#damn this was rambly

[callmegaith]

what's your opinion on the theory that Dale might be the reincarnation of Albert Vanderboom or Nicholas Eilander? They all share deer imagery

1) good God I fucking HOPE NOT. Dale is so far from what Albert is like please 😭😭😭

2) well... That would make my Jackalope art pretty weird wouldn't it 😂 we said David has Dadeer issues but that's too far.

Fr tho aside from them sharing the deer mask, there's nothing connecting them. I do think Dale could be a reincarnation of SOMEONE, most likely a Vanderboom, but just don't know who.

Then sharing a mask could mean nothing. It's most likely symbolic more than anything. Tho what DEER is in the context of Rusty Lake is? Hard to tell. I mean I can see the Rabbit for David, sure. They symbolize youth and resurrection so it makes sense. But idk exactly what Deers could symbolize

I read that it might represent "evil" cuz Nicholas and Albert were both evil, which means Dale most likely will do something evil in the future. But I don't see this being true.

I also want to note a few things. Albert never wears a deer mask. He wears a deer skull. Not in the same way that Nicholas and Dale wear their masks

Which is probably symbolic for a whole different thing on its own. You know who also wore a deer skull?

David

Now THAT could symbolize evil, cuz obviously Dale views David as evil.

I dont think Albert represents the deer the way Nicholas and Dale do

And even then, their masks look different

I don't think there's a connection between the three of them. They might just represent different aspects of the deer symbolism so I don't buy the theory for either.

[go-to-the-mirror]

straight men go onto minecraft & roleplay being gay with their coworkers & then spend the rest of the day with their wife and child

[clarebear-0925]

false alarm everyone he’s fine

[philinof]

how did we as a phociety move on from “can phil express an opinion?” that was literally one of The most insane moments ever.

phil just wanted to get a word in and dan was literally so irritated that people kept speaking over phil that he did not gaf anymore. he reached his long ass arm all across that table to steal someone else’s mic, without a single “excuse me”. then he doesn’t say “phil has something to add!” or something else normal.

no, instead he asks, mad as fuck, “can phil express an opinion?” like hey can phil fucking speak. is he allowed to say something. can he express a single fucking opinion during this panel.

and he knew how’d he come off. people were a little shocked. it definitely came off as rude to some. but it was so jarring that they just had to shut up. like damn okay i didn’t know you felt so strongly about your fellow youtuber, mr. danisnotonfire.

dan knew that phil was just way too nice to interrupt everyone else & stand up for himself. so he took matters into his own hands, he didn’t mind looking rude if it meant phil got to speak his mind. & i think that’s just so loving & kind & i’ll never get over it. <3

[potatoeofwisdom]

has someone done this already?

[gophergal]

Guilt tripping people does nothing but cause vulnerable folks to spiral and make folks who dont live with moral OCD feel negatively toward your cause

[lazylittledragon]

me when going to bed at a normal time, eating fruits, having less caffeine, not socially isolating and taking silly little walks actually improves my mental health, knowing that i avoided it for years because i didn’t think it would do anything

[dizzybizz]

"this is regrettably the best kiss of your life, you understand?"

[turtleblogatlast]

AU where Leo is trapped in the Prison Dimension for months instead of minutes and the only way he gets by with his sanity intact is through recording himself talking to his wrist comm.

When they finally manage to get Leo back and make him rest up to heal, Donnie can’t help but listen to the recordings left behind.

He’s not sure what exactly he’s expecting, only that his subconscious is screaming at him that it has to be heartbreaking, that it has to be torturous.

Instead, what Donnie is subject to is a full thousand hours’ worth of Jupiter Jim and Lou Jitsu crossover fanfiction. More than one part in the series. Spanning well over a million words.

(The worst part is that it’s actually good.)

[babacontainsmultitudes]

RIP Will Campos the only person who was murdered this episode.

[foldingfittedsheets]

Incapable of not bragging on myself after today. My store sold 16K in beds between four people.

12K of that was me.

[bonetrousledbones]

also some implications from this one that i honestly just think are very funny

possible takeaways:

papyrus's name isn't actually papyrus, people just call him that because he writes that way, meaning he has a totally separate name or no name at all

he's named after the plant/paper, not the font

he's never heard of the papyrus font before

[huginsmemory]

On ad astra per aspera ✨

Can we talk about the repeated use of ad astra per aspera? Cause uhhhh it shows up twice, once on the website and once in the Book of Bill, and OH BOY this has connotations, both for Bill and Ford's relation in the literal and figurative meaning on the word, and for Bill's own history:

(extra addition added 16/09/2024! 🌝 )

First, in the website (if I recall correctly) if the phrase ad astra per aspera is inputted into the computer, you get the two pages on Bill's 'funeral':

And within, in the pages, at the very end before signing there names is the phrase itself (highlighted in red) .

