#this also makes me think of that line where she says she's sad and extremely productive

[floralovebot]

ALSO ive been rereading the comics again and its giving me so much winx/specialists and specialists/specialists friendship dynamics psychic attacks again

[taylortruther]

i have so so so many thoughts (I think we all do, lol) but one that I was particularly struck by, last night at like, 3AM, was a sudden wave of "wow, i'm really glad i don't look at love/relationships the way she does" along with some "wow i'm really glad i'm not taylor swift"

and it immediately felt a bit like an unfair thought/reaction to something so deeply personal and visceral but even today i can't really shake it. parts of the album feel deeply (painfully) relatable and then other parts feel so far removed from just how I tend to view things and make certain decisions idk idk

(and like, i'm certainly not the most famous person on the planet having a very public breakup, which is probably part of it sdjfhzskjhf but idk! just sitting with it, wondering why that was such a quick reaction on my part)

yeah, i know this will come across really mean to people, but i know you're not trying to be mean, but it's also because i agree. i like her music a lot but i have basically never related to taylor's view of love and sometimes that gulf is very stark! like, i approach relationships way more carefully, whereas taylor has frequently described feeling like love is this unstoppable force that she must obey. of course, all of our experiences shape us differently, so maybe 5-10-15 years from now, i'll look at ttpd and feel seen! and maybe taylor and any of y'all who follow me would think my view of love or my relationships have been stupid and bad.

also, you are right that taylor has a unique life, with crazy pressures. we can't really relate to that. BUT we can relate to dating the wrong person, or the mistakes we make when trying to leave a relationship or find out what will make us happy. the thing about art is that you don't need to have shared the same exact feelings or experience to relate to it. or have sympathy for it (even if it's limited!!)

[lastflowerofyourhouse]

something i like about nona's family is that they're so like, almost a perfect little nuclear family, and then just. not.

like. pyrrha is "the person who works for her" but also the one who makes breakfast and does the dishes. she's a woman quite literally posessing the body of a cis man and really leaning into the look, honorarily trans in both directions, working construction and shaving in the mornings and braiding nona's hair before school.

and then there's camilla, her...nagging wife? troublemaking older child? roomate who she barely gets along with? the fact that palamedes shares this role is doubly weird. he's a man literally posessing the body of a cis woman, and they're both pyrrha's nagging wife/problem child/roomate. i don't personally believe that anything explicitly or overtly sexual was happening between her and either of them, but i completely understand where people who think that are coming from. and it's fucking weird (affetionate?).

even nona occupies a weird place in this dynamic. like. pyrrha is definitely a parent to her but camilla, who takes a much more active role in her daily life, is...idk. nona has a crush on her and wants to marry her and adopt dogs. camilla's feelings for nona are more parental or older-sisterly, in that she cares for her and wants to protect her, and if her feelings are more complicated than that, it's because of the obvious aspects of the situation which make her extremely sad and apprehensive of the future. her affection for nona seems relatively simple.

and then there's palamedes, who is in theory another parental figure (see: camilla's "i'll talk to your mother later" face, or pyrrha's "you're going to make someone a really irritating wife one day, sextus"), but in nona's view of things he seems like something more along the lines of an older sibling, or perhaps a cool uncle, which is funny because pyrrha arguably treats him more like a spouse than she does camilla.

it's all just so fucking weird and jumbled up on itself. pyrrha will kiss camilla on the head and say "i'll be home for dinner, dear," and then turn around and call both her and nona "daddy's own treasures" (don't get me started). she'll kiss palamedes and camilla both on the mouth and tell them she loves them. she'll tell them she didn't love them well, or even wholesomely, and she won't explain what she means by wholesome.

alecto calls her "mother and father." alecto tells her she should've given into her urges and eaten them.

palamedes and camilla are second cousins and queerplatonic and married and the same person and by the start of the book the lines between them are already dissolving.

nona is so so young and she's so so old and she's not so much younger than camilla and she's older than pyrrha can even comprehend and some days she needs help getting her shirt over her head.

and most importantly they all love each other. it's a weird and confused and unhealthy love. it's a love full of tension and annoyance and fear. it's a love that wants very badly to fit a category and can't. but it's love it's love it's love and even when it's over even when it has nowhere left to go it's not gone it can't be gone. it's over it's done you can't take loved away.

[henry7931]

Babe It’s Okay, I’m Bi

James:

This beautiful man right here is my girlfriend Chloe. It’s a very weird situation so let me explain, a couple weeks ago Chloe was in some strange science experiment accident that caused her to swap bodies with this guy named Derek.

And from what information we’ve collected this may be a permanent situation. As you can imagine she’s been pretty upset the last couple of weeks. And I’ve been trying to be the best to support her while she figures everything out.

It’s been a challenge for the both of us especially since we just moved in together a couple of months ago. We’ve been dating for a while but I think we’re at a point where I’ve been thinking about proposing which this just messed everything up. Well not completely I guess…

I have been holding on to a secret from her for years now and I don’t know how to say it. Not that I ever thought it really mattered until now.

The truth is really don’t care if she swaps back to her old body, I love her. Okay let just say it, I am sexually attracted to girls but I also like dudes. Specifically dudes like the body she’s in.

She or he is so freaking handsome! He’s tall, tan skin, has this really sexy stash, and I can’t get over his tattoos. So hot!

But I’ve been trying to walk a very careful line with him. And we still low key flirt all the time but I can see his hesitation.

Which makes me sad, I just wish I can tell him without hurting his feelings.

On the flip side, it would so help since every time he asks me something about being a guy I get extremely turned on. Like why are his balls itchy from time to time, why is it easier to pee standing up, and the boners!

I don’t know if he even notices but he’ll walk around with a hard on in our apartment and it’s everything in me not to reach out and dig into his briefs.

Which makes me wonder, when the hell does he jerk off? I know he’s been staying busy lately, I’m just curious how he makes the time.

He’s been hitting up the gym a lot and when comes home. He’ll kick off his smelly shoes, workout clothes, and walk around sweaty in nothing but his undies. Which I can’t help but stare.

And the hardest part is at night, we still sleep in the same bed.

It’s my favorite part because he will cuddle with me in his sleep. I don’t think he even notices that I let him. But every night I’ll something poking my back and then his arm will wrap around me. He’ll start humping me in his sleep from time to time.

But I need to get this off of my chest. This is probably going to be permanent and I desperately want my relationship back!

So tonight I’m going for it. I’m going to let him know that I’m into him.

That Night:

I get off of work around 6 and the second I walk through the door I hear a light moaning coming from another room.

I walk to the outside of the door and peak inside.

That’s when I see Chloe stroking it on our bed with his headphones in. I don’t think he can hear me.

I hear his voice, “James..” so softly…

Fuck, he’s jerking to pics of me.

“James… baby I want you so bad…”

I start unbuttoning my shirt and I kick off my shoes ready to jump in any second.

“Holy shit! James!”

All of the sudden Chloe grabs a pillow and covers his massive boner.

I grin at him and say, “You don’t need your cover yourself I was enjoying the show babe.”

“Oh shut up you’re just saying that!”

“No, I mean it,” I say walking over and unbuckling my pants.

“Babe, you don’t have to pretend for me. I know this isn’t ideal but—“

I immediately grab the pillow and pull it away. His dick is fully exposed and he has this shocked look on his face.

Before he can react, I grab his junk and say, “does this look like I’m pretending?”

“But… but… I’m a guy!”

I start fondling his junk just lightly tickling his balls.

“Yeah and I haven’t been honest with you,” I say leaning in to his face.

“Yeah?” he says to me softly.

“I don’t really care what body you’re in, I’m attracted to you. And sides, you wouldn’t be the first guy I’ve been with.”

“What the hell James!”

I start rubbing his cockhead and he lets out a yelp noise.

“Can we talk about this later? I’ve been waiting to do this with you for a minute now,” I say right before kissing his neck.

“Oh my! James that feels so damn good.”

I kiss down his neck until I get to his nipples.

I twist one of them which makes his eyes roll back into his head.

I kiss down his chest to his happy trail until I’m at his thighs.

“God you have the nicest dick,” I say to him.

He grins, “thanks I think I like it too.”

“Well I think you’re going to like it more after this.”

“Huh?”

I wrap my lips around his dick giving it a very sloppy kiss. I begin to take down my throat which causes him to moan even louder.

“Holy shit yeah I love having a dick!!” he lets out.

I stop for a sec to let out a giggle.

“You know this is going to change everything for our sex life right?”

“What do you mean?” He says confused.

“Well, I’m vers but we don’t know if you’re a top or bottom yet,” I say grinning.

His eyes get wide, “I mean I’m open to anything but will it hurt?”

“A little at first but we don’t have to try right now,” I say back.

I look over his fully naked lower half, it’s the first time I’ve gotten to see it this close.

I rub his thighs down to his feet. I look up at him and say, “hey can I do something?”

“Sure babe as long as you go back to sucking this,” he says holding out his hard cock.

I lift up his feet and bring them to my face. I take deep breath before inhaling them.

“Are you kidding me?!? You’re not just bi but have a foot fetish?”

“Well I wouldn’t go that far, you just have some sexy toes,” I say kissing them.

“Yeah they are nice I guess, even for a boy.”

I pull off my pants and boxers, we’re both naked now.

“Oh I’ve missed your dick babe!”

“Aw thanks!”

“Can I touch it?” he says reach out.

“I would love nothing more”

I feel his hands touching all over my junk. It feels so good. Thats when I got another idea.

“Hey since we both have dicks now? What if we 69?”

“I’m not opposed!”

Chlo gets on top of me and starts to lower his crotch towards my face. I can feel his lips touch my dick. That’s when I feel his mustache which makes he squirm at bit.

