#whatever the heck they might've involved

[ven0moir]

... DID KAREN LISTEN IN ON BYLER'S CALLS? Okay so hear me out

HER SIDE EYE HERE AT TED'S COMMENT ... like, she knows something. i doubt she knows about Byler per se but she knows something we don't know or at least suspects something. Like she did in S1 before the Wheelers learned about El.

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED DURING THOSE PHONE CALLS? one thing Karen and i have in common is that we're both nosey af i need to know what the heck those two talked about. bc i understand this moment:

was when they both had butterflies for the first time / established that 'mutual understanding' thing they got going on, but i've always felt that something meaningful may have happened during those phone calls to prompt Will to draw that painting. So i get the feeling those phone calls matter for further context.

circling back to Karen, Mike telling Karen "how many times?" literally makes it canon that this moment in S3 was NOT the first time Karen listens in on HIS phone calls specifically.

so i do think this either means Karen having listened in on their phone calls will be brought up in s5 for some reason involving exposition, or we will literally hear their phone calls .... through a recording.

During a moment of action / when something else is going on. Just LOVE the theme of people listening in on private phone conversations, huh? And guess what scene comes RIGHT AFTER THIS ONE? Yup. MIKE ARRIVING AT CALIFORNIA.

We know phones / phone calls have been lightly associated to Byler especially in S4 but now let me introduce to you the idea of them being SPIED ON while having those phone calls, by Karen (intentionally) AND Hawkins Lab/military people (by chance/coincidence)

this is right now my favorite theory i have came up with, bc honestly it is SO much fun finding clues about it. And i feel like whatever conversation they had will be relevant somehow. and this all might be a reach but a part of me feels like i am onto something. perhaps we will have a karen/mike parallel to nancy's conversation with her in s3.

I'll keep updating this if I find more evidence of Karen spying on their phone calls but if anyone else has anything to add that I might've missed I'd greatly appreciate it!!

[fandomwe1rd0]

OVERANAYLAZING AN OLD MAN AND HIS GRANDSON AGAIN BITCHESSSSSSSSSSSS

I think Rick is more aware that he is codependent on Morty, maybe not completely aware, but let's take a look at who exactly Toxic Rick was thinking of when he heard the phase "irrational attachments"

He was looking directly at Morty

Not looking up and thinking about his other attachments (Which he probably considers irrational too let's be honest), not looking at Healthy Rick, he immediately thinks of and looks directly at Morty

So, we already know that Rick considers caring about people as a whole, irrational, I mean this is Rick we're talking about, but I find it interesting that he instantly thought of Morty and not literally anyone else.

Now, this is partially because he cares about Morty the most out of all of the family members, this much we know, I mean you really just gotta watch the show to see that Rick and Morty have the deepest bond out of all of the family members, they spend the most time together, heck they spend nearly all of their time together, I mean consider how lonely they both were before they came into each other lives, Morty was just a loner at school with no friends, and Rick was avoiding all bonds that didn't involve his work, either as a freedom fighter, or with finding Rick Prime, so they were both pretty lonely, then they found each other and became inseparable

But I'm just saying stuff we all know by this point, I mean why even mention that Toxic Rick looked directly at Morty

...

Well, because that made me think of something.

It is possible that Rick knows that he's codepedent on Morty, so he might've been looking at Morty because he knows that his "attachment" to Morty is partically irrational, because codepedency as a whole just is irrational, even to the average person.

Now, consider how irrational it is to Rick someone who, without a doubt, attempts to give everything a rational explanation, he tries to apply logic to everything, even stuff you just can't apply logic to.

Now think about how irrational it is to need someone, to sacrifice everything if it means keeping them safe, to destroy their psyche, to do whatever it takes as long as they stay by you, to break them down until they are irregonizable, it's not rational, it doesn't make sense to need someone, it makes even less sense to need a teenager, especially if that teenager just makes your life more difficult...

Especially if that teenager is your worst enemy's grandson

The guy who ruined your life, who killed your wife and child, the guy you killed with your bare hands.

So why are you sparing his grandson? Why do you care about him? Why do you love him more than you love anyone else, including yourself?

...

Why are you codependent on him?

It doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense, it doesn't make sense.

And that's exactly what Rick thinks

every

fucking

day

[nomsfaultau]

(Potentially) Daily ask №3

Technoblade and the Blood god edition!

I saw you mention an incident in which somebody got a -1 hand while playing a game of rock, paper scissors with him. How the heck did that happen? How do you piss a guy of in the game of rock, paper, scissors so badly that your arm gets disintegrated?

What college degree did he get? And how the heck? I mean college is already hard enough, how did he manage to get in without documents and while being a vessel for the Blood god?

What are the criteria of someone being an orphan? Like, I assume they'd have to have 0 parents. What if they live with their grandparents? What if they don't know that their parents are dead? Does found family work? What if the parents are in a coma? Just out of the picture? If a surrogate parent was involved do they count too? Adoption? Complicated definitions of being an orphan, dude.

So he just.. got spontaneously summoned by Tommy one day.. and was just fine with it?? I mean I assume that was before the foundation. So Techno could just be sitting in class and then go tear some dudes apart and then have to drive back to class? Unless they lived in the same city which would be more convenient.

