#go to therapy in a nutshell

[uniquethingtastemaker]

The Rook x Observant Reader got even longer. I’m not even talking the current word count which is 39k. I’m talking I have more idea to fit in the end so the entire theme of the fanfic is more wholistic. Yes, there are core themes in this like real novels or short stories. There’s even foreshadowing. I intentionally use story structure to enhance the reader’s experience. I make sure that there’s no scenes that are not there for a reason. If I could take it out of the story and it would still make sense, I’ve banished it to the scrap pile.

I have no idea how this happened. I’m as surprised as everyone else. I’ve been in shock for the past 3 hrs.

Some of these things I didn’t even plan until I looked a little closer and analyzed it and went “oh my god! The parallels!” You’ll get it once you read it.

I’m still in shock but I have to share because wtf. I didn’t plan any of this. It just happened and it’s smart

[timdrakeismypatronus]

Canon vs. Fanon: a Nutshell

Fanon: Dick: You've gone off the deep end, Tim. I can't trust you anymore. I'm going to lock you up in Arkham! Tim: *cries in victimhood*

Canon: Dick: Hey, Tim, you've had a lot of people you love die recently. Do you think, maybe, you should try going to therapy? Tim: *throws Batarang* HOW FUCKING DARE YOU –

[yaoireview]

SPAMTENNA REVIEW (CLEAR DELTARUNE CHAPTER 3 + 4 SPOILERS)

No one asked me for this one. This ones for me.

Yaknow I think its beautiful, we all DROPPED THE ZERO and got with the hero... I'm just trying to warn you all.. Tony will soon brainwash us all to the point where we ask:

"Who's Jevil? I only know Pluey."

Some may be skeptical, "How would they be gay...?" Well I'm glad you asked.. I have NO DOUBT in my mind thats im wrong. (Until another chapter releases and we have to fight one of spamton's exes as if we were scott pilgrim)

I'm gonna list some evidence of these two characters being gay, If thats okay with everyone.

EVIDENCE 1: I'm just gonna say it. The divorce was Spamton's fault.

Going into Chapter 3 is like helping your friend through couples therapy, and after you show up and listen in on their session, you realize that your friend was definitely the problem.

WE (yes, we.) ALL thought that tenna was gonna be irredeemable. The way that spamton talked this guy up made us feel like tenna is someone who kicks puppies on weekends and uses money from their job to donate to organizations that are trying to bring back public hangings.

Then we meet the guy and he just has abandonment issues, yeah SURE he fought two kids but WHO hasn't?? (I surely have!)

In Tenna's battle, if you have one of spamton's equips on, the check dialogue will say this

Spamton wants him DEAD. The kids weren't enough for him he wants to take his life too!

In the scene where Tenna and Spamton interact, spamton says

As someone pointed out, this is REALLY messed up since the entire chapter, Tenna is scared of being thrown out and spamton's just here casually bringing that up

Its like the equivalent of your ex saying "Hey Aquaman how's it hanging! Wanna get back together?" when you told them while you were together that you're deeply afraid of the ocean because both your parents died in a shipwreck with you as the sole survivor of your family

His greed sickens me.. thats all I'm saying..

Don't act like you cared about the kids you sick fuck...

EVIDENCE 2: THE SIMILARITIES

They just have a lot in common in a nutshell. Tenna and Spamton have so many similarities in dialogue its insane...

Theres a lot of things in Chapter 3 to insinuate that they were once business partners, like how the Z room (which you could only get if you REALLY SUCK) was most likely a room for spamton, and about how the glitched out posters were almost definitely of spamton and tenna together making out sloppy style

Another thing that I've seen people point out is that the poster nearby Spamton's dumpster probably had Tenna in it also, but Spamton only ripped the queen part down that blocked him in a drunken rage, probably because he didn't want to see tenna's part

The main biggest similarity that you most likely noticed during your playthrough was the usage of "HEY EVERY !" in a good chunk of songs in deltarune chapter 3. You wanna know who ELSE shares leitmotifs like that..? Toriel and Asgore.

Atleast they have shared custody over one thing..

EVIDENCE 3: THE DIVORCE

We don't know much what went down exactly between them but we do know that they ended off rough.

In the secret boss (or mantle side thing your choice) quest, a digital version of tenna will start talking about spamton

After the phone call, spamton's face became pale, DASHED out of the room, and it seems like Tenna didn't see him after that (not including the divorce court)

Theres two options what could've happened, the likely one was

Gaster just called him: Maybe to just take control again, or to tell him to knock it off with the gay stuff. Maybe gaster's homophobic who knows!

Spamton did this little thing called acting: His ego couldn't handle telling Tenna how to be a big shot, and so he ran away when it was his turn to do his end of the bargain (This probably isnt the case)

Tenna helped Spamton all he could (from what we know) and spamton DINED AND DASHED when it was his turn to help Tenna, when he most likely didn't have any control over himself

I dunno if he could blame gaster when he told Tenna to invest into cryptocurrency though thats a LITTLE bit up in the air

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I dunno about you but thats toxic yaoi if I ever saw it...

YAOI: 8.5/10

TOXIC YAOI: 10/10

[neorph]

* 𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐒 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒 :   a selection of roleplay ask prompts taken from various gordon ramsay quotes from  “ kitchen nightmares ”.  any of these prompts may be modified accordingly to fit your muses.  perfect if you’re looking for interactions involving profanity, insults and arguments.

