#but at that point he has no option but to play along bc he still wants to keep tav/durge near him

[bhaalsdeepbat]

Astarion: Finally, we're catching up on our puppet master. And the hunt ends at Moonrise Towers.

screaming crying throwing up over this line with durge and romanced astarion on my duo run. they both start as puppets, then are free enough of their former masters to make their own choices, then they both have a choice: chain themself to their master or be free.

with durge that's either resist or become bhaal's chosen. If they resist, they're marking to certain death. To be free of Bhaal is to die, and I think they're acutely aware of that. To become his Chosen is to extend the amount of time they live, but they know it won't truly be living, if they live their life in service to another.

with astarion it's to break the cycle of abuse and be more than what nearly 200 years of empathy-breaking hell - Sisyphus pushing up the boulder but make it seducing people, eating rats and insects, night after night, knowing everyone you touch is doomed to die - made him OR unchain himself to everything Cazador did by killing Cazador without ascending, allowing him the safety of his abuser being gone so he can finally start feeling and healing without the ever-present threat of becoming a slave to Cazador again.

Their romanced "bad" endings all require someone to become the other's puppet. If Durge becomes Bhaal's Chosen, they force Astarion back into servitude and make him no more than a puppet after taking over the Absolute to start slaughtering the world in Bhaal's name. If Astarion Ascends, Durge either agrees to the loss of their independence and personhood by becoming a spawn OR the relationship falls apart.

I don't have anything else to say I'm just screaming about this lmao

[slices-of-naranja]

I desperately need to organize my thoughts but if I don’t get this out now I will forget it, so take some vague circular incoherent ramblings about Jason motherfucking Grace.

Jason Grace has this weird kind bluntness about him that I desperately need to study. He’s so normal in a fucked up way. Almost regular. Almost an Average Kid. Brutally honest and kind and pragmatic. He wakes up on a bus with no memory, holding hands with a girl, and he’s immediately like “What the fuck. Who are you people. Where am I. Who am I?” Doesn’t even try to play along to figure out what’s happening.

One of the first things he says to Leo is “You’re weird.” Just “You’re weird.”

Jason is judgy as fuck!! Like!! Such a judgmental motherfucker!!! “If Leo is his best friend, then his life is seriously messed up.” Like!!! What the fuck!!! Be nicer to the man you fall madly in love with!!!

He sees Mean Kid (monster) Dylan and immediately goes “fuck that dude.” (“Jason hated him instantly.”) He even mentally makes fun of the guy’s outfit!!! And he roasts the shit out of Dylan’s fucking shiny ass teeth!! He sees two girls being mean to Piper and he literally, despite not knowing where he is or why he’s there, tries to fight them!! And Leo is the only thing holding him back from immediately throwing hands!!

Mr. “I can’t even take Leo out for burgers bc he’ll set the restaurant on fire.” After the 1 (one) time Leo gets too excited and bursts into flame. (Leo not being able to control his powers as a consequence of finally starting to use them after years of repression is something i WILL be talking about another time)

Jason is a judgy, brutally honest bitch. Like, he’s kind and good natured and strong. But years of being raised by wolves, strict deadly Romans, and being praetor have made him a little bit harsh. Rough around the edges. Just a bit off. This is the dude who was like “hm. Yeah I know Nico’s ur boy but… world is ending. So.” He’s been raised to be pragmatic. Make snap judgements. Be harsh. Be deadly. Like, reading his PoV is so different from the fandom characterization.

Jason is wittier, snappier, and wayyy more regular teenage boyish than I thought. He just has that Roman Demigod Edge to him… the part of him that was trained to scream “MONSTERS! MIST! MAGIC! DANGER!!!” even when he had no memory. I need to study this boy so badly. He’s fucking fascinating.

Bc for all his judgement, he grows so quickly attached to people. Like, it doesn’t take long for him to be fiercely loyal to Piper and Leo and Camp Halfblood. I think that’s because they accepted and loved an imperfect him, and while Expectations were still there, expectations he’s been haunted by his whole life, they’re lesser. Bc Piper and Leo don’t know shit fuck about the mythical world. And the rest of the seven are just as strong and capable as Jason, so he has no need to lead. I don’t know. Jason Grace drives me crazy. Marching to his destiny like a good little soldier. No other options for a son of Jupiter. Have to be strongest, have to be praetor, have to lead a legion-

He loves Nico like a best friend. He adores and admires Leo’s wit and talent and smarts, something that is mentioned a lot in his POV. (While also pointing out Leo’s bullshit.) He envies and admires Percy’s strength. He loves Piper’s brashness and heart. He loves them all. I don’t know. He’s quick to judge but he’s even quicker to change his mind. I forgot where I was going with this. Jason Grace has always been a hero at heart and a soldier since age 4 and I think that’s why some people think he’s boring. He’s trained to be serious and stuff. We don’t get to see him goof around very much, except for with Leo, and Leo does most of the goofs. And I would love to know who Jason Grace, judgmental pragmatic kindhearted bitch, would be if he just got to be a regular teenager.

And I think that’s why he loved camp Halfblood. It gave him half a chance at being half normal. What’s one more big three kid? There’s no strict orders or rules to follow or shape him there. But unfortunately, Jason, hero at heart, soldier since age 4, trained to be selfless, trained to give everything up for the greater good, was never going to get a happy ending. Never get a chance at what Percy Jackson found. Being a demigod kills people. And Jason was one from birth, to his very core.

I think part of him would be relieved, at that. Knowing that Percy Jackson, hero with a happy ending, is someone he will never be. Never overcome or surpass. Yeah, it’s the exact reason they’re rivals, too similar to not be compared, yeah it hurts his pride and goes against everything he was raised to be, and yeah he’s had a few silent breakdowns over it, but there’s relief in knowing he’d never win. Being in Percy’s shadow at Camp Halfblood means he can be out of the spotlight. Die a hero’s death while knowing there is no other option. There’s peace in that.

Anyway New Rome represents heteronormativity and Camp Halfblood is Jason figuring out he’s gay. I will not take criticism.

[usercelestial]

the whole queer eddie being included in a queer characters posts reminds me of like when people were wishing the bucktommy date scene got cut instead of the eddie and buck in Bobby’s room and eddie praying …when there is that whole random ass scene with no real adherence to the plot or the characters with polly the neighbour right there as an option for them to cut..but no they wanna cut the scene with the mlm queer couple (that many mlm queer men in this fandom love) all because they hate tommy, can’t handle a daddy issues joke, and the fact that it’s not eddie with buck

yeah ultimately a lot of their cries for activism and queer rep are performative. they do not truly care about queer characters or queer representation and i think most people could smell that from a mile away. these people have always been way more concerned with their own ship than with anything else. they like to pretend that if you don't ship The Thing or if you don't hate bucktommy then you must not want eddie to be queer or even like his character and that's. a thought lol. but i think it's really interesting why they've come to that conclusion.

