#whereas with my dad i have to work at it and its like a part of me feels bad that i have to try and that my dad misses us but the other

[doyouknowhoyouare]

feeling kind of shitty and it’s my dads fault!!!

[agendabymooner]

about names: the show and tell || cl16 scenario (3)

dad!charles leclerc x mom!ofc (hearth sister!ofc)

EXTENSION OF OF LONG LINES AND NAMES AND THE LECLERC DAYCARE

Summary: The Leclerc boys and their names go hand in hand. OR times when Charles and his wife Aimee had to explain that their children’s names are meaningful. 

Scenario summary: PJ Leclerc’s kindergarten class calls for a family name show and tell — and who would make better presenters than his Uncle Pierre? OR the middle Leclerc child learns more about his namesakes as he and his parents continue to develop his school project. 

Content warning: Uncle Pierre Gasly, storyteller!Pierre, a very cooperative child (?), kids being kids, wholesome content, using a no-no word once, PJ Leclerc (OC) centred, appearances of Alain and Anthoine Leclerc (OC), brief appeaarance of Toto Wolff and Tilly Wolff (OFC), dad!Charles 🔛🔝

Note: I'm sorry I dipped y'all 😩 it's been hard- I've been trying to write but for some reason everything's going bad. In the meantime, enjoy this scenario xx

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With his nose scrunched up in concentration, his hand gripped the jumbo-sized pencil and traced over the dotted letters shakily. Close. He was so close. 

He squinted slightly before pausing, looking around for a moment before he continued to pursue his goal— get this over with. And with a dot, he grinned at himself before turning to see Mademoiselle Julie approaching his table. His peers continued to work on their take-home handbooks, while he was the first to finish his writing. 

Mademoiselle Julie, the young homeroom teacher of his kindergarten class, wordlessly peered at his handiwork— shaky writing traced over the dotted lines — and beamed at him proudly as she complimented, “Bonne écriture, PJ!” Good writing, PJ! 

“Merci, Mademoiselle Julie!” PJ Leclerc continued to show his set of teeth, proud of himself for being complimented by his teacher. 

Mademoiselle Julie spread out the sheets of stickers that she held, showing the various kinds of colourful stickers as she asked, “What would you like for your handbook today?” 

The boy hummed quietly, his hazel eyes skimming through the sheets on her hands as they gleamed in joy. “McQueen, please!” 

“Oh? Cars?” Mademoiselle Julie chuckled before peeling the glossy sticker off its sheet, sticking it on the reminder writing that he wrote down today. “Your papa will like that, don’t you think so?” 

It was no surprise that everyone knew who PJ’s father was. Charles Leclerc continued to be a household name— one that was born and raised in the principality of Monaco that later on became Monaco’s pride. You weren’t from Monaco if you didn’t know who he is— and you were a disgrace if you didn’t understand his legacy and you live in Monaco. So for Mademoiselle Julie to mention PJ’s father wasn’t anything new. 

They treated the Leclerc children as generational royalties but respected them as kids in the same community as others. Charles got himself as involved as he could with his children’s education even if there was an ongoing season he needed to attend and participate. 

Normalcy was what he lacked in other parts of the world, being a Formula One driver and all, whereas he was nothing but a son of his mother, a father of five kids and a husband of his children’s mother in the principality.

His career was often mentioned in conversations, but that was only because his children were some of the proudest kids to have existed. They’d tell others that their father would take them driving and that their father was a driver — and they had every right to say so. It was a discussion that was welcomed but never encouraged to rub in the faces of the children. 

“No!” PJ giggled. “Da loves Lotso!” 

“I thought you liked Lotso?” Mademoiselle Julie brought up. 

“Yeah, but Da loves Lotso too! Me and Da loves Lotso!” 

“Well, maybe you can get him and your Maman to love McQueen too, PJ. Tell them you got a Cars sticker. It’s red like your Da’s car, no?” 

“Mon amour,” Charles called from the children’s study room, his face showing curiosity while he carried his youngest son, little Alain, in his arm while the other held an opened handbook. “Aimee?” 

One of their eldest kids, Jules, tugged on Aimee’s trousers lightly, “Maman. Da is calling you,” he announced quietly, turning back to his homework as Aimee looked up from the screen of her laptop. The Leclerc matriarch smiled gratefully at Jules before standing on her feet, departing from the family room across the hall to meet Charles halfway through. 

“Charles? What’s happening?” She asked, only for the aforementioned man to raise the handbook slightly. “That’s PJ’s handbook.”

“Yeah, and it says that there’s an email being sent today about an event,” Charles furrowed his brow. “Did you receive anything?” 

“I did, actually— I was going to mention it after dinner but it must’ve slipped off my mind,” Aimee watched her words carefully — not wanting Alain to hear her words, “fuc— silly Lando.” 

“Siwy Wando!” Alain mimicked.

“Exactly, darling. Silly Uncle Lando,” the parents laughed. 

“Work again?” Charles chuckled as Aimee rolled her eyes at the comment. 

“Try working behind the scenes and have drivers that refuse to be trained in the media,” Aimee responded with a huff, “not that you’d understand— you’re just as dense as Lando and Oscar at times.” 

Charles only laughed and shook his head. “Seriously, you were saying something about the email?” 

“Right,” Aimee nodded. “Julie sent an email today to the guardians about a presentation project for PJ’s class. It’s a show and tell.” 

“Oh,” Charles uttered, “that should be easy. We did that with Hervé and Jules before.” 

“It’s not even just that,” Aimee added, “Julie’s a new teacher and Herb and J’s teacher did a show and tell about careers right? She wants a presentation about family.” 

“Huh,” Charles said quietly. What did that even mean? 

“She said it could be anything,” Aimee continued, “I tried asking PJ if he had anything in mind— but what does a child know about complex factors of families?” 

“Amour,” Charles laughed. “He’s five. Did you maybe ask if he wants to talk about his uncles or aunts? Or even his grandparents?” 

They both stood there, silence comfortably setting the atmosphere between the two of them before Aimee came up with something. 

“What if—“ Aimee paused and pursed her lips, “both Jules and H asked about their names before. What if we talk about PJ’s name?” 

Charles looked at his wife in confusion, little Alain stared at his father before he babbled. Charles glanced at his son for a moment before looking at Aimee once more. 

“It only makes sense,” Aimee shrugged. “Since either of us are presenting to his peers and their other guardians— why don’t we talk about his names?” 

The Ferrari driver thought about it for a moment. His sons and their names meant a lot for the couple, with them being named after people that meant so much — people that both Charles and Aimee looked up to. 

Sacha ‘PJ’ Leclerc, much like his brothers, was named after the people that gave meaning to Charles and Aimee’s relationship and their lives way before the kids came along. It only makes sense that the couple answer the questions of who were the kids named after. 

Especially when PJ’s teacher, Julie, grew curious about the boy’s nickname. His name was Sacha yet the adults called him PJ— why? 

“Okay,” Charles nodded, “we can do that.” 

“One condition,” Charles continued, making Aimee nod. 

His slight scowl was mimicked by little Alain as Charles spoke, “I’m not messing with the glitter glues.” 

“No gwue!” Alain exclaimed as if he struggled with the glittery sticky material before.

“Whaaat~” Aimee giggled before rolling her eyes playfully. “So dramatic, you two are. And I thought you'd be like your Maman, Alan.” 

“Maman just called us dramatic, Alain,” Charles gasped playfully. “Silly Maman. We’re no drama queens! We just don’t like glitter glues!” 

“Bleh!” Alain stuck his tongue out. 

“Nuh uh, we don’t stick our tongue out to Maman, Alan bebe! Just say no glue, hm?” 

“No gwue, Maman.” 

The very first step of the project was to get PJ to cooperate and help his parents build the presentation. After all, it was his class’ show and tell— it was his project. 

The five-year-old was fast to agree. He was a saint of some sort, that little man. In comparison to his older brothers, Charles and Aimee never struggled to get him to listen and his calm demeanour was what made him distinct from the Leclerc boys. 

They always said that the middle children were the menaces to society. PJ’s cousin Tia Wolff was evidence of that. His aunt, Aimee’s sister Sylvie, was also a prime example of a middle-child menace. But PJ was nothing of the sort. He behaved whenever he was asked to behave. He did everything he was asked. 

So getting him to cooperate wasn’t all bad. He did need to stop making fun of his father for disliking the glitter glues though. 

Charles still remembered how he came to his driver's briefing a few races ago after making crafts with his kids at his motorhome. He also remembered how everyone laughed at the never-ending shimmering effect on his skin as he kept rubbing on them. Glitters were something that Charles swore he’d never touch ever again. 

