#and feels kinda bad about it but is overall like i am a loving mother but being a mom isn't my favorite role

[mermaidsirennikita]

"he reaches out to protect the heroine..."

:)

"... and the two small children in her care"

:(

[galaxythreads]

unhinged, unconnected thoughts about the Hunger Games 1-3:

Katniss is one of The best female characters I have ever read in my life

Peeta is the definition of sad, wet paper man

I AM SO GRATEFUL THERE WERE CONSQUENCES From the games!! Like Katniss has permanent hearing damage. PEETA lost his LEG

Katniss' severe PTSD was so harsh and brutal and so so so good

Haymitch was such a little guy and I adored him for that. What I really liked about his character was that like -- he survived the Hunger Games. This was not a good thing. He was devastated by the fact that his family was killed and the only way he coped with that was by drinking. There was no getting better. There was no magic fix. It didn't just go away. Then he had to train and prepare 20 kids to go fight in the Games just like he did, knowing that he was sending them all out to die or survive like he did, and I have to imagine that toward the end, Haymitch probably hoped they died. It was easier than living

The Capitol was absolutely horrifying

The PTSD from the Games was vivid and it was so nice to see that this horrible bad thing that happened to the characters didn't just go away because they were in another book. Like it impacted their choices forever

Katniss and Peeta about to take the berries reminded me of Romeo and Juliet and I think that was probably on purpose. Neither can live without the other.

KATNISS IS FREAKING SIXTEEN AND ACTS LIKE SHE'S SIXTEEN

Katniss runs off and screams and cries and breaks down and fails and makes selfish decisions and selfless decisions and like she is SUCH A GOOD CHARACTER. Like I Honestly didn't think there would be a female character that competed with Joan Watson for #1 female for me, but Katniss is like. She's up there.

Gale was overall meh to me. He was There, but the emotional impact he had on Katniss was overall... yeah. just dots.

I'm really glad that Katniss was able to heal enough after 15 years from the Games to have kids. She wanted kids, and the mothering instinct is there, but she didn't want to bring them into a world where they wouldn't be safe. But Katniss having kids means that she does feel safe.

"you love me. Fake or real?" "real"

"sweetheart"

I literally did not realize the Hunger Games was science fiction until I got like halfway through the second one and was like oh yeah, yeah this is science fiction.

I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THEY SENT THEM BACK TO THE GAMES IN BOOK 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

like all I'd heard about the Hunger Games was book 1, so everything after that to me was just ?????? and I was SO MAD but it made so much sense from the Capitol's perspective and I so wanted to strangle Snow.

District 13 overall annoyed me tbh, but I did get where they were coming from.

Everything in this series is so heavy. Like you feel the weight of the entire world just seeping down on you and it's actually kind of nice. I feel like the Hunger Games decided yeah, this is a dark, gloomy kinda world and then kept that tone. Books that keep the tone are SO RARE and i adore them.

PEETA PEETA PEETA

BREAD BOY

AMNEISA

PRIM DYING LIKE ???????????????????????? so good. So good. Like the whole reason Katniss went into the Games was to save her and like. She died anyway. Tragedy my beloved.

Katniss being so bad at speeches was absolutely hilarious. She is very much a speak from the heart kinda person and I'm glad that was never "fixed"

I love how a running theme in the series was that they have to document everything. There are video cameras everywhere, recording, always recording, and if they aren't it didn't happen. But Katniss is screaming IT HAPPENED IT HAPPENED anyway. Like with Rue's death.

I love that Peeta is so protective of Katniss, but would wholey hold her bow while she punched someone in the face. Like he's protective of her while respecting her strengths.

this series is dark, but I am going to reread this 4000000 times.

[bizlybebo]

VIXENNNNNN!!! Before I return to the dishwasher I have a question. What are your PD boys + Ashe headcanons. Appearances? Idiosyncrasies? Anything? Please 🙏

HEHEHEHEHEHE HIIIII IT’S 3:30 AM HERE (4AM BY THE TIME IVE TYPED THIS ALL OUT) BUT AAAAA I CANT NOT ANSWER THISS !!!!

okok here’s some off the top of my head:

-Dakota’s got a lisp + a bit of a hard time speaking overall. However, it also means he places a lot of importance on what people have to say since those willing to listen to him even if he takes a second are ones he wants to hear from the most, if that makes sense

-Ashe is naturally blonde. She’s got the exact same hair color as Mark, but she bleaches it. She also has green eyes like her dad, but she inherited her mother’s complexion and facial features (also her mom was hispanic. trust i’m bizlybebo).

-Vyncent’s not a huge fan of haircuts on Prime (loud environment + the icky thing where all the hairs get caught on your shirt), so for most of season 1, Tide took care of his hair. Without Tide to really take care of it during season 2, it grew out significantly. William and Dakota take turns trying to braid it now.

-Since Fauna’s pretty cloudy (as far as I remember), Vyncent’s not used to a lot of direct sunlight. He goes to the beach once on Prime and gets sooo sunburnt cause he Doesn’t Get the concept of sunscreen entirely.

-Dakota’s the shortest. This one’s literally canon but I personally like to think that PD in order from tallest to shortest is: Vyncent, Ashe, William, then Dakota. Will’s still like a good head or so taller than Dakota

-Vyncent is scared of multiple household appliances. He has beef with ceiling fans and toasters especially.

-William gets the tetris effect but for like solving mysteries. Whenever he’s really sleepy he starts rattling off random criteria or a synopsis of his general surroundings/anything he notices under his breath.

-Ashe, oddly enough, is the member of PD who goes the most all out for Christmas/holiday season. She loves decorating and making cookies and everything, since it’s her first opportunity to do it with friends and family again in a long time.

-It feels like everyone on here is saying this which makes me so happy cause it’s so real but: Southern William. ouugigohiifih it’s so real to me.

and then some rapid fire ones:

-William has ehlers-danlos. trust

-Dakota Cole freckles. you agree

-Scenemo Ashe and emo William. You agree

-Dakota is terrified of spiders (scooby doo jumps into Ashe’s arms), Ashe is the kind of person to take the spider outside, William just kinda freezes and decides it’s the spiders house now, and Vyncent probably fucking eats spiders

-William does specific makeup to make himself look more alive/masculine (tboy William real. trust)

-William and Ashe are both the kind of person to have one (1) hoodie they constantly wear and basically nothing else.

-Ashe makes kandi and made PD matching bracelets during s1 (smiles. don’t think about Dakota accidentally breaking it during s2 and how bad he’d feel)

-Vyncent collects jewelry (elf brain likes shiny shit or something) but doesn’t wear it often. He just. Keeps it on him and pulls it out to look at it sometimes all proud of it

-Dakota “accidentally” leaves his flannels in Ashe’s dorm all the time when he visits her so he has an excuse to come back. Ashe gives him one back and suddenly two more appear

-Williams actually very beautiful/handsome he literally just gets no bitches because he’s Like That.

[twistedastrology]

🌊my take on neptune🌊

---------------------------------------------------------

LOOK at that gorgeous fucking planet man-

i wanna start this with a little tiny disclaimer that my take on neptune is very different from the usual and kinda flips a lot of shit on its head so my bad if this makes no sense to u but i wouldn't be uranus ruled if i didnt do shit crazy different would i 💔💔

THAT BEING SAID!!!!!! LETS GET INTO IT BABEY!!!!

let's start with what I'm dismantling-

in modern astrology, neptune is often considered the higher octave of venus and is known as the planet of spirituality or higher love. ive seen a lot of ppl say that neptune is associated with hollywood, which makes no fucking sense to me but whatever yknow to each their own-

neptune is also known as the ruler of pisces, and is exalted in cancer, the sign the moon rules.

I am about to flip a Whole fuckton on its head here so strap in and give me ur brain for a second 💔💔

neptune, the god, is the roman counterpart to poseidon, and poseidon rules over the sea, storms and earthquakes- generally very chaotic stuff-

poseidon's egyptian equivalent would be Seth, or Set. Seth was the god of chaos, storms, earthquakes, generally very chaotic stuff again.

Seth was also a trickster and, in egyptian mythology, overall kind of an asshole (since he literally chopped up Osiris into like a billion pieces and then scattered him across the earth so- idk kind of a dick move ngl)

but that's what he did!! that was his thing!!! he was the god of chaos!!!! gods of chaos are gonna be kinda assholes!!!!

