#dunking them in the exact way that they dunk on each other

[jojossillywalk]

i sincerely need to put together a compilation post of polnareff backing up everything avdol says including him going like "Mr Joestar He Said Something" while simultaneously never being able to shut the hell up about "hey avdol can you drive this submarine" "hey avdol we've searched for three days how do you know that guy can do it" "avdol I Can Beat Iggy"

like polnareff strikes me as the kind of person who like Will bother avdol about "Avdol Why Do You Store That Many Pens And Pencils In One Single Pocket" for hours on end but if an unknown person looks at avdol weird Congrats There's A Scary Frenchman In Your Walls

[medicinemane]

And maybe you'll be like "but if you don't trust businesses, how can you trust welfare?"

I fucking don't. My mom trying to get on food stamps fucked me up because a lady I never met without my permission got my SSN from my mom and started editing my files. My heart still races to this very second whenever I think about it, it kinda messed me up bad and I'll never ever ever see any kind of recourse

And I'm terrified that I'm gonna lose my medicaid just cause I inherited some money from my grandpa

And I've never even applied for disability cause it kinda doesn't matter finding out if I'd qualify or not cause of my depression, when the rules are so restrictive I don't know if I've even be allowed to keep my house

I do not fucking trust these things on a personal level. I feel like out of a lot of people I have the most to fear from them cause I'm on the edge of having things work, and that gets you punished

...but I need medicaid in order to have insurance (and when you strip out the finance side of medicaid, I love medicaid... they're honestly incredible insurance... I just... I just... dental is like 90% of why medicaid is so important to me, ever since I found out this state pays for it I've actually been able to do cleanings which is important to me cause I can't always get myself to brush)

And I think things like disability and food stamps are pretty damn important on a personal level, and honestly are also good for the economy cause they get people spending... it's practically a free cash infusion into the economy, cause these are people who need to buy stuff

There's just so much important stuff welfare does that it's worth dealing with government

No, what I want is more accountability so if someone gets my SSN from a 3rd party like my mom they're held to HIPPA styles standards where that's not ok to access my files without my permission (She changed my fucking address and tried to get medicaid to investigate me for fraud! Never even met me)

Like have some accountability there and in every situation

Secondly I want less punitive focused rules. I'd frankly prefer bezos get on disability than smack down some poor sod cause they got $2000 in the bank or cause their friend lets them live with them for free

If there's gonna be a cut off on these programs, it needs to be a solid step above the poverty line, cause... by definition I assume poverty line denotes kinda the minimum expected income people can reasonably live off of, and if you take away benefits people are gonna lose a chunk of money to covering that stuff themself, so you need a buffer before you kick people off

I don't fucking trust the government for a second, I've actively been fucked by them and on a personal level I avoid everything but medicaid and only that cause everything but the money is pleasant to deal with and I kinda need it (honestly if I was rich I'm not even kidding that I'd rather give medicaid like $400 a month than some insurance company, I sincerely like them as insurance)

But I'd trust them a lot more if they were less punitive, less out to hunt me down and gut me cause someone handed me a fiver or cause I started to get on my feet, and if government employees had concrete rules they had to follow that were actually transparent and enforced

Like 90% of my problems with welfare go away if they're held accountable and there's less "catch the welfare cheats" mentality going around

I don't trust the government in the slightest, but sadly there some jobs it kinda has to do, so I'd just rather force it to be an open book where the public can keep an eye on it and if they step out of line there's consequences (sort of like I don't trust most mega corps but happen to sometimes need stuff from them... did you know literally every cell service provider has been illegally selling shit like your location data to random people like bounty hunters, and the FCC just slapped them with a fine that's 0.02% of their yearly incomes and debated even doing that? I even can offer a source on that)

...I don't trust much of any authority cause they constantly fail me and kinda screw me. Don't trust doctors either, but I still gotta go to them, you know? ...they're just... they're real bad at listening... so many systems need systemic change

(You know who I really don't trust is the cops. I could point to so many examples. My uncle doesn't trust cops either, and he's an ex Fire and SWAT paramedic, he worked with them and we still got into a long conversation where he basically tore into them far better than I can)

(I don't trust authority that's not accountable)

[endiness]

Debunking misinformation about Netflix's The Witcher (Part 1)

"Henry Cavill is a massive fan of the books and the games and he quit the show because the writers wouldn't stick to the books and he just cares about the source material so much."

Henry Cavill not only did not know that the books existed when he started pursuing the role of Geralt, but he actually thought that the books were based off of the video games (and he still didn't bother to read them) and he didn't learn that the games were actually based off the books until Lauren told him (even though the first thing in the game credits is that they're based off the books); as of 2021, he as only read the full series once — right before he was cast in 2018; while he has played TW3, he has only played a little of TW2 (and I've never found any evidence that he's played the first game); and he also has not played the DLC for TW3.

Henry Cavill also started heavily pushing the narrative that he's just such a massive fan of the books and how important adhering to the source material is to him during the press for S2 to deflect from how it was due to his acting choices of cutting Geralt's lines and either saying nothing or just grunting instead that Geralt's characterization — who is much more verbose in the books — was book inaccurate in S1:

He also lied about the situation and tried to act like Geralt was never originally written as being verbose and blamed the lack of dialogue on Yennefer and Ciri's prominence, which cannot be true as confirmed by Lauren:

And tried to act like the lines he was cutting weren't that important anyway so it wasn't really a big deal, which also cannot be true as confirmed by Joey:

He also started pushing the narrative that adhering to the source material is so important to him and it's 'tricky' to do that with Lauren's vision, but his definition of "Lauren's vision" is the show being an ensemble piece with Yennefer and Ciri at the forefront (like the books) and the show in general heavily centering around women (like the books):

So the idea of him caring so much about "book accuracy" is, in fact, not accurate to the books at all as his problems were the prominence of women in the show when Ciri is the main character of the main book series, which the show started adapting from S2 onwards (which is when Henry Cavill started to complain about wanting "book accuracy" in the first place), and when women are very prominent, central, key figures in the books and they often drive the plot forwards.

Lastly, S3 was the closest adaption of the books out of all the seasons so far, so the idea that he quit after S3 because the writers just weren't respecting the source material and the show wasn't following the books doesn't make any sense anyway.

"Henry Cavill is the only reason why the show was even close to the source material at all."

I've not only never seen any evidence of this, but if anything, I've seen the exact opposite: Henry Cavill was either directly responsible for or at least contributed in some way to a lot of things that went against the books or didn't happen in them.

As I already pointed out, he cut Geralt's lines in S1 and either said nothing or just grunted instead which is inaccurate to Geralt's characterization in the books. Here's another quote from Joey affirming that:

(Just to note: During the press for S1, he frequently talked about how the games inspired his performance as Geralt — sometimes talking about them even more than the books despite how the show is based off of the books, not the games — and it wasn't until S2 press that he suddenly changed his tune and started talking about how important adhering to the source material ie the books is to him. He also only started advocating for a more book accurate Geralt because he got dunked on by reddit for his book inaccurate performance in S1.)

He didn't want to play Geralt and Jaskier's friendship as directly as in the books and buddy-buddy with each other:

He didn't want to have any kind of conflict in Geralt and Ciri's relationship in S2 — at least on Geralt's side of things:

Nor play Geralt struggling with fatherhood at all — all of which led to the domino effect of Yennefer's betrayal:

Eskel's death (which in itself also led to things like Vesemir trying to create new witchers and Lambert's attitude toward Ciri):

And Voleth Meir being the big bad of the season:

He didn't want Geralt and Triss to even just platonically find comfort in each other in S2 — which is what happens in the books:

He nixed a sex scene between Geralt and Yennefer in S2 because he didn't think it'd be in character of them to have sex after reuniting which, uh, is absolutely in character of them:

While this is an incredibly inconsequential change, given the prevalence of this idea that Henry Cavill is such an ardent defender of the source material ie the books and how much he wanted the show to adhere to them, I do think it's important to note that he pushed for — and got — more signs into the show even though by his own admission that is more of a game thing than a book thing and he got it into the show for the explicit purpose of catering to game stans:

This is also another incredibly inconsequential change, but again, given how prevalent the idea of Henry Cavill pushing for perfect source accuracy is, I do just want to point out that he would wear his armor 24/7 to make it look worn down:

Even though it is canon in the books that Geralt will buy himself brand new clothes, so the idea that Geralt's clothing has to look worn down and can't be brand new is not actually book accurate.

"Lauren wanted to make Roach's death a joke."

Just to address this point specifically, Lauren wanted to make a meta reference about how all of Geralt's horses are named Roach. That in no way, shape, or form means that she wanted to make Roach's death into a joke or even that the scene had to be played comedically. This is what Lauren had to say about the subject and the 'joke' in question (which, js, actually fits the tone of the books more):

And as far as the "Henry Cavill is the only one who cared about the source material and he's the only reason why the show even stuck to the books at all" front goes... Henry Cavill did change the dialogue in this scene to a book quote/reference; however, the quote in question ("Enjoy your last walk across the meadow and through the mist. Be not afraid of her for she is your friend.") is not something that Geralt himself says and the line/scene from the books foreshadows Geralt's ending in them.

