#does anyone know how many pages have been posted so far though. is it the entire thing

[uglycryinglawyer]

heyyy tumblr,

class of 2024 law student here. no offense but you know things are bad when i take it to tumblr. law school really does something to your psyche and i hate to say it but despite this whole movement on social media to be more transparent, i don't believe anyone will be completely honest about their experience when their words can be traced back to them. being believable as 100% genuine & honest while being anything less than to followers that cling to every syllable of yours does more damage than good imo.

ill start this page with some honesty that i would label as a 6/10 on the "how embarrassed would i be if someone from my post-grad job were to see this" scale i just made up.

my first semester i felt like the smartest version of myself i had ever been because i got 1 online award from a fake company (seriously what business does this "computer-assisted legal education" company have hosting awards for schools around the country & why are they receiving our grades to begin with) for having the highest grade in my class. mind you, this company/award is not at ALL affiliated with my school, its literally made up. but its something that is made PUBLIC (as in if you knew my name you could google me and this stupid award shows up), and so many schools still acknowledge it to, idk, create further divisions between students that i guess the whole system of making everyones grades 100% based on their finals and curved (not in a good way) doesn't do enough for?

now here i am, having finished my 6th semester & walked the commencement stage a few days ago ugly crying over a grade because i might have just lost my honors status. when in actuality .... ~ kim, there are people that are dying ~ why does any of this matter?? this is what 6 semesters of slowly having your confidence in your own intelligence chipped away at does to a person.

its not over yet though - bar prep starts last week :). actually it starts on may 20th officially, but no ones being honest about the fact that they really started studying the day after their finals ended, if not earlier.

so i've decided to document my experience for you all here. with bar prep & my foray into big law (you know this field was meant for babies because that's what we unsarcastically call a career at a top law firm) on the horizon, & 6 semesters of pure chaos behind me, i have a lot to say!

im not sure who this is going to reach because, again no offense tumblr, but i doubt this site has the reach it once did. maybe this will just end up being a time capsule for myself, which i would love. or maybe this will help 1 person cope, which i would love even more.

regardless, if you read this far, thank you & tttys. going to throw some random hashtags in now don't mind me.

[honeykyeom]

white noise / track 3: ghosts (teaser)

pairing: lee seokmin x afab! reader

series summary: your best friend seokmin has always been there for you. after a particularly rough heartbreak, you find out he's there for you in more ways than just one.

series notes: uni!au, best friends to lovers, friends with benefits, kpop 97 line antics and shenanigans (specifically seventeen & loona), 18+ (smut is outlined/warned beforehand)

teaser notes: suggestive kinda but no smut, seokmin is a SIMP, two idiots being idiots tbh and there's absolutely no way this could go wrong!!

teaser wc: ~900 words

a/n: heeey...... hey... how ya'll doin? yeah i never thought i would be far enough into writing that i could ACTUALLY post a teaser for the next track.. shoutout to my accountability buddy @smileysuh, ur the best babe. wouldn't want anyone else to cheer for my maybe 800 words a day lol. also congrats to @bitchlessdino my bb i can't wait to see you walk down the aisle so take this lil treat as a token of my love ♡ also pspspspsps @onlyseokmins (love u wife)

If you had told Seokmin that he would be in the position that he’s currently in, he’d think you’re full of shit.

But here he was, sinking into your sectional as you grind on his lap and making his head spin with the ease in which you pull at his roots. Seokmin keeps telling himself it’s a fantasy, one of his many recurring dreams where he’s finally with you, the person he’s been in love with for the past two years. He repeats it like a mantra, to will himself it’s all in his head until it’s something he can no longer deny when a moan leaves your lips, sounding more ethereal than any dream he’s ever had.

Seokmin’s lips slot between yours perfectly, his tongue gracing your bottom lip. Your mewls ring like bells in his ears, sweet and inviting–he can’t help but smile into your kiss. He’s determined to continue hearing your noises, his nerves firing against every logical thought in his brain.

The kitchen counter of your humble apartment is littered with chips, stray alcohol & red solo cups. Neither of you pay it any mind though, too preoccupied with the present moment as Seokmin’s hands graze your lower back and you straddle his hips, your bodies sinking further into the soft fabric of your sectional. 

Seokmin’s lips chase yours when you pull away from him, not wanting to lose your warmth. He’s completely dazed as you view him from above, eyes glazed over in lust and desire. You giggle, bringing your hand to his chin and supporting his head to keep his eyes on you. 

“Are you still with me, baby?” 

He blacks out at the pet name–his brain short-circuiting at the way your breath warms his skin as you speak, only getting enough energy to respond with a soft yes as Seokmin watches you smile at him.

It’s baffling how you have him under your spell and you’re oblivious to that fact. 

Seokmin slowly comes down from his high of the past 20 minutes–registering the words that you’re speaking to him.

“We need to talk.”

“About?”

“This…” you take a pause, your thumb caressing the soft skin of his chin as you focus on the oceans of brown in Seokmin’s eyes before you continue. “Us.”

Seokmin quickly sobers up, his hands removing themselves from your waist but laying purchase on your thighs. He tries his hardest to keep his composure–you’ve always been able to read him like a book, better than anyone else in his life. You were able to capture every tell with ease, down to a small eye twitch or throat itch. Knowing this, he finds it hard to believe you’re unaware of his feelings for you–the immediate red shade of his ears appearing when he’s in your presence.

‘Breathe’, he tells himself. He does just that before focusing back to the present moment, with you, instead of stuck in his own thoughts.

“Okay. What about us?”

“We need to establish some ground rules.” You take a quick pause, brief, but enough for Seokmin to notice the small drop of sweat growing on the tip of your eyebrow. “Just so we’re on the same page.”

“Ok then. Rule number 1?”

“This stays between us. Can’t tell the rest of the group.”

“Ok… Seems fair enough.. Rule 2?”

“No unusual PDA.”

Seokmin retorts with a small pout, “So I can’t hold your hand in public anymore?”

You bring a soft smile to your face, slightly giggling at the sincerity in his tone. Running your hand through his hair, you respond, “No, that’s not what I meant! We just don’t want to give ourselves away. So, hand holding between friends is okay.” Leaning closer into Seokmin, he’s suddenly falling into the swirls of color in your eyes and into a trance when your voice gets quieter as you speak. “But kissing,” you punctuate your statement by connecting your lips to his. Seokmin has to swallow a moan as he gets lost in you, pulling you closer and molding your body to his. His hands come to grasp at each side of your face, gentle yet desperate to keep you two moving in unison. 

His efforts were futile, though, as you pull away from him with a smirk, leaving him with the inability to catch his breath. “Isn’t allowed.”

Seokmin is only left able to stare at you, his hands feeling clammy as they still rest on your cheeks. His thumb brushes across your face, his own body heat making your skin hot to the touch. All he can do is chuckle, shaking his head at the predicament he’s found himself in before he’s looking back at you. “Okay. Fine. Is that it?”

“One last rule. No seeing other people without us talking about it first.”

‘Easy,’ Seokmin thinks, but he still has to play it cool.

Raising his eyebrows, a playful tone enters his voice as Seokmin asks, “So, we’re exclusive fuck buddies now?”

You roll your eyes. “Not exactly. It’s more of a safety thing, you know?”

“Yeah, I’ll pretend that you aren’t just keeping your jealousy in check.”

“Do we have a deal or not, Lee?”

You present your pinky finger in between you, a lighthearted ritual that holds the weight of the future of your relationship with Seokmin. It seems too lax for such a situation, but he knows this is as important to you as it is to him with the small appendage in front of him.

“Fine. Deal.”

hehe <3

[lovelessrage]

Loveless: A Loveless Review

[Plain Text: Loveless: A Loveless Review]

Trigger Warnings For: Discussion of sex, sex negativity, platonormativity, arophobic tropes, and anti-loveless rhetoric

Disclaimer/Disclosure: I couldn’t finish this book. This will factor heavily into the review, as it has to do with how some scenes, details, and the writing quality were just very hard to sit with and continue. I got about 50% through, so I didn’t just skim pages and get back to you on it.

You might guess I don’t think of this book highly if I had to put it down and stop reading. This would be correct. However, I have more in depth thoughts than that. If you like this book and don’t want to read negative things about it, that's fine, but I implore you to read it anyway. A lot of the problems in this book are present in a lot of creations I see and can be a valuable teaching lesson; loveless people aren’t out to ruin your fun because biases got questioned.

Alright. Enough disclaimers. Review under the cut.

The Bingo Card: Surprisingly, Not A Strikeout

People who have been following me for a while may remember I mentioned I went into reading this book with a bingo card in hand: Loveless and Tired Bingo, a sheet made by yours truly. I did not get Bingo with this book! I did, however, fill 17 spaces out of 25; it just didn’t happen to line up, not because the book passed with flying colors. We’ll return to the Bingo Card at the end of this post to see what it looked like. But, letting you know, that’s a rate of 68% of all squares ticked on Loveless and Tired Bingo. Not looking so hot. 

Platonormativity, Envy, and The Loneliness Whirlpool

Let’s start with the meat of the post so nobody has to read it all if they just wanted my representation opinions. Other things like writing will be shuffled down for your convenience.

Edit: Past Scowl is a liar and a fraud and did not have maims glasses on, and misread the bingo card! I did get Bingo. Oops. Point still stands because the data is the same, I just gave this book a sliver more credit than it deserved for not getting one.

If this book had a full course meal, normativity would ironically be a key ingredient in every plate on the menu. Loveless has a platonormativity problem that confronts you from page 1, more realistically before that; the blurb!

[Text ID: From the marvelous author of Heartstopper comes an exceptional YA novel about discovering that it's okay if you don't have sexual or romantic feelings for anyone... since there are plenty of other ways to find love and connection. /End ID]

I promise not all my complaints will be raving about one sentence, but this kinda encapsulates the entirety of my problem with Loveless: Georgia Warr is not supported in her own novel. Loveless is a deeply insecure book that many can relate to, but, really… does it alleviate that insecurity, or just cover it up? There’s an unspoken “but” to every part of Loveless’ philosophy about aspec people [especially aroaces], where they must have platonic love to make them whole, to “fix” and “redeem” their lacking attractions. This has always bothered me, and it’s not an uncommon opinion in the community, unfortunately.

Aroaces aren’t allowed to simply “be” – they must be more. They must be so platonically invested you forget they’re aroace, because they have all this other type of love to give the world. It’s reflective of a view on a community sourced from hurt and exclusion, of someone trying to rebuild their worth on a new forefront. It doesn’t make it less of what it is, though: it’s a “yes they’re valid, but” statement that serves as the backbone for far too many aspec-focused media. 

Georgia is a deeply unsure character, and there’s nothing wrong with her being this way; she’s a fictional character made to represent a journey of acceptance, not a real person with the ability to inflict harm on other real people. She does reflect the author’s biases in many ways and many points on the same token, though, acting as a mouthpiece. This often comes in Georgia’s insistence her friendships are simply stronger than other relationship types, as well as her reflexive tendencies to judge the friendless.

One of my many, many hurdles in this book had to do with Rooney [someone save her and half the cast from this novel, please], when the group realizes she’s only a socialite, not really a long-term relationship holder, and the entire room devolves into silent judgment. Georgia does not defend her newfound friend, simply noting she thought differently of her. What about Rooney not having many friends changes her outgoing personality? It doesn’t. It’s simply the fact that Rooney being friendless makes her weird, as with many things Rooney is unfairly demonized for in this novel.