It takes us a second before we have a full rhythm down. I’m sucking and we start pacing faster before Chlo lifts his head.

“Oh my god! I’m about to cum!!”

And with very little warning, Chlo pushes his 10 inch dick down my throat and shoots so much cum out.

As he pulls out it’s dripping from my mouth. It takes a second to register but his cum tastes pretty good.

“That was amazing,” he says panting.

“Well I’m not done yet,” I say pointing at my eager boner.

“Well how a nice surprise for you.”

That’s when he does something I’d never expect. Chlo wipes a bunch of cum off my mouth and proceeds to rub it on the soles of his feet.

“Since you like them so much,” he says with a silly grin.

He takes both of his feet and wraps his toes around my dick.

He begins to move back and forth with them and it’s so hot that I can’t even take it.

His feet touch my dick for like 1 minute before I burst all over them.

I look at the cum covered toes and I can’t help myself from licking them clean.

I go grab us a couple of towels and walk back in to see my beautiful boyfriend laying in bed grinning.

“You wanna go somewhere for dinner?” I say to him.

“Nah let’s do take out, I’ll be ready for round 2 here soon,” he says patting at the bed for me to come back.

“Fuck, I love you!”

“I love you too, even if you forgot to mention the whole liking guys thing.”

“Well babe, what can I say? I’m bi.”

[sabrondabrainrot]

Bring back LAES!

I'm steadily making progress on catching up on sun and moon show along with foxy and monty etc etc but it's pretty difficult when one of the main key plot lines is gone. I know a few spoilers thanks to fanfiction but I want to see the drama in person.

Here's some outfit ideas for tsams cause I'm a sucker for fashion and redesigns!

Order is, SolarFlare - Lunar - NewMoon - Old Moon - Sunny (Solar's dimension) - Sun

closeups and more brainrot under the cut!

Explaining my redesigns! Lunar - he's not really a redesign and more so an overdesign. I love adding tons of little details to him to really hammer home his star-ness. He's such an interesting little guy, like yes he acts childish but I can see he's really growing (SAD I CANT WATCH MORE CAUSE THE SHOW IS GONE). I saw the ep he killed Eclipse and homeboy revived. The entire time I was like "Waaahh Lunar??? Waaahhh???" but I love the drama ngl.

SolarFlare - Same as Lunar, not really a redesign I just drew him with no dirt. I really love his base design it's so neat it makes me think of like sci-fi concepts from the 80's. Something from fallout really. I think it's kind of funny Eclipse's aesthetics for SolarFlare when you compare him next to say Jack who Solar designed.

OldMoon - I just wanted to give him a sleek mad scientist cool guy suave vibe. I saw the more recent thumbnails of him with a turtle neck and idk that's just peak character design for me. I'm a simple woman put the dumb-dumb in a dark turtleneck. I want him to kind of look like the BadGuy TM (he's not actually) so he gets all edgy and hard edges and stuff.

NewMoon - I wanted to do a similar color scheme but instead he has lighter colors like more white incorporated into his fit. To give him the whole 'reborn' aesthetic. He's all like "old moon wore black well I wear white now I'm nothing like him so hah!" kinda thinking. I gave his cap a fur texture cause of that one ep he turned into a furry. I drew rounder stuff on him cause he's a big ol' softy sweety pie.

Sunny - Sunny is my headcanon of Sun from Solar's dimension. I think it's really interesting his default with no personality was theater performance and not say...doing daycare stuff? I feel like honoring the FNAF books with this design by leaning heavily into the theater performer look. I like to think in Solar's dimension Sun and Moon were originally made for theater. (so far in the show I've noticed Creator says 'they needed a daycare attendant' something like that so it comes off more like they were intended for the daycare from the start VS. Solar's dimension where Sunny's core seems to be more so for the performing arts.) I also wanted to make Sunny look different from Sun for the extra angst potential of "They're similar but not the same" so I leaned more into a blue palette for him.

Sun - I just wanted to give him big puffy everything. I took away the tutu. nothing against the tutu I just hate drawing the damn thing. I like to think Sun in main has white eyes because he's so burnt out from within. *badum tish* (eyes are the window to the soul-) I also covered him in stickers because he totally would just be covered in stickers from the kids. I also decided to give some of his rays cracks because I think he's extremely sentimental and even in a newly upgraded body (after using star power to defeat Eclipse the first time) he'd keep rays from his original body? I also put the cracks ones on the side of his face where Old Moon hit him. Why? Because it just seems like something Sun would do. I love him so.

Ok just some brainrot stuff, look away to avoid spoilers .

RUIN DESTROYED HOW MANY DIMENSIONS?? SOLARS DEAD. LUNAR KILLED ECLIPSE. DARK SUN IS PLOTTING??? MOON BE CRYING??? Also Francine just had a birthday! ONE OF THE BLOODMOON BOYS ARE DEAD AND SAME WITH ONE OF THE STITCHY BOYS??? HELLO?!?

I love the drama.

Also, I love how every single kid vibe checks Sun and he passes every time. Francine? She loves Sun and learns from him. FC? He ONLY feels safe with Sun for a bit. Barry? He hugged Sun after gonad checking him (a right of passage for the bunny kid). Jack? I'm pretty sure he literally is just one room away from Sun at all times (he also calls Sun's cats his master???). I have yet to see Dazzle, but Dazzle 10000% loves Sun (I've seen the edits).

ALSO? When Lunar was first brought into the family the first person he hugged was Sun and then later on when Earth was in danger he ran into SUN's arms for safety/comfort. They're family your honor.

Sobbing and Crying laying on the floor over Solar's death but I think he'll be back.

Also the molten thing with Ruin? I'm excited to see more.

I don't have a youtube account to post about saving LAES but if anyone wants me to draw more LAES just to help the community please let me know. I'm planning to draw my idea of Earth next.

[m1ssunderstanding]

Let it Be Close-watch

Paul, sweety, it's beautiful, but it's killing the vibe.

Ringo looks like a very old, very tired lab rat whose been put through the maze a few too many times

Somehow the air-brown mostly eaten apple is very appropriate.

She looks far too sweet here to ever let John down. Yoko has very kind eyes.

I love how it makes it seem like Paul and John are calling Maxwell “the corny one” but really we know from Get Back that they're talking about a particular arrangement they were trying out for Don't Let me Down.

I swear he's saying “John” there, not “Joan” and also he said “came down upon His head” so… Oh! And Max died in the end in this version? “Sure that Max was dead” Okay. So Paul kills John and then himself. Murder suicide story. Yeah, Paul, you're doing great mentally, we can all tell.

I love how George getting electrocuted was important enough to make the cut for both films. Poor baby. “If this boy dies you're gonna cop it” from the guy who was just singing about a serial killer.

They're so silly

Yoko does not agree with me

Paul: stealing your man, sweetheart. John: oh no I'm being stolen teehee!

They're so silly

Oh wait, were those bitchy looks at George??? Because there he is. Idk could easily be him or Yoko.

this poor autistic baby trying to use words (not his language) to explain music (his language)

“Good MoOornin! Wooah!” I think I just … You know how Mike said people were booing Paul in the theater watching this? Yeah it's because they were pissed he didn't step out of the screen and onto their necks.

Oh Michael put himself in his own movie too? Huh, cool.

They are always in my heart

The way Paul says “get on the mic” to John??? I would've thrown something, that was so fucking bossy! Just his tone and his face and his angry pointing fingers. So mean. And John just goes “okaaay”. Oof.

Ringo covering his eyes like a little kid watching a scary movie during the orange sweater fight. Same, babe.

Sounds like the original lyric John's going for is something long “All I want is you. Nothing else is gonna do.” But that obviously didn't fit with the tune. I wonder if there was a particular conversation with Paul being controlling that made the “everything has got to be the way you want it to” line click in.

Oh my gosh! So George is showing I Me Mine to Ringo and Paul and he says the “I don't give a fuck it can go in musical” line before he even plays it. Not after John's making fun of him like he does in Get Back. Nagra reels experts: which one is correct??

George: it's a heavy waltz. Ringo:*claps hands angrily and punches the air to a ¾ beat. I love him, he's like the core of “Beatle humor” to me.

Woah there! Okay this is the John/Yoko pda Peter Jackson cut, I see. I wonder if there's a lot more footage of them swapping spit that might make the “oh John was just so in love” theory more reasonable.

It's extremely impressive that George just wrote this whole thing last night. You know? John and Paul have brought in all fragments from what I can tell. He's the only one to come in with a basically finished product.

LMAO and we're just going to Apple now. No reason. Nothing happened. Nothing to see. Moving on.

Ringo is so so cute pretending to hide from the cameras. Really he should've been the cute one.

Is it just me or does Paul drop the sillies and get sad when he sings “always be mine” at John? It's his regular voice, too, for a minute, if I'm not mistaken.

Silly cuties. But John's grin and little sexy tongue action happens the second time Paul sings always be mine, so…

What friendly artistic collaboration looks like when it's not psychosexual

Paul: have you played the dubs? George: yeah. Terrible. Paul: Great! Ringo: terrible. John: laughs Paul: (sarcastic) oh, so dreadful. …. John: where's my guitar? Paul: (still sarcastic) well we're just the greatest band ever. Idk I just like this dialogue. It's very them, you know?

This is adorable.

But I also love how they're already communicating with eyebrows, you know? They just bonded so fast and I find that beautiful.

And then Heather ups their game from taking turns going “chchchchch” into the mic to meowing into the mic. She looks at Paul like “okay your turn” and he sets her down lol he's thinking ‘if I meow into the mic right now after John already had a sex dream last night about me, he might actually cream his pants and we can't have that on camera’

Lol Billy just magically appeared!

