#all because I couldn’t say no

[kadecre]

The hardest thing I as a person will ever do is say no.

It doesn’t matter if I’m asked to pick up an extra shift or rewrite a fic for person. I will say yes. And that’s the problem. I don’t know my own boundaries. I’m a people pleaser.

I write for my own self. I enjoy writing, I enjoy sharing the silly little stories and ideas and aus I have, but I’ve learned that taking on a project you do not have the motivation for, will end up benefiting no one. Not yourself, not your audience, and definitely not the person who asked.

Saying no, is hard, but necessary.

[sihtriggyr]

The more I think about it the more insane I find the Driftmark confrontation. Rhaenyra was at eye level and tending to Luke with her back turned toward Alicent (her back!! She was not facing Alicent! She had no idea Alicent was coming at them with a dagger until the last moment when Alicent had already crossed the room!!) when Alicent went after Luke with the catspaw dagger AND during that entire confrontation NOT ONCE does Alicent loosen her grip on the blade but instead continues to push against Rhaneyra with it in her hand. At one point the blades point is quite literally inches from Rhaneyra’s face and then she proceeds to slice Rhaenyra’s wrist open!! and zero punishment. Just nothing. Insane.

[oddly-casual]

Fiona and Cake spoilers seriously

(Something I noticed abt Betty and Simons relationship)

I love Betty and Simon’s relationship, I think their back story is so cute and romantic and all that lovely stuff don’t get me wrong.

But there’s this under tone of Betty constantly giving things up for Simon and we don’t really talk about it a lot???

Like, Betty let Simon have his moment with the artifact and the pubic, she also doesn’t go to her trip in favor of going on an expedition with Simon. Then when she goes to leave again she stays for Simon.

Even Fiona is like “you went with her on the bus?” And Simon just looks all confused like “what? No, why would I do that?” Like- hello???

Then after that she gave up her entire life and mind to get Simon back to the point where she literally says “I don’t know who I am without him anymore.” And that just sucks! Since the beginning Betty has been the one giving up the most, her mind, her own possible career, and it’s a story of love of course and it’s very sweet but it’s also a story of sacrifice.

Their love wasn’t a perfect solution, it was already sort of imbalanced when it started and I lowkey love how we see those cracks even before they’re together.

Again, I love their relationship and I think it’s sweet. I just think we should talk about Betty’s side more, especially when she tells a story of what most women do in relationships, sacrifice.

[eldritch-thrumming]

the duffers were heavily inspired by the cia’s secret operations called mkultra which targeted women, people of color, and poor people most heavily and completely destroyed their lives to experiment with torture tactics and “mind control” during the cold war, focusing heavily on experimental drug use and electroshock therapy. el’s mother in the show is a victim of mkultra and el is the product.

what the show fails to acknowledge and what would have been so fucking interesting for them to explore in a show abt GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY is that mkultra was built on the intense and extensive manipulation of the american capitalist propaganda machine that instilled fear in americans of becoming victims of these very same brainwashing tactics the american government was experimenting with but at the hands of the “big bad scary communists.”

now, in the 21st century with the benefit of hindsight, we know that the american people were being manipulated and lied to by their own government abt the “dangers” of communism in an effort to manufacture consent for wars in vietnam, south america, afghanistan, etc. that allowed the us and us-backed military regimes to torture and execute millions of people associated with trade unions and leftist organizations. we killed che guevara, salvador allende, attempted assassinations on fidel castro, and facilitated the murders of millions of regular people to maintain the lie that communism is evil and a direct threat to the american people.

instead of exploring these themes they laid the groundwork for in season 1, the duffers succumbed to the pressure of the hollywood propaganda machine and the promise of continued funding and guaranteed marketing and viewership by creating characters like dr. sam owens in season 2 that allowed their audience to begin sympathizing with the us government and framing brenner as simply a “bad apple” within a system where people were just trying their best. brenner is evil and he’s a villain, but he’s no longer a representative of the us government but rather an extremist leading a covert cell of other extremists within the bureaucracy.

in doing this, the show allowed for the introduction in season three of the big bad communist boogey man in the form of the russian government/military and thus allowed stranger things to enter into a series of media products that, though seemingly unrelated & from different studios, nonetheless all work together to manufacture consent in the present-day for us wars abroad that claim to be protecting us from the perceived threat of “brainwashing,” “indoctrination,” and, in some instances, communism/threats to the capitalist machine (think specifically marvel and star wars). “the evil communists are doing this evil thing so we had no choice but to also do this evil thing” becomes the thesis of the show—the ends will eventually justify the means.

except that now it doesn’t. because to remain a part of the hollywood propaganda industry, the duffers have to sacrifice the themes they first established at the beginning of their show. they have to abandon any characters that offer a deviation from these new themes they’ve introduced. and it’s becoming apparent that the duffers lack the talent and the ability to execute complex storylines that go beyond what was introduced in the first season—perhaps they have the ability to conceive, but they lack the ability to follow through and it’s the very nature of the capitalist structure of the white male artistic genius that has now trapped them in this position—their inability to let go and let others take over the creative execution of their product will be their downfall as their series comes to a close.