How does he feel about being Tommy's tool, basically? Sure, everyone including Tommy care about him, but he is a self-defence tool for Tommy, isn't he? Doesn't it sting a little? Considering C! Techno's whole "I am a person" theme and monologue on dsmp, I assume there's something there, isn't there?

Does he have any opinions about being surrounded by 2 completely different gods? The Blood god and Phil. Because sure, Phil cares about him but he's still a god. And I assume he doesn't have the highest opinion on the Blood God (fear/disgust/spite, perhaps?), does that reflect on his opinion of Phil in any way? Phil does also go on bloody rampages, doesn't he? To protect the ones he cares about, sure, but so does the Blood god. Sounds like a great glass (angst) opportunity.

Uh-oh, I might've set complete chaos onto the foundation the last time around. So uh, I do despise it in this universe but also not having amnestics at all would indeed set the world on fire, I think. So, I have an idea. Amnestic brownies. There's just a room full of an infinite amount of amnestic brownies now. And the foundation is thoroughly convinced that they always used amnestic brownies. Oh also amnestic brownies don't work on the main crew. Just because.

Yes, I absolutely agree with the Blade demanding that he gets more cookies because of his size. So uh, a yellow truck just casually rides up to wherever they are camping. The truck is full of all different kinds of cookies. Here ya go. They also won't ever get moldy. Whatever flavour you want, it's there. Magic. Oh also the truck is invisible to everyone else besides the main crew so nope no risk of being discovered.

Boom the foundation mysteriously forgets about the main crew's existence amd all records of them dissapear. So they're not searched for. Under their respective scp numbers are now:

Phil - a chest that works like an infinite bag from dnd. But it only works on people. You throw people there and then you can call out their name and they return. Unchanged and with no memories of what happened there. (Haha get it, collected)

Wilbur - a shadow bunny. It's a bunny. Made out of shadow. Just a normal bunny. Likes carrots.

Tommy - an anime episode where the scenes play in a different order every time. Also there's occasionally a giant "fuck off" watermark on.

Blade - an axe but all blood that comes out of the wound made by that axe is censored, like in a children's game. The textures are randomly changed to one of definitely not blood.

Ranboo - as previously stated, amnestic brownies

Cheesus Crust, this is more me causing complete chaos in the fault world than an ask. I'm sorry? I can go back to a more ask and a shorter format if you prefer that

Get as silly with this as you want! I'm having a swell time with hypotheticals. Though it might be easier to send only a few questions at a time and save the rest for later, since tumblr formating is a pain. Answers below.

The Blade never. loses. It's impossible. The universe contorts itself to ensure this no matter the odds. Mind, this doesn't necessarily mean he wins. So theoretically if someone were to nuke him from the other side of the planet, The Blade would die but also an accident would occur (wire short circuits, random truck, etc) that would kill the person who slapped the nuke button. The Blood God answers anything that hurts or challenges his vessel, often against The Blade's will, so it's less that The Blade was mad enough to tear off someone's limb and more so that The Blood God chose to do so to guarantee victory in a game of chance. Is there a different way The Blood God could have won? Definitely. His strategy is unmatched, and he can almost sense an opponents move before they do it, giving him insane reflexes. However. He likes blood. So no arms for that poor D-class.

English major, folklore and mythology minor. He didn't go in person to college (aside from graduation, which was a very chaotic affair but he'd thought it'd be funny). Used a laptop and never once turned on his zoom camera since he gave a different excuse for it every time. He paid for it via online gambling since he never loses. As for ID, his college friends call him Dave so I presume he committed identity fraud at some point. Likely did something similar speedrunning K12 education since beforehand his main education source was the voices.

An orphan status is something The Blood God can sense via soul bonds, since Bonds are kinda his deal (usually of the enemy/challenger sort but still). Have to be a child. It counts things like adoption/found family, since Collection counts otherwise Wilbur would be deadzo. It relies on a person's attachments to a parental figure, so grandparents/believing their parents are alive/coma would work. In Tubbos' case, Jasmine (a member of the hive) has parents that are living, but she doesn't consider them parents because they shot Tubbo. Ergo, Jasmine is an orphan, and Tubbo is too even if other members are adults who have parents.

The first encounter between Tommy and The Blade is found in the short story What Happened in the Catalyst. The Blade had graduated by that point and was living with Wil and Phil. So luckily he lived on the same continent by that point lmao. The Blade was incredibly confused when first summoned but was being shot at and so dealt with that first, inadvertently rescuing Tommy who survived because of Red stopping The Blood God. After a very hilarious phone call where Philza thinks he's in a hostage negotiation, they sort everything out. The Blade doesn't really fit in a car and Tommy's parents don't own a horse trailer, and so I guess he stayed with the Simonses while Phil and Wil made their way to Nottingham, since they're less conspicuous. The Blade got tacos out of it, and Tommy utterly hero worshiped him, so he was more or less cool once he had a plan to reunite with his friends.