Anyway.

As the deadline and the day of the presentation approached, everyone seemed to be invested in helping out with the project as well. Pascale and her other sons Arthur and Lorenzo visited almost every day and whenever they could, they’d drop some feedback.

Arthur was a useless piece of shit, as always. Charles wanted to be the best role model for his kids but if his younger brother kept saying that PJ’s first name Sacha came from Sriracha he wouldn’t be able to help himself and eventually set Arthur straight. 

When Charles returned from his meeting in Maranello, though, he was more than surprised to see his niece and nephews in his family room as they helped PJ set up the pictures on the trifold board. 

“Da!” Jules said, making the kids look up from the entryway as their eyes glimmered. 

“Oncle Shal!” His youngest nephew from Toto, Adelmo, exclaimed as he waved the glitter glue around. 

“Oh hi, Elmo and Tia,” Charles shot Jules a confused look as if to ask ‘Shouldn’t these kids be in England?’, only for the boy to shrug.

“Maman est dans la cuisine avec l'oncle Toto et la tante Tilly,” Maman is in the kitchen with Uncle Toto and Aunt Tilly. Jules told his father as Charles smiled gratefully. 

“And your brothers? Herb and the younger ones?” Charles asked.

PJ, still looking down at the board with his cousins Tia and Adelmo, replied aloud, “Hervé est en train de lire un livre. Alain et Anthoine sont avec Maman dans la cuisine. « Snacking », c'est ce que maman a dit.” Hervé is reading a book. Alain and Anthoine are with Maman in the kitchen. “Snacking” is what I think Maman said. 

“Ah, oui, merci Sacha,” Charles told his middle child before ruffling Jules’ curly hair before he walked off to find the adults in the kitchen. 

Charles then found his wife with her sister, Tilly, and her brother-in-law, Toto by the kitchen island. There on the counters sat Anthoine and Alain, munching on some crackers as they tried to keep up with the conversation they knew nothing of. 

Anthoine saw Charles immediately and exclaimed, “Maman! ‘s Da!” 

“Da!” Alain grinned. 

“Hallo, bébés,” Charles grinned before he reached out to peck them in the cheeks. He then kissed Aimee on the forehead, turning to look at his in-laws in the process as he nodded, “Tilly, Toto— I didn’t expect you guys to head to Monaco this early.”

Tilly chuckled, “Early vacation for all of us. We’re staying in the holiday home for a month, at least.”

“Ah! C'est très agréable,” that’s very nice. Charles nodded with a smile. “Are the kids okay with that?” 

Toto snorted, “They have to be.”

“Tia’s next races are taking place in France,” Tilly added. “Nice, actually. So it’s quite near if we just stayed here in the principality for the next few weekends.” 

“I honestly did not expect to have a full workshop in the family room,” Charles joked. “I was expecting to maybe have PJ working on his project but they just doubled in the room— none of them were even my twins.”

“We came over when Aimee mentioned the project,” Toto laughed. “I’m surprised you went ahead with the idea.”

“You know how much it means for us to talk about the kids’ names,” Charles shrugged.

“Well, pray tell,” Tilly gave them a puzzled look, “who’s going to present it? I assume you two would want to do it but—“

“Oh no, not us,” Charles and Aimee shook their heads as the Monegasque continued, “We have someone do it for us.”

Toto’s brows furrowed, “I don’t recall you guys asking me.” 

Aimee chuckled, “Not you. Silly Toto.”

“Siwwy Toto!” The adults turned at the twin toddlers as Alain and Anthoine synchronously mimicked Aimee.

But the Leclerc parents were right, they wanted the presentation to be perfect and they had the right man for the audience.

After all, the Alpine driver had always bragged about being the reason why Charles’ middle child got the nickname ‘PJ’.

“Hello, hello! Dear friends of PJ Leclerc and the parents of the friends of PJ Leclerc!”

Charles and Aimee sighed, hiding their faces in embarrassment as they stood at the back of the classroom with the rest of the parents and the homeroom teacher, Mademoiselle Julie. 

Charles and Aimee looked at each other, unsure if they should laugh or pity themselves as Pierre Gasly sat on the tiny chair at the front. 

The kids were sitting on the floor, facing the Alpine driver as the finished product — the trifold board — was displayed next to him to show the kids.

Pierre introduced himself, “I am Pierre Gasly. I am this boy’s,” he gestured to PJ who sat on the floor right in front of him, “godfather. And today—“

“But Monsieur,” a little girl piped up, raising her hand politely as Pierre paused and nodded for her to continue, “I thought you were a driver?” 

“He is, Claudia!” PJ exclaimed with a wide grin, making the parents at the back laugh. PJ then continued, “He drives for Alpine!”

“Alright, little P, let’s calm down,” Pierre giggled quietly. Then he answered the girl, Claudia as PJ called her, with, “Yes I am a driver like PJ’s dad, but right now I am here for PJ as his godfather.”

“Now, who here knows PJ as Sacha?” Most people, hell even the adults at the back, raised their hands as Pierre nodded, “Okay. Well, you see— PJ’s Maman and Papa gave him a reallyyyy reallyyyy long name that the hospital can’t even fit the whole thing in.”

Charles, who stood amongst the giggling parents, leaned over to his wife and whispered in her ear, “I told you that having Pierre do this is a poor idea, Ami.” 

“Shh,” Aimee laughed quietly, nudging Charles a little.

“But! They gave those names to PJ because they mean a lot,” Pierre pointed at the full name displayed as a header. “Now, Sacha- it means defender. PJ’s Papa said that PJ, when he was in his Maman’s little tummy, was quiet and a good boy. But he kicks hard like he could play football.” 

The kids giggled, PJ laughing along. 

“So, his Papa and Maman said that he is a gentle one, but he can be fierce- like a defending warrior!” Pierre told the class and showed emotions for the dramatic effect. The kids looked up at him in awe. “So they said that his name will be Sacha!” 

“But wait…” Pierre paused dramatically and looked around, “There is another name.” 

“Niki,” Pierre pointed at the middle name. “Who here has watched Formula One?” Everyone raised their hands. “Of course you have- this is Monaco! Anyway, Niki Lauda was a very good driver. He was one of the greatest Formula One drivers— PJ’s Maman and Papa looked up to Niki as he drove for both Scuderia Ferrari and McLaren.”

“Do you wanna know something?” Pierre leaned over as if he was going to whisper a secret, “PJ’s Maman is the goddaughter of Niki Lauda.” 

Meanwhile, at the back, Aimee was laughing quietly at Pierre’s dramatic presentation.

Charles gave her a puzzled look as Aimee looked up and murmured, “He can be a good preschool teacher if he has the patience for kids.” 

Charles snickered, “Good luck with that.”

“So of course… Sacha Niki… Oh, what’s that?” Pierre pointed at his own name. “Pierre.”

“That’s your name!” The boy next to PJ gasped and turned to look at the aforementioned boy, “PJ, your name is like his!” 

PJ eagerly nodded but didn’t say anymore as Pierre continued. “I have been his Papa’s very best friend since we were kids! That’s why I am PJ’s godfather and that is why they named him Pierre.”

“That’s so cool, PJ,” the other kids told the child, who blushed slightly at the attention given to him.

Pierre chuckled at this before he moved the children’s attention towards the last name. “Philippe,” he said, now watching the kids pay attention.

“PJ’s Maman had a grandfather that she loved the most,” Pierre explained to the kids. “PJ’s aunts and Maman love him so much and his name is Philip Hearth.” He pointed at the picture at the bottom of the  ‘Philippe’ header. 

There, a photo of a baby Aimee being held by her grandfather was displayed. At the bottom of it showed a portrait photo of Philip and his time at the F1 tracks and other factories of his company. 

“Philip owned Ferrari and McLaren,” Pierre nodded, “he was good friends with Enzo Ferrari and many famous drivers- in fact, he made some drivers’ careers possible by putting money into the teams and providing resources. He made dreams come true!” 

“PJ’s Maman loved her grandfather so much that she named PJ after him,” Pierre grinned. The way Pierre’s storytelling was heartwarming for both Charles and Aimee, as he had been enthusiastic about this whole ordeal— it showed them that their children meant a lot to Pierre. 

“And that’s it,” Pierre concluded. “That’s the story of the name of Sacha Niki Pierre Philippe. Now— who has some questions?” 

The question portion started there. And the Alpine driver was ready to conclude the presentation when Claudia raised her hand as Pierre nodded at her.