[boyquiet]

psa to everyone on mgs tiktok/ig/twt: invisible by duran duran is not actually on the mgsv soundtrack and in fact came out in 2021, six years after the game’s release. also big boss is the one who smokes real cigars and venom snake has a horn

[itspileofgoodthings]

one time my mom was talking about something, I don’t remember what, and she said “have you ever known the poverty of having nothing to say?” and when I say nothing has ever punctured my heart quite like that statement

[zeb-z]

“Red team was so selfish looking past the cursed team like that” listen man they were thinking about it often, and had evidence they were cursed too. They were convinced they were cursed too. Bad (with Pierre’s help I’ll be honest) singlehandedly destroyed any sort of civil relations and good faith between the two teams and this shot Blue in the foot when they tried to make the case about them being cursed last minute, about trying to rig it in the cursed teams favor.

There was never a cursed team in the first place, it was all a tactic to build paranoia and that feeling of betrayal and to get them to tear eachother a part. And it worked super well! At the end, neither would listen to the other about their evidence, not with an honest open ear, not with the willingness to think the other team could be cursed. It’s not a case of ‘Red just refused to listen because they wanted to win more than they cared’ they thought they were cursed too - if they were selfish, then so were Blue in the same way.

Every time Red had tried to talk first early on, it was met with extreme violence - and with Bad consistently proving he’ll play dirty to win, they didn’t trust Blue enough to listen to them in the later game. Maybe they should have listened then. Maybe Blue have listened earlier. The game worked as intended to set them against eachother.

[krittec]

for the longest time, i genuinely believed that people who were like “I don’t understand Six of Crows/Crooked lol what happened? where did that tank come from?” were joking because it seemed like too many people to be real.

recently found out that they actually have no idea of what happened despite reading the book but saying it’s their favourite and i am absolutely shocked plus a little concerned

[museenkuss]

Dance performance and delicately constructed skirts, flowing lines and ballet slippers for Chika Kisada a/w 2023. Runway photos by Chika Kisada via vogue.com

Ever since founding her label in 2014, Japanese designer Chika Kisada has drawn on her background as a dancer to combine ballet esprit with punk spirit. This season, after working closely with the ballet dancer Haruo Niyama has inspired her view on gender, the models floating down the runway transcend the ideas of masculine and feminine, wearing suit jackets draped over delicately constructed bustiers, glittering shirts and flowing trousers, rustling heaps of skirts, jeans and stockings, and the omnipresent ballet slippers. And all the while, Niyama dances behind a translucent curtain, a Kisada-clad shadow. Watch the show.

[the-woman-upstairs]

It’s just…so painful to watch Armand readily submit in order to obtain the love he so desperately craves. And while it’s most assuredly a manipulative tactic, it’s still one borne out of fear and desperation. He cannot lose this person he’s come to love and so will become whatever they want, do whatever they want just so they’ll stay with him. But it won’t be enough. No matter how much he acquiesces or seeks to control (himself, others, the environment), he won’t be able to make Louis stay with him in the perfect life, perfect self he built in the hopes of finally being loved. It will all crumble with Armand left alone in the rubble of what he created, the author of his own abandonment.

[infinite-hearts-333]

“Today is a special day! Today, our beloved Rose joins our ranks, our mission. Through time and time again, they have proven themselves- they have shown us all that this isn’t just a mission for joy- but for some, a mission for family. And with this mask, you’ll never be alone again, Rose.”

Au belongs to @onyxonline ✨

[existentiol]

something that pisses me off in RA is that Flanagan will occasionally hype up Pauline as this super important and prominent figure in Will’s life, even treat her as a proxy for the mother he never knew, and yet will just refuse to show it beyond the like. two or three (personal) conversations that they have in canon. I get that he was attempting to make her an important person in Will’s life but why not do that by actually making her an important person in Will’s life

[sashimiyas]

aran’s such a picky eater mama miya would have to make a whole different pot of food just for him whenever he’d come over

[theswedishpajas]

💙🌌💀🌌💙

[gaylos-lobos]

actually before i go to sleep

giving Luz the same kinda shot composition here directly after finding out what happened to King and Eda (and telling Camila that she hasn’t changed her mind about returning back to Gravesfield after rescuing the two) while dressed as Azura (someone she admires) to when Philip arrived to the isles in search and rescue for Caleb (<- if getting there was accidentally or not does not matter) while dressed in his attire or at least clothes that resembles them, truly driving home the point of how similar the two of them are and how they really are just mirrors of the other

[kinokoshoujoart]

the sos awl development team really looked at rock and said “even if we could fix him (we can’t) he would never agree to it, carry on king”