❝ i wouldn’t even trust you to run a bath ! ❞ ❝ oh my god ! now he's setting himself on fire ! ❞ ❝ wow, what a fucking sponge. ❞ ❝ who cares if you're on fucking prozac, don't worry about that. ❞ ❝ you're so full of fucking shit that you'd make a great politician. ❞ ❝ you’re a donkey ! ❞ ❝ what is it you want ? a fight ? ❞ ❝ i'm not here to blow smoke up your fucking arse, let me tell you that. ❞ ❝ do the fuck what you want to do. but don't fuck with me. got it ? ❞ ❝ now i know the exact problem in here. i’m staring at it. ❞ ❝ i am not going to stand there and even attempt to take that crap from you. ❞ ❝ honestly, i've seen enough. let's get the fuck out of here. ❞ ❝ it's not possible for someone to have his head so far up his arsehole. fuck me. ❞ ❝ you must be out of your tiny mind ! ❞ ❝ you're just massaging your fucking ego. ❞ ❝ were you intoxicated at the time ? ❞ ❝ you’ve got a brain. use it. ❞ ❝ what the fuck are you on ? what the fuck are you on ? ❞ ❝ i will go straight to hell. ❞ ❝ HEY, PANINI-HEAD ! LISTEN TO ME ! ❞ ❝ this is not a romantic eat-out, this is a valentine fucking massacre ! ❞ ❝ it's like somebody's pissed in my soup. ❞ ❝ wow. let's start off with 0 out of 10 for presentation. ❞ ❝ jesus. i’d rather get fucking divorced. ❞ ❝ you're fucking delusional. ❞ ❝ YOU ARE SO IN DENIAL, YOU NEED THERAPY ! ❞ ❝ i don't want you smelling that, no, not with your state of health, i don't want you in a coma. ❞ ❝ are they trying to put me in a hospital for two years ? i mean, it's bad. it is bad. ❞ ❝ no, you're not eating that. no, no, no. ❞ ❝ i can't teach you that ! that's called common sense ! ❞ ❝ would you mind just blessing my food ? ❞ ❝ it's not just about the carrots. carrots are just a fucking example of 20 things that have gone wrong ! ❞ ❝ i’m deeply sorry your feelings were hurt. ❞ ❝ hate me, don't hate the wings. ❞ ❝ how sad is that ? honestly, come on. how fucking depressing is that ? ❞ ❝ holy mackerel. look at the size of that thing. ❞ ❝ i have never ever ever ever EVER, believed in someone as little as i believe in you ! ❞ ❝ do you see how slimy my hand is ?! ❞ ❝ LOOK AT THE MESS OF THIS PLACE ! it's fucking ridiculous ! ❞ ❝ you’re supposed to put salt on the fucking food ! ❞ ❝ you’re going to kill someone ! tell him in his language he’s going to kill someone ! ❞ ❝ my gran could do better and she’s dead ! ❞ ❝ i don’t give a FUCK what anyone says ! ❞ ❝ you can't push an inherently-faulty concept. that's like shining a turd... absolutely futile. ❞ ❝ you fucking donut ! of course you don’t microwave a salad ! ❞ ❝ this guy is seriously off his fucking trolley ! ❞ ❝ i’ve never met such a fucking hard-arse stubborn bullshitter in all my life. ❞ ❝ executive chef ? certified dick ! ❞ ❝ he's fucking dead. a dead lobster! yeah, he's gone. ❞ ❝ un-fucking-believeable ! ❞ ❝ you’ve taught every chef in the world how not to cook. ❞ ❝ the fish is cooked to fuck, there’s shit and piss all over the place... ❞ ❝ then prove him fucking wrong ! ❞ ❝ thank god you’re not as stubborn as your dad ! ❞ ❝ in a nutshell, we have sleepy, dopey, and grumpy. who am i ? snow fucking white ? ❞ ❝ when you take a bite of that, it's almost like you've got a breaded condom in your mouth. ❞ ❝ wow. they're dreadful. i sure wouldn't put my name on that. i wouldn't even put my enemy's name on that. ❞ ❝ "definitely old" ?! it's green ! smell that. ❞ ❝ those poor fuckers out there are eating this. ❞ ❝ "oh, i've never seen that before!" ? THEN OPEN YOUR FUCKING EYES ! ❞ ❝ hey, you need a little diaper changing ? that time of night ? a little poo-poo? crapped your pants ? ❞ ❝ the atmosphere in here is horrific. what's going on ? ❞ ❝ where the fuck is that from in italy ? ❞ ❝ THEY'RE MOULDY, YOU PILLOCK !  ❞ ❝ YOU BULLSHITTING LITTLE FUCKER !! ❞ ❝ IF YOU WERE MY BRIGADE, I WOULD'VE FIRED YOU FUCKING SIXTEEN YEARS AGO ! YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU, AND YOU ! ❞ ❝ looks like one of the worst urine samples you could ever give. ❞ ❝ i mean, that's just grease. there's more grease in this plate than there is in the greek isles. ❞ ❝ you can't even tell me the truth. do you know why ? because you don't know and you're a fucking joke ! ❞

[rudyking]

Earrings:

Abby, you and JJ's eight-year-old daughter is set to have her ears pierced at the mall- much to JJ's chagrin.

“Are you sure about this?” JJ asked for what felt like the hundredth time since Abby had declared her burning desire for earrings last week. His blue eyes, usually sparkling with mischief, were clouded with a worry that was almost comical, if it wasn’t so genuinely JJ. Deep dimples punctuated his anxious frown.

“Positive, honey,” you said gently, squeezing his hand. “She’s been talking about it for months. It’s her birthday next week, remember? This is her big gift.”

“But… metal… in her ears?” He grimaced, as if the very concept was physically painful. “Like, we’re intentionally creating holes. What if they get infected? What if she’s allergic to the metal? What if she trips and the earring rips out?”

You chuckled, used to his dramatic, albeit loving, overreactions, especially when it came to Abby. “They use hypoallergenic studs, JJ. We’ll clean them religiously. And she’s not going to rip them out. She’s a pretty responsible eight-year-old.”

“Responsible for eight,” he muttered, unconvinced. ���That’s still basically a tiny, unpredictable human. They do unpredictable things, Yn. Like decide to join the circus or shave their head or, you know, get holes punched into their delicate earlobes.”

You rolled your eyes playfully. “It’s hardly joining the circus, JJ. Millions of people have pierced ears. It’s practically a rite of passage.”

“Rite of passage into potential bleeding and fainting spells is what it sounds like,” he grumbled, but a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He was trying to be funny, even amidst his worry. That was JJ in a nutshell: humor and anxiety battling it out, with love always winning in the end.

You reached ‘Claire’s Accessories,’ a glittery explosion of pink and purple that seemed designed to lure in every child within a five-mile radius. Abby gasped, eyes wide with delight, practically vibrating with excitement.

“Mom! Dad! Look!” She pointed at the earring display, a dazzling array of studs and hoops. “Can I get the sparkly unicorns? Or maybe the little hearts? Ooh, or the rainbows!”

JJ paled visibly. “Rainbows? Are rainbows sharp? Do they have pointy bits? What if they poke her in the neck when she sleeps?”

You nudged him gently. “They’re studs, JJ. Studs. Not tiny swords.” To Abby, you smiled reassuringly. “You can pick whatever you like, sweetie. But let’s get your ears pierced first, okay? Then we can choose the earrings.”

Abby nodded eagerly and marched towards the counter where a young woman with brightly colored hair and multiple ear piercings smiled warmly. “Hi there! Ready for some new earrings?”

“Yes!” Abby chirped, practically bouncing on the spot.

JJ, however, looked like he was ready to bolt. He gripped your hand tighter, his knuckles white. “Right, so, uh, before we proceed with the… perforation… can we just, maybe, run through all the, you know, potential downsides?” he asked the young woman, his voice a little too high-pitched.

The woman blinked, a flicker of amusement in her eyes. “Downsides? Well, it might sting a little bit.”

“Sting? Just sting? Is that all? No risk of… exsanguination? Or, like, a sudden drop in blood pressure leading to… unconsciousness?” JJ’s sarcasm was definitely a defense mechanism, a shield against his genuine fear.

You squeezed his hand again, a silent ‘calm down’ message. The woman, bless her soul, remained unfazed. “It’s a very quick and simple procedure. We use a sterilized piercing gun, and it’s over in a second. We have numbing cream if you like.”