But what does this mean for neptune- well this means that Neptune would be Seth (and neptune is known for it's deceptive qualities)

now keep that in ur brain as i go off on another tangent that will eventually circle back around to this one-

another proposal i have that may be shocking is that to me, Neptune is the one that rules Cancer, and the moon is the one that rules Pisces.

stay with me here hold on hear me out 💔

since ive been quite literally twisting the fuck out of astrology in my head and debunking cancer myth after cancer myth, I've come to find that cancers are a much more volatile sign than we give them credit for- or at least Can be-

they're not crybabies by any sense of the imagination, and like i said in my post abt cancers and rage, they feel anger more heavily than anything. they can also be very chaotic because they're cardinal water (think tsunamis).

now they're not all bad, dont think im tryna paint em as villains dawg i am literally a cancer rising/mars- but they have a distinct dark side to them that is Not to be fucked with.

cancers are often considered the "mothers" of the zodiac, but that has been watered down to "they're good with kids and probably want kids"- when cancers were Initially considered the mothers of the zodiac, they were talking abt cancers are the Guardians of the Zodiac.

not the galaxy-

now i will say, if a cancer has children, they will be VERY protective of them, but not in a helicopter-y way. more like in a "if you say something bad about their children or threaten to harm their children in any way, they will most likely punch you in the face and knock you out."

they wont bitch at you or be polite about it, they will probably break your face- BREAK YOUR FUCKIN FACE TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!

now, where do cancers get that rage from? who around here borders on being or Is a god of chaos in the zodiac................. seth.

neptune is a much darker, more volatile planet than we give it credit for, just like cancers can be the same- But at the same time, they can both be very pleasant entities-

cancers can easily be some of the nicest people you've ever met, they're incredibly loyal and would probably go to war for you if you meant a lot to them, and they can be VERY and often times Are creative and artistic in some way.

neptune can be a very rewarding planet to work with, it can be incredibly creative because of the depth it represents, and it can put you and guide you on your path to and through spirituality.

neptune ruling cardinal water makes much more sense in this light than it ruling mutable water in my opinion. a planet as potentially volatile as neptune would NOT be mutable.

all of this also comes partially from my slightly different idea of what higher octaves really are- ive seen people say they're the "large scale influence" planets, but i think they're quite literally just the more powerful versions of the planets they're the higher octaves of (so they can and do affect the large scale, but that's not ALL they are).

so the moon in this case would deal with our conscious emotions, our humanity, that level of stuff- which makes more sense for pisces in my opinion- the moon would be more along the lines of the emotions we Think we should feel (mutable) and therefore do- the moon is how we may have Learned to feel, among many other things.

whereas neptune is our deep, inner self. our subconscious emotions, the feelings that penetrate our very soul. neptune is our shadow self, but it's also our higher self. just as the moon has a dark side, neptune has one too, but neptune's dark side is infinitely more painful.

this role switch also makes much more sense at least in my chart, because when looking at the moon as being my chart ruler, my co-ascendant would be pisces, which never made any sense to me- so i chalked it up to "oh well my moon is 1° pisces so it's basically aquarius i guess" which DID make sense

but my moon is still in pisces. My neptune, however, is firmly in aquarius, which explains perfectly why i feel so much more aquarius coded than anything else.

im also like 99% outer planet ruled, mercury being the only inner planet that dominates my chart- my most active planets are mercury, saturn, uranus, neptune and pluto 😮‍💨

HOWVEVEVR!!!!!!

i wanna say that whenever i switch everything up like this, i still find value in normal astrology and often combine it with my twisted version to get the most accuracy possible- so while my neptune and uranus are in mutual reception (aquarius/pisces) but i believe that neptune rules cancer, i still feel that mutual reception but i also still feel the neptune/cancer influence, especially since my ascendant literally starts in the neptune decan of cancer.

and this makes my chart make a lot more sense in terms of neptune too-

if this makes absolutely no fucking sense at all to you then that's fine!!! this is just my personal view on neptune and i honestly still associate a lot of My View of neptune's traits with the moon, which is why i incorporate a multitude of different perspectives into how i interpret everything and it gives me accurate meanings so i see no problem with it-

once it stops being accurate, then there's a problem, but we're not there yet so it's ok 🙏🙏

ultimately u can kinda just take this as food for thought if nothing else!! and if u read this far into my yapping session, god bless fr 😮‍💨 (i am not religious. HAHAHHAA)

[imsparky2002]

Barbie as the Island Princess: First Thoughts

The intro gives me Little Mermaid vibes for some reason.

Man I know this is only five years from Rapunzel, but they really improved in the cgi! The designs look really pleasant!

Ok, the dolphins look a bit plasticy but still!

I’m glad they also have enough confidence to let the tale stand on it’s own without having to establish this is Barbie telling a story to her little sister.

Is it wrong that I’m shipping the peacock and panda? They feel like a middle aged/eldery gay couple and I love it.

Aww! Weeby was right! They totally are Barbie’s gay dads!

Yeesh… I do NOT like the elephant’s design. Why can I see her realistic human teeth? And those eyes!

Overall a very pleasant opening musical number that shows off the island.

Pleasant scene of Ro comforting Tikka during a nightmare.

This goodnight song is making my brain feel weepy.

I love how this is a male love interest who is full of life and isn’t afraid to be in touch with his feminine side. Love the bow on his ponytail.

I love how Antonio’s first instinct when approached by a crocodile is to risk reaching for a branch to put in its mouth.

OMIGOD SHE KNOWS THE ALLIGATORS NAMES!

I love how they go "aww" because they're sad they can't munch on him.

Wait a minute... one of the crocodiles is called Fang. Holy crap, this is the origin story of Jagged Stone’s pet!

I love how Azul found out he’s a prince and is immediately like “fuck this island, come on Sagi, let’s take Tikka and live it up!”

I'm loving the lyrics in this song about Ro being befuddled by Antonio's tech and clothes.

Gerard is a zaddy, not gonna lie.

I’m giggling like a fool at hearing Azul ranting and raving in peacockese.

I wonder if Barbie will try speaking to any of the land’s animals.

WTF is that thing the queen is holding? Is that a monkey or a very unfortunate looking baby?

The king looks pretty young, more like his late 20s instead of 40s. Honestly though, he’s really hot.

Aww, the royal monkey has a posh accent!

Queen Ariana is honestly not that bad looking at all. If I wasn’t gay, I’d find her kinda cute.

It’s nice that the rival love interest is actually a sweet girl. A good subversion of expectations.

The vocals of the villain song reminds me of ABBA. Which is always a good sign.

Great contrast between Ariana’s powerful belting and Luciana’s quiet tone.

Omigod I am loving Ariana’s lyrics in this song, diabolical and hilarious.

LOL AND HER RATS ARE DOING BACKUP CHOREOGRAPHY

Aww, the girls dressed Tikka up!

They really captured the awkward yet respectful dialogue between enforced couples with Antonio and Luciana.

The backing score for the ballroom dance is divine.

Get yourself a man who would abdicate from the throne just to be with you.

Ah, I see Tikka hid the letter, I assume due to attachment issues.

I feel like the Cheese song is kinda unneccessary. A few lines of dialogue would have got the message across.

I do find it kinda ridiculous that nobody can pick up on Ariana’s evil vibe.

Seems that traumatic events are the key to regaining Ro’s memories.

Dolphin ex Machina has arrived.

So this new queen is obviously Ro’s mom, right?

I feel like Ariana would’ve been smarter to not attempt poisoning Antonio and his family so that she can remain in her daughter’s good graces.

Luiciana saving Ro and proving her mother’s the criminal warms my heart.

Ok, I’m happy Ro and Antonio are together, but isn’t marriage rather quick?

Huh… the sudden reveal of Rosella being a princess all along kinda ruins the message of “Love doesn’t care about status”.

Overall, a massive step up from the previous films. The first two were decent flicks, but this one takes time to flesh out each and every character. Also the score was wonderful and I found the animation to be a pleasant upgrade. The ending was a bit of an ass-pull but a enjoyable film nonetheless. @artzychic27 @msweebyness @nerd-chocolate

[moonscape]

Sending my evil influence to give you the floor to say why you hate USUM

okay so i do want to give a disclaimer that i haven't beaten either sm or usum since they released. i feel like my memory on them is still good enough to say my piece but just keep in mind that i may be wrong about some details and i can own up to that if i am.

since we're talking about sm and usum cw for parental abuse towards children

okay i will say upfront that i do think in terms of gameplay i fully admit that usum is superior. a lot of the stuff it added doesn't really apply to me (i only use pokemon that were introduced in that generation so usum's expanded pokedex is for the most part meaningless to me, and it kinda annoyed me how i was forced to play mantine surf to get to akala when i just wanted to get there immediately). the options are still nice to have, they just didn't add much to my personal experience, which is why i'm mostly coming at this from a story perspective. the ultra wormhole stuff was fucking awesome though i loved that.

so: sm. while i wouldn't say its depiction of abuse was perfect (lusamine was forgiven way too easily imo) i still appreciate the way it came at it. the nihilego poison was a reason behind lusamine's actions, but it didn't excuse them. lillie still got to give her amazing speech to her mother about how children aren't just dolls and gladion is a little more on the fence about it iirc, so there were at least still some repercussions for lusamine in that regard. it's a story that hit very hard at the time of release because while my mom isn't abusive, our relationship was very rocky when i was 16, so sm was very cathartic for me. i'd imagine it'd still resonate deeply with me to this day if i were to replay it even though our relationship has improved since then.

so the tldr of that is that sm had a slightly flawed but still brilliant portrayal of familial abuse that blended in very well with the overall theme of different family dynamics (also shown through guzma/team skull in general, hau and his grandfather, etc.)