Paul you're literally so annoying. You started the goofing off and now you're like “alright lads, that's enough.” Mkay.

He is unbelievably sexy and talented though so you know he does have those little things going for him. Someone write me a Paul/Billy fic please!!

Kinda crazy how they all four just slide straight from “Kansas City” to “Miss Ann” to “Lawdy Miss Claudy”. Makes me think of something they might've done in Hamburg.

I'm sorry but Paul finishes “please don't excite me baby. I'm down in misery.” And John's immediate answer is, “well you can get it if you want it, and if you want it you can get it!” And Paul ends up singing “I want it I want it I want it I want it”. Nice. Very subtle, boys. And that's before John gets kinky.

I love how Heather just forces a hug from George and then immediately runs away. What a cutie.

But really. How did anyone watching this get the idea that John hated Paul? Just confirmation bias I guess?

All the cut off conversations kill me but especially the one where John's working though Paul's anxieties. They're just in the middle of it and then cut. “two of us Sunday driving…”

Someone should do a study of whistling in their songs. I feel like it's another one of their tip offs that “hey this one is about us” Anyway I love John's whistling here. He's so good at it. I can just imagine him as some farm boy picking apples, you know?

Imagine booing this poor stay puppy though, like. What? I mean, what if Johann Weiner was wrong and John wasn't crying at the sight of him and Paul playing triumphant together on the rooftop, but at Paul playing his little heart out about their doomed love. Idk it's probably both. Let's be real, John was bawling through the whole thing.

What is George laughing at? Picture quality is garbage because evil corporations don't let you take screenshots of their content, but he looks like that one kid in your elementary school class that just dumped Cheetos all over his crushes desk and thinks he's a criminal mastermind.

Also I do appreciate all the attention given in the chosen shots to the musicianship. I bet they liked that at least if they had the heart to like anything about the movie at the time.

I'm sorry but I love how in sync Mo and Paul are. With this ducking and later the shimmying. I know it's wrong to ship Ringo’s wife with one of the Beatles she didn't sleep with, but… idk I really want her to have bedded all four at one point, you know? She deserves it, being an og.

Okay but yeah I'd be having a public meltdown if I fumbled that too holy fucking shit

Ringo feeling himself as he should

George just looks like he smells nice. Unlike the others. You know?

John has such a beautiful smile. If somebody looked at me like that I'd put him up on a giant screen behind me on my world tour after he'd been dead for forty years too.

That pleeeaaaheeeaaase though. Looking at Paul. How did he survive I'll never know.

The cut from screaming Paul to grouchy nap lady is extremely painful.

John was so cool in this concert. Like the epitome of cool.

Kevin, my love, thank you for your service

I love Yoko leaning so far and craning her neck. She's like a mom at a school talent show. Like “I only came to see my baby.” Type vibe. Which is exactly what she's doing, unlike Mo, and honestly I find both of them extremely valid

You know in movies where the romantic leads are never looking at each other at the same time?

I think I watched George and John switching back on their amps like fifty times because I just love it so much. And from this angle, you can see John's saying something to Paul about it. He looks serious and he's shaking his head. I wonder what he's saying.

Mal Evans I love you forever for this. Look at his hand on the rail, just blocking them off completely, so protective.

Them turning to each other at the end always gets me. It's automatic, like second nature, and it's the last time ever. They deserved better.

Oh Darling duet in the credits are you fucking kidding me??? Was that in the original? “Believe me, when I tell you.” “Oh I do.” That's the second time that they gave away in this footage that they know they're talking to each other in their music.

Alright, that's it, I guess. And then MLH is haunted by this experience for forty years until he makes Two of Us to purge the demons.

[haru-dipthong]

Ep 8 of my Utena fansub is out!

生意気でブサイクで男女の天上をめっためたに打倒して

“I’ll rip apart that annoying ugly dyke

男女 is a hard word to translate. It’s basically a slur - the word is made up of the kanji for “man” and then the kanji for “woman” (so, “manwoman”). I’ve seen “shemale” used as a translation but the transness of that word is a bit strong. I’ve also seen “tomboy” but that’s not a slur, it’s barely even an insult (and it’s not trans-y enough). Anya suggested to use “dyke” if I was comfortable with it, and I am. I think it’s perfect honestly.

-----

私のお兄様があんた達にちょっかいを出すはずないでしょ？

My big brother would never be so interested in you.

ちょっかいを出す has two meanings according to the Japanese dictionary weblio.jp. 1. to interfere with in a negative way by doing something that really shouldn’t be done. 2. to hit on a woman.

Obviously both meanings are important here. Nanami is obsessed with being the only girl her brother thinks about, and Touga is sexually interested in Utena and politically interested in marrying Anthy. I see this line as intentionally ambiguous, maybe even a bit of a freudian slip. I think I captured that ambiguity with “interested in you” - it could mean sexually/romantically interested, or it could mean interested in the sense of just like, living in someone’s head rent free like Anthy and Utena do in Nanami’s head.

-----

辛さ爆発木っ端みじん、幻のゾウが「パオーン」、超辛九千億倍カレー

“Spice So Extreme You’ll be Blown to Smithereens and Hallucinate a Horde of Trumpeting Elephants: 900 Billion x Curry.”

I HAVE A FEW THINGS TO SAY about this extremely stupid joke line.

Thing number 1: the way she says 「幻のゾウがパオーン」 in such a sad, sad voice made me cackle the first time I heard it. I’m not funny enough to translate the joke properly but suffice it to say, she’s essentially saying “ghost cows go moo” (but for elephants) in the saddest most apologetic tone possible and it kills me. In English elephants don’t really have a childish onomatopoeic noise word like “moo” so I had to settle for “trumpeting”.

I think the 幻のゾウがパオーン line is a really interesting example of coherent Japanese grammar. Like, if we translate the whole line literally, look at how weird it sounds:

Explode into smithereens, illusory elephants go “paōōōn” level spice: Extreme spice 900 Billion x Curry.

Like, the elephant part is literally just describing what noise an “illusory elephant” makes. Under English language rules, this is a non-sequitur, but in Japanese it makes sense and fits into the sentence because the implication that the spice makes the “illusory elephants” appear is enough. You don’t need to say the spice makes it appear!

Thing number 2: This is the only time in the episode we hear the full name of the 900 Billion x curry, and it’s important as a translator that I lay the groundwork for the interpretation that the elephants the girls encounter for the rest of the episode are hallucinations. I actually find it really weird that no other translation calls the elephants “hallucinations” or the spice “hallucinogenic”, because that’s the translation that makes the most sense for 幻 within this context IMO. 幻 can be translated as “illusion”, “phantom”, “vision”, and it essentially means “something you’re seeing that isn’t actually there”. Let’s look at some other translations:

So hot it will blast you to smithereens and make phantom elephants trumpet loudly (from ohtori.nu)

So spicy it’ll blow you to smithereens! Secret Pa-Ohn ultra spicy nine billion-fold curry. ←????????!!! (from internet archive video encoded subs)

and then a later line where they’re talking about the spice itself:

By the way, have you heard of the Phantom 900 Billion X spice? (from ohtori.nu)

By the way, do you know about the nine billion-fold secret spice? (from internet archive video encoded subs)

Like… what? The spice is clearly meant to be hallucinogenic. And don’t get me started on the internet archive video subs! Just totally opting out of translating it completely and going with “secret”! So boring and such a cop out. My only guess as to why these have been done like this is an attempt at censorship? Cause hallucinations = drugs? Well, I’m not pulling punches on my translation! I’m writing them the way I interpret the Japanese - if that includes swearing, sexual references, or drugs, so be it. The goal is to make the most authentic translation, not one that will actually be marketable to TV or streaming networks.

Speaking of…

This is the most egregious translation from the ohtori.nu scripts yet. They translated 色ボケ (a person, often an immature man/boy, obsessed with sex; vulgar, insult) as, get this, "Casanova".

Does this look like a man who has just been called "casanova" by his crush?

"Fuckboy" was my first pick but I would also have accepted "wanker", "jerkoff", "sleezebag", "douchebag", "fuckwit", "coomer" or simply "cunt".

-----

Thanks again to @dontbe-lasanya for your fantastic editing as always, but especially for helping with "dyke" this episode!

Be sure to follow for updates! For all episodes released so far, go here:

[demodraws0606]

DRDT CHARACTER THEME PLAYLIST - My Personal Interpretation

Warning : This playlist was deleted by DRDTdev and thus this is mostly meant to be something fun, and also because people have posted a lot of interpretations that I don't agree with (and I've always wanted to make my own).

So a while back DRDTdev made a playlist that they've now deleted, however I've seen a lot of people making their own posts about who fits which song. However since I'm not "like the other girlsTM", i had mixed feelings on how certain songs were assigned.

Some songs will be exactly the same as some other posts, mainly because they make the most sense to me but I do have some interesting shifts here and there that I will try to explain.

However I want to get the obvious ones out of the way first

UNDEAD ENEMY : David Chiem

I think this one is the most obvious song in the playlist. The song talks about a person who has put on a mask and is miserable trying to addear to the expectations of that mask. There is a lot of pent up frustration and anger in those lyrics which also is very fitting for David.

There is also the hints of something more behind those feelings of hatred, despite how much he's learned to hate the world there's still a sliver of him that still wants genuine companionship.

YESMAN : Nico Hakobyan

This song already fits Nico purely from the introvert lines. I'm joking, that's not just why I considering Yesman to be Nico's song. This song fits really well with Nico's frustration with being a pushover (or you could say a Yesman) and just how society has always treated them poorly.

The song itself is about being forced to do something, like a boring job, and despite how much hatred you feel you still keep on trying to keep your head low and do what your told. I think all of that really fits Nico's arc and what we know of them so far. Someone who constantly is pushed down by other and has been taught that they need to accept it.

