#Grist is real maybe?

[bogleech]

I still haven't played magic the gathering since my whole original collection and decks disappeared around 2006 but I'm now making my first ever commander deck (on a budget)

Just wish Toxrill the Corrosive used black and green mana instead of black and blue mana, it is very unfair they made a legendary slug who turns other people into slugs but if I used him for a commander deck I'd be locked out of a ton of other things I'd want to use (in Commander you pick a legendary creature to be your main guy but the rest of your deck has to be based on the main guy's mana colors)

Grist is pretty great though because this part is her real self:

If there was a black, blue, and green legend I liked I could use both of them, maybe some day

[bambamramfan]

Discourse knows, there have been too many articles in the UMC publications about polyamory, and I apologize for adding to the bonfire of think pieces. At least this one linked above is less obnoxious than most of them.

(The most obnoxious one is referenced in this article, the Atlantic piece saying that polyamory is bourgeois identity politics distracting from material change.)

And what gets me is that for a bunch of supposed Marxists decrying how polyamory is just cultural superficiality irrelevant to the superstructure of material conditions.... none of them can bother to write a Marxist analysis of polyamory! It's just throwing different names at each other, no discussion of material incentives.

And it's so fucking easy to write one, isn't it. Here's our starting points:

Marriage (and the relationship models that lead to it) is an economic institution.

The change in modern polyamory fads is, like most fashion, coming from the upper-class.[1]

I think we can all agree on these basic premises, and they provide a great deal of grist for economic analysis.

For instance, the middle class in America is falling apart. Especially if you are a recent college graduate. It's easy to get an internship that might be on track to a very lucrative career, especially in a big city. It's a lot harder to start a stable middle-class job somewhere between the coasts. So you can't really start planning for baby until you're 30 and after 5 different careers you maybe have one that will last more than a year, and can put a down payment on a home at maybe 35. (Housing costs rising, especially in cities, has really exacerbated that.

Does this apply to everyone? No. Does it apply to more people that in the past? Big yeah. So, what does a young educated something do in their twenties and early thirties?

But the upper class - I suppose we are supposed to say upper middle class, but c'mon programmer earning $250k you're fooling no one - is booming. It's easier to enter it, especially if you're smart, than ever (note that increasing from 1% mobility to 10% mobility is a big change, even if on the absolute scale it's still unfair.)

Polyamory - or extramarital sex - has always been popular among the rich. Because marriage isn't really an economic necessity for them. If a couple splits, well there's enough money to go around for all the kids to live in nice houses. Mormon bigamy flourishes when a male breadwinner is so ultra-successful they can support for 5 wives, and geek group poly houses flourish when one systems engineer can pay for the whole house on their own too (maybe there's one kid everyone chips in babycare for in the house, but no one is even thinking about enough children in the group house for a fertility rate close to 1:1.)

So if you cut out the ladder from the middle-class-monogamy path, and widen the highway for upper-class-laissez-faire-culture, then cultural norms are gonna flow from the former to the latter.

The thing about relationship norms that makes the change really noticeable is their NETWORK EFFECTS. Being the only polyamorous person in a monogamous community is basically irrelevant, right? Who you gonna date? Similarly if you are in an entirely polyamorous community, my sympathies if you happen to be monogamous and so everyone you want to date has incompatible norms.

But once you start getting away from the edges, they S-curve up real fast because there's finally the option to try the minority relationship style, and for the agnostics who are okay poly or mono, they start seeing people they think are cute in the other camp, and hey, why not try it out.

So combine the collapse of the middle class, the proliferation of upper class hedonism, and network effects and a poly-explosion seems almost inevitable, doesn't it?

...

Of course, I haven't presented any hard evidence, this marginal change at most applies to less than double digits percentage of the populace, and this isn't even how the story feels from inside my head (as a poly converted person.)

But it was. At least. An attempt. To do. Materialistic analysis!

Why are all published Marxists so bad at this.

--

[1] Polyamory, or extreme family/relationship/household flexibility has always flourished in the underclass. But the NYT isn't going around interviewing trailer parks in Appalachia to ask them about their exciting new lifestyle.

[thewertsearch]

Trolls Made Our Universe: The Analysis

Let's talk about it.

Looking back, it's pretty clear that this was always our destination. The comic's scope has been on an upward trajectory for thousands of pages, and the Ultimate Alchemy hype has been building since midway through Act 4.

Hell, even I thought the planet I theorized about was just going to be a stepping stone to something bigger. Homestuck just keeps escalating - we might not even stop here, although I can't predict what the next step would be, since we're working with multiple varieties of multiverse already.

Anyway, this reveal confirms that Sburb's grandstanding about the Players' importance isn't just hot air - they really do serve a critical purpose. Assertions that this 'purpose' is more important than saving Earth are still dubious - but now, I can at least understand the coldly utilitarian place the game is coming from.

I still don't know why it has to work this way, but now I finally know what's happening. Earth's universe was born from the blood of Alternia, and the kids were created to perpetuate the cycle again, creating a new universe from the blood of Earth.

Close! It was less of a gasp, though, and more of an under-the-breath 'what the fuck'. I don't know why a universe surprised me as much as it did - like I said, I was already half-expecting a planet!

I think the real sticking point is the difference in scale - and, as a consequence, the difference in Grist cost.

It makes a certain intuitive sense that you could convert the Denizen Grist into a planet - comparable in size, presumably, to the planetoids that the Denizens call home. But a universe is an entirely different animal, one which would dwarf the Incipisphere by dozens of orders of magnitude.

Extrapolating from the typical volume of a Grist piece, four Land-sized vaults of the stuff wouldn't be nearly enough. Even if Denizen Grist is a million times more valuable than normal, and each Denizen released a million times the Incipisphere's volume in Grist, it still wouldn't be nearly enough.

I guess the game could just hardcode the Grist cost of a universe down to a manageable value, but that would break the game's own rules, and doesn't seem in spirit with how its progression system works.

No, I think something screwy must be going on with the Denizen hoards. Maybe they're full of special Grist, each piece of which is worth 1e70 normal pieces - or maybe picking them up actually multiplies the value of your grist cache, rather than adding to it.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the hoards are this comically large. After all, their value is beyond even Vriska's imagination.

The exact mechanics here are definitely worth speculating about. Let's talk about how, exactly, this universe may have come to be. The trolls obviously can't have crafted this thing atom-by-atom, or even planet-by-planet - not unless Aradia took them into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for a billion years of blueprinting.

A lot of Alternian culture is integrated into Earth, though, and it had to get there somehow. In keeping with what anon said, I think these ideas were sort of 'merged' into the universe when it was created.

After all, Sburb is all about merging ideas, and we've been working with idea-merging machines since day one!