so usum just completely shat all over that with how they handled the aether family.

it's like genuinely pretty offensive to me with how lusamine's abuse was portrayed here. she's not under any sort of influence because of nihilego here, she's just naturally very nasty and cruel to her children. lillie doesn't get to give her her speech and gladion literally says something along the lines of "she's not so bad because she's our mother." LIKE WHAT!!!!!! you take away the understandable (but not justifiable) reasoning as to why she was cruel in sm so that she's just always horrible and then take away the few repercussions she faces to have her be excused entirely??? this just feels like abuse apologism. it leaves such an icky taste in my mouth. and derailing into the anime for a quick second here, that also had a weird portrayal of lusamine too. i wouldn't say it was as bad as it is in usum, since it did ultimately stick closer to sm, but it was just sort of weird with them making lusamine's main issue be that she's just sort of overbearing and making faba into the real villain (who also gets let off with a slap on the wrist despite being responsible for the trauma lillie held on to for years).

like that's the main reason why i can't go back to usum over sm. i just feel gross playing it.

and to be fair, this game did do guzma and hau better in terms of writing, but why did it have to portray the aether family in that way as well. i don't even really remember what they did with hau aside from making him the final battle (and tbh i felt like kukui was still a better final boss. i like hau, but the "rival as a champion" thing was done much more effectively in the kanto games imo.)

also rainbow rocket was dumb and cringe and i never even bothered finishing it. to this day (aside from bdsp because i didn't play that) it's the only postgame pokemon story i haven't beaten. i tolerated fucking sordward and sheilbert but not this. also i heard that ghetsis physically shoves lillie to the ground in his section and i genuinely need him to die for it. and worst of all they took hot archie away from us 😔

like i won't deny that usum added a lot of neat features and sidequests that made alola feel more alive (and i already loved alola in sm) but i cannot for the life of me get past how gross the story makes me feel.

[moonyandrice]

Midoriya Should've Stayed Quirkless.

So i haven't been active in the MHA fandom for quite some time, but nostalgia brought me back to it. And along my nostalgia-fueled binge I've noticed a lot more stuff narrative wise that i kinda wanted to talk about.

That being, of course, that Midoriya (i'll be calling him Deku since it's easier) should NEVER have gotten a quirk.

The narrative theme that MHA pushes (or wants to push i should say), is that "anyone can be a hero" which would be fine and dandy if Deku's entire existence didn't destroy that. What do I mean? I'll tell you.

Literally the very first thing we find out about the world is that quirks are given to 80% of the population, and that little 20% group of "quirkless" people are pretty much shat on in every way, as demonstrated by Bakugou and the entirety of Deku's flashbacks. He's seen as a failure and a wannabe, his mother breaks down sobbing after they get news of his lack of quirk, and he's in utter shambles as well. Despite being able to get into UA on grades alone, it's believed he'll never make it far, and that he simply doesn't have the means to do so. Sound familiar? It should if you're disabled.

Deku is disabled in an allegorical sense, and he honestly doesn't make a bad allegory. It can be interpreted as either physical disability, or neurodivergency due to the broadness of what "quirklessness" entails, along with his overall personality. Things seem to be looking up in this sense, and it would pretty intriguing to see how this kid with no powers makes it by in a school with superpowered kids. Or it would, I should say.

The entire allegory along with the theme completely falls in on itself because Deku, after receiving a speech about how "anyone can be a hero! Even quirkless kids like you!" Immediately becomes allegorically abled a couple scenes later. The entire message becomes completely void after this, as Deku loses pretty much what made his character interesting to begin with.

"But if he did stay quirkless, how would the story even progress?!" I hear you ask, and i can answer that.

See, I am of the opinion that the story would’ve been ten times more interesting had Deku never gotten a quirk. I mean- c’mon. We have Batman don’t we? Sure, we have plenty of characters with downright useless quirks that have made it into UA, so why wouldn’t Deku be the same?

Simple! Just have Deku be the first to join the hero class. A quirkless kid getting by on nothing but his brains and downright insane attunement with his surroundings? And maybe some gadgets from his buddies over at the gear classes? That sounds awesome as fuck! Not to mention nearly all of his relationships with the characters become way more interesting.

Bakugou instead of being threatened by his fantastic new power, instead is witnessing the kid who he bullied for years on end completely dominate any competition thrown his way, and grow his skills at an incredible rate. Not only does he feel threatened, but he’s being proven wrong. Quirkless kids can be heroes. And they can be better than him. Now who doesn’t love a good bully getting their just desserts? And in what is arguably far more satisfying and empowering than just, “Wow Deku has better powers than me”. It also makes his sports arc moment with Todoroki feel far more satisfying as well.

“It’s your power not his” feels strangely more impactful when you realize Deku had to get his “power” from the ground up. He used what he had to get by, despite everyone saying he was nothing. It’s not Bakugou’s, it’s not his parents, and it’s not Allmight’s, it’s his.

Speaking of Allmight, where would he even fit in all this nonsense? Well, who said he had to give Deku a quirk to be his mentor? It was already pre-established that Allmight was thinking of giving Mirio his quirk. If we could have Allmight have already given his quirk to Mirio, it would not only give us a foreshadow of his character, but also give Allmight a reason for Deku to not have his quirk. Allmight used to be quirkless himself, so seeing a little boy in a similar position to himself when he was younger, and wanting to give that kid the chance to prosper for who he is? Not only is that super sweet, but honestly makes Allmight look like a better person.

There were so many ways in which the story could continue as we see it with the omission of Deku’s quirk. And I’m my eyes, a far more satisfying and empowering story that keeps its narrative.

[sunnysidesunshine]

8/10/23: The Arrival and Adventures of Gegg

Slimecicle Recap:

I’m crying for Gegg ;^; he's so silly and no one wants him around!

What started off as a silly Slimecicle stream ended off on a really heartfelt moment of Gegg talking to Bobby, and actually making a connection with him. The scene gave insight into Bobby's thought process and behaviors.

I only saw Bobby through q!Jaiden's eyes before, so now seeing his adventures outside of that makes me love getting to know him even more. I gotta say he was a pretty troubled kid in life. Happy and loved, yes, but spoiled by a platonic father and mother who praised him endlessly. He often acted violently towards others to loving support from q!Jaiden and q!Roier (not that they are bad parents; they were some of the better pairs, but perhaps were too supportive of their little Bobby). It got to a point where he would consistently act out in search of approval until violence was just the norm. He was always nice to q!Jaiden, but with just q!Roier he got fairly violent, probably from the type of adventures the two would go on day-to-day. His parents would refer to him as a “Mama's Boy.” 

Bobby's actions include:

•threatening to kill anything that moved

•burning things

•tasering and shooting people (his parents as well as eggs and other islanders)

•frequently getting into fights

It was a common greeting from Bobby to be punched or tasered (what a wild little guy).

But, Bobby did care about people! Just, kinda in his own angry way?

He was angry, yes, but we see a moment where he lets some of that anger go once he thought about how q!Charlie (q!Slimecicle) felt after Tilin’s death. Gegg explained how terrible it must’ve been for q!Charlie to live with his guilt. There was an incident where he accidentally killed the egg he was watching over, Tilín, who was not only his daughter’s best friend, but his niece as well. Then, when leaving to go into exile to ensure he wouldn't hurt anyone else and saying goodbye to his daughter, Juanaflipa, she would die soon after. Gegg and Bobby would hangout atop a hill by q!Roier's house and talk for a bit before parting ways. The last sign Gegg was going to post originally said, 

"I really hope you make it", but he would change his words and write just, “Gegg”, not wanting to give away his real identity or maybe feeling his words were not appropriate. Part of me wishes he had said it. Maybe Bobby would've taken those words to heart the next few days after…

Bobby would die while exploring a dungeon with q!Roier on a notably laggy day on the server, ending his 2nd and final life.

BTW, Gegg is q!Charlie. It's uh… a bit of backstory.

So, he turned himself into an egg to be loved as one and also grieve for his daughter, Juanaflipa, who recently died. It started as a scheme between him and another player, q!Quackity. They devised using this “egg costume” to get close to players and steal from them, but as soon as Gegg was introduced, Charlie would forget he wasn't actually an egg and is continuing to live as Gegg while saying he is still in exile. It turned into a story of a father’s grief and the coping mechanisms he turns to to deal with the pain and…

I am

so invested in this Egg Minecraft series.

I used to not understand SMPs, there was once a time where friends and I made fun of DSMP fans for liking the silly minecraft rp…

But, oh man, I get it now:

This series is really cool and I'm so here for the story and characters and overall silliness that happens.

[bonefall]

In light of looking at the warrior cats forums recently and seeing a lot of talk about which cats would win in fights based on their canon performances, I want to ask about... fighting skills in your rewrite. I feel like canon makes ThunderClan cats overpowered with them winning all of their battles, and I already know you have made some changes to at least one cat's level of fighting skills, with Deadfoot getting a buff with his leg gauntlet and now being on the same level as Leopardfur. So, who do you plan to be the strongest and weakest fighters? I would love if you included some more minor characters in Clans other than ThunderClan in "strongest fighters" here.