SHUNRAN : Arei Nageishi

This song could also fit Ace as another aggressive person who just wants companionship but I personally think this song fits Arei way better especially with the beginning line ("I won't pay attention to small fry" has a lot of Arei vibes).

This song fits Arei's desire to want love and the contradiction that comes with her aggressive personality. She feels that it's unfair how life punished her which fits a lot with the line "They say that praying to be loved is a sin" as she was constantly denied that love. The lines as well about your personality slipping and crying reminds me of Arei's breakdown.

Hi-Fi Evolution Theory : Veronika  Grebenshchikova

This song is very vague but despite that it is 100 pourcent a Veronika song.

I don't fully know what the song means in itself but the lyrics really fit Veronika's issues with boredom and her enjoyement of the killing game. There's a lot of lines about laughing and wanting to be entertained which just goes with her really well with her character.

Cartoons : Rose Lacroix

Ok, I think I lied when I said Undead Enemy was the most obvious song, THIS is the most obvious song. I don't think there's much analysis to be done to convince anyone that this is would Rose's theme.

This song reflects well Rose's depression and pain surrounding her talent and just how her life turned out in general. It kinda has that dissociative numbness in the lyrics that just fits her really well.

Sing Along : Teruko Tawaki

This song really fits Teruko extremely well especially her abandonnement issues. The song itself sounds aggressive but it oozes of longing and sadness.

A lot of the lyrics fit her feelings of being betrayed by Xander and Min, people she's gotten close to in a short time but immediatly ended up betraying her. It also fits her feeling towards her brother who ended up leaving her as well.

Now let's take a break and tackle the Instrumental songs !! This is where things start to change from other posts so get ready.

Spitfire (05 Version) : J Rosales

This one just fits J's vibes quite well. It's aggressive but also isn't too serious or intimidating, it just sounds like something J would listen in the car.

It also just has this...manly energy (?) or punk-ish energy that J has, it fits her rejecting the traditional feminity her mom tried to force on her.

Main Theme, Diamond is Unbreakable : Xander Matthews

This song is literally Xander vibes and you can fight me on that, it has a very dramatic and grandiose sound (especially when the piano comes in) that just fits how Xander holds himself (as you can see with that pose).

It's the exact type of theme I would expect from someone being the Ultimate Rebel. There's also more actively aggressive parts that I think also fit Xander, as we see he's got a short tamper when his ideologies are challanged and he also just is surprisingly quick to resort to violence.

desk rotation by RQ laji-2: Charles Cuevas

You can fight me again because you cannot tell this Bill Nye intro ass track doesn't fit Charles. Again it's hard to argue considering assigning instrumental tracks is really just based on vibes however this song really has a huge science show feel to it.

I could imagine hearing it while Charles is doing chemistry stuff or theorizing during the class trial.

Now let's go back to the lyrical songs, and this is where things start to go a bit crazy and I might need to justify myself a bit more.

asymptotic : Min Jeung

I know Charles is considered the resident nerd guy but you cannot NOT give the song about math puns to Min.

I think this song works really well for Min's relationship with Teruko. It especially reminds me of what Teruko says to Min before she gets excecuted that they "should've never gotten attached to one another".

This song is about a romantic relationship that could never happen, which I think represents Min's own feelings towards Teruko. About how they could've been closer but now they'll always be drifting apart.

How Min in a way sacrificed her life for Teruko but again she'll always be "out of reach". A relationship that could never happen under the killing game's circumstances.

RUNAWAY : Levi Fontana

I think this song especially with what Levi revealed to us latest episode REALLY fits him.

A song about a person who is repeteadly failling to try and "become better". The lines about "searching" and "tripping" goes in line with Levi's behavior in chapter 2. He's awkwardly trying to reach an ideal of the person he's supposed to be. He wants to be a "good person" but from the day he was born he was completely denied that ideal (aka "Dreams of who i want to be I'm seeing every empty page")

But there is a silver lining to all of this, the lyrics work with the moral of Levi's character. He doesn't need to run away from who he truly is, that what he considers an obstruction to his goal is simply just a part of himself he should accept. He doesn't need to "run away".

tip toes : Hu Jing

This song already just screams Hu purely from the line "I'm reaching for something more than this feeling of being important". She's a person who wants to protect others, be someone who others can rely on but in part it's very much driven by her own ego.

The lyrics are slightly vague but the parts about her "future" I feel like really gives vibes about how she used to be someone who had givne up on her own life but now is determined to persue it no matter what.

I didn't put this lyric in but "Take this ghost of me with the tide to die" again really feels like it references Hu's past and how she's ashamed of it. The song's lyrics give me a lot of feelings of regret but also determination which I think encapsulate Hu's character well.

Polygonal : Ace Markey

I've never seen people consider this one for Ace which is really surprising but also not because this song is very vague. Despite that, I do think this song 100 pourcent fits Ace purely because of some lines that really fit neatly with Ace's character.

The repeated mentions of how anyone would want to be loved/have someone to laugh with, it reminds me a lot of how Ace reacted to Levi saying he didn't care if he died. Ace desperately someone to give a shit about him, he'd rather take pity than nothing at all but he's also a self sabotager who drives anyone who gets close away from him.

"Your increasing honesty, I hate that about you" Honestly really feels like it's Ace saying that to Levi ? I wouldn't know fully how to explain it but it just really gives that vibe.

The song also seems to go on about a person's suffering about how their life is "full of failures" which again goes unfortunatly with Ace who seems to just have lived a pretty miserable life. Having only one person he could call a friend, being forced into an Ultimate Talent that both ruined his body and mental health .

Drawing Pins : Arturo Giles

Ok this one is probably the most farfetched pick, i'd say ? Considering, however, how little we know about Arturo I feel like this song has a lot of room to fit his characters and certain lines already do in multiple ways.

The parts about not being able to fit in, both makes me think of how he's kind of just, openly mocked within the group. However it also really makes me think about Arturo's family, him wanting to distance himself from them and his apparent disdain from them as well.

"Tell me what you did it for" "Cause I can't figure it out" I honestly think those parts really fit well with Arturo's sister committing suicide. He doesn't know why she did it something like that and he refuses to see it as his fault, it haunts him, he can't figure out why she did it because he can't fathom the idea that in reality it truly was because of him.

The "what do i have to do to be loved by you" parts I think are where things get a bit weird. My thought process would be Arturo's feelings towards "pretty people", him becoming obsessed with J because of her mother really makes me think that he's looking out for some kind of validation in a way.

Good grief : Eden Tobisa

I'm sorry this song is not fucking Whit, it's Eden, y'all can suck it /lh

This song really just fits way to well for me with Eden's feelings about Arei (weither she's the culprit or not even if I don't think she is anymore). The entire of the trial of chapter 2, Eden is struggling with the fact that she lost Arei and what could have been. This song really makes me think about how she tells David that she "knows she's dead and that she's never coming back". The slight upbeat-ness of the song really fits as well with Eden's attempt to try and stay cheerful despite how sad she feels.

I think Arei's death will be a very big sticking point in Eden's character.

Also the time motif with "Every minute and every hour" just fits way too good for it to be ignored.

In terms of other lyrics, I agree some of them fit Whit a bit but there are certain things that click way too well with Eden (and also none of the other songs fit Eden at all). I mean Eden's secret quote literally is "You can't go back no matter how hard you try" so clearly her character is heavily tied with grief as well.

"If you want to be a party animal, you have to learn to live in the jungle...." Really feels to me like Eden having to learn to be stronger and stop blaming herself ? It really just sounds like advice that would be given to someone like Eden who wants to be upbeat and confident but just simply is too prone to be insecure.

"Get drunk, call me a fool. Put me in my place" Again those lyrics really just feel like they fit Arei and Eden's relationship. Arei calling Eden a "fool" and "putting her in her place", it just ends up really matching perfectly in my opinion.

Mistaken Belief of Love : Whit Young

AHAH ! You have fallen into my trap of this post actually being secretly propaganda about how "Mistaken Belief of Love" really fits what's hinted about Whit's character so far !!!

Yeah, no, this song really does not make sense with anyone else other than Whit ? Both the lyrics and vibes do not match with anyone. The song's whole thing is about "love" and Whit's a fucking matchmaker, thematically it just fits like a puzzle piece. Not only that but Whit's whole thing (that actually hasn't rlly appeared in the series itself all that often) is that he seems to not be able to find love himself and is doomed to be single. It reinforces this idea that, yeah Whit's song would be about love in some way or another (I talk about love in general, this song is not a love song despite what you'd think)

It also works really well with Whit's secret quote being "We often idolize the dead" meaning Whit probably saw his mother as someone she wasn't. Perhaps she was abusive or neglectful, or she hid something from him that truly shows that she may not have cared about him at all.

There are also lines that just fit Whit really well like the "deception, boasting, saying "I openly laughed at it"", just really gives giant Whit vibes for me ? Same with the mention of "peekaboo" since we know Whit kinda holds on to childish things like that (his socks, the fact he uses fruity shampoo for kids).

Anyways, this was mostly for fun and also because I desperatly to make my own list because I had some Hot Takes Tm.

[nothorses]

May I ask why you think Biden stepping down and Kamala being the candidate to be 'good news'? I'm still voting for whoever the Democratic candidate is ofc, but I worry this move threw away the average swingvoter who may have been swayed towards voting blue. I don't see how anyone who may have been okay voting for Biden by virtue of him being an old white dude is gonna be as nice towards a brown woman. I mean, people were too sexist for Hillary, the most milquetoast white woman imaginable. I'd really like to hear your perspective.