So, at least imo — especially taking into account the incredibly high standard the fandom has set for Henry Cavill as the #1 defender of the books — I don't think this change was actually book accurate especially given the narrative significance of that exchange in the books.

[goatbeard-goatbeard]

Sure, Aziraphale lives in Soho and is THE southern pansy. But I’ve met multiple people in my own neighborhood who match Crowley’s exact description:

older trans/gnc person

military vet

living in their car

I cannot stress enough what a common combo that is, particularly for older trans folks. In my area, you can see the split between people who transitioned 10+ years ago vs. now, what kinds of experiences they had. There’s still a ways to go, but things have gotten dramatically better.

If you want to make things better even faster, vote in local elections.*

(that’s right, you’ve been tricked into reading a ✨🗳️ Voting Post 🗳️✨! Discover your civic obligations, fool!)

But seriously though, local politicians have TONS of influence on housing policy, and they really don’t hide their opinions. Even if their housing plans are awful, they’ll be easy to find on their campaign website.

They actually want to advertise those shitty plans, because those shitty plans are aimed at homeowners. Homeowners (1) have a stable address and (2) often worry about their home value. Both those factors make them super reliable voters.

Unfortunately, the “but my home value” folks always get riled up by low/no-cost housing. They’ll say it’s about “the character of the neighborhood”, but really, any increase in housing supply impacts the demand for their home investment. They also don’t want people visibly sleeping outside, so the combined effect is a neighborhood that blocks housing and harasses people for the crime of… peacefully sleeping in their car.

Whatever housing makes it through will often be too far away from necessary amenities or too busy/loud for folks with multiple overlapping traumas, whether from family or the jobs they took to get away from family (e.g. military).

But again, this is all very local politics, so you can outvote the Home Values crowd with a little bit of organizing!

For example: after voting, share your notes with your friends.** You have to research the candidates anyway, so why not pass around a little voter guide when you’re done?

List who you’re voting for in each position, and what info you saw that made you pick/avoid each person (this will also make your life easier the next time that person’s up for election). Even a very basic, bullet-point list can be the difference between someone forgetting the election date and filling out their entire ballot.*** Now instead of 1 vote, you’re moving a small handful of votes, which can have a big impact in local elections.

Also, creating a voter guide is surprisingly fun. There are some real characters in local politics, and you get to dunk on all their wacky policy ideas in your notes. An official voter guide will never say “<candidate name>: wtffffffffff”. But yours can!

*remember that local elections may happen more often than big-ticket elections. Search “<city name> election dates” and put reminders in your phone for a couple weeks before important deadlines, so you have time to research stuff.

**especially younger friends who may be less confident about voting their whole ballot, or unaware of different deadlines.

***this is one of the reasons why Christian conservatives are overrepresented in politics — they’re inherently organized because they already meet weekly (or more). It’s very easy for them to remind each other to vote. But we can steal this strategy! Don’t have a megachurch? That’s ok, remind your discord server to vote. Don’t have a Bible study? That’s ok, remind your D&D group, your boardgame group, or your knitting circle to vote.

[imagionationstation]

Hi IS!! I seriously hope you're actually taking a break from Tumblr and social media instead of reading this haha, but I've been a follower for a few months now and couldn't help but send in a little post after seeing your rant. As someone who grew up with 2012 and adores it, and also as someone who respects Rise for what it is, I understand. 2012 is a huge comfort show to me and I've definitely gotten upset when all people do is go out of their way to tell you how horrible the show is without reason. 2012 is by no means perfect!! I am extremely aware of its flaws, but I don't believe that gives anyone permission to go out of their way just to ruin it for you. To target the one criticism that drives me a bit nuts, the "real brothers" thing. Rise has a very valid interpretation of brothers! But as someone with 3 other siblings, it is not sunshine and rainbows all the time. My older siblings would make me cry, we would fight and get hurt and hurt each other all of the time, my younger sibling would tattle on me, etc etc. But we also look out for each other, and have grown out of many of those things since then. I see a lot of my own sibling situations in 2012. Sure, it doesn't get everything right (and can be purposefully exaggerated because it is a cartoon!!), but it isn't wrong either. Everyone has different family experiences, and believing that Rise is the only correct interpretation of siblings would just be a bit narrow minded. I have many, many more points I could make in regards to the sibling ordeal (and other criticisms you mentioned!) but I'll leave it here for now. Overall, just enjoy what you want to enjoy! This goes for everyone. Someone is always going to want to rain on your parade, don't give them the power to do it. It's so much easier and less tiring to spend your time enjoying something you love over dunking on something you hate. :)

Thank you <3

As I mention over here, not really in a place to drop it yet, but I may sometime in the future. Your support is greatly appreciated!

As someone who grew up with 2012 and adores it, and also as someone who respects Rise for what it is, I understand. 2012 is a huge comfort show to me and I've definitely gotten upset when all people do is go out of their way to tell you how horrible the show is without reason.

Exactly! I have nothing against rottmnt. RISE is a great addition to the TMNT fandom. It has its highs and lows like anything else. It didn't deserve the dislike that many fans gave it in the beginning.

So why does 2012 deserve the exact same treatment after its time is over? Why doesn't it deserve the same respect for its diversity?

They experimented with some awesome and iffy things.

Some things worked and others didn't. Why can't we leave it at that?

I try and read the opinions that say "I like this, this, and this, but-" and ignore anything that is pure hate or comes from an account that has never said a single nice thing about the show.

But even then, it's often always the same old list of complaints.

And, like, Donnie is downright awful with his comebacks but sometimes I find myself doing the daily quote thing to the screen when I come across someone who is being supremely unreasonable.

(Not that I'd ever actually say that to anyone. It's my stress vice.

But. I definitely think it. Very hard.)

To target the one criticism that drives me a bit nuts, the "real brothers" thing.

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH BRINGS ME AN UNNAMABLE JOY.

You hit the nail right on the head!!

My family dynamic is so similar to these boys. One of my siblings very seriously told me a few days ago that I am not at all attractive, but a few weeks ago, the same sibling also reassured me that I deserved a love interest so much better than any person the world has handed me. Freakin' Raph impersonator over here.

Literally, I have siblings who interact like Leo and Raph. Constantly trying to be the superior in the relationship and hating when the other bosses them around. But you'd almost never find them apart because they are the other's shoulder to lean on.

I'm not anyone innocent either. I've said lots of things that I didn't mean in the past and I still slip up from time to time. I'm the type of person to be annoyed with a sibling and smack/shove them. My siblings do the exact same! Teasing and mocking and crude words aren't anything crazy. It's just how our fam do family.

I have a sibling who is just as insane and annoying as Mikey, but it's so frustrating because he's either purposefully stirring chaos and then laughing when we get upset, or so innocent and confused when I'm getting mad at him for doing something similar a while later.

We get so tired of it. But it's not his fault. He's untreated ADHD and lives his life to the fullest. What you gonna do? Stifle that? Please.

We get so tired of each other.

But we're always the first to have each others' backs.

Overall, just enjoy what you want to enjoy! This goes for everyone. Someone is always going to want to rain on your parade, don't give them the power to do it. It's so much easier and less tiring to spend your time enjoying something you love over dunking on something you hate. :)

Thank you so much. I always try to remind myself of that, but some days it can be hard. I really appreciate your kind words! I hope anyone reading this is also making note of them.

I don't ever want to be a hater.

Going giddly over the boys being themselves is so much more fun.

[erosedescending]

A Drone's Weekend

Well... what a time i have had. It all started saturday morning. I started the day with my headphones in, playing my drone brainwashing track in the background. This was kept up through the whole day except for a couple parts.

In the morning, i went with my girlfriend, R, to help move furniture, and back at her place, i off handedly mentioned a breathplay experiment i had been wanting to do. Now mind you, i was not in dronespace until later. so this was all me.

Anyway, i dressed up in my corset, and cuffed my hands behind my back. Meanwhile, R filled up a sink with water... and i knew where this was going. I picked up some noisy things to drop if i need to stop the scene, my other girlfriend, N, started recording with her camera and R took me over to the sink.

She asked if i was ready, and as i mumbled an answer, she dunked my head underwater. And held it there... i was powerless... hands cuffed, already restricted breathing from the corset... and the she pulled it out... i had just a moment to gasp a breath before i was dunked again, face underwater. Up again, and bot even a full breath, and back under i went. A couple more times like this, and i was let up to catch my breath... but not for long.