An opportunity to explain which of my Littlest Petshop figurines has the strongest smash abilities? Don't mind if I dooo

Absolutely don't worry about ThunderClan hogging all the strongest fighters, I disagree heavily with the general fandom consensus that TC is The Fighting Clan. It's a BATTLE CULTURE. They ALL fight. They all have to fight THUNDERCLAN too at points, it's not like TC is the sleeping giant of the forest you know?

General Ability

While I haven't made "stat charts" yet (though i am only one bored afternoon away from making one), I try to imagine my major characters (and plenty of supporting ones) as having specific strengths and weaknesses

Brief list of some of the "stats" I've considered

Battle Skill = NOT raw strength; how good they are at fighting period.

Hunting (General) = Overall ability to find food in all situations

Hunting (Specific) = RiverClan's canonical 'white water fishers' or Bonefall Tallpoppy's frog hunting talent

Diplomacy = Conflict deescalation skills and persuasion

Craftiness = Problem-solving skills and dexterity

One of the reasons my Clan Culture series has slowly started to bleed into the Bonefall Rewrite is exactly because "craftiness" makes a really good 'stat' when the imagined 'mass' of a given Clan starts to become too generic fighter/hunter heavy.

But a Deputy is chosen exactly because they excel in as many skills as possible. So you can safely assume that any time you are dealing with a deputy, you are getting ready for a miniboss fight.

Exceptions to the rule being, of course, when the deputy has been chosen for reasons unrelated to their actual skill. Onewhisker was an unfortunate example; nepotism picks also happen.

Some Amazing Fighters In No Particular Order

When I pick cats who are GREAT fighters I try to avoid just picking large, muscular cats like canon does. Sorreltail is HUGE like her dad Whitestorm, but she really doesn't have the same chops. I really like to consider actual fighting styles.

Deadfoot

Like other WindClan fighters, he's super fast. His gauntlet is actually more defensive than you'd guess. Getting a FULL bonk with it is cumbersome, but if it lands, it's devastating. To do it he has to rear up and bring it down with full speed so if his enemy is anticipating this, it leaves his belly wide open

Plus, that time he fought Leopardfur by the gorge, he was probably wearing his travel gauntlet (lightweight for comfort). Not the battle one. It was a very fair fight.

Jayfeather

His fighting style is distinctive and looks horrific to an observer. Because he's blind and fast-moving targets evade him, he has been trained to latch on. Like a dog. He gets a bite and grapples, only letting go to get a better position.

I think it's kinda fun to think that Deadfoot's grandson has an equally unique fighting style to his own.

Tangleburr

And there are a ton of great ShadowClan fighters, but Tangleburr LOVES to fight and gets in so many spats and brawls that she's just ferocious. I like to think her and Brokenstar used to playfight a lot as kids, when he wasn't hanging out with Runny.

Lizardstripe wasn't an ABUSIVE mother, but she did have a generally bad idea of what sorts of activities were developmentally appropriate. If the kids wanted to brawl she would happily tussle. She probably nicked an ear on accident at some point.

So, Tangle has had a lot of experience fighting cats who are larger than herself. Important skills, considering she's about the same size as Runningnose.

Leopardstar

Of course she's a very strong cat, but I also want to mention she kills Thistleclaw, because the patrol that he dies on is now the same one that kills Sunfish. She ripped his throat open in revenge and he drops like a sack of potatoes.

She also has a habit of dramatic entries in canon that I really like and want to work in more of-- that time in Dangerous Path where she drops off a cliffside and JUST barely misses Fireheart's neck, slicing his shoulder open like a dropped butcher knife? Marvelous. I love that for her

When Mistyfoot has to kill her later, she got a bit lucky, or maybe a little bit blessed. There was a large stone just poking above the water and Misty smashes Leopardstar's head against it. She might not have won if it wasn't for that stroke of fate.

Hawkfrost

Bonefall Hawkfrost is much thinner than his dad and brother. He's an excellent fighter because his WHOLE body moves, a sort of cat-ambidexterity. I really like that one scene in OotS where he's training a bunch of the DF trainees how to fight a crowd so I based his entire fighting style on it.

He can be grappling the cat in front of him, then twist his weight to throw them right at the next cat running up. Sneaking up on him never works as his back leg lashes out to strike you square in the face. He's like a war machine.

His drawback of course is that fine motor skills are beyond him. He couldn't weave a nest if his life depended on it.

There's others that I've picked to have a generally high Fighting Skill stat but hasn't really worked out their styles; Torear, Whitewater, Rosepetal, Thornclaw, Graystripe, Skyheart, Icewing, Mudclaw, Sedgewhisker, Marshwing, so on.

[liuwithheadcanons]

Adoption in Omegaverse

So, I decided to make this post cause I am a Transracial Adoptee and I know omegaverse isn’t irl but it’s very involved in its fantasy sciences

When I talk about ‘adoption,’ I do not mean family adoptions I mean an unrelated person taking care of an unrelated person.  Overall Tw because I will talk about the affects/effects it may have on individuals and also this isn’t a post about a set conclusion. This is me ranting and questioning on how things would go. I also implore and encourage you do to your own research about how adoptions have positive and negative affects/effects on adoptees 

I also want to emphasis you do not have to make adoption bad or negative in your verse. The point of this post is me asking questions as an adoptee myself and how’d it work. 

Questions that I asked myself: When a baby is separated from its mother in real life, that child suffers neurobiological problems. Pit this with omegaverse? I bet that that would be increased by a significant amount.

Why?

Scent.

A wolf pup will look for its mothers scent to help comfort it- that’s just a biological thing pups will do. And if she comes back smelling not correct the pup will then get confused and maybe even ‘aggressive,’

I can see in omegaverse that pups separated at birth and given to another non biological person suffering some amounts of scent confusion. (As in they have no one to really seek that biological scent comfort from and scramble to adapt to that scent but due to the nature of kids being passed around I can see this being difficult for many individuals.) Ofc they can grow out of this- or maybe they don’t, it all depends, just like irl

I also wonder and ask myself will the life of omegaverse with all of its technologies and emphasis on ‘biology,’ will be aware of this and more open. I also wonder of adoption agencies will be less sleezy and exploitative as irl or maybe they’ll be even more exploitive. Saying stuff like how the pup hasn’t had an efficient scent to cling to and thus pulling the heartstrings of parents 

 Now as for adoptive parents: Omegaverse puts a lot of emphasis on pups. Ones that cannot have pups will turn to adoption but as like irl the intent is important: adoptive parents who want a kid more than wanting to help a kid who needs a home are walking red flags. Same with vice versa. (One wanting the picture perfect child and one having a savior complex.) There needs to be a healthy balance

And with all the biological needs and social emphasis on needing pups I feel like humans in a/b/o verse would very much be on the “turned to adoption because we couldn’t have any,”

So case in point: I think adoption in a/b/o would be kinda more fucked up than irl, and just like irl I do think there is a safe and humane way to adopt. (That is a whole other thing that if you need to ask, I can explain.) Our world now just isn’t doing that, and maybe due to the technological advancements that the a/b/o world has they figured out a way to do that already.

How? I don’t know exactly.

I’m sorry of this post was a downer, it was just a post to get people thinking and I am open to answer any questions regarding what I’ve said here 

Also another thing I am not a huge worshiper of biological relationships- even though I acknowledge that adoption has fucked with me, I still love my adopted parents. Even if they could have done better for me.  fuck ‘blood must stick together’ and fuck ‘love is thicker than blood’ - you don’t need to consider either more important. You can have a balance. As long as you’re happy where you are that’s all that matters 

[mongoose-bite]

This isn't that relevant but I just never remember to take screenshots. Paladin moment! And you can see Wyll's lil face in the background if you squint. I anticipate a playthrough where we both have dogshit strength being pretty funny.

Did Faye go party after talking to Halsin? Of course she didn't. My girl will not rest while innocents need saving, and I did just fast travel out without saving that stupid bard...

I don't know what it is with me and names in this game; I saw Volo and was like 'heh, same name as that freak in Soul Calibur' and completely forgot Volo's Guide to Monsters until I saw him again.

The party. Oooh god I was not prepared for the party. Neither was Faye. Laz'ael kinda had dibs, and couldn't be un-dibbed so it was basically a night of awkwardly rejecting people. Excruciating for both of us. Notable exceptions: Wyll, who did not ask. I thought Faye might go for him, but they are a bit too similar. He's basically a brother from another mother and she loves him as such. Halsin, who was very kind but firm when Faye wondered if she could get to know him. okay.jpg

And. Of course. Asterion. Who let her know he was absolutely desperate to fuck, but anyone but her. Ew. Listen, this entire camp is crawling with horny morons, and if you weren't such a sour and condescending gremlin you could have your pick of them, but instead you're having a sneer-off with the one person you can't stand who is going to go and get laid regardless.