The basis of The Blade being summoned by Tommy has its roots in how Technoblade would show up when called for battle, specifically the Battle of the Lake or whatever it was. Complaining about being woken up and grumbling yet eager to help his friend. Tommy had a pattern of getting in over his head and relying on his friends to get him out, and so I made that his literal power (along side starting wars). In the DSMP it degraded into a feeling that Technoblade was just being used for his might to further Tommy's goals. However, in Fault the summoning isn't controlled by Tommy at all, so it's harder for it to resemble a pattern of being intentionally used by a friend since the guy bleeding out on the floor probably doesn't have much control in the matter. If anything, The Blade feels more like he's The Blood God's tool than Tommy's. Actually, summonings are one of the few times The Blade is slightly more willing to be overtaken by The Blood God since it's violence with a purpose (rescuing his friend) rather than just because The Blood God feels like it.

But he also DOES resent Tommy to some extent. Summoning to him is less being used as a tool and more a chain that the Foundation uses to deny his freedom, dragging him back every time he gets out. Logically he blames the Foundation for attacking his friend, and The Blade's justice tends to the straightforward murder of the people causing the problem...but that doesn't change the fact he'd be free if it weren't for Tommy. On bad days he almost views Tommy as a tool to force him into submission. But again, in the Foundation he mostly encounters Tommy when he's dying, and it feels bad to hate the kid sobbing into his lap and depending on him for salvation. And it's even harder to feel like a hero knowing his escape attempt is the reason Tommy was sacrificed in the first place.

6. The Blade has a very very poor opinion of The Blood God chiefly for the fact his bodily autonomy is violated every time he takes over. He views The Blood God as a parasite trying to invade his mind, body, and control exclusively for the purpose of senseless violence. Frankly...it's a very derogatory and one dimensional view of The Blood God, but The Blade shuts him out completely, and so proper communication there isn't going to happen until a lot of character development.

Philza on the other hand doesn't violate his bodily autonomy or take over his mind. In fact Philza was very instrumental in The Blade getting better control over The Blood God and coping techniques for his intrusive thoughts. He made The Blade feel like he had more control through their careful spars where he brushed against the boundaries where The Blood God would usually take over while still maintaining sovereignty of himself. (Which in the long run only further hurts the relationship between The Blade and Blood God but not like Phil knew that so eh). Philza actually does have a decent relationship with The Blood God, since they often fight side by side. The Blood loathes and loves him in equal measures for protecting The Blade but also making it easier for The Blade to suppress him.

But also The Blade's background taught him that violence is the best solution to most things, which unfortunately Philza probably encouraged. Because Philza uses his wrath in the service of his Collected, The Blade is more at peace using The Blood God to defend him and his friends whereas before he was alone and saw fighting more as interruptions. Probably why The Blade is more amenable to Tommy summonings tbh. Philza encourages him to be violent, but also controlled violence. Which sounds crazy since Phil is out doing massacres, but to him that's very intentional, purposeful violence.

To The Blade, Philza and The Blood God differ wildly in the why department. Philza does it out of love and makes him feel free. The Blood God does it out of love madness and makes him feel trapped. However, there will come a scene where Philza tries to seek his bloody vengeance through The Blood God, only for The Blade to refuse being used as the tool of Philza's wrath. Not that he uses The Blade to the extreme degree The Blood God does, but the comparison is rather apt.

7. Ah this takes me back to the fake pot brownie scene I wrote for Fault years back and lost...alas. Basic premise was a Real Estate walking in on them crashing in a for-sale house and then Tommy trying to convince her the courtesy brownies she brought for clients were laced with weed and she's high as a kite. So I suppose brownies that hide the existence of anomalies has precedent in Fault? Though for the most part amnestics are used on humans and Philza was an emergency case. I'd be slightly more worried about the friends, family, and allies of the crew!

8. I'm personally imagining a dump truck, which is conveniently about the size of vehicle they'd need to drive The Blade around! They're going to get to Chicago in no time with that thing. Philza is having a very hard time convincing his kids that they need a balanced diet that isn't just cookies. Wilbur realizes he doesn't have hobbies now that he doesn't have to worry about food. Tommy WILL try to claim all the cookies by marking them with Red.

9. I'm assuming this is now what the Foundation has? And bravo they're all crazy creative. Let's see how the Foundation reacts I suppose.

Phil Bag of Holding Children: I can honestly picture him being used as a MTF tool, though my Foundation doesn't tend to use anomalies. But the potential of moving an entire flank of soldiers around with ease, completely undetected, is too tempting. One guy gets the drop on an anomaly and then boom throw out their pokeball and the poor anomaly is utterly surrounded now by an MTF squad.

Wilbur Shadow bunny: honestly so adorable. I feel like Morgan (observer from small au with Doctor!Phil) would fantasize about rescuing it. Wouldn't cause they're an utter coward, but they'd be nice and bring extra carrots.

Tommy Disorientating anime: 1 it would have to say m̶̮̯̃ụ̶̤̀̕f̵̯̹̈́̇f̴̗́́į̴̲̃̈n̶͎̈́ off because of Halo. Nobody in Fault can swear. Well except The Blade but he doesn't know that yet. 2, Webb (Philza's handler) would watch in his down time trying to make sense of it because he's desperate to connect with his daughter and teenagers like anime right? He's so lost.