“If his name is Sacha…” Pierre nodded, encouraging the little girl to nod, “Then why is he called PJ?” 

Everyone seemed curious too. But Aimee and Charles both knew why he was called PJ rather than Sacha. 

It was at Pierre’s insistence that Sacha Leclerc was destined to be Pierre Junior. He had established this as soon as Aimee and Charles arrived from the hospital the day after Sacha was born. 

But Pierre’s answer was partially different from what had happened, “His Maman and Papa said that he is Pierre Junior! Like me!” 

Pierre grinned at Aimee and Charles’ baffled looks.

“The audacity,” Aimee scoffed.

Charles chuckled, “Oh, Mon Dieu.” 

They’d have to talk to Pierre about changing certain narratives. It was okay to lie to be a wingman for your best friend, but lying to the kids about what happened with PJ’s nickname? 

Yeah, he needed some talking to.

♡ moony’s reminder 🅶 (general): @hiraethrhapsody @avaleineandafryingpan @hiireadstuff @enhacolor @roseandtulips @woweewoowa @magnummagnussen @happy-nico @architect-2015 @scorpiomindfuck

[elvain]

marvel's boys: from sidekicks to heroes

i've been seeing a lot of talk about my friend ray's post about the mentor/sidekick relationship in marvel as compared to DC (this post is specifically in regards to the movie portrayal of said relationships). find the post here. the discussion around this post has inspired some thoughts in me, so i thought i'd share them below.

steve and bucky's relationship as mentor/sidekick originates in the golden age as part of the "child sidekick/hero" craze phenomenon at the time. kids wanted to know they could contribute to the war effort in these years, that they could also make a difference when their fathers and brothers went to war. so the child sidekick was invented and at marvel, that was bucky barnes + toro raymond.

but even in the silver age, we maintained a younger sidekick mentality: rick jones, janet van dyne (until she turned out be old enough to marry hank pym), and i would even include flash thompson's brief stint as a fake spider-man in this category. but, yes, all these "sidekick" scenarios eventually winded down. but i don't think it's because marvel decided sidekicks weren't a worthy trend anymore. far from it.

i think DC's interpretation of the mentor/sidekick relationship becomes more paternal/familial whereas marvel's becomes centered around guilt and trauma (rick jones, primarily). i wouldn't say marvel hated sidekicks after the golden age; they just become heroes on their own (peter parker, the original x-men, nova, etc.) rather than relying on a mentor-esque figure. i think DC has clung to the paternal side of this trend more and maintained it - it's worked for them, so great. but marvel i think dived the other way which was also great.

i know about the "spider-man killed teen sidekicks by being both a young person and the main hero" take as well and i have some thoughts on that, too, if you'll bear with me.

i think it isn't that we started hating sidekicks. i think we realized that, after the golden age, the kids weren't just kids anymore. there is a genre of kid who was too young to fight in ww2 but who still dealt with that trauma and that kid was reading these comics, sending in letters, collecting stamps, etc. comic mags in the golden age used to be FULL of things like "if you see any war planes over your city, report it to the nearest military office!" or "you can collect scrap metal and donate it to the war effort, just like timmy here!" and after the events of pearl harbor, every timely comic had a big stamp on them, demanding that we "remember pearl harbour".

now its 1962 and that kid is 15 and he kinda doesn't NEED his dad as much cause he's either dead or he's been away for years fighting in the war. this kid needs to be his own hero. [gestures to peter parker, richard rider, steve rogers even if you count the origin story] like it isn't that spider-man killed the sidekicks - it's that he lost his father figure (ben parker) and now had to be his own hero and i think that would've resonated a LOT with kids of that era who had gone through a similar loss.

i think it shows in rick jones too - the reason rick just never REALLY "sidekicked" is because he was a reflection of the young boys/girls at the time who suddenly had no parents or elder figures bc of the wars. now they had to deal with it on their own and thats why he didn't stick it out with steve and why he became bruce's friend instead of the hulk's sidekick, cause he just didn't need that mentor and that protection anymore after what he (as a representation of kids from the after-war years) had gone through.

it isn't that the sidekicks died. it's that they were forced to grow up.

if you're interested in thoughts like this, i have some posts on my rarely used wordpress blog. The Golden Age: overview: how i started reading the Golden Age comics. The Golden Age: I: characters i thought i knew, but did not. The Golden Age II: think of the women and children!

[garrulousgrifter]

gamzee schizopost lol

someone said he used sopor to distract himself from the reality of what his gods (lord english) asked of him.

it’s interesting to his teammates that he is a rage player because of this, because rage deals with reality and physicality in the most confrontational way and then gamzee is nothing like that AND they dont believe that his gods are even real!

but they super are!

likeee it would be expected that he’d be a more airy aspect like hope or something idek but reality is something you cannot ignore for long

and as we know That nigga is Already Here as fuck 😒

if they were super fake he probably would be a hope player

lolll its meat and candy again

“the idealistic is everything that our collective unconscious is trained to recognize whereas the physical world is where conceptual nuance begins to happen”

he was a hopeful kid. hopeful for his dad, hopeful for the plot working out, hopeful for his religion, hopeful for his relationship with his friends… and then he saw it all fall apart

he saw that on the earth he helped create they mocked his religion (making him feel as if the paradise planet he looked forward to was bullshit), he saw his friend tavros being killed, he saw the scratch happen, and he said fuck it. we going sober. and we’re fucking shit up.

gamzee has the chucklevoodoos, a power that some purplebloods have that incite thoughts of anger and paranoia and nightmares in lower bloods minds. its why john has clown dreams and why theres clown shit fucking everywhere. i feel like gamzee had communication with these chucklevoodoos before going sober, he was just numb and not aware & intentional enough to really use them.

the dark carnival is caliborns game planet.

“i finally got my mf understanding on abt who the mirthful messiahs are. they were always both me…. and mf me.” he is lord english. he is responsible for the entire fucking religion lol

horrorstuck seemed like hapless violence, which it partially was, but it was also a part of LEs plan for gamzee. caliborn has that kind of control over the narrative. lol davekat is canon bc of him.

vriska queened and threw off their plan by being alive <3

ohhh shittt all the worlds a stage 😂😂😂

lol because gamzee needs to be present in order for lord english to be born, and he even raises and serves caliborn as a child as he gains control of the narrative, he is able to see homestuck for what it is. a dumb webcomic play thing where he is the dumb clown guy comic relief. so he is able to fuck around and be anywhere and do anything basically. within the confines of a mortal troll with knowledge of homestucks’ fakeness and access to the actual stage it takes place on. he simply hops on stage whenever he pleases.

in this way he is able to be the bard of rage in a transcendental way because he is able to piss me, the viewer, off. over and over again.

he is protected by “plot armor” but that doesn’t mean he cant be hurt 😔

lol

thats why he is able to be killed in hs2 fucking finally, bc its not canon 💔

[jojosjunk]

Okay, so this has been in my head for a while now, but Virgil is Pattons kid.

Yes, I know, he's fight or flight, blah, blah, blah-

Hear me out.

Fear is an emotion and usually its in small controlled doses in minor situations.

Fight or flight is a latent primal response that humans only really experience in extremely stressful situations.

Typically, for the "average human", it wouldn't be necessary to have a trait dedicated to just fight or flight.

Unless you went through being the one of the "odd ones out".

Let's see, for Thomas that would be theater kid, gay, and nerdy. Which used to be a death sentence in school.

Now that I've a a premise, let me get to the good part.

Fear is an emotion. Patton obviously still experiences it as we've seen before with creepy crawly death dealers. However, other than that, he doesn't react in fear often. Even with Remus, Patton seems more uncomfortable than afraid, whereas Virgil is constantly on guard the entire time.

Thomas has mentioned before that Virgil came in around junior high and high school, which means that his fight or flight wasn't personified until he started figuring himself out.

Now this is an extremely scary time for any preteen and teenager, which brings up my concept. (Not really a theory cause i don't think that's how it worked out, but nevertheless)

I think that fear as an emotion may have gotten to strong for Patton during this time and as a result he had a split of his own. Like Roman and Remus. Except he didn't split completely in half, he just got rid of what was causing him issues as a way to repress.

Like creating a kid from one of his emotions.

It does sound kinda screwed up, but stick with me.

At first, that split was just a little extra fear that slowly became a problem over time, eventually evolving into who we know today as anxiety.

