evening, wasting a fuck ton of her paycheck on gas when, really, there was no point.

She hated her cunt boss.

Hated her cunt clients.

She hated that nobody really spoke to her because of who her father was. And when they did speak to her, it was almost like they were scared. Of Isla.

Gemma had always promised her that there was a space at the auto shop for her had she needed it, but she couldn't think of anything worse than having to answer to Gemma and Clay every single day.

Well, more than what she already was, anyway.

"Who'd 'a thought that being a hairdresser was so demanding?"

"Me, apparently." She joked, watching Tig get up and leave the room.

It'd turned somber. A little too bleak for her liking, but she guessed that everyone felt a bit awkward after Tara stamped out and Jax sat on his porch. Alone. With a bottle of whiskey.

She hated the hold that woman had over him sometimes. The way he was so fucking devoted to Tara Knowles that she could literally slap him, scream in his face, and ruin his son's homecoming party--and he would still pine for her.

She'd never understand that.

And she didn't understand how such a lively bunch of individuals had mellowed out over the course of two hours, either.

The party had disappeared. Dissipated into nothing and the atmosphere she once lauded was completely dead in the water.

It was fucking grim, and she couldn't wait to head home.

"Can I come with you tonight?"

"Why'd you even ask? Y'know you're welcome to come home with your old man whenever you want." Chibs told her a little bit stern, though it was essentially full of love.

She just smiled up at him, a bit buzzed. But she was having a good-ish time and who was he to chastise her for drinking a little too much tonight?

"Wanna head off now?"

"Yeah--lemme just say 'bye' to Gemma."

"Alright, I'll be out front. Don't forget your purse." He reminded, knowing she was too ditsy for her own good.

Chibs helped her to her feet, letting go of her hand only to part ways for a few moments.

Her mood was perking up, now. The prospect of being able to spend a few hours with her dad after a long fucking day, was just the best.

And she'd really missed him. Missed the time they once had an abundance of. Missed the evenings that they'd spend talking, drinking, watching movies, doing the generic father daughter activities.

They hadn't had that for a while, and it was truly a blessing that it was within reach tonight.

Well. It was within reach for all of five minutes.

"Oh my God--" Gemma's cell slipped from between black nails and bounced across the table. Saturated hues were locked on Isla, and her head shook.

"What?"

"There's--there's been an accident." She managed to muster out. "Or, maybe a drive-by, I don't know, but Donna--"

"Donna?" Piney's attention was snatched at the mention of his daughter-in-law. He stood up. "What about her?"

Isla knew the answer. She knew what Gemma was going to say because it was just the usual now, wasn't it?

Being affiliated with SAMCRO just did that to somebody. Man, woman, child. They didn't fucking care.

"She's--Piney, she's dead."

[rpg-elf-girl]

Shadows House

I have a lot of thoughts surrounding this particular show, both good & bad.

Allow me to give a quick summary for anyone who hasn't seen/read it!

Shadows House is about 'a faceless family of nobles who all live within this giant manor, the Shadows House.

When a Shadow comes of age they receive a 'Living Doll' to both serve as their face and to clean the soot they emit from their bodies.

The most important rule of the living dolls is "don't fret over trivial matters"

A task which is difficult for the ever curious doll Emiliko.

Watch this tale unfold as Emiliko & her mistress Kate navigate this ever mysterious Manor together.'

For a fan of slow burn thrillers, horror, slice of life, supernatural & mystery series' this has been an absolute blast!

It's not quite the combination of genres you'd expect from a show, but it works really well here!

In fact I was so into the anime that this is actually the first show where I broke down and read the manga!

Unfortunately there's no official English release, but at least there are some people translating the series!

As much as I'd like to go on about the manga, this post is meant to be more so about the anime so I'll (try to) leave it at that.

Though i feel obligated to warn anime onlys I'll likely refer the manga a lot in a spoiler section latter in this post I'll try to be vague but I can't guarantee anything. For anyone worried about that I'll lable it do you can read on until then.

Everything from the animation to the music was amazing & completely fit the mood of the story! I remember a couple scenes where I actually teared up because of this!

The Ending theme is an absolute banger! I've listened to that on repeat ever since I first heard it! And the Opening is also great! It's cool for it to be an instrumental, stuff like that is pretty rare! I also heard the song in the op as a motif in the music throughout the show! It really sets the right mood in each scene it's in! It's amazing for getting into each episode!

In terms of adaptation almost everything from the beginning to the end of the Debut arc was done amazingly well!

Even with the stuff they cut it still holds true to the spirit of its source.

The main important part that was cut is something that could easily be introduced latter if they decide to go for a second season, so I'm not too mad about that.

However! Everything after the debut is a bit of a different story.