Biden has been polling like shit for months, and basically fucking everyone has been calling for him to step out of the race for a while now. It's been the opinion of political experts that he doesn't have much of a shot in this election for a variety of reasons. The vast majority of his own base is incredibly dissatisfied with his stance on Palestine (an understatement), and numbers have been reflecting that he was going to be running against some truly miserable odds because of that.

It is genuinely the best option for him to step out of the race. Literally just about anyone else has a much better shot at winning than Biden did. Kamala included! There was a press conference a while back where someone actually asked him if he'd step down if Kamala polled better, and he said he wouldn't. Which is extremely worrying, because it demonstrates that he may have been prioritizing his own personal ego over the importance of keeping Republicans out of office this election.

I don't like Biden, and I really didn't like his odds in this race. Nobody else did, either. The fact that Obama came out and said Biden needs to step down is indication enough that this happened because the situation is really that dire; you have to remember that Democrats are all about Doing Things By The Book, especially in the last 8-ish years when it's been useful for them to be Rule Followers in contrast to the tantrum-throwing chaos machines that Republicans have been. If there was even a sliver of hope for Biden to stay in the race after being chosen in the sad sham that the primaries were this election cycle, they would have kept pushing just to stay within the bounds of convention.

I was ready to push for Biden regardless, because keeping Republicans out of office is priority #1. But I've been saying for a while now that he needs to drop out (just... not on Tumblr, where the dominant conversation is "does voting for a flawed political pawn make you personally responsible for everything they ever do, or should we abstain and let the fascists hijack our government and kickstart several new genocides for the sake of personal moral purity" and I don't think that kind of nuance would be well-received).

I use my grandparents as a litmus test in a lot of this stuff, because they are very much the Typical Liberal Democrats, and their opinions on these things tend to fall in line with the majority of voting Democrats. They absolutely loved Biden in 2020, long before he was chosen as the candidate. They don't anymore. Seeing them lose any and all enthusiasm for voting for this corpse of a man was evidence enough to me that we needed someone else. Ideally someone people can get excited about, because I think folks have mostly lost the perspective we had in 2020 when Trump's nightmarish presidency was fresh in everyone's minds, and served as motivation enough to get to the fucking polls- regardless of who the Dem pick actually was.

From what I understand, Kamala is actually polling better than anyone else right now. I have my fears about voters' racism and misogyny too, but if she's doing well in the polls, I wonder if maybe there's some other factors counteracting that. She's also got name recognition, and the general impression of Being Qualified (because she's been VP already, like Biden was), and Being Likeable (because she comes with the general positive associations of the largely successful Biden presidency, without any baggage of perceived responsibility that Biden himself carries- like Biden did with Obama). She's been flying under the radar while still reaping the benefits of positive associations, and people know who she is. That feels like a good combination, but I don't know enough, and I haven't read enough into it to make any decently educated guesses.

That said, I don't really know as much about who the other potential candidates might be, either. I've heard Pete Buttigieg's name tossed around, but nobody liked his ass back in 2020 and idk if that's actually changed at all. I just know that every politically-knowledgeable/politically-active leftist whose opinion I've heard on the topic has been citing Biden dropping out as the literal only hope for a non-Republican to win this election, and I'm really fucking excited to see that come to fruition. I just hope the Dems pick someone who really does have a good shot.

As a sidenote, I also really hope this marks a shift in how they make decisions, too. It's become increasingly obvious how out-of-touch Democrats are with their voters, and Biden 2024 was just the latest and greatest indicator of exactly how bad that's gotten. The fact that the party has been able to make such an unconventional decision in response to what their voters actually want gives me a little bit of hope that we might be able to influence more change with them going forward than we have been.

[ladychota]

Remember It All

Pairing - Loki x Female Reader

Warnings - Memory loss (lmk if you want me to add anything)

Summary - Y/n is working at the coffee shop with MJ when a mysterious visitor arrives to order drinks.

Word Count - 1.2k

Masterlist

"So... did you guys get in to MIT?" You ask, fiddling with the bandage wrapped tightly around your left hand.

"Nope," MJ tosses her letter into the bin nearby. "Neither did Peter or Ned,"

You sigh. "Ugh, I'm so annoyed that the world believes all that Mysterio crap. If only it hadn't affected you all so,"

MJ hums in agreement. "It's okay. I was kinda expecting it anyways,"

"You expect disappointment so you'll never be disappointed?" You quote the line she has said so many a time, especially since the whole Spiderman and Mysterio nonsense. You feel for Peter - he's a nice kid.

"Mhm, exactly,"

The shop's doorbell chimes as someone walks in, hands in their pockets to stave off some of the winter cold.

"I'll get that. You take as much time as you need, okay?" You say, walking over to the counter.

A man stands in front of it, scanning the menu. He has black, shoulder length hair and his eyes are a stunning - almost familiar - green. You swear you've seen him before, but where? Every soft curve and smile line in his face looks right... except the deep bags under his eyes. For some reason you want to place your hand on his face and smooth them out...

But this man is a stranger. You don't even know his name.

"Hey, how can I help?" You ask, brushing away your odd thoughts.

"Uh hi, can I-" He turns to you and freezes, eyes wide. He just stands there in silence for a few seconds, his eyes scanning your face. Normally you'd find this rather creepy, but this feels strangely... right.

The man turns away and looks out of the shop window to where a man with long, blonde hair stands. He beams at the man in front of you.

"Um..." He hums, turning back to you. "Could I have two coffees... please? The name is Loki,"

You nod and start preparing the drinks, trying to ignore the gaze of the man behind you. Loki... that name is also very familiar. But you have no idea why; it's getting rather frustrating.

In no time at all, the coffees are ready; you place them on the counter and secure the lids.

"Loki?" You call. He doesn't respond. "Loki? Your coffees," He seems to jolt from his thoughts, striding over quickly to pay. 

"Of course, sorry. And thank you," He slides a ten dollar note onto the counter, a sad grin playing on his face. "Keep the change,"

You nod and open the till, picking up the money and sliding it in. "Thanks,"

"Uh... are you alright?" You look up, noticing that Loki now wears a concerned expression. He points at your bandage-bound hand.

"Oh! Yes, thanks. You know, I don't actually know how I did it. I just kind of... woke up one day and I had a huge gash in the middle of my palm," You chuckle at the strangeness of the situation, thinking of the other random cuts and bruises all over your body.

"But it's okay," You continue, for some reason feeling safe to talk in such detail to this man. "It doesn't hurt too much anymore. And I can use it just fine!"

Loki smiles a sad yet happy smile; one that looks as if he's yearning for something but knows he can't have it - possibly for the better.

"Well, I'm glad it's healing well," He picks up the drinks he ordered. "And, uh-" He clears his throat. "Thank you... for everything,"

He smiles, his eyes glittering with... tears? Is he upset? But, as much as you are worried for him, you are extremely confused. Why is he so thankful? All you did was make him some coffee and spit out some sob story about your injury.

Your brow furrows, but you smile anyway. "No problem..."

Usually you wish customers a good day before they leave the shop, but you seem to be frozen as you watch him walk out, handing one of the drinks to the blonde haired man as they walk out of sight.

"What the hell was that about?" MJ calls across the shop, speaking your thoughts aloud.

You shake your head slowly, your gaze stuck to where the man just stood. "I have no idea..."

Snapping out of your daze, you grab a donut in a serviette and place it on the counter in front of MJ.

"Thanks," She says, picking up the food. "Honestly though, he's either a creep or a long lost lover of yours,"

"Really? A long lost lover?" You laugh, your smile not reaching your eyes.

A long lost lover...

Suddenly an image pops into your mind of you and Loki sitting exactly where you and MJ are now, his hand clasped in yours on top of the counter. A small, loving smile plays on his lips as you talk, his thumb rubbing slowly over your knuckles.

"Well, duh." MJ jokes. "I mean-"

You don't hear her finish that sentence. Image after image of you and Loki fly through your head - it feels as if you've been hit by a bolt of lightning, each memory shuddering through you like electricity.

Before you can even process what you're doing, you're running towards the door.

"Wait, Y/n! Where are you going?!" MJ calls out to you.

"I'll be back!" Is all you manage to say as you slip through the door and begin to run down the street.

You and Loki were dating! You were a thing! He was yours and you were his...

And yet, you forgot. How the hell did you forget!?

But that is a concern for later. For now, you have to catch up with him.

You push past everyone on the sidewalk until you see the two men up ahead. Thor and Loki...

"Loki! Wait!" You yell, not caring who hears or sees.

Your thoughts and memories are too jumbled up to know exactly how long it's been since you forgot, but for a while you've been feeling as if something has been missing. Moreover, someone.

The two Gods turn upon hearing your shout, their eyes wide with confusion. Panting, you come to a stop in front of them.

"Y/n? Are you quite alright?" Loki asks, a spark of realisation flaring in his eyes. But he doesn't dare ask for fear he's being too hopeful. 

A smile crawls onto your face, tears springing into your eyes as you realise how much you've unknowingly missed him.

"Y-you... me..." You're still panting after having run down the block, words not forming correctly in your mouth.

Loki just watches you, handing his coffee cup to Thor and waiting patiently for you to finish your flustered attempt at a sentence.

Instead, you reach up and place a hand on his face. He doesn't flinch away, but leans in to your touch, tears welling at the bottom of his eyes.

"I remember... I remember it all..." Your voice is strained and choked by tears. Loki's hands cup your face, his thumbs running over your cheeks and collecting the wet trails.

"You do?" He whispers.

You nod, moving your hands to cover his. He lets out a bewildered laugh before leaning down and smashing his lips against yours in a desperate kiss.