like for me, i love eddie enough that i don't have to change his character to make him something that i like. i love eddie enough to allow him to be his own character outside of my own interpretation of his queerness and outside of his relationship with buck. but at the same time i also love eddie enough to see myself in him and create theories about his identity. these two things co-exist: seeing the character for what the canon shows me he is AND seeing the character for what i'd like him to be. i think most people are able to find the balance and be pretty normal about it. i think these people are genuinely so far deep into whatever they want the story to be that they have to rewrite canon to fit that perception of the character and feel threatened when that gets pointed out.

which again, like i truly do not give a shit if you do cherry pick canon, just don't come for people who are like hey you know that's just your headcanon right? like don't act like your own interpretation is better than anyone else's. it's not, it's still just an interpretation. i do read eddie as queer while still acknowledging that within the canon universe, he is identified as a straight man by canon. which makes my reading of him just a headcanon (aka canon in your head but not anywhere else), no less valid and important but still not the story they may be trying to tell.

i've talked about this a little bit before but i think a lot of the issue here is the idea of playing nice and remembering that this is all pretend which i don't think they've really had to deal with before. a lot of these people have never been confronted with another big kid on the block. their ship has kind of held precedent for a really long time, along with their headcanons and their ideas of what these characters are. so now that buck actually is bisexual and is dating a man, who isn't eddie, suddenly their entire worldview of canon breaks down.

now there's canon gay representation. now you don't have a moral argument to justify your ship bc that thing you've been begging for, "canon bi buck/more canon queer characters" does exist. so now what are you arguing for? just a preferred ship? no that can't be, it must be more than, we must be fighting for something bigger.

but now you're forced to confront that it's all just headcanons and vibes and theories that have ran unchallenged for years and years. so now you have a group of people who do not know how to grapple with the reality they are being shown vs the reality they've created in their heads clashing against people who are fans of the same reality the show lives in and don't really care about the non-canon anymore. which, if that's your prerogative, if you prefer non-canon stuff, then go for it, that's what fandom is for, but the issue here is that they view this as genuinely a threat. they don't want any other interpretation. it doesn't just feel like a threat to their ship, it feels like a threat to the canon world they've created about these characters. they see other people coming in excited for something that isn't their thing, and now feel like we're taking something away from them. they don't want to see canon anymore, even if it's something they used to claim they want. they don't want queer rep, they want to be proven right.

[awesome-opossum-after-hours]

AT au where instead of Betty, it's actually FINN who sacrifices himself and makes the wish with the crown.

I've seen some au's about Simon doing this, but we're forgetting the secret third option I guess?

now obviously, the loss of Finn will have an impact on most, if not all of the citizens of Ooo. but I'd like to think that Finn's intention is to make this wish, not just for the safety of one person, but to keep all of Ooo safe and free from any more chaos. I've seen some shows where the hero "dies" on the end (though in this case, there'd be the idea that he IS still conscious and able to watch over everyone), and honestly it can be a great ending if played right.

here's how it would go down: Finn, Simon, and Betty are being digested by Golb. they're at the point where Betty and Simon have both returned to their sane, pre-Mushroom War selves and are having their reunion. Finn notices that the crown has reset, and also taking notice that he's not being "digested" because he hasn't changed all that much. he realizes that he has the chance to make a wish, make a true difference in Ooo and ensure the peace and safety of all his friends, something that he's clearly wanted through the whole series. he sees how happy Betty and Simon are now that they're reunited, and begins to put on the crown. when the tunnel opens up, he tells Betty and Simon to leave. he gives them some brief things to tell his friends and family on his behalf. he also tells them to finally get married, and to go on with their lives together. (I'd like to think he also, in Finn fashion, jokingly tells them to name their first kid after him :) )

after some coaxing, and tears, they finally give in and leave Golb. Finn makes his wish, which is "I wish for the power to keep Ooo safe", and merges with Golb in the same style Betry did (idk what he'd be called- maybe "Golbfinn"? a silly name kinda like goldfish lol). Jake would be torn, but I feel like he would also be a bit proud of Finn after a bit of grieving. as Finn said in the episode before (in canon), he used to be all about violence. and now, he's keeping the peace.

Gunther still gets the crown in this universe bc that's just funny

in the little Come Along With Me montage, we'd see the other characters rebuilding the tree house, along with the rest of Ooo that had gotten destroyed. I think they would start to worship Finn actually, he would become the hero that everyone would tell stories about, the stuff of legends. we'd also get to see the Petrigrof wedding! it also flashes forward to about a year or so later, we see that they do, in fact have a kid. a little girl named Fionna, who grows into her namesake and becomes hero- material herself.

:)

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA for getting jealous of a dog?

Apologies if this is hard to follow. My boyfriend and I have been dating for about a year. He’s very sweet and I love him a lot, though he’s occasionally a little forgetful/inattentive due to his ADHD (which I also have). We’re poly and I have a nesting partner that I live with, and I generally go to my boyfriends house rather than him coming to mine (my nesting partner has higher sensory needs so I try to leave the space available for her to have more quiet time).

A few months back, he started working with a new coworker, a girl, who he got along with very well. I was glad he was making a friend, and even asked him a few times if he was interested in dating her as well, to which he said he wasn’t for several reasons, the most central of which being that she was, at the time, living with an abusive ex and generally dealing with a lot. I said okay, to let me know if that changed (as far as I know it has not and that’s not where this is going). He mentioned at one point that she might have a crush on him but that he wasn’t concerned about it, so I wasn’t either.

As I mentioned she was living with an abuser, and one day my bf told me that he had invited her to come stay with him so she could get out. He had seen his father abuse his mother as a kid and it triggered him a lot to see someone else going through that, so he offered it kind of abruptly. I was overall in support of this of course, but I was still upset for a few reasons, such as that he’d said she was interested in him (he told me he realized he’d probably misread it) and his apartment is not that big, meaning she’s not only there but usually in very close proximity, as there’s not a ton of space to sit and they’re both tall. She also does have family and other friends in the area, so he’s not the only option by a longshot, but he lives closest to where they work. He noted my concerns and apologized for the abruptness, and promised to do his best to make sure I didn’t feel sidelined by her being there, which he has done.

Now, due to both her suddenly living with my boyfriend and just general personality things, I don’t really care for her. She’s a little abrasive and sometimes insulting, not to me but about ppl in general, she plays TikToks out loud at full volume when we’re watching tv (previously my bf had banned TikTok from his house entirely but I think he didn’t want to impose harsh rules on her at that point), and is sometimes overly familiar with me and I think with him (she sometimes addresses him with an “ie” at the end of his name and addressed me as “beautiful” like the second time I met her). Obviously I recognize that her personality is affected by her circumstances; the year after I left my abuser I was a lot bitchier, so I haven’t said anything to her or him. But bc of these differences, I’ve not made a strong effort to be her Friend. I’ve been…I’d say nice but I often get read as meaner than I mean to so let’s say civil, for example if I make food for the house I always make enough for her even though she often chooses not to eat with us. But I don’t like, go out of my way to converse or give her any encouraging response when she shows me videos I don’t care about.