The Blade PG13 axe: Honestly Maureen (guard) deserves this. Classic axe lesbian.

Ranboo Amnestic brownies: I can just picture Dr. Blake (very evil doctor) slipping crumbs into people's food and then taking notes on what happens. She would offer the whole brownies, but I reckon no one would trust that since it's so out of character.

And technically I suppose Tubbo already is a box of pinned bees and assorted limbs in the Foundation.

[terrence-silver]

Does terry help take care of his kids? i know financially he does but would he help beloved with a overtired baby or a fussy toddler or even a semi rebellious teen?

---

I don't know; why do I think Terry Silver would possibly raise his potential kids even more than his partner does, even though taking over quite so much isn't necessary because when you're loaded, your options for childrearing become endless. You could technically send your brats away to some boarding school and almost never see them if you so choose. Perish the thought of actually raising them yourself! He explicitly wants to do it, though. Needs to. Like, I imagine the man is so particular, such a perfectionist, control oriented and deliberate that he wants and absolutely desires his permanent input made and refuses to leave things up to chance, because there he has it; young minds. Fresh blood. And they're related to him. They are him. He's them. He has all the right to do this. He has the only right, actually. He wants to leave his personal mark behind. He wants to teach things only he feels only he can teach and teach it best because his teaching is the best by default. Leaving that up to someone else wont cut it. He wants to relay things only he can relay. Leave as much of himself behind on his children as he can, like a literal imprint to the point he'll be possessive of their upbringing and education and very determined to create a collective of mini-me's until he can see himself reflected in his children's eyes, mannerisms, visage, values, core beliefs, mentality, habits --- everything. He wants to be involved in the process of molding. Creation. He wants to be in their minds. In their souls.

That is the true definition of a legacy.

Terry acts, typically, like a mother would or should.

Heck. He is Mother.

He might even be envious of someone having center stage over him.

He wants it all. Ideally, he'd have it all too.

Of course, that's a feat all on its own because this is a very busy man whatever the era is and people...legitimately wonder how on earth he manages and it does miracles for his image. Man's a multitasking, overenergized mastermind genius! Might end up on the cover of some magazine with only the highest of praises like any villain with excellent publicity would. Carbon footprint? Oh, yeah, he might preach it, especially in later years, while also not adhering to it in his own life. Silver and Sons. Silver and Daughters. Silver and Children. You name it. Whatever the variety, it casts an incredibly favorable public perception on him and excuses a great many things he does because he's a Patriarch of an All-American clan (albeit of a very dynasty oriented, elitist clan), and he'd lie if he said he didn't covet that immensely, even though mere surface level pride isn't the only reason he does it. He does it because he wants to. It is a privilege that belongs to him. He's a residential Von Trapp with a brood of kids around him and he relishes in it from literally feeding a toddler and not blinking as he watches them chew with immaculate, unflinching curiosity to somehow landing himself with the moniker of the 'coolest dad in the world' because he might've taught his teen how to scam the stock market and hide it too. Quite literally the opposite of a stereotypically neglectful, rich father because Terry is the opposite of uninvolved when he sets his mind of things truly. Entirely possible to find him in a dojo training a collective of kids of all ages and if asked if he's holding class and if those are his students he might just correct that 'Yes. But they're also mine. Mine mine.'

Oh, but wait? There's like...six of them. And all his? As in his...actual biological children? Is that what he meant by that?

Yep.

He might confirm with a creeping, unsettling smile.

Terry might deeply enjoy the implication that he not only somehow found the time to be a multitalented, hyper-wealthy overachiever and spawn so many times (and the hint at physicality and virility that comes with that) but that he also has the time to personally train them, teach them, spoil them rotten, garner their devotion to him, have them entourage him around like a miniature army, indulge in the joys of the corporate world and run multiple business too. Man's the type to take a toddler to work at Dynatox, put them on his lap in front of a great, big conference table and allow them to scribble over documents and paperwork belonging to a rival he doesn't intend to do business with and plans on showing it through all the doodling his three year old created as a way to honor the breaking of their understanding. A subtle (and weirdly adorable) way of saying 'fuck you'. Of course people are part endeared, part scared for their lives and employment under their boss. Who could ever criticize him anyway? Is it even socially acceptable without seeming heartless? Not without major consequences and penalization. Not without retaliation. Maybe he wants to personally change a nappy while on the phone with Hong Kong, yelling at his overseas employees, chastising them for their incompetence. Maybe he wants to blame them when his child enters a crying fit while he orders them to dump those twenty cisterns into the Gobi desert and hurry the heck up because Terrence Jr. is upset by their nonsense delays and quite frankly, Terry's patience is running dangerously thin. He might even chortle into his own chin afterwards due to how badly he made his agent on the line stutter while he bribes the same kid away from their gloomy mood by literally whatever they'd like best in the world.

Which country on this great, big decorative spinning globe do they want to see environmentally tampered with? How about Nicaragua?

Who's to tell?