“Numbing cream – good, good, that’s a start,” JJ muttered, sounding like he was negotiating a hostage situation. “But what about… trauma? Psychological scarring? Will she need therapy after this? Are you trained in post-piercing emotional support?”

You could see the woman trying hard not to laugh. “Sir, it’s just an ear piercing. Kids get them done all the time. She’ll be fine.”

“‘Fine’ is subjective!” JJ exclaimed, his voice rising slightly. “What’s ‘fine’ for you might be a catastrophic ear-related incident for my precious, delicate daughter!”

Abby, oblivious to the escalating parental drama, was now sitting in the designated piercing chair, looking around with wide-eyed curiosity. You knelt beside her, smoothing her hair. “Excited, sweetheart?”

“Yeah!” she beamed. “I’m gonna choose the unicorn ones right after!”

“That’s great, honey.” You glanced at JJ, who was now pacing nervously, muttering under his breath about tetanus and rogue germs. You shot him a look that said, ‘Get it together.’

He stopped pacing, took a deep breath, and walked over to Abby. He knelt beside her on the other side, his face etched with concern. “Abbs, peanut, listen to me. This is… a big step. A very big step. We’re talking about… altering your physical form. Permanently. Are you absolutely sure about this?”

Abby giggled. “Dad, it’s just earrings.”

“Just earrings?” JJ repeated incredulously. “These aren’t ‘just earrings,’ Abby. These are… portals. Entry points for… who knows what! Microscopic invaders! Fashion trends that you might regret in ten years! Earring weight-related earlobe sag in forty!”

You couldn't help but stifle a laugh. JJ was truly in his element – the element of utter, hilarious panic.

“Dad,” Abby said patiently, like she was the adult in this situation, “I want them. All my friends have them. And it’s gonna be fun!”

JJ looked at her, his expression softening. His protective instincts, usually bubbling just beneath the surface, were clearly overflowing. He reached out and took her hand, his big, calloused hand engulfing her small one.

“Okay, okay, peanut. If you’re sure, then I’m… supportive. Very, very supportive. I’m going to hold your hand, okay? For… moral support. For both of us.” He squeezed her hand tightly.

You watched him, your heart swelling with a mixture of amusement and affection. He was such a paradox, JJ. Rebellious and carefree on the outside, but fiercely loyal and desperately caring on the inside, especially when it came to Abby. His tough exterior crumbled instantly when it came to her well-being.

The woman cleaned Abby’s earlobes with an antiseptic wipe, marking the spots with a purple pen. Abby just giggled, unfazed. JJ, however, was sweating. You could see beads of perspiration forming on his forehead.

“Okay, deep breaths, everyone,” the woman said cheerfully. “Ready?”

Abby nodded, beaming. You gave her a thumbs up. JJ just stared, his eyes wide, his grip on Abby’s hand tightening to the point where her knuckles were probably turning white.

“On the count of three,” the woman said. “One… two…”

JJ squeezed his eyes shut so tightly his face scrunched up. He was paler than you’d ever seen him. You almost expected him to faint before Abby did.

“THREE!” There was a tiny ‘click’ sound, and Abby gasped, but it wasn’t a cry.

“Ow! That pinched!” she said, but her eyes were shining with excitement.

“Okay, one down! Just one more!” the woman said quickly, moving to the other ear.

JJ’s eyes were still squeezed shut, but he was muttering something under his breath, which sounded suspiciously like a prayer. “Please let it be over. Please let her be okay. Please, ear gods, spare my child…”

Another ‘click,’ and it was done.

Abby blinked, then grinned, touching her ears gingerly. “Wow! I did it!”

JJ’s eyes snapped open. He looked at Abby, then at her ears, then back at Abby, his expression shifting from abject terror to bewildered relief. He let out a long, shaky breath.

“You… you didn’t cry,” he said, sounding genuinely astonished. “You didn’t faint. You didn’t even bleed… profusely.”

Abby giggled again. “It wasn’t that bad, Dad! See? They look so cool!” She pointed proudly at the tiny sparkly studs in her ears.

JJ stared at them, as if trying to fathom the mechanics of how they got there without causing a major medical emergency. He reached out a finger hesitantly and gently touched one of the studs.

“Huh,” he said, still sounding slightly dazed. “Well, I’ll be… They’re actually… kinda cute.” Then, his protective instincts kicked back in, albeit in a slightly less panicked way. “Okay, new rules. No sleeping on your side. No touching them with dirty hands. No playing contact sports… actually, maybe no sports at all for a while. We need to sanitize them, like, every hour. And if they even look slightly red, we are going straight to the ER.”

You laughed, shaking your head. “Relax, JJ. She’ll be fine. They look perfect, Abby.”

Abby grinned, beaming. “Thanks, Mom! Thanks, Dad! Can we get the unicorn earrings now?”

JJ, still slightly pale but visibly recovering, smiled at Abby, all traces of his earlier panic replaced by pure, unadulterated adoration. “Unicorns? Absolutely, peanut. Anything for my brave, ear-pierced superhero. But if those unicorns have pointy bits, we are having a serious discussion.”

As you all walked towards the earring display, Abby chattering excitedly about unicorns and rainbows, you caught JJ’s eye. He winked, his deep dimples flashing. “Scariest five minutes of my life,” he murmured, squeezing your hand. “But she was amazing. Just like her mom.”

You smiled, leaning into him. “She gets it from you, silly. The bravery, I mean. And maybe just a little bit of the drama.”

JJ chuckled, wrapping an arm around you and Abby both. “Hey, drama makes life interesting. And at least now I have a new thing to worry about. Earring-related injuries. Gotta keep life exciting, right?”

You just laughed again, knowing that beneath all the sarcasm and over-the-top anxieties, JJ’s heart was overflowing with love for his little girl, and that, more than anything, was truly beautiful, even if it was wrapped in layers of hilarious, protective panic. And as you watched Abby excitedly choosing her unicorn earrings, you knew that this was just the beginning of a whole new stage of JJ’s delightfully dramatic, and always loving, fatherhood.

[sunny-clover]

2003 S4 Leosagi (Katanashipping) in a nutshell

Leo [batman voice]: I’m angsty teenager. I never smile. I hate myself. I’m not going to therapy. I’m just gonna kill people.