The emphasis on friends doesn’t end here, and persists through the entire novel, practically. It is the main focus, when it isn’t talking about Georgia’s disinterests, and her friend circle is very important to her. All of this is fine. What isn’t fine is the expectation and casual enforcement of friendship being all you have, so you must seize it; this book, even though I wouldn’t recommend it, is often given as The Book on being aroace, but I wouldn’t agree [you’re free to tell me I can’t have an opinion on that if I’m not aroace, but at least read on before deciding anything, alright, official hear me out warning]. One, not all aroaces are alloplatonic, and two, this:

Why Is This Book Written Like A Workplace Safety Seminar

It’s a very… cookie-cutter way to be aroace, and cookie cutter aroaces exist in real life! The rep should exist, no doubt, and shouldn’t be taken away from anyone. It’s not my problem per se that the book is semi-stereotypical. What my problem is has to do with something I see a lot.

The book falls into many of the pitfalls of what I’m dubbing “the pamphlet effect”: when a novel, show, etc. continuously needs to halt the plot to remind the audience this character is different, and explains this to you in a way that resembles an educational pamphlet at a pride event. Georgia Barr feels like an example given to explain a concept more than a person, and I feel bad for her because of how little this book engages with her actual character when it shines through. I understand the book is primarily centered on her journey through the spectrum, but very little is given to make Georgia’s experience unique outside of one scene off the top of my head. Her interests, hobbies, and unique feelings only seem to play a role when it comes time to be an author mouthpiece on slutshaming for fun and sport; only one scene, the forced kiss with Jason when rehearsing the play, really blends her life experiences with her aroace experiences.

Georgia feels designed to be an everywoman, and it was very disappointing to say the least. Very little of the book actually feels like I’m with her, or learning about her unique take on being aroace as a theatre fan or young adult figuring things out; it just feels like Georgia [and the reader] are being dragged through the Cliff’s Notes version of what it is to discover being aroace, rather than a look at how a character like this might feel differently than others on a fuller, whole scale. She’s a hole that can fit most shapes into it, which makes her broadly relatable, but not as fun or engaging to read about if you don’t fit precisely in the demographic Georgia is for; even if you do, is there much to engage with beyond “I’m like that too!”? 

This isn’t just a Georgia problem, either, as many, many characters in this book are walking stereotypes or very flat. But, we’ll get into that later [if you want to get into it now, skip to Writing Problems, Oh My!].

The Fingering In The Room: Loveless’ Weird Ideas About Sex

Alright, if you’re sex repulsed and braved the storm to get some insight, this next paragraph is just complete confusion about this book’s sex scenes and talking about some of the details within. If you want to skip that, skip the next paragraph.

Why is everybody fingering each other? Fingering is fine and it feels good, but it is basically the only sexual act this book knows outside of making out with tongue. Someone having sex in Loveless? They better have clipped their nails because at least two are going in. It feels like a point of research that was skipped because it was unimportant, which. Pretty much, yes. But when you’re someone who pays very close attention to sex scenes because you’re of the opinion they can have artistic value, as well as conveying the author’s views on sexuality, I come away with “is fingering what Oseman thinks young adults do?”. Anyways. Something I noticed.

[Okay sex repulsed people, you’re good. No in depth descriptions beyond this point, just the word “sex”.]

I should’ve titled this section “In Defense of Rooney Bach” because oh this poor girl. Oh you are just there to be gawked at.

First off, let’s begin in a good place: this book always has to clarify it isn’t slutshaming its characters, followed by slutshaming its characters. Rooney is, for the uninitiated, very sexually active. Georgia’s envy often leads to a judgemental, close minded view of Rooney that often pins her sex life as “too much” – something many sexually active women get villainized for. It strikes me immediately how Rooney is constantly picked on for her sexuality as a woman in ways no male characters who aren’t asexual either are treated. None of the men she flirts with or spends time with are reprimanded or “held to account” by the book; Rooney alone is breaking the rules. Rooney’s descriptions are often bookended with a disclaimer that she isn’t being called a slut, she’s just like one, which… This is slutshaming. You can’t just say you aren’t doing it to not be doing it.

Rooney is also a victim of a very arophobic trope, and one that is also misogynistic: the Broken Woman. Why is Rooney sexually active? A rough breakup that broke her heart and makes her fear intimacy on account of potentially being wrong again. Sure, sex feels good, but explicit focus is made on the fact she is only not engaging with romance because she tried and it didn’t work. For a few chapters, admittedly I was hoping for a book where an aroace and aroallo can get past some differences and expand each other's worldviews; what I got was Georgia thinking pretty poorly of Rooney through unaddressed envy and sex negativity, and Rooney being made to only like hookups because she’s messed up. Because of course a woman could only enjoy that if she had a negative experience that forced her on the path!

Also, another scene I didn’t like was Georgia and Pip watching Rooney have sex while she is completely unaware of their presence? Jason leaves as soon as he notices, but the two of them watch before Pip makes a comment on how disgusting it is and Georgia agrees. I’m shocked at how little this is brought up as being violating or creepy. 

If it was a better book, I would have expected it to result in some kind of furthered conversation about boundaries; it could've been a place for Georgia to start establishing what she likes and dislikes, starting with Rooney preferably keeping her out of her sex life when she’s able. Instead, this event gets brought up solely for jokes, and for a motivation for Pip to start hating Rooney, despite her insistence it wasn't because of the hookup and she isn’t slutshaming. Always a great sign when that needs to be clarified. This is a PSA for everyone: you should not need to clarify you aren’t trying to slutshame. If you feel the need to do so, you are probably being sex negative. 

This book isn’t very fond of sexually active people, nor is it kind to characters that are. I can understand why being asexual and sex repulsed is representation people would want, but I also think there’s many, many ways to write it without making it an exercise in shame.

Ironically Kinda Arophobic In Some Parts

This is a short section of a thing I noticed, hated, and had as a contributing factor for my ending early: this book loves aphobic tropes. There’s already the trope against aroallos of not needing romance because of being broken into only liking sex, but also the problem with Pip and Rooney.

I’m a lesbian, for clarification, and I’m saying from experience that I hate the archetype of the angry, jealous lesbian. It’s everywhere. It’s in this book. Pip, upon even the idea of being rejected, starts berating and demeaning the girl who turned her down, even if she was only turned down in her head. The book passes it off as a lighthearted, funny story that Pip got so mad at an ex-crush she was suspended for throwing an apple at their head. Why do I bring this up?

Is it not ringing any bells that this is arophobic? That a character so hostile to romantic rejection is treated as a joke? Many, many aros, and queer people in general, have experienced violence for turning down someone. It’s a serious issue for aros and a real fear in rejecting someone. I found it incredibly hard to read and sit through as everybody passes off Pip’s tendencies to do this to the women that reject her as a silly, funny Pip moment and not a major issue for the aspec community. I don’t care if it’s enemies to lovers, because it doesn’t really feel good to read at all. The only tension is built off the back of something I’ve experienced in real life and many others have as well. 

Lovelessness: The Insecurity Unaddressed

This book, despite its title, is obviously about a loving character. Many people might not see this as a problem: first off, loveless doesn’t always mean the same thing, and second, many aroaces express feeling loveless when coming to terms with their identity. Here’s my rebuttal.

One: Georgia fits no definitions of the label. She subscribes to none of the beliefs. She loves her friends actively and sees their relationship as more than romance or sex, as something greater to her.

Second, this is because anti-loveless rhetoric is everywhere and all over this book. Not once is it suggested Georgia could live as loveless, or truly be without love. In the end, she is surrounded by it, simply learning to accept friendship instead. The way her insecurity isn’t met with “you’re complete as you are”, and instead with “you can still be complete if you simply fill the void with friends”, is anti-loveless. Nobody is allowed to be whole on their own without a subplot where their doubts are reinforced or they’re explicitly made to be broken inside.

This is shockingly common, and always sad every time I see it. Many aspects fear being loveless, as if it is a curse or blight they must cleanse. This book is one example out of many, but it doesn’t make it less hurtful when a book that runs against everything your community stands for [self-acceptance and the optionality of love] bears your name regardless. It is a book for people who are afraid of loneliness, and it answers their insecurities with “you’re right. You do need other people. You just need to find a way to still find and have a life partner!”. This is damaging to loveless people, especially those questioning an aplatonic identity.

Again, it’s not unique to Loveless. But, it’s reflective of a broader issue of aplatonics who may be seeking community constantly being presented with “you ARE broken, but friendship can fix you!”, a “solution” many can’t use, and often leads to even more self-hatred.

That’s about it from the aspec side of things. If you got this far, congrats! The rest is opinions on the writing, and the bingo card finale. You can drop off here if that’s all you came for.

Writing Problems, Oh My!

This is veering into heavy personal opinion, so, I will remind you: I don’t usually like YA, but YA can be a very good genre! I do not think this book is a good representation of what good YA looks like.

The writing quality is one of the hardest things to get past, because of a major problem I observed: Oseman is better at comics. This isn’t so much a vilification as a recommendation that it would’ve been much better suited for a different type of media. This kind of “media dysphoria” is present in many of the ways the book operates: many scenes would flow perfectly well in a visual piece. Georgia’s inner monologue has a tendency to jump suddenly into scenes and interrupt the action in a way that would be perfectly natural as a narration bubble put over a drawing of the scene around her. There are entire pages of just… text messages that would be much better suited to a visual medium where you could make these dialogue bits look much more interesting through different shots, or drawing what the background would look like on a screen [The Girl from the Sea does this well, for example]. 

There’s also the fact I cannot place in my mind if I'm too old for this novel. A lot of the jokes boil down to “hah! Sex!” in a way that instantly alienates me from the writing. The jokes can be pretty juvenile and repetitive, and serve to be the equivalent of a comedian saying “eh? Get it? That was a joke.” six times. 

This isn’t to mention the fact many of these characters are complete cardboard. Sorry. Jason does not need to exist. When he appears in a scene, he is ignored or completely leaves it on his own. He really only serves to drive Georgia’s character forward, rather than have one of his own. I found myself forgetting he was present in a scene at all until he spoke again and reminded me of his existence. The book would practically be unchanged if Georgia temporarily dated Pip and Jason was never a factor, plus or minus the Shakespeare Soc plot. 

Many interesting characters suffer from severe Pamphlet Effect syndrome. Most of the girls do. In a better novel, they would be more in depth, but Loveless doesn’t really afford them this luxury. I need to take the girls very far away from this novel, okay. I need someone to write a version of Loveless where they have personalities. There’s crumbs there. Please, someone make a loaf of bread out of it. They deserve it.

Another thing, but minor: the breakneck pacing at some points followed by slow slogs of not a lot happening contributes to the reading issues. You may thing something would be dwelled on, just for it to go flying away into the sunset as 3 more things happen and then one problem lasts for 2 chapters. I found it very hard to catch up with Loveless, while other parts I felt like I was constantly waiting for it to catch up with me instead.

The Final Frontier: The Bingo Card Returns

And without further ado, the Loveless and Tired Bingo Card for Loveless by Alice Oseman! Completed with help from other readers braver than I.