The trolls alchemized their universe, even if they didn't use a traditional Alchemiter to do so. If they wanted their universe to exhibit certain traits, all they needed to do was feed it certain ingredients, merging them with whatever 'universe' object they presumably gained access to at the end of the game. I'm just going to call it the seed.

Maybe the reason humans look so much like trolls is because the trolls inserted their codes into their universe's alchemy recipe, perhaps attempting to revive the troll species without the Matriorb.

Wait, scratch that.

Maybe the reason humans look so much like trolls, and have red blood, is because one specific troll's code ended up in their recipe.

Come to think of it - since we're already doing large-scale alchemy, there's a pretty easy way for the trolls to ensure that every trait they want ends up in their new universe.

All they'd need is a fetch modus and a drawing tablet.

If you're being evicted into a new universe, you might as well make it feel like home.

Adding Alternia's code to the seed would, in one fell swoop, explain all the facets of troll culture observed on Earth. It would also, in a way, 'resurrect' the troll homeworld without truly reviving it - a bittersweet prize for our victorious Players.

As mentioned above, it would be weird if Earth was the only planet to inherit DNA from Old Man Alternia. It would make sense if each civilization exhibited different Alternian traits - like, maybe there's an exoplanet out there somewhere where lusi evolved, and another where everyone has the same necromantic powers as Aradia.

It also means the universe was probably full of space empires. If the meteors didn't get Earth, Neo-Alternia might have eventually come knocking...

I also think I was conflating the signs on the trolls' clothes with the signs of the Alternian Zodiac, without considering that those might be two entirely different sets of 'signs'. The trolls themselves never refer to Cancer or Aquarius as Zodiac signs, after all. Maybe the Extended Zodiac is a different thing entirely.

Anyway - yeah, that is interesting. The kids' universe was created by twelve Players, and now its stars bear their signature - so whose signature is embedded in the trolls' stars?

An implied 48-Player session sounds amazing. Doubly so, if Hussie's using Squiddles to imply a Horrorterror session. That's an absolutely fascinating idea, on so many levels, and I do hope we see the trolls speculating about their own creators at some point.

Of course, this 48-sign Squiddles stuff could also be a red herring. I'm getting used to how this comic works, and just so it's on record...

...this is what I suspect is actually going on.

In any case, I'm as hyped as you all are!

Hussie's hand has finally been shown, and Homestuck has been revealed as the creation myth that had been built up all along. I can't wait to see what's next.

[echotunes]

echo reads homestuck (act 1)

is this a bad idea? probably! I've read the first couple hundred pages of this before but it's been years so I don't remember much of what happened. I remember there was a thing with a game that altered reality in some way...? well. anyway. gonna see how far I get this time

DATA STRUCTURES... stack... LIFO... yes... this is so strange but I love data structures so I will not complain

truly I love how inconvenient this inventory system is. what is going on. why are there clowns. what is his dad's deal

was not expecting a little piano tune but :0 piano tune!

:0 title screen? and a little prose thing! oh this is fun. > "You have a feeling it's going to be a long day." this feels like it's an Iconic Line of some sort. or maybe it's just being dramatic but this feels Significant to me

love the music and clickable buttons in this battle with his dad. I get to hit things with a hammer. epic

MORE DATA STRUCTURES!!! QUEUE!!! FIFO!!! so real

TT is RIGHT trees ARE sophisticated. so real of her

I will say I love how much personality there is in these guys' text interactions. they have typing styles! (<- i am Aware of homestuck typing quirks and the fact that this can and will get Worse but yk)

there are so many things here that are just Words. like ah yes. the alchemiter and the cruxtruder. sylladex. grist. you will need to extrude some cruxite. all of this means nothing to me. fascinating

> "the kernelsprite has been prototyped with the harlequin doll" HAHA!! YES!!! <- me hearing music in a viennese waltz rhythm

what is even going on anymore. what does any of this mean. there are so many Words and Terminology

yeah sure there's a meteor this may as well happen

:0 ROSE I have seen this person before. this is rose. yes

*pained violin player's stare of horror at the way rose is drawn playing* yeah... yeah that's how. violin playing works. yeah. yep (IT IS ON THE WRONG SHOULDER)

oh my goodness the tree structure YESSSS I love the tree structure. and it's ALPHABETICAL. k

loving rose so far. knitting. violin. grimoire for summoning the zoologically dubious. and WHAT is her house

>rose removes the root and everything drops on the floor ah so this too is an incredibly inconvenient data structure! love that. however I still like it because. trees <3

I'm sure taking a bite of this mysterious apple created by this Strange Machine is a great idea

...ah. okay. METEOR EXPLOSION. and end of act 1. that's. well I'm not sure what I just read but I am not opposed to reading more so I suppose there will be more liveblogs in the future. stay tuned

[syrenart]

Eridan has really grown on me over the years I've been into Homestuck and although he did bad things I think he deserved better.

He needed a friend so bad, and I mean a real genuine friend. And maybe a good few quadrants..

I love him and kanaya as friends because I think eridan would kill it as a model for her sewing projects. I'd even go as far as saying I'd like for them to be moirails but that is a pending thought.

Eridan and karkat have excellent chemistry, so I usually ship them as matesprits.

after he kinda calms down, I even think he and feferi could work as matesprits, but I do adore them being much better moirails in the future too!!

Eridan and sollux have always been kismesis, thirteen all the way into adulthood.

On top of being incredibly lonely before the game (a seadweller that hardly goes into the ocean and lives pretty much in solitude (aside from his occasional flarp sessions with vriska, which didnt even work out because....you know. Vriska.) with a REALLY unsupportive lusus), he was alone DURING SGRUB. he was left in a land- wrath and angels- which had absolutely n o t h i n g on it.

Even his CLIENT PLAYER (nepeta btw) DIDNT REALLY INTERACT WITH HIM??? Even after apparently doing something to save her life. NO dice there.

Now, I love feferi and sollux together as matesprits, I always have, but it is sad to know that eridan had feelings for her and the person he DESPISES managed to get with her. That has g o t to be a punch in the gut.

Eridan fought the angels because he thought they were enemies and would get him grist, which caused them to start ATTACKING. I don't think it was his fault at all for thinking they would drop materials, they were on a planet he was sent to while actively in the game and everyone called him an idiot for it??? THIS POOR POOR MAN.

Anyway I want to give him a hug. I will watch Shrek with you.