I actually kind of love how antagonistic they are, and I'm almost tempted to turn the ship around just to watch him eat. his. words. But I couldn't do that to Faye, who basically regards him like a tired paramedic outside a club at 3am on a Sunday asking again what it is he's taken. Sadly, he's her job.

Anyway. Laz'ael. You don't have to get all dommy to get head, you know? She's a paladin getting on her knees and giving is in her nature. I don't think Faye regrets it, but she finds Laz'ael a bit exhausting in several senses and doesn't want a rematch either, or to talk about it. Asterion probably sensed that. Dick.

I still had this cursed book sitting in my inventory, cause I am the stupid, and had forgotten right click opened an Attack option in the menu and I fruitlessly kept trying to target it with the general attack option. I did eventually work it out.

Now I had noticed Auntie Ethel had the fey creature type, but I thought nothing of it, and Faye, sweetheart that she is, wasn't going to scare some old lady by telling her about the tadpole, so I only headed to the swamp out of a desire to fill in the map before leaving the zone. Also, a friend had informed me I could improve things slightly with Asterion by 'baa-ing' at redcaps, a bizarre piece of advice that made no sense til I got there. Frankly it's the first thing about him that's been remotely charming.

Anyway, we got as far as the door to the hag's lair, and I thought we'd more or less hit an instant boss fight, and I and my companions were so close to level 5. That extra attack was gonna do so much for me. So I turned around and scoured the map for anything that might offer scraps of exp. Took all day. Rested.

Gale offered a magic lesson. Faye had a great time til it all got a bit too serious and she broke it off, getting the sad and lonely reaction, and she's feeling bad about it cause he's hot and smart, and good-hearted. But. It did seem a bit too smooth, and he did also kick things off with a picture of his ex, and then a demonstration of how good said ex makes him feel. If she even is an ex. I'm not cucking a fucking goddess. Faye's wis score is higher than that.

Dyce would love everyone in this party though. He really would. I need to know if an nonocule is possible.

Back to Faye. Rather than face her problems, she decided she'd rather go to a horrible swamp and fight a hag with a guy who deeply dislikes her. It went fine. Overall, by the time we were done in the swamp, Asterion had gone from barely tolerating her to grudgingly tolerating her. As she herself says, 'I've got a long road ahead of me.'

[period-dramallama]

Review: The Concubine by Christopher Bae Rae

TLDR: The first 3 chapters are great, the last third is great, the middle bit is kinda meh. I want to proofread and tweak this book, but overall I could recommend it to someone really into Anne Boleyn.

Overall this is a good depiction of how events evolve, with the delineation of responsibility between King and Cromwell fuzzy. A lot of factors combine to make this storm of disaster.

For @fideidefenswhore xxx many thanks for buying this and The King's Mind for me, I hope the review entertains.

We begin with Anne waiting impatiently for news of the death of 'Aragon' (Chris, please just call her the Princess Dowager. Aragon is not a surname!)

She has chosen Edward for her unborn son's name. A fitting choice, and chock full of dramatic irony, especially as Anne isn't wrong that a king called Edward will 'cleanse England of popery'. Anne's ambition for her son is sad because we know what will happen, but there is an unpleasant streak to Anne who imagines how "sweet" Princess Mary's death would be.

"All is well and all manner of things will be well." It's nice to see Rae has at least a passing knowledge of the Bible- better than most Tudor novelists.

"Her heart was black!"

Anne:

I'm narrowing my eyes at the characterisation of Janes Seymour and Rochford but it's not TOO bad. Could be worse.

Henry examining the heart was a great touch. The tension, the duality of his response: amazement at the human body but also a Christian revulsion/fear/disappointment at its animalness. The tension felt very Tudor, Christian, and (renaissance) humanist all at once.

Also his suspicion at Katherine's death feeds nicely into his paranoia. Will whoever did it stop at Katherine? It's a good moment for his character arc. Anne's laughing at the heart is also in character in a dark-sense-of-humour kind of way.

"Henry does not care to admit it, even to himself, but he sometimes feels a sensation of being overwhelmed by her energy and confidence, an uncomfortable intimation that she does not always quite remember her place. A feeling that she may in some ways be quicker and cleverer than he is."

It would be nice to have some more dialogue. Anne and Henry spend a happy evening together and the narration tells us about it but it would be nice to hear them banter and bounce off each other, especially given what's going to happen.

Henry doesn't seem that enthusiastic about Katherine in his dream but it IS a dream so I wouldn't be surprised if he's got a case of self-serving memory and his brain has retconned any memories of happiness with Katherine.

"The continuance of your house must be seen to be assured, for without that the continuance of their own is in peril." A good point.

Rae handled the yellow-wearing incident well: Anne doesn't want to, but she didn't persuade Henry in time.

"She waves her hand, as if this might be sufficient to consign Mary to some kind of perpetual limbo."

I am very pleased to see an acknowledgement that Anabaptists exist and are persecuted by Protestants, as they're ignored in 99.9% of Tudor novels especially Protestant-leaning novels: "These are madmen, their views are too extreme for any God-fearing Lutheran and they must be suppressed. But such people are a sign of these times." BUT Protestantism is not about going forward, but BACK- back to an ideal golden age late antiquity Christianity of simple purity. Protestantism in this novel comes across like innovation which is certainly not how Protestants like Anne would have seen it. (yes I know the word Protestant itself is anachronistic because it's a 1550s word but bear with me).

Elizabeth Boleyn is well written: blunt, shrewd, loving but not emotive, but also not judged for having a stiff upper lip. "her mother comes and bustles, exuding a strained air of optimism." I like this portrayal of Elizabeth as being strong for other people, it's a nice bit of characterisation for a minor character. There's a good back and forth between Norfolk, Anne and the Boleyn parents.

Fat Wolsey stereotype...did Anne really hate him? Some historians have questioned that. It would have been interesting to see a fresher interpretation of their interactions.

We're leaning hard into the "Thomas More is a sadist torturing people in his house and he loves burning people" myth BUT I will give it half a pass because it's Anne's perspective and it makes sense she'd unquestioningly absorb Protestant gossip. It also leans hard into Fisher and More being personal enemies of Anne, saying they refused the oath to the succession when it was the supremacy More refused to swear to. More was willing to swear to the succession, and it was Anne's own ally Cranmer who suggested a compromise: More swearing to the succession alone.

Opening a chapter with Henry coming to from the jousting accident was very effective because we are like Henry, we don't have the immediate knowledge of what just happened (in theory anyway lol we know the history.)

'Something very bad must have happened to him.' You don't say.

I think Rae's portrayal of Norfolk is a little OTT. Don't get me wrong, I hate Norfolk, I don't give him a nuanced sympathetic portrayal in my own writing- he's ruthless, condescending, materialistic, greedy, and obsessed with hierarchy to the point of comedy- but I think it's OTT to make him literally stinky. Norfolk was a git but he was an aristocratic git, so there's no reason for him not to cover himself in rosewater or musk or civet or rose oil and chew cloves and mint for fresh breath.

"It's not for the first time that she imagines that the duke's death would not cause her any great or lasting sorrow." Spitting facts.

"These men, with their constant needing, wanting, thrusting- can they not ever leave off?" I can see the real Anne thinking this.

Cromwell is called the chancellor, but that was Audley- as Rae says later in the book. What gives? Is this a different chancellorship? Rae really really really wants to keep reminding us that Cromwell is an efficient fixer who knows 'where everything is and who it belongs to.' He is described as having a 'prodigious capacity for work' and I'm pretty sure I've seen that exact phrase in a history book.

Anne's panic and shock written very well: "She stares at the cloth and the stain, as if it is a trick of the light and gazing at it intently enough might cause it to disappear."

Christopher loves adding in definite articles. "The relief floods through her" "the tears staining her pretty cheeks" "a part of" rather than "part of". "Skill at the jousting" "threatened with the torture".

But he also misses out words and letters. I had to silence my inner editor reading this, I was itching to get my red pen, particularly in the middle third of the book. 'You' where it should be 'your', 'away' when it should be 'way' 'when sings' instead of 'when he sings' 'is wife' instead of 'his wife'. 'He is mind is elsewhere'. Sometimes Rae will say the same thing twice but in different words. I'm itching to tidy up some of these sentences.

"Soon enough they are ensconced together in the study very privately and Cromwell can speak his mind having first taken the precaution of having his guest sign a solemn of secrecy."

"Cromwell asks his guest if he would care to view the current progress of the works he is undertaking on the new accommodation and the splendid garden."

"the style favoured by old Granny Beaufort." I'm wincing.

Hire me as a proofreader, Chris!! Let me tidy your sentences!! My rates are super duper reasonable!! ;) xx

"She must be bright and gay" I was surprised to see such an antiquated use of 'gay' in a book published AFTER 2010.

"she must amuse and entertain him as only she can do, she must have faith in their future and give him confidence in it."

The image of their relationship as a sinking ship works particularly well given that ship-jewel she gave him with the self-insert maiden onboard.

If an old woman is talking shit about you why do you eat her gift of pastries?! She's probably spat in them AT LEAST.