Recently, she has started bringing her dog over to the house. The dog had previously been staying with her mother, who has a large piece of land on the water about 40 minutes out from the city (again my bf has a two bedroom apartment with a roommate and no green spaces, although there are parks nearby). I generally like dogs, though I wouldn’t say I’m a Dog Person, but I think they’re sweet overall. The only place I have an issue is with large dogs, bc I’m a very small person (im almost 30 and I’ve never broken 100lbs despite trying for years to gain weight) and if a large dog wants to jump on me to say hello I Will fall over, and if they push me or corner me I don’t have a lot of ability to push back. This dog, I’m not sure about breeds per se but I’m 90% sure she’s part lab, part pitbull, not huge but a solid dog around my size, and thus not the type I usually try to befriend, though I’ll give her a head pat if she requests one. This means we’re up to five people and one person sized dog (he had another friend lose a job and have to move abruptly so he’s also staying there) in a two bedroom apartment. I, as well as his roommate, think this is too much, and prefer when the dog is not there. But she misses her dog and my boyfriend is a full blown Dog Person, so he loooves when the dog is around, and will spent hours playing with her if she’s over. I’m not a fan of this for both the obvious reasons and bc she often knocks into things while playing and it makes me very nervous; there’s a lot of glass in his apartment and some of it is mine.

So okay the girl’s there and I don’t like her much, and sometimes the dog is there and i don’t love that either, but I’ve never said anything and done my best to control my feelings and reactions to not show annoyance (my guess is that I have about a 35% success rate at this as again, I’m often read as more hostile than I intend to come off). Id say there’s a solid chance that this girl can tell I don’t like her being there, but I’ve never intentionally made the space hostile.

Recently, she’s started this joke of referring to my boyfriend as…her dogs boyfriend? She calls him her “mans” whenever he’s playing with her and has trained her to know who she’s talking about when she refers to “her mans”. She even recently referred to her as his “main gf” which he quickly shut down, but other variations of the joke continue to come up. I do not like this joke, bc I think the girl knows I don’t like her and is trying to make me uncomfortable, but of course that sounds very paranoid. I’m trying very hard not to say anything bc like, obviously my bf isn’t cheating on me with a dog, but like, it still makes me mad that this girl who is so ingrained in his life right now is talking about her dog as if she’s his main interest.

So like, based on all the info here, WIBTA if I asked her to stop making that joke or expressed discomfort at her behavior? I know this maybe seems like an obvious one but again I’ve probably been more outward about my dislike of her than I think and I don’t want to make it seem like I don’t trust my boyfriend, bc I do, so maybe I wouldn’t be an “asshole” but I’d still be in the wrong? Idk what do yall think

What are these acronyms?

[pink-tea]

txt calling you spanish pet-names

☆ rating: sfw, fluff

☆ headcanons !!

☆ hispanic/spanish-speaking! reader

☆ i just did what txt would get called, how could i not write this aaaah. also i just found out that hbo max has say yes to the dress, i love this show so fucking much oh my god (update:) i am on season 5

☆ slight use of hispanic lingo/slang, if you need the context to any let me know in comments <3 (translations at the end!!)

other version ♡

yeonjun

�� mi reina/rey

yeonjun seems like the type to call you some form of royalty lmao. something in my brain just sees him pronouncing the "r", smiling proudly when he says it successfully, kissing the back of your hand like a tease. really the type of guy to really just treat you like his queen/king, adoring you soso much even though he's the kind of asshole who will tap his cheek instead of straight up telling you to kiss him. i can just imagine trying to get ready, looking at yourself in the mirror while yeonjun sneaks up from behind, pressing shy kisses along the side of your neck before catching your eye in the reflection and mouthing the words "mi reina/mi rei" into your skin.

ღ amor

yeonjun's a romantic, i have nothing off the top of my head that i can use as proof of this but i feel it in my gut 100% it's such a classic but that's what makes yeonjun like using it, it's sweet, it's romantic, it makes your heart flutter and yeonjun says it at the most random yet perfect times. he has a habit of saying it mid-makeout, lips red and bruised and wet with your spit. he smiles into the kiss, pulling back just to tell you, "te amo, mi amor" because he really does :( you're the love of his life, his amor.

soobin

ღ tesoro

tesoro bc soobin treasures you <3 it's sweet and you tease him for the pet-name being a little old fashioned, but soobin just genuinely thinks of you as his treasure :( you're something lovely and bright that's come into his life, and it feels like he's searched for so long just to find you, a red 'x' marked in the sand. there was probably a time where you asked him if he calls you treasure bc he plays a lot of looting video games and the color just drains from him face. "oh my god i never thought of that," and he looks so panicked that you have to fuss and reassure him that you like it. "no! no, it's ok, it's cute, i like being your tesoro, promise <3" (he's still a little worried).

ღ bebe

soobin seems like such the type of guy to call you "babe" or "baby", but he also wants to make it special by copying the way you call him pet-names in spanish. "qué quieres comer, bebe?" he asks you one day, scrolling through the menu of whatever take-out option the two of you had settled on for that evening. "mmm, that's cute," you comment on the pet-name, coming up behind soobin from where he sits on the sofa. he twists his body to look at you, bunny lips quirked up into a relieved smile. "te gusta?" he asks, and his broken accent is cute enough for you to plant a playful kiss on his cheek. "mhm, me gusta."

beomgyu

ღ mami/papi

this is so him. at first it started out as a joke, something to tease you with whenever he's trying to get your attention. "mami, pleaseee," he whines into your ear. "quiero sentirme bien," he tries, hands dangerously close to slipping underneath your shirt when the two of you are literally supposed to be out the door. "gyu, please don't do this right now," you scold, words getting caught in your throat when he kisses the pulse-point on the side of your neck. "want you right now, mami," he persists, cold hands settling on the skin of your stomach. "please," he begs, and fuck you're weak </3 needless to say it became more than just a joke.

ღ guapísimo/guapísima

wants matching pet-names with you, but he always has to one up you so he adds "isimo" or "isima" at the end. it's like, at first you're so endeared by it because matching pet-names are always so cute, but then you find out the truth behind it when you call him guapo and he turns it into a competition. finally being able to win by shutting him up with a tug of his hair and a kiss. "callate, guapo," you hush into his lips, already feeling the way his lips curl into a pout. "callate, guapísima," he shoots back, laughing at your exasperated sigh.

taehyun

ღ mi alma

at first i wanted to make taehyun's "mi vida", but also taehyun is just so loving. when taehyun falls in love with you, he feels it in his soul. he feels it in the way you give him butterflies with every peck on the cheek, the way his heart stutters when you press your lips against his. it feels like you're his other half, the reason he loves to wake up in the morning. you're the other part of his soul, and it makes sense to call you just that. "soy tu alma?" you ask teasingly, cradling taehyun's face in your palms while he nods. "mi alma," he confirms, eyes bright with adoration.