[wingedcatgirl]

ai content farms on youtube can only succeed because of viewers. they're not watching because it's good, they're watching it because it's there.

a lot of people's first reaction to that might be "ugh, those lowest-common-denominator enjoyers, not like me, someone who enjoys good content" but... well, that's just the thing. a lot of people feel like that. a majority, even. but then who are we actually complaining about? it's the lowest common denominator, not the shittiest boring denominator.

i think probably most people are fine with content-mill stuff by default, and only start caring about quality when it's a medium and/or subject they actually have passion for. and everyone has passion for something! that's why none of us think of ourself as lowest-common-denominator enjoyers - because we can all think of some form of art we actually care about

but because most people are okay with content-mill stuff by default, there will always be an audience for it. and because there will always be an audience, it's going to keep being produced and promoted by the various algorithms, and that raises the question: how do we, when we step away from default and want something real... reliably find it in the sea of grist?

the thought that sparked this post was "i think people should get in the habit of recommending creators and works they enjoy more often, especially smaller creators". which is great advice for once you've already found the thing. but how do you find it in the first place? you can rely on recommendations from real people, but that just kicks the can down the road - how do we expect them to have found it so that you can follow their recommendation?

... i was hoping for my rambling to lead me to a conclusion, somehow, but nope. i've got nothing rn. maybe it'll come to me in a dream someday.

[corditeheart]

@aenyalios | x

“Maybe even more than one god,” she shoots back with a slight smirk of her own-- oh, this’ll be grist for the Garden rumor mill for the next couple of days. By lunch, she and Ares will have been having a secret love affair since before he got hired. 

By the time the Network refreshes in the evening, she’ll bet real gil on someone theorizing that one of the cadets is their secret love child. 

Her phone lights up with a text that Xu ignores, glancing instead at the clock at the top of the screen. She still has another hour to kill before her next meeting, some boring, tedious budget thing with the headmaster and Leonhart, and the accounting team. 

She pulls her bag toward her, glancing inside. So much for attempts to quit-- there’s still a pack of cigarettes in there, and half-full to boot. Xu tosses her phone in as well, and her paper cup of coffee in a neat arc into the nearby trash bin. 

“I need a smoke. Care to join?” 

[pesterloglog]

Autoresponder, Jane Crocker

Act 6, page 4961

TT: Hmm.

GG: Welp, let me have it!

TT: Have what?

GG: A hard time for botching up the pooch!

GG: I think I just locked the door with that muttonheaded stunt. And now that mirrored obelisk is good as gone.

TT: I wasn't going to say nothin'.

TT: Hell, I was asleep at the wheel too while you were busy fucking up, and I have an IQ of, hold on, robo-calculating...

TT: Robo-calculating...

TT: Robo-calculating...

TT: Robo-calculating...

GG: Oh brother.

TT: Robo-calculating...

TT: About 500 billion.

GG: That is really, really robo-smart.

TT: Don't get human-fresh with me, Crocker. I'm about to bring all five hundo-billy points of my stringent cyborg IQ to bear on your dumb problem. Check it out.

TT: I took note of the captcha code to the thing, and recorded a digital flashsnap of its appearance through my photographic silicone memory canals.

TT: Which is to say I looked at eight alphanumeric digits a couple minutes ago, and remembered them.

GG: Ok?

TT: So give the bunny the wallet. I'll have him run back to the house and make you a new obelisk with the same grist you just collected from it.

TT: He can stash it in the wallet and run it back to you, and then you can open the door. You shouldn't be waiting around too long, cause he's real spry.

TT: Which is exactly why you should wait here. You'll just slow him down.

GG: Alright, I think I can do that.

GG: What should I do in the meantime?

TT: Let me think about that.

TT: Robo-calculating...

GG: Oh stop it!

TT: K.

GG: None of our friends will answer me. What could they be up to?

GG: You must at least know what Dirk is doing.

TT: He's slicing up some drones.

GG: Some what?

TT: Big red robots. He'll be busy for a while.

TT: Roxy I'm not sure about, but there is a pretty high probability as governed by the immutable laws of mathematics that she is preoccupied similarly.

GG: She's fighting robots too, you mean?

TT: I don't know. Maybe.

TT: Dealing with them, in some way, perhaps.

TT: If so, it wouldn't be a coincidence.

GG: Why?

TT: I think the Condesce is attempting to force the issue now.

GG: What? What issue!

TT: It's likely that it's a coordinated assault. Sending drones both to here and Roxy's place.

TT: She's probably trying to get everyone else to stop dicking around and join the game already.

GG: Are you sure she's not just trying to kill them?

GG: It wouldn't be her first assassination attempt.

TT: Yeah, but come on. Dirk has been a sitting duck here for years. Roxy too.

TT: She could have wiped them out any time with a swarm much bigger than this one. Or just nuked them.

TT: Her "assassination attempt" on you was pretty weak too.

GG: But it nearly worked!

GG: I would be dead right now if not for the whims of GCat.

TT: Right.

TT: Like I trust the motives of that fucking thing.

GG: So, you're saying she's only pretending to hunt us?

TT: I believe she probably would genuinely like to kill us. She is a psycho after all.

TT: But it's also obvious to me she needs us to begin playing this game, for whatever fucked up purpose she has.

TT: She might even need us to win it too, for all I know.

TT: Her antagonism is all part of the dance.

GG: Then you're saying Dirk and Roxy aren't really in danger from the robots?

TT: Oh, I wouldn't say that. They're still pretty deadly and they shoot missiles and stuff.

GG: Augh! I just want to talk to my friends and see if they're ok.

GG: What about Jake?

TT: No idea what's going on with him right now.

TT: I'm sure when the time is right, the witch will keep pushing him along to join the game as well.

GG: Then I guess I'll just sit here and worry about everyone quietly until Seb gets back.

TT: What about your troll friend?

GG: What?

TT: The alien whose name you don't know.

TT: You could talk to her.

GG: Oh yeah!

GG: I forgot about her.

GG: But I suppose that's because she's always the one to contact me. I never get a response when I message her.

TT: Well, you could give her a try. Maybe things are different now.

TT: I could hack into her system to get her attention, if you think that would help.

GG: You can do that??

TT: Nah, just messin' with you.

TT: Later.

timaeusTestified [TT] ceased pestering gutsyGumshoe [GG]

[everythingbutresolved]

So he's obviously getting his needs met but may need some liquid courage for the verbal part...could I choose #2 cocktails

I had to divide this in two parts, sorry for the wait and Happy Birthday @girlwiththenegantattoo

Also on AO3

Other chapters HERE

Original images by @giuliajrosa-blog and @plainlo-inthemorning (thank you!)

Words: 2270

Tags: mild smut / angst / slow burn

Characters: Jeb Magruder/ OFC (You)

Whyskey Sour - Part 1

“I grew up in the shoes they told me I could fill

When they came around, I would stand real still

A girl can roll her eyes at me and kill

I got the idea I wasn't real

I thought being blacklisted would be grist for the mill

Until I realized

I'm still here”

Fetch The Bolt Cutters

Pinned to the bedspread, arms and legs open and limp like a stranded starfish and Jeb’s creased shirt collar rubbing your cheek, you wonder if he took salsa lessons for his first wedding dance with Gail, and if he looked good in a black tuxedo with a white carnation secured in the eyelet. You think of their first night, and the nights after that, and idlingly try to guess the exact moment things started to go downhill for them. 