I find it immensely believable that he'd do all this and more. His raising methods are very questionable, but this man is definitely smotheringly overpresent.

[greensparty]

Talking with Jeff Gomez

This month marks the 30th anniversary of the No Alternative compilation album. 1993 was a year of several landmark alt-rock albums including Radiohead's debut Pablo Honey, Liz Phair's Exile in Guyville, U2's Zooropa, The Breeders' The Last Splash (read my review of the recent reissue), Pearl Jam's Vs. and of course Nirvana's In Utero, but this compilation album of alt-rock artists encapsulated so much of what was happening in the Alternative Nation in 1993. It was a benefit for the AIDS charity Red Hot Organization and it featured some of the biggest names at the time as well as rising stars and veterans, i.e. Matthew Sweet, Buffalo Tom, Soul Asylum, Urge Overkill, Goo Goo Dolls, Pavement, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, Sarah McLachlan, Bob Mould, Uncle Tupelo, Beastie Boys, and the aforementioned Breeders and Nirvana. Writer Jeff Gomez, who has written several books about Gen X and alt-rock, has written an entire book about this buried treasure of an album to commemorate the 30th anniversary with There Was No Alternative, released earlier this year from McFarland publishing. I recently caught up with Mr. Gomez via zoom to discuss this book.

author Jeff Gomez

Me: How did this book come about in terms of telling the story of this album in book format (as opposed to podcast, etc)?

JG: It's interesting, the book I wrote was not the book I envisioned, I think what I envisioned was going to be much more like a Chuck Klosterman book, where it was very much looking at the 90s and Generation X. Then when I began to talk to the actual producers of the record, the story I discovered was a story of friendship. I had no idea going in. I knew it was a Red Hot record. I naively thought it was Red Hot's idea to do a grunge or alternative record. As I talked to the folks involved, I discovered it was this guy Paul Heck, whose idea it was to do the record along with his two friends from college. As I talked to Chris Mundy, Jessica Kowal and Paul Heck - again it was a story of friendship and activism in the early 90s. So it shifted from being a cultural thinkpiece like Rob Sheffield / Chuck Klosterman - into a story of friendship and what the 90s meant to people and how they tried to make a difference. In terms of politics, I needed to dive back into that election and remember figures like Paul Tsongas and Mike Dukakis. People I had not thought of in decades.

the No Alternative album cover

Me: For me, I was a junior in high school in the Fall of 1993. I was a huge fan of several artists on the No Alternative album, including Nirvana, Matthew Sweet, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden, but then there were several artists where I knew a song and then this compilation was the gateway to learning more about them. Were you, yourself, a fan of these bands at that time?

JG: I was a little older than you, I was 23 when it came out. I was much more on the indie rock side. The only group I was really into at the time I got it was Pavement. So I was much more into Pavement, Sebadoh, Guided By Voices. I might've bought it for Pavement, but I thought I was a little too old for the grunge scene, but I was a big fan of Nirvana's song that was on here ["Verse Chorus Verse"]. So it was a little bit of an intro for me to some bands. Beastie Boys I really liked, Breeders I really liked. [Jeff holds up his CD of the album and I laugh because I hold up mine as well]. It's funny on social media when I announced this book, a lot of people said "I still have the album", "I'm going to go to the garage and dig it out" and the reports that came back were that it still holds up today!

Me: You, yourself, write a great deal about Generation X, which I am a proud member of. There seems to be some debate about the exact ages of Gen X. For some it's the 13th Generation, which is anyone born between 1961 and 1981. Others consider it anyone who was born in the 70s. But the most common definition is anyone born between 1964 and 1980. But whatever your definition is, if you were in your teens or twenties in 1993 this album spoke to you! Based on the featured musicians, the benefit for AIDS and the approach to the benefit album. Did this release at that time, speak to you specifically?

JG: It did, but one of the things I investigated looking back is that I was not a political person and I was not into the activism side of things. I was 23 and I was very much wrapped up in my own thing: trying to get a writing career off the ground, dating and in a band. I was a little bit of the Gen X stereotype of someone that was not thinking much beyond myself or my own circle, and what impressed me as I delved into the story of those who made this record is that they were not like that. Paul Heck, the man who really produced this record wanted to do something in music, but was seeing people sick on the streets of New York. As a straight man he was not directly effected by the AIDS crisis, although certainly heterosexuals did have to worry about having it. But he just knew that something was wrong in the country and in the government that these people were sick and he wanted to do something about it. So he decided that this charity album would be a way to raise awareness and money for the cause. Whereas I had my little apartment, my Fender Mustang, was in my cheesy indie rock band and was very much in my own world. I was one of those people who was in it for the music and was not thinking much larger than that.

Me: With this book you did a deep dive, looking at all different angles: the producers who were putting it together, the Red Hot Organization, each of the artists, the issues that Gen X was facing at that time. What was the biggest thing that you learned when you were writing this book?