Secondly, a joke version of it is seen in the Book Of Bill, specifically on the night where Bill and Ford fucked 'one thing led to another':

In this one, it's clearly a joke off of aspirin used for his hangover, used again to close the entry.

Now the phrase ad astra per aspera itself means 'through suffering to the stars', which also has... wider connotations then just these two piece alone, which I'll unpack later. But first, the interesting choice of connection of these two pieces;

Both times the phrases occur, they occur closing the entry; a bit too much of a coincidence to me (and in this fandom there is no such thing as a coincidence). Considering that the 'one thing led to another' night is a night that was important to their relationship as it hints at the intimacy they had with each other, it showing up again in Ford's 'funeral' entry about Bill feels very much like an allusion to that night. Especially considering in the funeral entry Ford is very open about how much he cared about Bill, with how he at one point "considered him the centre of his life". The entry from Ford reads as someone who is moving on, and part of this is acknowledgement of the grief and sadness for the more positive part of the abusive relationship that he lost. As a result, having him acknowledge the intimacy of their relationship, it makes sense for him to tongue in cheek allude back to his first writing down of the phrase, where they were quite clearly implied to fuck be intimate.

While it alludes to their Bill and Ford's intimacy, the literal and metaphorical meaning of the phrase also rings true here; through suffering to the stars. If we talk literally, then through Ford's relationship with Bill, something that ultimately was full of suffering, he built the portal, and ended up wandering the myriad worlds out there in space; one may say out there among the stars. He literally was out there wandering the stars as a result of suffering.

Now metaphorically, the phrase means through suffering/adversity one gains beautiful/worthwhile things. Considering this entry is Ford moving on from Bill, this is very apt; again, their relationship caused Ford immense suffering, and as he is now letting that relationship and suffering go, he's instead prioritizing creating healthy relationships with Stanley, the other twins and Fiddleford (the something beautiful and worthwhile part!). In fact, the entry on Bill's funeral is half on him strengthening his relationship with Mabel, the shooting star, another layer of wordplay; case in point about the healthy relationships. He's weathered through his abusive relationship, to discover and create a loving family.

It doesn't quite end there however; although that's fairly it for specifically Ford and Bill's relationship, we also haven't talked about what the stars mean to Bill himself. Which, well; it's very clearly implied that Bill accidentally killed everyone in his dimension in an attempt to show his parents (and other people in his dimension) the stars. And on top of that, to quote; "I looked up and saw the stars. And I was ready to become one of them". Which he then in a way, becomes, considering the page in journal 3 on constellations, in which Ford remarks that one of his favourite constellations is the constellation 'William' (obviously Bill). It's a bittersweet immortalization of himself after everything that occurs around trying to see the stars for Bill.

So I find it very interesting that for Ford, a phrase about suffering and stars is something he ends up correlating to his relationship with Bill, considering that to Bill, to get to the stars is something he deeply suffered for as a result. It's also important to note that Bill's suffering was something that occurred out of love, and ultimately an attempt to be understood and create a deeper relationship with his parents where they could trust him. And then for Ford, all this while later, to look up to the stars (to see them) and to see the Bill constellation and go 'oh that's one of my favourites' is fulfillment. Because Ford during that time trusted and cared deeply for Bill, fulfilling that relationship of trust, love and understanding(at least surface level, considering the way they banter together), that Bill had yearned for when he was younger and killed his plane.

So all in all(tldr): ad aspera per astra, (through suffering the stars), is quite the fun phrase to unpack in regards to Bill and Ford's relationship, considering the deliberate reference to the phrase on the entry about the night 'where one thing led to another' and Bill's funeral entry. The phrase is a combination of references; tongue in cheek allusion to the intimacy, but also references to the literal (space fugitive) and figurative (abusive relationship, to loving family again pipeline) hardships Ford endured as a result of the relationship. There is also irony in the way that Ford seems to correlate this phrase about suffering and stars with Bill and his relationship, considering that out of an effort to be understood and share the stars with his parents, Bill accidentally killed his whole dimension; later he also made a constellation of himself. As well, as Ford says that one of his favourite constellations is a constellation that's clearly Bill in Journal 3, it alludes to that Bill's wish to show his parents the stars and be recognized is fulfilled by Ford (pre-portal incident that is).