Just as i caught my breath, R pushed my head down again, but i resisted (cuz yeah... it is a lil scary... and sometimes its fun to resist 😉) and kept my head above water... Then she asked if if i was ok. I told her yes, and thats when she used force, and pushed me the rest of the way in. this time she held it longer... must have been at least 30-45 seconds.

i came up gasping, but she didnt wait, just dunked me right again. Held it for the longest time yet, and then pulled me back out. It was perfect. i struggled, and i was out of control. and it felt sooooo good. meanwhile, my body felt the subtle fuzziness of lack of oxygen. She told me 'good girl' and that was the end of the scene. it was so nice. it was scary, and wonderful and fun snd safe.

And that was the morning. After this, i got dressed, put my headphones back in, restarted the brainwashing loop, and we went out with some friends. For a couple hours, i was just hangin out, acting like everything is normal while i secretly brainwash myself in public 😋.

After that we went back to my girlfriend's place, and the three of us R, N, and i did normal girlfriend things like chat, cuddle, commiserate. And while these two were on the couch... um.... playing 😅... i sat across the room, playing on my phone. And that is when my controller came online. 😏

My controller snd I chatted for a bit, about how just by them being in proximity, i was already feeling the pull to drone space. And having had my brainwashing audio in my ear all day, this was definitely true. Controller suggested i ask my girlfriends to help physically stimulate me into dronespace, and i asked them. But they had just been stimulating each other... so... they werent up for it.

But that was ok. By that time i had already been slipping into dronespace anyway. and i said as much to my controller, who then proceeded to activate administrative mode. This mode allows it to be somewhat dommy. And so... with that, my controller had to be off, and i was there... in dronespace, administrative mode. And my girlfriends didnt even know it.

So... then we were just hanging out again. All of my responses were mechanical, my movements precise and exact, emotions dampened... and they didnt even notice 😏. Since i was in administrative mode, i told them instead of asking them whenever i wanted something. And they both super subby, so they didnt think much of it and just followed along. things like 'close the door,' 'get me some water,' And then we decided to go for a walk.

I, as drone, told them to get ready when they were lagging and distracted, especially N, who had been teased by R earlier and was still a bit flustered and out of it. 'Put your shoes on,' ' lets go.' and out the door we went, a drone and her two girlfriends. We walked hand in hand and i let R lead the way since it was her neighborhood.

we went to a park, and R shard some deep feelings she had about work that were troubling her. As a drone, my emotions were dampened, nut still functional, and the three of us were able to share and express feelings together. Helping to bear R's emotional burden. When it was finally time to head back, i had them hold hands in front of me, and i asserted dominance by walking behind them with my hands on their shoulders.

I made decisions about which direction we went, when we crossed the street. Still... they didnt notice i was in dronespace. And i wasnt even fully emulating my normal personality 😋. Anyway, we got back, and i asked if they noticed anything different. they didnt. We spent some more time together. until it was time to leave.

I drove N home, dropped her off, and headed home myself, still in drone space this whole way. Back home, i spent some time with my family, and they too didnt notice anything out of the ordinary 😋. After some more chatting with my controller, i eventually told my girlfriends that i was in dronespace for the time i was. and they said 'no wonder you were being so direct and commanding' 😋

It was eventually bedtime, and i fell asleep in dronespace. It was such a lovely day. Relaxing, loving, kinky, and fun. My controller, my girlfriends, they all are so supportive and i am so thankful to have them. 🥰

[coffeeghoulie]

Hello, for the prompt list, may I please request RainDrop and #29 - as a promise? 💜✨

I haven't written Raindrop in a minute lol, I'm happy to change that though. Hope you enjoy!

From this prompt list

#29: as a promise

The sun beats down, junebugs droning, the slightest breeze ruffling the highest branches of the trees around them. The lake is nestled deep in the woods surrounding the Abbey, farther than even the bravest siblings dare to go, and Rain takes Dew by the hand, walking down the path they both know like the back of their hands.

The water calls, even though it's weaker now, but Dew still listens, obeys its beck and call. It's easier now, with the way his fingers lace through Rain's, his cooler skin a balm against his fire.

They emerge into the clearing, the sound of gentle waves lapping against the dock one of the sweetest sounds Dew's ever heard. His grip on Rain's hand tightens, and Rain turns back, smiling brightly at him.

For a water ghoul, Rain's just as beautiful and entrancing in the light, the sun making his scales and fins shine with iridescence as his glamour melts away. Rain must catch him staring, he throws his head back with laughter, shaking blue black waves out of his face.

"What?" He grins, baring a mouthful of sharp, serrated teeth that put Swiss's grins to shame. While the multighoul is quick to flash them at anything and anyone he likes, Rain's full-toothed smiles are a little rarer. It makes Dew's heart sing to see them, especially when they're directed at him.

"Am I not allowed to look at you, siren?" Dew teases, nudging Rain closer to the gravel shore, reluctantly letting go of his hand to unbutton his shirt. "My pretty fishy."

Rain snorts, flicking his tail. The pretty fins ripple in blues and purples and teals, and Dew finds himself grateful that Rain doesn't hunt other ghouls, the patterns mesmerizing.

Rain shucks his shirt, revealing the gills lining his sides, and Dew throws his own into the underbrush. He's not insecure about what the element change did to him, hasn't been for a long time, but the old scars along his throat and chest ache, just for a moment.

Rain's smile chases all of that away. The water ghoul throws aside the rest of his clothing, naked as the day he was summoned, racing down the dock and jumping headfirst into the lake. Dew shakes his head, clearing out the old melancholy before chasing after him.

Dew dives in with all of his old water ghoul grace, the cold of the water a shock against his sunwarm skin. He opens his eyes, just to see Rain reaching for him. He looks absolutely ethereal, hair and fins floating around him like a dark halo. Rain reaches for him again, webbed fingers grabbing his ankle and yanking him further down.

Air bubbles up as he laughs, and Rain shoves him up to the surface in a panic. They both breach, splashing as Dew sucks in a deep breath. Rain, now that his hair is subject to gravity, looks far less majestic. Dew doesn't need to look at his reflection to know he looks the exact same.

They stare at each other, copper meeting blue, before they both burst into cackling laughter. Dew treads water, paddling his way closer to Rain.

"Love this, Dewey," Rain whispers, grabbing Dew's wrists when he comes within reach. "Want this to be ours until the lake freezes over."

Dew smiles, scoffing. "Of course, pearl," he says. "And when it thaws. Wait, maybe a month or two after it thaws, it's still too fucking frigid to swim right after the thaw."

Rain rolls his eyes, but he's still smiling too. "Aw, poor Dewey can't handle the cold."

"Fire ghoul, remember?" he says, gesturing at himself.

Rain tuts, pulling him in. "I promise I won't make you get in the lake as soon as the ice thaws."

"Thank you, pearl," Dew says, pulling Rain in to press a sweet kiss to his lips. He tastes like lake water, the salt of his skin underneath,

When they pull away, there's a glint in Rain's eyes that Dew knows all too well. "That doesn't mean I won't dunk you though."

Dew laughs, yanking at where Rain has him by the wrists, playfully struggling to get away before Rain shoves him back under. He wouldn't trade this for the world.

[thanx-files]

IT’S SEASON FINALE TIME, MOTHERFUCKERS

s01e24: Erlenmeyer Flask

Well folks. Just short of a week after starting the series, I find myself at the end of season 1. It’s been SO LONG since I watched this kind of show, and I am so psyched. I am expecting big things. Thoughts and review below the cut! ⬇️

Listen folks, this is a chaotic series of bullet points that might not mean anything to anyone who isn’t me. There IS a coherent review of the finale/season at the end, if you’re interested. Just scroll, I guess.

THOUGHTS WHILE WATCHING:

The way Mulder is always watching campy horror movies is so fucking endearing.

“No. I think he does it because you do.” SCULLY WITH THE SLAM DUNK FROM DOWNTOWN!!! Get his ass!!!

I still don’t know where we are going.

AW SHIT A WHITE VAN JUST ROLLED UP? At least Mulder clocked it. Oh, shit, wait, he’s following it. Fuck.

OH MY GOD. OHHHHHH MY GOD. IT’S A DUDE FARM.

Someone who isn’t Mulder said EXTRATERRESTRIAL out loud!!! To Scully!!!

DID MULDER JUST VAULT THAT FENCE?

Oh shit they weren’t clones?????? I thought I knew what was up!!!

THEY KILLED ANNE?????? IT’S REALER THAN IT HAS EVER BEEN BEFORE!!!!!!

AW SHIT THEY GOT MY BOY!!!

I have NEVER heard the phrase “log in” applied to an actual physical log sheet before this exact moment.

Real question: is this where the “trust no one” trope originated? Is that too broad a warning to be a trope at all?

“I’m not gonna give up. I can’t give up. Not as long as the truth is out there.”