JG: I think it was really about the AIDS crisis and what the Gay community did in terms of activism with Act Up and how effective they were. Again, I was very much in my own little world at the time. It also might be a case in the last 30 years, the biggest development is the internet. If it wasn't in Alternative Press magazine at the time, I probably didn't know much about it. I wasn't really reading the L.A. Times, was watching a little bit of TV but didn't even have cable at the time. So some of these really big issues were not really on my radar at the time, other than knowing I had to be safe for my own personal safety. So really it was how big the activism was with Act Up, how much they achieved in a short time and getting lower prices for AIDS drugs. And it was really interesting in seeing the parallels between COVID and AIDS.

AIDS was a global pandemic that was almost immediately politicized. Bringing up condoms was looked at as a political thing rather than a personal safety thing. Thirty years later, it was masks. It was really disheartening to see how far we haven't come. A larger pandemic with COVID in that it was inescapable to every person on the planet. So seeing those parallels was really interesting to me and wanting to dive into that.

book cover

Me: Was there anyone you wanted to interview for this book and for one reason or another you weren't able to get them?

JG: Oh yeah, if you look at the track listing, I went after everybody. I would've loved loved loved to talk to some of The Beastie Boys and Sonic Youth. The manager of The Beastie Boys literally laughed at me on the phone. And Nirvana. The same management company represents Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, The Breeders and Nirvana - it's John Silva Management and he's been managing them for 30-40 years. He [John Silva] laughed and said 'they're not going to talk to you'. Also - Michael Stipe did a short film for the VHS and MTV special, so I reached out and his rep was very polite and said that he was unavailable. But I'm a big Patti Smith fan and certainly would've loved to have heard from her thoughts on Robert Mapplethorpe at that time. But the people I did reach were great and gave me the time. One of the things that was great was some of the bands that were not on my radar at the time and were great like the Goo Goo Dolls. Those guys couldn't have been nicer. The guys in Urge Overkill couldn't have been nicer. So thirty years on knowing who they are now and talking to them and they couldn't have been nicer was satisfying.

Me: Looking at the album and reading the book, it's actually kind of sad and bittersweet that so many of the artists are no longer here, including Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, Adam Yauch of The Beastie Boys, Karl Mueller of Soul Asylum, Blackie Onassis of Urge Overkill, Gary Young of Pavement and Lance Diamond. So this album is really a document of a moment in time of so many of the artists we've lost since then.

JG: Yeah, I guess that's where the number 30 comes in. 30 years on some of the people who were in our world are now passing away, some from natural causes. And Yauch was just about my age and he succumbed to cancer and it's a scary thing putting myself in that head space of when this album came out, my biggest concern was "do I have enough money for Domino's Pizza or go out on a date on a Saturday night?" Now here we are middle-aged and having to deal with some pretty big issues and what's that like?

Me: There were a ton of benefit concerts and albums in the 90s, notably the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert for AIDS and the Tibetan Freedom Concert. Why do you think it is that the No Alternative album has had such an impact and is still remembered so fondly today?

JG: I think it was such a great microcosm of the moment. I also think it was a little bit more sly and subversive than some of those other things, because - and this really speaks to John Carlin and the Red Hot Organization's approach - he had this idea of being a trojan horse. Where they produce this really spectacular artifact, that you bought because just like me I bought it for the Nirvana track and the Pavement track, and then you begin to read the liner notes and it's not such a heavy handed delivery, it's very subversive, it gets by on osmosis. That helped it last over time. Also, how classic it is. As you say, there were other alternative compilations at that time, and what's so classic about this is that the design doesn't really seem dated in that 90s way, whereas if you look at some of the other stuff that looked like it had that Raygun Magazine, with that crazy font and the lettering, or early photoshop, what it really just screams "This is 1993" in a way, whereas this feels more classic.

For info on There Was No Alternative book

[holly-natnicole]

Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano? (Or, as I prefer to call her, Reyna de la Fuerza?) Heck yeah, I headcanon her as aro ace!!

Here's what the canon books have on the topic:

'Reyna grimaced. Percy got the feeling this guy Jason might've been more to her than just a colleague'. — 'the Heroes of Olympus: the Son of Neptune' (2011)

Percy probably assumed Reyna had romantic feelings for Jason (but even then, Percy didn't explicitly think it was romance; simply that Jason wasn't solely Reyna's colleague – there's other options for bonds between people besides "boyfriend or colleague" and I despise the assumption that "more" must mean romance). Reyna never said to Percy that she has romantic feelings for Jason.

'Jason... Percy couldn't go very far in this camp without hearing that name. "The way you talk about him..." Percy said. "Were you two a couple?" Reyna's eyes bored into him – like the eyes of a hungry wolf. Percy had seen enough hungry wolves to know."We might have been," Reyna said, "given time. Praetors work closely together. It's common for them to become romantically involved. But, Jason was only praetor for a few months before he disappeared. Ever since then, Octavian has been pestering me, agitating for new elections. I've resisted. I need a new partner in power – but I prefer someone like Jason. A warrior, not a schemer." She waited. Percy realized she was sending him a silent invitation.His mouth went dry. "Oh... you mean... oh." "I believe the gods sent you to help me," Reyna said. "I don’t understand where you come from, any more than I understood it four years ago. But I think your arrival is some form of repayment. You destroyed my home once. Now you’ve been sent to save my home. I don’t hold a grudge against you for the past, Percy. My sister hates you still, it’s true, but Fate brought me here to Camp Jupiter. I’ve done well. All I ask is that you work with me for the future. I intend to save this camp'."