You also wonder how to politely tell Jeb to stop whatever he thinks he’s doing and just get off you.

A cursory glance informs you that he didn’t even take his shoes off, while you were stripped down and laid on his bed (Gail and Jeb’s bed, you are reminded by the few items of clothing scattered around the room) where Jeb has been relentlessly pouncing you for the last 20 minutes.

You should be ecstatic.

You’re slowly admitting to yourself that you’ve never been fucked this badly before.

The heavy body on top of you is stifling warm, crashing your chest and arms dangling over the sides of the mattress while the cogwheel rhythm of his hips is giving you a cramp that stretches from your hip to your knee. You can smell sweat and sea breeze and the unmistakable stench of hungover breath. 

All this while Jeb continues to maintain a heavy, stubborn silence that frankly, you don't know whether it is more unsettling or alarming.

Hell, even a corny "oh baby" would be good enough for you at this point.

You had imagined your first time with Jeb like a slow affair of long kisses, reverent touches, and a smooth transition to a glorious, knee bending, memorable sex. In your mind you anticipated his hands roaming over your body with eager possession, an electrifying shiver running through your spine while he caressed your inner thighs, and to be honest you had high expectations when he manhandled on the bed, working open his zipper and pulling down your panties in rough gestures.

You even tried not to complain too much at the sudden intrusion and consequential stretch, glad to be excited enough to ease the shove of his impressive length inside you.  

Instead of praises of affection and sweet secrets murmured in you hear, Jeb’s face is buried in the hollow of your neck, so that the only thing you hear is heavy grunts, while droplets of sweat are trickling all over your face, breath heavy with alcohol, sticky strands of hair glued to your temples.

This

is

a

Disaster.

Jeb.

Someone is calling his name

Jeb. Beebee.

He recognizes the voice. Not Gail. Gail is gone. She went back home, he knows that, he has dropped her off at the airport…when? A long time ago. Hours. Maybe this morning. Last night they went to dinner, him and Jeb, no, him and Gail, a casual event but Gail insisted he wore a suit, even though the humidity in the air went through the roof and he could feel the dampness on his back growing bigger and bigger by the minute.

He was so happy when he saw her outside the airport exit door, her smart, gentle, assertive Gail.

No, not assertive, demanding.

Gail wants, Jeb executes. And it works. Like a clockwork. Marriage, house, children, job – there’s not a single part of their life that Gail hasn’t accurately planned.

The only time he saw his father smiling with something that resembled genuine satisfaction was when he told him he was going to marry Gail.

He even likes how she made love to him, ruthless, looking for her pleasure first, telling him exactly what to do and going for it. He didn’t mind. His wife’s lean body didn’t move an inch after two pregnancies and she still fucked him like a cat on heat, meowling on top of him, his back arching and her walls writhing and twitching all around him until they were both panting and spent, her curving in his embrace, his long-limbed and year-by-year bulkier body beached on the bed decked out in chintz and lace, his hands clutching the flowered sheet tightly, attention all caught up in her.

It was a good marriage.

She was a believer in natural childbirth, and because the first one had been devastatingly painful, she needed to have two more to prove her point, which is why she was pushing him more and more insistently in taking the next step.

More children meant a better job for him. Gail had dropped out of the fine arts class at Berkley when she became pregnant with the first one and had not touched her books since then, only volumes on parenting and childcare.

He wondered if she was really happy. He had asked her one day, after a particularly infuriating evening, but the look she gave him had silenced him, and they had started talking again about what to do for the holidays.

It had been Gail's idea to take the whole family on vacation to the beach, including her kind but intrusive mother ("so we'll finally have more time to ourselves"), and despite the mishap with the plane tickets and the interminable rant, he had found himself staring at the ceiling of the small bungalow room, the same night, his eyes closed and his hands clasped around Gail's slender thighs, trying to focus on his wife's eagerly spreading thighs, clenching around his traitorous cock, the rhythmic movement of Gail's pelvis giving him little jolts of pleasure that became waves of heat throughout his body, his shortness of breath and the stupendous sight of small, bouncing breasts replaced at a stroke by that of a pair of green eyes, half closed in pleasure, staring dreamily at him from above his shaft, red lips enveloping him, and moaning from deep in his throat that reverberated throughout his body.

As he came with telluric tremors in Gail's warm belly, he had clenched his jaw as tight as he could to keep from screaming your name.

That he felt so bad at the thought of having betrayed her trust – then he thought of you, the taste of you still on his lips and fingers.

When he kissed Gail he had the insane thought she could smell his betrayal. Standing awkwardly in a corner of the room at the party, through open doors, he saw you facing the terrace and talking to your father, frizzy hair coiffed in a tight chignon so that your strapless dress would reveal tanned shoulders and Jeb felt a twitch in his stomach, excused himself and felt the urge of something strong.

The barista poured him something his father would have chosen, the smell alone evoking memories of endless nights listening in the dark to his parents talking downstairs – children not admitted.

JEB.

After that, he ordered another. And another. The rest of the night was a blur. Gail, beautiful, sweet Gail still angry about the tickets problem, cornering him discretely, tumbler filled with melted ice, telling him to take a walk. A long one. After wandering by himself he found the way to the beach, where he laid his head on soft moss and closed his eyes, eyelids growing heavy with drowsiness.

He woke up at first dawn, emerging from a long dream where you had merged with Gail and all the others before her, a little army of feminine urge and hands and soft skin pressing against his, eager mouths sucking and titillating and biting, whispering in his ears murmurs of appreciation – he just had to lay down,

smile and be pretty.

In a corner he thought he had seen his father, sitting in his old rocker, observing the scene with rapt attention.

Sharp pain in his diaphragm. He must be still asleep on the beach, a rock piercing his sternum through the taut fabric.

But he remembered the trip back to their room as atrocious, nausea assaulting him at every step, arriving just in time to bring Gail to the airport, her shocked glances at his “terribly irresponsible” behavior not even scraping the thick blanket of numbing mist that had covered him through the night. In a trance, he had bid farewell to his wife with vague reassurances about his state of health and that he had only had a little too much to drink, and then crawled to his new Oldsmobile and followed the road back to the hotel, where he slipped through a door found providentially open and sat on an unmade bed, swinging his head in his hands, counting to ten and holding his breath as long as he could, and again, and again.

GET THE FUCK OFF. JEB. GET. OFF.