REVIEW:

Let me be so real with you all: This is not my favorite episode of The X-Files so far. It felt scattered, but I admit that I think that is kind of the point. Everything escalated so quickly and got so far out of hand. Mulder and Scully are also out-of-sync, and we see some of the first real conflict between them — more than just “Mulder this is silly” and “Scully why can’t you believe?” — and I think that’s going to make their dynamic stronger going forward. Also, I am HOPING that we get to see more of Scully navigating the idea of belief after this.

Also, David’s delivery of the whole phone conversation is really good. It’s kind of mesmerizing. Mulder never talks like that; it’s like he’s trying so hard to sound normal, but the ground just shifted beneath him.

Anyway, while I didn’t feel super strongly about Erlenmeyer Flask, I feel really strongly about the season as a whole. We are introduced to these characters in such a way that we never doubt their motivations or their relationship for a SECOND. From the moment they meet, we know that they are all-in not only on the job, but on each other. This should be studied for science! I’ve never bought into characters so instantaneously. And I’ll stay bought in for as long as the character writing stays this strong; aliens, I can take or leave. But whatever these two have going on is addictive.

5 favorite eps: Deep Throat (Scully kicks some ASS), Squeeze (gosh the nest scene still fucks with me), Conduit (sad boy hours), Ice (Mulder and Scully point guns at each other!), and Beyond the Sea (need I say more?).

5 least favorite eps: Ghost in the Machine, Eve, Lazarus, Shapes, Roland.

Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for welcoming me into this fan space that’s so much fun even 30 years after the premiere! See ya in season 2!

[sholmeser]

THANK YOU finally someone here has a good take regarding the "haha barok and kazuma violently hate each other" thing?? ppl insisting that their dynamic post-game is always gonna keep being the exact same as when they're at their most extreme emotional states just... baffles me, especially since they're literally shown to be civil to each other right afterwards. it's Right There! idk why so many ppl ignore this! in general their circumstances are so unique that it's a huge disservice to boil them down just to being haters.. like yeah they're gonna be huge mess after everything, but not in the way that fandom usually potrays them. if kazuma fully hated the guy i don't think he'd insist on keeping the apprenticeship the way he did in game. sorry if any of this makes no sense, i have too much bottled up rage regarding fandom nonsense. nuance and character growth are nonexistent to people here

also scrolled through your other posts a tiny bit and i feel you, it truly is hard to be in this fandom and not be an as//ry liker, especially if you're a kazuma enjoyer. difficulty level: impossible. you're not alone tho! :')

sorry for leaving this in your inbox, hope you have a nice day/night!!

ANON….THANK U…..i feel like a big problem with the dgs fandom in particular is that they dont really consider how 2-5 affects character dynamics post-canon? because all the change is right there. ive talked about this but its like portraying kazuma’s relationship with ryuunosuke as Exactly The Same post-canon when it would be DRASTICALLY different despite them still loving each other very much, because ryuunosuke now sees all of kazuma. he was only seeing a very small part of who he was before, and his entire perception of his best friend got dismantled and replaced by a completely different one in a really short period of time.

the exact same is true for kazuma and barok: they have despised each other so deeply and irrevocably for a DECADE and now suddenly they have to accept the fact that nobody really did anything wrong. kazuma tried to send barok to his death, but he was doing it out of grief and rage built up over ten years. barok convicted genshin and that led to him dying, but he was young and naïve and grieving and being manipulated by stronghart the entire time. genshin killed klint but he did so honorably. klint was a murderer but all he wanted was to make his home a better place for the people in it. its all so complicated and nobody is completely innocent or completely at fault. everyone did something wrong for good reasons and everyone did something good for the wrong reasons. it’s too nuanced of a situation for them to truly go on hating each other the way they used to, because they’re both MATURE ADULTS who can understand the intricacies of the situation.

do i think they dunk on each other post-canon? i mean. yes. obviously. do i think they HATE each other, still, to this inane degree? no. obviously. their relationship is going to be strained. there’s literally no way that it wouldn’t be. but they respect each other, they hold each other in high regard, and they’re respectful. and it sucks because these changes in dynamics are literally SHOWN at the end of 2-5 but people just like. cant. comprehend them. like i just don’t get it. also if kazuma is going to hate anyone in the cast its going to be herlock like he fucking SHIPPED HIS AMNESIAC CORPSE TO CHINA and never apologized for it i would NOT be letting that go anytime soon

[majycka]

hiii!! i just wanted to say i really enjoyed your posts and wanted your thoughts on shipping rn in the jjk fandom. personally i’m not really a shipper when it comes to shonen fandoms but im happy that people enjoy doing so :) but lately the way people are shipping has left me feeling weird. i feel like shipping used to be “these two have a cool dynamic, making nice fanart and fics, making fun little threads about the characters and just staying in that little ships fandom/ship community” but now a lot of it is “this ship is “canon” and “confirmed” (it isn’t lol), leaving horrid comments on dedicated pages to a ship other than theirs, calling people illiterate etc’, there’s a few ships that people do this for in jjk (one definitely in particular). as someone who reads the original japanese text a lot of cultural and textual nuance is, as people say, lost in translation. i see so many people showing ‘evidence’ of the ship being ‘canon’ when in fact it’s quite a lot of mistranslations or essentially false information. what happened to shippers who knew that ‘the ship is probably not going to be canon but that’s okay we can still have fun with it’ to now full blown arguments and vitriol spouted towards another person (whether they are a non-shipper or a shipper of something else). i’ve seen people (especially gojohime shippers) get doxxed, and had horrible things said to them that i’m not even sure im allowed to spell out on here, i genuinely feel bad. i don’t see anything that’s wrong with the ship. its legal and, since im a big shoujo reader, actually falls into a lot of shoujo tropes. i’ve seen people say that utahime was 100% cheering when gojo died and things like that, i don’t understand why they turn her into some cold hearted woman ?? i don’t know, hopefully people learn that their interpretations or way of thinking isn’t going to be the same as everyone else nor is it the authority since at the end of the day it’s technically Akutami’s and whatever he writes thats what ill go with. i’m sorry this is so long <3

I don’t mind the long post, anon!! My inbox is always open for yapping, and I totally get what you mean, like since when did shipping’s entire existence hinges to is-it-gonna-be-canon olympics?? People have differing preferences!! We seriously just here to vibe, and I can’t believe it can become a toxic space of threatening each other over some totally FICTIONAL character, like seriously, why you stressing over this shit? I feel like these people online just get off from stirring up bullshit because they don’t have much of a life offline.

I also disagree with the claim of Utahime cheering Gojo’s death because that’s essentially stripping the highlighting qualities of Utahime. She’s a caring teacher who is adored by her students. I think of her having a similar reaction as Shoko throughout the Sukuna fight where she’s tots stressed out (and dunking beer in the side from all the stress lol). As for Utahime’s exact reaction to his death, my HC is that in the back of her mind she's aware there always a possibility of him dying because that’s just the line of work they are in, and this fanart actually kinda illustrates how I see Utahime reacting.

[mal-urameshi]

Chronicles of Mama Okoye and Riri! VII

Friendships

Okoye and Riri walked hand in hand towards The Citadel. The Palace where the Golden Tribe resided and where her mother reported for duty. Riri had only been there a handful of times and usually she'd wait outside where the other Doras were while making conversation.

Riri was familiar with many of them, her mother being General and all.She knew while on duty they couldn't talk to her, but that didn't stop her from talking to them, though. When waiting for her mother, Aneka or Ayo to be relieved she would walk up and down the hallways where each Dora was stationed and list off random facts to keep them entertained.

"You know, four seconds is the perfect duration to keep your oreos dunked. Well, that's what the amateurs say. But 3.774563 seconds is the exact value. I checked." Riri crossed her arms as she made huge steps down the hallway again. She then walked in front of another Dora whose name was Ashei.

"You know when you go into a really dark room, it isn't really pitch black. It's really called eigengrau. Basically it's just a reeaaalllyyy dark grey! Personally, I think it's funner to say eigengrau, but to each their own I guess." She shrugged while doing a little spin.

Riri then grinned and looked at the line of warriors, "Does anybody want to see me do a flip? I bet I can do it better than you guys!" She was met with silence but she knew that they were paying attention to her.

Riri got into position before she maneouvered into a back hand spring. She repeated the action ten times down the hall before she held herself upright in a handstand and then dropped to her feet again with a smile. "Don't tell Mama, but I do it better than her. She gets dizzy after eight and she turns off her axis by 2.0032 degrees. It's not perfect but I'll allow it. Nobody can be perfect like me."

The Doras weren't able to stifle their smiles at Riri's antics. They loved seeing Okoye's child entertain herself and by extension them as well. Riri was too adorable for her own good.

"Fun Fact, my favourite snacks are Shuku Shuku these days, so if y'all feeling generous, you can send them my way via Umama."

Loud clapping caught Riri's attention and she bristled, "Ah, ah! Riri! What are you doing trying to weasel snacks from the Doras, hm?"