— 'the Heroes of Olympus: the Son of Neptune' (2011)

To me, the whole thing comes across as other people being heteronormative & amatonormative towards her and Reyna basically going along with it despite having no romantic feelings for Jason or anyone else.

"The point is, Percy, you are the real power on this quest. You are a seasoned veteran. I’ve seen what you can do. A son of Neptune wouldn’t be my first choice, but if you return successfully from this mission, the legion might be saved. The praetorship will be yours for the taking. Together, you and I could expand the power of Rome. We could raise an army and find the Doors of Death, crush Gaea’s forces once and for all. You would find me a very helpful… friend." She said that word like it could have several meanings, and he could pick which one. Percy’s feet started tapping on the floor, anxious to run. "Reyna… I’m honored, and all. Seriously. But I’ve got a girlfriend. And I don’t want power, or a praetorship."Percy was afraid he’d made her mad. Instead she just raised her eyebrows. "A man who turns down power?" she said. "That’s not very Roman of you. Just think about it. In four days, I have to make a choice. If we are to fight off an invasion, we must have two strong praetors. I’d prefer you, but if you fail on your quest, or don’t come back, or refuse my offer… Well, I’ll work with Octavian. I mean to save this camp, Percy Jackson. Things are worse than you realize'."

— 'the Heroes of Olympus: the Son of Neptune' (2011)

This seriously sounds to me more like Reyna trying to get help in dealing with her responsibilities and Percy assuming romance would be involved.

'Reyna broke a dry branch off a shrub and flicked it into the underbrush. "I went on that quest with Jason, what, two years ago? Venus took one look at me and decided… I don’t know. I was broken. I needed romantic healing. Whatever. I wasn’t back at camp a full day before the whispering started. Nobody would admit that they knew, but they knew. The looks I got: Oh, poor Reyna. The innocent suggestions I got about who I should date." She didn’t sound angry. It was more like weighed down and weary. I remembered Frank Zhang’s concern about how long Reyna had shouldered the burdens of leadership, how he wished he could do more to relieve her. Apparently, a lot of legionnaires wanted to help Reyna. Not all of that had been welcome or useful. "The thing is,” she continued, “I’m not broken." "Of course not'."

— 'the Trials of Apollo: the Tyrant's Tomb' (2019)

This is heart-breaking!! Reyna went through the same amatonormativity crap many Real Life aro ace people unfortunately experience.

"My whole life, I’ve been living with other people’s expectations of what I’m supposed to be. Be this. Be that. You know?"

— 'the Trials of Apollo: the Tyrant's Tomb' (2019)

Again, the crappiness that is amatonormativity!!

"But the whole time I’ve been a leader here,” she forged on, “I was looking for a partner. Praetors often partner up. In power. But also romantically, I mean. I thought Jason. Then for a hot minute, Percy Jackson. Gods help me, I even considered Octavian." She shuddered. "Everybody was always trying to ship me with somebody. Thalia. Jason. Gwen. Even Frank. Oh, you’d be perfect together! That’s who you need! But I was never really sure if I wanted that, or if I just felt like I was supposed to want it. People, well-meaning, would be like, Oh, you poor thing. You deserve somebody in your life. Date him. Date her. Date whoever. Find your soulmate." She looked to me to see if I was following. Her words came out hot and fast, as if she’d been holding them in for a long time. "And that meeting with Venus. That really messed me up. No demigod will heal your heart. What was that supposed to mean? Then finally, you came along." "Do we have to review that part again? I am quite embarrassed enough." "But you showed me. When you proposed dating…" She took a deep breath, her body shaking with silent giggles. "Oh, gods. I saw how ridiculous I’d been. How ridiculous the whole situation was. That’s what healed my heart – being able to laugh at myself again, at my stupid ideas about destiny. That allowed me to break free – just like Frank broke free of his firewood. I don’t need another person to heal my heart. I don’t need a partner… at least, not until and unless I’m ready on my own terms. I don’t need to be force-shipped with anyone or wear anyone else’s label. For the first time in a long time, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. So thank you'."

— 'the Trials of Apollo: the Tyrant's Tomb' (2019)

I'm so happy for Reyna!! She finally found herself.

Reyna's romantic orientation hasn't been explicitly confirmed, but she's definitely asexual; whether she's alloromantic or aromantic or demiromantic etc. is up for interpretation in canon. I personally think she's aro.

Does anyone else think that Reyna is Aromantic or Asexual????

