#this is not to distract from your meta its just SO good that i dont have much to add!!

[danggirlronpa]

That Sonia/Hiyoko art you reblogged got me thinking. I've always had a soft spot for this ship, but it's not that popular at all, and even the content that talks about it seems to miss what I think is a really big part of the ship: Hiyoko mentioning Sonia in her FTEs. In her FTEs, she is literally so pressed by Sonia's existence, Sonia just... gets under her skin. I think this is in part because she's jealous of her, and also because Sonia makes her feel things she doesn't want to feel. I think the only reason she mentions her dislike of Sonia in her FTEs is and not outside of them because she knows Sonia is well liked and bashing her wouldn't be as well recieved as say, bashing Mikan or Kazuichi or Nagito (rip to them, but mostly Mikan, I'm sorry girl you did nothing to deserve Hiyoko bashing you so much), so she only does so in her final(? If I remember right) FTE after building up rapport with/trust in Hajime. (Which is also sweet—Hajime makes her feel safe. They are like siblings 2 me. 2 Me.)

All this to say, imo, the ideal Hiyoko/Sonia dynamic is Hiyoko anonymously sending a note to Sonia that says "get out of my school" because she can't deal with her Feelings about her.

(Tbh, I also thing this is a good alternative to Mikan/Hiyoko for people who want a "get out of my school" dynamic since it has a lot of the broad appeal points with the added bonus that Hiyoko never actually bullied Sonia—or at least not as viciously as she bullied Mikan. Not to say I don't like Hiyoko/Mikan, the two definitely have their appeal, but I'm just saying that people who may want a similar dynamic of "one sided enemies to lovers" but don't necessarily want the baggage that comes with Hiyoko's targeting of Mikan may find Sonia/Hiyoko to have appeal to them as an alternative.)

But yeah, honestly I'm not sure why the ship isn't more popular. It could partially be because they don't interact much outside of bonus scenes, but we DO get that scene with Sonia suggesting the mirror to Hiyoko which is very sweet of her, even if the suggestion did... turn out badly. And we also get Hiyoko talking about Sonia in her FTEs, something that is sort of rare for FTEs. It doesn't even necessarily have to be a romantic exploration of the two, I'd just like more content exploring their dynamic.

This is a GREAT look at the appeal of Soniyoko!! In general, Hiyoko kind of suffers in shipping material, both because of the semi-popular belief that she is Actually Genuinely Younger Than The Rest Of The SDR2 Cast And It's Problematic To Ship Them (I obviously don't subscribe to this) and because people just don't like her. But there's so many great ones.

Not to be on my bullshit but I'm actually going to take this chance to promo the DR WLW Zine again, because there's a specific piece by Magi (starrylitme on AO3) that completely sold me on Soniyoko in a way that almost no fic ever has.

I don't want to post too much, but I think this excerpt really gets into the fundamental appeal of the ship in general! It's full of the exact kind of "I hate you. Go away. NOT LIKE THAT" that I think this ship can really dig into. And it nails Sonia like nothing I've ever seen. Everybody go support the DR WLW Zine when they have leftover sales. And then go support Magi like right now.

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to post images of the FTE that anon's talking about. Here's the important bits!

[polyamorousmood]

Hey there :)

So I have no problem with my bf dating other people, and recently hes started having sth with someone else. Good for them! Legit, no problem with that by itself

But.. now I'm being left on read a lot, like majority of the time it feels like, no matter the topic or time. I just feel.. forgotten, I think, or replaced idk. But it feels pretty bad.

I dont want them to think I'm jealous or mad, I just wish he would still show me the same attention/care as before. Ive talked about how left on read makes me very insecure, due to fake friends and person past experiences before so I dont want to bring it up again.. but it hurts. Idk what to do?

Bad news, babe. You're gonna have to say something again. The good news though is that you can productively procrastinate it, because there's some stuff I want you to do first.

But before I get into that, I let having a cool opening distract me from very important other things that need said: That sucks, and I'm really sorry, but you can make it through this.

Now then. Time to productively procrastinate a difficult conversation. Look, I'm procrastinating it more by making it a read more! (It, um, it is A Lot. I took "blogging platform" literally on this one😅)

It sucks. Believe me, it bothers me too when I can't hear from my partner📵📴 because they're with my meta. It has been A Problem I've had to work through, so I think I'm actually pretty qualified to give advice on this.

Some of what I have to say is going to smart (old-timey word for sting) a bit, so I want to make it clear that I understand where you're coming from, so you can trust the part that stings is necessary. I imagine its something like this:

You relationship with your boyfriend is great! So great, you're happy for him to have someone else to love! That's. That's so rare and incredible, its a love beyond what most will know. And then he takes that love and wads it up and throws it in the back seat to make room for this new schmuck. The love is still there, it's just... in the back seat. And you never thought that would happen, because the relationship is so good! And you already said something, so you worry you're being a nag, which you don't want, because you ARE happy for them, you're so happy for them... except when you're not because you can't be happy when he can't be bothered to text you back. Its not really so much to ask, and you EXPLAINED why its important to you, so why doesn't he seem to care? You communicated, you did your part, and it was hard and scary! Surely harder than texting you back would be! And you don't want to feel like this, but. There's this anxiety that... shouldn't he want to text you back? Isn't that how he would act if he really did still care about you just as much?

Any of that resonate? I don't know you, so maybe some of it was way off base🎯, I don't know. But I hope enough of it was close enough to right that you know I get it when I say:

This isn't just your boyfriend fucking it up. This is, in part, probably you asking something unreasonable. To give you the exact same level of time an energy as when it was just you too is a big ask. To be able to supercede his time with the other person any time you want is a big ask. If you're only okay with your boyfriend having someone else if it doesn't cut into your time at all, how okay with it are you actually?

So before you talk to him about it, you gotta step back. Its not that you're wrong for feeling sidelined. But a poly relationship just isn't going to be the exact same as a monogamous one. It it were, I wouldn't have bothered making a blog, and I wouldn't have needed to because I wouldn't have a trail of loving, wonderful, burnt to ashes monogamous relationships behind me. Let's take a deep breath together. Pause here if you need.

Now, there are some questions here that do affect what I think would be fair. For example, if you're living with your boyfriend, and he's taking you for granted, always texting the other person when he's with you, you don't have any special time with him anymore, and then when he goes out its radio silence. That's a very different situation from you being in a long distance relationship so texting is your main form of communication/bonding and now he's got a new person that lives near him so he's with them constantly and now, what are you, chopped liver? for example. I'm going to give a list of things you might be doing that's unfair, and I want you to take a minute and evaluate as honestly as you can where you fall on that. This is a self-reflection, not an accusation, so please resist any temptations to get defensive (if you even feel them). I recommend taking out a pad of paper and committing to an answer for each. Some you may not be doing at all! Some okay maybe a little. And some now that you think about it, yeah actually, you're doing a lot. That's okay. You not handling it perfectly is okay, and doesn't mean we can't ask the boyfriend for accommodations still.

Are you valuing 1:1 time with your boyfriend as much as you're valuing (negatively) the time he spends 1:1 (not texting you) with his partner? IE, are you more bothered by him not texting you than you are appreciative when he takes time for you?

Are you texting him compulsively out of anxiety instead of because you have something more important to discuss?

Are you accidentally infringing on his other partner's time?

Are you trying to infringe on his other partner's time to reassure yourself that you're important to him?

Are you texting him to "test" him?

When you communicated that you didn't like being left on read, did you properly convey how big of a problem it is for you and what your expectations were?

When you communicated, did you allow space for negotiation and to work on the problem, or was it more like a list of demands?

Are you misplacing your feelings somehow? Is there something else that's bothering you that you don't feel comfortable bringing up?

Are you letting your anxieties run you? Is there something you could be doing to address your feelings?

Are you forgetting to weigh other allocations or shows of love he's making or you?

Is there anything else internally you might be overlooking in regards to this?

Whew! Heavy stuff. But you made it!🎉 Now, we'll dig into how his actions are making you feel. That last set was about what you could be doing better, and this one will help determine he could be doing better. But just like we weren't making accusations about you, we aren't making accusations about him either. We are assuming good faith on your boyfriend's part. This is still ultimately about your feelings and what reasonable accommodations could be made for them.

Do you feel the time allocation for you vs his other partner is fair? Why?

Does he seem to text them back more than you?

Does it seem like he's not taking your concerns seriously enough?

Does this issue look like a larger pattern? If so, what? How will that look long-term?

Has he made specific promises he hasn't kept to you in regards to this? If so, what were they and how hasn't he lived up to them?

Do you feel he's made adequate time for you to discuss concerns, or do you feel like he tries to rush through them?

Do you think he gave you a reasonably clear expectation of what him dating someone else would look like (or did he make it seem "nothing will change")?

Has he not responded to something critical?

Is there anything else he's done in regards to this that doesn't sit right with you?

You did it! 🎉Now we can officially start working on problem-solving. I imagine that was a lot more than you bargained for, for such a simple problem as "I want a text back," but its important to get everything laid out. This helps in a lot of ways. It helps guard against striking on a "solution" that isn't actually sustainable. It makes sure you're starting a discussion in good faith. And hopefully, it will help minimize having to return to the issue.

For the sake of formatting, we're going to address the questions for you first, then the questions about him, then how to have the hard conversation, then workarounds that you may not have considered that aren't really your or his problem. I actually think that third group has some of the better "quick fixes", if you can find one that works.

Starting with the questions about what you could be doing better, in order, skip any that don't apply:

Re: valuing 1:1 time -- Make active efforts to appreciate the time you do have more. Use this time as a guard against negative thoughts when he is unable to respond ("We spent all day together yesterday, a few hours today without hearing from him is fine")

Re: texting compulsively -- Be more vigilant about self-soothing. I find self-talk to be most effective for me. I cannot possibly cover everything here, but it sounds like it stirs up fears you're losing your partner. Since you cannot guarantee that will never happen, I find it most helpful to reassure myself I will be okay even if I do lose them. Another option is to make a reassurance bank, where you can store and see evidence of his affection without asking it from him. Your mileage may vary. If you really struggle with this, there's always therapy.

Re: accidental infringing -- Be more mindful of what you send. Save things that are non-urgent to discuss later, when you have his attention anyway.

Re: deliberate infringing -- Stop it. It will only strain things and make the outcomes you don't want more likely. See self-soothing. Find something else to distract you that you can put energy into.

Re: "testing" him -- See above. I know, its easier said than done. Do the hard work. That shit can ruin your life.

Re: didn't adequately express importance -- Well, its a good thing we're about to talk about it anyway! Really think through how you can explain how badly it makes you feel. We'll get into that more when we discuss How To Have the Conversation

Re: list of demands -- Well, its a good thing we're going to talk about it anyway! This time, see it as a negotiation. Ask him if that's feasible, or if its too much. But open to trying alternate solutions.

Re: misplaced feelings -- Take the advice on How To Have a Conversation and apply it to the thing that's actually the problem.

Re: managing anxieties -- Again, you'll have to find a way to self-soothe somewhat. That's not to say your partner shouldn't meet you halfway, but you do have to do your half.

Re: forgetting other expressions of love -- Literally make a list of all the things he's done/is doing for you. As many as you can think of. Add to it often. Pick a couple and do a deep dive on why that mattered so much to you and how you felt. Tell him, too. You gotta be grateful consciously, bro. This applies to all of life

Re: anything else -- Take that into account. Work on that, too, however you can. Be honest with him about your shortcomings when you address it.

A lot of these will require upkeep on your part (kind of mirrors🪞how texting you back consistently requires upkeep on his, huh?). Be prepared to discuss the changing you're going to make and have an actionable plan for them. Okay, his turn, same as before:

Re: fair time allocation -- does he need to make more time for you? Do he need to make protected time that is only for you? You said you feel forgotten, replaced, so maybe this is part of it.

Re: unequal texting -- first, consider why. If he lives with you, he's probably going to have to text the other person in front of you sometimes. If you still think its too much, again, protected time for you may be appropriate, he may need to do a better job keeping his New Relationship Energy (NRE) in check. Be prepared to discuss this, possibly including him defending himself!

Re: not taking concerns seriously -- Well, its a good thing we're discussing this again! Make sure you have an actionable, measurable metric he can do to show you progress here. (IE ❌"I need you to care more" ❌ but ✅"When you're unable to respond, I need you to say that you're busy so I know you thought of my needs" ✅)

Re: bigger patterns -- You will have to tell him you're concerned about those too. If it could become untenable for you, this will probably be a recurring discussion. Consider scheduling check-ins where you say one thing you think is going well and one thing you're worried about, for example.

Re: unkept promises -- here, you are super justified in being mad. Try not to be anyway. Try to be curious and interested in addressing the root problem. Ask him what got in his way, what middle ground he's confident he can manage. It is you and him vs the problem, even here, not you vs him.