Eventually he pulls away, murmuring: "I love you, my darling... and I'm so sorry,"

"It's alright, you have nothing to apologise for," You reassure, your heart swelling. "I love you too," Your lips meet his once more as you decide to never let go of him again.

~★~

A/N - Not sure how I feel about this one so feel free to let me know your thoughts! :)

[crowwithacomputer]

Thoughts on Arcane S2 so far (devastated) and small predictions (even more devastated)

With Spoilers

On Jinx and Vi

Nothing better than discovering that your dad is actually not dead but a literal fucking beast and now you have to talk to your sister who turned emo/crazy to save him.

+ Silco and Vander were besties.

I'm happy to see the new relationship between these two after all. So much to apologise and so much to say, and also trying to save the country. I just hope they have small sister fights constantly.

On Caitlyn

I must admit I didn't see Cait coming because I thought she just turned evil but turns out people are complex beings and Cait is not Ambessa.

"Caitlyn is not distracted" that's such a hard line from Vi. She was so distracted by Ambessa but she's right back on track. I love seeing THE lesbians back. Now, they have a lot to talk about and mostly with Jinx, because that sister-in-law relationship is, well, it's definitely a relationship.

On Isha

Wow. I don't even know how to feel because WOW. She was one of the strongest characters I've seen. She loved these people, who by the way she (more or less) just met and she sacrificed her entire life for them and many more. THAT'S strong. I'm gonna miss her and I'm sure Jinx is NOT letting this slide.

On Jayce and Viktor

Jayce is so absolutely traumatised he went insane and I'm just hoping Viktor didn't actually die because I will start killing people, but I'm not mad at him. Mostly I want to see how he turns out. Of course he didn't want to kill him but he did what he thought was okay.

I think the final speech Viktor gave was absolutely amazing. Again, the complexity of the characters is something I had definitely never seen before (although I haven't consumed as much media as I would like to), and how the writers were able to build everything has me crying.

My prediction is that Jayne will be suffering quite a lot and think about Viktor nonstop. The thing is (coming from my own sadness) I think Viktor is not dead, but his body is. He transcended human nature and will be talking to Jayce, maybe through whatever the hammer has going on. My boy Jayce has it BAD.

I want at least a hug and Jayce bawling his eyes out. Ugly crying. Snot, tears and drool all over his face apologising to Viktor and not knowing what to do. And then they both smooch in the weird arcane realm they're in. *figurines clicking together sounds*

Now for real, I would love it if Viktor got into his mind when he sleeps of whatever and talks to him. Maybe he explains what he's seen and Jayce and him fight over what to do, because they have extremely different views on Hextech. That will be a good fight to see.

On Ekko and Mel

Oh god what is going on. For real what are they putting my girl and my boy through. Someone help these people.

Like, Jayce got out but where the fuck are Ekko and Heimendinger? And Mel is just lost in the weirdest realm ever, even worse than whatever Viktor has going on. All of this will be cleared out in the next episodes but damn. There's A LOT to clear out.

My thoughts

I must admit I didn't do a rewatch and that's leaving me with a few questions, but I'll probably watch it all over again and see the full show at its finest.

I will say that in the series that I watch I usually pick favourites. If they're not on screen I lose interest, but this show has me on a chokehold. Every one of these characters are so important and so interesting, and I think that's what makes a show good.

Beautiful writing, beautiful storytelling, beautiful art, beautiful pace. I just love it. As an amateur writer I love seeing this, it's such an inspiration to continue. It's so hard to watch knowing my favs will be going through hell but as a writer it's amazing to see how well the writers built that hell. So to conclude:

The girls are all against Ambessa, me and my besties overthrowing the government.

Jayce and Viktor having yet ANOTHER boyfriend fight, biblical edition.

Mel and Ekko are having the worst weed paranoia ever seen, now with magic.

The whole country is collapsing and these stupid bitches have to save it with the power of friendship and gayness, and I'm here for it.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[allthingsfangirl101]

Extremely Long-Distance – Timothy McGee

Every morning, I wake up and instantly look at the picture of my husband and I on our wedding day. Whenever I look at that picture, the rock in my stomach makes it so I can't get out of bed for at least an hour.

My husband, Special Agent Timothy McGee, and his supervisor, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, were in Afghanistan working on the suspicious death of a marine. Apparently, his head was shipped to his wife.

Tim isn't supposed to tell me about his cases but he knows my mind will come up with a worse case than he ever could. My cases usually ended in a shoot-out between the suspect and NCIS.

I try to busy myself during the day, but nothing kept my mind off my husband in the middle of a war. The nights were the worst. I haven't slept since Tim went overseas three days ago. To be honest, it took me a month to get used to sleeping next to him. Now that I have, I can't sleep without him.

Abby has called every day to check on me, but her phone calls have only made my anxiety worse. Every time the phone rings, I'm terrified they're calling to tell me something has happened to Tim.

I got back from grocery shopping for the third time this week. I walked aimlessly through the aisles, not really needing anything but not wanting to go home either. When I finally forced myself to go home, I slowly unpacked the random groceries.

I jumped when my phone rang. I couldn't help but hold my breath as I looked at the caller ID.

"Hi, Mom."

"You sound relieved," she said trying to sound happy but you could tell she was sad.

"Guess I am," I shrugged. I put my phone on speaker and kept putting away groceries.

"You went grocery shopping," she sighed. "Again? Honey, isn't that like your third time this week."

"It gets me out of the house," I said simply.

"Tim's still in Afghanistan," Mom said like a statement instead of a question.

"Yes," I said that word getting caught in my throat. "He is."

"Have you called him?"

"He's in Afghanistan, Mom," I sighed. "I can't call him. I don't even know where he is in Afghanistan. I have no idea where the camp is. I have no idea how long he's going to be gone. I don't know."

My voice broke as tears filled my eyes. I took a shaky breath and spoke up before she could try to comfort me. "I got to go, Mom. I'll call you later."

I quickly hung up the phone as the sob escaped. I sat at our kitchen table, put my face in my hands, and sobbed.

I love my husband more than anything in this world, but moments like this made me hate his job.

When I finally calmed down, I stood up and made myself a small dinner. I spent the night, slowly drinking a glass of wine as I watched a random movie. Halfway through the movie, my phone started ringing. I looked at the phone number, extremely confused. Something in my gut told me to answer the call though.

"Hello?"

"Y/N? Can you hear me?"

"Tim!" I gasped. "You're calling. . . I can't believe. . . Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Tim chuckled.

"How's the case?" I asked, just to keep him talking.

"It's over," he said. "We should be shipping out in a few hours."

I let out a shaky breath at this news. My eyes filled with tears as I tried to think of what to say to him.

"That's good," I said, my voice soft. "Will Gibbs let you come home before going back to work?"

"I think so," Tim chuckled. "But you know Gibbs."

"I do," I nodded. "But I also know that he loves you and will let you come home to your wife who hasn't slept since you left."

There was silence on the line. I would've thought he had hung up, but I could hear him breathing. "I'm sorry, sweetheart," he finally said. "I'll be home as soon as I can. I promise."

"I know," I said softly. I took a shaky breath before saying, "I love you."

Tim let out a small chuckle. "I love you too, Y/N. I promise to get home as soon as I can. And maybe we can both get a good night's sleep."

* * * * *

Eighteen hours later, I was sitting on the couch with a glass of wine and a book that was taking me longer than it should to finish. I gasped, almost spilling my wine when the door opened. I threw my book down and ran toward the door. Tim laughed when I jumped into his arms. He instantly caught me and held me tightly.

"I missed you," I sobbed into his shoulder.

"I missed you too, baby."

Masterlist

[local-void-creature-izzy]

(Please note this theory will get longer once I complete Penacony, I haven't started yet due my busy schedule with college and exams)

-Sampo is the Successor of Aha, Aeon of Elation-

The reason why I say successor rather than the actual, original Aeon, is because:

Aha is described as an Aeon that does not truly comprehend nor understand humanity, with it, the emotions tied with humanity. It understands joy, with being the Aeon of Elation, but that's all it comprehends

While as Sampo still very much has that sense. And showcases emotions beyond that joy.

Aha's people, can be categorized into two groups:

The Masked Fools, and the Mourning Actors

The Masked Fools are a group of people that truly believe in Aha. "They believe that the truth of the world is a joke, and the ultimate meaning of all things lies in mere laughter" -HSR Data Bank

The Masked Fools are described as extremely radical when it comes to their beliefs. Doing whatever they can in that pursuit of joy, pleasure, elation. Causing Chaos every where they go.

While the Mourning Actors are that of the opposite. "They are firm believers against Elation. They believe life is full of ups and downs, that agony makes people mature but fleeting joy only offers hopeless and unreachable temptation." -HSR Data Bank.

They believe all beings should renounce joy, and endure grief to temper their spirits.

They are described as people that ride a gondola that spans the stars in order to perform. They collect and wear different masks from different worlds, while recording the sorrows of intelligent life.

And they are said to have been blessed by Aha itself, with Aeon like powers. As joy and sadness are two sides of the same coin.

Now obviously with these two opposites technically being under the same Aeon, it would not surprise me with they were essentially at war with each other.

Think of it like, Masked Fools is Celestia, while Mourning Actors is the Fatui.

- I believe Sampo's home planet is either on its last legs, or is no longer in existence. With both sides under Aha being complete opposites of each other and from what it sounds like in the data bank, not getting along, it was probably only a matter of time before they became the planet's undoing, Sampo being one if not the only survivor because he was hand picked by Aha.

Now another thing that is known to us, to an extent, is that Aeons can die or be killed.

Canonically there are at least around 4-5 Aeons that are dead or presumably dead due to their unknown whereabouts.