Sir 'Nick''s suggestions to Henry are so heavy-handed that the manipulation is almost darkly comedic.

I am narrowing my eyes at Chapuys contemplating 'the austere beauty' of the chapel at Austin Friars. It's just a little early for Protestant whitewash aesthetics to come in. I'll give it a pass.

"The king's amours are not my affair, my dear Eustace."

"I can see that you are unhappy about these arrangements, and of course I sympathise. I do not much like them myself...Seymour having the king's ear, or to dwell on what nonsense he may be pouring into it. But I do not think we should be unduly alarmed about any of this." Cromwell is very clever here, using 'we' and joining their interests together to convincingly sound like he's Anne's ally.

"The ambassador is more than capable of building towering insubstantial castles of speculation in the air; he is also a master of the direct question." Good! But Chapuys would talk of Christendom, not a brotherhood of Catholic nations.

I do think Chris should have read Macculloch on Cromwell, because this Cromwell is too secular. "Survival is in the end his only goal." As Macculloch showed, Cromwell took risks for the sake of the reformation and he also made political errors because he wanted to found a political dynasty through his son Gregory. So Cromwell has multiple motives: yes he wants money, power, prestige, etc., but he is devout too. "not a wit, a raconteur, a teller of tales." It's unfair on Cromwell to portray him as someone who can't amuse highborn ladies: the real Cromwell was an outgoing, hail fellow well met kind of guy.

The Tudor court does feel rather depopulated, Anne is alone with Nan a lot. Where are her other ladies? they tend to vanish.

The king eating partridge with a cherry sauce, a nice detail as IIRC cherries were a favourite of Henry's. "His smile congeals upon his face into a cold mask of reserve."

The memory of being 6 years old and sheltering in the Tower was a good character moment for Henry, especially him recreating the rebellion with his toys. There's a cold pride to Elizabeth of York as well as the typical motherly tenderness, which I like. She was born a Princess after all.

"Do you follow?" He follows. Cromwell has no trouble following." Double meanings! We love double meanings!

Nan Gainsford trying to help Anne by mentioning Mark Smeaton's crush...oh, Nan. A great moment of tragedy. "Cromwell looks at her, quietly recording every word for a remembrance." Later on "Anne nods, as always Nan's good counsel can be relied upon."

I do think this story is missing some key parts, like the scene where Chapuys around Easter 1536 was forced to publicly acknowledge Anne as queen, suggesting the plot to destroy her was rather last minute. Henry orchestrated that little diplomatic trap, and it doesn't really fit Rae's framing of events. Also the countess of Worcester should have been involved in Anne's downfall, but instead it's Jane Rochford.

The meeting with Lady Rochford is enjoyable as fiction but it seems unclear whether she is on Anne's side or not. The real Jane wouldn't want Anne to fall- her fortunes are tied to Anne as history showed: when the Boleyns fell Jane would never be as rich again.

"[Anne] has thought of Cromwell for so long as an ally." Has she??? At the beginning of the book she didn't trust him in the slightest so why is she so taken aback?

"In these times of division and dissent it is so easy to assume that those who share our opinions on matters of faith and religion are somehow bound to be our friends." But she didn't assume!

I like the description of Cromwell being like a bat, it makes a change from comparing him to a pig, which is lazy and boring and unoriginal and uncreative and unfunny.

"Once a single brick is loose, the wall will be brought down quite easily." "this notion, and the twisting, spiralling curlicues of imagined consequence which may issue from it." "the tower of fantasy spirals upwards, out of control."

Henry goes from 'Smeaton won't confess to something that isn't true' to 'I think I've been deceived' back to awareness alarmingly quickly.

"he has endured this kind of assault before, but it was a long time ago, in a blacksmith's yard in Putney, with another man who had absolute power over him". Someone's read Wolf Hall.

Jane Rochford is more malicious here than the evidence suggests.

"She studies Jane's insolent look, and begins to think she might do well to ask George to keep his wife at home in future. If she is allowed to remain at court she will cause trouble somehow. But what ails her? What does she hope to gain from it?"

"he is still a little puzzled by her motivation, because the naïve and trusting might think that her interest lay with the Boleyns since she is married to George, whereas in fact she seems to be determined to do everything in her power to destroy him."

CHRIS. YOU ARE SO CLOSE TO GETTING IT. It's frustrating because Rae is good enough as a fiction writer to spot the obvious holes, but not knowledgeable enough in this history to fix them. Like yes, Anne and George could have sent Jane away if they didn't like her! That suggests they probably DID LIKE HER!

He tries to fix it by having Jane want Anne "disgraced, brought down a peg two, and abandoned by the King...she has done whatever she could think of to help to bring such a conclusion about" that Jane is "nothing more than Anne's lady in waiting." But it doesn't make sense! If Anne were abandoned by the king, this proud and covetous Jane would see her own position decline. She isn't just Anne's lady in waiting- she's her sister in law! She has a fancy bed with Rochford knots and a fancy counterpane! Under Anne's replacement she would just be...another lady in waiting! Also we have Jane's signature and Jane "scratching out her mark" implies she can't write, which is inaccurate.

Smeaton saying "I have risen by my own talents and found favour" is a nice subtle parallel to Cromwell's own rise, which makes Smeaton's fall all the more tragic, as a foil to Cromwell.

Cromwell using the classic 'sign here without seeing the full document because it's hidden by the document above' from I, Claudius.

At Chateau Vert Jane was Constancy IIRC.

"a galliard she knows very well, so beautiful, sad and stately." I think Rae is thinking of a pavane here, a galliard is an upbeat dance.

"although she must suffer patiently the king's delight in revels and pageants, Katherine of Aragon does not care much for this kind of lewd and brazen display, and thinks privately that dancing is a business best left to whores and drunkards." I think this is an unfair portrayal of Katherine. She was pious, but she wasn't a killjoy.

The juxtaposition between Anne falling down into despair next to Henry's mood 'rising' is very effective, like he's draining her like a vampire. Henry believing his own lies and turning his thoughts to "pleasure and pastime with good company". I saw what you did there, Chris.

There are some excellent moments of extreme black comedy in this. "They must believe that there was a conspiracy against myself, not one that has been crudely fashioned against the Queen.' Cromwell winces. Crudely fashioned?"

"It is simple enough, she is to be burned alive, according to the law. This provokes a murmuring from the Lords, and Norfolk looks puzzled until he remembers to add that the king in his great mercy is expected to commute this to beheading."

[eddiegirls]

okay cool hi lol let's be haters together <3

so my post earlier was abt 3x01 and specifically the pregnant woman gets attacked and has her baby stolen from her body call. it annoyed me on my first watch and then REALLY annoyed me on my second bc that is such a racialized form of violence mostly perpetuated by white women (or a couple) against black and/or indigenous women.

important context i am indigenous and 2s (usamerican specifically mohawk) which is why i feel like maybe i'm overreacting a bit but also fuck that lmao

and we know that sometimes the calls on 911 are inspired by real events right (the milky way call and also maddie telling that dv caller to pretend to order pizza come to mind)? and considering it is such a visceral crime i can't help but assume that they were inspired by one of the real life women that it's happened to. or any number of them. and they're mostly indigenous or black or other women of color!!

and like there's a reason bipoc are targeted for those types of crimes! so to tell a story like that and choose to victimize a white woman... idk leaves a bad taste in my mouth

and this is kinda an ongoing thing in 911 where they either completely avoid racial stuff while still using those stories or make the most milquetoast liberal statement that boils down to "racism bad". the whole michael and may and harry getting stopped and almost being brutalized thing comes to mind!

I know I shouldn't have high expectations for a copaganda show and I wouldn't even want them to touch the topic of racialized violence against bipoc bc they will fuck it up but also. I'm pissed bc violence against native women is PERVASIVE and also never fucking acknowledged by society at large.

