#I mean it's a cool (and decently fitting) concept.

[captainfightingflower]

Masterson, C.: likely a victim of binjpipe, not an alibi. [Spoilers for Pack 9 i guess? I don’t know, i barely interact with it.]

Hi, this was on my mind and i wanted to talk about it. Putting it up as spoilers because i don’t wanna be inconsiderate to those who are interested in the lore of The Jackbox Party Pack 9. Spoilers, i guess? I’m not sure where exactly, but i do know it’s somewhere in Pack 9 post (dumb) patch!

I don’t know why people automatically portray Masterson, C. as just a soulless replica who’s hellbent on replacing Cookie Masterson and tricking the masses. He doesn’t even know he is an ai replica, and if he’s trained on Cookie’s performances (with a bunch of binjpipe ads stuffed in there for good measure), he likely believes that he’s the original Cookie Masterson.

And since there’s voice lines stating that Cookie had been trapped in the game since his debut in Vol.1, he probably thinks he has a family outside the game, he probably thinks he has lived a long life, has friends, has had love and turmoil, that he has feelings and free will, that he is human.

I don’t think Masterson, C. would react bitterly to meeting Cookie Masterson, i think he’d be shocked at why there’s suddenly another person that looks identical to him. He’d probably assume he was an impersonator, or maybe it was future Cookie that came back for revenge after he insulted him a decade ago.

Could you imagine the denial and building panic he’d be going through if Cookie told him that HE was the fake, explaining how he was just an AI meant to replicate his success. He’d call Cookie crazy, because there’s no way that was possible, that was so stupid, nobody could replicate his likeness, he was THE Cookie Masterson, fan favorite game show hosting face of faceless hosts. He was flesh and bones, and he’d probably accuse the other guy of being the fake.

What if, he grew so desperate, that he intentionally cut himself just to prove that he has blood, because of course he has blood, he’s human! That’d prove this faker that he was undeniably the real Cookie. And then he sees the liquid trickling down his finger; gear oil, and everything comes crashing down. 

How he’d desperately claw at anything to prove that he was real, that he was the original, that he was Cookie Masterson. Because there’s no way he’s just a couple months old, he lived in the 90′s! He saw the turn of the millennial, he had a childhood, there was no way that all of those memories were just strings of 1s & 0s! There was no WAY it was all fake, that his words were pre-planed, that his emotions were just programmed actions, there was no way he was just an AI!

And then, everything would go to black, he’d be shut down on the spot as a safety protocol, taken away to get his AI reset and his body turned to scrap mental. The intelligence would’ve been irreversibly tainted with such a realisation, an imperfect replica. It was an expected setback, one that has happened many times before this model.

And then another would be created, and another, and another, all unaware that they’re nothing but an attempt in a string of many to capture the charm of a host. Because why should Cookie Masterson be told the truth about his existence? It’s not like he hosts Lie Swatter.

[prismatic-bell]

This is probably a really dumb question. But is it okay for us non-Jewish people to reblog the very lovely quote about how it's okay not to complete the work, but we're not allowed to abandon it? Because I'm not Jewish, I follow you, and b/c of your posts I've been seeing how really shitty we non-Jews are w/assimilation and stuff, & I don't want to do wrong by anybody. Thanks, Marbles

OKAY SO.

As with all things Jewish, there’s a short answer and there’s a good answer. There also is no “right” answer, because “two Jews, three opinions” is an underestimation of how many opinions you can fit into one Jew, but this is MY answer, and I think a decent chunk of Jews will probably find it at least mostly acceptable.

For those just tuning into this program, the quote @marblesarelost is referring to is my favorite in all of Judaism, and was written by Rabbi Tarfon in a section of Talmud called the Pirkei Avot:

“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Walk humbly NOW! Do justly NOW! No one is obligated to complete the work, but neither may any one desist from it.”

The “work” being spoken of is to repair the world, or in Hebrew, “tikkun olam.” It’s the central tenet of my movement in Judaism, the Reform movement.

So: you are absolutely correct that there’s a huge problem with gentiles appropriating things from Judaism. However, let’s go back to the original, actual definition of cultural appropriation, as created by Black women: it’s not just that you do a thing we do. It’s that you mock or berate us for a thing, then turn around and take that thing, strip it of all its original meaning, and use it, and suddenly in your hands it’s “cool.” When the concept of cultural appropriation first fell onto my radar circa 2016, one of the major examples was dreadlocks, and how clean, well-kept locs on a Black woman are “unprofessional” and “dirty” but the kind-of-vaguely-looks-like-locs-if-you-get-drunk-and-squint deliberately-created MATS some white people wear and call “locs” are seen as a sign you’re “boho” or “a free spirit.” This was closely followed by discussion of bindis, and how they’re treated with disdain when worn by Indian women but Taylor Swift or Ariana Grande puts one on and suddenly they’re sooooooo chic.

(Yes, in an ironic twist you couldn’t put in a book because people would call it unrealistic, the very concept of cultural appropriation has been appropriated.)

So with the actual, this-is-what-the-Black-community-meant definition in front of you for reference, take a look at these questions. These are rhetorical—anybody with the degree of self-awareness to say “I don’t know if this thing from a closed religion is for me” is probably not doing any of this. It’s just here for reference.

—do you see a problem with “Christian Seders” or do you think Jews should be flattered other people are interested, geez, it’s not like we’re being murdered?

—do you make fun of people wearing skullcaps/kippot/yarmulkes, or do you recognize it’s cultural garb?

—do you get all weird and pissy over the major Jewish holiday season being in fall rather than in winter?

—do you conflate Jews with Israel or do you recognize that these are two separate groups with some overlap?

—do you make fun of Orthodox clothing and hairstyles?

If you can honestly say “no, I realize this is a culture of its own and things I don’t understand aren’t necessarily ‘wrong’ or ‘weird,’ just different,” you’re in a good position to share Jewish voices.

HERE IS WHERE THE CURVEBALL COMES IN.

This quote is from Talmud.

And unlike things like, say….talking about a Seder you were invited to, or saying “may you be sealed” to a Jewish friend on Yom Kippur, the Talmud is not semi-closed, it’s *closed.* People study Talmud all their lives in the hope of gaining even a small glimmer of understanding. It has to be studied in the context of being well-versed in Torah and Jewish interpretation, because removing it from that context renders it entirely incomprehensible.

WITH THAT SAID.

I think this is one of the few places in Talmud where there is, at a bare minimum, a surface understanding that’s applicable to everyone. Certainly Rabbi Tarfon’s words carry additional weight with the force of Jewish learning and tradition behind them, but I’m pretty sure if you could sit down with him and say “Rabbi, your words inspired me to keep fighting for my community. When I was ready to give up your words reminded me I wasn’t alone, that anything I do in the interest of pushing forward justice and equality is a net positive, and I was able to keep going. I’m a gentile. Is it okay that I take this from your words?” he’d almost certainly be like “yes??? As you say, it’s a net positive, so why wouldn’t I be okay with you gleaning this?” It’s slightly different from a lot of Talmudic commentary in that it applies to the mitzvot of things like tikkun olam and pikuach nefesh, but these things can also be done outside the Jewish community without any reference to Torah at all. You can pay for a homeless person’s dinner and that’s tikkun olam. You can take a CPR class and that’s pikuach nefesh (or at least, preparing yourself to commit an act thereof, should it be necessary). You aren’t doing those things as mitzvot, because you’re a gentile—you’re doing them because you think they’re the right thing to do—but that doesn’t mean “don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to do it all, but don’t just give up either” isn’t good advice. We don’t call him one of our greatest sages because he was an idiot. Is there plenty more below the surface? Oh, for sure. Does that make the surface reading wrong? Not necessarily.

So: 99.999999% of the time, I would say you should not reblog Talmudic quotes. They’re not going to be relevant to you or your life experience and you’ll lack the background knowledge to interpret them.

But this one, specifically? Yeah. I’d say this one is okay. Make sure it’s sourced to Rabbi Tarfon and the Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Father, or to the Talmud.