There was a lot I liked about the last couple episodes but there were some parts that were immersion breaking for me.

I've been being vague up until this point l, but I'm planning on going into spoiler territory for both the anime and manga after this. So I'll make a quick spoiler free summary of my thoughts before moving onto that.

I really really loved this show but in my opinion the last 3 episodes were the weakest of them all. They went anime only for the ending. I don't mind that on it's own, but it was rushed and the writing was sloppy at times.

Now I'm not telling you to not watch the show! Most of It's really really good, and I can still see people enjoying the parts I'm talking about if they want to give the anime a try. Overall I've fallen in love with this series and I could never recommend it enough.

If what I'm saying is giving you bad vibes the manga is available and doesn't have the issues I've mentioned. You can look for a translation online, it didn't take me long to find one so don't worry too much about that.

Also! if you're an anime only who's finished the series and want to know where to pick up the Manga I'd recommend at least skiming through the beginning. I know it might not be what you're looking for but there were a bunch of small scenes that either got cut or were merged for adaptation purposes that I think are super cute & give more context to different aspects of the setting. However! Pay close attention during the "night watchers part" something important got cut .

~~~Now for spoilers!!!!~~~

I don't want to make it sound like I'm some manga purist who hates the very thought of the slightest change from the source. I'm anime only for a lot of different shows and I've always despised it when that type of manga reader reared it's ugly head.

While I'll admit some changes did bother me I won't make a fuss about the smaller stuff.

With that said!

I hinted earlier in this post that I didn't have a big problem with Robe-same being cut. That was because without them there it does make for a more complete story if they only get one season to work with.

If there is another season they can easily be introduced latter on. Like maybe Emiliko & Shaun can meet them when the Debutant class reunion is going on before they talk on the roof (or right after that) I actually think that would be the perfect time to introduce them (other than the time they were supposed to appear, but I digress)

Louise teaming up & being friendly with Kate can be explained with some dialogue changes at the first Debutant Class Reunion. Louise can say she was just trying to show off or that she just wanted to get back at Edward and that she isn't interested in helping Kate with her problems. Things can then go on as they did in the manga.

Kates being reckless & telling everything to John can be explained by her being extremely panicked when Emiliko went missing, as long as there are some lines of dialogue adressing this it's fine. Though I do wish she tried to keep some stuff a secret but couldn't because Shaun tries to interfer because he's still brainwashed, or something along those lines. It felt a bit weird after she just told Emiliko to keep that stuff between them. Still that could be explained by how panicked she was.

There are other things, but I don't want to drag the post on too long. Most of the issues can be fixed with little changes here & there.

I never had a problem with the idea of them going in an anime only direction. I just want to have a good time with the show.

Unfortunately I can't 100% vouche for the direction the show went in. There were elements that I can't excuse, even viewing it as it's own entity instead of an adaptation.

My main complaint with it is how they handled the brainwashing of Ricky & Lou. They didn't say a word when the Debutants were talking badly about Edward & even went along with a plan to go against him. It makes absolutely no sense!

Shaun freaked out when John only suggested that he didn't have to be loyal to the house. These guys were flat out rebelling against an adult! It felt like Ricky & Lou didn't have a purpose & were just there to be there.

The whole point of the coffee is to influence shadows against doing stuff like this. It makes the coffee seem pointless and the adults seem dumb for relying on it to control the kids.

I haven't even brought up the fact that both of their brainwashings were broken by something as simple as a few kind words. It straight up contradicts the rules established by both the Anime and Manga.

This becomes very apparent when you consider all the trouble John & Kate went through to free Shaun & Emiliko.

This was my biggest complaint, but I have some other issues as well.

The next big one is how they handled Edward.

1. Why on earth would he even consider kidnapping Emiliko when he had complete control of the childrens wing? Before this point he was depicted as being a lot more crafty than this. He could easily have Kate monitored or something.

2. Why didn't he use his powers to stop them like what he did to Maryrose & Rosemary when they fought back being taken to the adults wing? He's already shown off his power at this point, why not?

3. Why did he reveal his soot powers at all!? Especially while using his face in front of the kids! The whole unification thing is one of the biggest secrets of the house for good reason! There's no way he wouldn't get in huge trouble for exposing it to children!