[Image ID: A bingo card made from a basic template. It has no title, and all the text is black on a white background. Some squares are marked with a blue X, while others are marked with a red scribble. The marked squares are: “Not prioritizing friendship treated as freak behaviour”, “Jab at loveless sex thrown in”, “Something about not being like THOSE people”, “Universal type of love is laid on thick”, “The answer to all your problems is finding some pals”, “Found family ending”, “Platonic-romantic binary”, “Love still treated as universal [free]”, “Friendship is more wholesome or pure”, “Amatonormativity BAD [platonormativity is my bestie]”, “Platonic love being more powerful or sumn”, “You still love your friends though, right?”, “Friendship saves the day”, “Still thinks you need dedicated people to survive”, “Being alone treated as worst thing in the world”, and “Friendships are more stable than partnerships anyways”. The unmarked, blank squares are: “Something about "players" and pickup artists where no commitment is villainized”, “Character fears being loveless and is kinda aplphobic about it”, “Aspec double standards [one is normal, one is weird]”, “You still love your FAMILY, right???”, “QPRs mentioned by no nuance given to their diversity”, “Friendship forced upon a character against their will”, “Comment about some people being inhuman gets brushed past”, and “Simply prioritise your family instead!!” /End ID]

Would I recommend this book? Uh. No! Well. Yes, but not as a good book for aspecs. I’d recommend it solely to read it yourself and form your own opinions. But, no, I would not recommend it to any aspecs I know, especially not loveless ones, aplatonic ones, aroallos, or if they're an aroace looking for support.

Ah, Loveless, how you vexx me. Never again. See you in the next, much shorter post.

[sevensinswithin]

Okay so to everyone who was here for the original post, here’s basically how Alicent and Laenor get married in my lavender marriage au:

The entire thing starts because Alicent catches Laenor and Joffrey fucking in a secluded part of the castle a few weeks before Aemma dies. The boys only realize they’ve been caught because Alicent runs away from them like her ass is on fire. That girl had no idea gay male sex was an option in life and now needs to reevaluate everything in her life after catching them.

Laenor then spends the next few weeks trying to find a way to get her alone because guess what. Fucking in a secluded but also public area is not a good strategy if you want to keep your gay love affair a secret. So now Laenor is hoping to convince Alicent to stay quiet about what she saw because his dad seems to think he'll grow out of it (do not attack me, this literally happens in canon) and he doesn’t want anyone to know yet since it might impact who he’ll get married to eventually. Meanwhile Alicent is desperately trying to forget that she ever saw anything and doesn’t tell Otto about seeing Laenor and Joffrey because let's be real. This man said “childhood companions” like it was a slur in that one scene, so she knows that her father would do something with this information. Alicent does not want to be the reason Joffrey and Laenor are in trouble for their relationship. Nevermind that she’s suddenly having the realization that women liking women isn’t that far of a stretch after all.

Unfortunately, to everyone else in the world, it looks like Laenor is trying to court her and that Alicent is just trying to be very polite about his interest in her since she never wants to be alone in a room with him unless they’re around other people. Which is something that is totally normal and not weird at all. Why would you say otherwise?

Then Aemma dies and Otto sends her to see Viserys in his room and Alicent is now very stressed about something else in her life because she wants to do what her father says, but she also doesn’t want to betray Rhaenyra.

So during those six months after Aemma dies - which is apparently how much times passes between Aemma’s death and when Viserys decides to marry Alicent according to a HOTD article I read - Alicent, like in canon, is sent by her father to Viserys’ chambers and desperately hopes that her father’s ambitions won’t happen and that Viserys will simply see her as person that is supporting him in his grief.

(Life Hack: If you ever want to read an article and it says you have to make an account to read the rest of it, just go back to the google page you found it on, right click the link, and save the link as an HTML document. That lets you read the article without having to make an account. I found this out from someone on the internet and damn did it help when I wanted to access any account restricted article. Anyways, back to the plot.)

So to counteract that and make it so she’s less appealing to Viserys, Alicent always mentions Laenor and how fond of him she is during their talks. She also mentions how worried she is about Rhaenyra and her position as heir because there seems to be so many people that seem to be under the impression that they can replace her by having Viserys marry one of their daughters and convince him change his heir to one of the possible children he might have with those daughters.

Meanwhile, Laenor is absolutely losing his mind because all of a sudden Alicent is always around him and receptive to interacting with him, even though literally weeks before she avoided being around him like the plague. During this she also manages to wring out of him the fact that his parents (mainly Corlys, let's be real) are talking about potentially marrying Laena to Viserys and that he hates that idea as she’s way too young in his eyes for that. Eventually Alicent manages to find a way to be alone with Laenor and make him swear to secrecy about what she'll tell him because telling anyone might mean that his sister will actually have to marry Viserys. He does and she fills him in on what her father wants and what she’s attempting to do, and that she needs his cooperation to get him to at least appear like they’re courting.

So Alicent and Laenor put up the appearance that they’re at least attracted to each other to get people talking, which totally doesn’t ignite jealousy in Rhaenyra at the idea of Alicent being in love with her cousin. Cue Rhaenyra absolutely doing everything in her power to make Laenor appear like a loser to Alicent and the rest of the court. Alicent makes sure to get her to stop that shit real quick and tells Rhaenyra that she and Laenor are only pretending to be in love in order to avoid having to marry someone that would disrespect Laenor’s preference for men and disregard Alicent’s autonomy. Alicent also mentions that possibly marrying Laenor means that Alicent and Rhaenyra will be allowed to see each other very frequently as she will be Laenor’s wife and the Velaryons are often at court since they are related to the royal family. So now they have Rhaenyra on board.

Eventually the night before that one small council meeting where in canon Viserys announces that he’ll marry Alicent, Alicent “confesses” to Viserys that she’s in love with Laenor and that she wants to marry him, but that her father would never allow Alicent to marry Laenor because he and Lord Corlys dislike each other. She also lets it “slip” that Otto is very adamant that Viserys must have a male heir despite the fact that Rhaenyra has already been made heir, and that he sees Alicent as a potential bride for Viserys despite her unwillingness to marry her best friend’s father. She also sprinkles in the fact that Rhaenyra would be devastated at the idea of her father remarrying, especially if the bride in question were her best friend or even her little cousin (Yeah fuck you Corlys, you’re on thin ice for that and the grow out of it comment), and the fact that surely his wife would want him to defend his daughter’s claim to the Iron Throne from potential usurpers, which is something that would definitely happen if he had a son.

This causes Viserys to absolutely lose his shit, but Alicent calms him down and he sends her away from his chambers. However, not before Viserys hints that he would not dissolve a marriage between a highborn lady and lord if they eloped and consummated the marriage. So instead of heading straight to her rooms, Alicent instead books it to Laenor’s chambers. The two of them run off to a sept and convince a septon to marry them with a few commoners as their witnesses because they can’t take any nobles in fear of being stopped (and to also have the commoners spread the fact that Alicent and Laenor eloped). Then she and Laenor head off to Laenor’s chambers to consummate the marriage with the help of Joffrey, who they had stay in Laenor’s chambers so that no one would get him in trouble or notice that he was in the room with them during the consummation, and to have Alicent stay over so that people could catch them together in the morning and spread the news of her “ruined reputation”.

The next morning Laena bursts into Laenor’s chambers like she always does and “catches” them before running off to tell Rhaenys the way all little siblings do. So then Rhaenys and Corlys show up, as does Otto; he caught wind of the situation through a servant he paid off to spy on the Velaryons. Once there Otto starts shaming Alicent about her ruined reputation and Laenor retorts that she didn’t ruin anything as he married her before he bedded her. Otto then explodes at the pair when Laenor says that and Corlys rushes to defend his son against all the stuff Otto is saying and threatening him with.

Eventually their argument gets so loud that a servant rushes to get Viserys and a few guards since they’re afraid that the two lords will resort to violence. Trailing after them is Rhaenyra and the Small Council, as the meeting was supposed to start half an hour ago but certain people were missing and needed to be found. So now the entire Small Council, Rhaneyra, and Viserys are at the doorway of Laenor’s room while a furious Otto and Corlys trade insults. Meanwhile Rhaenys sees how afraid Alicent and Laenor are and rushes to the pair’s defense (because they need someone in their corner that isn’t shaming the other party), saying that perhaps the two wouldn’t have resorted to eloping if Otto and Corlys weren't always at odds. Seeing the King, Otto rushes to demand that he have the septon reverse the marriage, but Viserys reveals that he knows about Otto’s plan to make Alicent marry him and how he knows that she wished to marry Laenor instead. He then fires Otto from being Hand and sends him packing to Oldtown, approving of Laenor and Alicent’s marriage as a final insult to Otto. He also firmly informs the small council that he will not be getting remarried, that Rhaenyra will remain his heir, and that anyone who objects otherwise is speaking of treason.

So there you go, the outline for a story that I’m most likely going to write in non-linear bits. In this world Alicent is Lady of Driftmark, Laenor and Joffrey get to be happy, and Viserys prioritizes making sure that Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne is secure. Also somewhere down the line in this universe Rhaenyra and Alicent get their shit together and realize they’re in love with each other, and Rhaenyra gets to marry Harwin because Daemon never takes her to the brothel and so she gets to pick her husband and be the polyamorous bi queen we all love.

[acupofcappuccino]

Reading Together with Dr. Ratio.

wc. around 800. an. this is my first post here!! i hope its alright :3 reblogs and likes are super appreciated!

__________________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

┊ ⋆ ┊ . ┊ ┊

┊ ┊⋆ ┊ .

┊ ┊ ⋆˚         

✧. ┊         

⋆ ★

The phonograph set near the door spins endlessly, letting out a soft classical tune as the several candles illuminate the dark room around you. Your eyes wander around to the many bookshelves set around, alongside the neat desk set in the middle, near the large window in the back of the room, and a couple of stacks of papers lying on top, alongside an open letter, and a couple of quills.

“Stop looking away from the page. Focus on actually reading it instead.” Ratio mutters as he nudges your side, clearly disliking the fact that you keep on getting distracted. “That’s the reason why you’re here with me in the first place. Is this not what you asked for? To read with me?” He says. “You’re lucky I even visited this space station at all.”

He really wants to finish this book, doesn’t he?

His nose scrunches up as he glares down at you. “I already know what you’re thinking.” He seems irritated at your expression, making you notice the subconscious, amused smile growing on your face. “Of course I’d like to finish reading this chapter.” Ah, as always. He knows everything that’s going on in your head. How does a genius tolerate an average person like you?

“Hush yourself, and read.”

You nudge him back, as if to encourage him to turn the page, and he rolls his eyes as he does so.

“Have you actually been really reading it?” You nod yes to his question, and scan over the words on the page as you read through them. It’s a bit odd to read from this angle, and since he didn’t want you to hold the book, you have to sort of peer over his arms to do so. He notices the discomfort on your face and sighs loudly, somewhat annoyed.

“Here, this’ll make it easier to read for you.” Ratio grumbles, pushing and scooting himself to your side as he grasps your hand roughly, forcing you to grab the left side of the book, while he holds the right. “Now, continue to read.”

It takes you a moment to process what just happened, and you peer up at him to see his face. His warmth feels so nice against you.

“What?” There’s that little frown on his face that pops up everytime he’s embarrassed, though he’ll never admit that to anyone. Not even you. “Just-” He scoffs. “Just read.” He glares down at you, gritting his teeth together as he pushes the last words out. “The book.” Bet he wishes he had on his alabaster head piece.