EDIT: extra details added on the constellation piece as of Aug 14 2024 (less than 24 hours after og posting, because I'm deranged). Big thanks to @bowl-o-nudel for the nudge :)

Edit (16/09/2024): I've had a few people say that the saying has appeared in Journal 3 multiple times, and having reread journal 3, to my delight it is indeed correct! And oh the CONTEXT they give. The two instances are those seem below; the first appearance in the title page of Journal 3, and second time is a page from when the twins graduate.

As well as all the parallels of how the phrase is applied for both Bill and Ford, as @zoizyboigy suggested, it seems to be a phrase that Ford takes as his own motto. It seems to be a highly personal motto to him; after all, they all are written around important turning moments in Ford's life; graduating, the journals which where to be his ticket to fame, fucking a triangle finding acceptance and intimacy with Bill , and lastly, moving on in his life from Bill and his destructive obsession with recognition. 

And it makes sense WHY this motto is one that is highly personal to Ford; the first time it is seen chronologically is when he's graduating, chosen when he believes he's going to be accepted into the university. It's a motto he chose because he was excited, because he thought he was already through his suffering and arriving to the stars of his fancy university, where validation and acceptance would abound; only that doesn't happen, and the suffering part within the motto is the only thing that's accurate, especially as that's when he rejects Stan. It's a motto chosen in celebration, that becomes a reminder of the failure to become someone who is accepted and important (and his prioritization of validation over relationships); it's now something he holds that reminds him of the validation he believes he deserves and he obsessively chases. 

And that's why you see it in the journal pages, because these journals are going to change his life, he's going to become finally a person of importance and be accepted with the information he's compiled in the journals. And in the same way, you see it after Bill (and interdimensional being of ancient knowledge) and him are intimate; he's become someone of importance to Bill, he's been accepted by Bill, even attractive to Bill (romance Ford seems to have terrible luck in).

And that's why you see it at the end of Ford's farewell to Bill; it's another turning point, it's Ford letting his obsession with world validation go which characterized it's meaning from the beginning, Ford letting go of his relationship with Bill, which it also came to mean, and instead celebrates his acceptance within his family and the strengthening of those bonds, and of prioritizing healthy, loving relationships.

Ps, if you enjoyed this meta post, I've also made another one, on exceptionalism!

[scarrletmoon]

if you’re ever feeling sad about fandom bullshit, go rewatch the show

the first time i dealt with fandom bullshit directly, i was really afraid that it would make me hate the show, or that i’d rewatch it and find out it’s not actually as good as i thought

no!! our show is good!! our show is SO good!! just watching the pilot makes me love stede more, makes me love all the characters bc i know how they’re going to grow and love and fight for each other. i love it for being so unapologetically weird and goofy and sincere and gay as hell

when people are being cruel and shitty and callous online, go rewatch your fave episode. remind yourself why you fell in love with the gay pirates in the first place. please don’t let a handful of miserable people take that joy from you

[starsofang]

fwb!gaz who just so happens to be the one who does your piercings.

it didn’t start out with the two of you fucking with no strings attached, no. in fact, it was the same shop where you first met gaz at the beginning of your piercing journey.

it was friendly at first. he was gentle when giving you your first piercing, talking you through it, praising you for taking it like a champ. then when you came back for another, gaz happened to be the only piercer available. the third one you returned for had you suspicious when yet again, he was free to do it.

nonetheless, the two of your formed a harmless bond the more you showed up for a new piercing. the flirting was always reciprocated between the two of you, but gaz remained professional, much to your disappointment.

it wasn’t until you returned to the shop for the nth time with the request for nipple piercings did gaz fold. he was unfocused, quiet, and not to mention the tent that was very clearly uncomfortable in his pants. you’d made a lame joke about how he must’ve gotten an accidental boner when all the women came for nipple piercings, and he’d grumbled about how no, it was just you.

you had hoped it would lead to something, but gaz, despite the flirtatious remarks he showered you with every chance he got, remained stuck in his ways of being a professional, that it would be inappropriate.

however, when you made the bold decision to ask for a clit piercing only weeks later, all resolve on gaz’s end crumbled. you weren’t even able to get the piercing you came for, too occupied with your knees to tour chest and gaz’s cock slipping in and out of you at an aggressive pace, satisfying the aching buildup he’d been tormented with of not being able to fuck you before.

of course, you never had to spend another dime on your piercings. not when you’d collapse like putty into his hands every session.

[bambiraptorx]

i have an assignment that's due tonight and would take me 5-10 minutes to complete, so naturally I've spent like 3 hours researching prosthetic arms instead