Leo, the second he sees Usagi: *SMILES* omg babe I missed you where have you been, we need to get you some sunglasses to protect your cute little face from all the bright city lights!!

my proof:

HE SMILED. THE SECOND HIS BF WALKS THRU THAT PORTAL. OMG

BUT THEN AGAIN WHO WOULDNT SMILE AT THAT FACE. LOOK AT THAT DORKY LITTLE SMILE. SO HAPPY TO SEE THAT CRAZY BLUE IDIOT.(Crazy bout u)

LOOK HOW JEALOUS HE IS. Leonardo “I want alone time with my bf >:(“ homato

GET YOU A SPARRING BOYFRIEND WHO ASKS WHATS WRONG WHEN YOURE ACTIN A FOOL

now kiss

[crows-draw]

More Bill AU's sketches :3

Lost and Found AU in a nutshell: bill still goes to theraprism, but during his stay, the pines family (mostly ford), found bills destroyed dimension, they explore to see of they can find, but nothing. Until they explore the nearby rubble and ruins, where they find two badly injured Euclideans. after lots of discussing, the pines figure out they are bills parents, who everyone assumed were dead. they decide to help them, as some things clearly aren't adding up. Ford convinces bills parents that he knew bill personally, and that he does technically know where he is, after he and his family killed him. his parents are obviously devastated, but after learning their missing son is in therapy prison, they beg and plead for the pines to take them to see their son. they do, and they watch bill from outside his cell where he can't see them. they're devastated to see him like this, but they're glad he's OK. his parents decide then and there that once bill gets better, they're gonna bring him home with them. but bill obviously dosent know, so Ford has to try and convince bill (without telling him that his parents are alive and here with them) to actually take therapy seriously, take his neds, and get better. bill starts taking it to heart after that, and slowly begins to improve. Once bill gets to place where he's in a more stable mental place, where they bring his parents in for a surprise meeting, and bill breaks down. emotional shit happens and bill finally starts to have some semblance of hope. he continues going to theraprism with new found hope, until he's finally able to get discharged, where he does go with his parents, in search of a new home together. he spends time with his family and learns to heal with that, and the pines rest easier knowing bill is being watched over. bills parents are forever grateful to the pines for bringing their son back home to them, and they offer to cook dinner for them sometime. after some time the pines and bill feel better about interacting again, and they all begin to heal and grow :]

Second Chance (name still subject to change): Bill completes his therapy, and is able to reincarnate. it's been a year or so since then, and as Ford and Stan sail across the Atlantic Ocean, they stop at a nearby rural seaside town in MA, and as they roam the streets at night, Ford hears the sound of music, it's " We'll Meet Again" He starts to run towards the sound, and finds himself in a small bar, and he sees a man sitting at a piano in the corner of the bar. It's a man he knows he's never seen or met before, and yet, he knew immediately who he was, it was bill, or rather, it was bills reincarnation. he waits for this strangers set to be done, and he starts talking to him, and it quickly becomes apparent that this man, who's name is William, that he has no idea who Ford is. William has zero memories of his past life as bill. So, Ford and Will talk more, and will offers his place to Ford and his brother for the night (stan got drunk lmao), and Ford takes him up on that. after that, bill and Ford talk some more, and they bond quickly. before Ford and Stan have to leave, will and Ford exchange contact info. they keep in touch and fluffy goofy romance and Angst ensues (oh to accidentally fall for the reincarnation of your ex-muse, it's almost as if they're soulmates or something lmao)

[pizzabox-box]

"In his own anger and resentment towards Peppi-no, Peppino is sort of becoming the monster that he thinks Peppi-no is"

You hit the nail on the head with that comment! One could say that Peppino is losing his head watching Peppi-no impersonate him and slander his name. With each passing day he grows more and more irritated as he strays further from who he used to be.

But to give Peppino some credit he didn't start immediately screaming at Peppi-no upon confronting him face to face. At first he simply reminded Peppi-no that he can't keep this act up, that he has to tell the truth. But upon hearing Peppi-no respond with basically:"

"I can't say the truth, they would hurt me :( I'm sorry"

he snapped. "He's sorry? Sorry my ass! He took my life. "Sorry" isn't going to fix anything! He's just trying to save his own head!"

And Peppino is right. Peppi-no is trying to save his own head. He knows that once the truth comes out he's going to face the consequenses. How do you think Peppino's friends will react once they find out?

Of course, Peppino's aproach to make Peppi-no confess isn't ideal but hey, he's no therapist .The poor chef needs therapy himself. (And I'm not sure if there are any therapists in the "Inbetween spaces")

They both are victims of a very cruel joke. Peppino acknowledges that to a degree, so he's still going pretty easy on Peppi-no in comparison of what he could do. (Trust me, in an older version of the comic Peppino was relentless.) I already said it in another older post but i would like them to somewhat reconcile by the end.

They have a very interisting dynamic, it's something I would like to explore more in the future.

How the tables have turned!

Bonus: Their dynamic in nutshell. Explained by a crappy edit of a photo.

[soongtypehuman]

Boo-hoo update

I’m sorry to say I have an update I was hoping to not ever have to make. Some of you already know that I have some serious health issues, but I've been pretty quiet about the extent of what I'm dealing with.

The gist of it is that I have a rare bone disease called fibrous dysplasia that turned certain bones in my skull into tumors and then those tumors grew inward and started crushing my brain, so I had a craniotomy last year to remove as much as was safe and got a cool new titanium implant in my head to replace the removed bone/tumor. The unfortunate result was encephalomalacia, which is the end stage of liquifying necrosis, and now part of my brain is liquid instead of solid (it’s dead, in a nutshell). Most people don’t survive encephalomalacia, much less remain able to function, and most who survive the initial stage don’t survive the three year mark. Even when you do survive it, it often continues spreading. The last MRI showed it had already taken over about 1/3 of my brain. But I’m a stubborn asshole and am still hanging on.

Unfortunately, things aren’t getting better.

I have to have constant MRIs, EEGs, physical and cognitive therapies, and have been on more meds than I’d like to be in order to control seizures and various cognitive issues. I didn’t mention this before, but I had to go through a series of speech therapies just to learn to talk properly again. And the most unfortunate part of this is that my ability to write has been affected. Since the surgery over a year ago, I’ve only made 10 new posts in the Positronic Rivalry series, totaling around 87k words. For reference, I posted over 200k words in 2022. I’ve posted even less this year, and it’s not improving.

With that said, I have to take a step back. I’m not quitting and I’m not walking away from the fandom. I’d like to think I’ll still be able to post here and there. I just don’t know when and under what circumstances that will happen. I most certainly can’t handle the longer multi-chapter fics I once could. Maybe one day, but not this day. Since I started posting on AO3 back at the end of 2021, I’ve posted every Sunday more often than not. I’m sorry to say I can’t make that happen right now, and can’t say when I’ll post again or what it will be. I won't be able to continue with season 4.

But I’m most definitely not leaving the fandom and the people and the characters I love so much. I’ll still be here interacting and posting when I’m able. This fandom and the people in it are incredible and mean a lot to me. Data and Lore and Star Trek in general are integral to my life and general enjoyment.

But!! I’ve nearly completed compiling seasons 1-3 of Positronic Rivalry as well as 2022/23 Kinktobers into files that will be ready to print in physical book format (completely free, obviously), which I’ll make available for everyone to download in various print sizes, complete with covers, which you can then have printed at various POD sites if you’re so inclined. Digital versions will also be available (you can already download various formats from AO3, but they’re not compiled into seasons, don’t have covers, etc.).