Here are some other related questions.

Why didn't Kate, Emiliko, & John react to Edward using soot powers? They shouldn't know about unification yet so why didn't they act shocked, or say anything about it?

Is Edward being banished even an option in the Shadows House? Wouldn't the third floor lords just dispose of him rather than risk letting him leave?

How did John even get a veiled dolls outfit? Louise had to use her powers to get Kate one & she left a long time ago.

I can't think of much else at the moment, but I think you get my point.

Please don't take this as me saying that I hate the show because of these episodes. Even if I consider them the weakest of the series I still found a lot of parts to be very enjoyable!

Like I thought it was adorable When Edward was attempting to interrogate Emiliko & she kept being her sunshine self pretending to eat & falling asleep.

Barbara getting to tell off Edward for breaking the rules was great!

I loved seeing Shaun hatch the plan to get Kate into the adults wing to save Emiliko.

Seeing John (attempt to) sneak around the adults wing had me rolling!

The ending scene of Shaun, Ricky, & Lou singing gave me the chills.

(Though I wonder how they'd handle Shaun & Emiliko being brainwashed again since they already used the scenes where they're freed)

Kate & Emilico being propelled by John back to the children's wing was absolutely amazing! I found Shaun & Ricky running over to catch them to be super sweet! (Not to mention the way that scene was animated was absolutely gorgeous!)

Getting hints to what was supposed to come after the debut was nice, at least the groundwork is there in case this gets a season 2!

To (try to) wrap this all up while there were a lot of things I loved and disliked about this show I still had a really fun time watching it!

I kinda hope there's a season two just to see if they can tidy up the mess that the last few episodes created.

Regardless of whether that happens or not I came out of this with a series I absolutely adore.

Heck I could make a whole other post about the manga. (Hopefully one that's less ranty)

Anyway! I won't take any more of your time.

I hope you all have a wonderful day/night! And I hope to see you in my next post!

(Sorry if this one was a bit of a mess!)

[emachinescat]

I've decided to watch MacGyver from the beginning (again), and I'm live tweeting the experience with every tweet tagged with #savemacgyver. I thought it would be fun to share my collected thoughts from the episodes on here as well.

My Thoughts on S1E2, "Metal Saw"

Seriously love the music in this show!

THE FREAKING BELT GRAB. You can tell they've done this kind of thing before.

I always love it when Jack and Mac have heart-to-hearts in the middle of super intense, dangerous situations. Like... it's sweet, but time and place, guys?

"Hi, I'm Jack." Nervous Jack is bebby.

Ew, sweat. Like, I know it's "realism" to have sweat stains on clothes in situations like these, but that's one bit of realism I can always do without. Gross.

Is that a bit of PTSD I'm seeing with Mac there on the couch? That's a kind of realism I can always get behind.

Riley finding Mac and Boze in that compromising position will never not be funny. "But he was on top." I love Riley more every episode.

Riley is a really good liar from day one.

I love the joke about ex-cons benefiting from being in relationships with stable people (i.e., fake boyfriend Bozer), then the immediate cut to Bozer with his whole arm inside the vending machine. Great stuff.

Love the Riley and Bozer bonding... right up until the cringe-tastic "Slide me your digits."

"Soon, I'm gonna woo you the same way Romeo would have wooed Juliet if they had Snapchat back in the Renaissance." Bozer and his surprisingly accurate pickup lines. The Renaissance did in fact start in Italy around the 14th century, when R&J is thought to take place.

I love all this psychoanalyzing of Mac. "Adapting is his survival mechanism." Also I'm living for Jack sticking up for Mac to Patti.

"This place has been searched by everybody and their dog." Is this a Texas thing or an old guy saying? Either way it's great.

Nothing beats the early days of Mac and Jack. Nothing. I wish we had gotten more interactions where Jack has to parent Mac: "Stop touching that. Look at me." ❤️❤️❤️

Jack so concerned about Mac and putting on the kid gloves = everything I could have ever asked for and more.

Jack has such a big heart. Poor guy, the look on his face when he sees that the reporter is actually Sarah...

Paperclip sculptures: When I first started watching the show, I thought they were lame. Now I miss them so much. Does that mean I've gotten lamer or that they were always cool and I was always lame?

"Closest time I ever came to coming home in a box." Oof. This line hits different now, and not in a good way.

I just love how Jack is this big tough ex-Delta who is so open about his emotions, particularly with Mac. And the way Mac reassures him... Their bromance is top-tier.

"Oh, like when they invented fire!" Another zinger.

Mac grabbing that giant cigar right out of that dude's mouth 😂😂😂

Love some good fight-scene Mac whump! 👏👏👏 And bar fights are always a blast!

Riley with the car door - such a boss. "What? You told me to stay in the car, and I did."

I've seen some people say they don't like S1 Mac's hair. I kind of dig it, to be honest. He looks like he's 5, but I love it.