Re: inadequate room to discuss -- Set expectations before the talk, and remind him of them if he forgets. (IE "I know this isn't nice to hear, but I need you to let me say my piece and talk through solutions, even if it takes awhile." and "I said I needed to talk through the solution. This sounds nice, but I'm concerned about X. How can we make sure that doesn't happen?") Consider reserving specific time to discuss it, consider reserving recurring time to discuss any problem, if you need it.

Re: didn't set expectations appropriately -- ask. Ask what this would ideally look like to him. If he's having trouble getting started, point out some differences you've already noticed, and ask if he thinks those are the new norm.

Re: didn't respond to something critical -- Establish a way he can see what is critical and what isn't. This might be texting something that can wait, but calling for something important, for example.

Re: anything else -- address that too. Give him a chance to explain himself. etc.

Okay, you've done everything up to this point alone. You're prepped. Now How Do You Have The Conversation?

For this type of stuff, I recommend the WIBS format. That is, "When [something happens], I feel [feelings] Because [explanation] So could you please [change]". But of course, it can't be that simple either. Critically you CANNOT say "you" before the "so could you please". The example I'm about to give is going to use the texting issue specifically, but if you've done the soul searching and found there's a bigger problem you want to address (which ngl, sounds like there might be something bigger based on what you sent), adjust accordingly! This is good general advice for any tough conversation. Anyway, here's what that might look like on the texting thing:

"When I am left on read, I feel anxious and betrayed, because I've had a lot of friendships completely fall apart, and that's always how it started. So could you please make a point to text me something when you read my message, even if its just 'lol' or you saying you want to discuss it later."

But wait a minute! That doesn't include any of the bullshit I just made you do. What the hell am I trying to pull? Okay okay, so we have to modify this a bit. Our new format is going to be something more like this: "When [something happens], I feel [feelings and impact], because [explanation]. I have tried [things you've tried], and I am still struggling because [reason why that hasn't helped, including what you could do better]. So I was hoping to look at some more solutions, like, would you be willing to try [change]." Which might in practice look something like

"When I am left on read, I feel so anxious and betrayed I start spiraling thinking the relationship is doomed, because I've had a lot of friendships completely fall apart, and that's always how it started. I have tried dropping some hints and self soothing, and I'm still struggling because this is a really bad anxiety that I didn't have to deal with before recently and even with the hints I'm not getting the response rate I would like. So I wanted to talk about it and see if you'd be willing to try making a point to text me something when you read my message, even if its just 'lol' or you saying you want to discuss it later."

And then! The discussion continues. Maybe he says "oh my god, yeah, I didn't realize it was bothering you that much, absolutely I can do that" and maybe he says "I'm with you all the time how is this still a problem?" or maybe its "actually, [other partner] gets really anxious when I text, which is why I don't respond unless its important. I figured I could talk to you about dinner plans any time" and whatever the case is, you keep talking until you've set on clear goalposts and have reassurance they feel okay to all parties. So in order, your responses might be something like "are you sure you can manage that? I was really worried by my hints not being picked up on that that was the reason", "I know its a problem. That's why I'm talking to you about it. If that's not a good solution to you, let's come up with something else, because the way things are is really hard on me," and "okay. I don't want to make [other partner] anxious either, but this isn't working for me, can we find something else to try?"

Allow him to explain, be prepared to explain more yourself, and be willing to try a variety of solutions. Acknowledge

Is this my longest post yet? Maybe! Wild. Let's top it off with something easier: The Hack Solutions🧑‍💻. Sometimes, anxiety isn't logical, and goofy workarounds can be super helpful! Here are some off the top of my head, but feel free to get creative, too! Not all of these may be feasible, not all of them may help. But a lot less work than some other solutions so worth mentioning!

You said being "left on read" is what bothers you. Can you just... turn off read receipts? Or switch to a messaging app that doesn't have them? Can he just not read your texts until he has the time to respond?

A lot of phones have a driving mode, that will send an automated reply to texts. Can he turn that on when he's with his other partner so you get a reply like "hey I'm busy rn, but I'll text back later!" and would that help?

If you just want to feel more involved, maybe it would help if he just like, took a picture of his pizza to send to you. Reminds you you're thought of, doesn't require conversation.

Something that I've done with friends is write like, a dozen short affirmations/reassurances, and have them keep them in a special spot. When they need to feel loved, they can take one out to read. This has worked PHENOMENALLY for them, and still protects your partner's time away while allowing you to get love direct from your partner WHENEVER you want.

Can he just kick it with you both concurrently?

Can you have a friendship with your meta where you text THEM like "tell [bf] to text me back real quick" and then your bf doesn't feel bad about texting in front of the other partner because they're telling him to do it?

Classically condition yourself. Like, every time he leaves you on read, eat a chocolate. And then sometimes instead of it being "boyfriend won't text me :(((" it'll be "oooo! candy time!"

ai yai yai! That's all I have, though! Come back if you need help working through some specifics. I'm very happy to help however I can. Its not your fault you're struggling with this. Most polyam relationships have to deal with this to some extent, but with a little effort, you can make it through. Best of luck to you, friend. 💙💖🖤

[anilec-dragon-art-and-stuff]

Alright lets do this really quick.

So what is this about? This is a sideblog (my Main is @cylieria-the-dragonrider btw) for me to dump my art and stuff because sometimes I want to post that. Most of the time I am to self-consious about it but i try working on that. Anyways with everything happening on insta with meta rn i decided to put this stuff here.

I am just doing all of this for fun so dont expect me to post suuuper regularly (also I manage to distract myself waaaay to much Most of the time)

The Most things you will See on here is stuff about my dnd characters. I love making those and drawing them. But unfortunatley Most of them I never get to play. So recently i had the BRILLIANT idea of putting them all in a group and have them go on adventures, play Out there character arcs and so on (you know, stuff that you play in your head when you're bored at work)

But since I found i forget that way too soon I started to write it down. Now i am Not a good writer (also Not suuper good at drawing either) but I try. So I will Most likely post some written stuff in between my drawings and such. Tho its Not a continual Story and more like different scenes i thought off that i wrote down lol.

I might make a post where i link the written posts to create somewhat of a chronological order but idk yet. Also the written things kinda circle around two "stories" (one that has the actual Main group and a second one that Deals with another character that is separate from the group)

I will give an introduction to the characters and so on in a different post. When i remember to do it.

But yeah thats it for now. Hope you made it through all that weird intro stuff here. And if you are interested in the mediocre at best stuff I produce, check Out this Blog once in a while. ^^

[commanderquinn]

im quinn!! a fandom ancient baby-stepping back into posting because i missed writing. you can find the most up-to-date versions of my work on ao3, but i will Attempt to keep tumblr updated as well

this is gonna be a fandom blog for the duration, with the occasional ao3 links and such. if you dont want my personal/rant posts block #quinn speaks & #quinns rant tag. im a slut for that one-armed grouch, bucko barnes, so most content is probably gonna revolve around him. i do get distracted with other fandoms from time to time tho

and i do have a bg3 side blog

tag nav:

my masterlists/oneshots

metas ive written for fandoms AND metas written by others

the inspo tag for all my ammunition plot device needs

posts that are My Vibe

my favs is a junk drawer tag at the moment. i will eventually refine it into multiples

free serotonin (post abt my doggo)

my current writing projects:

-Good Space (12/40 chapters posted) / masterpost: a bucky/reader fic! reader is named (Ava) bc i cant write a fic that long without one. i need Something, but physical description is left purposely vague (well. okay. refs to ava being Curvy and having glasses, you're welcome to picture Whatever You Want). plot is fully mapped, it'll just take me a bit to write something That Big

-Kinktober '23: the posting has begun! ive mapped all 31 days and they're focused on my MCU canon that you can find in good space. i dont consider the end of october the cutoff. im a writer in this for Good Vibes, not a time crunch. all fics will eventually be posted

fandoms i vibe with/write for:

im not gonna sit here and list every single fandom i know bc i have adhd and that'd be a Bad Idea, so if you wanna know if im down to write for your fandom but dont see me blogging about it, you can go ahead and shoot me an ask. that said, here's the fandoms i like/intend to write for on my own end at the moment:

-marvel -bg3 -mass effect -dragon age -outer worlds -starfield -fallout

writing requests:

i am open to taking writing requests!! you're welcome to submit them through my inbox or you can leave 'em on posts. up to you how descriptive you wanna get. seriously, any detail you can think of, go for it. you're not offending me by getting specific by any means

Some Blanket Rules:

-you can ask me to tw tag my posts. you can ask me to tw tag my fics. you have, at all times, my ACTIVE ENCOURAGEMENT to try to make my work safe for you. im happy to help in any way that i can, you're NOT bothering me by asking to put up warnings for things, its okay bb.

-however. please try to respect that im still A Person With Feelings. more importantly, to you, i am a stranger on the internet. acting like you've got some weird kind of authority over what kind of content im allowed to post is Really Fucked Up. please keep that attitude away from me. id recommend a therapist, but that's your call.

-i can, and will without hesitation, block anyone at the DROP of a hat if i catch bad vibes. im old. this is my house. i will make it a house i want to be in, anyone who fucks with that is no concern of mine. im just gonna block you and move on with my day.

-this is an anti-fandom-wank zone. i. am. old. (im not even 30 yet i should really stop saying that but i AM) and. tired. i cannot begin to describe to y'all how much i do not care about an internet stranger's biased view of something. leave me alone. im busy writing smut.

-in this house we believe in comfort fic supremacy

[drconstellation]

The laudanum is about sacrifice. I wrote that one up a long time ago. Here it is:

The Laudanum

I originally didn't include this one, but since posting this I realised how it fits in. I've written it up in this meta here - The Altar of Eccles Cakes, - because its a Sin Offering.

[A Sin Offering was for] atonement or unintentional sin. It would have the elements of a Burnt offering, as well as a Peace offering, but not be shared.

It pretty clear to most observers that Crowley did a good and "kind deed" for Elspeth here, which angered Hell in the process and then he was dragged forcibly downstairs to be duly punished for it. There is a post here from atlas-hope that suggests this is a parallel of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, drinking the cup of God's wrath to absolve Christians of their sins. They point out the laudanum is even poured into a goblet. Crumbs, that's a hefty bit of spiritual lifting, dear demon. What were you thinking, Anthony J. Crowley? It might cast that conversation you had with the carpenter back on the mountain in a new light, or least make us look back twice at it. (Plenty of time for contemplation before S3 arrives...) Remember, a Sin offering has elements of both a Burnt offering and a Peace offering: a giant Crowley gets Elspeth to promise to devote the rest of her life to being "properly good, not just pretendy good" and the money Aziraphale is forced to donate to her ensures her future prosperity. Sounds like a win-win situation there, Elspeth!

Jim's Hot Chocolate

The hot chocolate is something I've talked at length with @vidavalor as we've had slightly different opinions on it, but I think they've basically come together now (they have pulled me more in the direction of their interpretation and in reviewing S1 again for food and drink it makes more sense.)

There is without a doubt a line drawn between the American and the British in this show, but it's quite subtle. it comes out most obviously in the "Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death" name of the coffee shop, however. But once you look back into S1 you can see it there as well.

Chocolate comes from the Americas, so that is one reason to give the American angel hot chocolate. (Recall, Anathema offers the Them chocolate as one her food bribes) America symbolizes freedom/liberty, so there is one angle on what's happening, but Vida also said to me that hot chocolate is like a hug. And isn't that just so - hot chocolate is a smooth, sweet, soothing drink, associated with warmth and comfort. I've even been in one of those specialty chocolate shops where they mad the drinking mugs in a shape that matched the hands (no handle) so you would hold it cupped in both hands as you drank, like a hug, and the warmth filled your palms...woah, yeah, it can be a sensual drink. So Jim offering love and hugs in the middle of battle later on always gives me pause for thought... And Crowley offering it is his way of apologizing to Gabriel and offering Gabriel the freedom he is obviously looking for, for some reason Crowley doesn't understand yet. Oh, and Jim looking out of the window with his morning hot chocolate at the start of Ep3? He's just a lone archangel looking down on the Earth from above from Heaven and enjoying all that this wonderful world has to offer...

The Metatron's coffee - see Liberty versus The Tree of Life To me its a choice between the status quo or change.

Gabriel and Beelzebub dont "consume" their drink because they don't have to. They have a different relationship to the one Aziraphale and Crowley have. Theirs is more a platonic ace love at this point.

The wine angle is interesting - I'll admit to not thinking on all of those connections, although I've talked about others. Wine=sex basically, and Maggie is an Aziraphale/Beelzebub parallel. Ah, more things to distract me from reality this week.

Drinks offered, accepted and turned down

The Metatron’s coffee (oat milk latte with unknown amount of almond syrup), as well as the whole business about it, is symbolic, I think most fans have agreed on that. It seems to me not only the drink itself is important, but the ceremony of offering and accepting/turning down a drink means a lot as well. When I think of it something archaic comes to mind: accepting a drink creates a connection and builds trust between people, and such exchanges have been symbolic in many cultures for thousands of years.