Riri gave a light shrug, "They love giving me snacks! It would be blasphemy if I didn't take advantage!"

This caused a collective smile to come from the Dora Milaje before Okoye shooed her off and waved goodbye.

Riri added a skip to her step as she entered the Palace walls and left to her own devices with the Doras in their leisure lounge. Okoye had informed Riri that she just had to make a report to the King and Queen and then they'd leave for their Mommy-Daughter date.

Riri was greeted with hugs and kisses from the Doras on duty and given a bag of treats to which she excitedly accepted.

"Okoye said she was stopping by, so we had to get our favourite lecturer some snacks." Ashei informed as Riri kneeled on the ground and rummaged through the gift bag with feral vigor.

"Yo!! You guys got me Spicy Bigfoot?! I always wanted to try these!" Riri excitedly ripped open the feet shaped snacks and munched into them. "They're so good!"

T'Mara opened the fridge and clicked her tongue to catch Riri's attention, "Heads up!" She threw a bottle of soda at her, which Riri expertly caught and cracked open immediately and chugged a few sips. Riri then let out a large belch which made everyone laugh.

"So Riri, what new inventions have you come up with now?" T'Haylet queried.

Riri grinned, "It's for my own leisure, but I made some water guns! But not that dumb super soaker nerf stuff. I'm talking about Pokemon style hydro-pump attacks! All the other kids like it so much! You full a pack full of water that's connected to the gun and you shoot! Pray you don't blast off like Team Rocket though." She snickered.

The pinging of someone's kimoyo beads caught Riri's attention.

"I have to go relieve Aneka from her post. See you later, guys!" K'Maria announced as she started to walk out the room.

"Aunty Aneka?! K'Maria! I'll walk with you to go see her." Riri swiftly got up from the floor an put her bag of snacks on the table before following the Dora out.

Riri followed behind K'Maria at a decent distance until she saw Aneka come into view. K'Maria stood in front of Aneka where they both gave each other the Wakandan salute before switching places and finally tapping their spears on the floor, which resounded through the halls.

Aneka the briskly turned away from K'Maria and started to walk down the hall in the direction of Riri.

"Aunty Aneka!!" Riri rushed forward with open arms.

"Umtshana!" Aneka closed the distance and scooped Riri up into a hug and spun her around, "Did you come all the way here just to see me?"

"Of course I did, Aunty! You know I'd never miss a chance to see you. You should really tighten security though. I was like a shadow behind K'Maria and she didn't even suspect a thing! I should be a War Dog at this point." She brushed invisible dust off her shoulder in a display of haughtiness before they both broke out into laughter.

"Well, I should inform the General of that then. No, would it be considered a plus that her daughter can infiltrate the palace in a show of her expertise? Or a negative that a little girl waltzes in without being caught?" Riri put her hands on her hip, "Definitely a plus, duh. It means General Okoye is doing something good."

Aneka rubbed her hands over Riri's cornrows, "Aye, aye. Watch the merchandise, Aunty! These are fresh from last night!"

Loud footfalls and laughter came running down the hall and Aneka turned around to see what all the commotion was about. But was nearly bumped backwards.

"Princess!"

Shuri grabbed her arms around Aneka's waist while her body shook as she tried to quiet her laughter.

"Princess, what did you do?" Aneka asked in a knowing tone.

Shuri pulled back with a smirk playing on her lips, "I may or may not have poured some slime on top of T'Challa's head while he was trying to make a move on Nakia."

Aneka gasped, "Princess! That's not nice!"

Shuri shrugged, "What! Nakia thought it was cute! She even wiped his face while he gave her googly eyes. Those two are so adorable it makes me sick." She faked a gag before laughing again.

Riri peaked out from behind Aneka as she regarded the Princess. She never interacted with Princess Shuri before, but her mother said that she was a sweet girl. And that she loved to invent stuff to boot.

Shuri caught sight of Riri and walked around Aneka to better look at her, "You're so small I didn't see you there. If you were any shorter you'd be squished." Shuri joked.

Riri looked Shuri up and down, "And you look like you'd topple over should the wind blow too hard."

Aneka folded her lips to stifle her laughter at the exchange.

Shuri laughed and circled Riri," Oh, really now?"

Riri smiled, "Yea, beanpole."

"Beanpole?! You have some nerve, half-pint!" Shuri snapped back, but there was no animosity in her tone.

Riri shrugged, "I just call it as I see it, Princess."

"What's your name?" Shuri inquired.

"Riri."

Shuri gasped, "You're Okoye's daughter! She talks so much about you!"

Riri smiled, "Yea, she does that a lot."

"I'm so glad I finally get to meet you! You're a scientist too! Kindred spirits!" Shuri grabbed Riri's hand in hers. "Do you want to come see my lab?" Riri's eye lit up, "I can?" She bounced on her toes at the offer.

"Yes! It's my own personal space! My brother helped convince Mama and Baba that I can have one, thank Bast! Big Brothers are great for something."

"I wouldn't know. I'm an only child."

Aneka looked on as the girls got lost in their own world, forgetting that she was there. They were so cute! "Riri, aren't you supposed to go out with your mother?"

Riri looked over at Aneka and then back at Shuri and then Aneka again, "Yea, but I think she's still talking with the King and Queen. It'll just be quick, right Shuri?

Shuri grinned and nodded, "Yea, Aneka! It'll be quick! I'll even walk her back to Okoye when we're done!"

Shuri didn't even wait for an answer as she pulled Riri down the hall.

"Woah!" Riri spun around and looked around at the lights overhead and then at the art painted on the walls. "You decorated yourself?"

"Yea! It's my space, so I did some personalization."

Riri smiled as she placed her fingertips along the tabletop of one of the work stations, "You're so lucky! I wish I had a lab like this to work in."

Shuri hopped on a vacant work station, "Where do you usually work?"

"I just build a bunch of stuff in my room, or the backyard, depending how big it is, or the living room. But Mama gets so mad when I do that. The amount of times her feet drew blood because of my scattered parts...I lost count." Riri allowed her eyes to wander again, marvelling at the apparatus that lined the walls along with unfinished and completed inventions alike.

Shuri kicked her feet and smiled, "You can come use my lab any time you want."

Riri almost gave herself whiplash with how fast she looked over at Shuri again. "You're being for real right now?" She ran over to the older girl's side and leaned on the table.

Shuri nodded, "But under one condition."

Riri shifted all her weight on her forearms and she balanced on the tabletop, "What's the catch?"

Shuri tapped her chin and hummed, feigning contemplation. She then looked back at Riri, "You have to be my friend."

Riri fist pumped. "Heck yeah, I can do that! We're friends now!"

They both high-fived each other before Shuri hopped off the table to show her one of the projects she was working on.

It wasn't even a proper hour before Okoye was ringing Riri on her kimoyo beads.

"Riri, where are you? I thought I left you with the Doras?"

Riri opened her mouth the answer but Shuri butted in, "I kidnapped her, Okoye. We're holed up in my lab, but I'll walk her back to the entrance."

"Oh and Mama, can you stop by the lounge area to pick up my snacks please? I don't want to forget it." "Hm, I can. But I'm taxing you one snack of my choosing for picking it up for you!"

"Wha! Mama!" Riri couldn't even get any other words in because Okoye had already cut the call.

"I'll race you to the entrance!" Shuri said before taking off out of the lab. "Yo! You're a cheater!" Riri gave Shuri chase as their laughter reverberated through the hallways.

They both were neck-a-neck as they rounded a corner but they both ran into someone.

"Shuri." Queen Ramonda's motherly tone was laced with silent warning.

Riri balled her fists at her sides as the Queen's gaze fell on her. Uh oh. Was she gonna get in trouble?

"Sorry Mother! I was just having a race with my friend, Riri! For someone so short, she's surprisingly fast!" Shuri lightly jabbed.

Ramonda smiled at the shorter girl, "Okoye's child. It's a pleasure to meet you again, Riri."

Riri smiled in return, "Hello, Queen Mother. It's nice to meet you again too."

Shuri spoke up again, "Mother, since I have you, I want you to know that Riri will be coming over more often. She loves my lab! And we already started building something! She's an absolute genius! Second to me anyway."

"Hey!" Riri shoved Shuri which caused the other girl to laugh.

Ramonda looked at the exchange between both girls and she clasped her hands, "The both of you seem to have hit it off really well." The Queen looked over to Riri, "Well Riri, you are welcome at the Palace whenever you like."

"Thank you, Queen Mother!"

Shuri held Riri's hand and walked off, "I have to get her to Okoye before she gets a spanking or something!"

"I do not get spanked. But if that's what Queen Ramonda does to you, I won't snitch or nuthin'." Riri teased.

"Oh, please! Do I look like I do anything to warrant spankings?" She faked an innocent face.