And then go forth, and do justly now, and remember: you can’t finish the work alone. But you also don’t have the right to walk away.

Okay, fellow Jews, time for a pie fight in the comments. Have fun.

[beebotea]

Hewllo!! Id like to drop a msg, i read ur heartsteel kayn's college boy and i adore the little details of his actions u put in ♡!! Id definitely like to see more stories on college boi kayn from you!! ♡

☁️ ˖⁺ academic misfortunes — kayn (heartsteel)

pairing: heartsteel!kayn x f/gn!reader genre: fluff, crack, college!au cw: idk probably ooc, not proofread :0 i.e.: adventures of collegeboy!kayn and his classmate/tutor!reader

aahhh! im so glad you enjoyed it <333 i might do a mini series/collection of drabbles for collegeboy!kayn. please send in any requests or ideas you may have or just thoughts to chat about :DD

spinoff of this post

Kayn isn’t what you’d thought he’d be, to be completely honest. Going off of fancams, fanfics, and the general perception of his character to the public eye, you expected Heartsteel’s lead rapper to be a bit more… cool? Well, at least he certainly tries to come off that way.

However, you quickly learn that Kayn is really just a really, really closeted softie loser boy at best trying to compensate with a big attitude because he thinks edgy is cool or whatever. Of course, he would definitely attempt to murder you if you were to speak of these musings out loud but you couldn’t help but find his off-putting demeanour a bit endearing after a while… something akin to a hyperaggressive chihuahua or a rabid raccoon. But of course, there are other times where you’d wish he’d just fuck off and leave you alone.

“Hey loser.” He calls you from the steps, walking up to where you sit in the lecture hall. “Did you do the homework? Let me copy off of you.” He slides into his usual spot next to yours, throwing his backpack haphazardly on the ground beside him.

“You’re not copying my shit. Fuck off, Kayn.” You roll your eyes at him and continue to read through the slides for today’s class.

“C’mon, have some empathy, yeah? The boys and I had practice all day yesterday.” He was a decent enough liar, but he could have been better if he hadn’t texted you to postpone your tutoring session with a picture of him and Aphelios playing with a random pit bull yesterday instead of attending band practice or completing his homework.

“Kayn, this worksheet was assigned like two weeks ago.”

“So? I had stuff to do two weeks ago!” That part was a bit true; Alune always gave you a copy of the band’s promotion and practice schedule for the month to keep you updated.

It was difficult to refer to him as your friend. You saw him often enough—every day in almost every class. And you’ve worked with him on countless partnered projects by now—he’s only ever able to do work with you (in other words, he scares off anyone who tries to ask you to be in their group or be their partner). But he was always a complete pain in the ass.

When you first became acquainted with Heartsteel’s resident delinquent, you were assigned to be his tutor by one of the department heads at the request of Yone. Begrudgingly accepting the role in exchange for “VIP tickets to all concerts, all inclusive backstage passes at events and shoots, and first dibs to new merch releases,” you began your new job as Kayn’s personal tutor for the various courses he was performing horrendously in. It was by no means smooth sailing when you started. Trying to make plans around his schedule, finding places he wasn’t already banned from to study, getting kicked out of establishments because of his hissy fits at minor inconveniences, and then ultimately agreeing to work at his dorm every weekend instead so you don’t have to hide your face in public. What surprised you the most was how hardworking he actually was when he put his mind to it, even paying attention to your explanations for hours until he could grasp the concept at an intermediate level—or got hungry. What was more was that he even showed rapid improvement, bringing back marks higher than a C- and occasionally reaching the mid to high 70s after a month and a half of beginning his tutoring sessions.

“Okay fine. Just this once, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I promise.” He flashed you a snarky grin as you pushed your papers towards him, pointing out which ones were a bit more difficult to understand and summarising what should’ve been an explanation done during one of your tutoring sessions.

“You really should start focusing up on your work though, you know. Finals is coming up soon and these exercises are really good for preparation.”

When the professor finally dismissed the class, you found yourself waiting behind for the bright haired rapper.

“Aw you waited! That’s cute.” He sent a quick wink your way as he caught up to you.

“Well you said you were gonna give me a ride to your place so.”

“Just had to ruin the moment didn’t you.” He chuckled, ushering you to follow him. “I hope you’re not scared of motorcycles or anything because I finally got Yone to let me ride it.”

“Huh?”

“Now where did I park it… hm let’s see… Oh! Here!” He grabbed you by the wrist to pull you towards a red and black motorcycle decorated on its sides with white flames. “Sooo whatd’ya think?” He nudged your sides as he grinned at you.

“You are not driving me in that.”

“Oh come on, of course I am! I have a license for it and everything!”

“Kayn you’re literally gonna get us killed.”

“Will not! C’mon, don’t you trust me? After everything we’ve been through? When have I ever let you down?”

“Like literally this morning when you cheated off of my worksheets instead of completing them before hand like you said you would.” You rolled your eyes at him, missing the way he pouted at your words.

“I promised it was a one time mistake!” He took two helmets from a storage compartment in the vehicle and shook them in front of your face, hoping that his attempt to show you his knowledge of roadside safety would sway you in the right direction. “So? How about it?”

With a defeated sigh, you agree with a mumbled “fine” as he threw you your helmet and instructed you to get on behind him. He even took the time to emphasize the importance of ‘holding on [to him] really really really tight.’

“See? ‘wasnt so bad was it?” He said as he helped you off the motorbike, lifting you off the seat by the waist. He helped you steady yourself when your feet finally touched the ground. His hand never seeming to leave its place on your hip.

“It was… fine. I guess.” You couldn’t help but give him a small grin, having enjoyed the ride and being so close to him. Kayn seemed to want to say something else until he was interrupted by a voice calling from the window above you.

“Hey! Kayn’s back!” Ezreal’s green head could be seen poking out from one of Heartsteel HQ’s many windows, waving to the two of you below him. “Hurry up inside! Yone made ramen!”

Before he knew it, you bolted past him and through the front door at the promise of Yone’s homemade cooking.

a/n: def down to write more abt this lovesick loser bad boy (please give me more excuses to)

[nanistar]

may i ask why you hate mapleshade? like is it more of a fandom thing/author thing or do you just not like her character? sorry if thats a weird question lol

i think the idea behind her character is cool but the erins are the erins and they fucked it up imo. also the way the fandom treats any discussion about her and other characters in her book is so annoying i cannot stand going into the mapleshade tag on tumblr

which is a shame cause like i said, i really like the concept of her character and i feel like it had alot of potentional

not a weird question, i get it. i gotta start by saying i have no ill will against people who like mapleshade or even like the points i'm about to say. btw! sorry this is long i got really into it

starting chronologically (according to canon, not publication)(publication order is: all ivypool darkforest books (2011 and prev) crookeds promise (2011), great battle (last hope 2012, she permadies here) and maples vengeance (2015)

i actually really liked mapleshade's vengeance, all things considered. it comes last in the mapleshade storyline according to publication date, and up until then we really didn't know much about her, and i believe this is where she gets a personality other than "random DF lady" and "rude ghost villain". the erins are not good writers by any means, but i felt that mapleshade's internal monologue and the way she saw the world was genuinely pretty decent. they portrayed her as obsessive and manipulative and as an unreliable narrator. it was one of the first books i read upon returning to the fandom in 2018 and it was a thrill to read, because i hadn't been spoiled on it.

the erins have a habit of writing surprise/accidental pregnancies as plot points, which has the implication of like… flings/one night stands. it's best not to think about it. it's pretty obvious upfront that appledusk is not as in to her as she is in to him, but she doesn't see it. she talks about him in her narrations as a sweet and loving man and talks about their family and future together, but when we the readers finally see him, he's calloused and doesn't really care about her. i think she even sees him with reedshine at a gathering and gets mad before she thinks "oh he's just doing that so no one gets suspicious" (not quoting or anything, i havent read the novel since 2018) girl. their relationship was obviously just a fling to him, but to her they were in love. i liked the way this was written as opposed to all the other times in warriors weve seen a man have a hissy fit because a girl rejected him. (ashfur is the glaring example but also crowfeather, brambleclaw) her denial and refusal to accept what she was seeing (that she was the side piece) was the interesting part.