I’m not very good at drawing conclusions, but I would like to sum up all the cases when drinks are offered in season 2. So that someone more analytical than myself might have clever ideas. And I love making lists, they give an illusion of some control over this complicated narrative.

Aziraphale offers Jim some gross matter hot chocolate. Everyone remembers similar moments in  s1, right? Only this time Gabriel/Jim accepts, and it changes him, becomes an important element of his new personality.

Nina offers Maggie some wine and she turns it down in the weirdest way possible. ‘No judgement’ is already a judgement!

In the Job minisode Crowley offers Aziraphale wine and he turns it down. 

Aziraphale offers Muriel a ‘cuppertea’, and they do the most remarkable thing: they neither accept, not turn it down. They find a third way to go about it, and I absolutely love it. This is yet another small detail about Muriel which makes them so special and sets them apart from everyone - humans, angels, demons.

The barman in the Resurrectionist asks what Aziraphale will be drinking, and he doesn’t order anything. Baffles me every time, it's so not in his character and completely illogical in this situation. Everything is wrong and upside down in this episode. 

I mean, even Gabriel had enough wits to BUY drinks in the pub. Obviously later he tells Beelzebub  ‘You don’t actually have to consume it’, so it makes the drinks accepted but not taken - almost like Muriel's.

Crowley makes hot chocolate for Jim

The ’smitten’ conversation at Justine’s. Aziraphale turns Crowley’s wine down, AGAIN

Metatron’s coffee

May have missed something, but even like this it seems a lot. 

Not sure about the scene with Crowley and laudanum, it it definitely meaningful, but there was no offer. Another special case is Jim making his own hot chocolate. Precious 15 seconds of screen time are wasted devoted to an extremely informative scene where Jim makes the drink, drinks it and says ‘Ah!’. Whatever for?

More questions than answers as usual.

[odditycollector]

ooooh how about dirk/jade?

1.

Pour one out for Roxy Lalonde, whose teenage crush was so gay he wouldn't date a girl if they were the literal last two people on the planet. But now that Roxy's transitioned Dirk suddenly develops a taste for the ladies???

Some people just have that kinda luck though.

2.

I'd write something parallel to the Epilogues. Jade is that universe's designated god of space and/or creation, so the meta wankfest (pejorative? descriptive? like i mean it is that way on purpose) ought to be in her purview.

So Dirk narrates his epic envisionings, and then SOMEONE goes through with a neon green edit pen and changes things and writes little notes and doodles in the margins to razz him. He considers it is one of the cherubs at first, but runs through the suspects pretty quick.

One of Jade's explicit powers is making things less heavy, but she is ruining his artistic vision where everything is so terrible their friends need to rally to defeat the Ultimate Villain (into which role he has cast himself because that's what you do if you are an author figure in Homestuck land). He is playing to lose, but Jade keeps undoing his crimes in fun and silly ways! It is... a sort of collaboration?

Dirk came out to be attacked and he's honestly having such a good time right now.

And it is obviously not just 'cuz she's THAT silly, ok. She is carefully picking the specific silly things that would rile him up -- while also being quite clever and hilarious if he can step away from his irritation -- but when he writes something she considers Seriously Out Of Bounds (like John's death) she just nopes it and criticizes his literary choices in very big angry letters.

YOU DONT NEED TO DO THIS FOR ATTENTION! she claims, wrongly. But how to explain whose attention he needs? Have they gotten deep enough into the meta yet? and... YOURE IMPORTANT TOO! she declares, with arguable validity, but it doesn't matter, he's not as important as the rest of them. and... YOURE NOT JUST A *TOOL* TO BE USED UP AND TOSSED ASIDE WHEN ITS CONVENIENT FOR THE STORY! she promises, but he is. He is if he's decided he is, and if he's okay with it, and if someone has to be.

Except Jade not letting the Epilogues kill John with weird meta poison means he is still in the story with retcon powers, and alternate Calliope tries to re-destroy him via HER narrative powers while Dirk is distracted fighting with Jade, and man if you thought the original Epilogues + the rest of this summary were a meta clusterfuck you ain't seen NOTHING yet.

[sweetescapeartist]

MY DBS MANGA CHAPTER 72 REVIEW... 😒

Hey there... Here comes the review.

Imma start like this and use language some ppl may find offensive. Goku, Vegeta, & Granolah are retarded. Now that that's out of the way, time to dissect this "Dragon Ball Super coloring book."

Goku & Vegeta land on the planet & its peaceful. How are they not immediately suspicious? They see that the planet isn't in danger & no death. Its obvious they need to ask a question to figure out what lies they've been told.

I was gonna say its dumb for Granolah to be able to supress his ki because it seems only Earthling have that kind of spiritual understanding. But Namekians have that spiritual understanding too so maybe Monaito taught Granolah how to suppress his ki.

I lost interest in the Heeters' past. You can only tease me so long until I stop caring. At least mention something like Freeza almost killed Gas on planet Cereal so now that's why Gas keeps trying to get stronger. There's so little info about "important" stuff that's supposed to be important. Give readers a tease, hint, a different hint, some valuable info, then another hint, then a reaveal (or something similar!) Instead its tease, hint, tease, tease, hint, tease...

In all honesty, the chapter didn't even need that page with Gas & Elec. When Maki said Gas & Elec are coming, that was all we needed to know. Then we anticipate their arrival in the next chapter. Showing them is a waste of time & they add no real purpose to the chapter. That was just a waste of ink.

Also I'm bored of Gas now. He only looks interesting but does nothing. 👎

Granolah shoots at Goku & Vegeta. Base Goku closes his eyes to use UI (UI Omen?) while Vegeta goes SS. Base Goku dodges easier than Vegeta. Goku is leagues beyond Vegeta.

A better way to have Goku & Vegeta encounter Granolah would be for him to snipe at them right when they get off the ship. Granolah wanted to kill them so bad so why wait for them?

Somehow they go towards Granolah but he's too fast for them & they lose him. They can't sense him firing ki for some reason. Idk why Goku didn't use Instant Transmission when Granolah shot ki at them?

I don't get why Goku closes his eyes either. Its as if Goku can't use UI now unless his eyes are closed but that wasn't the case before. Eyes were opend when using UI Omen & Mastered UI. Toyo could have conveyed that better but instead he's making Goku close his eyes like how Roshi covered his eyes when fighting those prisoner women because their beauty distracted him. Is Goku distracted by Granolah's beauty or something?

Wait a sec... I gotta backtrack real quick. Goku used the Ultra Instinct technique in his base & didn't go into Ultra Instinct Omen? But thats him using it in base right? Oh boy... This is about to get dumb...

Ultra Idiot Goku & Super Stupid Vegeta are surprised that the guy having the title of "strongest in the universe" is capable of moving faster than them when they aren't at full power. Such genius writing.

Goku gets shot in the neck... & it knocks him out... Ok. But later Granolah comments on how Goku's body moves on it's own before Goku can even process an attacks. Not to mention Goku & Whis have said the same thing. Goku should be untouchable at this point, but for some reason he is not.

So, Vegeta takes a senzu bean from his "training bra" and gives it to Goku. For some reason they decided to only take 2 senzu when knowing they would fight a guy possibly stronger than them. Stupid monkeys.🐒 (I'm starting to sound like Freeza now)

How did unconscious Goku eat a senzu? Yaoi fans would had loved it if Vegeta chewed the senzu up for Goku and fed it to him. Sorry, it just reminded me of Trunks spitting senzu mush into Mai's mouth since she was unconscious.

Then we have this dialogue from "sensei" Vegeta, The Ultra Instinct Expert...

"You rely on Ultra Instinct too much! If you haven't perfected it yet, then dodge using your mind!" - Vegeta

"Yeah, you're right..." - Goku

"WTF Toyotaro!" - DB Meta

... I'm unsure who is the stupid one in this situation. Is it Goku or Vegeta? It could be Vegeta because UI is the ultimate technique that allows you to move without thinking. But Vegeta says that because Goku hasn't perfected Ultra Inst-...

...

...

Sorry, I had to restart my brain...

Didn't... didn't Goku master Ultra Instinct? Silver hair? Silver eyes? MASTERED/PERFECTED ULTRA INSTINCT? Before that, Goku perfected Ultra Instinct Omen & could go in it at will... So, Goku is listening to Vegeta tell him he hasn't mastered UI? But both know that Goku did master UI? What does Vegeta know? Vegeta can't even use UI.

I almost stopped reading the rest of the colouring book when I got to that dialogue.

Also, Granolah wants to kill Saiyans, so why is he holding back and not hitting them with deadly attacks. He only needs one alive anyways. He said so himself.

At least there was a good pose Goku was in. The art looked nice there.

Now here's another place I almost quit reading. Granolah apparently has all the abilities of Goku & Vegeta. Hack writing. Sounds like a Moro, 7-3, & Cell copy cat. Toyo just cant leave the Cell saga alone.

Granolah is bumping his gums & rattling his tongue (old slang for "talking a lot") but when Vegeta asks if Granolah holds a grudge against Saiyans, Granolah suddenly says that's enough talking. He responded to them 3 times & spoke like 5 sentences to them. If you're gonna chat then chat. If you hate Saiyans then don't say anything to them & try to kill them. Dummy.

Granolah uses Hakai. But aparently he's not using Hakai or Instant Transmission. Its just "similar." Sure. Confirms that he has been using something similar to UI in previous chapters too.

Granolah says they're stronger than expected because they escaped into the air. Escape doesn't equal strenght. Mai escaped Goku Black, doesn't mean she's extremely strong.

But seriously, Vegeta saying he's gonna prove his training is better than Goku is stupid. He wants to prove he is better than Goku yet he tells Goku to fight first (that's beta). It's as if he isn't confident & wants Goku to wear Granolah out first, so he can come in and look impressive. Kinda like in RoF after Freeza was tired from fighting Goku & Vegeta wasn't tired at all & he easily beat Freeza up. Looked cool, but actually wasn't too impressive.

Granolah saying that he's gonna shoot them if they don't fight him is ridiculous. Why is he showing mercy to the tribe that didn't show his ppl mercy? Why give chances to the ppl you wanted revenge on for years? Realistically he would just start blasting at them.

Unecessary dialogue from Vegeta talking to himself about how he needs to learn who Granolah is. Show don't tell Toyo.

Why is Granolah waiting for the Oozaru form? Maybe he wants to kill them in that form? What about revenge? Just kill them.

Goku screamed to power up from SS to SSG. That's possibly dumb, but I gotta let at least 1 thing slide this chapter.

Why did Granolah let them power up? So unlike what we've been shown what Granolah is like. Why would he want to give "murderers" of his entire race a fair chance to fight him?

Next, Goku doesn't try to explain he isn't savage like other Saiyans when Granolah accuses his kind of being so. Instead Goku just agrees & says "Oh... Yeah." I guess he really just wants to fight. I can't tell if this is OOC or just magnifying a Saiyan flaw of Goku just to push the story along. Idk. I'm losing brain cells reading this chapter.

Granolah's fighting stance is cool. Hey, look. I said a nice thing. (But why is he doing close combat when being a sniper us his specialty?)

So, Goku uses UI in SSG form... Bruh, is Ultra Instinct a technique, a state of mind, or a transformation? I'll tell you what it is. ULTRA INSTINCT IS A PLOT DEVICE! It does whatever Toyotaro decides at the moment. So freaking inconsistent... 😓😒

Ultra Instinct becomes more accurate when in conjunction with a SS form?! How tho? I thought it was just a goldy technique that needed a clear mind and control or whatever. Or is UI a transformation like Toyo stated many times in previous chapters, while also calling UI a technique? How can mixing a godly "technique" with a SS form enhance it better than Goku simply using UI Omen? It doesnt! Vegeta, you can just shut up! Every time you talk about UI, you've been wrong! It should be illegal impersonating an UI Expert.

Goku is using the Ultra Instinct technique in base form against Granolah.

UI Omen is Goku using the Ultra Instinct technique in base form.

Goku uses Ultra Instinct technique in the Super Saiyan God transformation.

Mastered UI is Goku mastering the technique or maybe using the technique as a transformation? (Toyo is confusing.)

So why isn't Goku going into UI Omen when using UI in base? Why does Vegeta say "Ultra Instinct... becomes more accurate when used in conjunction with a Super Saiyan form"? Does that mean Mastered UI is a Saiyan form in conjunction with the Ultra Instinct technique? So, there's an unknown silver haired Saiyan transformation that Goku was utilizing in conjunction with Ultra Instinct? I guess this confirms that "Super Saiyan Blanco" is real y'all.

I suppose that if UI in base isn't the same as UI Omen, then by that logic, there is also an unknown "Super Saiyan Noir" form we haven't seen yet.