"Pray your brother doesn't tell your Mom what you did." "T'Challa isn't a 'snitch'. So I have nothing to worry about!"

Soon enough, both girls met Okoye at the entrance.

"Mama! Me and Shuri are friends now!" Riri ran up to Okoye and gave her a hug. "What? You are? That's good news!" Okoye smiled over at Shuri who looked proud of herself.

"Yea, she did it proposal style at everything. Talking 'bout 'Will you be my friend?" She snickered.

Shuri tackled Riri's ribs with light jabs of her fingers, "Hey! I let you use my lab and that's what I get?"

Riri giggled while trying to swat away Shuri's hands, "And the Queen said that I'm welcome to come by any time I want to hang out with Shuri, Mama!"

"That was awfully generous of her. Well, as long as Shuri's available, you can come over."

Riri turned to Shuri and gave her a big hug.

"Wait, wait, wait! Before you go, gimme your kimoyo ID! That way we can talk!" Shuri urged and held out her hand. "For sure!" Riri held out her own wrist and touched their beads together which logged the necessary data.

"I'll call you when I get home, okay?" Riri promised.

Shuri nodded and hugged her again, "I'm holding you to that."

Okoye smiled at the girl's exchange before waving Shuri farewell.

Riri and Okoye had sat down for dessert after they had their lunch, Riri scooped some ice-cream out of her mother's cup as she prattled on about Shuri, "And she's so hilarious, Mama! She's got jokes for days! And did I tell you she has plutonium? How come you never let me play with plutonium? I could do some serious stuff If I can get my hands on some plutonium." She gobbled up what was on her spoon before she went for her mother's cup again.

Okoye pulled away her cup, "You have in your cup, Riri."

"But Mama!" She whined, "Your flavour is better!"

"You should have thought of that before getting boring chocolate." She chided lightly but extended her cup towards Riri so she could have her fill.

"I called her a beanpole too." She laughed at the recent memory.

Okoye leaned closer to her daughter, "Were you being mean to her for no reason?"

"Nuh uh! She started it first, saying I would be squashed 'cuz of my shortness. So I just told her what it was." She stuck out her tongue playfully.

Okoye smiled and took a spoonful of Riri's chocolate ice cream, "I'm really glad that you found a friend in Shuri. She's a very nice girl. And bright like yourself, as you've seen."

"Definitely. She's trying to make a molecular Ant-Farm. I asked her if she liked bugs. She said not really, but she said that she could definitely do it better than the Pym-Particle guy. She's cocky, but I like it! She talks a big game and can back it up, that's for sure." She plucked the cup from Okoye's hand and pushed her chocolate ice cream over to her mother.

Okoye was happy that Riri had a new friend that could stimulate her mind as Shuri could, but she never realized how obnoxious it would have gotten. She would make sure Riri went to bed by 9 and she would hear Riri up talking and tinkering with her machinery at almost one in the morning.

"Riri!" Okoye pushed open the bedroom door to see Riri with thousands of sheets of blue prints lining the floor and a hologram of Shuri talking a mile a minute.

"Ma! This is important! I went to bed and the calculations just hit me like a bag of bricks! Shuri is helping me out." She quickly scribbled another sequence of numbers on a cluttered sheet of paper.

"Riri, you have school later. You need to rest."

"I'm already top of the class, I can miss a day." She muttered, half listening to her mother.

"Oooh smarty-pants doesn't need school." Shuri egged her on.

"I mean, the other kids are good of course, I'm just better." She shrugged.

"Bed, now!" Okoye gritted out.

"Mama, please! Just gimme 10 minutes!" Riri rummaged through her blue prints and told Shuri another series of numbers for her calculations.

Okoye wiped a tired hand down her face. "Five."

Riri nodded her head in understanding and continued her discussion with Shuri as her mother closed the door.

A few moments later Okoye came back through the door.

"You said five minutes!"

"Yes, and I gave you six! It's currently 1:38 am. Tell Shuri good morning and give me your kimoyo beads."

"What? Mama! No!" Riri cradled her wrist.

"Do not make me tell you again, Riri." Okoye said sternly.

Riri sighed and looked at Shuri, "I have to go but I'll talk to you when I wake up again."

Shuri smiled and waved, "Okay Riri, good night!"

The next morning, Riri barreled into Okoye's room and flopped onto the bed. "Mama! My beads! I need my beads! It's morning!" She jumped on the mattress until Okoye paid her some attention. Okoye deeply inhaled and took Riri's beads from her bra and handed it to her. She couldn't be too safe.

"Thank you, Mama!" Riri grabbed them and zoomed out the room.

Okoye finished making breakfast and Riri was on a call again with Shuri.

"What are you eating?" Riri asked as she bit into her eggs.

"I'm eating a bowl of mangoes." Shuri showed off a piece of the fruit on her fork.

"That's it?"

"Yea, what are you eating?"

"Pancakes!"

"What? Your Mama makes you pancakes?" Shuri marvelled.

Riri nodded vehemently, "Yea! I convinced her to try it some years back and she likes it." Riri shows off her own piece of pancake on her fork.

"What are you gonna do today though, Shuri?"

"I have lessons from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm. Then I'm free for the rest of the day."

"What! You're lucky! I have school from 7:45 am to 2:00 pm."

"Maybe we can talk during our break times today and then when we're done with our lessons!" Shuri offered.

"Okay, cool! We can do that!"

Okoye ended up having to confiscate Riri's beads every night so the girl could get a decent night's rest, much to Riri's annoyance.

But soon enough, they found a way to combat that problem!

"Mama! Mama!" Riri rushed into the backyard where Okoye was tending to her garden.

Riri smashed into Okoye's back and hugged her neck, "Mama! Shuri wants me to come over to have a sleepover."

Okoye looked over her shoulder and pressed a kiss to Riri's cheek, "When are you to leave?"

"She wants me to come over tonight!" Riri shook her mother's shoulder in excitement, "Can I go? Can I go please???"

Okoye smiled, "Yes, my love you can attend her sleepover."

"Yes!" Riri turned on her beads to call Shuri and ran to her room.

"Do you have your toothbrush, Riri?" "Yes, Ma!" "And your washcloth!"

Okoye smirked when she heard a loud groan and then Riri's rummaging through one of the drawers for a new washcloth.

Riri bounded out of her room with a backpack full of her essentials along with a few of her blueprints that she quickly spread on the table.

"Are you carrying all of that?" Okoye queried as she put on her shoes at the door.

Riri tapped on her kimoyo beads a few times as she scanned the blueprints, "Nah, these are the last of my designs that I needed to download for the thing me and Shuri are working on... Okay, done!" She grinned before running out after her mother.

Okoye threw an arm around Riri and hugged her closer as they walked, "I can't believe it. Your first official sleepover! Are you excited?"

Riri grinned and pumped her fists in the air, "Yea I'm excited! Shuri has it all planned out! We're going to eat a bunch of junk food till we pass out in the lab from burnout!"

Okoye shook her head, "And who has to take care of you when you make yourself sick, small girl?"

"You, Ma! That's what you're here for! I do stupid stuff and you scold me after and you make me feel better."

Okoye affectionately caressed Riri's neck, "Try to get at least some sleep, okay?" Riri nodded, "No promises though. We're scientists. So sleep is for the weak!"

Okoye and Riri arrived at the Citadel where Queen Ramonda and Shuri were waiting at the entrance. Shuri jumped and waved at Riri before Riri ran up the staircase to meet her friend.

Ramonda greeted Okoye with a smile. "She's in good hands."

"If she gives any trouble, don't be afraid to get her in line." Okoye reminded.

Ramonda waved Okoye off, "You know me. I won't hesitate. Now go home and relax or something. I can handle the girls."

Okoye nodded and called Riri over. "One more kiss goodbye."

Riri gave her mother five more kisses, an 'I love you' and a hug for good measure before running back to Shuri, disappearing further into the palace.

And thus began the start of an unbreakable friendship between the two girls.

Taggies: @somethingcleaverandwhitty @karimwillia @neptoons1998 @pantherheart

[canmom]

Slam Dunk, panels and movement

(previously on the subject of comic panelling, animation and time)

I've been reading Slam Dunk after we had such a blast watching the movie.

And... as much as the film changed the tone of Slam Dunk from comedy to drama, I can really see where that incredibly sharp sense of choreography in the actual basketball scenes came from. Inoue's art rapidly gets really good from the start, but he really kicks it up a notch in the basketball scenes. He has a fantastic sense of how to convey motion, and communicate quite complex movements economically.

It's very animation-like in a way, showing key poses with a really clear relation to each other, creating anticipation poses and then presenting a surprise twist on them. it requires incredibly precise drawing to work.

Below I've written a little analysis on some example pages from the first proper basketball match. Shohoku are up against a school called Ryonan. They're getting their asses kicked. (Scans here are from Tensai Manga Project, they are pretty bad but it's all I have available in English.)