Obviously, something happened where Virgil went to the dark sides and everything happened, but it would either make Pattons father son insistence sweet or sad. Or both

The effort to include Virgil in their FamILY, the son themed nicknames, the forceful declaration that Virgil isn't a bad guy and he's just misunderstood. They all sound like a dad who screwed up and-

FUCK IM GOING TO CRY

ENJOY THE ACCIDENTAL ANGST

[turneradora]

New pic 💯💯💯💯

For Radio Times !!

New article soon to come !!

Thanks to my friend Isademrio ATI (Aidan Turner International on Facebook)

Here is below the written transcription of the second article, published yesterday, from the Total Film magazine.

Thanks to Emma Jones 🙏👍🌺

Total Film - October 2024

When Teasers visits the set of Rivals in Bristol, there’s no question who the real star is. While we may have just watched Aidan Turner and David Tennant (as gimlet-eyed TV journalist Declan O’Hara and his ambitious, unscrupulous boss Lord Tony Baddingham) sweep in to 1987’s British Television Awards, and await appearances from Danny Dyer, Katherine Parkinson and Alex Hassell, a slight 86-year-old is inside, pretending to eat dinner.

‘It was lovely,’ Jilly Cooper tells us afterwards, enthusing about her cameo. ‘They curled my hair beautifully!’

The queen of the bonkbuster couldn’t be more thrilled with Disney+’s eight-part adaptation of her 1988 novel. ‘They’ve cast gorgeous people of both sexes!’ she beams. ‘It does feel like a period piece to me, because it has lots of macho men who are allowed to be real men. As an executive producer, I can see how much trouble they’re taking with it. They’ve looked after the plot, although occasionally they’ll change things and I’ll have a bit of a sulk. But when it appears on the screen, it’s brilliant.’

Rivals certainly sets its stall out from the first shot, buttocks thrusting in a Concorde toilet and Robert Palmer’s Addicted to Love grinding away on the soundtrack. The pace barely relents as the rakish Rupert Campbell-Black (Hassell) cuts a swathe through the society women of the Cotswolds and locks horns with Baddingham over the future of the latter’s television company. Rupert’s friend, novelist Lizzie Vereker (Katherine Parkinson), is also on hand to cut him down to size, while herself enjoying some extramarital excitement with Dyer’s self-made millionaire. In short, plenty of sex, stilettos and a salon’s worth of bubble perms and mullets. But also some salutary lessons.

‘I hope it cheers everyone up,’ agrees Cooper. ‘But I also think it’ll make people realise that integrity is important. There’s not enough of it about these days.’

Gabriel Tate

Aidan Turner (words from the journalist Gabriel Tate, not from Aidan)

Who is Declan O’Hara?

He’s a journalist with a wife and a couple of kids. They’ve had to leave London for the Cotswolds, although we’re not initially sure why, and it coincides with an o fer he’s received to leave the BBC and work for Tony Baddingham’s TV company. He’s a workaholic and impetuous – he generally thinks with his pen irst, ists a very quick second.

We have to talk about Declan’s moustache…

It makes a real statement, doesn’t it? You can hide behind a beard, whereas this Tom Selleck thing puts you front and centre. Weirdly, I looked very like my dad did back in the 1980s.

Why did Rivals appeal?

Jilly is brilliant at writing characters and, while it is wickedly funny, we cover some very serious themes as well, asking what sort of behaviour is acceptable today and what have we thrown in the bin.

Was filming as much fun as it looked?

It really was. There was one dinner-party scene where, the previous night, our entire cast had had a party. A lot of people were probably playing drunk for real that day – lots of sunglasses and dark shadows under eyes. Although I felt awful, witnessing other people’s pain was hilarious…

GT

[mxxnlightwriting]

Writemas 2024 Day 8

Thanks to @agirlandherquill for hosting this wonderful event!

Tari’s Note: Here we are for Day 8! Today's part was a bit more challenging to write given the prompts and how the story is going but I think I figured it out, which I'm very happy with! I hope you enjoy reading it! I have a masterlist for this challenge if you want to read this story from the beginning! Please excuse any typos and continuity errors! Thanks for understanding.

Prompt(s): "I need more. I deserve more." and a windowless room Synopsis: Emily receives a phone call that derails the good atmosphere around the dinner she's sharing with Rae. Genre/age group: adult contemporary sapphic romance Word Count: 1.1k

Dinner was already underway and the tense atmosphere from earlier had been replaced by something lighter that was only intensified by the glasses of wine Emily and Rae were having. It was red wine—Emily's favourite—and she was glad she had someone to share it with tonight.

"You know," Rae said as she helped her set the table in the dining room, "I'm glad we're doing this."

Emily couldn't agree more. Whereas before Rae's presence stood out like a sore thumb, now it blended in with their surroundings, adding to the familiarity and comfort of the cabin. Besides, Emily was glad for their talk. Their issues weren't resolved, but at least they were willing to work through them, even if none of them knew what that exactly meant.

She was just happy to have Rae back in her life, even if it was in this quiet manner they were now sharing, one where they were distant friends who shared a close past.

From the coffee table, Emily's phone rang. She glanced in its direction but ignored it, finishing the task at hand instead. She knew who was calling her, and right now, she wasn't in the mood to talk with her sister.

"Shouldn't you pick that up?" Rae asked. "It's probably important."

"It's Chloe," Emily said, offering Rae a small smile. "She probably wants updates on what I'm doing around here."

Rae nodded and returned to the kitchen as Emily's phone rang again, its sound drilling into her head. She went to her coffee table and grabbed it, staring at her sister's smiling photo and name displayed on her phone screen.

She took a deep breath and accepted the call.

"Took you long enough!" Chloe said, exasperated as always. "What were you doing?"

"Cooking dinner," Emily replied. "And I have guests over so—"

"Oh. That's a bad idea, though."

"Why is it a bad idea?"

Emily glanced in the kitchen's direction as Rae walked towards the dining table carrying one plate in each hand. She had a small smile on her lips as she put them down, nodding to herself before her eyes found Emily, concern coating her features.

"Well, I called a real estate agent this morning and they're going to see the cabin tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow?" Emily asked, her eyes snapping to the lit porch outside as freckles of snow covered every surface on display. She probably hadn't heard her sister properly. "What do you mean you called a real estate agent? I told you—"

"We're selling that cabin, Emily," Chloe said, her voice cold. "Dad wants to sell it. I want to sell it. Mom will also be on board, especially after she knows how much it'll be worth if the sale goes through. It's good money. Life-changing money."

"I don't care about that," Emily said. She collapsed on the couch, massaging her temples. "Besides, I can't get the cabin ready for the real estate agent by tomorrow. I haven't been in the attic yet. I was waiting for you to help me sort everything in there."

"I already told you I don't have time to go there. You have to do it yourself. Just try to make it look presentable, I don't know. I'll text you the details. They'll be there by ten so make sure you're awake before then."

"And if I'm not?" Emily asked. "I want to keep this cabin. I've been clear since the beginning that we shouldn't sell it. It was his favourite place." It's my favourite place, Emily thought, but didn't say.

Chloe sighed. "We've been over this already. We're selling it. Stop being so difficult about all this."

"Well, I need more time. I deserve more—"

"We can't always have what we want, Emily. Now, be an adult and show the property to the man tomorrow. I'll call you around midday for updates. Don't screw this up for me."

Chloe hung up, leaving Emily with her phone pressed against her ear, her throat closing with frustration and unsaid words. She dropped her phone on the coffee table and stood, turning to find Rae leaning on the wall with crossed arms. From her sad eyes, Emily knew she had heard everything.

"It was Chloe," Emily said. "A real estate agent is coming tomorrow to assess the property and the house."

Rae nodded. "I overheard. Sorry about that, by the way."

"It's fine." Emily dismissed her comment with a wave of a hand and they walked towards the dinner table. "I just don't know how I'm going to pull it off, honestly. I still haven't stepped into the attic, and I need to get it ready for tomorrow."

They sat by the table and after Emily poured each of them a glass of wine, they enjoyed the meal she had prepared in silence. Rae hummed at the food and pointed at it in approval. That made Emily's cheeks warm up, and she couldn't help but smile at Rae whenever she found something nice to say about the food.

"I could help you with the attic tonight," Rae said. "I mean, I've had wine, so I won't be driving any time soon, and it's also snowing a lot, so I could help you. If you want."

Rae faced her plate, avoiding looking directly at Emily. The attic was probably just as a big deal to Emily as it was to Rae. They had shared their first kiss there, they had confessed their feelings for one another there. It had always been their safe place in this cabin, especially when Emily's family was around town. That windowless place knew all their secrets, it had witnessed so many of their shared moments.