I'm done with Ultra Instinct in the manga. Toytaro doesn't know if UI is a technique or a transformation. I could explain it better than him, but I'm not tye one writing official material. Why should I make sense of his bad writing when he will change things later? HE should explain it clearly to US. He is extremely inconsistent with his explanations and will change them when he feels like it.

I dont care what Geekdom101 says about UI being both technique & transformation, because Ultra Instinct IS NOT a transformation nor a technique anymore. ULTRA INSTINCT IS JUST A PLOT DEVICE. 😑

[You can skip this little section. I'm talking about inconsistencies from the Moro arc]

I remember when I talked about how Moro's life draining powers were retconned multiple times.

Moro can absorb life energy from a planet while he is in outer space, then he is nerfed to only being able to take life energy by directly touching you, later Vegeta says they need to get off the ground because now Moro (who is stronger and fused with the planet) can only steal your life enrgy while making contact with you. He could absorb life energy from entire planets from space, but has to make contact with somebody once he got stronger?

Let's not forget it's said Moro drains life energy, but can't drain 17 & 18 because they say they don't have life energy. I guess that means Krillin had a daughter with a dead woman? No. Multiple times, 17 & 18 contributed to the Genki Dama (a collection of life energy). Goku gathers energy from trees, animals, ppl, everything living. This means 17 & 18 do have life energy because they are living beings. But the energy they fight with is unlimited artificial energy.

So if 17 & 18 can give life energy to Goku for a Genki Dama, then Moro should be able to take their life energy just like anyone else. What he can't take is their energy they use for battle because itsunlimited & artificial. Toyotaro does not understand this important detail nor does he understand many other details about these iconic character. So why is the the writer if he is getting so much wrong? Why is he not soley the artist?

Goku uses UI in SSG form to dodge a barrage of attacks from Granolah that are aimed at the planet. They must be weak attacks because the explosions are tiny. Is Granolah really trying to kill them?

Goku using UI in SSG but somehow gets caught off gaurd. Did UI just get nerfed so that Vegeta can look like he is on the same level as Goku in a later chapter? I think it did...

Granolah took Goku down a second time... Wow Goku, you kinda suck. In DBS CH 65 on page 11, after Moro broke his arm on UI Goku's chest, Whis said "When Ultra Instinct is honed to this extent, the body will automatically grow sturdier as necessary." Why is Goku holding back against the strongest in the universe? Oh yeah, that's right... UI is getting nerfed.

Vegeta, what do you mean "How is he learning Kakarot's weaknesses so quickly?" Everybody has similar vital spots in DB. Thats not learning, thats just knowing. Are you just a dummy, Vegeta? Do you not know where vital spots are?

Granolah can tell Goku's body is moving before his brain tells him to react. Granolah the UI "expert" can see all with his eye. You know who else can see with their eye? Tien. Speaking of Tien, I wanna go back to Earth now. What's Piccolo doing? I bet everyone on Earth is chilling or at work. Is it bad I'd rather watch Gohan at a conference than watch Goku, Vegeta, & Granolah be dummies? I'd rather watch Chi-Chi cooking with vegetables instead of watching vegetable puns fight a cereal pun. I'm sorry, the dialogue is just so bad...

How does Granolah's right eye being able to observe blood flow & muscle movements let you know where to strike? Dude, vital spots are where your organs are, & pressure points, & your head area, & you arteries, & so on. Ya ain't gotta observe blood flow to know that. Granolah just making stuff up now to sound cool. News flash, you failed. If he was sniping and able to track them based on blood flow and muscle movement, then that would had been smarter writing.

Granolah: "This right eye of mine is the sharpest in all the universe. It sees all."

Your eye sees all Granolah? Can you see past the Heeters feeding you bullcrap too?

Yo, where did Granolah's barely existing personality go? He wss once driven by revenge, and now the opportunity for revenge is right here in front of him & he's acting like he doesn't want it. If revenge is his only noticeable personality trait, what happens when you take it away? You get bland and dry Granolah.

So then Veget- hold on! Thats it! Granolah's name pun is granola because he is meant to be a bland character! I get it now! So all his moves must be cereal puns!

I never realized how genius this character is!

Detective Vegeta: "A tribe driven to extinction, known for their evolved right eyes... This is starting to sound familiar..." 🕵

Tien?! Oh wait... he said right, not 3rd eye. Jiren?! Oh wait, that's both his eyes... Jaco!? That's both eyes too... I give up.

Granolah's eye can tell that Goku is not using his full power, yet he can't tell he is being fooled by the Heeters. I think he needs new glasses or at least clean the revenge smear off of his monocle.

Granolah casually chats with a Saiyan who is one of the ppl he wants to kill. He would be better if he barely talked and just acted. Granolah should be like Iron Man in "Captain America: Civil War." Not trying to talk, just trying to kill because he is angry and wants revenge.

Goku: "Granolah, we don't work for Freeza & the two of us didn't attack your planet."

Granolah: "I dont care... Your people killed my family."

Boom! Gimme an award!

Back to the chapter 72 colouring book...

Granolah: "Hurry and get on with it. I have no duty to wait for your sake."

Yet you've been waiting all this time for them to arrive, fight them, chat with them, & even waiting for him to transform right now. You got time. You got 3 yrs to waste. You can chat for 10 minutes or so.

Granolah tells Goku that he doesn't have time to wait, then says "It's no skin off my nose to kill you where you stand." Then he waits for Goku to transform... Just kill Goku and be done with it already. Its not like Vegeta can win if Goku can't.

Granolah: "I dont have time for talk."

Goku: "Ok lets fight!"

Granolah: "Ok but, let me tell you about what my eye can do. I'm really proud of it. Mind if I talk a bit? So I sacrificed my life to defeat Freeza, the guy you're working for."

Goku: "What? You don't like Freeza? You're not a bad guy?"

Granolah: "Shut up Saiyan! You'll pay! Fight me!"

Granolah doesn't want to talk about Freeza all of the sudden when Goku implies they both have been tricked. Granolah becomes stupid just so the fight continues. There's a better way to keep them fighting. SHUT UP, GRANOLAH! If he talked less then convoluted stuff like this wouldn't happen.

Granolah yells "Take this!" He powers up instead of doing an attack... Why yell "take this" then power up if you aren't gonna attack right away? You even knocked Goku out of SSG, so now is the perfect time to finish him.

Blah blah blah, Goku goes SSB and they fight, blah blah blah.

Hey look! In my last review I said something about the planet should shake or be in danger from the battle. Looks like Toyo made the planet shake from the battle. Good job. I like this detail. Will it matter later on? Probably not.

Also, ya notice how god ki and god transformations are limited in this chapter? It seem they got too powerful for there to be any stakes. So we see Vegeta in base & SS. Then we see Goku in base, SS, SSG, base, & SSB so that false tension can build. Its smart but the dialogue doesn't compliment this smart tactic.

Aparently Vegeta doesn't care about the fight. Detective mode activate! (🕵) Vegeta standing in that Oozaru footprint looks like he's in Jurassic Park lol. But why did Detective Vegeta have to touch the footprint? He could had just looked at everything when he was high up and had a bird's eye view. Did Detective Vegeta taste the soil & gain knowledge by tasting the past?

Detective Vegeta: "I think I know who he is."

The Heeters said his name is Granolah, dummy. Shouldn't you say "I think I know what happened here." or something like that? Gimmie your detective hat, your trench coat, your bubble pipe, & you magnifying glass! You give detectives a bad name! I'll give this to somebody more deserving, like Jaco, Videl, Krillin, or Hit.

Did ya notice that Vegeta didn't get hit once but Goku who is using UI gets hit multiple times? Vegeta tells Goku to think instead of use UI? Oh yeah, this chapter was to pander to Vegeta fans. Toyo is poorly trying to convey he is equal or above Goku somehow. Like Vegeta mastered his training but Goku hasn't despite having mastered UI as a transformation thingy.

In conclusion, I was right. Freeza still hasn't been seen yet. Show a pic of him in somebody's thought bubble at the very least. This is all happening because if his influence y'all. Still no visual of Freeza yet... Whateva.

This chapter was wack. Too much unintelligent & unreasonable & unrealistic & unnecessary dialogue, plot went nowhere, Goku is being handicapped so the fight can continue, everyone are stupid idiots, Vegeta is being built up to lose his battle or get lucky & win. No image of Freeza still... This was just a very, very boring chapter.

I expect the next chapter to be boring too. Probably won't see Freeza either.

Prediction

Goku got knocked down twice by Granolah, Vegeta decided to fight second, Granolah said he doesn't need to keep Goku alive, & Vegeta told Goku he should stop relying on UI... Sounds like UI is getting nerfed & Goku is gonna need to be saved by Vegeta so that Vegeta can show off his Hakai training in comparison to UI.

[chikkou]

Will you talk more about Lisa?? Lisa the character specifically but also your feelings on his feelings about Buddy? I just thought your analysis was so good and I want to hear other thoughts you have on her.

yall are honestly spoiling me rn sdhkfdjfks this is like a dream come true 

i already got into the stuff with buddy in this ask here but i have a LOT to say about lisa and the connection between her and buddy so u better settle in!

ok so firstly ill start with lisa. i played the original lisa game (lisa the first) not long after it first dropped in 2012, and im not even kidding when i said it changed me LMAO.... seeing a story about a girl suffering is nothing new, but austin jorgensens approach to it was so fucking unique. you dont just witness it, you get to EXPERIENCE it right along with her. many stories that involve sexual abuse/rape show or otherwise depict it explicitly for the shock value, which is both disgusting and, in my opinion, extremely fucking exploitative. i feel that it is horrific to dignify an act so deeply evil with screentime. but lisa stood out to me immediately because, even though you know exactly whats going on, the game NEVER shows anything explicit. everything is layered in subtext and symbolism, and austin is fantastic with indirect storytelling, so you learn so much from just a little drop of information. this applies not just to the game proper, but to the character as well.

in case its not clear: i absolutely ADORE lisa. she is my favorite character in all of the games, bar none. its going to sound kind of fucked up, but as a kid around her age going through some fucked up shit, her committing suicide at the end felt like a sort of victory to me. she knew she could never escape from marty or what he was doing to her. he leaks into every single part of her psyche, everything she ever cared about or loved is ruined because of him, and even the vague memory of her mother is completely corrupted, and turned into a muddled version of him. lisa the first also had the added benefit of some religious commentary, as there are crosses all over their home and marty is characterized as an extremely religious man, which i fucking LOVE and wish had come back in the painful, but its an acceptable loss. anyway, lisa committing suicide at the end was an act of defiance against not just marty, but martys god, as suicide is considered a mortal sin in catholicism. lisa knew she’d never be free of marty in life, so she escaped the only way she could; she was defiant to the end.

ive seen people complain that the painful has a bit of a “lost lenore” thing going on, since lisas death seems to fuel the Manpain of both brad and buzzo, but i actually disagree. on the contrary, its just like austin himself said - lisa will never be gone. lisa is ALWAYS there, with brad, and buzzo, and buddy, and marty, and yado, and the ENTIRE FUCKING WORLD. i dont necessarily think that there is something paranormal going on in the game, but i AM going to say that, unlike other cases of a girl/woman dying for a mans backstory, lisa isnt just a bittersweet memory they can reflect on and then put away when its convenient for them. she is a presence that is felt throughout the entire game. brad sees her more than once, sometimes watching, sometimes reprimanding him. buzzo is clearly haunted by her, as he cries out to her a few times in the joyful. every character who was directly touched by lisa - brad, marty, and buzzo - calls out to lisa as they die. call it their guilt or call it her actions, but in either case, it is clear that lisa just as significant of a character in the painful as she was in the first, even if she cant always be seen. even in a meta-sense, every game in the series - even the joyful, whose protagonist doesnt even know who she is - is named after her. she is at the center of everything that happens in them. 

that actually brings me to buddy, because i find the dynamic between her and lisa fucking fascinating. as i previously mentioned, brad never talked about his past with buddy, and snaps at her for bringing up his adoptive son dusty (rando), so it goes without saying that she definitely doesnt know who lisa is. in spite of that, though, lisa is a fucking massive part of buddys life, and while she may not know the person herself, i think she is aware that when people (and brad especially) look at her, they arent seeing HER. 

i mentioned it in another post, but even though brad takes it upon himself to raise and “protect” buddy, he seems to almost unwittingly recreate lisas appearance, primarily by allowing her hair to grow long even though he knows what a risk that is to her safety. he also treats buddy in a manner thats incredibly similar to how marty treated lisa (sans sexual abuse, of course) - he insults her, does not let her leave the house at all, and forces her to do unsavory things that no one should ever have to do (in buddys case, this means killing at least two innocent people because brad doesnt want a “weak” daughter). the most literal comparison between buddy and lisa is the fact that they are both very young girls being essentially held captive by their father figures, albeit for different reasons, and both long for freedom from their captors. 