ღ ángel

the things i would do for taehyun to call me his angel oh my god </3 i see myself falling into a sort of theme with the pet-names taehyun picks, but it just makes so much sense. taehyun who constantly comes home tired, vocal cords on the verge of being sore because of how many ad-libs he's recorded :( collapsing on top of you when you're laying on the bed, giving you his best smile when he's so close to passing out. "i missed you," he admits softly, wrapping his arms around your waist, weight suffocating you. "get off me before i die," you whine, pushing at his arms. "you'll die and become an angel," he hums, leaning up to press a kiss to your lips. "mi ángel del cielo," he continues, proud of himself when he catches sight of your grin.

hueningkai

ღ chikibby

think chikibaby but kai makes it a point to pronounce it like the 'a' isn't there. kai who's just six feet full of adoration for you, cradling your face in his palms/squishing the absolutely fuck out of your cheeks and cooing. thinking of his pretty heart-shaped smile, the way he’d absolutely beam as he shakes you around and talks about how much he loves his chikibby. you cant even get mad at the fact that he’s kind of hurting you bc the way he says it makes his lips end up some kind of puckered up pout and it’s so cute </3 breaking his concentration by kissing his pout and making him trail off into shy giggles, stop I’m in love </3

ღ fiu fiu

"mi bebito fiu fiu" stop because that song would get on my nerves so much, but I feel like hueningkai would absolutely love saying "fiu fiu". and like, it's supposed to imitate a whistle, but hueningkai says it so fucking much that it ends up becoming your pet-name. "mi fiu fiu <3" "kai please stop saying that i'm begging you." but he doesn't listen. he also finds it adorable because he literally can't whistle, so whenever you ask him to sit put on your bed and tell you his opinion on some random outfit online, it's his default response. "what do you think about this one?" you ask, smile already creeping on hueningkai's face when he gives you a thumbs up. "fiu fiu!" it's almost like a pun, he loves it.

mini-not-so-mini translation section:

ღ mi reina/mi rey meaning my queen/my king

ღ amor meaning love

ღ "te amo, mi amor" meaning "i love you, my love"

ღ tesoro meaning treasure

ღ bebe meaning "baby" or "babe"

ღ "qué quieres comer, bebe?" meaning "what do you want to eat, babe?" and "te gusta?" meaning "you like it?"

ღ mami/papi meaning mommy/daddy but meaning more "my woman" or "my man" in this context

ღ "quiero sentirme bien" meaning "i want to feel good" and callate meaning shut up

ღ guapísimo/guapísima meaning very beautiful/very handsome

ღ mi alma meaning my soul

ღ ángel meaning my angel

ღ "mi ángel del cielo" meaning "my angel from heaven"

ღ chikibaby derived from the words "chiquita/chiquito" and "baby"

ღ fiu fiu as something meant to mimic the sound of a whistle, used as a term of endearment

[hugheses]

Have you ever read anything about why Jack decided not to go to college? I know he was projected to go first for a while and his goal was to make the team right away, but Quinn and Luke committed to Michigan at like 14. So when jack was 14 too it was kind of a long ways off from him knowing he’d go first overall. I wonder what his parents thought since their dad has said multiple times that their kids all playing college hockey was their dream

this is a kind of long answer so buckle up. first of all, as kids, jack was very different from luke and quinn. obviously all 3 are elite players now, but both jim and ellen have said that jack’s trajectory differed from a young age. so while quinn went 8th round in the ohl draft, the plan for him was always college and it wasnt until he was at the program that he started to be seen as a top player. but jack as a player was so elite so young that people were talking about him going first overall before he was in high school. he applied for exceptional status for the ohl so he could play as an underager but was denied (bc he was so physically immature and would have been playing against men) but had he played in the ohl, he would have not been eligible for the ncaa. so for a while that was the reason. and then he went to the program and after his first year a lot of michigan fans had hoped that he would graduate HS early to go play with quinn at umich, but he said that he wanted to stay where he was for his development. and at this point he's been the presumptive first overall pick for years, it wasn't until the year of the draft that kakko was seen as a serious challenger. most first overalls go into the nhl their draft year, with some exceptions like owen power obviously, but for the most part, 1st overalls who play in college either have earlier birthdays than jack (so would age out of the ntdp etc before their draft year like auston matthews) or graduate early on purpose to play in college. quinn's birthday actually falls in the weird category of spending 2 years at the ntdp and still needing to graduate early to go straight to college. to sum things up, college hockey was yes the dream for quinn and luke, but jack was always different and their parents have said as much. they wont explicitly say it, but they knew jack was going into the nhl long before 14. and i don't know how close it actually got to happening, but in summer 2018 jack was (allegedly) stopped by the admissions department from going to umich where sometimes they will fudge stuff for elite athletes. but i kind of doubt he would have gone anyway, because he loved the program and it was hockeyhockeyhockey 24/7 in a way college just isn't, and he lived close enough that he saw quinn all the time.

from earlier that year,

And Quinn said he'd be happy if Jack played for the Wolverines next season. “Playing with my brother would be a dream come true,” Quinn said. “He’s gotta make his own decision.”

and

Jack and the Hughes family has options. Along with U-M, the Mississauga Steelheads drafted him with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection. Or he could stay at NTDP for the second year. “It could be a perfect scenario,” Jim said of Jack going to U-M. “But they’re not there yet. The beauty is Jack is in a really great spot right now. He values the development he’s getting with Seth and Wrobo.” Quinn said he and his brother haven’t talked about next year's possibilities yet. They’re focused on what they still can accomplish this season, on their respective teams.

and then here's an article on him choosing to stay at the ntdp that year. so the reasons he didnt commit young were mostly that he didnt know if he even could go to college, and then he almost did go as a 17 year old but ultimately did not. every school in the country would have tripped over themselves to try to nab him, but it was assumed by umich and everyone else that if he went to college, it would be there. but pretty much everyone at the time expected him to make the jump to the nhl immediately in 2019, including himself, he was very vocal about wanting to do so.

[shadowofmoths]

Who would you cast to play mcr out of the Muppets.

oh man. fantastic question thank you So Much. ok so first of all this post does a great job of it and i rly cannot do better HOWEVER i am going to try and do my own take on it. here goes.

gerard: i mean. listen. miss piggy, obviously. i rly tried to have another option but i don’t. and it’s not just for appearance reasons, like it’s not just so we can put piggy in the cute dresses , it’s also bc piggy has this fancy diva aspect to her of course but also has the capability to go apeshit when necessary.

ray: i am going to say something controversial. i think ray could be kermit. “kermit is the frontperson of the muppets!” yes ok sure you could make that case HOWEVER if you watch the muppet show he’s actually responsible for a lot more of the behind the scenes coordination and keeping shit together. whicu makes me think of ray recording in the back of their bus on warped tour, among other things. there’s also a point where someone says smth to kermit along the lines of like. “thank god YOURE normal” and kermit is like. are you kidding me? i hired the rest of [the muppets]! and i think you could argue ray could fit that in the sort of. doesn’t outwardly seem as intense as maybe gerard or frank but very much still is in my chemical romance ykwim. alternative option would be sweetums ONLY because sweetums’ whole bit is being left behind and having to run after everyone else and ray got left at the truck stop, but i think that bit only works once or twice.

frank: i think there’s a lot of options for frank, particularly if you’re going for the “chaotic guitarist who throws himself around stage” route ? like if you RLY wanted to go for that you could do animal which i think could be funny bc i’m imagining animal with the like emo eyeliner etc. but i rly do think the right choice for him is gonzo. gonzo’s got the ability to be chaotic. but crucially, he is also a wife guy.

mikey: i would make a case for mikey as scooter, maybe? both younger than the people they’re working with, can have a nervous energy, and lowkey there because of nepotism (scooter has a job w the muppets bc his rich uncle owns the muppet theatre. lol.) alternatively i guess you could say beaker based on being. tall and uhh not always talking clearly/being quiet? maybe? but i think scooter is your best bet here. or i guess you could do zoot bc he’s just a silent cool-looking sax player. if gerard is gonna be piggy i guess you could pull another pig muppet for mikey so they’re siblings but idk.