Aha is stated as Alive, but also, Aha is one of the few without a humanoid or somewhat alien form that you can at least make out a comprehensive figure in giant entity. Aha is canonically a series of in-animated masks and objects used in theatre/circus. A vague humanoid silhouette can be seen, but is clearly overshadowed. And if an Aeon can die, then how can you claim it is truly eternal?

Aha is described as few things but unpredictable and calculating seem to be the most consistent going as far as to shapeshift into a human for some time in order to trick Akivili (Aeon of Trailblaze) and its followers, the nameless, which resulted in Aha blowing up half of Akivili's Express and an entire planet.

- Another known fact of Aha, is that it refers to itself in third person, something Sampo also does.

I believe Sampo is a product of forbidden love. A child born of a Masked Fool and Mourning Actor, possibly born out of wedlock, thus carries traits of both.

Sampo is labeled as a Masked Fool but also seems to not go as extremely and knowns when a line shouldn't be crossed and what lines to not cross flat out.

He may do what he does for a living, but knows when enough is enough and is cautious in his line of work in order to not get caught.

Canonically Sampo has been shown or told to us by others if not him, that he has helped Natasha (Main Doctor of Belebog's Underground) in gathering anything she needed medically in order to treat her patients as most supplies were above ground and the underground had been locked down from going up when Cocolia was in charge, he had his ways of going back and forth.

And he is also great with kids, Hook, who is the leader of the moles, a little gang of her friends that try to help around the underground the best way they can, and a playable character, as been shown to go to him for help or information and he actually takes it seriously, not wanting to upset or hurt her because she's just trying to help out in what way she can and who is he to ruin that.

Now he is clearly not the most stable individual, there are several indicators that he isn't 100% stable such as his E4 constellation and one his idles showing him with lifeless eyes.

Said E4 con called "The Deeper the Love, the Stronger the Hate"

The fact he canonically is so sneaky and agile that his footsteps do not make noise, leave footprints in snow, or disturb water if he walks on a puddle or something similar.

Not to mention, he can quite literally appear and disappear whenever he feels like. Several times in quests he is with you, the next second he's gone, only to reappear like "i was here the whole time, what are you talking about?"

So what I think is:

I believe Aha's time is coming if not already come, and no one has truly noticed yet. But Aha being how it is, planned ahead and chose a successor to carry on its pursuit of laughter that leaves one breathless, that will lead to unexpected delights that uplift the soul towards divinity.

So if Sampo is someone born from the two groups under Aha, then Sampo would be the perfect candidate. As he is someone that can understand Aha's ideology and way of thinking but also comprehend emotions and humanity in a way, Aha can not.

Aha chooses a child that most likely had a horrible and possibly traumatic childhood, because of him being born of both sides, and possibly born onto a planet with horrible conditions for living

And that with how it currently stands, it's either a matter of: How long Sampo can conceal it?

Or

How long Sampo can buy time until Aha completely passes and truly take on the role of successor, because as he currently stands he is in a incomplete state that will only finish the transformation when Aha is no longer in the picture.

(Also the closest we have to a "home base" for Sampo, is Epsilon which sounds like a planet that may act as a temporary yet is probably the main residence for Sampo, yet from how he describes it.

Its not a planet he's in any hurry to get back to, because according to him, is a giant vanity fair. So most likely the planet is just a giant ego fest)

This all based on my speculations with my current lore knowledge and interpretations.

[wanderinghedgehog]

Time to finally relay my thoughts on the Les Mis I saw August 3rd, 2024.

Keep in mind, I went into this as someone who wanted to get my mother and brother to like this story. Also, I’ve seen a million and one recordings, so I know the show pretty well already and am aware of my preferences concerning it.

Act 1

Intro was so good. I like the boat format for the prisoners. It gives the actors something to do and is good and clear tonally.

This Javert did not make a strong first impression. He seemed extremely muted idk.

So I’m not a Nick Cartell fan. I’m sorry. I just don’t like him that much. I might be able to explain why at some point.

The lighting was amazing in these opening scenes.

The bishop had such a nice voice. I always love the bishop.

Valjean went nuts with the “took my fliiiiiiiiight”

Oh I forgot to mention that all of the house lights hadn’t turned off yet. It was a little weird. They eventually got turned off either before or after Valjean’s Soliloquy.

Speaking of the Soliloquy, I’ve heard a recording of this actor singing this song before and it definitely sounds better in person. Better, but still not my favorite. Nick Cartell has a tendency to stray from the melody for acting purposes in a way that I’m not a fan of.

Also, this version had Petit Gervais. It was weird. And distracting. And disjointed. I didn’t like it.

I love a good ensemble number, so at the end of the day was great. Also, the transition from the crowd to the factory was so smooth.

I remember the foreman I think had a line that changed from the original that I was kinda confused about. Overall, I think this was a thing with both at the end of the day and lovely ladies. Like there were a handful of words that were switched and I didn’t understand why.

This Fantine was quite good. Like I’m glad this was the Fantine that I saw with my mom and brother. Solid performance.

This Bamatabois was odd. I think he was too much of a caricature.

Once again, Javert is quite subdued. Intimidating, sure. But not all that interesting otherwise. No swagger.

The staging of Fantine’s Arrest felt just a little busy, but that’s really a nitpick.

When did they cut part of Fauchelevent’s line in Runaway Cart?

So I really listen for how an actors says the line “forgive me sir I would not dare.” This was fine. Nothing special.

I will say that I liked Nick Cartell’s version of Who Am I.

Fantine’s death was so sad. I prefer versions like this where they don’t have her get out of bed. It’s simpler and it gets across her weakened state a little better, I think.

Confrontation was amazing. This Javert was really starting to prove himself here. It’s like the actor just started having fun with it.

This little Cosette was absolutely adorable. I’m not usually a fan of Castle On A Cloud, but this was great.

This production had a good Thenardier couple. Their comedic timing was great. This is not to discredit the amazing job that they did, but I’m not a huge fan of the Thenardiers. My family liked them a lot though, so they were definitely very funny.

So Look Down was a success because my family immediately liked Gavroche. As they should. My brother said that that the Look Down melody was one of his favorites.

Now I think it’s good to mention that this version didn’t have the time skip projections. Like those things that tell you what year it is. None to be seen. It confused my family. I was cool with explaining it though.

My brother found Marius annoying. +1 sibling point. We can make fun of Marius now. (to be clear, the actor was very good)

This Eponine was pretty cool, but my mom pointed something out that I think is worth mentioning. She’s not lit very well. My eyesight is shit, so I’m trusting my mom when she said that it was impossible to see the actor’s face.

This Cosette is so adorable. Like everything about her so sweet. In love with her.

This scene had an interesting set design that I don’t know if I’ve seen before. It looked a little more slanted than usual. It was cool though.

The beginning of Javert’s Intervention got a laugh, so that was good. He really leaned into the drama more than before.

During Javert’s Intervention, I tend to find Thenardier’s part a little overwrought and distracting. Unfortunately, this was one of those cases. My brother liked it though.

Javert kinda went back to being subdued for Stars. Actually no. He brought some energy for “and so it must BE”

Les Amis in this production were fantastic. My mom really liked Red and Black apparently.

This Enjolras had a weird fluttery vibrato that I’m kinda obsessed with.

Kyle Adams’ performance as Grantaire was magical. I don’t know if I can point out specific moments, but it was fantastic.

I am once again in love with Cosette.

Neither my mother nor brother were fans of the romance aspect of the story. I don’t blame them.

That said, the harmony at the end of heart full of love was angelic.

One Day More is always a showstopper. No notes.

Actually, I will mention that Javert hasn’t changed costumes yet. We don’t get to see his disguise til the second act. I kinda like that because, if you don’t recognize him immediately at the barricade, it makes the reveal later kinda fun to watch.

Oops turns out I’ll have to post this in two parts

[ssruis]

Lethal tenmas induced mental illness attack. At some point I need to write up a long post on their relationship but for now take these lines with minimal commentary. attempt to figure out the points and connections I’m making in my head if you’d like.

(Doll Festival at the Tenmas)

> Difference in how they describe Tsukasa bringing saki the dolls (saki focusing on him bringing them to her even though he got hurt, tsukasa focusing on how he failed and got the dolls dirty)

(Saki’s Live with Memories card story)

> “w/out you I wouldn’t have been able to deal w all the treatment” what if I died

> tsukasa trying to see from the brother’s side, saki does the opposite. I don’t think Tsukasa would do what the brother did in LwM but I think he can see where he’s coming from.

> there’s a point I could make about the brother pulling back to encourage the sister to bond w her dad’s new family (wrt saki & L/N and tsukasa) but it’s more of a “it could be looked at an extreme version of what could happen/could have happened” situation & I don’t trust tsukasa fans not to misread it and villainize saki. Bc the brother was in the wrong here but we all know how tsukasa fans treat the main story. Anyways.

(Toya’s Doll Festival card story)

> most evil moment in the entire game I hate the writers.

> Sense of responsibility for her wellbeing happiness vs saki seeing that and trying to hide any sadness to prevent him (& her parents) from worrying.

(Tsukasa’s Doll Festival card story)

> saki guilt complex

> “then it’ll be dark and I’ll be alone” said by tsukasa as a kid in a flashback (saki is well aware that he is also struggling) (hence the guilt complex) (evil!)

(Tsukasa’s Dazzling Lights card story)

> autotuned baby crying.

(Tsukasa’s Twilight Musical Parade card story)

> no one wants to talk about saki & the guilt she feels about people doing things for her esp wrt tsukasa like. Look. Tsukasa does it happily. He would saw off his arm if she asked.

> But saki doesn’t ask for that and that level of dedication to her happiness is something she feels she needs to repay (on some level). But he won’t let her because he doesn’t think it needs to be repayed. Stalemate.