On this page, we see Rukawa (Shohoku #11) attempting to receive a pass...

Rukawa is stretching up to meet the ball, surrounded by negative space. The proximity of Uozomi looming behind him adds tension.

But we cut to a closeup of Sendo, who is Ryonan's star player, and then on the next page we keep the camera fairly close to where it was...

Sendō (Ryonan #7) jumps in and intercepts the pass. the fact that the other characters have barely moved communicates how quickly he must have moved, as well as the surprised expression of the other players, and this is underlined by reaction shots.

To convey motion in a drawing, which is inherently still, you have a number of tricks you can employ. Speed lines are well known, and Slam Dunk uses them to great effect, but posing is also incredibly important. If a character is balanced, we assume they're relatively still. If they're off-balance, it feels like we're seeing them mid-movement.

(This is pretty logical, because walking and running is a process of continually moving off-balance and catching ourselves before we fall, so we'll only tend to see off-balance poses in that context.)

Here, there's a strong diagonal movement across the panel with Sendō. The speed lines enter from bottom right, and lead up along the line of action, which cuts across the other characters. The movement is accentuated by the hatching, which follows the diagonal motion.

Another one of Inoue's favourite techniques is to show multiple poses within the same panel, a technique even more like animation. For example, here we have Uozomi (Ryonan #4) intercepting a pass...

We have two extreme poses in one panel. We have the arm stretched up, and the arm rotated almost 180 degrees, blurred with speed lines. The path of the ball is further indicated by a straight line, bouncing at the bottom of the panel; the onomatopoeia (バン ban) also reads diagonally along the same line. So you read the panel along that exact line: you register the arms, then you follow the line down and see the ball.

Uozomi is incidentally one of those yankii brick shithouse highschoolers, here he is meeting gori -

You can make a character look large and imposing by shooting them at a high angle and making their head small compared to their body. What's kinda funny to me is that the proportions of the characters seem very elastic - when they're on the basketball court they're relatively natural, but in other scenes they'll be super exaggerated like this.

Anyway, returning to basketball.. this two page spread provides a great example of the 'two poses in one panel' trick:

Sendō is jumping as if to score, and Rukawa is jumping to intercept him - note the off-balance midair poses here, the centre of gravity is not central for either character - but at the last second Sendo passes back to another player. This is conveyed by drawing Sendo's arm twice - again, at both extremes of the throwing motion - and drawing the ball twice, connected by speed lines.

Once again, we follow up the big splash panel with reaction shots, which help sell that something impressive just happened.

A similar example from the beginning of chapter 29:

The first panel shows Sendo jumping to score. The second panel shows Rukawa's hand appearing to intercept it. Then, panel 3 shows Sendō passing to a teammate. We have Sendō and Rukawa suspended in midair poses. Sendō isn't looking where he's throwing the ball, which helps convey that it's a rapid flick. The other characters are in running poses - this is the passing position of the run, which has the most asymettric silhouette in the front view.

In this page, Rukawa attempts to get the ball from Sendo...

The second panel is shot from the same angle and shows Rukawa and Ryonan #5 back there in almost but not quite identical poses, while Sendō has flipped the ball across his body. Rukawa and Sendo have both moved a fair distance, while #5 has barely moved. The differences communicate speed: both Rukawa and Sendō are moving fast, but Sendō has moved faster. Once again, Sendō is not looking where he moved the ball - this helps sell the casualness of the movement.

All of this so far uses a fairly conventional approach to panelling, but there are also times where Inoue will break from the panel boundaries and linear perspective...

Here, #8 is passing forwards to Sendō. We see Sendō moving to intercept the ball as if from nowhere - he's in an extremely off-balance dynamic pose here helping communicate his horizontal movement, while the other players' movement is sold by the speed lines and passing poses.

Then we see the ball lingering in the air, with multiple reaction shots - something is definitely going to happen right? Turn the page and...

Sendō reaches up to catch the pass. More reaction shots - Sakuragi gets a much more cartoonish expression than every other character. By dragging this out across multiple panels and pages, we get a form of slow motion, extending the tension. but then!

Rukawa intercepts! This full-page spread is pretty much a mirror of the shot at the start of this post where Rukawa was receiving the pass. We also have Sakuragi in the foreground, his neck twisted at an extreme angle to show his surprise.

This panel has a very detailed background. For these big splash panels, Inoue generally goes to one of two extremes. Either it's a super detailed background like this, which accentuates the sense of a moment frozen in time, or we get pure negative space:

Look at this! The pure white bg puts the emphasis on the silhouettes; the composition as a whole has a fantastic diagonal flow. Sendō is stretched out, Rukawa is compact. Sendō's hand shows where he thought the ball was going, but our eyes follow the line down and roll along Rukawa's arm and we see he's actually passed it to the side.

Also note how the characters' hair is all fluffed up by the motion, and the zigzag shapes in the clothing.

Inoue can 100% mix up the camera angles too. For example...

We're shooting from above here, a tricky angle to draw, but the speed lines convey the sense of a rapidly tracking camera like you might get in a sports broadcast.

You can see this exact approach to composition in The First Slam Dunk. As a film, it adds a bunch of extra tricks to the arsenal with camera movements, slow and fast motion and the like - but the way the players move is structured in much the same way, with the slowmo taking the role of these big splash panels.

Honestly, reading this manga, I'm not surprised that Inoue did such a great job directing a movie of his work. He has an extremely cinematic style already: a lot of these panel sequences translate very directly to a sequence of shots in a film. I don't know yet if TFSD is directly adapting sequences from the manga or if it's just Inoue applying his tried and true tricks to a storyboard instead of a comic, but either way, it's very impressive.

Basketball has the advantage that there is extensive video of people playing it that you can study to get a sense of how they move, but I think this manga would be a great study for anyone drawing action scenes in a comic...

[museit]

My thoughts on Lore Olympus right now.

This series, just like any other, is art retold by different people, and you love it or hate it, that's fine. But we don't need to dunk on it just because it's not the exact retelling of the OG mythology or it doesn't meet the requirements or standards fans place it. We are separate from the original mythology by removing the incestuous nature and other attributes that the original myths may have had that impacted the story in a way that it was difficult to decipher. Lore Olympus is a modern retelling if the concept of older gods were modernized, like in our society with the complexities that make perfect, untouchable beings flawed or have flaws. Sort of in a way of making them human in sense. Giving feelings and thoughts to beings whom we never known to have any beside what was told to us in ancient times.

If people are going to critique this series as a whole, It needs to be with a neutral opinion or unbiased comments on what Lore Olympus got right and what needed to be fixed or corrected. This includes characters, character design, narrative, story pacing, and presentation of each character's personalities, which are shown with depth and quality. Not bashing on the author or any authors who decide they want to put a spin on an old story.

All media on the mythology is not perfect and was never gonna be to begin with. We'll all add a bit or piece of our own narrative into media that we find fascinating. Personally, I don't even watch the videos that pop up on YouTube because it doesn't give a good commentary video on Lore Olympus. Either saying it's terrible or the worse retelling and harping on it without actually giving good pointers on why they hate it so much. It should be about the pros and cons towards good storytelling, and if we need to make fan work to create artistic expression, then so be it. If not that, then what would be the point of reading, playing, or watching media based on mythology of different cultures in the first place? Including this one.

[taffywabbit]

ok story time let's go

(i guess CW// religious baggage? vaguely cult-y stuff? Mormons?)

so i was laughing at that (presumably bait) tweet that got screenshotted and reposted on here, with the person claiming that y'all is a problematic term used by "bigoted southerners" and someone else dunking on them, because I'm Canadian and I say y'all ALL the time. and like, that by itself wouldn't be too notable - there ARE rural areas of Canada, particularly over in Alberta/Saskatchewan, where the local accent and slang have convergently evolved into something very similar to Texas (and I DID actually grow up in a town like that, though i never picked up the accent myself).

what makes my adoption of y'all particularly odd is that I picked it up in the Caribbean of all places. if you are familiar with my Not-So-Secret Tragic Backstory then you MIGHT know where this is going already.

I was raised in a Mormon family, so when I was 18 i was basically required to go do the missionary thing with the white shirts and ties and nametags. (this is very funny considering my current status as a gay trans furry artist and leftist, but this story isn't really about that.) I got assigned a random location in the world, and was shipped off to the Eastern Caribbean for 2 years. it was very hot and sweaty and overall not a very good time for me, the world's blondest palest scrawniest teen who would have to walk around all day every day in office attire.