I’m also continuing with the Trek-themed crossword puzzles because those are fun and my therapist thinks making them is good for my cognitive rehab.

This update is a massive bummer for me, but I felt it was better to just admit my limitations instead of constantly trying to convince myself that I could continue the way I had been pre-surgery and beating myself up when I couldn’t.

Lastly, I’ve finally taken the suggestion I’ve gotten repeatedly and set up a KoFi. If you’d like to buy me a coffee or toss a coin to your android porn witcher, you can do so right here and I’d be giggling and kicking my feet in gratitude.

Anyhow, I want to thank all of you for being amazing and coming along on this ride with me for as long as you have, and for as long as it might continue in whatever form it takes.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

Make Me Write Ask Answered

Sarah asked:

And some longer chunks!

🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷

🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺🩺

🩹🩹🩹🩹🩹🩹🩹🩹🩹🩹🩹🩹🩹🩹🩹

---

45 for 🍷:

---

“They do have a certain brand new puppy energy to them, for men in their thirties, don’t they?” Karen sighs.

“Men in their thirties,” Hen agrees. “A father of a teenage boy.”

“So what are you going to do?” Karen asks. “Snap at them to kiss already in the middle of a house fire?”

“No!” Hen frowns. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“But you need to do something, for your sanity,” Karen infers.

“Yeah,” Hen sighs. “I think so. Otherwise I might kill them, and then what will we do about the team? Bobby would be so sad.”

Karen laughs.  “I doubt Maddie would appreciate it either. Might make our pizza nights a little awkward.”

“Just a smidge,” Hen agrees.

“Maybe they each, separately, need some tough love,” Karen suggests. “We could do that.”

Hen considers this. She’s given Buck that tough love before. Or even on less serious matters, he listens to her. Especially when they chat one on one. She thought, when he came out, that he’d come to her more. Seek out some queer advice from someone who’s been around the block. Maybe he hasn’t because he knows what she’ll say. Maybe she does need to take matters into her own hands.

“I can take Buck out for drinks,” Hen says. “He’ll crack open like a nutshell.”

Karen frowns. “Leaving me with the challenge?”

Hen snorts. “I don’t know if either of us can solve that Gordian knot of repression. Buck, though? Buck I can get to.”

Karen thinks. 

“Hmm. Okay. Maybe I can use that to my advantage,” Karen says. 

Hen knows that look in her eyes. She’s plotting. 

“What do you have in mind?”

---

45 for 🩺:

---

When he first started, chasing some reach of a connection to his estranged sister, he’d been excited. Every shift felt exciting. Doctors might get all the glory, but Buck knew the truth. Because of Maddie, he knew the truth. Nurses were the bad ass heroes, doing all the work, saving lives. Especially in the ER. 

A year or so in, a few really bad losses in, and he started to waver. He didn’t know if he was cut out for it. The tragedies, one after another. Then, just when he thought he got over that, Covid happened. And it got bad again. But things are looking up. Buck has made some good friends. Some good coping mechanisms. He’s been to therapy. His sister is back in his life, and in his ER. It had worked out for the best, when she came to Los Angeles to find him, that they were hiring for the position she’d left in Hershey. 

Right now, things are good. He doesn’t start his shifts deflated or hesitant, but he doesn’t start them full of excitement, either. Instead, he just goes in with one goal. If he can help one person today, then it’s worth it. Even if that’s just helping them die in a more dignified way. 

That Monday is nothing special. It’s August. There hasn’t been any city wide disaster. The waiting room numbers are fairly steady. Triage nurses are working at a good speed. It’s going to be a hot day. They can anticipate some patients suffering from heat stroke complications. Tourists, the elderly, etcetera.  

“Good morning, Dr. Wilson,” Buck says as he starts his shift.

“Morning, Buck,” Hen smiles. 

Hen is his best friend in here. She might just be his best friend, actually. Sister notwithstanding. Hen Wilson is an incredibly talented emergency medicine doctor. She’s dedicated. Smarter than anyone Buck knows. She never acts superior to the nurses or other staff. She has a great bedside manner that many of the other doctors lack. 

---

45 for 🩹:

---

Not for lack of effort, on Buck’s part. He’s recently back at the 118 after the whole mess with the lawsuit. Everyone else seems to have forgiven him, even if Bobby is a little distant. But Eddie? Eddie has been outright hostile.

So what the hell is he doing here now?

Buck rushes down the stairs. He’s only wearing boxers. That will have to be a problem he sorts out later. He flicks on a light. 

Eddie is standing in the doorway. No, leaning against the doorway. And he’s… He’s hurt. 

“Eddie, what the fuck?” Buck yelps. “Are-are you okay? Do I need to call 9-1-1?”

There’s blood all over his face. His eye is swollen, will likely result in a shiner. His lip looks split. There’s bruising on his arms. He’s in a tank top and loose sweats. His hair is damp. Buck can smell sweat and blood. 

“Do not call 9-1-1,” Eddie pants.

“What the fuck?” Buck asks again. 

“Help me,” Eddie asks. “Please.”

And what is Buck gonna do? Leave him to bleed alone? Obviously not. 

“Give me two minutes to put on pants and grab the first aid kit,” he says.

Questions can wait for later. 

⥁

With the blood wiped from Eddie’s face, the damage actually looks worse. It had managed to conceal some of the bruising, which is extensive. 

“Your lip might need stitches,” Buck warns.

“Doesn’t,” Eddie says. He’s holding ice over his eye. “Already checked it out.”

Buck sighs. “Your finger might be broken.”

It’s purple and swollen and causing him a lot of pain, as much as he’s trying to hide it.

“I’ll order a splint.”

[akindplace]

Hi! I hope you're doing well. ♡ I've been following your page for a long time, and all the content you post is really helpful. It's very inspiring, too!. I just wanted to say that a few months ago I had to stop going to therapy because of the economic crisis in my country—everything has gone up too much, and my social security barely covers anything—and I feel pretty adrift. Have you ever been in that situation? What do you recommend in these cases? 🥲🌷

hey, I’m really sorry for that. the economy seems to be going down in many countries and I’m sorry things are so hard right now, it’s extremely unfair. I hope things get better soon, that you can go back to therapy to get the help you need, that being said, none of the things I can suggest are capable of replacing a therapist’s years of learning so these are really just a few things I find helpful.

Im not sure what you are struggling with but blogs like @borderlinereminders share a lot of coping skills. There is also @traumasurvivors, who is run by the same person from the other blog I just mentioned and I think they have either a community here on tumblr or a discord or maybe both (I’m not quite sure now). Some blogs I like are @resiliencewithin and @littlevnavy and @wholeheartedsuggestions and @loveyourlovelysoul and I will add a few more just as soon as my brain gets going because your girl is tired

You can also find free books online on mental health so you don’t have to spend money buying them. There is the is master post of legal places to find books and here is the link. I think you can find good books on your public library but I am not sure if public libraries are very good in your country because in mine… boy oh boy it is a struggle. I would suggest using the duckduckgo search tool instead of google cause the results google show are often not great and filled with ai. Or just trying academic google or other academic websites.