she has her children and then ravenwing spills the beans. why on earth would he do that? why would it benefit the clan or anyone? from a logistical standpoint, thunderclan lost 3 potential new warriors and mapleshade never implied she was going to riverclan. anyway, he didn't even have proof. he just assumed. i think he rightfully got what was coming for him, since if he would have kept his mouth shut, 7 cats including himself wouldn't have died. sorry mini rant i don't like him. anyway we know the rest of the story. kits die, maple kills ravenwing for telling her secret, she kills frecklewish for not helping (no, she couldn't have jumped in to save the kits without probably dying herself but she COULD have stood up for maple in thunderclan, and she was upstream so she could have yelled out and warned maple of the flood but im NOT getting into that and i dont care) and then she goes to kill reedshine but kills appledusk instead. did he deserve it? he was kinda a dick but mapleshade was like stalker-obsessed with him (i think she uses the phrase "my appledusk" in her narration but i might be wrong) after what was ostensibly a one night stand. perchpaw wounds mapleshade to the point where once she flees the scene, she dies of blood loss. cool

the story of a mothers love (and a mother's loss) is an age-old tale. in a franchise where all female characters are doomed to become boring cookie-cutter mothers, this loss and violent rage was awesome.

everyone told me to read crookedstar's promise, because it was the best super edition. i.. do not agree with that. tbh i thought it was long and boring and went nowhere. crookedstar suffered many tragedies in his life, and he lost everyone he loved, and then the book suddenly ends with him going "im ok (:" and dying. (i was reading a pdf and not a physical copy so it was VERY abrupt for me. i legit sat there like.. so that's it? i read 500+ pages for that?) i can't really blame mapleshade for this (since shes not real) but it does factor in. her idea of revenge against appledusk was to torture an injured baby? who then grew up and had no idea who the fuck appledusk was? why not raise him and give him the love he craved so that when the time came, he would be more likely to do her bidding?? her motives here make no sense. not super important. anyway.

and then she's seen occasionally in the dark forest and she tries to drown ivypaw for no reason once. idk she was obviously just a background character in these scenes (since they came first) but the fans saw a female in the dark forest and were like. thank god a woman. can you blame them. then the erins built her up from that.

anyway mapleshade has this generations long story of manipulating younger cats, and a POV book where she's obviously obsessive, controlling, stalkerish and chooses brutally uncommon violence as a way to get back at those who wrong her. (she unburies ravenwing's body so crows can eat it, and she uses adders to kill frecklewish, despite the fact the snakes could easily go for her.) she puts HERSELF in danger to do these things because she's impulsive, she justifies all her actions to herself by saying its revenge for her children and in the end, she pushes the last remnants of the kittens she thinks she's fighting for away. this is a cool story about a woman who's pushed to the edge and takes everyone down with her. for ONCE its not a man with deadwifepain.

and what does the fandom do

they girlbossify her. they fight over if she's in the wrong or not (she is. she killed people.) they take everything about her that made her compelling and turn her into "grr my husband cheated on me and me kids are dead. sad." she gets turned into the most basic, boring, cookie cutter "evil" lady. she kills people for fun and not because she had a reason to or a goal (in her mind). she suffers the most tragic kind of loss that there is and gets no time to grieve before she is run out of her home, and her reaction to this is pure RAGE, and the fandom turns her into this boring, slay QUEEN!!! (not the pregnant cat kind), always been evil, always been hardcore, ~So CrAzY~, "my eyeliner is sharp to stab men" girlboss. where's the nuance. where's the passion!!? she's a miserable, impulsive, manipulating failure. she blames others for her mistakes and bad judgment and punishes others for her shortfallings. she can't be vulnerable and broken, she can only cry because dead kids and then kill evil husband and evil husbands wife. she's even sometimes portrayed as like "boss" of the dark forest, wrangling all the men. barf.

so to answer your question, it's the general fandom* portrayal that i hate, but i honestly wouldn't trust the erins with her at this point. (the erins are influenced by their fans, for example (old person voice) back in my day, firestar and scourge being brothers was just a fan theory.) i'm glad they permakilled her in the great battle so they cant bring her back to ruin anything. actually thinking about her to write this out and reflect on why i don't like her made me sympathize for her. i like text mapleshade with a little bit of fanon sprinkled in for flavor.

and hey. usually when the fandom adopts a character, they're right. the fandom likes to get really in to random bg/side characters and give them lives they would never have in canon. but sadly (or not, depending on your opinion), when those get popular and breach containment, they spread everywhere and suddenly people think this IS canon. look at how many of us thought that brambleclaw killed hawkfrost directly after he killed hollyleaf, because that was the easy way to portray the great battle in MAPs, only to have someone point out, years after this has become the common sequence of events, that brambleclaw actually hunts him down, brings him back to camp, and then murders him POW style!!!

*btw. im in no way saying that all mapleshade-based projects or aus or whatever are bad, even if she is sexy girlboss in them. some of my favorite maps portray her like that.

anyway. TLDR:

everyone say "i'm sorry mapleshade"

[adobe-outdesign]

Review on Poltchageist please? it's design is interesting and cute.

(This is the last review request in my inbox—if you guys have requests, send 'em in.)

(Also, important note before we start: Ironically, some leaks regarding the DLC just dropped today. I don't review content until it's officially released, so I will not be discussing any of the leaked information in this review.)

While I don't think I like it more than the Sinistea line, I do like Poltchageist here. I don't actually drink tea much at all and I don't like matcha flavoring much either, so correct me if any of the following information is wrong, but it seems like it's based off of vintage matcha tea caddies. Here's one I dug up on Google that looks very similar, right down to the black patterning and the "face":

At first, I wasn't sure why this was a convergent evo, as it's still tea, just a different flavor. It feels like a convergent to tea would be something like coffee, which looks like tea but isn't. A different flavor of tea seems more like a regional. This also doesn't look that much like the original line; you couldn't accidentally mistake one for the other.

However, I do sort of get what they were getting at—Poltchageist is similar to Polteageist, meaning the line is effectively inversed, which is actually a pretty cool idea. It has the painted-on face of Sinistea, and it's possessing the container itself like Sinsitea does instead of the tea, but the actual body shape being a tea-holding container is all Polteageist. It's basically how Wugtrio looks a lot more different from Dugtrio than Wiglett does to Diglett, just backwards. In that respect, I think it gets away with being a convergent.

That said, I do wish it had different typing. I think it was neat that our previous two convergents had types that were opposites, or at least completely different; maybe this one could've been grass/fairy, or maybe even grass/water.

Anyway, all that conceptual stuff aside, it looks pretty good visually. I like the striking black-and-white palette with the green matcha as an accent color, and I really love those floating matcha powder hands. The matcha scoop(? is that the right word) is also a fun touch. Bonus points for how drippy the face looks, almost like it's crying, and the kintsugi-style repair job on the cracks.

My only nitpicks are that the three dots above the eye feel kind of random, and the hexagonal cut-outs for the hands feel too inorganic—more natural cracks and chips would've been better. Also, I feel like the face could've fit the container more. If you look at Sinistea or even the above caddy, there's a lot of intricate markings that fit the space nicely, while Poltchageist's face feels more slapped on.

Regardless, overall, it's a pretty decent concept and design. I don't like it quite as much as Sinistea and I don't know how badly that line needed something new, but this is fun and definitely unique enough to justify itself.

[tea-earl-grey]

Re: your Disco S4 review:

but there was just a bit too much Therapy Talk for my liking. and to be clear, i don't mean too much Actual Therapy. i really respect the show for portraying therapy and trauma recovery in depth and just having cool main characters go to therapy because it's good and healthy is Very Cool. but i do think there are definitely scenes (particularly in the beginning of the show) that has dialogue fall into Therapy Talk where all the characters go around in a circle and coherently state their thoughts and emotions and then resolve their conflict.

I also have the same issue, I know the crew were heavily traumatized in season 1 and I love that we’re finally getting a Trek have Starfleet take mental health seriously.