theres also the fact that both buddy and lisa have to deal with misogyny and the effects of rape culture firsthand; they both battle against men who feel entitled to do with them whatever they please, and the threat of ongoing sexual abuse looms heavy over both of their heads. neither one can seek help from anyone; the neighbors in brad and lisas town seem complacent at best, if they even know what is happening to lisa at all, and buddys only allies (sans rando) are long dead by the start of the joyful. this is not just a hypothetical or a distant possibility. this is the real, tangible fate that will befall them if they cant somehow secure their safety.

sadly, because lisa wasnt playable in either of the rpgs, we dont know if she was able to fight as brad was, but it is highly probable that she had the innate skill but was never able to learn it (as marty highly discouraged them from learning “their grandfathers karate,” and seemed disgusted whenever brad did so). however, she did have ONE weapon she could make use of, and this is a weapon buddy ends up using, as well - her femininity. she became close to bernard (aka buzzo), made him fall in love with her, and then used him as a last ditch effort to stop martys abuse by having him mutilate her face. im not saying lisa never cared about bernard - in fact, i think she DID really love and care for him - but her own fucked up experiences with “love” meant she really couldnt understand what it was supposed to be like, or that it was wrong to manipulate the people you care about. lisa did very few things wrong - it pretty much just stops at the maiming of the cat and her manipulation of bernard - but she knew that she would never get away from marty without some kind of drastic action being taken, and scarring herself was her last ditch effort before ultimately committing suicide.

buddy ends up taking a somewhat similar tack in the joyful, and like in lisas case, its simultaneously resourceful and horrific. one of buddys key moves in the joyful is to flash the enemy (which the player obviously doesnt see) in order to distract them long enough to get the kill. its fucking horrible and disgusting and makes you feel so dirty, but then, how must buddy feel having to do something like that just to survive? shes just a child, but in a world where almost every man is out to get you, she knows this has to be done to save herself, very much like lisa. unlike in lisas case, though, buddy is successful in securing her safety in this way - lisas effort is for naught, and leads to her committing suicide not very long after. 

in a way, i sort of attribute buddys brutality to lisas omnipresence; all of the men pursuing buddy are just like marty, monsters who would harm a fucking child for their own disgusting ends, and i think that when buzzo said that lisa wouldve loved olathe, what he means is that she would have loved seeing so many horrible men being punished for what theyd done. so in my opinion, buddy carving out a place for herself in olathe by killing all those who would subjugate her seems very much in the mentality lisa would have had. sure, there are some innocents who sadly get roped into it, but that would definitely not be her intention; for example, if buzzo could have practiced amputation without harming a living thing, i dont think lisa would have asked him to practice on the cat. note the LACK of brutality at the beehive and the swamp bar, two of the few peaceful places in the painful and both devoid of predatory men hunting for buddy - lisa has no qualm with any of them. but marty? brad could hardly even get a full sentence out before killing him on the spot. i dont doubt that that has a great deal to do with lisas presence. 

ok i talked for a while LMAO but basically i think that, in a more metatextual sense, lisa and buddys relationship really strikes me as an accurate depiction of generational trauma. of course it was intentional with the more obvious trauma chain (marty to brad to buddy), but the trauma chain of marty to lisa to buddy is rarely ever addressed due to lisa not physically appearing in the painful. however, i believe it may inform buddys actions a great deal more than people realize - after all, buddys experience is unique, but who could understand it better than lisa? who knows that sort of pain, of being alone on an island, the lone woman trapped with a man (or men) who want nothing more than to cause you harm? even without her realizing it, lisa is guiding buddy, encouraging her to take back what is hers no matter the cost, to punish those who would try to take what they want from her. lisa might be dead, but she is a vengeful presence throughout every game, and buddys actions feel like theyre meant not only to save herself, but to avenge lisa, even if she doesnt realize it. at the end of the day, buddy and lisa both get to exact revenge against all the men who have wronged them, and they succeed. they are aggressive, and violent, and selfish, and ANGRY - and they have every fucking right to be. 

[currentfandomkick]

JL confronts Marinette

From bio!dad Strange au, where they made her kryptonian to keep her alive. This is post-Hawkmoth (debating using a random and revamping Gabriel altogether tbh)

“Don’t.” Marinette was tired of heroes, tired of being one. She had to handle hawkmoth’s fallout, keeping so many secret identities (hers, JL, miraculus team, her gotham family’s) and she just wanted to sleep.

Flash found her first, but Superman grabbed her and put her in the air for a ‘talk’.

“Don’t what?” She knew superman wasnt a detective. She knew he was a reporter though and she could see baiting and needling just under the surface. He’s an interrigator then, she decided.

“Don’t come in and try to fix what the miraculous team already handled. Paris was abbadonned by your league.”

She figured this was about Ladybug. Paris is always going off the the miraculous holders and ladybugs were always deemed the defacto leaders. She liked that Daesuqa (Talia) took over leading long term missions for the most part, handled meetings and politics so her and Chat and the others could be more like the teens they are in theory.

And everyone knew Marinette was Chat Noir’s favorite after she got how many akumatized people to release their akuma on their own? And that she supplied mirauclous users with kwami food (though it was common for many other civilians). It was common knowledge to all, but Hawkmoth apparently, that if Chat or his miraculous team or the entire team was needed, you went to Marinette.

Superman furrowed his brow at that though. “I didn’t know there was an active team here.”

So it wasn’t about the miraculous or years of magic terrorism her city endured?

“Been here for years. Hawkmoth’s sentencing is in a few hours.”

She hoped it was the kwami’s choice. Tikki murmured that people were surprised by what they could live through, and she is thw kwami of life. Tikki would make him wish he was dead routinely. He deserved it for regualrly slaughtering the city.

“No, that’s...” superman shook his head. “I came here to talk to you about...” he gestures to her then. She didn’t get it until she realized she was floating on her own.

When did he let her go?

“I know you’re Princess.”

Marinette’s blood stopped then. No. He can’t. They can’t.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I know Chloe changed my handle to Princess of Paris a few years ago but indont think heroes can stalk teens for that.”

Good, play into that. Distract until someone you trust can come. She hit an alert on her phone while he wasnt looking.

Pegasus should be here soon.

“I know you know it only as the Chimera project.”

Wrong. It was the surgery that kept her alive.

“And i know you’ve been poisoning yourself to stay hidden.”

Antidotes came from venom. It was fone to ise the stickers, they kept her human. The crystals were for emergencies only.

“What I don’t get is why.”

Why would she want him to kidnap, or abduct her? Take her from her family? Her life?

Don’t show that you’re who he thinks, anvocie whispered. Keep being the Paris Marinette from social media. The savage who snarled Weredad into submission.

“I really think you have the wrong girl. Its listed under my file as a volunteer flyer that i’m a flying meta, like most of the flyers.” Good, keep it up.

“And superman, if I had to guess why some girl that i look like would supress their powers, its becuase this is France and until the Miraculous team came clean about some being meta, you were imprisoned on suspicions of being meta, even infants were, are in the rest of France. Paris is the only place you arent imprisoned for it.”

Superman paled at that. “I. I wasn’t aware.”

“why would you be?”

Superman did respond to that.

“And if this Princess of yours is still hiding, she might be protecting her loved ones. Or maybe she thinks you’d steal her away from her life and home? Everyone knows about the fortress of solitude and i dont think anyone besides you would like living there, especially so far from people.”

Marinette watched him process. As long as Red Robin didnt see her, didnt confirm her identity, she was in the clear.

“Now if you’d excuse me, I’m needed to finish filling out a report on the final battle.”

That had superman’s attention.

“Final battle.”

“Yes, we just took down Hawkmoth a week ago.”

“He already has his trial, in a week.” Disbelief. Not worng either.

“It took the citizens of paris a week to finish voting. Finally tallies come in tonight if we try him as humans or if the kwami—gods of various concepts—are the ones to try him for his crimes. Afterall, he enslaved one kwami and abused another.”

Superman was not doing well, far too pale. Shock? No, they sent so many videos before the JL banned them.

Guilt. Regret, too. Probably.

“Now can you put me down somewhere? I’m not out as a meta and indont plan on being out anytime soon. Any supporting the miraculous teams do have their enemies too, and i dont want to be targetted.”

Superman nodded. Numb? Possible.

She let hersef be taken down.

Pegasus was there, Flash on his way. Another person who could make her.

She had to move fast.

“I hope I cleared things up?”

Superman nodded.

Max was ready to fight, glaring at the blue boyscout.

“Ready to go Miss DC?”

Marinette nodded, letting him guide her to the portal.

Flash didnt make it in, but he didnt see her face either. She’s take the narrow victory.

They exited in the Paris Grande Hotel. The Mayor had Batman and Red Robin with him. Crap.

“Is this...”

“Our civilian contact, Miss DC,” Pegasus stated almost too professionally. Great, now Red would know they know each other as friends. batman too.

“Batman, Red Robin, correct?”

“Yes. We, we just found your heroes videos and came to help. I see we’re too late too.”

Marientte nodded, avioding eye contact with Red. She wasnt sure if he learned to act infront of Batman yet, and wasnt risking it.

“I heard you came up with many of the emergency procedures and built the comms system with Pegasus.”

“As a flyer, yes. As Miss DC I just make sure the team stays fed and Chat doesnt forget to sleep.”

Batman shot Red Robin a look as he said, “I know the feeling.”

Marinette didnt fight the smile then. Yes, that was her Hero Stalker Tim alright.

“Would you two be interested in helping the league develop a better system to sort incoming messages?”

Pegasus moved first. “If we do, Miss DC is to be left alone. Her mother is very atrict about her not getting involved in science, and refuses to believe that her daughter has been actively helping the miraculous team.”

Batman turned his attention to Marinette then. “Is that so?”

Marinette nodded. “My birth father and her left on... terms i never got the jist of. He and his friends teach me in secret. Mama,” not maman, she forced herself to say, “she said something about it being destructive and dangerous, so she wants me to stick to the arts instead.”

Batman nodded. “Experiments can be, but that doesnt undercut the good you’ve done. I’ll tell the league you will work off-site should you accept.”

Marinette nodded along. “I can help where Pegasus gets stuck, and be contacted through him but otherwise would prefer not to be contacted by the League. I’m a civilian, and no offense, but there ahve been leaks before.”

“Understandable. The league thanks you for your help, and apoligizes for what you went through.”

Marinette could feel the hole Red Robin was burning into her. He earings. And the fox miraculous. Shit. He knew.

Marinette wanted to punch the league in their face collectively.

“All May i go now, i have a meeting to get to.”

“Of course.”

Pegasus opened the portal and escorted her out.

They both waited five minites, Max feeding Kaalki, for the call.

“So why didnt you tell me?” Tim was pissed.

“Media blackout. Any time i tried to call it was blocked.”

Tim swore. “Alfred!”

“You are so lucky Pegasus doesnt know anything about gotham.”

“He’s there?”

“I work with him alot.”

“So when you visited Gotham...”

“French government would know. Not hard to connect the dots of girl leaves to see gotham fmaily and suddenly the league shows up after banning all of Paris from contact.”

“I. When did it happen?”

“Before Chrismas. I would have had Nonna tell you but she didnt know either until after the fact and they said if she told anyone itd be me going to jail for her.”

“That’s. What hellscape do you live in?”

“I died so many times i don’t even know now.” She stopped keeping track after she got into the eighties. That wasn’t even a full year into being Ladybug.

“That’s not comforting.”

“Please tell me that you’re not outing me to Bats. I just got two leaguers off my tail.”

“I won’t tell him, but if the new Robin does i’m not stopping him.”

She almost forgot Talia’s son was a Robin. She didnt see him in uniform yet—as Damian (not wayne but damian who was mourning lost family, damian who didnt know how to talk to people his age). She knows he’s a bit thick with social cues, and his detective skills need work in her opinion but he’s skeptical and has good insticts. He might make her as Marinette if he’s there.

“Is he...”

“He’s with the Titans now, but theyre debating coming here to yell at the league.”

“Videoing it?”

“Obviously. Want a copy?”

“Ill make popcorn before watching.”

“Rkc are doing well by the way—stopped a human trafficking ring and i think they took the victims.”

“Harley’s working with them,” marientte got he update earlier. “Hood and zsasz took out the lower and mid tier that woudlnt snitch. The case should be smooth sailing—the sirens put out a blanket hit on anyone trying to touch the witnesses.”

“So managing two teams this whole time,” red murmured, almost... bitter, or disapointed in something—no someone. Himself?

“Just tweaking things. Daesuqa handles most the team since she found me and Chat. Apparently she was compatible enough to do a lot of the non-fighting work. I still did battle strategy and all but,” Marinette shrugged.

“She focused in survival aspects here, and long term stability for Gotham. Daesuqa has handled most of non-kwami work here outside of kwami and candidates,” Max added. “On top of her work as a student and designer and inventor.”

Red Robin groaned. “When do you sleep?”

Marinette hummed. “I have meds to make me. And angry family to make me take them.”

“Her... what are we calling him now?” Mac was asking about Felix, adiren’s gremlin cousin who’s mom isntryign to adopt her. Also a fellow reverse theif and possessive friend.