When you slammed the door open he was reminded of the painting of Artemis hunting with her dogs that Gail showed him in her art book once, finally pinning down that resemblance he had been hopelessly trying to find since the first time he had seen you on the beach,

no,

before that, ever since he had met you in your father's house, your hair tied back in a high ponytail and your legs exposed in short gym shorts, your cheeks flushed and your eyes bright. You had not dignified him with so much as a glance, but upon greeting you shook his hand tightly, lingering a second longer than necessary. And all the following times, the frequency of which he had tried to intensify without giving too much suspicion, your detachment was balanced by glances that lingered without realizing they were being seen, and glasses of iced tea brought without anyone having asked you, and shirts that were a little too low-cut and lipsticks that were a hair too laden. To all these signs Jeb had adjusted to his usual way, which was - to wait.

No one had told him that it should have been his urge to make the first move, so why did this one has to be any different?

But there was something in your eyes, a steely solidity he had never seen. Like two cranes on one leg, you were waiting for the other to make the first dance move.

Until the day of the pool barbecue.

The very hot summer allowed for a relaxation of costumes and clothing that he was sure would not have been allowed in normal situations. Just seeing you surfacing from the shade of the porch with a tray in your hand, offering chilled wine to the guests, had taken your breath away - the hair curled by the humidity shaped a lion's crown that you had held back in a clumpy soft braid, and the Pompeian red costume adhered to your body to enhance a figure that was just begging to be squeezed and caressed and freed from that unnecessary constriction of iridescent fabric.

Yet something about you kept even the boldest hands from staying in place, a promise in your smile of painful punishment at every move made without your permission. When your eyes had met, Jeb had felt the overwhelming urge to reach out and cover your gaze.

Not being watched - but looking.

He wanted to devour every inch of you, plunge into the depths of your body, and emerge transformed, a treasure in his hands.

In the blink of an eye, the feeling had faded, and your gentle smile had lapped Jeb's tall figure to stop inches from him, asking him to help you with the barbecue preparations.

You don't change years of conditioning in a few minutes, possibly in an epic movie shot.

Life is not a short story with a happy ending.

For the rest of the day, Jeb had impressed upon him the figure of your broad back and shapely hips pulling at the costume's laces until they left a white indentation in your glistening skin.

He had hardly realized that he had said yes when the brunette girl he claimed to be your friend had extorted his promise to take her home, nor had he protested when she had asked him to pull over, only to unbuckle his belt and unzip it and pull a mouth glistening with cheap lipstick over his frighteningly erect member, nor had he been offended when she had insulted him after coming in her mouth without warning with long, hot spurts.

All he thought about was you slowly lowering your wet costume and asking him to do with you what he wanted "Whatever you want, Jeb, whatever you want."

JEB STUART MAGRUDER!

The yelling is loud enough to bring him back to reality and opening his eyes all he can see is a pair of furious green eyes staring at him, while the pain at his sides doesn’t seem to stop. He recollects his thoughts

where he is, how did he get here, who is on top of OH.

NO.

@littleredwritingcat @sanzpool-world @agirlinherhead @ebiemidnightlibrarian @jyngerpeach @vintageglassheart02 @plainlo-inthemorning @gorillaprutt @aherdofbees @chronic-ghost @pegplunkett

[holodeckprotocols]

animorphs book 11 (the forgotten) #thoughts

jake's dad spent FORTY AMERICAN DOLLARS on a pay-per-view boxing match?? in NINETEEN NINETY SEVEN??? google tells me that's seventy five dollars today. i know this is a book about superpowered tweens and robots and aliens but this is the most insane thing that's happened so far

i zoned out while i was doing some data entry and all of the sudden the animorphs were in space, whoops

it's goofy that jake didn't tell everyone he was having visions. and maybe even a little out of character? like rachel's amnesia, it's just kind of dumb and irritating to read about, but again i must keep in mind that this is a book for kids.

ax being like "sorry i don't know what's going on bc i was staring at a cute girl in class the day we learned this" is so funny and real to me. more aliens like this please

i know i say this about every book but rachel almost being eaten alive by bullet ants might be the most horrific thing that's happened so far in the series 

well that was a mess

this reminds me of an O'Brien Must Suffer episode of ds9. grist for the pain mill & some character insights, but ultimately i just feel like everything reset at the end of the book. at least we got jake square dancing and ant body horror!

[nopesterlogs]

Okay, time to enter the kitchen

I just noticed john is wearing his normal glasses under the fake ones, that can't be comfortable. he really does suffer for his art.

I appreciate the detail in the harlequins arm falling off. not everyone would go to the effort.

why does this have a heartbeat is this whole story gonna end with meeting Dagoth Ur in a volcano

Faceless dad here has baked and decorated an entire cake in like 15 minutes since getting home

> [S] STRIFE! Is john gonna attach his dad with a hammer

dads taking this quite well

or not

okay this was pretty funny. dude could of dropped them any time

heh

yknow for a guy whos backed at least 3 cakes today dads kitchen is really clean. Is he single

John why take his PDA.

Is this how Captchalogue upgrades are normally done? cause that... is inconvienient.

Quest Success. Another Birthday present?

is homestuck so long because its just john messing up the inventory system?

oh hey, number 4!

and... they're gone. they seem nice

TG has absolutely no chill

I can imagine were only starting to see the depths of meta this comic will go honestly

version 0.0.1? im surprised there is even a server yet to play

considering the fact they are the basic way people seem to interact with the world, you'd think it would be like basic knowledge taught in school.

... does john go to school?

how does this world work

???????

hes gonna launch the razor into the fucking computer at this point

close enough

Poor dad. wait how did the glass fall on the inside?

ooh a present from TG. I literally have no idea what to expect

NOOO???

John really needs to be stopped.

okay finally the present

Something suspiciously dirty and smelly.

:/

But no, it is not merely LIKE that bunny. According to this NOTE OF AUTHENTICITY, it is the VERY SAME BUNNY.

I have no idea how much movie memorabilia goes for but i can't imagine its cheap. TG Must be pretty well off.

Looks like Sburb is ready and TT is messaging.

Its got a client and a host so 2P? guess thats TT?

yeah TT is connecting

a, This music is banging

b, very sims, I think i saw "Sewing Mirrors" If I could pause I'd be inclined to read all of them, I wonder if theres anything important in there. is there a list somewhere? otherwise it seems pretty "recalculating Splines"

very sims Select revise and deploy feel like they are kinda self explanatory. but is it for the real world? theres what looks like an item registry? Grist Cache sounds like currency maybe?

last two I dunno but the last one has a punch capcha card?

oh theirs johns FIFO card sweet.

also what the fuck. although considering that other hand is this just a normal thing that's possible in universe?

ummmm what is the range on this thing

mildly convenient

Dads going out for MORE supplies?? why didnt he just get enough the first time??

okay I guess there is a range

the menace deserves to be prodded buy a terrifying game cursor

I like how he responds to the reference

So this game can just rewrite reality? just create matter out of thin air?

Seeing as John already lives a pretty Video gamey life is Sburb more like a mod that allows the host (or client actually which one is John) to effect the base code?