ANYWAYS now i’m having fun imagining each of these muppets in like revenge era outfits . also i can’t believe i managed to say This Much on this topic my god

[wild-magic-oops]

For the dark urge asks: 1, 19, and 24!

from left to right: Lucas, The Dark Urge, Damien

1. What circumstances led to your Dark Urge becoming their Class/Subclass?

Lucas - I initially played him as a life domain cleric of Tyr because I thought it'd be hilarious and it was! Tho in my latest playthrough I made a hireling out of him as a multi-class gloomstalker rogue which is fitting imo so I might change his class for some fics/ideas etc. But back to the cleric - Lucas woke up with a very acute feeling that he served a god before so he drew the conclusion that he must've been a cleric. And his violent urges felt imposed on him, so he thought that must be a curse of some sort and therefore he must've gotten it because he served a good-aligned god.

My guy was deep in the delulu, but yet partially correct. Still, he didn't know which god he served so he did the good old tested method of guessing, and started with Tyr who looked at this poor confused bhaalspawn who wanted to do good and decided "yeah sure why not". Another option is for Withers to have always been Lucas's deity and for Lucas to just not have realized it and thought it was Tyr instead.

The Dark Urge - he's the default sorcerer class so there was no choosing there. He realized he could do magic and stuck with that. It was a bonus that he could fry people on the spot with said magic. No need to improve upon perfection lmao

Damien - I still haven't 100% decided but since he's a paladin and it's canon that paladin!Durge has broken their oath before, I'm thinking that upon waking up from the pod, even through his amnesia he still could feel the remnants of an oath and that he was wronged in some way. And because of his violent and terrible urges that he very much doesn't like, he decided to go the complete opposite route. So he swore another oath - this time of vengeance.

19. Has your Dark Urge become particularly close to anyone romantically and/or platonically in their journey? If so, who, and what is the relationship like? If no, why not?

All my Durges are Galemancers so Gale's their closest companion by far. Aside from him:

Lucas - tried the most to get to know others and give them a chance. He really likes Wyll bc he's a hero and has the whole "do the right thing" going on. But Wyll's also a bit too morally uncompromising which in itself is fine, but Lucas with his urges (and sometimes hubris) felt like he would fuck up at some point and Wyll would not take it well, so their relationship is not as strong as it could've been. He gets along with selunite!Shadowheart as well.

The Dark Urge - He's not super close to anyone aside from Gale tbh. But he does like the good-aligned companions more. And he has the most developed relationship with Jaheira out of all my Durges. He's the only one to admit he's scared of Bhaal to her. I guess from the original companions he gets along the best with Wyll and Lae'zel.

Damien - gets along with Wyll the best. I didn't recruit Karlach this time even tho I like her bc I want to see how something plays out, but for narrative reasons I imagine I did and Damien gets along great with her as well. And since this is the first time I recruited Minthara, he has a funny relationship with her bc they're both vengeance paladins and sometimes he agrees with her and then she says something out of pocket and he's like "no...!" He also respects Lae'zel once she's seen through her indoctrination and wants to fix the system for her people.

24. Does your Dark Urge have a treasured item with them? If yes, what is it and why is it special? If no, how do they feel about item sentimentality in general?

That would be a no for all my Durges. In terms of sentimentality - Lucas is the most santimental when it comes to objects, followed by The Dark Urge. Damien is the least by far.

[fbfh]

living with the fosters hcs

wc: 800

pairing: moms!stef and lena + siblings!adams foster kids (brandon, callie, jesus, mariana, and jude) + (gn) adams foster!reader

warnings: tooth rotting fluff, found family, comfort, brief mention of various drama from the show (breakdowns, trafficking, suicidal tendancies, relapses, general bad decisions) (again it's incredibly brief like one bullet point for all of that), stef and lena are amazing moms, optional masc/male and fem/female hcs, I think that's it

a/n: falling down a fosters rabbit hole again!!!! adopt me pls!!!!! also brandon needs all of his siblings to gang up on him once in a while. he's the worst and callie is a close second. also if you don't know why you were tagged in this it's bc it falls under the domestic life/found family trope lol

@yesv01 @youkissedareaderinthedark @girlfriendwhoseawitch @mrscarolscaramoucheplease

Wailing screaming sobbing

First of all

Stef and Lena are the ultimate parents

You never had a good mom?? Now you fucking have two

You have a whole passel of siblings in a warm cozy house full of love

If you share a room with Callie and Mariana 

Get ready for some peak sister core moments

Mariana will frequently get second opinions on what color combos you think she should do for her next mani pedi 

Callie will act like she doesn’t want to talk about anything then ten minutes later she’s telling all about her current boy problems 

Helping Mariana do the back of her hair and doing Callie’s eyeliner for her because she insists she can’t do it as well as you have become as much a part of your morning routine as brushing your teeth

If you share a room with Jesus and Jude

It’s boy core healthy masculinity core all the way

Just guys being dudes

(or in Jude’s case, guys being Judes)

Jesus will constantly interrupt your attempts to do homework to ramble about his latest hyperfixation

Which is usually skateboarding or wrestling or 5 hour long youtube documentaries 

Jude is (affectionately) a little easier to get along with

Most of the time he only interrupts your homework for help with his 

Or to ask for help with a hard part of the level he’s stuck on in his video games

He puts stickers on his DS sometimes and loves getting your opinions on which ones should go where 

Brandon is super busy trying to get into music school and everything

But he makes sure to catch up with you at least a couple times a week 

Usually when it’s yalls turn to clean up after dinner

You’re both pretty busy, but you still make an effort to stay up to date on what’s going on with both of you

He tells you about all the drama in the music scene 

Even though he has to explain half the jargon and terminology to make his stories make sense

You tell him about the drama in your friend group at school 

Mariana and Callie will frequently ask you to settle arguments

And Mariana and Jesus 

And Mariana and Brandon 

Mariana just has a lot of hot takes

Stef and Lena work so hard to make this house a home

And they do

Everytime you come home from work or school or anywhere else

You’re always greeted with two warm hugs and kisses on the forehead form Stef and Lena

“Hi, love,” 

“How did everything go, sweetheart?” 