[dengswei]

Hello dear! This will probably be long and a lot to take in, but you're free to read it and not answer it if you don't want to! No hard feelings! I feel like I just resonated with a lot of your posts and every time you talk about being aroace I feel some kind of connection? I feel seen, to be exact. I think I've started using the term aroace very recently but I've known about my asexuality for years, the thing is, I'm going through a therapy because of some anxiety issues and we've come to the point where we talked about my sexuality. I guess I felt the need to speak about it cause it affects my confidence and a lot of other things. I'm gonna try to keep it short (i'm sorry). I feel like she didn't quite understand me that's why I'm really confused and asking myself am I making it all up? I dated like 2 people in my life and they were the opposite gender and I feel like she connected my asexuality with not liking men as in kissing them, dating etc. etc, because I had crushes on girls before. Throughout the conversation it felt as if she was telling me (not directly) that I repressed my homosexuality all these years and I'm hiding between the only term I'm actually 100% comfortable with and that is "asexual". How can one consciously fake it? Doesn't coming out as "gay, lesbian etc." makes you feel a certain way? I can't say it because I don't feel it. The thought of dating just to try it out is awful to me because that's what exactly what I did in past to make myself seem normal to others. It's crazy how I thought oh maybe she'll be okay with it or she will be curious about it but it turned my whole world upside down. I do feel like I want a genuine connection with someone regardless of gender but it doesn't have to involve romance or whatever is considered romantic because why should I? Why should we do what everyone else is doing? Sadly, people like us aren't as normalized as allos and it breaks my heart having to deal with this every day. I can't say it's bad or depressing, there's comfort in being who you really are, with or without someone. I want to keep thinking and believing that. I wish I didn't get shaken over every little thing when someone can't accept asexuality as this very much real and normal thing. This turned into a big rant (I'm sorry again). I don't feel like talking to her about it ever again even though painful things shouldn't be buried inside but why should I prove it? Why should I prove that I'm enough just as I am? It's okay to just be, right people will understand, hopefully. Some of us don't want to kiss anyone and I feel like people should just deal with it. (ending it on a happy note)

hey! never apologise for putting a long ask into my inbox! i really appreciate how you feel like you could share this with me 🥺 and i understand you feel a lot, there was something i once saw about how we should view labels more like fridge magnets rather than like stickers (here's the video) so that the pressure of labeling yourself isn't as big as it may seem.

the rest is under the cut because it got longer than i thought 😂

I'm glad that me talking about my aroaceness makes you feel seen! that's exactly why i love to do it, so that it can make people feel less alone like i was when i was coming to terms with myself. i'm sorry your therapist made you feel that way, like i understand why she might've thought that but sadly internalised amatonormativity is so ingrained in people that they don't see that maybe there is more to just romance in that sense. i've known quite a few people who have had a similar experience to you when it comes to asexuality/aromanticism being mentioned in therapy. and like i'm not denying that there hasn't been people who have internalised homophobia to maybe indentify as asexual or aromantic but isn't that the case with every label? heck i went through loads of arospec labels before i accepted that i was aromantic because i thought being arospec would make me "more normal" because i hated the idea of being an aro who felt no romantic attraction at all. love or hate it the split attraction module exists for a reason and that's not stopping anyone from identifying with multiple labels at once if it helps them figure out themselves. If you feel a connection with the asexual label then no one can stop you from using it, only you can know which label is or isn't right for you. & if that changes in the future that's okay too!

the connecting with someone part regardless of gender i totally get that and maybe for you that connection will take a different shape than a romantic one (queerplatonic, platonic, familial etc) you never know. that's why i think main stream media needs to normalise happy endings without romance, happy endings that aren't traditional, happy endings that people assume are sad but actually is not the case for others (like a character ending up alone in all sense of the word) because if it was normalised that way people would be more accepting of people who don't fit their social norm (obviously proper representation would help too & slowly we are starting to see more of that)

honestly that is why i adored baker boys so much, how they chose to have weir realise the love he wanted in his life wasn't romantic but in the form of the platonic/familal love he shared with punn, krating, & pooh. because it's very ever rarely shown that way, that a platonic bond like that can be chosen over a romantic one. can be the better option for you, like they constantly showed the audience how a platonic bond has a better influence on a character over a romantic one and that was just so ??? powerful of them ??? like usually they do this shit with love triangles but it wasn't and i adored it.

moving back to the main point even non-aro/ace people can be much happier without a romantic relationship they just don't realise that that is an option open to them if that's what they want! fuck the norms! I promise it'll get easier for you when it comes to questioning and being shaken when it comes to your aceness because that's exactly how it was for me and my aroness. it did take me a long time to get here but i got there. there's so much beauty and happiness in being asexual and like you said you can just exist and be as you are, fuck what anyone else thinks. everything about you is what makes you you and that's beautiful.

i know it can be hard when someone who is supposed to be helping you isn't supportive and you're right you shouldn't have to hide it but i get why you feel like you don't want to talk to her about it again but know that you always have the community by your side even if she isn't 💜 if the people you think are the right people don't understand then fuck them they aren't the right people. you deserve people in your life that accept you for 100% who you are. You'll always be enough as you are. 💜

[4thdimensionaldoctor-blog]

"Ahhh, I wouldn't know. I don't know what liquor smells like cause I'm too young to drink it."

Doc looked at her for a moment, then shrugged. “That hardly does much to stop anyone.” He said.  

“Regardless…” He could feel the edges of his mind gently creep into fuzzy territory from the scent alone. In his defense, it was very strong. “I think we ought to find a safe way to dispose of this, and take the concept back for some fundamental reshaping…”