Seems like existence is based on a coded frame work. "It was all a video game" seems a bit too cliché but maybe something like that is happening?

man it even effects the outside too

oh boy nebulous machinery

Cruxtruder - Extrudes something? a Crux presumably

Totem Lathe - Used to carve some kind of totem probably? that seems too simple though

Alchemiter - the Punch card thing had something to do with Alchemy too. Changes things with punch cards?

[awrestlinggirlwholoves80sbands]

Accusing Sharise of cheating when we all know what a big slut Vince was.....go and read some biographies, anon, literally EVERYONE says something along the lines "whenever [Vince's current wife] looked away for a second, he was already snogging another girl". Like literally Sharise had all the right with a husband like that. Also "my Axl" Alessia is right, he's not gonna fuck you, he doesn't know you exist, anon, so why embarrass yourself in front of so many strangers on the internet because of him?

This ask reeks of so much sexism, like yes, they all cheated on each other, but for some reason men are allowed to and women are not or they are "toxic", hmm, I wonder why 🤔🤔🤔

Also let's not forget how Axl went on trial for beating his girlfriends, and both Stephanie and Erin testified against him....not toxic, you say? Or are you gonna say something along the lines of "they did it for money/attention/to ruin his reputation/whatever"? Because that's classical victimblaming. Get a life, anon, talk to real women, maybe you'll change your opinions.

If I didn't think it was misogynistic with the grist ask, the second one totally showed that.

Also me hating Axl? Bitch, it takes 5 seconds on my blog to see how much I live him but I will call him out. I wanted to clarify they were toxic because they were, and it's not okay to romanticize couple that weren't good for each other.

Plus I can't understand the Sharise hate. She probably made mistakes too because we are all human, but how do you expect me to not blame Vince for cheating when he's the first one that admits it? Like sorry if I'm going to blame him for something he has done. These type of men (like anon) have never been blamed for their shit and it shows when they find themselves getting blamed and trying to accuse people of being " men hater" while some women had theirives ruined and get killed every day. It's not about men = bad and women = good, it's about taking responsibility for the shit you have done.

[rin-apologist]

Biggest Economy!

Just been thinking a lot about how silly the economy is in America lately. My revelation (sarcasm) came from a tweet about how most of our economy isn’t people going to the store and buying things, it’s in *list of industries*. The one from the list that caught my eye was healthcare.  Cause yeah, the healthcare industry in America is way bigger than in other countries. It extracts the most money from the populace (greedy, greedy, gonna hoard all that money for things like security and future) and into the economy! It’s soooo big! Look at all those jobs! If we had public healthcare like other countries all those insurance companies would go away! We’d lose all those joooooooooobs! That are focused on making things materially worse for the actual people living their lives!  Sure, having public healthcare would be both better and cheaper for folks. But then the economy would get smaller, and all those jobs would be gone! We wouldn’t be able to take away literally all the lifetime earnings of a worker if they get any disease, or require any assistance at the end of their life. (^ literally seen that argument in real life, fucking wild) And that’s true of so much of the rest of it! ‘If we didn’t have so much of our money pumping back into the military/industrial complex, those industries would be fucked,’ like, yeah. They would be. They are a net evil, and the only even perceived good they do is make economy line go up. 

We’ve created an economy that is fucking stellar at being a very large economy, and also really really good at taking any capitol from anyone doing labor (*cough*proletariat*cough*), and giving it back to the people at the top

Which ties back in to that really good post about how cardassians must feel. There are absolutely a lot of ways Americans benefit from the cultural imperialism/actual physical imperialism/general manifest destinying of the world, and we have to be aware of that. But at the same time, we should remember that we are the grist feeding the economy, and as there is less and less wealth to be transferred to the top they’ll come for more and more of it. They started with the poor and racial minorities, and have been lovingly expanding to include everyone who does not already have their money making money for a while now. So maybe, build some solidarity (with anyone who isn’t a nazi, natch) instead of (or as well as, folks can feel two things) feeling guilty about how fucked up it is to be a (mild) benefactor of the american empire  To sum up (that’s a lie, I’m just rambling), big economy doesn’t automatically mean good for anyone involved except the people at the top, who are obsessed with making economy good because it means they’re doing their jobs well, despite those things not being connected intrinsically in any way to how well anyone’s life is in this fucking country. That’s some conditioning we need to do away with

[fish-and-forbear]

Feeling sooooooooo much better than we were before, oh my gosh....

So glad that I have as-needed anxiety medicine set aside and that I am in a really, really good place in my life to be figuring all of this out. I think if Grist + co. had appeared sooner, or I dealt with them completely on my own, it wouldn't have been so good.

It hasn't.... been perfect either, not by a long shot but. I'd like to think it's been good. I'd like to think we're doing a lot more good than bad. I sure hope so. c:>

Learning a LOT of things about ourselves in a VERY short span of time. But it's good. It's wonderful. I feel immense catharsis and I have some exciting things I want to do and work on. SO many drawings I want to make!!!!!!! I was already on a real art streak these past couple months and I can't wait to keep going!!!!!!!!!! Maybe I'll actually share it here, too? I'm not sure yet. I get nervous about posting my art because of art theft and such but. Maybe it would be nice to share some things.

And SO EXCITED for my friend to finish this text editor config of emacs for us!!!!! :D It was originally for my own worldbuilding, research, and dnd needs but I realized it would be the perfect outlet for the guys to get their thoughts/feelings out. I hope journaling will be good for them. Grist spent a couple hours today being very thoughtful and wrote the poem that I pinned.

I am so proud of him. I think it's beautiful but he's a little shy about it, which is...sort of sweet... c:>

He wants to keep writing and has enjoyed it so far. His head seems to feel very "clear" when he is really "in the zone" with writing and thinking, and I am. So impossibly proud of him for trusting himself to be kind, gentle, and wise. He IS all of those things, but he feels like he loses touch with that and it frustrates him. I understand. I was the same way, for most of my life. He just needs to realize that he gets to choose the kind of person he wants to be. He will learn how to hold his emotions and fears, feel the edges and pain and passionate feelings, and realize that he can put them down if he wants to. He feels like he can't, that in the moment he doesn't feel physically capable of being anything else than panicked/afraid/depressed/etc. and I understand that. But he will learn that he can choose what he wants to feel. He does not have to be trapped in a spiral. He absolutely HAS felt other emotions and I have SEEN how wickedly clever, funny, thoughtful, gentle, wise, and clear-headed he can be.

He just needs to learn how to put things down and when to restart. Just like I did. And continue to learn how to improve. c:>

I am hoping that having journaling and art will help him a lot. And making a clear, defined list of coping skills and grounding tools he can reference when he feels "stuck." Hoping it will get easier as I get more in control when he is stumbling, too. I think I "freeze" when he panics, because it is a trigger to me, which makes it worse.... but realizing that I can actually stop the "loop" and that we can absolutely take breaks whenever we want is extremely freeing. <3 <3

And honestly, it's not something I expected Grist, of all people, to be able to teach me.