"You know you don't have to do this, right? You can just be a guest and enjoy the TV and then go to sleep in the guest bedroom and leave in the morning."

"It's clear you don't want to do it by yourself, and I'd also grow restless with nothing to do. Besides, it could be fun. Or embarrassing. Or both." She offered Emily a small smile. "There's a lot of good in that space. In a way, this might be my last chance to be in it. I guess a part of me also wants to say goodbye."

Emily nodded and sipped her wine. She didn't want to say goodbye to this cabin, to this place, but this was a battle she wasn't going to win. Her sister was set in her ways, and she had the upper hand already. Emily was never someone whose opinion really mattered to her family.

Maybe it was best if she said goodbye too. She reached for Rae's hand and rested hers on top of it, squeezing it. "Thanks," she said when Rae glanced at her, "for doing this with me."

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[ladysophiebeckett]

You made me want to rewatch ysblf and it made me realize that Armando is lowkey actually kind of insane? He goes from barely noticing Betty to getting real intense about her. He blurred the professional and personal lines way before the plan. Like why was he so upset to find out she had a boyfriend? He really expected her to confide in him with such a private matter. He was just his boss even if he treated in a special way like he states, but then again, why do that in the first place? I think you mentioned that there was no way this is how he treated his prev secretary which is honestly very interesting and speaks volumes about when his feelings for her started to deepen without even realizing it. Of course we know It wasn’t true that she was dating Nicolas, but even if she had had a bf for real, she still wouldn’t have told him. She was really reserved and constantly tried to keep her personal life private before their affair. And also they way he reacted after Charlie Zaa kissed her on the cheek and she got all excited? And to react like that with Marcela in close proximity?

It almost makes me wish her supposed bf had been someone other than Nicolas bc since he was aware of everything and involved with Terramoda it was easy for Mario to become paranoid of his true intentions with Betty and pass this on to Armando, but with someone else in the picture that was not involved on their business in any way? His whole jealousy would have been very hard to disguise. Or would Mario still find a way to get paranoid and suspicious? Was she really not allowed to have a love life while Ecomoda was hers? This part is crazy to me. Love and business was mixed so well in the series. There’s this whole ambiguity regarding Armando’s feelings and about the reason of his reactions that adds so much to the story and makes him a very complex character. I had watched lfmb before and Lety’s revenge wasn’t enjoyable to me because the filler they added before she read the letter made it very obvious that Fernando was in love with her and already wanted to cancel his wedding to be with her instead, he flat out admits this out loud whereas Armando tried to deny his feelings for so long, put on a façade in front of Mario even when it was no longer believable that even he had to call him out on it, all of this made this whole arc very satisfying to watch as a viewer. End of this whole discourse lol sorry it took me so long and it’s all over the place but your comments are spot on always so I wanted to share my unsolicited thoughts with you. Thank you ☺️

You made me want to rewatch ysblf and it made me realize that Armando is lowkey actually kind of insane?

I know i say he's insane here (lmao) but I gotta defend him and say you know, perhaps he is just intense? (it's both). I've said before he's very emotional (and not very rational) and he has an ego (and he's insecure). You combine those these traits (plus a child of nepotism who has never been denied anything) and you get Armando.

He goes from barely noticing Betty to getting real intense about her. He blurred the professional and personal lines way before the plan. Like why was he so upset to find out she had a boyfriend? He really expected her to confide in him with such a private matter.

Betty impressed him from the interview when she said, 'I know I can learn a lot from you'. Fed his ego a little bit but also Betty's honesty brings out a tender look in Armando's eyes. Softens him. Also, despite what everyone says, he really did want a secretary that could do actual work. Aside from not wanting to hire Patricia bc he didn't want Marcela spying on him.

Armando, despite having everything one could dream of having in life, has never had someone in his corner without asking for anything in return. Let's backtrack real quick---His dad voted for Daniel to be president, despite the fact that its said that Daniel has never worked at Ecomoda. Armando got the extra vote he needed from Marcela, whom he discussed marriage with days before the vote. So all he knows is transactional relationships and how any kind of support is conditional. His animosity towards Daniel stems from competition that Roberto instilled. Armando has no idea what loyalty looks like or what it means to be unconditional to someone. Until he meets Betty.

If Armando is insane about Betty in one way, then so is Betty in her loyalty to him. She held onto his agenda like she was asked even tho it got her fired, she turned down a top dollar bribe even tho it could have helped her family (and felt terrible for contemplating it when she confessed it to him), she helped him cover his affairs with other models, she helped him commit financial fraud, she helped him set up a company so the banks wouldn't jump him. Who does that? An insane person (who's terribly in love with their boss).

Armando has never had someone in his life that he didn't have to share, who isn't related to anyone he hated, who he doesn't have to make backend deals with to get what he wants. For the first time he has someone who's on his side and no one else's.

And in the middle of all of that, she becomes his friend. His confidant. His co-schemer. He's instilled so much trust in her. Allowed her to know so much about him. Things that Marcela doesn't even know. In return, he's met her family (bc as a mutual said, they are always together), she later confesses to him that she lied to her dad about how she started off as his secretary (not assistant). He feels, up until the embargo happens, that he knows her.

But then he hears she has a boyfriend and suddenly he feels a sense of betrayal. Why didn't she confide this personal information with him when he probably gave her his social security number? (and also his company but he's not even thinking about the company when he hears the possibility that she has a boyfriend). Now suddenly he has to share her?? (Mi Betty tiene novio??) That all that loyalty, admiration, and devotion she's shown him up until that moment might not be his at all. On top of that, he realizes that he may not know her as well as he thought and that she may not want him to know her like she knows him. And I think that both offends and hurts him.

The lines from Armando's POV become blurred first because of all the above. The more he trusts her, the more he depends on her, (which scares Mario btw). ect. But it's different for Betty because she is very aware of the lines and when the affair portion starts, she begins to struggle with it.

Of course we know It wasn’t true that she was dating Nicolas, but even if she had had a bf for real, she still wouldn’t have told him. She was really reserved and constantly tried to keep her personal life private before their affair

She absolutely would not have told him and the only reason the cuartel thought she had a thing for Nicolas was bc Mariana read her the cards and the cards implied that there was a man in Betty's life and they teased her about it. She used Nicolas's name to cover up her growing feelings for Armando as a consequence of her attempting to keep her private life private. And the sad thing about that is once Armando gets word about Nicolas and the boyfriend rumors, Betty writes in her diary that she fears something bad will happen. And, u know, it does.

And also they way he reacted after Charlie Zaa kissed her on the cheek and she got all excited? And to react like that with Marcela in close proximity?

Jealous of the way she enjoyed Charlie Zaa's attention, straight up forgot Marcela was there. Also, the fact that for a nanosecond she admired another man that wasn't him.

...but with someone else in the picture that was not involved on their business in any way? His whole jealousy would have been very hard to disguise. Or would Mario still find a way to get paranoid and suspicious?

Mario would still find a way to be suspicious. If it was someone, say for example, some old co worker from the bank she worked at--We'll call him Bank Guy. If Bank Guy was Betty's BF, Mario would say 'Well how do we know we can really trust her when she didn't tell you that Nicolas was working for Terramoda? How do we know she won't also tell Bank Guy about the embargo? How do we know she won't also give a job to Bank Guy?' It would still bother Armando that she didn't tell him about hypothetical Bank Guy bc he thought they had a reciprocal friend\schemer\employee\boss relationship (you're right, he's insane).

Was she really not allowed to have a love life while Ecomoda was hers?

This requires an essay length response bc BOY do I have thoughts on this!!!! Short Answer: In Armando's eyes, NO. Because that's his Work Wife.

....I had watched lfmb before and Lety’s revenge wasn’t enjoyable to me because the filler they added before she read the letter made it very obvious that Fernando was in love with her and already wanted to cancel his wedding to be with her instead...

I watched LFMB when was like, 16, and have gone back a couple times to rewatch some scenes and no--Lety's gaslighting arc doesn't hit the same. Even tho I will always defend LFMB's 'before the letter filler arc' bc its cute, it makes the story lose its pacing. Betty has to read the letter right after the second night, right as Armando feelings are at a high point so that their roles are reversed. Lety and Fernando aren't as calculating, they're too emotional (crybabies), their romance reads like two infantile adults who grew up lonely. Betty and Armando are not like that at all. They're set up as soulmates, but their inner problems as people are not identical.

...whereas Armando tried to deny his feelings for so long, put on a façade in front of Mario even when it was no longer believable that even he had to call him out on it, all of this made this whole arc very satisfying to watch as a viewer.