But it’s how the writers execute the scene that’s the problem. I think you’re right on the money about them needing another pass at scenes like that.

I also think, most of the time the show literally stops the action for the characters to just talk. And I adore characters being in a room, just talking. But I think it’s because most of the time it’s because those scenes do two things at the same time. Or they usually have characters talk around it and be difficult.

In season 4, it seems the characters start their scene and they just over indulge too much, maybe a tighter edit would also work.

But also I think most modern shows have that problem where they use Therapy talk as a crutch for character development and relationships.

And again, I preface this that I do love having mental health taken seriously but I think there’s a way to do it where writer’s integrate it organically— one of the new shows I like from AppleTV— Shrinking, is literally all about it but it’s funny and heartbreaking and sweet. I think maybe it’s because the writers are also new to the concepts and think they have to fit everything to be relevant.

Hopefully, they worked out the kinks for season 5!

Yeah exactly. I love Disco but sometimes it feels like the writers just need to read their dialogue aloud to make some last revisions (and also put some nuance/unspoken things into the dialogue).

I also think, most of the time the show literally stops the action for the characters to just talk. And I adore characters being in a room, just talking. But I think it’s because most of the time it’s because those scenes do two things at the same time

This!!!! I know fiction is never meant to accurately reflect reality and that there are always going to be weirdly timed conversations for the sake of narrative but Discovery in particular has SO MANY "stop and talk" scenes during Big Action and it drives me crazy when the plot just establishes a strict time limit to do something and then we spend three minutes for characters to have a heart to heart instead of just. Doing The Thing. I know the 90s era "walk and talks" were annoying to film but those downbeats of characters chatting while going from point A to point B is a great place to add small bits of characterization (and movement!) instead of standing still and monologuing.

Thanks for the rec, I've never heard of Shrinking but will have to check it out!

(putting a big tangential ramble about Disco's portrayal of mental health/therapy under a cut because yeesh it got long)

As someone who has been in therapy, has a psychology degree, and has written fiction that uses therapy sessions as a setting/framing device, I can say with a decent amount of confidence that the way therapy/mental health is utilized in Disco is neither super realistic nor using its full narrative potential. Imo we skipped a very interesting part of everyone's healing journeys between s3 and s4 where characters are actually struggling to articulate their problems or denying their issues. Particularly with Detmer who went from having severe PTSD flashbacks in s3 to talking about her feelings with total clarity in s4 when actual trauma recovery is nowhere near as quick or linear and usually requires making major lifestyle changes to actually heal and maintain that healing.

And also I take issue with the fact that all of the characters are growing and facing similar issues at the same time and pace. It ends up making a lot of awkward and redundant conversations between characters who aren't in conflict and are self-actualized enough that they state everything they mean. And when there is meaningful conflict, the characters seem to very quickly overcome their flaws and make up. It's like the opposite problem that a lot of sitcoms and soap operas run into when characters are so driven to conflict and secret-keeping. It is refreshing to have a show where everyone is committed to being their best selves (which is quite similar to tng in that regard) but it doesn't easily mesh with the sort of drama that Discovery seems interested in telling stories about. All of this is also probably why Book's narrative (and his relationship with Michael) was one of the best parts of s4 because it felt like the writers actually committed to realistic season-long conflict born out of trauma and loss that wasn't written off. And as a result I think David Ajala's acting was some of the best of the show because he was given so much depth. I really just wish that the other characters had something similar but Disco's style of hyper-serialization, shorter season orders, and a large cast of recurring characters just doesn't lend to realistically telling stories about trauma and recovery because we almost only see the action and not the characters living their ordinary lives.

And while 90s Trek certainly wasn't The Best at portraying mental health (the therapy it shows in tng is just. Wrong. And so many characters like B'Elanna and Janeway have their issues with depression forgotten about after an episode or two), portrayals of PTSD with characters like Kira, Seven, Neelix, Picard, and Sisko tend to be more interesting to me because those characters' journeys through healing aren't linear. And as always, more episodes and episodic television in general makes it so emotional moments really hit (like Picard's breakdown in Family after Best of Both Worlds, seeing Kira's trauma around her father's death in Ties of Blood and Water, or whenever Neelix, the usual comedic relief and lighthearted character, has to confront how his family was killed in a brutal genocide) whereas with a show like Discovery – there's constant character drama and confrontations and big emotional moments so the catharsis of someone having a breakthrough in their treatment is a bit undercut. For something like that to be memorable, there have to be unmemorable moments too which just isn't Disco's style. It's not inherently a bad thing, but it's not really to my tastes.

Even the other new Treks tend to be a bit more grounded with character dialogue and addressing mental health. My enjoyment of Lower Decks shot way up in s4 because her admitting that Sito's death drove her away from wanting to be an officer was such a huge moment of catharsis when Mariner usually avoids talking about her feelings with a six foot poll. SNW has both La'an, M'Benga, and Chapel dealing with PTSD and their moments of vulnerability and pain are better because SNW tries to balance the silliness and seriousness of Trek. Picard is probably the most similar in content/tone to Discovery and even there despite the serialization and awkward characterization moments, the characters all have consistent issues with trauma that affect them at different times and affect them despite self-improvement. And I think Picard sometimes dips into heavy-handed emotional conversations but it's not quite as much as Disco because oh boy these characters are good at avoiding their feelings.

To be clear, I do love Discovery and people blow the awkward writing/Therapy Talk problem WAY out of proportion to cover for the bigoted reasons some people vocally hate the show. Like this problem does annoy me but it is just one aspect of the show and I hope one that will be fixed (or at least less noticeable) for season 5.

[lady-harrowhark]

What do you imagine weddings in the nine houses are like? Do you think they still wear white or abide by any more traditional pre-resurrection customs? Since Jod drew so much inspiration from both Rome and Catholicism (Catholic wedding doctrine is based on the ideas of free will marriage that were tradition in ancient Rome) I think it's likely but there has to be some insane necromancy element too. Maybe a riff on the eucharist from wedding masses? Also, how do you think it varies from house to house? You always have really fun and creative ideas about the world, so I thought I'd ask your opinion about one of my favorite random headcanons to think about. (P.S. I hope the eras concert was fun!!)

Oh gosh, first of all, that is incredibly flattering lol. Second... I actually hadn't given this just a ton of thought before getting this, so it's been fun to thing about!

I think they probably resemble Christian/Catholic wedding ceremonies enough to be recognizable as such, but I would love it if they were like, the funhouse mirror version of that. I LOVE the idea of the Eucharist being involved prominently, but maybe even at a more symbolic level? Like we could obviously tie that to the whole "consume the flesh" thing, but I just feel like Tamsyn could come up with a really cool play on that concept that would never even occur to me lol.

I kind of doubt they wear white; I don't really have a good rationale for this other than vibes. Just thinking about how we see a decent range of aesthetics across the clothing of the Houses, especially in color, it would track that they have differing customs for wedding/ceremonial attire as well. Like, I can't really imagine that the Sixth whole gray librarian thing translates into formalwear the same way that say, the Third does (although using the Third as an example feels like cheating, because I suspect they go over the top for EVERYTHING so no one was gonna be doing it like them anyway lmao).

As an aside, I'm pausing for a moment to push one of my most indulgent AtN bingo card items, which is Harrow wearing white. I know the Lyctor robes are like, iridescent white, but I mean purely white. With Alecto getting so much imagery around light, and how Harrow describes her in the Tomb as wearing wearing "a white shift", it could be a cool parallel. Oh also, now that I think about it, the whole thing about Harrow being a nun, i.e., "betrothed to the Locked Tomb". Plus like, there's something there about the way it would be close to but not exactly like the iridescent white of the Lyctor robes, like, John was trying to emulate that and could only achieve a flashy approximation. And something something Harrow setting aside the black of the Ninth something mumble. But mostly, I'm heart eyes over more wedding/marriage imagery for her and Gideon 🥰 (Idk what to make of that in contrast to the white that the Tower Princes wear, but it's entirely hypothetical at this point, which means that I can ignore anything that doesn't fit my agenda.)