“Uh, gremlin.”

“Her gremlin calls to let is know if she does get rest on the weekends and we trade off on weekdays.”

Red robin hummed into the phone. “So staying to the shadows?”

Trixx and Tikki looked up at Marinette at that. tikki wanted her to be the Ladybug, the be seen and everywhere and she...

Trixx knew why Marinette liked the shadows and background. Trix understood that bit.

“Yeah, i’ll still play in between and have some kwami things for life now.” She and Chat were working out gaurdian duties still.

She wasnt interested in the JL.

@emeraldpuffguide @ilovefluffbutsmutisalsogreat @mystery-5-5 @weird-pale-blonde-person @dast218

[lizartgurl]

Lizzzzzz I'm having court and Virgil feels can you pleaseeeeeeeee write a fic for them? Anything you think fits, maybe first meeting? THANK YOU ILU 💕💕

I apologize to both you and Clark if I mischaracterize Courtney, I’ve really only ever seen her in the ten seconds she was on YJ, so that’s where I set this fic.

“If you guys wanna wait right here, the makeup crew will be here in a second,” Gar grinned at them, “I gotta take this call.”

“A call that wouldn’t happen to be from a certain royalty, would it?” Bart asked, lounging across his chair and kicking his legs up in the air so that he kicked the script out of Traci’s hands and into Jaime’s face.

Virgil shook his head staring hopelessly at the sets of makeup set in front of them on a vanity prepped for ten. Yes, there were several different makeup kits for several different people, but one set alone had to be twice as big as what his sister used. Cassie was already swatching out blushes and eyeshadows like she’d seen the MUAs on youtube do (though Cassie was self-proclaimed to hate makeup, she and Virgil both found makeup tutorials strangely addicting), but Virgil decided it best to not touch the makeup at all, leave it to the experts and all that.

“Hello! You must be Mister Logan’s friends!” said a bright woman with a clipboard and headset.

Jaime took charge, the responsible oldest child on the team (seriously, they were lost without M’gann). “Yeah, I’m Jaime, and we’ve got Bart, Traci, Cassie, and Virgil.”

“I see you’ve all got your scripts, so before we can get you into costume for rehearsals, we have to do makeup!”

“Doesn’t makeup go on after you change?” Virgil asked as a fleet of assistants burst in the door behind Clipboard Lady, draping them all with black tarps and turning them to face the mirror.

“Oh no! With the full-body makeup we do here, we don’t want it to get on your costumes,” Clipboard Lady frittered. By the time Virgil looked up again, Clipboard Lady was gone, but it seemed that the Makeup Assistants had things well in hand. Cassie’s character was being dyed blue, apparently she was going to play one of Lieutenant Turk’s many cousins. Bart was getting a mohawk and bright yellow eyelids, and Traci was getting purple hair extensions for a futuristic look.

“Of course, the Asian character always has to have hair dye,” She sighed. Virgil chuckled.

His and Jaime’s characters were both humans, so they didn’t need too long in the chair. Neither did Garfield, really, after he finished his conversation of sweet nothings with Queen Perdita. The Assistants had them sit on a couch in the greenroom, with strict instructions to keep their hands off their faces, and hurried back to help paint up Cassie.

“Race for Lightspeed!” Virgil jumped up at the sound of a familiar voice. There was Courtney Whitmore, Stargirl herself, standing in the doorway.

“Hey, Court!” Gar stood up and shook her hand.

“Good to see you again, Gar. Are these your guest-star friends?” She asked.

“A couple of them. Jaime, Virgil,” Gar grinned, “Meet Stargirl.”

“Sup,” Jaime waved.

“H- hi,” Virgil said as Courtney shook his hand.

“I was hoping to get another interview for Stargirl. Would either of you be interested?” Courtney’s smile was bright and coy, and it could just be his mind playing tricks on him, but Virgil was certain that she was looking at him when she asked. Courtney Whitmore was looking at him.

“Well, Virgil certainly looks interested.” Jaime muttered over his Entertainment Magazine, Gar and Space Trek 3016 splayed across the front.

“Huh?” Virgil jumped up, and Courtney grabbed his hand.

“Great! Follow me!” She dragged him out of the green room and onto the half-built set, where cameras and crew were still wandering around. They sat in the two chairs that Virgil had seen on all of her celebrity interviews, but he wasn’t a celebrity, what was he doing, thinking he could be on the Stargirl Vlog?

“Okay, Virgil, right?” His name called him back to reality.

“This isn’t live, so we can edit it all later, but I’m going to ask you a few questions about you and about the show, so don’t be afraid to be silly about it. Just let me know if you’re uncomfortable with a question, or aren’t sure how to answer. Okay?”

“O-Okay,” Virgil sat up straight, brushing off his clothes in an effort to look more presentable. He went to wipe his forehead from the sweat of the spotlight, and quickly sat on his hands in an effort to not ruin his makeup.

“Okay!” Courtney signaled her cameraman, and held up her list of questions with a flourish.

“Okay, so what we’ve been told from the producers, and from Garfield Logan himself, you, Jaime, and your other friends go way back with Gar.”

“Well, yeah. Jaime and Cassie probably know him longest, we were all on a team together.”

“What kind of team?” Courtney leaned forward intently. Virgil cursed his loose lips.

“Ah- Soccer.” That would work. Cassie was a good blocker, Bart ran really fast, and Traci was good with distractions. That covered it, right?

“Co-ed little league, right after he lost his mom. His big sister and her friends coached it.”

“Interesting. So you were there for him after Marie Logan died?”

“Well, not really. Traci and I joined a little later, but it was fun. Nothing too big, but we won, a lot.”

“That’s awesome! I have to ask, what did you guys think of him? The green skin and all.”

“Believe me, it wasn’t the weirdest thing we saw,” Virgil chuckled, “But his meta-powers- “ and everyone else’s “-really brought us together. He was like our legit mascot. And when you learn how to work as a team the way we did…that’s a kind of bond that doesn’t break.”

“That’s so sweet!” Courtney gushed. She was so sincere, it was so cute. “Speaking of Gar’s meta-powers, there isn’t any chance any of you having any meta-powers of your own, is there?”

Virgil froze for a moment, then shrugged. “Well, Traci’s ridiculously unlucky, if you’d call that a superpower.”

Courtney laughed, and he laughed with her. It just felt so easy, so natural.

“Bart was our fastest runner, but he’s super late for everything, which I’ll never understand. Jaime talks to himself, and Cassie works out all the time, because she looks up to Wonder Woman.”

“And Verge, here is always super-staticy-” Gar snuck up behind him, tapping him on the shoulder.

“Okay, I’ll admit it.”Courtney laughed again. “Well, thank you for putting up with my questions, Virgil. It’s been great to hear from you. I look forward to seeing the episode you guys put out.” She held out his hand, and Virgil shook it, the energy he put into looking good during the interview had left him in a daze.

“Here’s my number. Will you call me and tell me what you thought of the Vlog when it airs?”

Courtney handed Virgil a piece of paper, and all he did was nod like a dumbarse and smile like Dopey. As she followed her cameraman out of the stage, Courtney smiled at him, almost hidden behind her hair as she glanced back over her shoulder.

“Dude,” Gar elbowed Virgil, “She gave you her number.”

“Yeah,” Virgil agreed, still watching in the way Courtney had left, “Yeah she did.”

[robototron217]

Just finished captain marvel

SPOILERS AHEAD

DONT READ IF U WANNA WATCH

movie good

Marvel is such A COWARD (the company not carol)

One major complaint: she should have been LESBIAN YOU FOOLS!!!! How the FUCK do you put SO MUCH subtext in this movie about her and her poc "best friend" and not just call them lesbians?? They lived together in a house, with a kid they were raising, and throughout the movie they share many long and gay higs and i just...im baffled really. Im so confused that in 2019 theys still felt the need to throw in the "best friend" crap. Let them be gay. obviously its what theyre supposed to be.

Also, there was a cute meta joke where one of the bad guys tries to shoot her with a gun they find but its just a nerf gun with one side covered in soot. I feel like its a reference to the fact a lot of action movie Big Guns :tm: are actually just nerf guns painted black. I might be reading too far into that tho.

ALSO

I have never ever, even once, liked a mohawk on anybody ever but 👀 Carol Danvers can do whatever the fuck she wants cause apparently im just stupid and dont know what looks good.

Also also

There was a skrull alien about halfway through the movie at the end of act 2 or so whose ears were just...human? Ears? Like he was just shot and its supposed to be a heroic thing or whatever but i was so distracted by his ears just being white little human ears sticking straight out of his dark green skin. Didnt ruin the movie im just nitpicking.

There were some pacing issues in the first half where a lot of stuff happens really fast but then a 10 minute long fight scene that goes nowhere happens and then a lot more stuff happens really fast. I feel like they could have done less action-y stuff that feels like its there to just take up screen time and develop the connections between characters more. A lot of the emotional scenes and things that were supposed to be dramatic and impactful feel really unearned. Theres a scene about 40 minutes into it where two characters are having a really emotional talk. One character has been an emotional robot for 40 minutes and the other has been on screen for a total of 2 minutes and were supposed to care about them and this great moment of epic feels but i didnt feel like i knew them at all yet.

the actors who played the main cast performed spectacularly for the most part. sam jackson, brie larson, jude law, and ben mendels were all great. One actor though was all over the place though, lashana lynch. Some scenes she did really well but others she didnt really have anything to do. Some of her scenes were weirdly inconsistent. In the emotional scene i mentioned earlier she started crying and it lasted all of 5 seconds before the shot-reverse-shot cut away from her to brie and then back to lashana whos tears completely disappeared between cuts. Obviously thats not her fault but it really messed with the character she was playing.

Theres so much woman power stuff in this movie guys like wow its so good. If you have a daughter she needs to see this movie. I cant list them all but one of the main themes in the movie is carol "controlling" her emotions. All they actually want her to do is not feel at all and be submissive as hell and not do anything to show emotion at all. At the end, when she learns to embrace who she is and not to hide her emotions, she basically becomes 100x more powerful. And thats just one pro woman theme/subplot/tone in this movie. I can think of 12 off the top of my head but im probably missing another 30 i didnt pick up on and this isnt meant to be a list of those so ill just say please go see the movie. If you have a daughter who needs a role model and favorite movie, if you're in need of a confidence boost, if your a man who needs to be shown the stuff in this movie, its worth the price of admission.

Overall i really enjoyed this movie. Really really enjoyed it. Its not perfect, but perfection is boring and stupid and this is smart, colorful, progressive, and its a good time.

Idk why i wrote this.

8/10, go see it.

[macden]

[1/9] THIS IS SUPER LONG IM SO SORRY okay so like. hello haha i just read your post about how Something needs to happen and im here to rant if i may lol so like, im pretty new to the fandom so i wasnt here for when ddl came out but ive read enough posts and things to get where yall were at. i would see some of the sunny blogs while i was watching (so like i was already spoiled about brian jr lol but i got spoiled when i was watching like s4 so its whatever at this point) and i saw how everyone

[2/9] listed their reasons why dennis is not straight and stuff and i remember people mentioning dennis knowing about the rainbow. now, at first i was like. knowing about the existence of the rainbow doesnt sound like definite proof that he’s not straight lol like afterall, he owns a bar, so it’s not outside of the realm of possibility that he knows about other bars in philly lmao but then. BUT THEN i saw the episode lmao and like.

[3/9] similar to the “but he already knew you were gay, so it must be something else” in tends bar, we get a moment where mac assumes charlie knows what the rainbow is. but charlie doesn’t know what the rainbow is, which he makes pretty clear. it’s not a big deal at the time, but when dennis brings it up it raised a big red flag in my head lmao like. okay. you’re showing me there’s significance in mac knowing what the rainbow is but charlie doesn’t, then why does dennis know?

[4/9] like WHY does he know. i get yall now lol. there’s so many little things that are meant to distract the audience while also giving us information, which is one of the reasons i love this damn show kjnfks BUT ANYWAY (im sorry im ranting so much) im of the idea that dennis HAD to leave so that Something happens (just like you said!). ddl just proved it to me when i finally watched it lmao so. hear me out.

[5/9] we all know mac is delusional, no matter how much rejection he gets from his own parents he still believes they love him in their own way, so in his mind, it would make perfect sense for him and dennis to be a thing without having to acknowledge it per se. he gets him the rpg without any mention of it being non romantic (!!!), he makes their apartment the exact same and gets only bed (basically what u said lmao). so like. mac would be There.

[6/9] like he’s already there in the mindset of them being together for the rest of their lives. but this would just tank them. like dennis is going through a different process now with his meds and potential therapy. the fact he decided to try and be a good person by leaving for his son is a huge step for him. which also comes with him having to deal with his own reality, but thats another rant.