Idk I'm salty about it and no one probably even noticed bc it's a small moment overall and maybe I'm being sensitive but also I feel like I deserve to be sensitive about this kind of thing. all I could think of while watching were those indigenous women who probably inspired that call and it sucks

anyway thoughts? LMAO

second part:

oh also to add on to the essay i dropped in your inbox yesterday i don't think the writers were in any way being malicious or bad writers or anything like that. they didn't anything wrong per se, it just made me uncomfortable to watch bc of my perspective as an ndn so i'm being a hater abt it to feel better lol obviously i still love the show

thank you so much for these thoughts!! i've never considered this but i think it makes total sense. you're 100% right that they base calls on real life stories, like a LOT of the calls. (random but i think it's cute that in the blackout episode, the call maddie takes from someone seeing the milky way in the sky is based on real calls from the LA blackouts in the 90s)

i actually just went and rewatched the scenes from 3x01 with the kidnapped mother & stolen baby. you are absolutely not wrong to be frustrated/uncomfortable w this portrayal. they really did it in the most viscerally disturbing way too, with the kidnapper literally removing the baby from the mother herself...definitely trying to play up the sensation in a situation where they could have addressed a deeper issue. instead they just did like "haha this crazy lady is so mentally ill and insane! let's use it as an opportunity for everyone to reflect!" (which, side note - this show does not handle certain mental health issues well either, despite being all pro-therapy for the characters when they're going through stuff....). and then they just used it as a way for chim & maddie to reflect on their own want for kids (and set up the possibility of maddie getting pregnant). the story did not need to be set up that way. like it was all for shock value...but marginalized/vulnerable people's babies being stolen is a real thing that happens (both by individuals and by the state/CPS/etc).

a better way for them to address this would be like, they have a sinister CPS worker who goes rogue and uses their power to take kids away from parents when it's not needed - this would be more interesting/hard-hitting IMO bc it puts the focus more on state-sponsored violence instead of individual harm committed by 1 person, but we do still have one person who is the villain (probably a "sweet" middle-aged white lady).

that said i also completely agree that they would...not do a good job if they tried to address racialized violence against Indigenous women. i feel like we would get one offhand comment about MMIW and maybe like a 10-second black screen at the end with a hotline you can call or something. i'm just thinking about how horrifically anti-Black the Mara/abused dog comparison storyline was...the writers on this show need to be punished tbfh

and also, i totally get you - the writers aren't being malicious, but they CLEEEEEEEAAARLY have blind spots and it shows.

[televinita]

I am halfway through A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, and the way somebody might want to murder Pipsqueak just to get her to knock it off and stop annoying people has been apparent since episode 2.

(also I know media has warped my perception of teenage appearance but seriously she looks 14?? she looks like the little sister of her friend group) (edit: what do you MEAN she was twenty (21?) when filming this. ???????)

+ One more rant about Pippa: I didn't SUPER love her but I don't remember finding her this bad in the books until at least the second one. However, her obnoxiousness plus the fact I've never seen this actress in anything else has put said actress immediately on the I Don't Like Her Face, Stop Casting Her In Stuff list.

+ The rest of her friend group, however, is very charming and charismatic! Love them. Her two female friends were my least favorite book characters but I love and possibly ship them already here. Also the white guy (I truly cannot remember names) is charming and funny and needs more screentime.

+ I also love her stepfather & brother, just as in the book, and cherish every scene with them. (Her mother is roughly as colorless and forgettable as I remember in the book; I'm not sure if that's good or bad)

+ The sleaze dripping off Max Hastings - while also somehow still retaining enough magnetism that I can understand how he's popular - is incredible; superb casting.

+ A+ casting on the Singh brothers, they are both as charming and different-yet-similar-looking as I imagined them to be in the book.

+ I feel absolute zero romantic chemistry between Pip & Ravi, mostly on account of her being 12 (age downgraded since she's just fully cosplaying Harriet the Spy at this point), but I like them as friends/investigative partners and am really enjoying their scenes.

+ I'm sorry, the sisters' English-teacher dad is THOMAS FROM "GHOSTS"????????? INCREDIBLE.

+ The music is trash.

+ I don't have any specific standout scenes yet but I do wanna say the silver-star cater-waiter costumes were incredible, lmao.

+ So far I feel like it's sticking pretty closely to the book's arc? I haven't looked up for certain, and I definitely wouldn't mind at least one thing being changed** but also, familiarity good so I kind of hope that's true. I love looking at certain characters like, "I know what you are." (rapist. murderer. all that good stuff)

**i swear to god if this show doesn't fix the one book mistake it absolutely MUST improve upon... (leave her dog alone!!)

+ I also feel, so far, that if I wasn't having so much fun watching the book come to life (not least because I read the dumb Americanized version and it's nice seeing how it is actually supposed to play out, school-and-law-enforcement-wise), I don't know if I'd find this the most scintillating show. Despite the shock opening scene, it's kinda slow? While I did give the book series a solid 4 stars, half the book's appeal is its mixed media formatting, I'm sure of that now.

+ However, I remain very pumped that for ONCE, television has adapted a book I not only know but have read and really liked, and with the power of that knowledge I do think this is a solid adaptation overall. We'll see how the second half plays out!

[gemtopia]

Avatar: The Way of Water Review

This is my opinionated movie review of Avatar 2 and will contain many spoilers… So, here’s what I got.

For starters, I have been a hardcore Avatar fan from the beginning. The first movie came out when I was in 5th grade! I am now 24 years old and have literally been waiting for this movie for 13 years! And just like the first one, I give this movie a full 5 star rating.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely loved this movie and felt that this one was way better than the first one. The acting was great, the story was great, and as always the world of Pandora was breathtaking. However, with this being said, there were a few things about the movie that frustrated me and left me over all confused. So here some things that I loved and hated about the movie.

Spider/Miles Quaritch - HATED

For me, Spider wasn’t a terrible character. He had the potential to be an amazing character but I almost felt like the writers just didn’t really know what to do with him. In a lot of ways you can’t help but feel bad for him because really doesn’t have anyone and feels connected to the Sullys and is very close to Jake and especially Kiri. He seems to be very kind and understanding and only wishes to be apart of a family but part of me also kinda wished he wasn’t a character. Spider is a little too much for my taste and has too much of a Tarzan vibe. I was rooting for him at first, that is, till he started to “bond” with his father and the other soldiers. Then, when it came to the scene where Spider saves his father from drowning my husband and I just looked at each other and agreed we were done with him. Overall I personally wish they had killed Spider off instead of Neteyam but I guess he’s here for a reason or at least I hope he is.

Kiri - LOVED

There’s so much to be said about Kiri. She is kindhearted, loving, beautiful, strong, and is most definitely my favorite character. Not only do I relate to her on a spiritual level for being strange and different than most Na’vi but I also love what she represents. A lot of reviewers have been referring to Kiri as a “Jesus-like” character which isn’t entirely wrong. While everyone else is confused on who Kiri’s father is and how her mother Grace even got pregnant, I think it’s pretty obvious where Kiri came from- Aywa. Kiri is not only Grace’s daughter she is also the embodiment of Aywa herself just in Na’vi form. I find this to be very beautiful and can’t wait to see what James Cameron has in store for her.

Omatikaya/Metkayina Clan - LOVED

One of my husband’s favorite things about the movie was the beautiful representation of Pacific Islanders. My husband is half Comanche and has always loved the idea of all the different Native cultures put together in the Na’vi tribes and we were both fascinated with how they represented the Islanders. I’m very curious to see what the other clans of Pandora are like and what cultures they will represent.

Neteyam’s Death - HATED

All I have to say is this… Neteyam was a precious boy who deserved better and was taken far too soon and far too easily. His death was a travesty that brought out a barbaric side of Neytiri and I would have done the same.

The Tulkun - LOVED

Despite it being hard to watch at times, I absolutely loved the Tulkun. They were such beautiful and majestic creatures and I hate the way they were so brutally hunted in the movie but at the same time I loved that James Cameron shed a light on the exploitation and near extinction of animals. I’m a huge animal lover and animal right activist and some scenes with the Tulkun were very hard to watch. It’s nothing new to see James Cameron drawing attention to protecting the earth and preserving wildlife but he always seems to do it in a way that really breaks your heart as makes you think about things. This is an important part of Avatar that I hope he continues in the future.

If I had to sum this movie up in one word it would be

Spectacular

So if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly suggest you go see it for yourself. Yes, it’s a three hour movie but if your a true Avatar fan you won’t be disappointed. Also, keep in mind that there are always going to be critics who say the movie is “racist” and should be “boycott” but just ignore all that shit. Avatar was never about “who plays who” or any specific culture, it has always been about how we as humans need to start treating each other as brothers and sisters and start taking care of our planet. James Cameron just wanted to show us this in a really epic way and I think he’s achieved that goal.

[midnight-light]

My Persona 5 Royal Experience (Palaces!)

I FINALLY finished playing Persona 5 Royal today and decided to write my thoughts down in a post. I'll start with the Palaces/storyline and THEN get into the character stuff, because that's a lot of stuff to cover I'll split this into two posts, one for the palaces, one for the characters. We'll start with the Palaces. Note, with the palace talk I'll likely end up talking about each palace ruler anyways sooo, yeah. Also, these are just my opinions, I'm not saying you have to agree with me. you've been warned. (HUGE SPOILER WARNING FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T FINISHED PERSONA 5/ PERSONA 5 ROYAL DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT IF YOUDO NOT WANT SPOILERS) Kamoshida's Palace!

-Okay, deep breath to contain the burning hatred I have for this man- - With this palace, it was the first palace so I wasn't sure what to expect... - And then I saw the eyesore that was the cognitive Kamoshida in nothing but a cloak and a pink speedo- My eyes have never been so offended by a sight. - Akiren's awakening was really epic though and really got me to start sinking into the game. - I loved the overall look of this palace, it was really good as a beginning palace but maaay have raised the bar a tad too high for the others with all the build up. - Shiho's suicide attempt had me prepping my shotgun in a hurry though, I wanted that man dead after that happened. - Alright time to get this infiltration route- annnnd there's Ann, god we're developing a bad habit of accidentally taking people to the metaverse with us aren't we? - Note, I also made a LOT of "We're in prison Vegeta" jokes during the entire playthrough. - The boss battle tho, THE ABOMINATION that Kamoshida's shadow turned into. - MY EYES, if I thought Shadow kamoshida was bad? THIS WAS WORSE. He was THE MOST disgusting shadow I'd ever SEEN. - Overall though loved this castle, it really set the stage for what was to come.