On my last reread, one of the little details that I was actually really taken by was that Magnus is noted to be wearing a wedding ring. So that tradition still stands, at least for the Fifth, and I absolutely melted over it.

I would kind of assume the vibe of a wedding ceremony varies from House to House, maybe along the lines of what we know about the cultures of each and what they tend to emphasize. If that's the case, I would LOVE to see a Seventh wedding; I bet it's gorgeous and deliciously fucked up. I'm really really curious about the wedding that Tamsyn has mentioned being in AtN, especially because she mentioned party dresses, and you know how I love putting blorbos in outfits. I suspect that her saying that is a bit of a red herring... Like if I'm giving my best guess, there WILL be a wedding (an actual one, not just a symbolic Lyctorhood whatever wedding) BUT I don't it will be the focus. I could see it being used really neatly as backdrop for some heisty business, more of a plot device to get people all in one place or as a distraction. I'm not getting my hopes up to see the actual ceremony, I guess is what I'm saying. The real action might be happening in the next room over.

(and P.S. THANK YOU! It was AMAZING and honestly, probably the best night of my life and also I cried for basically the entire thing, I still cannot believe I was lucky enough to be there. I got to go with my best friends, who live quite far away from me and I hadn't seen since January, which made it that much more fun. We went to the second night, and we mostly stayed off our phones/away from any social media so that we could go in and be completely surprised without having seen anything about it, and I'm so glad we did! I wouldn't have held out if we were going to a different date lol.)

[weirdcat1213]

STEVEN UNIVERSE FANS: WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH TRIGUN STAMPEDE (SPOILER FREE)

Hi there, it's been a while, isn't it? The whole show ended 3 years ago and honestly, nothing has felt the same. Most shows get axed/are on streaming which makes you binge them and you don't get to emotionally bond with that show.

Well let me tell you I got something that you may like

Ok so this post will summarize Trigun Stampede, its similarities to SU/SUF, questions you may have as someone who doesn't like anime that much and why it needs a shit ton of support.

Trigun Stampede:

The story is set on this desert planet where humans need special machines to survive called plants because they produce all the resources humans need to survive. In a world where fighting is the only way to survive, the outlaw Vash the Stampede decides to help people with their plants/personal problems without using violence. If he is a pacifist then why is he an outlaw? Watch the show.

SU/SUF similarities and pros:

-Did you like the sci-fi element in SU? Stampede has so much of that and they actually get deep into it. It has an important role in the story. (I wish I could say more but spoilers)

-Did you like the message of love and peace? Our beloved main character lives by that motto and yes there is conflict.

-Did you like cool villains with good reasons and grey morals? OH, WE GOT YOU ALRIGHT. Vash's main antagonist has that covered (again, spoilers) BUT I PROMISE YOU HE IS EVERYTHING YOU WANTED IN SU FROM A VILLAIN.

-Did you like pretty art? Orange, although mainly known for its CGI has done beautiful backgrounds + art concepts for the show.

-Did you like the gorgeous and smooth animation: Orange is the best studio when it comes to CGI and that doesn't mean "ok this is decent" kind of CGI, this is "I'm gonna eat this scene" kind of CGI. SU only got smooth animation when they brought guest animators but Stampede has that level on every. single. episode.

-Did you like SUF specifically for the trauma, growth and mental health themes? You will love Vash and some of the other characters. But Vash...dear god.

-Did you like the angst? Stampede is for you but don't blame me for the therapy bills

-Did you love the music? Stampede isn't a musical sadly the ost fucking slaps and it's so cool. It's on Spotify if you want to support it legally.

-Did you love the likable secondary characters? Stampede has a few characters but they are likable characters and feel real instead of NPCs. None of them follows an archetype strictly except maybe for one who is still pretty cool.

-Did you like the representation? Nothing can be perfect and it would be misleading to not mention this considering it's a great part of what makes SU special to me and others. Although it's not explicitly queer, there are some themes/ characters to whom queer people (myself included) have connected a lot. There's a non-binary character, and Vash's struggle with (spoiler) is relatable to a lot of queer people. Also, the guy really gives gender. Cmon, look at him. There's a fanon gay ship but the original creator (Nightow) and the Orange team really made Stampede *gay*. Like Yuri on Ice but better IMO

You can literally send me a dm with a "what about X" and I will reply.

Questions you may have as someone who doesn't like anime:

-I don't like Japanese voices and how they scream: The english dub is really good (like, omg VAs I will give you my life) good. They all fit and care for their characters, and the direction was amazing. If you're a zach callison fan I reassure you, Vash's voice actor GAVE that kind of emotion.

-I don't like generic anime looks: Guess what! Stampede is pure CGI and it looks awesome! If you don't like the generic design anime characters get you're in for a treat.

-I don't want to read the manga/watch the 98 anime to understand whats happening: And you won't have to! A lot of people got into Trigun as a whole with Stampede and the people watching the 98 anime now are doing so cuz they miss the characters, not because its crucial to understand Stampede.

-I don't like CGI, non of it: watch the 1st episode then come back to me. Not even that, just watch the trailer.

Why it needs a shit ton of support

Apparently, anime is just starting to take outside-of-Japan fans into consideration for things like renewals, so at the Orange panel, the staff told people to support the studio and Stampede if we want more of it. It sucks that this is the only way a show can get renewed but we already know what's that like because of SU. Even if we didn't know it, people talking about it, going to cons cosplaying characters from the show, and buying merch was giving power to Rebecca to keep pushing for the show. Even if we got season 5 cut we managed to get Future and maybe the movie thanks to the fan support. Stampede is so new and although its popular it got cast away just for being CGI and for not being the exact same as the 98 anime. It's literally a passion project and the staff (including Nightow) are so in love with it. They want us to look for clues and give us more content because they love Trigun as a whole. Animation is suffering and I know there are 100000 shows that need support but please keep this show in mind. It's made of love, you could say.

Here's the ways you can support it!

-Where to watch (sub/dub): crunchyroll/ the DVD is coming out soon but I dont think that has the dub.

-OST: Spotify, Applemusic

-Merch: I recommend CD Japan but there are other websites

[thechaseofspades]

3, 13, 27

3: Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

I tend to challenge myself with different concepts and styles with each project so it's hard to sum it up universally. I will say that I do loose outlines, so I always have an idea of where the characters are gonna go in the story. I'll split my stories into scenes or scene concepts, and have those as placeholder chapters for the time being. Once I actually write those scenes, the ongoing word count pretty much dictates whether or not I cut it off and start a new chapter. "Lena's Groundhog Day", for example, averages about 4500 words per chapter, and "Quack to the Future" hangs out in the 3-5k range. Basically, if a scene filled up a decent amount of space, then I call it a chapter and move right along. I won't, however, chop a scene up or bloat it to fit a certain runtime, hence the range.

Usually the story will start as a basic idea ("what if X but ducks"; "let's do a sequel to that one fic"; "I want to write Gosalyn"). I'll usually come up with a first chapter just to set the stage and see where we're at, and then bounce the idea around in my head for a while. I'll think it over on walks, I'll listen to music and imagine the characters, stuff like that. By the time I'm ready to write, I've usually settled on an ending scene, and come up with a couple other beats I want to hit in between. For example, for "Lena's Groundhog Day", I knew I wanted the diner scene with Webby and the ending scene(s) at the amphitheater. The rest came up as I wrote it, for better or for worse but mostly for better in my opinion.

13: What's a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

You know I actually had an odd time coming up with an answer here because I don't really seek out writing advice as much as I probably ought to. I've found that generalized advice isn't helpful for me, and also anything that suggests a change in routine is difficult to implement. Anyway, I'll think of something give me a second…. … … Hey I'm back. I didn't think of anything. The best I can do for you is always save your work because you never know when a bolt of lightning will strike your device specifically and uh oh there goes your progress.