LFMB really robs Fernando of this bc they didnt want him to be unlikable. Armando at the beginning of the story is not someone you wanna see get the girl, but that's part of his journey. And modern audiences dont understand that. Fernando not hiding his love for Lety doesn't hit the same as watching Armando fight with himself and making excuses for his feelings and then finally witnessing him say to an empty office 'Armando Mendoza you're in love for the first time in your life and it's with Beatriz Pinzon Solano'.

That is the build up audiences are waiting for with a character like Armando and when Fernando does it....It's doesn't hit and it's not as memorable.

[hairscare]

IF you dropped a long ass text post with all of your biology, sociology and political headcanons about the underworld in creepypasta au land,, I would read it like a bedtime story every night

I LOVE LORE❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

alright you dont gotta tell me twice

geography

so basically the underrealm (ik this name comes from some creepypasta comic but idk off the top of my head which) is basically like hell and looks like the nether from minecraft in that its like one huge cave system type deal with various major caverns being provinces. theres no plants so the residents are carnivorous + also eat rocks and gems since theyre edible to them. the caverns tend to be layered with rock formation shelves that people live on, and the cavern is warmer the higher up you are. there isnt any sort of sun since its all cave but there are plenty of creatires and rocks that glow plus theyve got things like electricity to light up the caverns

sociology/political

so obv zalgo is the emperor of the underrealm and he has his own providence thats just his labyrinthine palace (its lonely at the top!) but each providence has its own chancellor thats in charge of it like a president and each chancellor is one of zalgos kids! since hes kind of a chaotic anomaly he just kind of pops out a baby every so often (he tries very hard to be a good dad) and when they get old enough they basically just get an extremely high role in the govt. the chancellor positions are in high demand, so theres a lot of duels to the death between siblings to try and steal each others positions.

theres also a few high chancellors (my oc austeros was one of these, i might put them back in this story ngl) who are the most influential under zalgo himself (theyre all also zalgos nepo babies) and they work directly under him to run everything. i remember there being high chancellors of war, magic, law, commerce and "communications" (this one is just propaganda and austeros runs it very cruelly). anyways they work with zalgo and run basically everything from the shadows

almost all of the chancellors have harems + a harem queen thats like the main partner politically, and these are usually made up people from high standing underrealm families

under the chancellors theres a very strong class system that correlates with how high up the caverns ppl live, so the higher up you are, the more influence you have, and the healthier you are since the heat is necessary for zalgoids. lower down areas are usually very impoverished and consist of small huts and markets, whereas higher up areas are more metropolitan, and finally the tops are very wealthy with tons of estates (of course the chancellors are at the very top with ginormous estates)

a very common way for people to exert their influence is via violence and killing, though certain people are particularly cruel or frequent in this (again, looking at you austeros)

biology

theres a few different species that live in the underrealm, but the main one i have developed are zalgoids, which is kinda what zalgo is (hes special tho)

ill use austeros for a ref since theyre the only one ive drawn semi recently

basically they have a carapace that protects their actual bodies, which are in a type of gaslike state in the shell (this is why they need heat so they can maintain the pressure inside their shell) but when they molt/their shell breaks, they solidify into physical creatures that all look different! heres my old austeros design without a shell (old asf so it looks shitty and needs to be updated but oh well)

zalgoids have regular molting seasons where they often isolate, and while they are more prone in their molted state, they are also larger and more powerful

there are other species (ill show an old concept drawing below) but they arent nearly as developed. theres not really any sort of prejudice or hate between species, they coexist very well in all parts of the hierarchy (except chancellors which are all zalgoids). also none of the species need to sleep so everything is always running 24/7

but yeah! thats basically everything i can think of! i imagine the creepypasta mansion has a portal somewhere (my old hc was a well but id probably change that now) to get to the underrealm since its like a pocket dimension but they def visit sometimes :) oh also i hc that smile dog is half underrealm creature hence why hes like That

[krikeymate]

I would LOVE to hear more about Raimi, especially Raimi and Tara 🥺 Your ideas are always amazing and the way you write and articulate yourself is truly beautiful 🖤

Also, idk if you do anons or not, but if you do, is 📼 available? Totally cool if it isn’t available or you don’t do anons!

Hi! I'm glad you liked it, previous post, and I really appreciate what you said. I'm afraid I don't know what the second part of your message means.

My long term followers know that I'm obsessed with the idea of Tara being just like Sam, with Sam's issues stemming from their mother instead if Tara, so when thinking of a twin, it felt so clear to me that they would have to be more of the anti-Sam.

I think there's a great dynamic to be had with that, which really adds to Sam's struggles. When they were kids, Raimi got to be free, whereas Sam was expected to be more mature (lovely bit of generational sexism there for you), which them gets turned on its head when Sam finds the diary, and she gets to go off the rails while he has to be more mature. There's also a lot of fun with it being Sam and Raimi -> Sam and Tara, and Raimi -> Tara, and Raimi -> Sam, and Tara, and Raimi. There's a lot of jealousy to be had between the three siblings and their relationships with each other.

I think Raimi and Tara have a special bond in that they went through hell together in that home, and Sam wasn't around for that. Tara's connection was always with Sam, and that never changes despite her not being around. They have a difficult relationship, whereby they both wish the sibling they had around was Sam. But they do love each other, it's just hard to appreciate that when a part of them is missing.

Raimi is devoted to his family, to be The Man, and he takes that seriously. By the time Tara is attacked, he's all but forgotten how to be that care-free child, how to want things for himself. Tara's always looked to Sam as a bit of a mother figure, and after their dad leaves, Raimi is the closest thing to a father figure. It makes for some confusing fucked up family dynamics.

When they get to New York, Sam and Raimi butt heads a lot, and Tara gets stuck in the crossfire. Sam is too overprotective, Raimi isn't protective enough. Raimi is a lot like their father, absent and emotionally distant, but he is a solid presence who provides. He loves them, he just doesn't know how to show them other than through working and bringing in money to care for them, and because he can't connect with them like they can each other.

See, Raimi doesn't have the same hangups about their father being Billy that Sam does, because he doesn't suffer from the same intrusive thoughts or dark urges or anger that his sisters do.

Sam, despite being closer to Tara, gets so frustrated because she won't listen to her- but she'll usually listen to Raimi, because she sees him as an authority figure still. So Tara learns not to tell Raimi anything (ask for forgiveness not permission), and not to tell Sam because it will get back to Raimi.

I think loneliness is a big theme for Raimi's story. 6 happens, and he's there, but he's never targeted, because Quinn thinks Sam doesn't care about him or what happens to him, because all they do is fight. He's not there whenever they face Ghostface, he's not there in the shrine. He's left out - by them, by the killers, by the group. But he sees his sisters, covered in blood, and he sees the body on the stage, brutalised, like Richie's the year before. He rubs a hand over Tara's cheek, looking her over. He turns to Sam, and pulls her in for a hug. He tells her he's so glad she's OK, and he doesn't know what he would do without her, without either of them, and he pulls Tara in too.

Because maybe they have nothing in common, maybe he can't relate, but they are his family and he loves them.

[immernichts]

Underground Blossom thoughts, and also some ramblings about Rusty Lake in general. (spoilers!)

I feel like I should point out that I haven’t played The White Door. I know the gist of what happens in it, but maybe there’s something in this post that contradicts or is explained by that game, idk.

Something that intrigued me the moment the demo came out was Rose and Laura’s relationship. Given what we saw of Rose in Roots—pragmatic and emotionless—I always assumed she didn’t give Laura much of a normal childhood, and probably deliberately left her at some point.

In the second chapter of the game, Rose does indeed leave Laura. But, it turns out that she didn’t actually want to go, and, based on the note she left and Laura’s description of her, Rose was a loving mother.

I’m not sure if Rose’s lack of emotion in Roots is meant to be taken as nature or nurture. On one hand, it could be because of the unnatural nature of her birth, as artificially created humans are often portrayed in folklore and media as emotionless. Or maybe it’s because she had Albert for a father (who could not have been a good dad), and the only person we see her interacting with as a child is William Vanderboom (via ouija board).

I like to think it was because of nurture, and that raising Laura made Rose a more caring, affectionate person over time. Rose also refers to Harvey as a ‘dear friend’, so maybe he also played a role there? Curious to know how they met.

Sadly the good times don’t last, because this jackass shows up.

Albert, you are an awful person. I know that was already obvious from Roots, but jeez.