After a couple minutes of silence, besides the occasional “You read too slow.” and “May you hurry up, so I can flip the page?”, you sigh and lean your head on his shoulder, just finishing up the page after his pestering you to do so. His eyes wander over to your hand, gently caressing the previous page with your thumb, as he holds the other side of the book.

“Are you ready for me to turn the page?” He says, his voice suddenly soft as he flicks his thumb under, ready to flip it. You nod, and he swiftly turns to the next page, catching the next page under your thumb as his eyes trail off you, and onto the words sprawled out on the paper.

After a couple of seconds, he speaks. “How do you like it so far?” He asks, turning his head to look at you, as you do the same. He honestly does look prettier up close. “Is it a bore to you?” It’s impossible to not notice how nice he looks in the candlelight, his amber eyes gazing right into you, awaiting your response.

Now that you think about it, it’s not too bad.

“... Is that so?” He processes your answer for a moment, and a small smile grows on him. “If you’d like, I could buy a copy of this book for you.” Ratio seems happy at your enjoyment of said book, but you shake your head at his offer, and his smile falters. “Why not?”

It’s a simple reason, really. If you had your own copy…

Now, there would be no reason to read it with him like this. And that's no fun.

Ratio looks away from you instantly as soon as your words pour out, letting out a small, long sigh as he focuses all of his attention on the book in front of you two. “What a foolish answer.” But even an idiot can notice the growing blush on his face, the nervous frown forming on his soft lips, the way he keeps fidgeting with the next page, anxiously waiting so he can flip to the next one, and take his mind off his growing embarrassment for you.

Well, who’d known this genius would’ve felt so strongly for you? He can’t even hide his embarrassment and shame.

“How ignorant can one person be…”

[lunareel]

I know everyone seems more interested mario and luigi's relationship in 'mario and the phantom' au but I really wanna know/see more of Luigi and the shy-guys or Luigi and Peach.

I'm a very big fan of the whole 'taken in as one of their own' trope, and unlike with peach who like, doesn't remember her original family or human society and culture, Luigi does, which I feel makes the relationship between him and his adopted family and like place in the whimsical mushroom kingdom world even more interesting to delve into

I'm gonna hijack this ask, because when I was answering this, it ended up touching upon the problems I have faced in my writing and I want to keep you guys on the same page.

Originally, this was going to be under keep reading, but screw it. I don't want anyone to miss this. Because I have made major screw ups trying to make this comic while also learning a lot.

I swear this ends in good news. Just read through it first.

For the ask:

All three are very good in their own right. Personally, the one I'm most excited to show is Princess Peach and Luigi. I have it written to where they have two main chapters where they team up. One of them is Luigi and Peach tackling the TTYD adventure together and the other I am keeping a surprise! I'm only mentioning the TTYD one because I did spoil that in a previous ask. (Listen I'd like to have some surprises.)

I also have a script covering that exact topic where the two of them have a discussion on Mario's warp pipe and their respective feelings on their original homes. I haven't drawn it yet because I keep going back and forth whether it should be a standalone comic or in the main story. As I could see it working for either.

The shy guys, I actually would like to do a few standalone comics focusing on Luigi's early life with them. Specifically, I want to focus on his adventures and him dealing with King Wart who while he will not appear in the main comic has a pretty big impact on how Mr. L's reputation came to be. I currently have two of those comics story boarded which reveals this tidbit.

For Mario's relationship to Luigi, while that is very important to the comic it is not the only thing I want to focus on. I am not sure how many have noticed but for the header of the last short for this au where Peasley was featured I called it "The Phantom" instead of Mario and the Phantom as I realized while working on it, its been going more into Luigi's adventures with different characters. And I was worried by having Mario's name in the title would suggest he gets an even amount of focus. Don't worry the tag for this comic is staying the same though, not changing that tag for a third time, just don't want to mislead people when it is not solely focused on those two.

What I have learned writing this/experience so far:

I have learned a lot while working on this both good and bad. My initial goal was to have everything written first, then I go into story boarding, then cleanup and then posting. This way I could post pages weekly. I was thinking to myself "Yeah this would be the most efficient way to make this and it gets a nice schedule for it."

Oh man, I have never been more wrong in my life. I have learned that writing this has hit a lot of issues I've had with perfectionism which has led to causing personal issues I've had with myself to resurface. Like hot damn I did not foresee this at all.

It has been so frustrating working on this. More so in that I'm writing, and I say I'm writing it, but I still don't have anything to show because well it's just in the writing stage. Since I set the goal for myself to have everything written before I draw anything. Which has not worked out for me at all. What has happened is that I have been writing and writing, but then I end up going "Well, this doesn't feel good enough" so then I rewrite it, or worse I just straight up delete it. Then I begin to feel even worse because I have lost more progress than I have made. And there has been at least a month or two where I just stare at the document, start writing and then delete everything I have done because I am just so embarrassed and ashamed I don't have anything to show yet. So it feels like in a way I'm lying being like "Hey I am working on this, I can't show anything yet but I am working on it." But that's the problem, I just have text not an actual comic to show which leads back into the loop of being angry at myself for not having anything posted yet.

And I'm writing this to explain why it's been a while with no physical updates to show for this. Because when I make progress, I start to think it's not good enough or I don't like xyz about this thing so I scrap it and restart all over again. No joke I have four different documents all covering different scripts for the same chapter.

I ended up talking to my therapist about this comic because of how angry I have gotten with myself for this comic. Of how I just keep rewriting and rewriting and I don't get anything just done, because I keep telling myself I need everything completely written and done before I can start drawing.

I had no clue that working on this comic would bring up so many of my old perfectionist and somewhat destructive tendencies.

I know you're reading this and thinking, uhhh didn't you say this has good news. Yes it does, it has good news and here it comes.

My therapist has been working with me to find a better way to tackle my problems with writing. So that I'm not hacking and slashing at everything I make and so that there is at least something there to show. So that I can keep this comic fun (and safe) for me and share it with you guys!

Instead of writing everything all at once and having every single little thing done before drawing. I am going to just start tackling it by finishing the script of one chapter stop my writing there and instead of writing the next chapter I start drawing the chapter that I just finished. Then when that is done I start working on the next script. I really should've been doing this in the beginning, but you know first time doing this gotta learn somehow.

And so far I finally have a one main chapter script I am actually happy with. Which I have not felt for any of my other scripts.

Which leads me to announce that later this month (or early to mid August if life happens you just never know) the prologue chapter for this comic will be shared!! And I am so excited for this and I really hope you guys enjoy it! Going to be starting its story boards later this week.

I do want to make it clear though that this means that there will be gaps of time where the next chapter isn't shared yet (also let me be very clear when I say gaps of time it could be MONTHS, I have school, work and life along side writing this comic). I don't want to mislead anyone when I say that.

I am still figuring out whether or not to share the entire chapter in one go or just share it page by page, and how many panels is adequate for one page.

I'm trying to remind myself that this comic should be fun first and foremost and for this past year it has been fluctuating on that, but I'm still going. I'm doing a round two for how I tackle this. I am truly sorry that I didn't share this about writing this comic sooner and that it is taking me so freaking long. I have been so embarrassed and angry for just how long it has taken me to show anything for this.

So thank you guys for waiting and being patient with me. I have never done a long chapter by chapter comic before and I look forward to seeing where this goes.

I hope you guys will tune in for when I post the prologue later this month.❤️

[filmtv2022]

To The Bitter End:

The Meeting of a Lifetime (Extra Scene)

Series Masterlist (It is 18+ as a whole... even though this part isn't)

Synopsis: This scene occurs right before Doc and Y/N share a quiet moment on the porch after meeting for the first time. Doc, Wyatt, and Y/N share drink and laughter together, and for the first time in a long time, John and Y/N feel alive.

Warnings: Language + drinking + smoking + spoilers? (It connects right into the rest of the story, but I think anyone could probably read this and be okay)

A/N: Well, it's been nearly two years since I posted To The Bitter End, and I haven't stopped thinking about it. I went back and read it again, and I have to say, I'm so unbelievably proud of that story. With that being said, recently a few ideas for extra scenes popped into my head for this story, and I thought... why not write them for others to enjoy (hopefully). As always, I apologize for any errors! Also, I'll put the stupid page break in once Tumblr gets it shit together! :)

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

Passing the bottle of whiskey across the table to Wyatt you could feel the impending lull in conversation. Maybe it was the alcohol loosening your tongue or perhaps it was the mesmerizing smirk that played across your guest’s face, but you just couldn’t help yourself, “So, John, you said you’re a doctor. Of what exactly?” 

Wyatt tucked in his drink, falling silent as his focus darted between you and John. Not yet worried, but also unwilling to relax. He’d seen you take a conversation a step to far one too many times to be comfortable. 

“Dentistry,” John sipped at his drink, hearing your murmured hum of incredulity he continued on, “I sense skepticism. Care to enlighten me as to why?” 

“How perceptive,” Clearing your throat, you tossed back the rest of your whiskey, “It's just that you don’t strike me as a man who’s willing to settle down. Which I assume would be necessary to have a thriving practice. I truly have a hard time picturing you like that… a white coat covering your fine suit and tie, no gun in your holster, and only patient after patient to occupy your mind. It doesn’t add up. You’re an intellectual, I’ll give ya that. A businessman, sure. But one to call any place home longer than absolutely necessary… never. You, John Holliday, are a wanderer. I can see it in your eyes."

Doc remained quiet as you reached for the bottle, and poured yourself another. There was something in his gaze as it remained fixed to yours. A dark haze belied his base nature, but for John, it was the distinct feeling of you peeling back the layers of his cultured facade as easily as breathing that terrified and intrigued him the most. Trapped in your aura, he finished his own drink, letting the glass thud on the thick wooden table before inhaling deeply from his cigar, “And you darlin’… are as dangerous as they come.” 

“Perhaps,” you chewed the inside of your lip, tugging your features into a sly smile, “And yet, what does man, such as yourself, have to fear of little ol’ me?” 

“Everything,” John’s tone was serious and steady, and yet nothing in his response could hide the way you drew him in. 

You clung to his every move, tracking the minute changes in his countenance. The pull of his lips, the bob of his throat… the hitch of his lungs. It felt as though there were no secrets between you at this moment, and it thrilled you.

“Smart answer, Mr. Holliday,” the uncomfortable grit of Wyatt’s cough broke the trance, “Now where were we? Ah, that's right we were discussing my brother's propensity to find himself embroiled in less than lawful activities from which he cannot extricate himself without help despite being a legendary lawman. That's precisely what we were talking about, care to elaborate Wyatt?”

“You're a downright menace, you know that?” Wyatt's huffed chuckle assured you that no offense had actually been taken.

“Yes, I’m well aware. And who do we have to blame for that?” you brought your glass up and took a deep swig of the amber liquid, “Because truthfully, I’m not sure what you expect of me after bein’ cooped up in this hell hole of a tinder box all day while you go off galavanting as some goddamn hero of the wild west. But again, I am glad you aren’t dead. I don’t know what the hell I’d do without ya. Quite honestly, I’m afraid I’d be joining you six feet under when Virg and Morgan got a hold of me ‘cause somehow I’d be blamed for your death.”

“Jesus Christ, Y/N you can't say shit like that.”