It’s not just small talk, they really do care about how things are going for you

They love you so much

They always keep your favorite cereal in the pantry 

They show up to as many of your events and extracurriculars as they can 

They’ll help you keep track of any meds or medical appointments 

They might even break their no coffee for the kids rule for you

It’ll take a little convincing but you know them well enough to know what cards to play 

They’re just so supportive too

Like you can wake them up in the middle of the night just cause you had a bad dream

They’ll hug you and ask if you want to talk about it and offer to make you tea

They really do have your back 100% of the time

And like

They’re so accepting 

Any problems you’re having 

Anything that’s causing you stress

You can talk to either of them 

Or both of them

Whenever you want

Even if you’re just feeling off

If you just need a little attention

Your mom and mama are there for you

They check up on you a lot too

Not too much, just checking in to see how homework’s going

If you’re hungry

How you’re feeling 

Anytime something scary happens 

Anytime there’s an argument or some other drama

Mariana’s ex boyfriend has a mental break down, Callie voluntarily enters a trafficking ring, Sophia tries to walk into traffic, Brandon spends his juilliard money on an apartment for his single mom girlfriend and her kid, Mike relapses

You know

The usual

Whenever there’s drama, Stef and Lena always make sure to check on you

They always take extra time to talk you through what happened or whatever crisis is going on

Make sure you know that they’re right here if you need them

And their hugs are the best too

They’re so warm and supportive

Literally and figuratively

Honestly you couldn’t ask for better moms 

They have your back through everything

Every injustice, every rough patch, every failure and low and problem

And every win and success and happy exciting joyful moment

They’re there for you through all of it

And from the bottom of their hearts, they couldn’t be more proud of you

[iwoszareba]

so that diamond ‘thoughts abt your character’ thing. I enjoy writing the clown man so every KC I feel I have decent enough grasp on gets a hot take. 

we are going with Knave as a companion bc that's the easiest option

I'm so sorry if you did not want to hear from him, some of his opinions are real garbage @dujour13 @commander-lariel @turbulentpumpkin43 @silversiren1101 @lairiend @angrygoatwoman @dmagedgoods @offsidekineticist @vulpineix @desnas @cassynite @spyridonya @undyingembers

Siavash

He is disgustingly sweet. And you think to yourself 'I can be a responsible adult and cut my sugar intake' but then you see that cookie box on the table and what are you supposed to do? Not take one? Or two? Or a dozen? I hate him. He is fun.

Lariel

She just radiates fear seemingly unprompted? Someone should get that fixed. For the sake of the crusade or something. Don't look at me, I don't know how nor am I inclined to. If the decision was up to me I would release the storm inside her to see what happens.

Zrise

He is so sour! And angry! Trying to get respect by being the meanest dog in the neighbourhood. But his bite matches his bark so it's all fine. And hey, I'm an honest fellow of honest pleasures so he can bite me any time he wants.

Ariadne

She is a hoot! Not many things in this world more exciting than a good explosion. And she provides those in spades. Surprisingly she also seems to like me? The other shoe will drop eventually I'm sure but for now I can just enjoy what we have.

Mino

I know she has chaos at her core, you can see it leak sometimes and it's glorious. But instead of indulging in it, it's like she's made an oath to try to be boring at all costs. Do you think it's Regill's influence? Can boring rub off on another person? What a terrifying thought.

Agria

This lady is on fire! Metaphorically I mean, I think she may end up burning herself, also metaphorically. But I have to admit I do enjoy watching the flames go higher (metaphorically and literally) so I'm here for it. Look at her go!

Oleander

Don't tell him this, I don't want him to start thinking I'm a possible convert but if I reeeeeeeally had to choose a god to worship it would be Lamashtu. I like to think we monster types have an understanding. Even when he is being all nice like a freak.

Salvadore

I feel like I'm supposed to hate him and I kinda do. Angel man with a stick up his ass. But then he does something unexpected and it's like: woah! Where did that come from? I'm begging you to show me more. I'm at the edge of my seat.

Theoven

Such a funny little guy! Like a cart on the path to a disaster no matter which track he picks. Honestly that's plenty enjoyable. And he has so much emotion in him, he should let loose more often! I can hardly believe he is related to Regill of all people.

Luthais

What a wet blanket of a person. Could you give us a single emotion? No? Okaaaaay I can drag something out of you but I don't think you will like it! Seriously, he is a piece of work. I get that he is doomed by the narrative but he could at least try to be funny about it.

Taro

Have you ever met someone who looks at a wild beast and thinks they can turn it into a friendly critter? I think that's how they look at me and it's extremely funny. But I can play along for a little while, why not. Watch me be the freakiest little azata.

Sparrow

She is like a box locked in a box locked in a box locked… You get the idea. I don't know what's at her core and at this point I'm not sure it's worth the effort. I'm still gonna try to get her riled up whenever possible. What else is there to do?

Kadira

It's comforting to see someone who got fucked up by Areelu just as bad. I think she should get angrier about it but hey. Good for her for having a semblance of emotional stability. Or maybe it's just an act? It would be fun to see her spiral. I mean that affectionately.

Lenarius/Leonosa

Not only is he all prim and proper but he also does not get annoyed easily. I don't know what I'm supposed to do with her! I guess I have to try harder? Really backing me into a corner here. Sigh. Maybe I should just kick back and take it easy.

[overallsonfrogs]

Foxes as types of color guard performers (for the like 2 people who live in this part of the venn diagram with me)

Kevin:

- Parents & older siblings did DCI

- Will name drop shows from like 20 years ago and act like you should know them

- Needs direct validation from the director or they’ll take their frustration out on everyone else

- DEFINITELY a JI (derogatory)

- Pissed that they’re not captain even though they’re not a senior

Neil:

- Feral unknowingly queer child who needed an after school activity to avoid being at home (😅😅😅)

- Stays in the gym after practice to learn cool tricks

- Channels anger into conditioning workouts & gets super strong out of spite

- Isn’t naturally talented but works really hard & makes rifle line

Andrew:

- The sabre prodigy that thinks they’re too good for flag & that everyone low-key hates bc they’re jealous

- Always gets a solo & makes the choreo harder without asking bc it was “too easy”

- Never knows the counts for the choreo when asked but is always in time

- Silently counts every drop they see in other shows

Nicky:

- The first out kid on the team who sings along to the pop girlie warm up music

- Saw the Flaggots at Philly Pride and decided to join despite having no prior athletic or musical interest

- Has watched Light Brigade’s Madonna show like a billion times on youtube

- Technique is just okay but they bring ~the dramA~ when performing

Allison:

- C*nty former competition dancer who hated all the drama but still wanted to perform

- Helps underclassmen with their hair & makeup

- Hosts the “summer sectional that’s really an excuse for a pool party” every year at her house

- An absolute beast on rifle

Renee:

-Upperclassman career flag who *could* make rifle line but simply doesn’t want to

- Helps all of the flag newbies not be too scared to let go

- Unofficially in charge of team bonding

-Bakes cookies related to the show theme for show days

Matt:

- Also plays an instrument and is therefore friends with everyone

- Knows all of the cheerleaders & football players & convinces them to come to a band/winterguard competition

- Runs the guard insta & makes the section t-shirts

Dan:

- Guard captain who is very supportive but also wants to WIN

- Very strict about conditioning days, but will always chill out if someone is on their period

- Organizes a ton of sectionals even when it’s cold and no one wants to go, but always buys pizza

Aaron:

- The straight STEM girlie who somehow ended up there

- Instead of practicing, they just complain about how hard their classes are to justify not knowing the choreo

- Got in trouble with the director for being homophobic, but the team was too small to make them quit

Seth:

- Only wants to spin rifle bc he thinks flags are “for girls”

- Refuses to try during dance warmups

- Never goes to optional sectionals

- Skips band parties for “real” parties

Bonus:

Jeremy:

- Former baton girlie who’s really good at sabre & can do a bunch of cool tricks under tosses

- Always the first to point out when someone shy/new does well

- The “GET IT!!”/“You got it!!” girlie, depending on circumstance

- Organizes bigs/littles for show day traditions

[chirpsythismorning]

Saying gay Mike would be hated by the ga bc that would mean that he used El all those years, is homophobic, just like saying bi-Mike would be hated by the ga bc that would mean he could have just stayed with El if he is also attracted to girls, is biphobic.