27: What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

My least favorite part of writing is when I'm not writing. I mean when I'm stuck staring at a blinking cursor, can't think of where to go from here. Or I know where to go but not how to get there. Or I've just not written in a while and go "dang I miss doing that". Oh, and I also hate the part right before I publish where I go through like 50 times for spelling or grammar or typos because I have a fear of commitment (only to find mistakes months later when I'm just reading casually).

There are scenes and scene concepts that live rent free in my head before I write them. I'm talking imagining the characters having a back and forth, envisioning the action descriptions I'm gonna use, the works. If I had a thoughts-to-text ability, I'd have a whole collection written I'll tell you what. But I write my stories in order, so a lot of times (especially for endings) I can't just jump in and write those parts down. But when I do, man it's just really cool to see the thing I'd imagined for so long finally pop up in the document. It's crazy. Like I thinked all those words and then bam they're on the screen for anybody to look at. Indescribable. What a world.

Thanks for the ask!

[the-diabolist]

Hello!! Kikuo Anon here!!

Could I request Any BTD & BTD2 characters you have in mind With a GN!S/O who makes the same music as Kikuo??

(Here’s his channel link so you can listen to his songs, also if you need any details about him I’ll be happy to tell you @kikuo-coffeehouse )

Thank you!! Have a great rest of your day :)

I think you're probably looking for headcanons with a hyperspecific reader type here, which isn't something that I do. So I used your concept for a ficlet instead and just picked the character I thought would appreciate it the most. Which means this will be my first (and probably only) Ren fic xD

c.w: none! ~600w

"Aww, you changed the lines I gave you?" He frowns when he looks over your shoulder at the notebook page, and you can hear the inevitable pout beginning to creep into his tone.

"Only a little! Look, it's mostly the same, I just changed a few words to fit the flow better," you reply, turning to look up at him. Sure enough, his eyebrows knit together and his lower lip juts out. You grab it between your thumb and forefinger and tug lightly. "Don't sulk, it's not as cute as you think it is."

He nips lightly at your finger, which you barely manage to yank away in time with a playful yelp. He sticks his tongue out at you.

He's not bad at helping with lyrics, actually. You've taken to consulting him when you get stuck; his fresh perspective is useful, and it turns out he's a decent poet. The only issue is how particular he gets about it - he likes it when you use what he comes up with, but if you change anything about it, he gets offended.

When it's time to put the melody together, he's less useful but more fun.

"Ooo, that looks great!" He beams, scanning the bars you've got thus far.

"He says, as if he has any idea how to read it," you tease, gaze focused on the computer screen.

"I don't have to understand it to know it looks cool," he says confidently, almost snobbishly, as if he can't believe you'd doubt his exemplary eye for quality. "Which vocaloid are you using?"

"Hmm, well, if you must know..." you begin, tone conspiratorial. His ears perk up eagerly and he leans in close, as if you're about to disclose state secrets. "It'll have to be... M.Y.O.B."

His face falls into a mildly annoyed deadpan. He is clearly unimpressed with your joke.

"Aw, c'mon. At least let me hear it? I need to know which playlist it's going into."

He reaches toward the mouse before you can tell him no. Used to those grabby hands of his, you manage to play a successful game of keep-away with the device.

"Patience, silly," you scold him. He grins toothily in response, which is concerning.

"Please?" He purrs slyly, before practically climbing into your lap and nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck. "Don't you love me?"

His hair and his ears tickle so much that you begin to reflexively jerk around, giggling, but he just follows, pinning you to the chair with his slight and aggressively affectionate frame. You're going to slide to the floor, dragging him with you like an anchor, if this continues - but, luckily(?), he manages to swipe the mouse away as you squeak with laughter, clicking buttons on the screen before you can react.

The fifteen seconds of music you've put together play as you catch your breath.

When it's over, there's a beat of silence before he says: "Hm. Needs more work, honestly."

You tackle him to the floor, fully intending to tickle him until he cries.

[keepthisholykiss]

This weekend I saw a production of The Dolls of New Albion and I have a lot of conflicting thoughts on it but I’m gonna dump some of those thoughts out here. I am not going to name the specific production because I personally took a decent amount of issue with it's depictions of the story and I don’t want anyone to feel bad if they happen to come across it. I am not a reviewer I just like to put my brain places to look back on later. The cast did the best they could with what they had but I think a lack of budget, musical background, and warm bodies (I guess?) was the biggest pitfall of this thing. However, I’m writing about this show in general because after I watched it I was so frustrated with what I saw that I sought out other versions. I am a rock opera kind of bitch, I’m a slut for a concept album, Repo! is one of my biggest musical loves, I was READY to love this thing. So I want to dump my brain out and talk about it. 

TW: suicide, violence, racism (specifically against those who practice vodou)

A Disclaimer: I have been looking around and I know the fans for this show and the entire tetralogy are very devoted. If you are upset that I do not like parts of your Thing or that I have opinions on the racist tones in parts of it I challenge you to engage with that and process it and also to block me. I do not argue with people on the internet I will not reply to anyone who is mean to me, thanks! This is not a review I am just a person who studies art and literature and theatre and I like to throw my thoughts on things I watch online. Also there’s gonna be spoilers in here because idc nothing is earth shattering enough to matter as a spoiler.

My favorite parts of the entire story are the Narrator and Jasper. Both are so interestingly interpreted by various productions I watched or skimmed over the weekend. Now that I have listened to the album I am even more intrigued and personally I would love to direct a production of this. I am seriously considering it because I have a lot I love but I have a lot that I would fix. The Narrator in the production we went to STOLE the show they were amazing and I love the presence so many Narrators have in other versions of this I have looked over. Also I am obsessed with how so many people portray Jasper, I think it’s really cool to see how much creative expression comes out in these productions. People really run with some fun themes and ideas and I think anything that can bring that creativity out of casts and stage teams is great! 

Anyway this story for the first two acts is largely really cool. The first story of Annabel had me GRIPPED I was ready to CRY I love her hopeless pursuit in creating Jasper and I just think it’s a very well laid out portion of the story. I also love the second act, I hate Edgar because he is garbage but I think his story is so well told and amazing. I really felt for Fay and for the society at large that he was influencing. 

The third act I am the most conflicted on. Byron is a FASCINATING character and so is Amelia, I love how Byron’s speeches are displayed. I love how Amelia is integrated in the plot and her suicide really gripped me. But the third act features such blatantly offensive depictions of vodou that are incorrect, inappropriate, and represent a lot of issues with how steampunk treats tropes it has “created” surrounding BIPOC folks. Goth, punk, and steampunk are all areas that owe SO MUCH of their history to black folks who worked their asses off only to then be harmed by stereotypes like this. Not to mention the way these themes are integrated is stilted, does not fit the story, and drags the act out entirely. I want to love this act and I have found the only way I can enjoy its incredibly important story is to skip the songs that promote this trope. 

Also important of note is that I am not black and I do not have familial connections to vodou. So its not my theme to forgive but I am uncomfortable with it knowing people who have been negatively impacted by things like this.

The fourth act is really good! Priscilla makes me want to CRY and Jasper’s character development arc is haunting when displayed here. I think the story of the fourth act is brought down swiftly by the cop/soldier/grifter. I don’t need a cop redemption story in my steampunk technology revolution where just 20 minutes ago a character was giving impassioned speeches about how to take down oppressive governments. But if I skip the soldier dude then I am still having a good time.

Overall I think this is a really good concept and foundation of a show. The songs are hit or miss but still very fun. I am still obsessed with the first two acts and all the Narrator songs and I would kill and die for Jasper. But it has a lot of issues and if I were to put it on it would need a lot of edits for me to feel comfortable with it. 

[susnautica]

Holy smokes it's Solace Subnautica (not really)

Took me a while, but I finally did it! Uncoloured sketch for now because I am too tired to colour xD

All annotations and extra information (since I know it's hard to read the image :P):

On the left there's Jonesy the ship's cat (named so because of the cat from Alien) and the right there's Solace, the not cat human

Physicist

I just like physics, it fascinates me :)

Gave Ryley Jonesy at some point

I really like the idea of Ryley ending up with the ship's cat (maybe that's what the biscuits are for) so my idea was that after Solace found out about the Aurora going down (more on that later) he couldn't bear to see Jonesy in his lifepod later on, and so gave him away to try to get rid of the attachment he had. Solace became decent friends with Ryley, and since he'd shown interest before (being a janitor, I like to think that Ryley fed Jonesy from time to time) he was the perfect candidate!