“I can… and I will,” smirking at Wyatt you couldn’t help, but swell with pride at the sound of John’s laughter. Joining in the levity, your tone was light and airy as you spoke, “Now if you don’t mind. I’m going to get some air.” 

Despite opening the open windows, the room had grown stuffy with heat from the fire & smoke from the men’s cigars.

Needing a small break for fresh air you excused yourself to the front porch. Wyatt took advantage of the moment to go seek out yet another bottle of whiskey as you all had worked your way through the first. 

The air had cooled substantially from this afternoon and sent goosebumps running over your skin. But you didn’t care, the clean, crisp scent of the air was exactly what you needed to clear your head. There on the porch, staring out into the vast nothingness ahead of you, the palpable tension you felt in your body began to dim. Losing a loved one was something that scared you through and through, and realizing how close you’d come to that today put your nerves on high. The creak of the door opening had you turning your head back to see who had joined you. You were pleasantly surprised to see John making his way towards you. Laying your palms on the wooden railing in front of you, you closed your eyes & and let your head fall back a little as you inhaled deeply. The scent of the night air mixed with another, one that over time you’d realize was distinctly John. It was a perfect mix of whiskey, smoke & sweat. It filled your lungs sweetly bringing with it a feeling of peace. 

You could feel him stop behind you, only a few inches separated the two of you. The pair of you stood there for a moment in silence. Your eyes were still closed allowing your body to relax. John on the other hand was fixated on you. His eyes mapped your face, trying to commit every beautiful feature to memory. His gaze landed finally on your lips, and the longer John stared the more difficult it became for him to refrain from leaning down to kiss you. A small gust of wind blew over the porch causing you to shiver slightly. Without thinking John removed his jacket & placed it over your shoulders before rubbing his hands along your upper arms in an attempt to warm you. Sighing with contentment, you leaned your body back until you met his frame. The skirt of your light yellow dress blew in the wind wrapping itself around John.

Opening your eyes you turned your head to look up at John.

“Thank you. Thank you for keeping him safe.”

“Anything for you darlin’ ” 

It was here on this night that the invisible string that would tie you two together had started to form.

[banavalope]

Hello, I'm a Homestuck and Good Omens fan and just saw your post about coffee. I came to the Homestuck fandom way late, though, and don't know what the coffee theory was. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share that story from the trenches if it's not too traumatic :)

I'll preface by saying, this all happened near about the time I began to step away from Homestuck, as this was late 2011 to early 2012. My recollection could very well be missing some juicier deets, because I always managed to avoid the worst of it. In all I had a pretty benign time floating about the Homestuck fandom, I'll say that. My knowledge is as a fly's.

If you want the short version: once upon a time, the Homestuck fandom was so stupid it had discourse over the way coffee was drawn in a single panel, because the stylistic choice used to show the way cheap potted coffee has that oil slick sheen on the top Really got the gamerz thinking Gamzee was putting troll blood in the coffee.

The long version is this: this Act was annoying. All the Acts had been annoying, there'd been rather more than six of them so far. The fandom's toxicity was at its most potent, and the main fandom exodus hadn't happened yet. But the stylistic choice brewing on page 4702 of A6I2 suggested a discourse was on the horizon, and it was the size of planet fucking Jupiter.

To understand the affairs of 2011/12 Homestucks, a few things are important to mention: first, nobody enjoyed Act 6. Ask anyone from the tumblr era First Wave, we all agreed that Cascade would have been a better place to start wrapping up the comic as a whole. When Act 6 opened introducing the alpha kids, a whole new plot derivative, and we all realized we'd have to go through the same slog again, that the story wasn't over, the collective exhaustion was palpable. SWATHS left unhappy; worse yet (for some), the alpha kids brought us away from the game of SBURB and the over-aching plot, to instead place our focus on their interpersonal relationships. It was a bad time to take your audience away from a well crafted climax.

Reading it now as a completed work makes this not so bad, because the book is wrote. You can consume it as a finished piece and clearly interpret a through line for yourself, start to finish. Skip it even, if you want. When you've no idea at what time the next update will come, while all the pieces remain necessary to tell the story, any pacing is bad pacing.

Second, while Homestucks are known for many things - all of them cringe - the one that goes overlooked most, in spite of the ripple effect we still feel from it today in every corner, is the sheer amount of over analyzing done to the story itself. Every panel, every inch of every pixel, was a part of a puzzle we all collectively made up. Theorizing was an integral part to the Update Culture era of Homestuck's fandom, that we Figure Out the Story, you had to be the one who predicted what came next. Impressive how none of us came up with some kind of fandom Nobel Peace Prize, for how much we lauded it as a lifetime achievement.

I'll give you, Homestuck does have a very rich narrative. Much of it, I'll favor, is even intentional. It made worldbuilding choices captivating enough to get people painting themselves grey, for fun, so surely it had a few right ideas in some places. And there's nothing wrong about analyzing your media, picking apart its references to tie together a background story, even if it's just one you make up based on how you experienced reading it. That's kind of the whole point of consuming art. It's to be discussed, share your personal conclusions on. Theory is the breath of creativity.

It's the whole part about wanting to be right, where Homestucks as a collective force wanted to start eating each other alive on the spot. We were fucking OBNOXIOUS with theory posting. I'll be honest with you, I really ate that kind of thing up, and even I was getting annoyed. People were beginning to stretch, likely to cope with becoming bored.

Finally, the sober Gamzee controversy. This came about a while before coffeegate, but the effect the inciting update had on Homestucks is comparable to a haunting. It was fucking chernobyl, and a bad day to be a nuclear scientist because now it was your problem. Vriska fans - equally insufferable, as we all were by some respect[1] - and Gamzee fans fought with each other VEHEMENTLY, just to see whos gang was better. Keep that in the background of your mind as the theme music to what's playing. Everyone was anxiously wondering what had happened to Gamzee, because for the last several some-odd panels, we'd lost the boy. He was full of murderous intent, we were down to precious few characters on the meteor left, and we'd lost the boy.

So here we are. It's 2011. We're standing now at the end of the world, we've lost the boy for several panels, and finally the plot is trying to move along. We're all tired, and irritated, and divorced, doing this song and dance one more time but god willing the LAST TIME, when a joke about the look of shitty potted coffee gets made.

And some harbinger of the fucking apocalypse takes to tumblr dot com, drafting up a post about how Gamzee - living in the meteor walls - is putting troll blood into the coffee. Because, otherwise, how is Kanaya as a rainbow drinker doing so fine? Dave called the taste metallic, like blood. Something something long forgotten theories about trolls blood here something something. People would chime in to say "that's just how coffee looks", somehow it dissolved into actual discourse of people violently discussing back and forth how it could ONLY BE BLOOD, because coffee drawn in a prior panel UPDATES AGO didn't have the film on top, only now AFTER SOBER GAMZEE. Etcetera. It was just the worst case of reading too hard into something that you done ever did see.

Shortly following this, many people who were already growing exhausted with Homestuck's narrative direction at this point decided to take this coffee theory as their sign the flood was coming and to board the ark or learn how to swim. Anyone who learned to swim subsequently left during the exodus of 2015.

Again, my memory is pretty hazy. Thanks to Requiem Cafe, surprisingly difficult to google these days. Certainly another old still following me will have something more to add that I'm forgetting, as your handy dandy unreliable narrator.

[1] Said the Eridan fan.

[no-passaran]

I had been hoping for a good alternative to the Amazon-owned Goodreads for a while but what I had tried didn't work because it only supported English-language books. But finally! I saw people on Mastodon talking about BookWyrm, a decentralized not-for-profit open source website that's very similar to Goodreads.

Some things I love so far:

You can import all your data from Goodreads (or other similar websites) so you don't have to manually add everything again.

It's available in multiple languages, including my language Catalan (which is often ignored in international websites) and everyone can contribute to make it available in their language by helping translate it.

It has all the same good things that Goodreads has, including shelves, lists, star ratings, written reviews (you can hide the part with spoilers), groups, bar code scanning, you can add multiple reading dates for one book, quotes sharing, an activity dashboard to see what the people you follow are posting, and a discover tab.

It's not owned by Amazon!

Your data is not being sold to anyone.

There are no ads, it's not for profit.

Books who have free ebook versions (like old classic books, for example), on their BookWyrm page there's a link to where you can download the ebook for free. Instead of Goodreads which links you to the Amazon buy page.

It's very easy and quick to add missing information of a book (unlike Goodreads, where only a few people can do it).

I saw a man on Mastodon say he has downloaded my country's public libraries' local books database and updated to his BookWyrm server, so people who know how to can quickly add many books.

Things I don't like so far:

It doesn't have an app. I've been using the browser from my phone and it works well though, but apps are more comfortable.

It doesn't have all books - though tbf neither does Goodreads, I've asked Goodreads librarians to add books before. Here I can add them myself, which is faster than having to ask and provide the info for them to copy-paste (a waste of time for two people), but there's more books missing for now. That's normal and only a matter of time, it's not a huge inconvenience tbh, but it takes more time and it's not as comfortable.

There's few people so far, so there aren't many reviews.

[makeste]

BnHA Episode 122, a.k.a. NOBUHIKO YOU'VE DONE IT AGAIN

THEY CAN'T KEEP LETTING HIM GET AWAY WITH IT!

oh my god.

so first off, let's just get the one big major criticism out of the way: this episode was definitely not up to the same high quality standards as the first third of this season. and hey, I get it! you're doing 24 episodes in all, you're on a time crunch, and you've only got so many animators to go around. and the quality of some of these earlier season 6 eps (118 and 119 especially) was seriously some of the best this series has ever had. by contrast, chapters 284 and 285, while still easily ranking among my favorite chapters of all time, definitely do not go as hard with the visuals as some of the other War arc chapters (that very last 285 page being the one standout exception).

anyway so yeah, it was still a slight disappointment, but I'm fine with it. it does mean Deku vs Kacchan 2 will still retain its crown as my all time fave, but the real meat of this episode was never going to be about the flashy visuals -- it's all about that sweet, sweet character development.

two more very minor criticisms before I get to the OMG nonstop gushing part of this post! one, they did cut out this scene from ch 282 where Tomura originally had TWO quirk-be-gone bullets in his possession and Kacchan actually destroyed the second one.

YOU THOUGHT WE WOULDN'T REMEMBER, BONES. BUT WE DID. so for everyone who is giving Kacchan his well-earned love, praise, and admiration today, don't forget to also give him props for saving Aizawa's other leg, or whichever other appendage this doubtless would have hit. my boy out here lowkey saving his sensei from being ReDestro'd.

and then one final nitpicky little quibble, which is that the anime subtitlers declined to use the "Catch-A-Kacchan" translation, despite it being the single cleverest translation of all time, and by far Caleb Cook's biggest and most important contribution to the BnHA canon. alas, twas not meant to be. BUT ANYWAY NOW ON TO THE GUSHING.

okay so first off, we all know that Aizawa is an absolute badass and the most metal motherfucker in this entire series, and that Shouto has by this point all but perfected the art of swooping in to save the day at pivotal moments, and that the U.A. kids all need ALL OF THE THERAPY GODDAMMIT, and that Deku is a COMPLETE LUNATIC who thinks that HAVING FUNCTIONAL ARMS IS OVERRATED ANYWAYS. yes and yes and yes and yes. and if you wish, you can read all about my thoughts on these things and more, here and here and here and here.

but you already know what I actually came here to talk about today.

first of all, YOU GUYS. the music. THIS FUCKING MUSIC, THOUGH. they used the exact same OST track that was used for the "why was I the one who ended All Might?" speech all the way back in DvK2. THIS IS OFFICIALLY THE "TIME FOR NOBUHIKO TO FLEX HIS VOICE ACTING CHOPS" MUSIC. A TRADITION HAS BEEN BORN.

anyway so if anyone needs me I'll just be sitting here playing this scene on repeat until the end of time. no big deal though. I can quit at any time. not like I'm obsessed with it or anything. I definitely love this scene and this character a perfectly normal amount.