Bylers using either of these as the basis for why their interpretation is most likely to play out in canon, just makes me cringe bc why are we even wasting time giving validation to homophobia/biphobia as having the last word for how the show has to play out?? Is that what it all comes down to then? Appeasing bigots??

Gays aren’t evil or trying to intentionally hurt others, least of all gay kids that are figuring out their sexuality. Let’s not act like being gay wasn’t seen as being broken or needing to to be fixed, meaning that going along with what society views as normal, was and still is seen as the only option for queer people in general. And I say queer people in general bc you don’t necessarily have to even be gay to experience questioning your sexuality and feeling like you have to do things because everyone else is. Arguably we all go through that! But especially gays in the 80’s bc for a lot of people back then, it was a matter of blending in to survive (for many it still is).

Bisexuals aren’t evil or trying to intentionally hurt others for falling out of love, losing feelings, or just merely not being attracted to/compatible with someone of the opposite sex. Straight people are capable of recognizing that they aren’t attracted to or compatible with every person they meet of the opposite sex. Does any of that make them less straight? No. So why is it so hard to understand it’s the same way for bisexuals and even queer people in general? Nobody, bisexual or otherwise should have to stay in relationships with someone they no longer have romantic feelings for, just bc they’re attracted to them or even were just confused and thought they were but it ended up not being enough?? Attraction is important, yes, but feelings are arguably even more so (especially when you have something else to compare it to, causing the dilemma in the first place). I mean look at Stancy/Jancy? Is Nancy viewed as problematic for being attracted to Steve and having deep feelings/being attracted to Jonathan, and having conflicting feelings about that? No! And so why should it be problematic for Mike?

The reality is, homophobes are going to hate Mike if he comes out as queer, regardless of whether he is revealed to be gay, bi or unlabeled.

This is why basing Mike’s sexuality on the backlash of bigoted audiences’ is a moot point to me.

I mean, as it is, most of the general audience already hates Mike as a result of his behavior in s3-4, and this is straight Mike we’re talking about! I’m obviously not referring to milkvans or Redditors, bc they only make up a minority of hardcore fans who hate byler and will defend Mike to the point of demonizing El. I’m talking about viewers that have seen the show once through each time a new season releases and then move on afterwards without being in online spaces. That is the majority. The majority of the general audience, homophobic or otherwise, does not like Mike anyways at this point. So, who the hell cares what they think about queer Mike in the end??? They’re already anticipating going into s5 and continuing to dislike him, so the argument that the show can’t do this or that bc those same people won’t like him?… That ship has already sailed.

If anything I could see the non-homophobic majority accepting queer Mike, regardless of what label he ends up identifying with, bc then at least it will finally give them some clarity about where that resentment they had for him was coming from, ie misunderstanding him completely and now finally getting some answers.

At the end of the day, bigots will do what they do best. They’ll make up any reason they can think of for why queer Mike is wrong. And so why should we base our interpretation of things on what will be more palatable to those that the show was never intended for in the first place?

[running-with-the-feels]

May I ask for Subscorprumi headcanons please for these trying times please?

Ask and ye shall receive

So, I've got two ways this could go so far (though feel free to ask for more and I will happily come up with more)

The first is my Shirai Ryu Kuai Liang and co au

Kuai Liang and Harumi have been best friends since they were kids and have a very friendly but still competitive relationship, often challenging each other to see who can master a technique first, or who can do the most pushups in one go etc. Half the clan has money on them getting together at some point, there's really just debate on when.

Hanzo joins when he's about 15, it's the first time he's ever been away from home or learned any sort of kombat so understandably he struggles a bit with it. Kuai Liang is the first person to reach out to him, helping him figure out a technique during training before being called up by the teacher to demonstrate. As Hanzo watches Kuai Liang move through the technique like he was born for it, he starts to develop a bit of a crush.

He ends up sitting with Kuai Liang and his family during meal times, which is when he meets Harumi, who has just come back from her first training mission. She welcomes him to the clan and adds more food to his plate, concerned that he's too skinny, and spends the rest of the meal telling him jokes and trying to get him to laugh. Hanzo develops another crush.

So Hanzo's having a bit of a bi panic bc both ppl hot and nice to him and also he's seen them spar with one another now and holy jesus is That burned into his retinas, Meanwhile, Kuai Liang and Harumi are fighting over him, setting up a competition to see who gets to kiss him first.

Poor, flustered Hanzo then gets treated to the two of them flirting with him in increasingly elaborate ways and he is very confused but also NOT complaining as he tries to flirt back (the first time he makes an innuendo to Kuai Liang, the cryomancer short circuits until Bi-Han pours a bucket of water over him) (Harumi fairs no better when it is her turn)

Harumi ends up winning the competition when she and Kuai Liang go over to Hanzo's to play board games, but only by a handful of seconds bc Hanzo immediately kisses Kuai Liang as well so they call it a draw.

The conversation for setting up boundaries and ground rules for their relationship was surprisingly quick, as everybody was already on the same page with what they wanted it just needed to be verbalized.

Option number 2, Harumi comes back in the timequake (along with Satoshi bc I am not a monster):

Hanzo and Kuai Liang are already together by this point, but the moment Hanzo sees Harumi, Kuai Liang (being a tad self destructive) takes a step back, assuming that their relationship is over bc why wouldn't it be? (He's wrong but he assumes)

After Kronika is defeated and the timeline is fixed (not reset bc fuck that), Hanzo brings Harumi and Satoshi back to the Fire Gardens and they catch up on what has happened since they've been gone. He tells them about Kuai Liang, kinda worried about her reaction, but she just smiles and says she's glad he wasn't alone.

Harumi then asks when Kuai Liang is going to arrive so that the three of them can talk and figure out how this is going to work, and Hanzo says that he's actually not sure bc he hasn't had a chance to ask Kuai Liang about it (the cryomancer kinda vanished as soon as the timequake was settled to give them space and he hasn't shown back up since) and is surprised when Harumi calls him an idiot ("Of course he thinks you're dumping him, Hanzo! You didn't talk to him!" "Well there wasn't exactly time!" "Oh by the elder gods- Go talk to your boyfriend!")

Kuai Liang decided to hideout in his now empty temple and Hanzo refuses to let him stay there, threatening to drag him to the Shriai Ryu if he must. Once there, the three of them finally talk and hash out some boundaries and ground rules.