There are youtube channels that talk about mental health and you can search there too. Some of the ones I know are healthygamergg, therapy in a nutshell (tho they don’t have super deep content and they have partnered with better help that is an app that people find very questionable and unethical) it’s still interesting and she teaches basic skills. There is also psychology with dr Ana.

Also since I don’t really know exactly whats going on here are some links that might be helpful. There was a mental health aster post I tried to find but I couldn’t, neither on my blog or on the op’s blog and if I find it later I will add it

https://www.tumblr.com/akindplace/775816093547839488/studygrr-hi-i-have-decided-to-make-this

https://www.tumblr.com/akindplace/697199039929892864

https://www.tumblr.com/traumasurvivors/687686104362762240/how-to-make-a-self-care-box

https://www.tumblr.com/reasonsforhope/758139760897409024/how-to-sharpen-executive-functions-activities-to

https://www.tumblr.com/hellyeahsickaf/738168277071740928/i-found-an-extremely-dope-disability-survival https://www.tumblr.com/akindplace/735921725606330368

https://www.tumblr.com/akindplace/754436304633217024/furiousgoldfish-dismantling-the-lies-of-abusive

https://www.tumblr.com/akindplace/732877671200145408/lah-disputes-i-decided-to-create-a-masterpost

https://www.tumblr.com/akindplace/730636708644880384

https://www.tumblr.com/akindplace/666841253068111872/informational-masterpost Also there is an app called insight timer that has meditation guides for different needs like sleep or relaxing and it’s mostly free.

There are a lot of channels on meditation on youtube too, some of them don’t put ads on the middle of videos so it doesn’t mess up the meditation, tho sometimes youtube just ads it anyway.

Im not familiar with podcasts on mental health tho, I don’t listen to a lot of podcasts, but there are probably a lot of them out there.

And personally I really love journaling. I like writing on this blog, on my other blog (akindsite.com), I write on word, I write on a vent journal, on a regular diary, I write poetry, I write essays sometimes, I have a journal for collages with writing, and yeah writing helps a lot. I’m not telling you to do all of this but hobbies that can distract you or that help you process what’s going on with you can be really helpful in my opinion as a person on the internet who is not a doctor nor a therapist.

And having this blog helped me in a few ways, as a lot of posts I write here are reminders to myself about things I struggle with, maybe running a blog might be helpful to you and you don’t need to show your own name and face or not even make it public.

I really hope things get better soon and that you are able to go back to therapy, cause as I said, these things are helpful but therapists are trained to be able to help and these might be helpful but aren’t substitutes to that type of knowledge.

If anyone has anything they would like to add on the replies or send on my ask box feel free to do so!

[the-wolf-emoji]

Aesop Rock has put out a lot of really good albums, but The Impossible Kid really is his greatest work

Aes's best tracks generally fall into two categories:

Songs where, true to his name, he tells ostensibly silly little anecdotes that betray a larger philosophy (1000 O'Clock, No Regrets, Churro, Snail Zero to name a few) The appeal to these is self explanatory.

Songs where he lets himself go crazy with wordplay and allusion to the point where the lyrics more resemble a puzzle than anything coherent. These typically have backing tracks that go really hard, but that's not their only appeal. Even if the song's exact message is difficult to discern, the themes that it touches on are apparent. These tend to be what he's known for— None Shall Pass, Zero Dark Thirty, 9-5ers Anthem

But even though The Impossible Kid is somewhat light on the former (Lotta Years and Blood Sandwich could arguably count, but are mostly just musings), this album represents the height of a trend that Aes had begun to explore, of using songs as methods of working out his thoughts.

The Impossible Kid's message is pervasive, and each song contributes to the whole while at the same time being fantastic in their own right.

It's an album without any duds, where every track shows Aes at the height of his craft. The backing tracks are powerful and catchy, with some of his most memorable hooks. His flow is impeccable and earworming even with the incredible density of the lyrics, and yet despite the density the meaning remains clear.

It's comparable to a modern-day Walden except focused inwards, drawing a snapshot of a man struggling to breathe under anxiety, grief and depression as his ties to the world around him are slowly severed. It's a story of his struggle into a place where he can be happy for once, and includes one of the only songs that I've ever heard talk about suicidal ideation in a meaningful way.

From Mystery Fish to Dorks, Aesop describes becoming jaded and disillusioned with city life, undergoing a metamorphosis with Rabies and Supercell that sees his mental isolation matched by physical isolation. This mimics the circumstances where he wrote the album, living for a year in a barn alone.

Throughout The Impossible Kid, Aesop wears his heart on his sleeve as he grapples with the death of Camu Tao, a rapper and old friend whose death haunts his work. While Aesop is no stranger to suffering, the passing of Camu is one of the defining moments of his adult life.

Similarly, Blood Sandwich revisits life-defining stories from his brothers (one older one younger) before moving on to Get Out of the Car, a therapy pep talk that segues beautifully into Shrunk, a playful yet frustrated recounting of his struggles with therapy. This is followed up with the most lighthearted, upbeat song on the album: Kirby, an ode to his cat (herself a coping mechanism suggested by his therapist). TUFF is another uptempo track about being in a depressive slump but treating it like a badge of honor— a song where he "floss[es] the albatross like Daddy Kane with the chain", to quote Dorks.

In contrast, Lazy Eye is a song that specifically presents him as being in an active state of recovery but not without issues— much in the same way that kids prep themselves to protect the neighborhood from increasingly unbelievable monsters in Defender.

Water Tower is The Impossible Kid's emotional throughline in a nutshell, an examination of life and death from a man who has spent his life either mired in grief or struggling with ideation. Molecules, meanwhile, fits The Impossible Kid's aesthetic sensibilities, depicting Aes on the eve of prepping for his isolation and the end of the previous chapter of his life.

[daughterofevil158]

Damon Multi Soulmate AU Masterpost

oh my god i actually did what i said i'd do back in april

Long post, contains general info/background/links for the AU

If you've been following the AU from roughly the start and simply want a list of general questions I've already answered, go to this link here

Main sections are in order: General Idea | Listing Relationships | Tags Used | Rough Account of AU Canon

If any stuff in this contradicts previous posts, assume retcon

◊ General Idea of the AU

So basically this started out as me wanting to put all my favorite Damon ships (plus a couple that just my mutuals like because I can see the vision) into one big mess since I inter-ship a bunch of them with each other as well (casseva, ulywolf, jettskii, etc). And the best idea in my head was "Soulmate AU, because...you gotta interact with them at least a little since you're tethered by god/fate/me, Mr. Maitsu."