[7/9] for a storytelling standpoint, him leaving makes sense since he’s setting up something new for sunny: actual development. of course since it’s sunny it will most definitely blow up in his face and he won’t be able to be “a good man” by being “a good dad” because it’s just not in him. yet (maybe?). still, mac would never EVER date someone else if dennis was still in the picture. im like. 100% sure of this, which is what ddl showed me. sure, he’s ready to go at frank but it’s for money.

[8/9] mac wouldnt really *date* anyone else if dennis was still present in the gang. i dont think he would even feel the need to, which is why dennis had to leave. as a writer it makes sense so that they can explore out mac dating someone (!!) other than dennis. and also to possibly (maybe???) show dennis and how he’s re: mac as well. like, for us it’s easy to see that there’s something there, but your casual viewer won’t really see it unless it’s RIGHT THERE, which this situation also opens up. 

[9/9] listen. i can rant more LMAO but im scared at how long this became HAHA im so sorry. i got mega carried away lmao and i dont want to clog your inbox too much with my dumb thoughts rip my overall idea is just like yours: there IS something there, and Something will happen. i just stopped myself from going on another tangent about how rcg love to go off the typical tv tropes so like queerbaiting wouldnt really sound for them… plus the whole them being them thing… i should just leave…

first of all don’t apologize because you are SO fucking right this is excellent meta second of all fuck you i’m emo rcg have rlly written the best gay slow burn of all time….. they did That 

[forlawfirmsonlymarketing]

Simple Ways to Delight Your First-Time Visitors: 6 Dos & 4 Don’ts via @adamproehl

Want to delight your first-time visitors?

Above all, get to the point right away. So with that in mind, this post has two parts:

Things you should ALWAYS do.

Things you should NEVER do.

6 Things You Should Always Do

1. Make the Landing Page Purpose Crystal Clear Obvious (& Relevant) to the Visitor

If you take only one thing from this post, it would be to ask this two-part question when you’re developing the creative and messaging for your landing page:

How did the visitor get here?

Why did they click on whatever link led them to the page?

There can be multiple answers to each question. For example, as far as “how” is concerned, the same landing page may be used for a paid search, email, and an ad on Facebook. In terms of  “why”, it might be to check the price, learn more, check availability, see evidence that the product/solution meets the specific visitor’s need, etc. Remember that some part of the creative/copy in the referral source (ad, email, link, meta description, etc.) made a promise. The anticipation of seeing that promise fulfilled led to a click. That click led the visitor to the landing page in order to see that promise met. Did you meet it? To get this part right:

Review the referral source (again, the ad, the email, the link, the meta description, etc.) and note the promises made.

Now review the landing page and make sure that it delivers on all of those promises made prior to the click. If not, the referral source is promising too much or the landing page is under-delivering. Either way, this is where you fix it.

Important note: Succeeding in making the landing page crystal clear to the visitor may sometimes result in a quick exit. Most likely, you’re not a fit for that visitor so at the very least you didn’t waste their time which they’ll (at least subconsciously) appreciate.

2. Load Quickly 

This one should be obvious. Slow loading pages will destroy the experience for the visitor and you will likely not recover. There are plenty of other options available and the visitor knows it. Load quickly and the visitor will be delighted at the near-instant access.

3. Display Properly

File this one also under the category of “obvious”. Visitors will be happy when you reduce friction – and delighted when you take it away. A page the doesn’t display properly on whatever device the visitor happens to be using means a high level of friction that will likely kill any chance of a conversion. Don’t worry if it doesn’t show properly on an iPhone 4 (released in 2010 so it’s well past time for that user to upgrade), but as a general practice, I always test backward compatibility for whatever operating systems were widely used during the past three years.

4. Provide Reassurance to the First-Time Visitor

Remember that time you clicked on a link, went to a page, and just had a gut feeling you’re in the wrong place? Either you didn’t immediately see what you thought you were there for or the site looked sketchy. Chances are you were less than delighted and didn’t stick around long. On the flip side, there was probably another time you clicked on a link to a page you’ve never been to before and you immediately knew you were in the right place. This page:

Had exactly what you were looking for.

Did NOT look to be the least bit sketchy.

To reassure that first-time visitor, here are a few things that will always help:

Crystal clear relevance to the visitor intent (see point #1).

Speak directly to whatever the visitor hopes to achieve by looking at your product.

Key trust elements present on the page (testimonials, reviews, security, privacy links, history, etc.).

Minimal interference pop-ups.

Here’s an example of key trust elements on a page. This provides reassurance to the visitor that the product is legit and worth a look.

5. Communicate to the Visitor’s Emotional Need Before the Rational Part of Their Brain

Countless marketing experts advocate the importance of speaking to the emotional part of the brain over the rational, logical part. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be speaking to both (because you should), but the key elements that stand out on your page (headline, image, first 10 seconds of video), need to trigger an emotion, Then the visitor will be open to the rational sales pitch. For example, below is a B2B Software as a Service (SaaS) that lets auto repair shops offer easy and accurate online scheduling for service.

Software for auto shop scheduling

Note the two headlines. They’re nothing fancy or particularly clever here, but they state the obvious and trigger a positive emotion (most likely “interest” or “hope”) by solving two issues every small, independent auto repair shop face:

Informing customers when there is shop availability without tying up a resource on the phone and making a customer hold.

Letting customers schedule service easily and painlessly.

Once the emotion is triggered, then the page visitor is open to finding out more. In other words, the rational part of the brain is now ready to take a closer look.

Software for auto shop scheduling

6. Provide Clear & Relevant Navigation Links

There’s no need to clutter a landing page with every possible piece of relevant information that a visitor would possibly need. In fact – don’t do that – you’ll end up with a cluttered page that tries to be everything to every possible segment. Instead, just make it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for. Examples of relevant navigation can include:

Image gallery

Specifications

Related products and accessories

Reviews

Q&A

Links to educational content

Help links

Clarity on who the product or service is meant for

Simple, helpful, obvious navigation links tell the visitor exactly who the product is meant for

4 Things You Should Never Do

Use the list above as a checklist, but you will definitely not delight your visitors if any of the following conditions exist on your page:

1. Ads Aren’t Just Present… They Take Control of Your Experience

We’ve all been to this kind of a site. It’s maddening. You start reading or viewing a piece of content and all of a sudden the most intrusive, annoying popup takes over the page and forces you to either view it, click out of it, or click on it (deceptively), or lose your place on the page. This is not an “anti-advertising” point at all (Actually, I make my living running ad programs!). Advertising certainly has its place on the web – something has to pay the cost of producing the content we all love to consume. In some cases, that means ads. This is, however, an “anti-over-intrusive, annoying, irritative, deceptive advertising” point. Once you get to the landing page, the content is nearly taken over by ads and internal links:

Does anyone actually not click on the “Skip” link?

Once you get to the landing page, the content is nearly taken over by ads and internal links:

This may get email signups or link clicks, but it does not delight the visitor.

2. Do Not Immediately Put an Obstacle or Distraction That Offers No Value to the Visitor

Many sites provide a pop-up distraction to the visitor. That’s not uncommon and it’s perfectly fine as long as it provides real value (and in some cases, may even delight them). Examples of this include:

Discount or free ad on in exchange for email signup.

Information about an upcoming event.

Helpful chat window.

Things that add zero value include: Getting the Timing Wrong This makes popups that may otherwise provide value but don’t simply because they launch at the wrong time. They’ll either come across as too aggressive or irrelevant thanks to timing. Examples of this could include satisfaction surveys (before the visitor even has time to view the page), an offer for a free download or trial (again, before the visitor even has had a chance to look at the page). A Video on Auto-Play with the Sound On Gets attention for sure, but usually not in a good way.

3. Do Not Require Some Type of Plugin Just to View the Content

I honestly can’t believe I still have to give this advice, but there are still sites that have not been updated for devices that have been around since 2007. If your site hasn’t been updated since before the last recession (2008), it’s way past time. Flash is dead.

4. Drive Potential Customers to a Page with a Discontinued Product

This one should be obvious, but it happens all the time – usually by accident.

Note that a discontinued product still shows up in a query.

The link in the search result leads to:

Product page for a discontinued product still active.

This can easily happen on large catalog sites unless you stay ahead of it. To their credit, they do provide category links on the page, but it would be better if the visitor could’ve just been driven to a page in the first place with a currently available product. The query was fairly generic and there are plenty of 9 HP snowblowers manufactured and in inventory.

Bottom Line

Before even building a landing page, ask yourself (or your team) the following simple questions:

Why is the visitor landing on your page?

What would they be looking for believing it can be found on your page?

What must we provide that will make them believe they’re exactly where they want to be once they land on our page?

More Resources:

Image Credits All screenshots taken by author, October 2019

https://www.businesscreatorplus.com/simple-ways-to-delight-your-first-time-visitors-6-dos-4-donts-via-adamproehl/

[alfonsomurph013-blog]