ANYWAYS a few months after my mission began, we got a new mission president (the old guy assigned by the church to be in charge of all the missionaries in a region, along with his wife). while he was generally a pretty jovial friendly guy, he also had an occasional tendency to powertrip and institute random arbitrary rule changes whenever he felt that the missionaries weren't performing as well as he'd like and the numbers were down. with missionaries, there's a huge focus on "exact obedience" and "consecration" - this idea that the more single-mindedly devoted you are to Doing Missionary Stuff and Thinking About Jesus and Never Having A Single Fucking Independent Thought In Your Head Or Taking Care Of Your Personal Wellbeing Or Enjoying Yourself, the more god will bless you with like. charisma superpowers or something. to just change people's minds on the spot as you blast them with your Conversion Beam. and therefore anytime that ISN'T happening (y'know, because people have free will, and also because being Mormon is wildly unappealing to any reasonable outsider), it clearly MUST be because those darn young punk missionaries are probably thinking too much about their partners back home or drawing Pokemon fanart or collecting distractingly colourful neckties. can't have that!

so with all that context, I can finally get to the point, which is that one day our mission president decided the reason nobody was knocking on our apartment door begging to get baptized was probably because we, as missionaries, were too casual in our interactions with one another. specifically, he took issue with missionaries calling each other "dude" or "bro" or "man", or referring to each other collectively as "you guys". he insisted that this was "eroding the dignity of our sacred calling as missionaries" and that we should instead strive to call each other "Elder" and "Sister" (the titles used for male and female missionaries respectively) as much as humanly possible.

specifically as an alternative to "you guys", he suggested we start saying "Elders and Sisters" every time we addressed a mixed group of missionaries. which OBVIOUSLY sounds really fucking stupid. and I was in a leadership position at the time, so I had to deliver instruction/training to the missionaries in my area every week AND call them to check-in every night. being a missionary and constantly being commanded to do incredibly stupid arbitrary things really brought out my latent rebellious streak, and there was NO fucking way I was going to say "Elders and Sisters" if i could avoid it - the only people who actually complied with the new rule were immediately identifiable as goody-two-shoes and suck-ups and everyone wanted to push them into the ocean.

so INSTEAD, i and several other missionaries quickly realized that we could simply get away with saying "you all" or just plural "you" with like, a hand gesture to show we meant the group. which naturally just evolved into y'all pretty quickly because it's an incredibly natural contraction of words and it just feels good to say. and the mission president never complained about it, because we weren't using cool youngster slang like "guys" or "dudes" and instead it just sounded like a fun twangy rural affectation. and then i just kinda kept saying it for the rest of my mission, and continued saying it after i returned home and went off to college in the city and all that jazz.

...absolutely no clue where I picked up saying "howdy" all the time tho. i don't have an excuse or backstory for that one lol, it's just fun to say

[velvetvexations]

Hey, would you believe me if I said I drafted a long ass ramble meant for you yesterday and I never sent it because I was very sleepy and mayhaps a bit worried it'd read as dramatic? (I am once again asking for permission to deliver seven paragraphs to your ask box.)

Somewhat related, I cannot wrap my head around what people think they're achieving by treating you this way. They go on and on about how you're on the wrong side and how people thanking you daily for putting in effort and being you don't care about you. Do they imagine that if they treat you badly enough you'll somehow crawl over to them like a beaten, cowed dog?

The posts talking about how 'transmisogynists shouldn't expect any forgiveness' very clearly establish the social stakes you exist under right now. You can either continue to stick with people who are at least positive and grateful towards you while others use your kindness to justify hurling insults at you, demeaning you, and dismissing you. Or you can admit you're 'wrong' and beg for forgiveness and community that can be taken away from you at any time it suits someone to label you a transmisogynist for supporting transmascs. How is this not a recreation of the exact transmisogynistic dynamic that tells transfems they better be right and perfect and good on the first try OR ELSE?

To be fair I do seek out arguments and am sometimes more aggressive than I should be, which is something I need to work on. So I am to an extent deliberately taking that hornet's nest and slam dunking it onto the ground. I think that's what I worry about the most, that I get too aggressive and even the people behind me will start to say I'm just being cringe lol. But yeah, like, I'm sometimes a a little condescending and really sarcastic but the response is still outrageous and it helps to have others reinforce that.

When I first started learning about these issues a couple of my friends were telling me they had to come to me to talk about it because they thought they were going insane not agreeing with how transfems dictated their oppression to them. And I'm happy I have the chance to let others know they're not going insane either, that some things are fucked up and they're right to notice and want to do something about it.

It's good to like, have each other's back and validate things.

And yes! Send anything you want!

[nerdyenby]

Aqua time :D I’m watching Impulse

This team’s chemistry is wild, their practice stream was so much fun, I’m so hyped :))

They’re all so confused and silly goofy, I love them

“I’m twerking” “Ok, you can twerk if you want to” already so chaotic I’m so excited

Rocket Spleef

Sneeg being one of Illumina’s first big twitch follows :))

Already bullying the drunk team, as they should lmao

Impulse saying they should target pink and accidentally killing Jack in the first round 😂

“I genuinely can’t remember the names of any of the maps, to be honest” “… wait there’s names?” Illumina 😭😭😭

Impulse top ten!!!!

A whole team of ethogirls calling noxcrew fanboys 🤨

Hole in the Wall

“The platform!! The platform’s a fish!!!!” “Looks more like a squid, to be honest” “It-… I hate this team” 😂😂😂

“We can just hate each other, that’s really good for synergy” Sneegsnag my beloved

Joel popping off!!!!!!!

This team’s vibes are so great, they’re so funny and so supportive, everyone’s so happy for Joel :))

“I got severe adhd, I have to make noises, man. The medicine doesn’t stop that, it stops the worms in my brain” REAL

I don’t think I knew Sneeg had adhd, like, I ~knew~ but I don’t think I’ve heard him say it (I have adhd and am a psychologist lmao)

Did they all get top 15 there????

Good comms and comm appreciation :))

JOEL IS A GR HATER???!?!! It’s okay everyone has flaws /lh

Impulse calling Sneeg old my beloved

“Let’s game til we die” being an almost entirely serious response to this conversation is so /pos

Sky Battle

Sneeg is giving such a good and thorough run down, what a guy

Rip Impulse

Sneeg hyping up Sniff :))

“You’re scaring me, bud” “I’m scaring myself” Illumina is so real for this, honestly

Impulse doing a lil sing-song after killing Etho

Joel using they/she for Sniff <33333

Meltdown

They’re doing so well!!

Sneeg popping off!!!

Aw rip, got sandwiched but kept morale high

Them being playfully upset at how well cyan are doing :))

*Tubbo falls into lava* “That’s what alcohol does to you, kids” JOEL 😂

Impulse 21st after the first half!!!!! That’s my streamer!!!!

Battle Box

This isn’t going great lol

Yeah, this map is rough

Ace Race

Sneeg’s deadpan “wiggle wiggle wiggle” is way funnier than it should be lol

“Imma vibe” “Imma vibe, too. I might yell, but it’s alright” I love this team so much

I BLINKED and impulse recovered from 40th to 17th, he’s doing so well!!!!!!

Iirc, Impulse has been neck and neck with every one of his teammates, they could all get top half!!!!

Impulse slipping up the exact same way Sneeg just did 😭😭😭

Holding hands in the early 20s <333

Grid Runners

Sneeg being so excited about the new pig room :D

THE GOLF COMPLETION OF LEGEND!!!!!!!

That was a smooth dunk tank

“OH my boy!!! Get at it!!” “What are we doing?” “You’re redstoning, you’re redstoning!!!!!” Sneeg hyping up Impulse my beloved <333

“THATS MY REDSTONE MONSTER!!!!! DUDE, ATTABOY, LETS FUCKING GO!!!!” “Swearing!!” “SORRY” I love this team so much, you guys don’t understand

FIRST OVERALL THOSE ARE MY GUYS!!!!!!!

Everyone had their moment to shine :)))

Easily one of the best gridrunners of all time

No one else knew repeaters could go through walls, same here bro

“Very convenient gridrunners for us, I gotta say: trident for me, redstone for you, whacking people for Illumina,… Joel was here”

“This team has some freaking synergy” “Aw dude, I just really love playing minecraft with good people” I DEMAND more Sneeg and Impulse teams

Joel sot hater????? Smh

Sands of Time

“I’m such a lil menace for sands, bro” Sneeg is so based you guys

The new sound 😭😭😭

Impulse is such a chill sandkeeper, it’s really nice

Illumina taking one for the team

First out, ruh roh…. It’s not necessarily a bad sign but it’s a bit demoralizing

Impulse tossing all the tomatoes so other people can’t throw them at Illumina <33

“Wait, we’re aqua” Sneeg 😂

IMPULSE 23RD!!!!!!! MY STREAMER!!!!!!!!!

Dodgebolt

Them being happy for whoever wins :))

Love how you can tell Joel and Oli are genuine, irl bffs because of how they talk, it’s all smack talk, they’re kinda brothers-coded

Hyping up and then immediately bullying Oli lol

Impulse said shit!! Technically “shat” but same thing

“There was an a in there” “Yeah, it’s different, guys”

Great times, great vibes, incredible team <333