All Might talking about how Katsuki understood from the get-go about how OFA was a secret that could put other people at great risk really hits hard in hindsight. especially when you realize that Katsuki really did know right from the start, and he willingly accepted that risk with no hesitation, and he absolutely did suffer consequences for it (it was his knowledge of OFA that led to him following Deku and subsequently getting involved in this battle). and I don't doubt that he has absolutely zero regrets.

okay but can we seriously just talk for a sec about the way Kacchan's anxiety is practically boiling over when he starts to ask All Might about the Fourth's cause of death?? I feel like this is one thing that kind of got overlooked at the time in the manga because we were so completely distracted by EVERY SINGLE OTHER DAMN THING IN THAT CHAPTER lol. but hearing it again here, you feel how worried he actually is about Deku, and idk why but it all of a sudden just hit me so damn hard.

"I'm worried about him. you are, too." because that truly is what this whole conversation is really about. or at least that's the driving force behind it. behind this whole episode, in fact. it's simple, when you get right down to it: Kacchan is afraid that Deku is going to die. it's literally been the biggest fear on his mind ever since Deku unlocked SIXQUIRKS. right from the start, his mind was immediately going to the worst case scenarios. he immediately deduced that OFA might have a deeper connection to AFO than any of them realized (shoutout to Kacchan for being the original "Deku is a horcrux" truther lol. ONE DAY HORIKOSHI WILL FINALLY REVEAL THE TRUTH AND PROVE US RIGHT). he instantly zeroed in on the sobering fact that all of the previous OFA users died young. and as he reveals here, he took particular notice of the fact that All Might seems to be hiding something about OFA IV's death, and he is goddamn PRESSED about it.

and I absolutely LOVE the way that Nobu voiced this part of the conversation. when he starts to question All Might, his breathing starts to pick up a little, and his voice starts to get louder, and the words start to spill out faster and faster almost like he's in a rush to get it all out, and his voice starts to crack just a little, and he goes from not looking at All Might to hesitantly, almost fearfully glancing at him from the side, and then finally turning to face him head on with his eyes all wary and his teeth gritted like he's bracing himself for the very worst (because he is).

and then he finally just asks him, "was it because you realized something?" and then he takes in this achingly hesitant little breath before finishing with, "...about One for All?" and just. the whole scene is just SO well done. like, he's seriously so fucking scared about this, though. but at the same time he just needs to know, and just. oh my god. and Nobuhiko manages to emote all of this so clearly, and that is such a difficult line to walk when you're dealing with a character like Katsuki who's always so hesitant to show his vulnerability. he has to portray these two separate layers of Bakugou at the same time -- the part of him that is trying his hardest to be nonchalant and matter-of-fact in order to hide his fears and emotions; while at the same time also portraying said emotions which are clearly seeping through anyway, regardless of his efforts.

anyway so yeah. I could talk about this for eighty years and never get sick of it honestly but let's move on.

let me tell you guys, I've been bracing myself for this scene for two full years, and it still kicked my ass. THIS SCENE HAD NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE. literally RIGHT IN the feels. direct hit.

"he's always been that way." no, but guys. the regret when he says that. the way he states it with such simplicity and clarity. almost profound. this is just a truth of the world. this is just how Deku is. this is something that took him so long to understand, but now that he does, he can't fathom how he was never able to see it before. and then that ever-so-slight bitterness that creeps into his voice as he goes on to describe how he fucked it all up. ;_;

and then last but not least!!

"ijimeta." one word, in Japanese. it all comes down to that. and his voice gets so quiet. this whole last part of his speech is so quiet and so soft. but when he says this very last part, his voice wavers perfectly on that last word, and it just. sounds so resigned, somehow, but also just... almost faltering, for just a moment. you can hear the regret as clear as day, but you also hear the fear once again as he finally reveals this fact -- literally his biggest shame; the worst thing that he's ever done -- to All Might. his hero. just, damn.

anyway. so needless to say, despite my expectations being SKY HIGH, this scene absolutely met all of them and blew me away. as expected from the best fucking voice actor in Japan, according to me, a single lone person, whose subjective opinion is absolutely definitely not biased in any possible way.

back to the action! and Nobu getting to do his very best Deku impression lol.

can you believe this kid. one single nerdy analysis speech was all it took for him to start emitting such powerful Main Character Energy that even Endeavor got taken in and was just automatically following orders lol.

awesome choice of music here while Deku and Tomura continued to battle and Bakugou laid out his plan. you know it's good when they still manage to make you feel the tension even though this is basically just a generic action scene, and you additionally already know exactly what's going to happen.

I have no idea why, but that part with Deku's "Kacchan... my 'Deku' means 'you can do it!'" speech juxtaposed against the image of him going all out against Tomura with such fierce determination hit me like 100x harder than it did in the manga. I was NOT expecting that to be as powerful as it was. damn near gave me chills.

literally the only time I've ever been on board with the whole "FUCK YEAH, I'LL JUST BREAK ALL MY BONES AT YOU!!" deal lol. it literally makes no goddamn sense but this scene is just so raw.

THEN WE YEET THE ENDEAVOR!!!!

SO ON-BRAND. NO DEKU-INSPIRED PLAN IS EVER TRULY COMPLETE WITHOUT A GOOD YEETING.

and then the next few moments are some of the most legitimately unsettling of the entire series, as we have Tomura screaming at the top of his lungs while being burnt to cinders (and I mean, I love Tomura dearly, but I get it; he literally just Thanos'd tens of thousands of innocent people), followed by AFO's creepy fucking ghost hand reaching out all "LEND ME YOUR BODY~~~" which is a scene that absolutely NO ONE ASKED FOR but okay.

but then right afterwards though! when AFO finally did take over, and you hear that "TV shutting down" sound effect all of a sudden? and then the next few scenes with all the BKDK flashbacks are also weirdly TV-themed? I could not for the life of me figure this out at first, but now I'm actually thinking it could be a reference to the chapter 306 color page?

OR MAYBE NOT? I actually have no idea. anyway though it may have been random af but it worked for me, what can I say.

AND THEN THE MOMENT OF TRUTH AT LONG LAST.

THIS ACTUALLY IS SO PRETTY THOUGH?? LIKE I WAS NOT EXPECTING THAT COLOR COMBINATION AT ALL?

AND IT HAPPENS SO QUICKLY!!!!??? YOU BARELY EVEN HAVE TIME TO BLINK?!?!!

oh. my. god.

THE WAY THE MUSIC SUDDENLY GOT QUIET. THE WAY HIS NARRATING VOICE CAME ON AND, PRAISE EVERYTHING, IT REALLY WAS DEEPER. THAT REALLY WAS THE ADULT HIM. SAME AS DEKU. MY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS ARE SO FUCKING MUCH RIGHT NOW.

AND THEN THE FLASHBACKS!! THE SCENES OF THEM IN MIDDLE SCHOOL!! AND GROUND ZERO!! AND THEN CUTTING TO THE TWO OF THEM AS LITTLE BABIES, AND THE TV SCREEN ALL OF A SUDDEN SWITCHING TO COLOR??? AND THE HANDS??? THE REACHING?!?!

AND THEN?!?!?!

"HEY MAKESTE, IF WE GO AHEAD AND ACTUALLY MAKE THE VOLUME 29 COVER CANON, WILL YOU FINALLY FORGIVE US FOR ALL OF THE HALF-BAKED PAINFULLY OOC FILLER EPISODES AND OVAS?" WELL, STUDIO BONES, YOU DRIVE A HARD BARGAIN, BUT HOW CAN I POSSIBLY REFUSE.

AND THEN THEY FULL ON MURDERED ME!!!!!

that's right bitches. DREAD IT. RUN FROM IT. THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ARRIVES ALL THE SAME.

holy shit. and then THE END CREDITS oh my freaking heart. words can't even describe.

Studio Bones out here not resting until they've succeeded in making EVERY SINGLE PERSON feel the MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF SADNESS THAT A HUMAN BEING CAN SUSTAIN. their callousness truly knows no bounds.

anyway so there we have it! part one of the spectacular season 6 Bakugou Katsuki Redemption Saga. I laughed, I cried, I cried, I cried, I cried a little bit more, and then I cried a little bit more after that. final verdict: yeah, it was pretty good.

[letters-from-dekarios]

(tav post just in case: https://www.tumblr.com/tadpoles-r-us/744342741955297280/lynneira-sylverwind )

[the letter is written on either very old or very intentionally tea-stained paper. The words are written in a shaky hands, as though the author was struggling to hold her writing utensil. There are a few circular wrinkled spots on the page. Some sort of water stain? Enclosed with the letter is a map of Faerûn with a concerning amount of locations crossed out in red ink. Each x on the map appears to be more scratched in than the last, showing frustration. Along with the map is a small business card with a hand drawn graphic on some plants and potion bottles and the title “Elenor’s Eclectic Goods” printed in a swirly font, the address of the business is printed on the back]

Dear Gale,

I do hope this letter finds you well, as I would hate for such a first introduction to be on a bad day for you. My name is Lynneira Sylverwind. I am an Archfey warlock based just outside of Baldur’s Gate. I am currently making a living running my mother’s apothecary in the city. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? Elenor’s Eclectic Goods? I can’t count how many times I told her the name was silly and that she should change it, but she never listened to me.

But my mother’s poor choices in business names are unfortunately not the point of this letter, as much as I would like them to be, as my actual ask is far more… shall we say time consuming to deal with? You see, a friend of mine from the city went missing quite some time ago, and I am frankly at my wits end when it comes to finding him. I have searched all over Faerûn, as you will see in the map I’ve enclosed, but not a trace of him has come up.

From what I understand based on the source I was given (an underling of my patron informed me of your existence), I understand that you are human, so it seems a bit silly to mention my friend by name, given that we were both born long before your time, both being elves, but on the off chance you have at least heard of him, perhaps it will help. His name is Astarion Ancunin. He was employed as a Magistrate in Baldur’s Gate. He has been missing for 200 years exactly at my time of writing this.

I am writing you this letter in hopes that you’ll be able to help me find him. While my patron has eyes all over Faerûn, I have hit a point where I must begrudgingly acknowledge that I cannot find Astarion on my own. I dare not go too far into detail about it, but I can assure you I have exhausted all other avenues of search.

I will admit, I have no idea the differences between wizard magic and warlock magic, or if there even is one outside of the obvious inability for wizards to cast eldritch blast and other such warlock specific spells (though truthfully I don’t see what’s stopping anyone from learning? But that’s not the point. Moving on.) but I’m hoping that you’ll know of some sort of tracking spell that will aid me in my search, or that perhaps you could put me in contact with another wizard who does.