nudes ftv - The Nuiances Of Monica Ftv

If you've read my stories before they are normally celebrating the poly and hotwife lifestyles of my wife, trusted fwbs and I. I figure that if we are clogging up the feed with pointless metas I'd contribute too. I'(M) married, she has a LT boyfriend and we ftv models pics babes photos both have fwbs. What's the topping of this pizza? SECRET KIND OF EASTER EGG FOR THOSE WHO OPEN THIS POST&. Last night started with me getting in late from work to find the kids had already gone to bed which always upsets me. My beautiful wife Haley (35) was showered and in her silken nightie and gown which always falls beautifully around her pale breasts, the deep blue of the silk playing beautifully off her long red hair. Patience gentle reader all will be revealed but first sex. It's early so I thought we might Netflix and Chill. She doesn't use Netflix and Chill as a phrase and the tired look made me wonder if it was a slip of the tongue. She was curled up in the L of our sofa with a tired smile on her face while flicking through Netflix. IT'S A GONEWILD STORY! Haley: The girls passed out on the sofa so I took them up. She replied with the same tired smile and stretched out her arm in a way that said "cuddle" so I cooled off the engines and went to bundle up with her. She curled into the crook of my arm and I started to chill and weigh up the film options when the shower turned on. I rarely miss saying goodnight to them but when I do its heart wrenching. The shower is always on in my house. Haley: Oh yeah I told someone they could take a shower here. I tested the waters by giving her my best horny smile. They'll wake the kids! The only two people who can reach it are cuddled on the sofa. Haley: Go see for yourself. It's fiendishly powerful and will go from glacier water to kettle heat if you choose so it's used to wash us, the kids, the dogs, paint covered clothing etc etc. The kids are at granny's. I gave a confused smile and headed up the stairs. Her proud tone of voice suggested that I'd particularly like who I was about to see. The naughty smile I always long to see in her returned. I was looking forward to drinking in the sight of her pert dark-nippled breasts and her neatly shaved swollen mound. I ordered Marcos for a treat. I decided I would play it cool and just chat ftv blonde hot girl while taking in the sight of her body and let the girls lead in what was clearly their plan. I was pleasantly surprised by who I did see. Beautiful and Valkyrie like in stature she has broad shoulders, full round breasts, a honed flat stomach and an apollos belt, hips, ass and legs that any female pro wrestler would love to have. I concluded that it must be Laura an ex-co-worker and fuck buddy with a curvy petite body and long dark hair that falls in ringlets around her shoulders. Shes been fascinated by our lifestyle which she says "she could never do" and has bombarded Haley with questions ever since either out of sheer curiosity or using Haley as her very own sex guru. If you have read my stories about Sarah she's this shy, blushing, stuttering girl who has been blushingly receiving kiss and tell details from Haley for some time (see my previous stories). It only hit me after a minute that the girls can't reach it and the dogs have no opposable thumbs. I stopped myself, smiled and resumed my original intention of starting up a conversation. Haley told me to come here. The hot massage head does this thing to your back where if you don't move around it pounds your back until it's numb! I love the homemade soap as well. (she scooped some of our homemade patchouli gel soap out of the pot and started to liberally soap up her gigantic tits) It smells amazing (she said breathlessly while blushing and unable to look me in the eye). I turned and looked at Haley and the tired smile was gone replaced by shining eyes full of energy and mischief. Standing I shower a good head and shoulders taller than the woman I expected was Haleys friend Sarah. Me: It's an amazing shower isn't it? Me: I haven't tried that yet. " I stripped in full view of Sarah before getting into night clothes. I was about to apologise and leave when it hit me. I got dressed and went downstairs with Haley. Knowing I was fully hard at this point I made a show of pulling down my boxers and allowing my cock to spring up fully erect and then looking Sarah straight in the eye. She exhaled sharply as I backed away and Haley appeared at my shoulder and said "let's leave Sarah to her shower". Sarah was sharing some fantasies with her and they got teasing each other with what-ifs. I pointed at my dressing gown and PJ bottoms on the heated towel rail and said "Sure but I need to get dressed first. She knew that she wanted to be discovered in the shower - check. She is also 99% sure that she wants to sleep in the same bed as us "and if Haley and I get up to anything in the middle of the night she would find it a huge turn on". Her natural blonde hair darkened as it clung wet to her body and her crotch was perfectly shaved to hairless leaving her labia poking out in a way that too many women are conscious of but it's an awesome sight. When downstairs Haley told me what she could. I could definately do that. Okay that would make sense. Haley said there were other things discussed with the usual dos and donts but she doesn't want to get my hopes up or bore me with the minutae. (I get within inches of her neck and breasts at which point I think she stopped breathing and took in a deep breath) Mmm you are right. She was still blushing and flustered (I found out later on that she used the shower head on herself). She positioned herself on the other side of Haley and they went through the film choices. After hearing about our good times her fantasy is to be at ground zero but not necessarily involved. A few hours later they had set up this surprise but Sarah was unsure of how far she wanted it to go. At one point Sarah undid two buttons of her shirt which made her breasts look about to fall out. I'll fast forward as we genuinely watched 2. We normally take the opportunity to sleep nude when the kids are away so I looked to Haley for what to do. The pizza arrived but we barely touched it. Every so often Haley would stroke me through my PJs and Sarah would look at the outline of my stiff cock. We cuddled up and after a mock goodnight in the style of the Waltons the lights were off. Haley jumped on the opportunity and complemented her breasts while "innocently" sliding her hand inside my clothes and gripping my cock in a slow wank. We enjoyed the warmth of being cuddled together (Haley REALLY enjoying being in the middle with ftv meet the those breasts pressed against her) for a few minutes but then things started to happen. Haley and I started running our hands all over each other while kissing and once I had started playing with her moans and gasps were heard. If you have any type of inquiries regarding where and the best ways to use hot girls f, you could call us at our ftc girls own web-page. Sarah meanwhile was playing possum on the other side of the bed with her heart pounding in her chest. "Stop" I said in a mock low voice "as much as I want to pump this load down your throat it's better that I save it up for later yes? Sarah came down in a traditional set of PJ''s trouser and shirt-like top but the buttons were straining against her large tits so that the middle ones gaped allowing a peep hole to her body underneath (this set was an old tight set she deliberately put on for this effect). A subtle shake of the head told me to stay clothed and so we went to bed with me on one side of Haley and Sarah on the other. With Sarah watching her hand moving under the fabric and me looking at Sarahs amazing tits heaving with every deep excited breath it was no surprise that we decided we were "tired" and went to bed. " I pulled Haleys clothes off ignoring a gasp from Sarah and pausing only briefly to kiss Haleys pert tits then I grabbed her ass and dove face first into her crotch. Her thighs and ass were soaked in her juices when she moaned "fuck me oh fuck me now" and a moan came from her right. "Yes" Haley gasped and I replied "where's that amazing cunt? After a while Haley roleplayed "I think Sarahs asleep get your clothes off" and I obeyed. She took me in her mouth and gave me the loudest, sloppiness blow job (she's normally a master at keeping it quiet) she stopped and said "fuck my mouth" and I noisily thrust between her slurping lips until I felt the first twitches. Sarah came hard and I was surprised. I lifted Haleys legs high and placed her ankles on my shoulders so I could get nice and deep then entered her with a moan. I growled "where do you want this cum" and Haley wailed "shoot it onto my cunt! We didn't need any build up and within seconds the bed was shifting like an earthquake and the air was filled with the sounds of my balls slapping her ass and my hips hitting her wet buttocks. She opened her legs wide and parted her pussy with her fingertips. With a bellow I shot all over her cunt, belly and chest. I kneeled up on the bed and hoped my cock was visible in the moonlight as I pumped my cock furiously while growling, moaning and saying Haleys name. I licked, sucked, slurped (I don't usually) and fingered her noisily until she wailed and bit her lip. Haley was blown away and laughed "you missed with some" and for show she wiped some off her chest and sucked it off her fingers. She then said "shall we get dressed" to which I replied "don't bother". It turns out my split focus distracted me from coming and Haley kept going but now she had arrived I felt the pressure telling me I was about to explode. As I savagely pounded my wife into wails of ecstasy I noticed the area near Sarahs crotch writhing as she played with herself with her eyes barely visible in our direction like cats eyes in the moonlight. I didn't talk but made all the right noises suggesting that I was loving what she was doing. I clenched my pelvic floor with each shot to make some shots go further in the hope Sarah would see it fly through the air. She explored it a little but then squeezed it and started stroking it. Haleys face was grinning in the moonlight at me so I started kissing her. I allowed myself to get caught up in the situation just in case Sarah got a case of nerves and before too long I trembled "I'm coming". Sarahs hand wrapped around the head of my cock to receive the cum and I let go a fair amount considering my previous display. The next act blew our minds as she withdrew her cum soaked hand and started vigorously jilling her brains out with it. I need to feel it hit my clit". I brought up coffee for all three of us before we had to get dressed for work. We thought that that was it all over but about 40 minutes later we heard a panting come from Sarah and she fidgeted and then with a suddenness which said [just do it or you never will] Sarahs hand reached across Haley and found my cock. Haley reacted almost immediately by slipping her own hand between her legs but I batted it out of the way and finger fucked her to orgasm while teasing her pink sensitive nipples with my mouth. We carried on kissing and giggling in the bed as a way to ignore the noises of Sarahs fingers pumping into her pussy but stopped short to listen to her breath trembling as she came. So at the time of writing this I'm eating the poor abandoned meat feast, deep pan pizza that was shunned the night before for breakfast while the girls jump into Haleys car with crazy grins on their faces. This morning Sarah was bashful and despite smiling couldn't look us in the eye. We were all naked and made no attempt to cover up. Haley and I looked at each other and pounced on Sarah sucking on her boobs and then tickling her. We made sure Sarah was okay and she bashful said that she was but she was surprised that we didn't play with her boobs or something. I had a certain amount of pride when each of us hit the shower and the smell of sex came rolling out of the bathroom.

[viralhottopics]

Happiness Hack: This One Ritual Made Me Much Happier

When my wife and I moved to New York City in 2001, recently graduated from college and newlywed, we were eager to find friends. We knew nearly no one but were sure wed soon find a fun-loving group like the 20- and 30-something New Yorkers who spontaneously dropped in on one another on

We hatched a plan. After moving into our Midtown Manhattan apartment, we invited all the neighbors over for drinks by placing Kinkos-printed quarter-sheets into everyones mailboxes. Then, we waited for our versions of Chandler, Kramer, and Elaine to show up. But they didnt. In fact, no one did. As the ice in the cooler melted and the guacamole browned, not a single person among 100 apartments stopped by. Not. One. Person.

Recalling that episode now, we sound embarrassingly nave. We didnt realize friendships in the real world worked nothing like the ones we had forged in our dormitories, let alone those we saw on television. Yet as it turns out, our desire to belong to a tight community was far from foolish.

Recent studies have shown a dearth of social interaction with people you care about and who care about you not only leads to loneliness, but is also linked to a range of harmful physical effects. In other words: A lack of close friendships may be hazardous to your health.

Dying for Friends

A 2010 meta-analysis reviewed 148 studies involving over 300,000 participants and concluded that having weak social ties was as harmful to health as being an alcoholic and twice as harmful as obesity. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, co-author of the analysis, told Reuters, A lack of social relationships was equivalent to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.

A more recent study, published in the , found a biological response to loneliness that triggers disease. According to the researchers, social isolation sets off a cellular chain reaction that increases inflammation and suppresses the bodys immune response.

Perhaps the most compelling evidence that friendships affect longevity comes from the ongoing Harvard Study of Adult Development. Since 1938, researchers have been following 724 men, tracking their physical health as well as social habits. Robert Waldinger, the studys current director, said in his recent TED Talk, The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period. Socially disconnected people are, according to Waldinger, less happy, their health declines earlier in midlife, their brain functioning declines sooner, and they live shorter lives than people who are not lonely.

Lest we think having 500 Facebook friends might offer some protection, Waldinger warns, Its not just the number of friends you have its the quality of your close relationships that matters.

So what makes for a quality friendship? William Rawlins, a professor of interpersonal communications at Ohio University who studies the way people interact over the course of their lives, told The Atlantic that satisfying friendships need three things: Somebody to talk to, someone to depend on, and someone to enjoy.

Finding someone to talk to, depend on, and enjoy comes naturally when were young. In college, for example, we build strong bonds when nearly everyone around us is also searching for connection. But as we grow into adulthood, the model for how to maintain our friendships isnt clear. We graduate and go our separate ways, pursuing careers and starting lives miles apart from our best friends.

Suddenly work obligations and ambitions trump buddies and brewskis. It becomes impossible to be spontaneous without planning for weeks, if not months, in advance. Once children enter the picture, exhilarating nights on the town become exhausted nights on the couch.

Friendships Starve to Death

Unfortunately, the less time we invest in people, the easier it is to make do without them until one day it becomes too awkward to reconnect. Since we havent spoken for so long, we think, where would we even begin? If we were still close friends wouldnt we have spoken more by now?

This is how friendships die they starve to death. But as the research reveals, by allowing those friendships to starve, were also mal nourishing our bodies.

Case in point: Several months ago, I found myself in a funk. I now live in San Francisco and whenever someone asked, How are you? my reply was the standard Silicon Valley yuppie salute: Good! Super busy! Yet this wasnt exactly true. I wasnt good.

To put things in perspective, I wasnt bad, either. Things were fine. By all measures, more than fine I had a healthy family, a growing business, and interesting clients to work with. Id recently published a book that became a Wall Street Journal bestseller, and if my social media stats were to be believed, I had plenty of friends and followers.

And yet, the funk. I soon identified the problem: The more professional opportunities came my way, the more time I spent away from my real-life friends the people I truly cared about. Maintaining friendships with people to talk to, depend on, and enjoy takes time.

As an undergraduate, I first heard the term residual benefactor in an economics class. A residual benefactor is the chump who gets whatever is left over when a company is liquidated typically, not much. When were not careful, the people we care about often become residual benefactors: We leave them for last, giving them whatever bits of time are left over after weve attended to everything else.

The Solution, the Kibbutz

If the food of friendship is time together, how do we make the time to ensure were all fed? My friends and I have recently come across a way to keep each other close. It fits into our lifestyles despite busy schedules and a surfeit of children. We call it the kibbutz.

In Hebrew, the word means gathering, and for our gathering, four couples meet every two weeks to talk about one question sort of like an interactive TED Talk over a picnic lunch. The question might range from a deep inquiry, like Whats one thing your parents taught you that you want to pass on to your children? to a lighter, more practical question, like How do you disconnect from your iPhone on weekends?

Having a topic helps in two ways. For one, it gets us past the small talk of sports and weather, and helps us open up about stuff that actually matters. Second, it prevents the gender split that happens when couples convene in groups men in one corner, women in another. The question of the day gets us all talking together.

Consistency and Stiff-Arming the Kids

Every other week, rain or shine, the kibbutz is on our calendars consistency is key. Theres no back-and-forth emailing to find a time. We always meet at the same place, and each couple brings their own food so theres no prep or cleanup. If one couple cant make it, no biggie, the others carry on the conversation.

What about the kids? In our group, kids are welcome, but they dont run the show. Typically they play on their own, but if they interject, theyre given a stern response that sounds something like: Im having a conversation with my friends because my friends are important to me. Youre welcome to listen or join the conversation, but please dont interrupt unless its an emergency.

For our childrens sake, we want them to know that adult friendships matter. We dont want them to have to rely on TV to figure out how adults interact. By watching us, our children see that being a good friend means listening when others have something to share, and not being distracted by anything else including our cellphones, the football game, or even our own children (unless someone is bleeding). The entire affair lasts about two hours, and I always leave the kibbutz with new ideas and insights.

Most important, I feel closer to my friends. No, our group isnt as funny or spontaneous as the pseudo-New Yorkers I grew up watching on TV. But it turns out that fun wasnt what I was missing it was authentic, caring friendships. Making time to invest in my most important relationships finally snapped me out of my funk and provided the psychological nourishment I didnt know I was missing.

Not only that, it turns out the time I spend with my friends is also an investment in my future health. Forget diets and the latest workout routines. The best medicine may be to gather your favorite people around a table and make a toast: To friendship, and your health.

Heres the Gist:

Studies show adult friendships have a significant impact on our happiness and well-being.

Committing to my kibbutz has had the biggest impact on my happiness over the past year. Heres how our group works, but the lessons can apply to any adult friendship:

Book the time Reserve time on your calendar for the foreseeable future so there’s no guesswork or scheduling headaches about when well see each other again. Our group meets every two weeks.

Go deep Talking about a meaningful topic strengthens your bonds. Get past the shallow small talk. In our group, a different member brings the question of the day to each meeting.

Dont let kids derail you Children benefit from seeing you model a healthy adult friendship. Tell the kids they can listen or participate, but they cant interrupt unless its an emergency.

Read more: http://tcat.tc/2nX0I0T

from Happiness Hack: This One Ritual Made Me Much Happier