I think this scene is one of the creepiest I’ve seen in a Rusty Lake game. Something about Albert saying “She has to come with me” is just…. Aghhh. It’s notable to me that, earlier, Rose tells Harvey that she might have to leave, whereas the phone call has Albert saying “She knows”.

Anyways, poor Laura is understandably scarred for life after witnessing this. It’s rare to see a character in Rusty Lake actually react normally to something horrible happening.

That brings me to something I really like about this game, we’re seeing Laura as a person. She’s been a mysterious figure for a majority of the series (even in the games where you play as her), and now we get to jump through her life.

We see moments where she’s actually happy, or at least not actively sad, which feels very different for a character who’s mostly been defined by her mental illness and mysterious death.

Even though it’s sad and messed up, I do like the irony of the situation—After all the hard work you had go through to bring him back to life, William is reincarnated as a woman who suffers from depression and wants to die.

I was actually taken aback at how some parts of this game made me emotional. Rusty Lake has had its sad moments before, but this game is much more cinematic. The music is especially beautiful and does a great job complimenting these scenes.

More subtle but noticeable during certain moments is the art evolution the series has gone through. The voice acting has also improved a lot compared to the earlier games. I especially liked the voice actress for Laura.

Easily one of my favorite games in the series, and I’m excited to see what comes of that sequel hook at the end.

[pizzafishandchips]

Talking with my friend who got me into the AITSF games and it got brought up that I completely glossed over a murder that had happened during the story except for a bit about a puzzle attached to it, and so I've been reflecting on how I'm feeling/what I think about AINI so far--granted, I don't know how far into the story I am (about 7 hours in, doing Shoma's somnium right now) so it's still possible this is just a prolonged case of Early Game Syndrome but I'm beginning to pin it down

edit: oh god no, it's not 7 hours, it's been 12

And man I really don't want to be that person and constantly be comparing AINI to the og but I don't have a better way of figuring out why I'm not vibing as hard with the former than picking out what worked in the AITSF 1 and why

And the momentary conclusion I've come to is that 1) there is WAY too much happening in the story right now yet very little substance to be offered at this point and 2) they're not doing a good job of emotionally investing me in what's going on

On point 1: there are so many characters. There are SO many new characters. And because there's a plot-important 6 year timeskip I'm aware that a lot of the little breadcrumbs and what foundation they might be laying down in Ryuki's route is to be resolved by what I assume to be Mizuki for the most part in the timeskip, so they're just not... giving me much. At all. They're stretching me so so so thin by constantly switching and trying to feed screentime to the new characters and either giving me nothing that helps me solve the greater mystery or extremely vague pieces that don't fit into anything at the moment and get washed away by the sheer amount of other things happening. I like Gen, and the story so far has indicated that he's important, somehow, but aside from some vague suspicions he's really offered nothing to the overall story/mystery so far. Amame is... there. No clue how she's important, she really is just present for... dialogue? I guess? I personally think Kizuna is about as interesting as limp lettuce, and Lien is also just there for some vague sus, AND they threw her dad in the mix just to make the soup messier. Don't ask me about the masked woman because all she's done at this point is shoot a protagonist and run, and show up at random times to be shady and not answer questions. She's important, the game is beating me over the goddamn head that she's important but how??? Idk. She hasn't given me enough to make me care at this point with everything else going on. Which leads me to--

Point 2: I am not as invested in the murders. AITSF 1 made me care about really getting answers because almost all the victims were connected to Date in some shape or form. Compare to the current victims in AINI, none of them are significantly affiliated with any of the characters. Both the AITSF games are murder mysteries. The difference is that in the og I wanted to solve the mystery on a personal level as well as a general gamer/professional one, whereas in AINI solving the mystery really just feels like my Job. I want to solve the mystery just because it is a mystery to be solved, and that's what I'm supposed to do, not because I really want to.

I don't dislike AINI by any means, it being a murder mystery is in it of itself carrying it, but its scope is different enough for me to feel a lot less towards it

[naartjie-hijabi]

As an Indian from Durban I *totally* get you with that anon ask, and ugh, I’m sorry that you’re getting that sort of thing even online. Like… sure, whilst BEE and such aren’t perfect (most black people in our country still live in the country, people on top profit), they’re not white discrimination. I went to private school and I can tell anon that while on paper things like BEE seem like they’re ’against whites’ or smth, white people here in general still have an INSANE amount of money, connections, and assets from the Apartheid era, often built on the human rights abuses of that time, and most don’t care about helping disadvantaged people in the country now. My parents saved for decades for our house, which is fairly large and built on part of the LAWN of our neighbour’s house (a several story house owned by an older white guy). His kid went to my private school, and so I found out that this wasn’t even the only house he owned. My family only paid off our house last year, since my dad had to drop out of uni as he couldn’t afford it and opted to get a job to support his family instead. He broke his leg at that job and it still hurts him because he couldn’t afford time off to get it fixed. All that inequality from Aparthied, a lot of it and a lot of its echoes are still here. To say that it’s not is… you know?

honestly, I'm just hoping that the previous anon was asking out of good faith and nothing more.

BEE and BBEEE in practice aren't great but these systems that were implemented to ensure that POC have an equal footing with white people are being abused by white people. My dad worked in a company where he was the ONLY person of colour in a management position and getting paid a basic salary whereas his white colleagues got paid more for the same job or even less but he was there for "points" - not that he was unqualified but he wasn't being treated equally.

One of my friends is white and while she is by no means rich, she's fairly middle class altho in SA that's barely anything, but she's slightly more well-off than I am. Even still, her skin colour grants her privilege in walking in places where I as a coloured person would feel so uncomfortable. In 2024, people still stare when your skin colour is different and it's so disgustingly backwards.

But I totally understand how you feel anon. my dad couldn't finish uni cause he dropped out to fight against Apartheid, my mom was friends with Ashley Kriel, a coloured freedom fighter who was killed by the Apartheid regime, my uncle and aunt had to flee the country, meanwhile my aunt back home played white because she has pale skin and my dad who's incredibly dark for a coloured man was called derogatory names growing up because of his skin colour.

I'm also so incredibly sorry for your dad and pray that things will only get better for you and your family and you're totally right, denying the realities of Apartheid and the consequences thereof is a slap in the face to everyone who suffered. The people who complain are the people who benefitted and are more worried about losing what they gained through others' losses than helping or caring about anyone that's not part of their community.

The denial of white privilege and the idea that white people are being discriminated against is ludicrous. I live in CAPE TOWN, opposite every affluent white neighborhood is informal settlements. Hell, the neighborhood I currently live in is a white area and people own FERRARIS whereas my family's car breaks down every 5 minutes.

But anyways, I truly do believe that South Africa will gey better. I love this country wholeheartedly and I just want everyone to experience the same level of privilege and have access to all that is needed to succeed in life.

[p-receh]

I'M BAAAAAACK

Let's continue the missing part from anon's questions.

LET'S GO

Anyway anon. I'm in deeply sorry for late reply. Please don't be mad at me T_T

For me back to my previous rants over that vid of episodes 6. Oboi let himself quite and take a rest a little while to comprehend what he's done while splitting.

Since I thought elementals didn't have an official leader under Oboi, Oboi himself in my headcanon were in sleep paralysis during split. Letting his elementals do the job. So whenever they recombine, I always see Oboi as he just woke up and try to recollect all the dreams he saw.

There's a random hypothesis I came up with while watching movie 2 for the first time: That is Oboi's individual elementals exist and only exist as long as they live in Oboi's.

So when Retak'ka and Tok Kasa pulled them out, the elementals instantly went ... uuuh how you pronounce it? Torpidity? Becoming apparent death as a silent tool to its original owner. Same case when Ki'rana took Halilintar from Oboi via Satriantar's sword(?).

This is proven with how l did mention this before, Oboi is the first one who uses split technique. And the way he handled the elementals is like he treating the elementals like some sort of how people control emotions. This comment I stumbled upon beautifully encapsulates it.

Also I find it quite interesting and almost in a bit shock after Beliung incident and during battle in Gur'latan. The former one is showing how Oboi resigned in lending the Wind power to Lady Kuputeri. Beliung case reminded him a lot of Retak'ka, but I think it reminds him from the first time Angin got his 2nd Tier, Taufan.

(back to my other analysis here. With how huge the wind element that Boboiboy absorbed in Planet Windara, his overwhelming joy unconsciously took over Boboiboy)

Whereas the later is portraying Oboi's actually petrified that Halilintar will got the similar unexpected treatment for the third time!

(The way after he shout then comes a pleading voice right after that. I have a headcanon that the pleading voice was Halilintar's last second slipped in.)