Madarame's Palace

-Alright onto Madarame, this one was...interesting.

-Getting it out of the way now, the nude painting incident had me in TEARS from how hard I was laughing.

-The sheer defiance of gravity that building displayed though certainlly left an impression.

-Unlike Kamoshida's palace, which quickly made me feel a burning need to destroy kamoshida almost immediately and increase as progression into the palace continued...

-This was a delayed urge to murder.

-I mean yes- he did plagarize and use his own students work, but by my standards, NOT the scummiest thing you can do. -Now when I learned about the stuff with YUSUKE'S mother, all bets were off, I was MAD after that. Not to the levels of Kamoshida, but mad nonetheless.

-Yusuke's drop in outta nowhere gave me a good giggle, particularly with him getting headshot by mona after managing to stick the landing. Also accidental team member count; 2 - The first treasure being a red herring was definitely a bit of a twist, but the bigger twist was seeing the true form of Sayuri because for me, that's what made the pieces fall into place. - Also shadow Madarame's transformation didn't freak me out as much as Kamoshida, probably because by that point my brain had become accustomed to weird sights at this point, but that's aside my point. - That point being that I just didn't find Madarame's shadow to be quite as freaky as the first.

Kaneshiro's Palace!

-Welcome to the bank folks! I'm starting straight off the bat with the fact that this palace automatically gets a thumbs up from me because we get Makoto here.

-Also I got one of my favourite personas here, Ame-no-uzume. I used her for quite a bit before I let her go for stronger personas because she had good elemental coverage.

-I found the bank asthetic fun becuase it kinda felt like I was doing an old fashioned bank robbery.

-between breaking security cams and stealing keycards it was pretty fun, until the large rotating lock right at the end of the palace.

-My saving grace is that I was using a guide when I played this game due to it being my first time with a persona game. That and I was recommended to use one while playing by my siblings who had either seen the gameplay and or played it themselves.

-the guide saved me a lot of time with the puzzles in general.

-Oh dear god the boss battle though, I think the piggytron bot gave me trauma.

-Hits like a semi truck and if you don't guard in time say goodbye to your team. - Overall it wasn't a bad palace, I just didn't have the same rage towards the shadow as I usually do. Futaba's Palace

-This palace-

-WHO GAVE THIS PALACE THE RIGHT TO MAKE ME ACTUALLY EMOTIONAL?!

-The fact that we were going into the palace of someone who was willingly let us change their heart was quite different

-but ohmygod the story hit me in my FEELERS

-When you start seeing the pieces of the story and how Futaba was gaslit into blaming herself for her mother's death

-How she sees her room as her tomb, and how heavy the guilt of her mothers death has weighed on her.

-Only for during the boss fight futaba comes INTO her own palace and faces the truth for herself

-Revealing that not only was it not futaba's fault, but that her mother's death wasn't even suicide.

-Seeing her finally face the truth and awaken her persona had me nearly crying

-Little lion girl got her fight back.

Okumura's Palace

-Oh boy, This palace... was a doozy.

-Once I had dealt with Mona having an emo phase this palace became much less stressful

-Holy shit Haru's awkening actually startled me though, I was not expecting CANNONS underneath her personas dress, in hindsight I should have.

-The fact that all of the 'workers' are robots in his cognition says something about how he saw them.

-though I found it so funny that the workers were so pissed with their higher ups that they gave away their bosses weakness and the others weaknesses.

-Dog eat dog work enviroment much?

-The boss fight took SEVERAL attempts for me unfortunately.

-Tbh though I half did NOT believe his apology when he started apologizing. Something just wasn't sitting right with me.

-Turned out THAT wasn't what I should have been worried about, it was the masked person showing up and well, killing Okumura.

-Well, if it isn't the consiquences of my actions?

Sae's Palace

-One of my favourites as the timeline was getting oh so close to the present~!

-I mean, I got to have Akechi in my party (Even if it IS the boring princely facade version) So that was an automatic win.

-Sae showing up basically off the bat and calling us down scared me half to death.

-Also fair my ass she rigged all the games-

-A lot of the games in the casino were interesting to play and simple enough that it wasn't hard to play.

-Though the dark maze was a bit of a pain, relying on the minimap was the easiest way I found to navigate in there.

-Sae: "The amount to cross the bridge is now one million chips!"

Me: BITCH MOVE SAE!!!

-I was mad for all of one minute though as Akechi just broke out the extra card he was told to dispose of.

-The boss battle was interesting, what with the roulette wheel of elements and CHRIST she hurts.

-Oh yes, did I forget to mention the police showing up after you defeat shadow Sae?

-Running from the police was so much fun despite the fact that you've technically already done it at the beginning of the game.

-and also despite the fact that you know in the end you'll just get caught.

-Overall love this palace.

Shido's Palace

-This palace was quite the experience for me.

-For some context, at an earlier point in the game I'd spitballed the idea that Akechi and Shido were perhaps related. Not thinking much of it because I didn't have alot of evidence at the time.

-I was also NOT expecting to get turned into a mouse but it was so cute and fun to run around as mice versions of the phantom thieves that it made up for not being able to defend myself or open doors in that form. At least for me.

-but then the AKECHI confrontation happened, and when he confirmed that Shido was his father, my brain BROKE. I had in no way thought my theory was correct.

-Also, I gotta say it, FERAL AKECHI! I LOVE HIM TO BITS!

-Seeing his second persona and outfit was so epic, I was screaming. DESPITE the fact that I knew Akechi was the one in the black mask for quite sometime thanks to the pancake conversation.

-and the fact that his persona is LOKI THE GODDAMNED TRICKSTER GOD was so perfect for his second persona!

-Then the waitohgodNO- hit as cognitive Akechi showed up, and the real one cuts us off from him.

-THE BOSS BATTLE OHMYGOD-

-I was headbopping the whole time I played that boss fight hearing Rivers in the desert SUCH A BANGER!

-The several different phases to the battle and me sitting there after the final stand like; "Is he down now? okay good."

-The escape had me momentairly scared, because OH GOD NO RYUJI NOT MY GOOD BOI!

Mementos Depths

-Getting it outta my system rq; YALDYBALDY.TM

-Full disclosure? If I saw one more floor puzzle in that place I was going to bash my head in.

-The palace itself was pretty linear and simple to get through, but the boss battle was where it was AT. - winding the way through the depths of mementos full of weird cells and and...zombie people? was strange enough.

-and then that's when I see the golden cuppie that can...talk??? Okay this got weirder, yet interesting.

-OH. Golden cuppie is god? Oh dear. I see how it is. *Pumps shotgun* Not the first time I've thrown hands with god.

-Mementos combining with the real world created what I could only describe as the elephant graveyard from lion king. It was disturbing yet epic.

-When I saw Yaldabaoth's full form though, HOLY SHIT that was actually intimidating!

-I failed this battle at least three times before I finally gave in and picked up a certain persona known for Myriad Of Truths-

-and then the grand finale when joker summons what is basically satan and SHOOTS YALDYBALDY STRAIGHT IN THE HEAD. Screaming went through the ROOF!

-Overall the palace was kinda meh for me, but the boss fight made it worth it.

Dr.Maruki's Palace

-Time to fite god again.tm

-This palace felt different because the palace owner was TRYING to make a positive change.

-But Maruki, being the blind idiot he is, seriously did not see how flawed his plan was.

-tbh though the first few days before I was even in the palace I thought I was on a crack trip. Much confusion. Such wow.

-Another Akechi appearing award. Third semester Akechi is SO good.

-Extra thumbs up for getting to travel through the palace with FERAL Akechi!

-Learning that Kasumi was actually Sumire though got me with my pants down.

-*Sweat drops as I see the large plant bridge maze*

-Surprisingly it wasn't that painful tho, I had expected worse.

-The puzzles in the palace weren't overly annoying and were kinda enjoyable tbh.

-Then there was the garden of eden at the top of Maruki's palace, that was a sight to behold.

-and it also ended up making me think of something else entirely unrelated to persona.

-As sad as Maruki's story was... all bets were off when he tried to make that deal mentioning what would happen to Akechi.

-Yeaaaah that made me mad.

-The boss was on point though, Azathoths appeance was disturbing yet felt kind of fitting in a way.

-and the way it transformed when Maruki managed to evolve his persona into Adam Kadmon

-Eventually followed up with a final bullet to the head, the build up was SO delicious and the ending was satisfying, even getting to physically punch the CRAP out of Maruki before you can escape the palace.

-It, and Persona 5 Royal, was an amazing game.

ALRIGHT FINALLY FINISHED THIS. This ended up way longer than I thought and makes me glad that I chose to put the characters in their own separate post. Hope y'all enjoyed.