essentialthyme

[essentialthyme]

with love. you have to fact check shit. yes you. you still have to fact check shit. a lot of people are great at fact checking stuff they don’t want to be true, but somehow are still absolute ass at fact checking stuff that’s rhetorically convenient to them. even people my age, who I KNOW grew up doing internet/bibliography literacy workshops, and being warned not to believe anything that isn’t reliably sourced, people who DO harp on fact checking conservative output or whatever, are still kneejerk sharing unsourced shit that is partially or wholly untrue or misleading, because it suits whatever narrative they’re pursuing in that moment, without even a “take this with a grain of salt”. fact check!!!!!! look at the sources!!!!! yes it’s a drag!!! do it!!!!!

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questions for the lgbt folk out there: let's say I'm interested in the Alien franchise

1. how gay is it?

2. if it isn't gay, how gay can I interpret it to be?

i know it's good regardless of the answers, that's why I'm interested, but I'm still curious

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Unspoken history

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guys what the fuck this is the cutest thing ever

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I was undecided on who to romance in Veilguard, flirting with everyone to keep my options open:

Harding is an interesting character, but there's zero chemistry between her and my Rook. I'm interested in her storyline with her powers, and my Rook is supportive, but that's it

Emmerich, well, I actually haven't flirted with him at all bc I wasn't feeling it? No attraction. He ended up being one of my favorites, and I heard his romance is top notch? After the graveyard scene I can definitely see it, but him and my Rook are like, gay besties

Lucanis is a sweetheart, he won me over completely in the market scene where he buys stuff for everyone, being incredibly observant and considerate of people's needs. Unfortunately, my Rook is a Shadow Dragon, and saving Minrathous was barely even a choice, and everything soured after that

Bellara was my top choice, but despite how much I like her (and her VA is absolutely incredible), at the point I'm in at the game, it feels like her romance route has been falling behind the others with fewer scenes. And now with Cyrian being a whole thing, I feel like things soured just like with Lucanis, and the focus changed to just being there for her. Best friends potential, I suppose

Davrin is one charming gentleman, and I love him also, his conversations about responsibility in regards to Assan, and his guilt over being alive after Weisshaupt were great, but every flirting option I choose feels like it throws depth right out the window so Rook can say the cheesiest line ever and it looks like strangers flirting instead of the two partners that developed a bond that they should feel like

Taash won me over with their awkwardness in their very first quest. Being a grump dragon "hunter" who cares deeply about dragons? Right up my alley. Even the immaturity was charming, idk. I dislike their personal quest for personal reasons, but mostly it was fine. My problem with it ended up being that they were the last companion I got, and the first companion I could enter a romance with. One scene they were asking me if I was interested, and the very next quest I had to choose to lock in the romance or cut off that possibility. The kiss felt unearned. I made a save so I could come back to it later and do the whole romance properly

And then Neve happened. It sneaked up on me truly

It was weird, because I thought Neve was going to be my favorite right of the bat, and then she wasn't. I felt like her dialogue was almost mechanic, and I even looked up the VA because I thought she wasn't doing a very good job? Idk, it felt weird. I ended up just going with the flow bc I wanted to keep every option open as long as possible, so I did the quests with her, choose the dialogue options that had Rook bond with her over Minrathous and Shadow Dragon stuff. I took her in my party a lot as I designed her (and later Emmerich) as my healer

Turns out her dialogue with the other characters are some of my favorites in the game. Somewhere along the line, I felt like she stopped talking in a mechanic way, and her dialogue quirks became endearing, instead. When I stopped to give money to someone on the streets, she stopped to ask them if they were ok, if they needed anything. Taking her on Minrathous is better than taking any of the other companions on their respective levels. It feels like everyone in Dock Town knows her.

She is witty, intelligent, caring, and boy, oh, boy, she is tired. And jaded. She boils coffee.

She didn't start out as my favorite, but she clawed her way up, little by little

The scene where she talks to Assan and then gives him a treat? Arrow straight through my heart. It felt very much meta when Rook confessed to Assan that she liked Neve. A lot.

And then the wisp hunt scene. Fuck me.

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“I love you with every piece of me left.”

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“The first Gay Pride flag was made in 1978 by a man named Gilbert Baker. He gave a meaning to each color.”

Beginners (2010) - Directed by Mike Mills

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Rainbow flag colorpicked from the original 1978 flag <3

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Ellie Williams in The Last of Us Part II 11/??

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“I don’t like this song because I can’t relate to it” skill issue. I’m mad at my husband I love my girlfriend I’m a lone cowboy I’m growing old I’m growing up I’m depressed I love my friends I’m perpetually horny I’m drunk at the club I love my husband again

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NO ONE’S DOING IT LIKE THEM

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ALIEN Franchise (1979-2024) + Protagonist

[essentialthyme]

questions for the lgbt folk out there: let's say I'm interested in the Alien franchise

1. how gay is it?

2. if it isn't gay, how gay can I interpret it to be?

i know it's good regardless of the answers, that's why I'm interested, but I'm still curious

[essentialthyme]

a super belated thing i drew for mother's day last year. i love them soooo much

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ah, bathtub yuri, how i missed thee

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mermaid AU!!

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Just finished it and I highly recommend this book: an easy and fun read, gay relationships, the side straight couple is, in fact, very cute and had me rooting for them... even though, they really needed no rooting for, they were doing fine. Mostly. The main romances are engaging, though I had a soft spot for the princess and her brave knight, but the highlight for me was definitely the m/f slowburn enemies to besties friendship between the two leads. By god, it had me smiling from ear to ear.