If anything, I see both of them not as Oboi, but the real character of the elementals! | know the spoiler about Halilintar's. But I didn't expect to be this worse. (Now I can see why people went frantic about Halilintar at that issue :3).

It goes back to the picture | found on Pinterest. Please tell me the original link. I can't find it (the font whoever use it was hardly readable for me, I'm sorry ^^`)

This is also goes back to what I've mentioned with Boboiboy movie 1 & 2 review. Everytime he let off his hat. His also let his hidden "weakness" opens up.

But at the same time...

The moments his hat wears off is also to show his proofs as a hero for everyone and his family. Especially for his dad who Oboi's dearly missed. That's why he looked very mature whenever he fight without his hat.

His hat for me is resembles of Monsta's clingingness and guardedness 24/7 to make this series still be kids friendly.

If the season 2 ended with 3rd tier design like that. And movie 3 concept art of him being alone... I don't want any Monsta excuses to not upgrade their age ratings.

No.

You started it. So you face the consequences, Monsta >:(

Ehem.

And the elementals unknowingly helps him to achieve that. If I can make some wild headcanon: No, anon. I don't think the elementals wants to leave Oboi.

Not directly proven but their bondings with Oboi are too strong to divide. If anything, the elementals are unofficially being loyal to him. Movie 2 and galaxy season 2 for is already evident enough. (Also it's how Hang Kasa dreamed of with all elementals being unite to protect the galaxy. He couldn't be more proud when there's a boy did that indirectly. Just like how Gempa purposely being the leader of the elementals :'))

Also.

Linking to what I said about the amnesia problem on previous post. Oddly enough, for comic ver, Monsta didn't dwell further on this problem until Baraju arc. But then again in the same arc, Oboi's mental health hasn't detected any worrisome effects! And he CAN STILL FIGHT normally by using a new fusion not long after recombining??

Like-

bro-What?

Monsta didn't let Oboi fucking rest for the sake of introducing the last fusion, Sopan(Not to make any rudeness for Sopan, mind you. I honestly loves his design and attacks. The most unique design of all fusion if I say so myself). Holy shit both Blaze and lce just did a smash brawl shit and almost unleashed their final smash! If not because of Fang, both the temper duo and Oboi should be dead by now. Period.

[sir-arlieosaurus-lung-struggler]

the holidays are always really fucking weird, i dont like many of them but specifically December is just- ew

Anyway ill just thro my mini pitty party real quick:

These song explains how I feel about christmas time *perfectly*

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas by mother mother (christmas playlist)

From heres basically a trauma dump about being in the hospital, but i typically talk about this in a tone more like "oh yea! i nearly died lmao"

When i was like, just turning 6 I had 💫pneumonia💫 & needed to go to the 💫hospital💫. So I spent like, 12/11-31/15 in the hospital. along the way i had these treats happen (not really in order, 💜=story from family member, ❤=i actually remember this)

💜being diagnosed by my sisters 16 yo boyfriend by looking at my gums, whereas medical staff took 4 days

❤Some mcdonalds, cool auntys banana bread, jello & making popin cookin sets w/ my older sister

💜a 5 day medically induced coma

lung surgery therefor cool fuckin scars on my back (WHICH I CANT FUCKING SHOW ANYONE CAUSE I WAS CURSED W/ TITS AND 2/3 ARE UNDER MY BRA)

💜waking up from said coma periodically only to say "im scared" w/ my mom trying to comfort me but i had ear shit going on

💜Finnaly actually woke up, yelled "IM DEAD", which is reportadly the scariest shit my dad has ever heard, my mom asks if i hurt, i say yes, she like "ur not dead honey" again i was 6 & in & out of a coma 😂 (idk why but I've always found that story funny)

💜my parents being thretened w/ truancy by my dumbass school

❤Christmas, I had *2* mini christmas trees in my hospital room 💅 1 was cool but my cool uncle & aunty got me a pink 1 which I still have to this day as a lamp

💜only trusting 1 of my doctors cause he looked like my grandfather who'd been deceased for 2years at that point

❤💜going on walks around the kids floor in a wheelchair & stealing a little gingerbread beanie baby ornament but they didnt care so they just let me keep it & i still have it somehwere.

💜my mom met a lady who had a son who was a few months old & they didnt expect to live past a couple weeks but he *did* (more on that later)

💜had food in the cafeteria and i proceeded to rub the pizza i got *into my hair*. My response? "Its just cheese" my family and I quote that to this day lmao.

💜being reverted to a toddler for a good minute (someone asked my age i said i was 3, i was not) & needing to relearn walking, talking, the little bit of reading i knew & getting into a shower w/out being scared of being pulled down the drain

❤said dude who asked my age worked at the hospital cafeteria & we visited him after most of my appointments. miss u uncle (that was what he went by), wish u well. Dont know where he since covid cause the part of the building cafeteria was in was torn down.

❤and after all that later and i got releaced on new years eve :>

results:

From there forward i had a 20-30minute nebulizer to do every 4 hours (which my parents had to wake up at like 2am for a half hour for), 2 twice daily inhailers, 2 nasil sprays, "the tire" (tastes like shit and makes me feel anxious) (that isnt even all of it my mom counted 8 meds at one point) and i slowly dropped them year by year till they had me down to just rescue inhailer as needed & if my lungs r really shit for a min i go on the tire. (Tire=prednisolone but what 6 year old is remembering that name lol)

specialist appointments every week, then 2 weeks, then every month, 3 months, 6 months, now im at checkup every year and check in as needed

"Look whos inside again" by bo burnham is my life in a nutshell

To this day the smell of a consentrated area of hand sanatizer just has me stop in my tracks lol.

seeing a picture of tiny me on my parents facebook feed yearly of me unconscious in a hospital bed w/ tubes in mah face

couple of close friend i met post hospital (keep in mind i was like 7) didn't believe me so i ran around the playground cursing them the fuck out (never did get in trouble for that 😂) ((I still talk to 1 of them shes cool))

Idk where to put this but about that kid I was talking about before, I found out last year around this time he had just died- of 💫pneumonia💫. yea that fucked me up for a good minute, he was around 6 too which didn't help, I never even met the kid and I still had a weird form of survivors guilt.

Anyway have a merry fucking christmas i really dont get this holiday lol, treat yourself kindly, feel free to be the grinch you are and explain in detail why u hate the holidays u arent alone lol

[unironicallytes]

Alright since you asked me, now its your turn !! Tell me about your Listener!! <3

Waah you're too sweet! 🥺🤝🥺

Ok, so Zathiril is ... he's Schrodinger's Listener lol, sometimes I write him as such, other times I don't - it depends on if I'm RPing with someone, that way we can share the stage however we like. Usually, he's just a Silencer!

His "canon" thread is followed through the events of Dear Brother. To avoid spoiling later parts of the story, I'll just give some distant backstory! [refraining from going down too deep into a lore rabbit hole]

Zath is a Bosmer from a very deep and remote part of west Grahtwood called Mor'iargalthil, which loosely translates to "unpleasant grove". His birth is unknowingly from the mix of vampire and mortal, resulting in him being kind of an anomaly. Something something, themes and motifs, "a thing which should not exist." As written, this results in his strain of vampirism being in its incubation period almost indefinitely. It had a few weird side effects, and his clan generally regarded him as being disconnected from the Green, but they accommodated and supported him in what they perceived as disability.

(His dad on the left, who is the secret vampire)

In his late teens, he was recruited into the Oblivion Dark Brotherhood when he accidentally stole a younger Lucien's kill in Skingrad. Entirely unrelated, he had a vendetta against a merchant who was already on the DB's chopping block. So naturally, Lucien and Zath were like

and Lucien reported back to his Sanctuary like "so, funny thing about that contract", then long story short, they acquired a Freaky Little Initiate. As of Dear Brother, they've been working together for years and eventually became Silencer and Speaker. Zath is literally meant to be the Cheydinhal Silencer before the player character got there, because I always wondered what happened to Lucien's previous one.

Zath is usually playful to be around, but is arrogant and has extreme anger issues. He's a lot more impulsive and prone to skirting rules, whereas Lucien gets more uptight over the years. Zath used to have healthier coping mechanisms for his anger while living in his clan, but joining an Actual Death Cult has very much undone that progress. He now uses death cult prayer and uh. his work. to calm himself and is totally committed to the DB faith.

Following [insert trauma shotgun here] in Dear Brother, that dormant vampirism flares up and Situations Occur 😬

Alright I too have way too much to say about my Funky Little Blorbo, so I'll cut it off there!! Thank you for asking!!!