> all that to say I think “was it all for me” is such an insane line that goes so under recognized because nobody wants to analyze saki. Can you imagine how scary it would be to worry that the path a loved one is taking is entirely for you. You can’t repay that. It’s too much. I’m tired but the point I’m making is I think Saki wanted to know that he wasn’t doing it all for her.

> Cut out tsukasa’s answer but I think “I was but that was only the beginning & now I am an insane freak about theatre it’s my life” was a perfect answer. Turns it from a weight saki would feel into a gift saki gave him. You know.

Saki: I always kept how I really felt a secret to make sure you wouldn’t worry about me.

Saki: I couldn’t say what I really meant. I just smiled and nodded. It’s no wonder that you didn’t understand how I really felt, Tsukasa.

(Doll Festival at the Tenmas)

> as I said.

Tsukasa: However, Saki doesn’t want anyone to worry about her. Not even her own family.

Tsukasa: So she tries to keep quiet about feeling unwell from anyone else…

(Rui’s Twlight Musical Parade card story) (**EDIT I’m a fraud it’s tsukasa’s not Rui’s)

> as I said (p2)

Saki: Tsukasa…

Saki: (He took a day off from his part time job to stay home with me.)

Saki: (That’s one more person I’ve inconvenienced.)

(First Star After the Rain)

> saki guilt complex again. Foundational quote wrt her relationship w tsukasa.

> “the complications of my illness are a burden on my loved ones that I can never pay back” would love for colopale to challenge this (grabbing the writers by the neck and shaking them like a dog with a chew toy)

(Valentine’s Day Alliance)

She’s talking abt not relying on her friends here but this is p clearly a mindset that carries over to her relationship with her family.

Toya: Also, you’d never turn away a sick animal. There’s no way you could ever do anything cruel to someone with an illness.

(On the Stage of Dazzling Lights)

> said while saki is like 2 ft away. What this was my final straw colopale.

(On the Stage of Dazzling Lights)

> haha he’s like a dog (mocking so I don’t feel sad)

> as I’ve talked abt before on other posts: her happiness is his happiness. His middle school sad era is because saki was suffering. People who make content abt this and make the angst way higher than it canonically is while literally ignoring saki is so insane to me. I feel like the joker.

Tsukasa: … You did well, Hiro. You’re officially the coolest big bro in the world right now.

Tsukasa: That’s why, even for just a little while, you should keep those tears on hold.

Tsukasa: Your friend and sister are watching.

Hiro: ….sniff…. Okay!

Tsukasa: Alright! Now go out there with your head held high!

Tsukasa: (“Weird face”, huh?)

Tsukasa: (Maybe Meg has never seen that kind of face before since she’s his little sister.)

(Tsukasa’s fragment sekai card story - TL Tsukasa’s #3 Fan)

> they could never make me hate this card peak tsukasa peak tsukasa peak tsukasa. It’s peak.

> “maybe she’s never seen it before because she’s his little sister” I’m going to kill him with my own two hands.

[givehimthemedicine]

🛁💧 Moms, bathtubs and fear of water

today I'd like to dig into some support for the Virginia/Henry/bathtub theory, most notably a Will/Henry parallel I've not seen discussed before, and some thoughts on the rabies thing.

for those just tuning in, we have hints that something awful happened involving Virginia, Henry, and a bathtub of hot water. (that idea is aemiron-main's, you can read the original here)

where there's a tub, there's a mom

let me start by seeing how many ST bathtubs can be tied to mothers. (much of this will have been pointed out before, but I have a couple observations I think are new)

starting at the top: Virginia's vision (turning on the hot water tap and spiders fill the tub instead of water):

Karen soaking in a hot bath listening to "Memories" before milfing it up with Billy, a minor, a boy her daughter's age. check

Will and Joyce "he likes it cold" you better believe that's a paddlin

we saw the Byers' tub before. when El saw it in the mirror (lol) and went to tell Joyce (Will's Mother) about her water tank idea. ok she was addressing the group but Joyce is the one who actually engages. I'm counting it. ps when they do set up the bath for El, Lucas uses a thermometer to make sure the water is the right temperature

this is a tiny one, but Nancy goes to sit on the tub and cry after excusing herself from Barb's mom at the KFC dinner.

that scene where El and Max find Billy's tub with ice bags?

darn, nothing immediately motherly in this scene. but what if we check the last dialogue in the prior scene? or the first dialogue in the following scene?

both hits! mom/age-inappropriate-sexual-knowledge + mother/son combo.💀

next up, FOR WHAT REASON was I made to see Murray get naked and get into a tub full of ice while on the phone with Joyce in 4x01?

let's also toss in a shot of Joyce being weird in her front yard, prompting a neighbor child to dispense a line of dialogue involving mothers.

but seriously. after all the flayed/ice tub imagery throughout s3, why kick off s4 with Murray in an ice bath? no, I'm really asking.

we've got a dash of sexual inappropriateness, or so Joyce thinks - Murray happens to plop into the ice at the exact moment that she observes the Russian doll has nipples, which makes her think his reaction is about that:

the only tub scene I'm struggling to tie super directly to mothers is Heather. you could say it's that Joyce appears in the next scene, but that's weak. or that Flayed Heather later drugs/kidnaps her mom. eh.

as em pointed out, the tub Heather's in here is extremely similar to Virginia Creel's. is that sufficient?

so anyway, some of those are def stronger than others, but they all provide some combination of: mothers, bathtubs (esp with attention drawn to water temperature), and fear/ sorrow / discomfort / sexual inappropriateness.

am I forgetting any other bathtubs?

now let's talk more about fear

what started me on this post was how possessed-Will's reaction to the bathtub is so explicitly labeled as fear - NOT by Will, but by Mr. Clarke's voiceover:

yet what sparked One's strength was a memory that made him "sad, but also angry" - which, if the implied tub incident indeed happened, would totally fit the bill.

sad and angry. not afraid. I guess it makes sense that fear isn't one of the emotions he would draw power from later upon recalling this event, but he undoubtedly would've been afraid in the moment. he didn't say that though.

not in that scene.

now, idk if he's referring to The Incident here, or his early lab life or what, but. oh I'm at my image limit. ok well his lines leading up to this are (close up of dead kids) "why do you cry for them, Eleven? after everything they did to you? you think you need them, but you don't. you don't."

why exactly would El "need" the other lab kids? according to NINA, they treated her poorly. tbh kinda sounds more like a projected reaction to the death of an abusive mother.

anyway. apart from that "I was scared once" reference to some past turning point, man will not say he is or was scared. he'll imply and project but he won't say it:

you know who else won't say they're scared? Will.

Will has never said once on the entire show that he's afraid. ever. throughout all the utterly HORRIFYING situations he's been in. he undoubtedly has been scared, and other characters say that about him many times, but Will has never said, in his own words, as far as I can find, that he's afraid.

he dances around it and veils it and teeters on the edge of it, but he will not actually say I Am Afraid.

"how did you feel?" "it felt like when you're scared" boy what.

but Will has not always been fearless!

wanna know what the very first mention of fear on the whole show is? Will assuring Joyce he won't have nightmares from seeing Poltergeist because:

is it not giving "I was scared once too" ?

now here comes my favorite part:

Joyce replies with the "my witch" thing, and she doesn't actually finish the sentence, but I think that last word can be guessed pretty accurately:

cook him up in your what?

your cauldron? cauldron, kôl′drən, noun: 1. A large vessel used for boiling?

so like... have I got this straight? our earliest flashback of Will involves his mother playing an evil character who's gonna put him in a large vessel of hot liquid?

I ask you again: is it not giving "I was scared once too"?

I'm tacking my red conspiracy yarn in at "Henry was five years old."

now, just wondering, what was the turning point that made Will stop having nightmares from movies and "getting scared like that"? Bob_one_day_the_nightmares_suddenly_stopped.wav

now let's talk about rabies

Robin proceeds to list some rabies symptoms and what's funny about that (besides the fact they're standing in a mysteriously dry lakebed) is she left out possibly the best-known symptom: fear of water.

in fact, rabies used to be called hydrophobia ("fear of water").

hydrophobia in rabies stems from paralysis of throat muscles making it difficult or impossible to swallow, and so sufferers will panic at the prospect of drinking or even the mere sight of water. excessive salivation + inability to swallow it leads to the other pop culture rabies symptom, the appearance of "foaming at the mouth".

pretend here I put in screenshots of El and Barb spitting up water when they wake up in the UD and that unnecessary shot of Billy drooling when El is levitating him

Robin's isn't the only reference to rabies on ST. it's come up in two other seasons:

so every time rabies comes up, it's in reference to demodogs, demobats, and flayed rats. all critters that are part of the hive.

ostensibly controlled by one guy, who is afraid of water.

misc honorable mentions:

what do you wanna bet Dart not only doesn't need water, but would hate water like he hates heat?

Dart grew up to be a demodog, and demodogs dug those tunnels - the ones Bob figured out were a map of Hawkins because the "roads" outlined recognizable bodies of water instead of crossing over them.

when Bob said that, he didn't know the "roads" were underground, and therefore it wouldn't be crossing over water but rather crossing through water. if your tunnel breached a lake or river, it would flood. the demodogs were avoiding water.

also: no one in the water, you say?

speaking of Hawkins Pool, there's also the thing I've mentioned before, how it seems incredibly relevant that One chose Billy as his s3 host - a lifeguard whose one possession-busting happy memory involved his mother warning him not to drown.

also: Hopper saying that jumping into the quarry would result in the water "breaking every damn bone in your body"

and Jason asks Patrick, right before Vecna breaks every damn bone in his body in Lovers Lake:

I'm going to think of more as soon as I hit post but that's all I have for you today.

I want real answers on the Murray ice thing btw