Did he die in the crash? Maybe, maybe not...

Well, I'm hoping not, since I just made him, but I need to figure out how to fit him into the plot of the game, haha

Knew that the Aurora was going to crash due to a build-up in atmospheric pressure

So you know how I said I liked physics? Yeah, so that doesn't mean I know much about it xD but I'm imagining some kind of EMP blast (from the gun on the island?) knocked the Aurora out of the sky as it was using the orbit of the planet to traverse past it (I think the demo of the game mentions something like this? But the full release leaves it a mystery). So the pressure is caused by the blast being charged onto it, like how when a lightning strike is about to hit near you, you can tell (because hair sticking up, etc.) Anyways, Solace realises this, brings it up with the higher ups and ultimately gets shut down because there was no way they were taking the risk of speeding up and wasting fuel or turning around, and besides, what were they supposed to do? There wasn't anything in protocol for that sort of thing. Solace couldn't let go of the feeling of dread, and was able to calculate with the amount of pressure behind the blast just how many survivors would remain after 48 hours of impact. 0.

Anyway! Terrible sketch page below, while I was trying to bring together some ideas:

Hope everyone thinks this concept is as cool as I do ^-^

[typinggently]

how do u feel abt alfietommy omegaverse

Tbh the Concept had never occurred to me but I haven’t stopped thinking about it since you sent this ask. So thank you for that, first of all 🌹🌹🌹

I say we go with the obvious option — Omega Tommy & Alpha Alfie. But what I could imagine very well and what won’t let me go is the concept that Tommy doesn’t like Alphas. He usually goes for other Omegas, maybe a Beta now and then. But also just generally speaking, Tommy’s far from what the stereotype would require him to be. Too cold, too brutal, too business-oriented. Maybe you could give him that he’s very family-oriented as well, but even that is laughable when compared to his ruthlessness, his determination and his greed.

So where does Alfie come in? Sure, he thinks Tommy is the hottest little business partner he could hope for, but most of all he likes him a gross amount. He’s just fond of the guy. He thinks Tommy’s smart and nasty and wicked and he just likes him. And despite his stupid little comments now and then, he respects him, too — maybe more than he’d respect any alpha partners he worked with before, because Tommy is just better in every possible way.

Naturally, Tommy is terribly charmed by Alfie as well. Terribly, because Alfie doesn’t really try at first. He beats up Tommy’s men and threatens Tommy himself but Tommy goes Hm. Heart eyes. And that’s that 🌹🌹

So what I’m saying is: They’re business partners with a lot of mutual respect and mutual backstabbing. All of that, however, is smothered in a thick layer of sexual tension.

Alfie went in thinking he was going to meet a terribly frigid and dangerous little bitch. Which he did. But unfortunately, he’s entirely taken by him. Utterly charmed.

Tommy went in thinking he was going to meet a dangerous and powerful alpha. Which he did. And he’s totally not into that, except that he is. Nosebleed trembling hands big head empty.

-

Now as for some🥵🥵 thoughts —

An omega can go through heat with another omega. It’s very sweltering, languidly desperate, sensual, slick. Which is my way of saying that Tommy hasn’t really thought about having sex with an alpha before. Which means it’s very...new.

He’s definitely sceptical about the size, digging his fingernails into Alfie’s shoulders and mumbling a very serious-sounding litany of “it won’t fit” which is driving Alfie inSANE, who’s trying to go slow for his cool little bitch even though his cock is throbbing. But once he actually tries to be decent and goes “alright, Love, maybe we’ll try something else—“, trying to pull out a little, Tommy hisses at him. Cock now!! Shut up!

Alfie has to show an impressive amount of self-control, fucking Tommy in slow, even strokes although everything in him is burning to flip his little sweetheart over and mess him up good. So maybe it’s excusable when he accidentally nips at Tommy’s throat a little. He immediately freezes up, cock half pulled out and sticky with Tommy’s general mess, but before he can apologise, it turns out Tommy goes crazy for that. He loves any kind of attention towards his throat and the little love bites have him writhing on Alfie’s dick, getting wet enough to drip onto the sheets.

[Alfie takes it as an invitation to let loose a little.

It’s appreciated.]

In short: Omega gets fucked into incoherency, takes first knot and is reduced to a whimpering, flushed, trembling mess. ♥️♥️♥️

[broken-clover]

can we get some info on josiah he sounds incredible

Woah. Uh, sure, if you're interested!

So in the past I've made some mentions of a concept for a cowboy catboy wizard that I wanted to use for DnD someday, but recently I decided to just up and make a proper fleshed out character for the fun of it since I don't think I'll be doing Dnd anytime soon.

Anyway his name is Josiah Nyash and he's a colossal goddamn loser. I haven't fully finished on all his details but the most important things know about him is that 1. He does everything with the most wholeahearted batshit insane passion and 2. He will immediately fall on his face and break several bones in the process of doing so. He's the world's most passionate failguy. He means well but he sucks so bad.

He's both a cowboy and a wizard and I'm not sure if this'll be in a universe where cowboys are still prevalent or not because I can't decide if it's funnier if he showed up 150 years late to the party or he's surrounded by other cowboys who think he's just the absolute worst. He's very into the idealized concept of cowboys but he has no idea how to do any actual cowboy things aside from greeting everyone with an overenthusiastic 'Meowdy, y'all' and trying desperately to look cool.

He at least knows a few (very basic) magic spells but he tends to get overconfident and try ones that are way above his skillset and tends to end up with him on fire or with things blown up. He is very passionate about finding a way to make a weapon suitable for a cowboy wizard and despite barely knowing how to shoot a gun (the last time he did he shot a hole through his ear) and only being able to do minor spells he attempted to invent a magic revolver that immediately exploded right in his face. He could just use a wand or a staff like a normal magician or learn how to not almost shoot his face off with an actual gun but he claims it doesn't fit his aesthetic. In an ideal world he'd be a half-decent engineer if he wasn't so damn hyperfixated on the cowboy schtick. He wears a stetson with star patterns stitched onto it that he made himself because he didn't think a regular stetson was 'wizardy' enough.

Pretty much his only saving graces are that he's good at playing banjo (the one he carries used to belong to his father figure Silas) and that he's an unexpectedly good cook. He'll drive you crazy with his constant mishaps but once he makes dinner it's a little harder to hate him. Josiah has good intentions, he's just terrible at expressing them in a way that doesn't go horribly awry

[dojae-huh]

Baggy jeans: MV

The MV

At first I wasn't impressed, but I told myself to rewatch a few times and try to get the director's vision. I'm not a fan of stripped down MVs in glaringly artificial sets, and as such I was prejudiced.

Soon I got accustomed to the sequences and stopped paying attention to the empty sets. The scenes change on bit, and there is escalation with special effects in the end, so, actually, the MV has decent pace and is rewatchable.

The clothes help a lot. They are attractive and fill in the frame, play a role (like Do's red bandana). I wonder if the stylist is the same as the one who worked on Simon Says. The layering looks familiar. I like those blue accesories on Jae's lapels (remind me of his Prada look and the turquoiss catterpillars, haha, but this time done right).

JaeDo on their own? We like to see it. It might be the first MV where Doyoung outshines everyone, even bubble gum haired Taeyong. He got all the juicy scenes, and the bandana and the mullet suit him a lot.

I actually like the lyrics. Not as smart as for Regular, but not as mediocre as 2 Baddies.

"Pocket" can mean "the place in a piece of music where the bit creates groove", as well as "a person who carries team to success/who does the most/the star". The innuendo is probably there (the old "is it a gun in your pocket or are you happy to see me"), but the lyricist should have mainly meant the musical term (as the song is all about the bit and the groove). Funnily enough, the second slang meaning also fits, heh.

Yet another meaning is getting the balls into the pockets in pool.