Along with the map, I have enclosed a business card with the apothecary’s address. All mail is to be sent there as I am in every day of the week nowadays and it’s just easier than having a home and work mailing address. I do sincerely apologize if this letter has come off as a bit rambly. I’m certain you can imagine the kind of stress I am under, although I tried my best not to get too far into it. No stranger needs my worried babbling, that’s for certain.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Lynneira Sylverwind

P.S. On the off chance that you happen to be in contact with any clerics/paladins/otherwise worshippers of Lathander, please do NOT mention that you are in contact with me, for everyones safety and sanity.

Dearest Lynneira,

It is not every day that one receives a letter from a known oathbreaker asking for help. We’re frivolously warned of interacting with those who disregard their gods, but who am I to toss aside an ask for aid?

While I had never met her personally, your mother was known across Waterdeep. Anyone and everyone who needed healing from their (rather disastrous, I might add) wounds would tend to lean towards her shop over other apothecaries in the area. In this sense, I will offer you the knowledge I possess through Mystra herself in exchange for an insignificant price. I shall touch on that soon.

The magistrate you mention does not hold any significance in my mind, as far as my memory is concerned, but I can let you in on information I have heard. Through word of mouth, there has been an awful plague of young men and women disappearing in the streets of Baldur’s Gate. This phenomenon goes back some years, roughly around the time you seem to have lost your friend.

It is only through Mystra that I possess the spell you seek, that I can wield it as I do. I hope that this finds you before you have lost your hope. The spell itself is known as a ‘Discern Location’ spell. I have only used it once.

However, this spell is rather a feat for anyone. Even for myself, a wizard in the name of Mystra since I was a child, this spell is straining. It goes beyond the Weave, crossing through any spells or castings that might prevent you from seeking a person. No matter where the person lay, it can find them.

Given that you are a warlock, it is not likely you’d be able to perform this spell on your own intuition. I would like to offer my services in your time of need in this sense- I can never pass on the opportunity to practice a difficult spell. If you’d be so kind as to send an item that once belonged to Astarion or join me in my tower in Waterdeep, I should- and I say should loosely, as I said this is a rather difficult spell- be able to assist you. If not, perhaps my Goddess could lend her hand in your troubles.

We have all lost a dear friend in this world, Lynneira, believe me. It never gets easier the more that you lose, especially in this day and age. You’d think someone would have discovered a spell that would allow loved ones to live on together, but perhaps that would be a bit… strong, for the Gods’ liking.

In exchange for my help, I ask for yours as well. I have stumbled into a predicament of my own, that I will not get far into details about. If you possess any knowledge that could help one, say, perhaps remove a curse of higher, Godly sorts, I would much appreciate it.

I shan’t make this letter longer than it needs to. I wish you luck in trying to find your friend, and if you wish to take me up on my offer, please let me know. I am available any time.

Attached is a hand-copied page from a spellbook detailing the aforementioned spell in more depth. There are smaller notes marked in the margins highlighting certain points about difficulty and what is needed to use the spell.

Good luck.

From the desk of,

𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒌𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒔

text reads: gale dekarios

P.S; I will do well to heed your warning. I’d much rather not get into too much trouble with those sorts of things.

[butchbarbieagainstterfs]

let’s talk about this! was going to tag her but I’m pretty sure she blocked this blog so about the topic of jeffrey marsh:

“most”? girl, one person potentially doxxed and threatened her children. the rest of us were basically just calling out her lies for what they were. none of us advocated for anyone being physically threatened or doxxed. I don’t endorse that. no one should be doing that shit. anyone that is deserves what they get.

but you lot - because you’ve made it patently obvious you yourself are a terf - physically threaten and doxx trans people all the time and tell trans people you’re going to get their kids taken away from them. don’t cry now just because some fucked up asshole did it to one of you. how many threats do you think jeffrey has gotten just this week?

also: there is no evidence jeffrey is grooming anyone. shumirun cropped and edited videos of them and screen recorded 18+ content that children were never invited to and was locked behind a pay wall and posted on a 13+ app when she knows some of her followers are 12, 13, 14, 15. her being a muslim is irrelevant to me and most people I’ve encountered, and doesn’t mean she can call people groomers without solid proof.

as someone on tiktok said themselves, why have none of you pretended to be a minor on jeffrey’s 18+ patreon to catch them out? because there have been thousands of accounts calling them that in their comments and such for ages, shumirun just took it a step further by posting the accusations on her page then doubling down for 7 million followers to see. you’re telling me not one of you thought to pretend you’re a minor and attempt to talk to them? I’m guessing some of you did try that and didn’t like the answer you got, eh?

next part!

jeffrey isn’t doing anything at all suspicious.

shumirun’s discord however was literally a playground for actual predators. multiple kids from it said people were interacting with them in a weird way. where is this energy for her? I don’t think she is a predator, don’t get me wrong, I’d never accuse someone of that without evidence but you’d be dragging jeffrey’s name even more through the mud if that was them with that kind of discord and they admitted to playing roblox with 12 year olds. you’d also be dragging their name through the mud id they’d lied about having a health condition to get a job and endangered kids in the process.

also: her using their pronouns (not preferred in jeffrey’s case, they’re just their pronouns) doesn’t change that she used a transphobic (and homophobic) stereotype against them, follows an anti-trans group on twitter and liked tweets that were maliciously misgendering them.

last part!

ding ding ding, there’s the terf dogwhistle! the fact you would have less sympathy for a child being murdered because they’re trans (brianna wasn’t murdered by “males”, one cis boy and one cis girl have been charged with her murder) says far more about you than it does about me, “bestie”. also the fact you support all these conservative laws? you realise they’re coming for you too, right? 😬 don’t worry though. we “evil TRAs” will be fighting against any anti gay legislation even if you won’t fight the anti trans ones.

and you have said so much abhorrent shit about trans folk but a lesbian calling himself a dyke in his bio is where you drawn the fucking line? lmfao what the fuck 😭

have a nice day and enjoy the block that will be coming your way very soon 🥰

[runwayrunway]

No. 24 - Icelandair's Special Liveries

Congratulations to Icelandair's Hekla Aurora livery for being my first multi-request. And for a special livery, no less!

So, as a quick supplement to my main Icelandair post, I'm going to discuss the airline's three special liveries (excluding those which are crossovers with other brands). They've even been kind enough to provide a page for each, describing their various inspirations and how they relate to Icelandic identity.

Þingvellir

I'm starting with Þingvellir. Painted on a Boeing 757-300 registered TF-ISX, this livery was released in 2018 to celebrate 100 years of Icelandic independence and also something involving football, which in a very classic moment are treated as being equivalent in weight. I think Iceland may have won at the football? If you are aware of the context of the football, please don't tell me. I don't care about football.

Her colors are drawn from the Icelandic flag. It's really incredible how many flags out there manage to be red, white, and blue. It's honestly a kindness on Icelandair's part to not have those colors dominate their livery to begin with because it's incredibly saturated with flag carriers. (Red, white, and green are another similarly done-to-death scheme.)

Although I think the actual cross-shape of the flag could have been used to some decent effect, I have no real problem with where we ended up. I think this is recognizable as the Icelandic flag and visually pleasing. The first time I saw this I thought it was a heritage livery, because I didn't know off the top of my head what Icelandair's old liveries actually looked like. I think if they'd done this back in the day they would have been the talk of the tarmac.

Looking at it from the right angle, though, I can't deny that when you add in the glossy modern look of the Icelandair logo and the yellow nacelles it does sort of look like a football jersey somehow. Unsure if this is intentional, but all in all I just think this looks nice and I genuinely think if you did something about the yellow this would be a better standard livery for Icelandair than most airlines have. It's quite unique, as far as what's flying today.

Grade: C+

A few notes to close out: first, 'Þingvellir' is the name of the aircraft. Icelandair names all their planes after features of Icelandic nature, and Þingvellir is a national park known for being the site of parliamentary sessions. 'Þ' is pronounced roughly like 'th' in English.

Second, you may notice a distinct...how do I put this? Longness about her. This is because

('normal girl' here means 'narrow-body airliner'). image by @lobstersinmyhouse.

and I really like that.

Vatnajökull

Vatnajökull is a slightly less long but still delightful normal girl, a Boeing 757-200 with the registration TF-FIR. Icelandair bills her as the world's first flying glacier. I don't think there was much of a risk of anyone else getting that record, but she...sure is!

Vatnajökull is a fairly self-explanatory livery. It's an incredibly detailed glacier scene, representative of the very landmass for which the airplane is named. From Icelandair's website:

Even if you have lived in Iceland your whole life, the wonders of Vatnajökull never cease to amaze and enthrall. The largest glacier in Europe tumbles down the highest mountain ridge in Iceland, creating tremendous icefalls just above the southeast part of Route 1. The ice giant covers 8% of Iceland and is up to 1000 meters (3280 feet) thick. That equals 30 meters of ice evenly spread over all of Iceland – but we are in fact quite happy to keep it where it is. The Icelandic climate can be challenging enough without adding dozens of meters of ice on top of us.

It's actually somewhat difficult to find much more to say about her. This is just a very pretty glacial landscape drawn onto an airplane, and I think it looks very very nice.

This paint job is undeniably both pretty and impressive. I do sort of wish the tail and engines had been integrated as well, but what we got is more than alright.

Vatnajökull also features a glacier-themed interior, including glacier-themed headrests and drinks carts and, of course, some lovely blue mood lighting. The whole package makes me want to go potholing in a glacier very badly. They've definitely put a lot of effort into making the world's first flying glacier, and they've succeeded in that.

Grade: B

Hekla Aurora

It was very hard to choose pictures of this plane to include in this post. Hekla Aurora is stunning. She looks dramatically different depending on the lighting, but no matter which angle she's seen from she looks gorgeous and vivid.

Hekla Aurora is named for the active volcano Hekla and the aurora borealis, two noteworthy features of Iceland's unique natural environment. Obviously, though, she leans a bit towards the latter part of the name. The plane even comes with special interior mood lighting like Vatnajökull.

This looks so nice. It's even more striking than the simple blue Vatnajökull has. I want to fall asleep on this plane more than anything else in the world.

This plane is basically Icelandair's flagship. I swear this is one of the best-known planes flying right now. And she deserves every bit of it. This is a uniquely beautiful paint job and I am severely envious of anyone who has ever been able to fly on her.

I do, again, wish more had been done with the engines and the tail, but it's really hard to say anything about Hekla Aurora because this is just as much of an art piece as it is an airplane livery.

I have it as an active goal of mine to see her in person, even if from a distance, while she's still in service.

Grade: A

Unfortunately, this request was timely in the worst possible way. On the 7th of July, Icelandair announced their intention to acquire between 13 and 25 Airbus A321XLR airplanes. This is an interesting move from an airline which has up until now exclusively operated Boeing aircraft, but Boeing's refusal to actually build a 757 successor is a separate conversation. What's important to note is that Icelandair's special 757s are getting on in years. Hekla Aurora is nearly 30 years old. While far from derelict, that's definitely around the point most major airlines will begin to retire their planes. The confirmation of Icelandair's intentions to acquire a replacement model just makes it even clearer.

There is time to talk about what Icelandair will do going forward, what new special liveries they'll make. It's clear that all their existing ones are born from an appreciation for Iceland, and I'm sure they won't stop just because their planes are going to look a little different ten years from now. But It feels like an important time to voice my appreciation for TF-FIU, who has been bringing the northern lights everywhere Icelandair flies for nearly 10 years, even as those years finally begin to wind down.