It's something that I've struggled with my whole life and I know I am getting so much better at it, especially comparing myself to Grist who absolutely sucks at it... bless his heart... x3 But. Something about... having a name, body, person to these feelings makes me feel. So much more determined to help him, and help myself, help us realize these things. That we are allowed to let go of guilt, fear, thought loops. We can just put them down and come back later, or not at all. And if there's a real problem, we can fix it, because that's what we do as mature, responsible adults. c:>

And... he's also helped me realize that sometimes... sometimes people aren't ready for certain things, and that's okay.

That doesn't mean it wasn't special while it lasted. It is... definitely something that I've spent the past few years slowly processing, after the end of my own 8 year relationship with someone I loved (and love) very, very much. That person is still in my life, but in a different, healthier, more distanced way. That person has also helped me realize that...relationships come in many forms. And that is wonderful.

I don't know how to describe it.

Grist realizing that he doesn't need a sexual partnership/devotion to feel happy/fulfilled in the type of relationship he wants. Yes what he wants is... maybe a little stranger than a conventional friendship, but that makes sense for him. His people were...a special bunch. And the camaraderie that he shared with them resonates with me, as well. It's something I ALSO needed to hear, I think.

That we can pick and choose exactly what we want and need and that is wonderful. I don't know why we were both so foolish as to not see that that is alright to do.

And for me... being honest with myself, and those that I care about so deeply, that sometimes something can be impossibly beautiful, joyous, kind, gentle, and lifechanging (in a great way!) but also needs space to breathe. Sometimes that means a LOT of space. And that is okay. Sometimes that means regrouping later (like my friendship with my ex-partner, where we are now better friends in the past 3 years than the other 10 that we knew each other!!! c:) and sometimes maybe not. And that's okay too. c:>

I am just..... so relieved. So RELIEVED beyond words that we didn't ruin it. We really didn't. We're going to be okay and we did the right thing. I know we did. And even today, I am just.... so happy..... I am so happy with the way things are, right now... I am so so so so so so so so relieved. <3 <3 <3 <3

Even if it changes more, even if.... if Grist or Neumes can't talk someday and we aren't together anymore, or our friendships change or disappear entirely, or our memories fade and we forget, that's okay. It's going to be okay. Because these things still happened and it was beautiful and we were here. <3

[thewertsearch]

TT: It seems expanding the dimensions of your room cost us some "Build Grist". TT: But deploying the lathe did not appear to incur any expense. TT: It looks like certain objects are freebies, probably to help you set up the game.

Alright, things are starting to come together. Grist is a resource for building. You get the basics automatically, but you have to earn extra grist somehow to continue the game. Maybe one of these freebies is a grist generator, or something. So Sburb is... a resource management/building game? Like Factorio in real life?

EB: how do i move stuff around? it sounds fun! TT: I don't think you can as the client. You will need to install the server application. TT: You should have received both in separate envelopes. I am running both on my computer right now.

I think we’ve seen the server disk, haven’t we? Dad had the client disc in the kitchen, but I don’t think there were any other envelopes there, hang on-

Alright, just did a quick check because I was sure I remembered another one, and yeah, there’s another envelope in the car.

...aaand yeah, John says that on the very next page, lol

EB: what modus do you use? TT: I like to use trees. EB: oh no, that sounds so awkward. TT: It's not exceptionally practical.

What, so you can only use the item at the root node? Or the leaf nodes? Someone needs to implement a basic integer array modus for these kids, this is getting dire.

Anyway, seems like John’s going to be TT’s server player. They’ll each control each other's environments.

So... elephant in the room. Is the game cooperative, or adversarial?

(Side note, this is kind of a fun idea for an actual game - think of two Minecraft players who have limited creative mode in each other's regions of the map, but not their own, racing to finish the game. I’d play it!)

What's that, an apple? It looks like the card is locked behind a code, and you have to decode it to access the item.

[doyouknowhowtowaltz]

What do you think about original OTGW series? I personally like plot in general, characters and setting, but jeez, like 40% of the show is mindless nonsense filler for me

Please do come back and tell me which parts specifically you find to be filler, I'm curious to hear which episodes/parts specifically they are.

As for my thoughts, (on only the show, don't get me started on the comics) I think the show's a pretty good balance of levity and darker tones, there are two episodes I'm not a huge fan of, though I generally think that OTGW gets away with maintaining a pretty dark tone by having moments of silliness and joy to counter dawning horror. I can, however, break down my thoughts episode by episode.

Old Grist Mill: This episode is a solid opener, it introduces our characters, sets the tone for the series and brings us into this world where Wirt and Greg are as lost as we are. The core traits of Wirt, Greg, and the Woodsman are all shown, Wirt is an awkward older brother, Greg's a little kid, and the Woodsman is odd, attached to his lantern, but well-meaning.

Hard Times at the Husking Bee: The perfect episode. I think I've been pretty transparent that this episode is my favorite, and I have thoughts a laundry list long but I'll try to trim it down. This episode is probably the best example of that tightrope between levity and creepiness that OTGW walks, it is in turn, creepy and delightful, ("Murder? Oh, no, chuckle, not that. But for those other crimes," sums it up really well). It alternates between lighthearted with the opening of the episode, to much more sinister in the barn scene, to more relaxed as they work off their sentence, to the momentary terror of "We're digging our own graves.", to the releif of the skeletons coming to life, but you're left with the aftertaste of the realization, this is an afterlife. Yeah, I could talk about this episode for longer, but I'll cut it short.

School Town Follies: Ok, this one... I only have real issues with two of the episodes of OTGW, and this one's probably the main one. For one, this episode feels the least narratively cohesive with the rest of the show, not just in tone, but also the way it gets told. In every other episode a problem is introduced at the beginning of the episode that gets solved/semi-resolved by the end of the episode, but not this one. Most of the episodes also have their own climatic incident, and unfortunately, the gorilla attack doesn't really have the same narrative weight as say, Wirt riding out of the dark lantern to save Beatrice or "Maybe you're digging your own graves!". However, I will give this episode credit, it build's Wirt and Beatrice's relationship, and shows Beatrice Wirt's not just a pushover, and characterization wise, this episode's so important to their relationship, being that its the Start of Beatrice getting attached to the boys.

Songs of the Dark Lantern: I think one of the biggest strengths of the Beast as a villain is that despite not making many appearances, he still presides over the story, he's woven into everything even when he's not there, and it gives you the impression he's really something to be feared. (Maybe that's why I have such an issue with School Town Follies, since there's no reminder of our series' main antagonist) This episode is emblematic of that, this is the first time anyone but the woodsman speaks of the beast and it gives suddenly makes him not just the ramblings of a weird old man, but a force to be feared, and this coupled with the singing in the woods helps to really drive home that there really is a monster in the woods. This episode is also really strong for Wirt, at this point we don't know about Sara yet, but the show gives us little hints with the Lover's Song, not to mention we find out why Wirt resents his little brother so much. This episode is a lot of exposition, with just a little action at the end and another confrontation with the woodsman, but its very well balanced and woven into the story.