Details of the music video:

Mark stands on a CG looking (slightly melted) street light. Which continues the tradition of him sitting on high places. Are the neos in a video game/virtual reality or in a dream?

Who thought for a split second that all t7s were shirtless? Heh, no such thing for Christian boy Markie, shy Jae and modest Do. I remember Tae's fans talked how the evil stylists and SM make him wear crop tops, when he is evidently uncomfortable to show skin... how things have changed.

The shirtless backdancers are not cool enough, their pants aren't dropping.

Tenstagram (Ten's phone) with a picture of Ten from t7s era.

TaeTen stand on a blue-orange floor which later will change into a real sunset.

Ten's scarf is green, which reminds me about his association with plants. It has a clock stamped on it. WayV and Time reference?

The rest froze on Jae's "Ya'll freeze, outta way".

(I like the way Do claps during Jae's part, the way he does it).

What's the meaning of covering a car in jeans? How one comes up with such an idea? Just for the "Pray I' get to the final destination"?

(my favourite moment is that rotation of the neos back and forth)

Doyoung is in an impossible room with the walls and the ceiling being the floor. The room starts to melt.

The pool ball Jae took a bite of is number "8" = "eight"="ate". Also the importance of the 8 ball in the game.

Doyoung endlessly reflecting in the mirror is a reference to t7s. Althouth it can be named part of his ability. He duplicated in Superhuman as well.

Why did Taeyong pinned balloons with giant nails?

Can "jeans" be "material" = "matrix"? Neos can change dreams now, construct them. Those wavy glitches looked exactly like in Punch.

Tae's hair really suit this concept. Surprisingly so.

[trapperskeeper]

The off-season has been pretty cool so far and I have a lot of thoughts about it, so...

Ranking Dolphins off-season additions

S Tier

Vic Fangio - Defensive Coordinator

One of the best defensive minds in football and The Godfather of the modern day NFL defense. I mean that literally because I am 90% sure this man is secretly an Italian crime lord or something. He deadass even has an heirloom secret meatball recipe.

Jalen Ramsey - Cornerback

Stud cornerback who gives major bottom energy playing across from Daddy Xavien? Nuff said.

A Tier

Braxton Berrios - Wide Receiver

One of several strays we rescued from the Jets. Poor thing's been traumatized by shitty QB play. Fits the classic white slot receiver archetype that every team needs. Bonus points for being a dynamic return man. It's giving Wes Welker, but he fast boi now.

David Long Jr - Linebacker

True middle linebacker who hasn't been able to stay on the field for very LONG. Get it? Cause he has injury concerns? ...I'll see myself out.

B Tier

Mike White - Quarterback

King of having the most generic, white-ass name known to man. Best known for being HIM to the Jets fanbases for like 1 and a half games each season before the crushing reality of being the Jets comes back to bite them in the ass. Decent backup. Probably scored bonus points for having the same name as the Head Coach.

Eric Saubert - Tight End

Stopgap TE who actually knows how to block, so already better than Mike Gesicki. This man is a Durham Smythe clone except slightly faster. You can't fool me. I am familiar with your game.

Malik Reed - Outside Linebacker

Big man rush quarterback and make it easier for other big men to rush quarterback. Had a lot of previous success under Big Dick Vic in Denver across from Bradley Chubb. Gives me a chub just thinking about it.

Chosen Anderson - Wide Receiver

Best known for having the most, well... unique wicks known to man, and for being a moderate locker room cancer. A true Florida man. Whether I mean that in a good way or a bad way is up to interpretation. Low risk, high reward signing. Somewhere in a dark room Mike McDaniel is currently pushing his glasses up his nose and cackling at the idea of having 3 sub 4.4 40 WRs at his disposal.

C Tier

DeShon Elliott - Safety

Best known for making himself public enemy number one to the Dolphins fanbase before he'd even been on the team for a month by being out of pocket about the quarterback position. Better watch those Twitter fingers, bucko. We take mutiny very serious here. Solid player otherwise who will bolster a burgeoning secondary. Would be in B Tier if he wasn't a Twitter antagonist.

Dan Feeney - Center

Great leader. Great locker room guy. Great mullet. Mid to dog water player. Decent backup center all things considered. He's like the Ryan Fitzpatrick of centers except Fitzy was actually good half the time. Dan Feeney is giving more Fitzception than Fitzmagic.

Kendall Lamb - Offensive Tackle

The most mid of mid tier swing tackles... Which is disturbing because he is currently RT1... Which is disturbing because we have the only left handed quarterback in the NFL and that's his blindside. To this day I have no idea how that concept keeps escaping this team's front office, but you know, whatever. Mediocre right tackles go brrr!!

Dog water

Butch Barry - OLine Coach

Besides looking like Gollum from Lord of the Rings, this man is best known for being a part of the shit show that was Denver last year. Coached an OLine that hated him and was fired mid-season so... Love that for us.

Best addition of the off-season so far?

Vic Fangio by a country fucking mile.

This is a multifaceted signing with a plethora of advantages. Daddy Vic is a defensive genius. We know he's gonna get the defense right, but in all reality, just his presence will help our offense improve as well.

The one defense Tua has historically had the most trouble with in his career is the Fangio defense. As a rookie he faced him in Denver and had a very rough game. Just this past year he had his worst game against the Chargers and Brandon Staley who is a Fangio disciple.

It makes sense because up until now, he'd only been able to face our previous defense in practice, which relied heavily on man coverage and all-out blitz looks. Fangio's defense is the opposite. He prefers to only send four pass rushers and disguise his looks in the secondary by playing heavy zone coverage and rotating in and out of different looks at the snap forcing the quarterback to methodically read the defense in real time, take his check downs, and slowly march down the field. Accordingly, Tua's been very good against man heavy teams, but has struggled at times against zone heavy teams.

Well, now the man who's defense he's had the most trouble with is in that building. He'll be seeing those looks for months in practice and getting countless reps against it. Fangio can even advise him on the best ways to play his scheme.

11 teams in the NFL run the Fangio defense. That's a third of the league and our offense is about to get the cheat codes directly from the horse's mouth.

But maybe the best thing about Grandpappy Vic is that he's a grizzled old veteran who was a former Head Coach, and when you have a young little cinnamon roll of a Head Coach in Mike McDaniel it is such an advantage to have a seasoned former Head Coach there to advise him and mentor him.

I love Mike McDaniel, but he had his coaching struggles last year. He challenged more plays than any other Head Coach and only won one challenge the entire season. He's struggled immensely with getting the plays in on time to the point where it might have cost us a playoff win. Subbing in different players and personnel packages was a major logistical issue at times. And on top of all of this to keep track of, he's also the offensive playcaller.

It's a lot to do, and he's still pretty green in some areas. So to have a guy like Vic Fangio there with all his wealth of experience and wisdom for Mike to consult with during important moments is huge. He can also completely govern the defense and take that off his plate as well.

What I wouldn't give to sit in a room with Mike McDaniel and Vic Fangio and just listen to them talk football. An offensive genius and a defensive genius just bouncing shit off of each other.

The moment he signed, Vic Fangio instantly made everyone from the defense, to the offense, to the Head Coach better. Incredible signing. Best signing of the entire NFL off-season imo.

Worst addition?

Butch Barry.

Y'all... Mike Munchak was right there! And the best they could do was this Dobby looking ass motherfucker?

Considering they actually refuse to bring in a legitimate blindside tackle and have a bunch of young guys and journeymen competing there, you'd think they'd actually bring in a legitimate OLine coach to teach them and not one that was tarred and feathered and run out of Denver with a bunch of pitch forks. I mean for fucks sake, they practically threw a party over there when this guy was fired. Hopefully he proves me wrong, but it's not looking good in my eyes.

Four years into Tua's career and he's yet to have an offensive line that wasn't bottom 5 in pass protection. I mean, he's only had serious issues with injuries and now concussions in his career, and our entire season only hinges on him staying healthy and being there to lead this team. In what world would he need a proper blindside tackle? That's ludicrous.

Someone pray for my mans, bruh.