At first, Harumi and Kuai Liang are just planning to share Hanzo, as they don't know each other, but over time they spend more time together and slowly develop feelings for one another (Hanzo is watching from the sidelines and encouraging them and cheering bc getting to watch the two people he loves fall in love is a gift he'd never dared to dream he'd get)

Satoshi is a little confused at first bc he's like, 7, but mostly he's just thrilled to have another parent. Kuai Liang is not immune to Satoshi's puppy dog eyes like Harumi and Hanzo are, so he Literally cannot say no to him and Satoshi takes Full advantage of that fact.

[sonicreferencephotos]

I ALSO dont rlly like sss but u asking ppl not to play it is so funny T.T just bc its rlly not that fun? like i wouldnt exactly recommend it, but ur point of the devs not having much time to finish things is pure speculation. they have to develop things weeks/months in advance. theyre just shitty devs.

It's not just speculation. I have not personally worked for Gamefam, but me saying that the devs are getting crunched was based largely on the fact that Sonic Speed Simulator makes a point of advertising their weekly updates

Obviously, they don't make an entire update worth of content in a single week, but they still have to move things along pretty quickly in order to have something ready to release every week.

Also important to note is that ex-Gamefam employees have made many allegations against the company, stating that there was a terrible crunch to push out content, that they were underpaid, that Gamefam threatened to take action against employees who discussed their wages — which is illegal by the way —and that they were terminated with little to no warning, including many who were allegedly laid off before the holidays. Details are below the cut.

An article from The Gamer included statements made by former employees. One employee claimed to have received an email informing them they had been fired three days after the date the email said they were fired on

"According to a screenshot of the apparent termination email, they were told on October 31 that they were fired on October 28"

Another specifically mentioned the crunch

"'While I was employed under Gamefam it was a constant struggle due to heavy crunching in the development team,' they continue. 'We were mandated to update Sonic Speed Simulator every week. this was a heavy toll on my mental and physical self [sic].'"

Additionally

"Multiplesources [sic] put the lowest average Roblox salaries between $32,000 and $35,000"

Gamefam denied the allegations, which then led to more former employees speaking out about the poor work environment.

One employee, Joshua DeBoer, reported facing trouble after discussing wages with other employees. From a Games Industry article

"DeBoer claims that as he presented the salary concerns to CEO Joe Ferencz, the executive said, 'Do you think it's good to go among your colleagues and spread dissatisfaction? You need to be seen as a leader if you want to stay here long.'"

Bloxy News further elaborated

"DeBoer was then suspended for a week [...] According to a Tweet put out by DeBoer, Gamefam forced him to reveal by name who he was discussing wages with, and also threatened to fire him if he continued to do so. Gamefam also failed to pay DeBoer’s final paycheck with the company on time, and refused to let him exercise stock options after repeated attempts."

DeBoer took this to the National Labor Relations Board, resulting in Gamefam settling by giving him a $5,000 bonus, and sending a notice to all employees, shared by Polygon

“WE WILL NOT tell you that it is toxic or poisonous to the company if you talk to coworkers about pay,”

Maybe it's just me, but that feels like a very passive aggressive way to phrase that.

It's possible that the devs aren't very good, but even if that's the case, there's a lot indicating a toxic work environment built around crunch culture. It's true that my previous post about SSS included some of my speculations about why exactly the game has the issues it has, such as positing that many elements of the game are poorly set up in order to encourage microtransactions, but the idea of the devs being rushed is not purely based on my own assumptions.

I will admit to being a biased party, due to disliking the game but playing multiple hours a week to get reference pictures of the week's content before it's gone, but I have tried to keep this post mostly limited to known facts, or statements by people who have actually worked on Speed Sim.

People are welcome to play the game if they so desire. The main reason I add disclaimers is because, while it's ultimately their decision what games they play, I don't want to be the one encouraging people to play it.

Hopefully this helped clear things up. You can look at any of the linked articles for more information. You can also direct more questions to me, but as far as the allegations go, my knowledge is limited to what I found reading through those articles. This is definitely a longer response than you were looking for, but I wanted to give a proper explanation

[noahlivingston]

ok here's my Noah/Akio/Rachel proposal outline

Noah and Akio 100% had a thing during their murder days so their entire relationship is doused in this weird mixture of guilt and misplaced loyalty and internalized homophobia (IMO that last one is more on akios side bc look Noah has so much more on his plate that he's past that by now)

I'm working with the assumption that Akio is the father of Rachel's epilogue child and even if you assume they were together strictly to Further The Human Race I don't think Rachel would allow him to be a deadbeat dad. so theyre cosplaying as an expecting married couple when Noah gets revived in the epilogue

as a quick headcanon aside here I think they had a baby together because they were both raised Catholic

I have also decided that Repopulating The Earth was Rachel's idea and Akio kinda just went along with it bc he is at heart an extremely weird dude who can be very easily convinced of things

Noah and Min break up for being too mutually fucked up so Noah moves in w/ his buddy Akio and his totally not deranged baby mama and becomes their live-in nanny for their newborn

Rachel is obviously a requisite asshole to him at first but he's useful to have around so she chills out a little. by that point she also notices that Akio wants to fuck him and she decides she doesn't care as long as operation Repopulate The Earth is still on

like I think Rachel is probably a jealous person but her and Akio's relationship is already so screwy that she just decides to shrug it off

this puts Akio in the awkward position of being the husband in a 1950s Catholic family who wants to fuck the pool boy except the pool boy is deeply mentally ill, was just brought back from the dead, probably still thinks he's in the matrix, and he's like a week out from a murder spree

these guys are famously not very good decision makers so they go for it anyway, you the readers get to decide how that ends I am simply here to present you with options

in my mind Rachel and Noah never really get together even after living with each other and raising kids together for years, in fact they're wildly romantically incompatible, but crucially it is NOT a love triangle. this is not due to any amount of emotional maturity possessed by any one of them, it is purely because when Rachel decides she's joining the idgaf war she is WINNING the idgaf war and the other two got drafted.

that said Rachel and Noah do totally make out sometimes. for funzies.

crucial to understand here is that all three of them are basically playing house but the babyroll is a real life newborn. Rachel and Akio are having kids because that's what their parents did and that's what you're Supposed to do. Noah is with them because he needs to feel secure and it's easy to ignore his problems when he's juggling a newborn with sustenance farming for four people

like okay. they keep trying to frame things in terms of a pre apocalypse nuclear family even though that structure does not and cannot exist anymore. akio is the husband Rachel is the wife and they have a child (familiar family structure), Noah is the pool boy because he's around the family but he's not Procreating tm (deviant family structure but still a familiar pattern to them). they cannot under any circumstances acknowledge that anything going on here is abnormal by any means because that would mean having to confront why it's abnormal (guilt, trauma, the whole murder thing, the fact that they're bringing children into a world that is frankly not hospitable (guilt 2), Noah's entire thing generally)

also Noah and Rachel probably make lots of sister wives jokes about themselves. akio fucking HATES the sister wives jokes but the alternative is harem jokes and he hates those worse