I might be fucking up my words here, but stay with me. The intent when I first made it was "while I personally like these ships, I should leave it up to anyone interested if they want the ships to be romantic or platonic because I have zero romance experience and negative polyamorous experience. I feel they'd all get along, but balancing 9 romantic partners seems daunting in my opinion." And I figured the best way to showcase that was adding the concept of platonic soulmates and making Toshiko one since I liked her sibling-like banter with Damon.

And while I have leaned into the romantic aspect with the age-appropriate characters because, again I chose them because I like those Damon ships, the soulmate bond is not a tool for romance, but a tool for connection. In a nutshell, it's the crutch that makes up for Damon completely fucking it up in the prologue's post-trial scene so they start on slightly better terms since "you're my soulmate, surely you can't be that bad" but any actual love blossoms from them putting the effort into it

You are completely free to make your own version of this AU in whatever medium suits you best. Honestly, I'm cool if you wanted to add/remove people, if you made only one romantic and the rest platonic, or even if you just took the one person you personally ship with Damon and just had them as a single soulmate pair. The only things I ask are that you send me a link so I can see it, and, while I don't like needing to say it I'd rather cover all my bases here and now, I do not support any depictions of my AU that include minors being romantically shipped with anyone 3+ years older than them. Ex: Diana/Ulysses=👍, Diana/Jett=👎, Toshiko/Anyone=get off my blog and please sign up for therapy. While I believe in the people genuinely interested in my AU, I'd rather say it so there's no doubts than have accusations thrown at me because of someone else's actions.

◊ So, like, who's with who?

Here and here are the descriptions for the soulmarks between Damon and his direct soulmates. I don't wanna write down the soulmarks for everyone else, so feel free to reuse or generate whatever you want.

Written as CharacterA+CharacterB+... when everyone involved in the chain are soulmates with each other

◊ Soulmates, Romantic

Damon+Kai+Mark+Jett

Damon+Wolfgang

Wolfgang+Grace

Damon+Desmond

Desmond+Eloise

Damon+Ulysses

Ulysses+Wenona

Damon+Diana

◊ Soulmates, Ambiguous (your guess is as good as mine)

Damon+Cassidy+Eva

Jean+Kai

Jean+Cassidy

Cassidy+Wenona

◊ Soulmates, Strictly Platonic

Damon+Toshiko

Jean+Diana

Toshiko+Ingrid

◊ Not Soulmates, have some queerplatonic situationship that may or may not become romantic

Eva+Ulysses

Kai+Diana

Ulysses+Wolfgang

Eva+Diana

Cassidy+Kai

Mark+Diana

Eva+Wolfgang

a bunch more that I probably forgot about, I can see the vision with most ships honestly

While I may write things one way or another based on personal preference, this is how I personally view the whole picture

◊ List of Tags Used (chronological versions)

Damon Multi Soulmate AU = the general tag, literally everything about the AU is under this so you'd be better off filtering out one of the tags listed beneath

◊ Soulmate Bonus Content = a what-if for if Grace, Eloise, Jean, Ingrid, and Wenona were also Damon's soulmates

◊ Multi Soulmate Chaos = basically just silly stuff non-canon to the AU, such as them turning into cats...or kids

◊ Soulmate Killing Game = based on vague ideas from beginning of AU development, will probably think more about it once Chapter 2 releases. Basically, Eva's soulmark is "last words you say to your soulmate" and Wolfgang's is "timer that counts down to your soulmate's death" -> Eva doesn't have that extra bit of trust in Damon + Wolfie doesn't find out about his blackmail -> they both fry (and traumatize Damon even more than canon, yippie!) This also has the consequence of no one finding out about the "everyone's soulmates with at least 1 other person here" thing right away. Whether the soulmate KG continues following canon or not, any surviving soulmates are gonna be so so so toxically codependent on each other by the end😊

◊ Canon-ish Events in Rough Order

for the people who don't wanna scroll thru the main tag, but you're getting the discount SparkNotes version (this is not everything, just the big plot stuff):

Damon's a freak of nature for having 10 soulmates in a world where 3-4 is the average. He finds out about some of them during the prologue but most of them get revealed in Ch1. Eva gets discovered in the boiler->they trust each other just that little bit more. Wolfie's honesty soulmark makes Damon sound even bitchier in his post-prologue-trial speech about talent. The known soulmates are like "wtf man" and teach Damon how to not be a jackass with some success. Kai gets discovered after they bunk, "and they were roommates (ohmygod they were roommates)"

Ch1 timeline is extended to allow for more FTEs and bonding.

Tozu releases blackmail. Eva & Damon share theirs with each other, & Eva prepares to murder. Cassidy suggests gaming tournament and weedles Damon into helping. Wolfgang FTE except oops, the honesty soulmark causes Damon to reveal he has WG's blackmail. Slowburn angsty hurt/comfort Akiretsu starts here. WG does a 180 on his treatment of Damon to everyone else's confusion, and Evamon divorce arc also starts once WG shares the fake letter with Damon. Damon goes to help Cassidy, falls on his face, and finds out about Jett & Mark.

Eva's murder plan gets foiled, and Damon takes the traitor perk to try & find an escape. Tozu goes "bitch you thought" and has Mara 360 no scope him. Damon coma arc for like a week or so, and everyone not already in the know finds out what AU they're in. Somehow jettmon is among the most developed so far. Obviously no one wants their soulmate to die (either from murder or execution), so everyone just kinda chills with each other for the next few weeks while Damon recovers. Eventually rescue comes, Damon gets held hostage by Tozu (call him Damsel cuz he's in distress), and the strong people go back in to beat Tozu with a metal pipe (and save Damon I guess). Day is saved, confetti noises, Cassidy gets away with punching a cop.

Like, realistically everyone's got lives outside of each other and the KG, but in my head I've just been imagining Wenona buying one of those huge apartment complexes. Not everyone lives there on a permanent basis, but everyone's got a private apartment to themselves for whenever they stay over on top of the communal areas (basically imagining a bigger version of their canon living conditions lol).

Because of some little things like "killing game" and "first proven record of someone with more than 6 soulmates," the press's eyes are on them more than normal for the next few years. If he's still alive and not in jail, maybe Wolfgang's dad decides to fuck around and find out. Other than that, it's mostly open-ended at this point.

Like, I obviously didn't link everything because that's what the main tag is for, but should have all the big story beats.

[andy-wm]

Aesthetic Emotions and the Catharsis of Tragedy

How I feel after watching Jimin's Production Diary - The Truth Untold.

Why do we feel so drawn to emotional outpouring of others?

Why does the suffering and pain of artists make 'meaningful' art'?

I'm going to tell you why I think Face is a Greek Tragedy and why, even though the album is a complete and perfect story, we still needed Letter.

You know how sometimes you just need a good cry? And afterwards you feel better, like a weight has lifted... that's catharsis.

Based on the philosophy of the ancient greek philosopers Aristotle and Plato, the catharsis offered by tragedy in art is good for your soul.

The tragedy I'm talking about is not like a natural disaster. Its not like an unfathomably sad real life situation such as war, or the failure of the referendum for The Voice to pass in Australia.