Mac has made a lot of DIY cutting torches in his time, but they never get less impressive.

Jack trusting Mac to save Sarah while he keeps watch is just *chef's kiss*!

These early episodes have so many MacGyverisms. One right after the other. It's awesome.

I've never been a big fan of the dark either, Mac.

The first scene with Mac and Sarah is so beautifully tense and whumpy (he way he scrabbles for purchase, gasps for breath, that hitch in his voice as he tries to squeak out Jack's name) that I had to rewind and watch it again.

The hopeful disbelief in her voice: "Jack Dalton came for me?"

Sarah can kick some serious ass. I can see why Jack likes her. Too bad she's about to lead him on the rest of the episode, while actually having a fiance...

Sarah: *leans out of car, shooting her weapon with deadly, terrifying precision* Riley: I agree, this woman should not have kids. 😂 Everything that comes out of Riley's mouth is gold.

Riley asleep in the back of the car while Mac sits quietly and Jack and Sarah have a sweet moment is like mom and dad with the kids in the backseat. Except mom has a fiance and hasn't told dad yet, even though she's had ample opportunity.

Because seriously, Sarah. It's not that hard to tell him the truth. Giving him those big eyes and flirting with him, thinking he has a chance is just cruel. I have never liked her character, and this is why.

Mac and Jack giggling about Jack's crush on Sarah like middle-school girls is life.

"You're just gonna have to let that go." Man, I love their relationship.

Gosh, the scene where they find Luis always hurts so badly. These early episodes did not play around.

"There isn't always time to beg some suit back home for permission to do what's right." I'm not a fan of Sarah, but I love this line. Also, this is pretty much the synopsis of the whole show.

Riley's hair used to be so LONG! 😍

The loyalty of these three! And I love the OG trio so much.

This sleazy guy in the computer place makes my skin crawl.

Love how Patti's like, "Mac will be back by then." Not Jack, not Riley. Just Mac. Can we say teacher's pet? I actually lowkey love this though.

"Who is this guy?" Much like Doctor Who's "It's bigger on the inside," I never get tired of people being equally amazed and confused at the stuff Mac can do.

I've never been the biggest car chase junkie, but Barrios jumping over the car using that log in the road is pretty dope.

Sarah's rage is chilling. And Jack talking her down breaks me every time.

Again, I love the loyalty of our team. Everyone sticks up for each other, ending with Mac's totally unbelievable but still somehow 100% genuine "It was me. I forced them." TOO good.

First mention of Oversight this early. Just thinking about who it is that doesn't like unsanctioned ops just makes me 😤 I wonder if the writers knew who OS was at this point or if it was a later development.

I do wish we could have gotten more conspiratorial, approving Patti. She's so much better than expressionless, bland Patti.

The way Sarah never told Jack about her fiance Jeff (who is in fact a cinnamon roll but still a discount Jack) pisses me off. "I tried to tell you." Yeah, right. It's not that hard to say, "Yo, I'm in a relationship."

Jack NEVER should have found out about Jeff the way he did. There's no excuse.

It's not okay, Jack. She did you wrong. You didn't deserve that. Stand up for yourself, man. Gosh, he's so broken here, and I hate it.

"At least we have each other... Don't look at me. I know how weird it sounded." THESE TWO I SWEAR 🤣🤣🤣

Poor Mac. I do love how we get his obsessive tendencies so early in the show, and how they keep coming back, even as late as season 5. As someone with clinically diagnosed OCD, this makes me feel seen and I love being able to relate to my favorite character.

Love the found family antics at the end. Riley and Bozer making dinner while Mac and Jack play basketball? Perfection.

Lol, Bozer calling Riley a "caramel goddess" has such Schmidt/Cece vibes from New Girl, and I dig it!

Ew. More sweat. I know some people find sweaty men attractive, but that is NOT my vibe. I prefer my men clean and freshly laundered.

The way Riley glances back over her shoulder at them as she walks away, as if to make sure they're really there, that this is actually real!!!

"That's not even... that's true, actually. That's sad." Jack 🤣 Also, "I'm hungry." Big mood.

As a Grandpa Harry stan from the OG show, I eat up any mention of him in the new one. I just wish we'd gotten more of that wonderful man in the reboot. Still, I'll take what I can get!

I'd honestly forgotten how much I enjoy this episode! So solid, full of bromance, found family, and lots of good-natured bickering. Can't wait to watch the next one, hopefully tomorrow! In the meantime, please keep fighting for our show! Together we can #savemacgyver!

If anyone wants to join me in my re-watching and tweeting adventure, please do! It's my way to take about an hour a day in my busy, busy life to commit to the #savemacgyver movement. (And to enjoy my favorite show yet again!) If you do tweet as you watch, make sure to tag EVERY tweet with ONLY #savemacgyver so we can keep that hashtag trending! :)

Thanks for letting me share my (numerous) thoughts on this episode. This was really fun, and I hope it's something you all enjoy, too. I'd love to know what you all think of the episode in the comments! ❤️