Mad Love: This is an excellent episode, its easy to be distracted by the Tea barons and Fred, but the scene in the closet with Wirt and Beatrice is the crowning achievement of this episode. Not only do we get a look into Wirt's character, what motivates him, what he's really like, and it turns out, he's just some guy, just a teenager with teenage problems. We also learn that Beatrice used to be human (Though there were hints earlier) and what motivates her. This scene is vital because it's the strongest bonding moment between Beatrice and Wirt, and Beatrice, just like the audience (who already had some clue) realizes Wirt's just some guy, sweet, well meaning and awkward, and some guy. And its hard to send a guy to his maybe-death when you start to see him as a person rather than a way out.

Lullaby In Frog Land: I know I've mostly just been saying these episodes are great, but this is a great episode. I've seen this episode get written off as filler before but I'm going to strongly disagree. The first half of this episode set on the Ferry sets a good tone. It's also, one of the last truly lighthearted segments before the show takes a turn to the dark(er). Wirt and Greg (but mostly Wirt) are finally somewhere semi-safe, home is within their grasp, and they can relax, goof off, because the threat of the beast/being lost has receded. Beatrice is not feeling so sunny, she feels guilty, worried, because despite her best efforts, she's gotten attached to the boys, and she doesn't feel great about handing them off to Adelaide, the show even shows her trying to talk Wirt out of it, and I think that contrast between Wirt's cheer and Beatrice's guilt is an excellent set up for Adelaide. Jason Funderberker (Frog)'s song is one of the best in the series and adds to the dreamlike quality of the Unknown.

And then, in the same episode, Adelaide. Beatrice's line about thinking she just wanted kids to do yardwork is one of my favorites in the show, because it mirror's the woodsman's "I didn't know!" about edelwood. If Beatrice really thought that was all Adelaide wanted, she wouldn't feel so guilty, she wouldn't go to call off the deal before Wirt and Greg could get there, but she's been willfully ignoring that, trying to justify it to herself, and we know why now too, because Beatrice needs the scissors to make her family human, and it was so much easier when she didn't really know the boys, they were just some mark to con, but she can't ignore it any further. Beatrice's betrayal is also what makes Wirt start his slide into melancholy which makes him an easy target for the Beast in the coming episodes, honestly, yeah, just a great episode.

The Ringing of the Bell: Alright I'll come out and say it, I'm biased towards this episode. This episode definitely doesn't have the same narrative weight as its 3 predecessors, but I like it anyway. Lorna has so much potential and I could talk about her for hours, but I think the main draw of this episode is the way it parallels episode one. To cut a long comparison short, the boys are lost, the monster they meet in the first episode turns out to be a harmless dog, the kindly(?) woodsman eventually turns out to be someone they fear, and in this episode, the boys are lost, Wirt tries to be a leader and ignore the fact Beatrice just betrayed them, they meet a young woman who seems harmless and her terrifying Auntie, who in turn turn out to be a cannibal and her well meaning care taker. But the end of this episode is its strong point, with their narrow escape and Beatrice's betrayal, Wirt has started to give up hope (The very thing that the woodsman warned him not to do) in a very realistic way for a teenager. In the end , the woodsman's attempt to save the boys, the way he, like Beatrice is no longer able to ignore the cost of keeping his "daughter"'s soul lit pushes us closer to our inevitable climax. And really, the reminder of our main antagnonist speaks for itself:

"There is only me, there is only my way, there is only the forest, and there is only surrender"

Babes in the Wood: I don't like this episode. Actually, I'll amend that, I don't like the cloud city portion.

The opening of this episode has what I think is one of the best depictions of mealoncholy I've ever seen in an animated show. Wirt's withdrawn nature, he's clearly wrapped up in his own head, tired of Greg and the forest and the reminder of anything else. Wirt lashes out and though I havent mentioned Greg much this is a good episode for his characterization. Greg reacts like a young child, he's not unaffected by Wirt, but he doesnt react the way another teenager might.

And then... Cloud City, look, I understand why this section is here, its the last truly lighthearted section in the show, but I personally have never been a fan of it, so I'm going to breeze past most of it and talk about the one part I actually like, Greg's wish. Greg's wish is another one of my favorite peices of the show because even if we don't know exactly what he wished for, we can get the gist of it, but moreso its what he doesn't wish for that impresses me. Throughout the show, Greg wishes for a magic tiger, or to become a magic tiger, thats one of the thing he asks Beatrice for when she says she owes him a favor, thats what he tries to command Lorna to turn into when he has the bell, he brings it up a lot, but when he finally gets given the opportunity for a magic wish, he uses it selflessly, like a proper leader. It's very sweet.

The end of this episode is also great (I really don't give this episode enough credit I guess) with Greg walking off with the Beast in the first time one of our protagonists interacts with him, Greg selflessly sacrifices himself and allows Wirt to go on and Wirt wakes up, and actually acts like the brother he should be running after Greg before falling into the lake.

Into the Unknown: Arguably the best episode narrative wise, we finally are given the context for our story, and it makes everything else fall into place, why Wirt treats Greg the way he does, why Wirt is the way he is (Spoiler, its because he's a teenager, and teenagers are like that) we are introduced to Sara, and the episode balances its internal emotional stakes with the rest of the show, not serving to lower or distract from what's at stake in the unknown, but instead expanding on it clarifying, solidifying our reason we want Wirt to make it back home.

The Unknown: What do I say about this episode that hasn't been said before, it nails every plot beat. From Beatrice caring for Wirt enough to entrust him to her family to "I was never any good to him alive", to Wirt's love, his apologies to Greg, to Wirt standing before the Beast, his voice cracking, but not cowering.

I know the potential for Wirt to blow out the lantern is immense, but within the show itself, I like it better that the Woodsman blows out the lantern. In OTGW, everyone's got a torch to burn, their own personal burden/goal. Beatrice's is her family, Greg's is the rock he stole, the Woodsman's is the lantern/his grief, and Wirt's, its his teenage love yes , but here, where there's no one else to look after him, Wirt's is Greg. They have their own burdens to bear, to look after, and they have to make sacrifices, to decide whether hurting other people is worth their goal. The Lantern is the Woodsman's burden, his to repent for, his to extinguish, so Wirt leaves it to him and Wirt takes on his own responsibility, taking care of Greg.

Lantern scene aside, this episode's simply good, that's all there is too it.

Its a good show, it has some issues, but pacing wise at least? I think it does pretty well.