I'm talking about Tragedy as a literary and artistic genre.

Simply put, Tragedy as a genre is identified by pathos and passion. And the work must have a narrative structure - a beginning, a middle, and an end.

Pathos being the ability to identify with and pity a person going through hard times.

Passion referring to strong emotion (of any sort).

But how do we find the equivalent of that literary theory in work that's not a typical story? In a song, or in art?

In my opinion, we can see something similar in music if we combine literary theory and art theory. After all, what is a song but a story delivered with emotion through music, and experienced as art is?

There's a school of art theory called Aesthetic Emotionalism.

In a nutshell, this means that the VALUE of the artwork comes from the way it communicates or expresses emotion. Mood, colour, tone, language all contribute to the feelings we get when we experience that work, whether it's looking at a picture or listening to music. They help us pick up on the emotions the artist is conveying.

So what happens when you experience those emotions through art? What is catharsis?

The experience of tragic events in art, whether it's a heart-rending drama, or a beautiful sad song, or a dark and menacing painting, can give you access to emotions like fear, pity, and regret. Feeling those emotions through art lets you purge the heaviness of them from your mind and body, giving you a sense of relief. That's catharsis.

It seems counter-intuitive but ultimately the experience is uplifting. It's like having the benefits of a therapy session, but without having to face YOUR OWN demons.

Becuase of the narrative structure, and the resolution of conflict, there's always relief at the end of the story.

You feel cleansed of those strong emotions, reengergised and ready to go on. But you also feel a sense of calm understanding. The pathos part of the tragedy gives you insight into the suffering of the character in the story.

Think about the narrative structure of the album Face.

The album has a carefully planned narrative, and a sense of rising and falling energy with these songs that's strongly reminiscent of the structure of a Hero's Journey.

And think about the individual songs in terms of Aesthetic Emotionalism too ...how they convey emotions through tone, pace, language, colour etc.

I'm going to go ahead and say that the strength of the Aesthetic Emotionalism in these songs (and in BTS's music in general) is a major reason they have such impact even when you dont understand the lyrics.

Now let's combine them... look at the emotions conveyed in these songs and how the literary theory of a tragedy might apply to the album :

The first song is the slow and devastating Face Off, with its hypnotic rhythm and strange, discomforting sound effects. It reallly does transport us into a dreamlike/nightmare landscape. But the last few words of the song foreshadow that it's gonna be alright.

Then we have the surreal, melancholy Dive, drawing us further into this dystopian world. It also uses sound effects to make us feel like we are being pulled through time. Dive is reminiscent of a soundtrack from a video, but it's been separated from it's film reel, leaving the listener to guess and imagine the scenes unfolding. It feels like jimin has come untethered from his reality.

Like Crazy comes like rising action in a novel, and we get character development, a bit of plot information, and conflict. But the song itself is a viby dance track with a party atmosphere (if you don't look too closely) so we get a reprieve from the darkness of Face Off and Dive. Its hypnotic beat is enough to keep us locked in the surreal dreamlike world that's been built around us by the previous songs, and the lyrics echo that.

Alone takes us back down into the darkness of Jimin's state of mind, both lyrically and with its low tones and slow pace. We get the metronome, the marking of slow time.

Set Me Free has a totally different energy. Jimin's tone of of voice is much brighter, but hard and determined. Set Me Free isnt a request, it's a demand. The music is forceful. It's like a battle march. The story has reached its climax.

Returning to Like Crazy (English version) after Set Me Free, is like returning to a gentle refrain. Its so much softer and more plaintive than the demanding Set Me Free, echoing the earlier melody and words, but it hits sightly different in English. We are into the denouement of this story, the resolution has come.

But it's not the end.

It is not the end, because after a few minutes of silence, time to breathe, we get Letter.

Why is letter here?

Jimin could have released Letter on Weverse or Soundcloud or directly onto Spotify. But he chose to include it at the end of the album.

I feel this is so important, because the specific set of circumstances of this album means this Tragedy we've just experienced isn't entirely consistent with the literary genre.

FACE ticks all the boxes for a Tragedy in the literary sense, it has pathos and passion and narrative structure. If you were a casual listener and you got to the end of the album you would have a sense of catharsis, as intended. But there's a complication.

ARMY aren't casual listeners.

This is personal.

We know Park Jimin, the real person.

We know this isn't fiction. This shit is real. It was real for him when he wrote it and it's real for us now.

Achieving catharsis isn't that easy when it's personal. Not when the hurt is real.

That's why he gave us letter.

That's why he gave it ONLY TO US.

Letter is a soft sweet gift, a sentimental dedication full of reminiscences that only ARMY will understand. The melody is gentle, like a lullaby, and Jungkook's backup vocals are enough to make you weep, if you aren't weeping already.

(**I have a theory that jk either didn't know about letter or didn't know Jimin was going to ask him to sing. See this post for why)

Letter does exactly what it's meant to - it fills us with warmth. It makes us overflow with love. It's a soothing balm to heal our hearts.

And its everything we need in order to let go of those heavy feelings of fear and pity, of worry and sadness for Jimin that the album brought to the fore.

Jimin knew we would need more. That's why he he sent us letter, right at the very end.

"I'm sorry. Thank you," It says.

"Don't cry. It's gonna be alright."

[nik-of-timee]

I finished my S1 rewatch of supernatural and I have some disorganised thoughts to share

I had forgotten how young they looked, I'm currently older than sam and almost the same age as dean and it's unreal to me

S1 is definitely one of the scariest seasons, there were some bangers that I remembered with startling clarity because they actually scared me so much ("dead in the water", "hookman")

the racist truck episode still has one of the best monologues given by a secondary character ever, in the history of the entire show

the pilot was actually great

man, this shit was problematic. I didn't see it on my first watch because I was young and ignorant of many things: ep2 was racist but decently written, "bugs" was racist and also just awful

supernatural in a nutshell: the worst episode ever ("bugs") followed by one of the best episodes in the show ("home")

FUCK JOHN WINCHESTER I HATE YOU SO MUCH jeffrey dean morgan is a fantastic actor

I am,,, uncomfortable with how much of myself I see in dean, it's actually kind of insane

"faith" made me very sad, but dean in a hoodie? kinda hot

BOBBY!!!!!!!!!

dean's voice breaking as he's almost dying? fucking kill me now, it made me cry!

dean realising john winchester is possessed because the demon was nice to him? wild shit, jw go to therapy challenge

And now... onto season 2

[in1-nutshell]

What if buddy got held hostage by fort max with rung and whirl?

In a nutshell...

Buddy is terrified for Whirl and Rung.

Ones impailed on the floor and the other trapped in a chair.

Buddy themselves is being held by their helm.

Whirl has already swearing and threatening Fort Max when the pipe was in his chassis. He quiet down when Buddy's helm.

He is not doing anything that is going to get Buddy in danger.

This is what he gets for deciding to do couples therapy!