[blissfulalchemist]

WIP Wednesday

(Because I got the brain rot and need others to suffer with me)

Thanks to Kate I've been consumed by another au old man ship from ffxiv so you all must bear witness to the small piece I have for them wherein Demos does not share the same soul as Sib. Tagging a few peeps: @belorage @florbelles @adelaidedrubman @unholymilf @strafethesesinners @heroofpenamstan @corvosattano @jackiesarch @confidentandgood @shallow-gravy @deputyash and anyone else that wants to use me as an excuse to post wip stuff!

Shadowbringers spoilers

It’s a daze as Elidibus stumbles on the dirt road towards Eulmore. Body growing heavy as his vision darkens and can feel the shift in pressure as the void opens before him. So sudden and he’s powerless to stop it now that it’s started. Elidibus had felt this way only once before….he thinks? A distant memory pulls at him and brings him high from the ground. Half lidded eyes see the form of a brown haired man until he closes them and opens them once more.

He’s greeted by a smile that lights up ice blue eyes framed by ebony hair and round round brown glasses. He wears robes of old and more detailed than the shades left by the late Emet-Selch. The man turns to face him more and it’s when he starts to say something that the realization slams into Elidibus. He blinks once more, gasping sharply when the image is gone and he’s left facing the Warrior of Light’s right hand, Demos. With violet eyes framed by longer brown hair and a scar that slices his face, yet avoids the small scattering of freckles on his cheeks. His clothes are garments of the present matching many of the Crystarium and suit him far better than any of the attire Elidibus had seen over the years.

The two men look at one another briefly, a frown starting to pull at Demos’ lips. “How did-?” Elidibus stammers, “Was it you who called me here?”

Demos shakes his head, readying to speak when he winces in pain and Elidibus can feel the ringing in his mind. Can feel the way Demos’ gift grasps for any shadow of a memory in the darkened archive of his mind, He will find nothing of import. A rare moment though where Elidibus can wade through his memories in turn. It’s easy to grab the sliver of something that pairs so easily with one of the many torn pages. 

“I do not care what you are during the day….the moon is full and you are your true self….”

Elidibus laces their fingers together, smiling softly at the soft glow the moonlight gives to his lover’s eyes. “And I shall always be….for this is always my favorite moment….”

The memory fades leaving Elidibus to look down biting his tongue that he can’t seem to know why that was a memory that would come from Demos. “Did you learn anything new, Demos? I doubt there is much left that would surprise you.”

“You finding me here is a bit of a surprise.” Demos steps closer, hand starting to reach out, “I didn’t call for you Elidibus, but that still doesn’t mean I’d find your company unwanted.” Elidibus stays rooted, listening to Demos’ footsteps as he makes his way closer, “That promise you made all that time ago, about making sure that the star stayed upon its true course.”

“My duty, yes. What of it?”

“How did you ever decide what the true course was?” 

Elidibus looks up with a furrowed brow, “We have discussed this before. Do you not remember? In great detail, if I recall.” Demos shakes his head, “Very well. Choices and sacrifices must be made so that the star and all life within it are to thrive and be made better.” Demos holds his chin with a hum, “Did that answer your question?”

“If life is currently thriving and there are people all over that strive to make it better, then shouldn’t that mean the star is currently on its proper course?”

“The world as it stands is incapable of making change that will allow it to thrive. As Elidibus I shall see that the years of hard selfless labor of my fallen brethren will not be for naught.”

“And what of us?” Elidibus looks down, fists clenching, “What will become of us if you guide the star as you are now?” Demos becomes inches from the Emissary, his hand slowly reaching up to cup his cheek, “Tell me, Elidibus, does being with me mean you stand with your brothers….or against?”

His face is guided to look up into pleading violet eyes, all the while he searches for an answer to give, an answer that was spoken in another time perhaps? He stands still, sifting and wading through faded pages knowing there was an answer that passed through parted lips. He swallows, briefly closing his eyes, “Demos, I-.”

Elidibus’ eyes go wide as lips engulf his own and an arm tightens around his waist. The instinct to push him away fades as lips part and tongues entwine, a soft moan emanating from him as his eyes close and arms embrace the one kissing him. Memories he thought long gone pour out and fill his senses with a deep laughter among music that only became his favorite after they spent their first night together, the scent of cardamom and chamomile, ice blue eyes shining behind square spectacles, soft pale skin that his fingers dance over in the moonlight, office, and bedsheets, with the distinct warm flavor of winter caramel given to him by someone with a name he’d dare not utter since that fateful day. Demos’ hand slides up the back of his neck and in an instant he’s no longer in the body of a hero from the present, but once more in his original form. With long silver white hair that fingers could easily get lost in unlike what he has now, a feeling that lets free images of an office lined with bookshelves and a ornate wooden desk in the center with fresh varnish that was easy to feel when he was made to use it to remain standing as the surprise kiss made him dizzy. The first of many it turned out….

The cold tear that rolls down his cheek as the memory starts to end with a faint ringing in his ears is the only thing solidifying his truth, his fear….his grief. As Demos pulls away with shaky breaths Elidibus matches that fading memory as he breathes out, “Conner….”

[andivmg]

(big paragraph rant ahead thanks to madison beer’s memoir)

okay so i finished reading The Half of It today and i have a lot of thoughts. but i’m gonna post just the pages that spoke to me the most in regard to online stuff and rant

i remember 2021 as being literally one of the worst years of my life this far because of twitter (obviously a bunch of personal stuff too but yk). to this day i’m mildly afraid of the internet which is very silly but very real. because of the part of the internet i was “famous” in i was forced to see every single thing people wrote about me and at first it was super fun super cool but it very quickly shifted into people picking me apart for everything i did or said. then i started associating myself with my ex and his circle of people and it only got worse. their audience was welcoming at first but after a week i would see people call me annoying and a pick me on a daily basis. and this was before i got “called out” for some stuff i don’t wanna get into now because i feel like it has been discussed enough but iykyk. so when that happened people latched onto that and to this day i still get the one off rude message about it. and when people tried to stick up for me i was reduced to sex. which was so demeaning in so many different ways. like the only reason i would ever be worth defending was because of my “pussy”. like that was the only thing about me that mattered. and as a woman on TWITCH of all places i was already hearing that enough. it was even more infuriating knowing that my male counterparts had done so much worse than me and faced maybe half the backlash. and even then had their mistakes and behaviors excused to the point of them not having to own up to them at all. as a woman of color i was held to a much higher standard than a lot of my peers. i was expected to know everything and to never make a mistake. so yeah, i wish i had been kinder to myself at the time. because no matter how mean the internet was to me, i was meaner. at the time it literally felt like my life was over. i would go online and only read bad things about myself. it was such a small group of people though, but i was so chronically online that it felt like the whole world was against me. and it sounds dumb and self centered but it’s how it felt as a teenage girl whose whole life was centered around twitter, tiktok, and twitch. once a big group of us went to universal and i tried to stay out of as many pictures as possible. whenever a fan would approach us as a group i would always offer to take the picture for them because i didn’t want to be in any of them. my friends told me i was being dramatic but i was trying to avoid what ended up happening anyway. people quote tweeting the pictures and making comments about me. i expected every fan that came up to either not know who i was (ideally), or worse, to know and hate me.

madison also talked a lot about being paranoid about her personal life being leaked online and talked about and i felt that deeply as well. once on stream i accidentally showed my lock screen (a picture of me and my ex) for like half a second. then immediately after, i ended stream and deleted the vod along with most of the clips but people had already had seen it and a week later my ex called me up mad as hell because people were posting screenshots of it on twitter and he was not happy about it. people were speculating on our relationship and making fun etc. and i just felt so powerless. like nothing i could do or say would change their mind. now i realize it literally does not matter what people say.

anyway yeah clearly madison’s book brought back a lot of memories for me. it was honestly oddly comforting to read. i know so many people that have gone through similar things and it’s never handled well by anyone involved. i feel a lot more comfortable talking about it now and especially here because i know it won’t become a huge thing since i’m irrelevant now and this is old drama. it’s just nice to write to the void sometimes (you guys aren’t a void i promise but yk what i mean). but yeah i’m over most of the stuff that happened that year. my therapist is amazing and helped me through it all. and now i can talk about it without feeling any type of way. it is something that happened. and i am okay now.

in conclusion, i love madison beer

[shinakazami1]

Hi Shina,

I don't expect you to post this on your page, or answer it, as I understand wanting to keep the drama away from you after everything (and also I really just want to talk to you, but I feel this is easier since you don't even have to acknowledge it, all things considered) - but I want to say a few things myself that I was far too busy and stressed with personal matters to say at the time: First of all, I was mildly fighting against what Indigo was doing. I was, in so many words, in the middle of things when it comes to the whole situation. I thought you did some things that were wrong, but I also thought that Indigo was wrong in some aspects. I still do, really. But you are making efforts to improve yourself, and I think that is literally all anyone can ask for - you're a really great person and a great artist, and I really enjoyed talking to you when I did. I think Indigo should have apologized for their actions, and stopped being so... driven? When it comes to the situation. They were very stubborn, I think. I'm not sure if any of the people who were defending you mentioned that, but I thought it was pertinent to point out. Another thing is: I actually don't even remember unfollowing you? Genuinely, I have no recollection of doing that. I remember waiting for your response and to see how things panned out, since what you had done wasn't exactly worthy of complete isolation and hate. HOWEVER, during the whole thing, I had gone to your page to see one of your responses, and Realized that I was, in fact, not following you. And I didn't want to REfollow you because I feel like you'll think I was being an idiot - and I'm not sure if you could see over the past few weeks but I've been refollowing you, and then quickly unfollowing because I don't want you to think I just suddenly changed my mind - because I didn't, it had always been at this pretty middle of the road stance.

Either way, regardless of what you think, I just want you to know that I hope that you can still enjoy the game, and enjoy your art like you deserve to.

To be human is to make mistakes. To be good is to learn from them - and I could tell that you were and are making efforts.

Hi Lily. I will respond to this.

As I've stated in the posts I really found the silence quite loud. I really want to just talk, not to start drama but to be able to understand, to do what that whole thing was missing.

I hadn't noticed the re and unfollow - I wouldn't find you as an idiot in all this. I would feel a bit disappointed, as I am now by a few folks who decide to silently refollow, esp when I saw a few of them say some very harsh words about me.

However, your decision to unfollow again does seem like a change of mind on just pure theoretical ground since you said you wanted to follow again.

You can if you want though. You don't have to though. It's always your choice.

I admit to the mistakes I had made. They did not. But I never expected them to. And I don't want them to talk further about this matter.

But just because you describe an apple doesn't mean people won't read the note as an apple. And I had seen people call out Indigo on the way they worded my response towards me.

I understand that they wanted to keep the community safe but the fact they had not reached out to anyone involved and questioned them or asked for permission to share their usernames or personal details (where they still got a minor's age wrong) angers me. To say I victimised myself and then start doing it themselves... And then make my crack fanfic into some weird kink fic only because they had seen similar things be kink material when this isn't, which everybody who actually read the fanfic had said...

I really feel there was not enough research done in my case. I hope it was a moment of anger that won over their logic. And they will learn from this experience.

Just like those who decided to judge without any proof will.

Thanks still for reaching out. Good luck with your personal life issues.