#especially when connecting it to a lack of serious love interests for both characters

[camelspit]

(spoilers for the marella short story)

i think we need to actually consider the importance of canon marellinh, if that truly is what shannon meant to do (this does have to be taken with a grain of salt, since shannon is known for accidental queercoding.) after all these years of joking about the seemingly implied queer shit between the characters, to actually get something canonical? especially when a lot of us on tumblr are lgbtq+ in some way? it means so much and I genuinley cannot describe my feelings on it. to be in this fandom for years and all of a sudden have this? holy shit. even more insane when you consider a large part of the fandom is christian, many of whom are or have parents who are homophobic. this is a big move from shannon, and I genuinley cannot wait to see if it was intentional.

[ipseitydelrey]

headcanons: dating spencer reid ♡

(i’m so totally normal about this man)

ship spencer reid x gn!reader

warnings mentions of schizophrenia & alzheimer’s

a/n thought this would be a good first post! interaction would be appreciated, but your readership would be enough! enjoy~

★ he regularly gives you books he has read, completed with small annotations.

★ to go with the previous headcanon, you would give him more modern books you enjoy as opposed to the classical/foreign ones he gifts.

★ expect for your first couple of dates to be more awkward (he has definitely asked derek for advice on more than one occasion).

★ he makes it a point to learn all that he can about whatever you like at the moment, even if he himself isn't into it/doesn't understand the appeal. it's mostly just so he can connect with you more and to share fun facts about your interests.

★ he's awful at cooking, but once or twice, he has definitely attempted to cook a homemade meal for you two as a romantic gesture. you both decided that what he made wasn't edible, but you appreciated the attempt and ordered takeout instead.

★ weekly bookstore visits! half of the time you would go to barnes & noble for your literary needs, but you two also enjoy supporting local bookstores (+ they tend to have rare books too).

★ when you two are cuddling, he loves it when you run your fingers through his hair and give him a head massage; it really helps with his migraines.

★ convention is in town? best believe that you two are wearing matching cosplays, especially if the characters you're dressing up as is canonically a couple.

★ spencer doesn't just ask derek; he also asks penelope and jj for advice too.

★ on the first couple of dates he generally avoided touching, but now? he can't get enough of you, how warm you are and how soft your hands are.

★ much like how he tends to go on a tangent, he loves it and listens intently whenever you infodump about a topic you're interested in.

★ antique stores! you both find the atmosphere lovely and you would get gifts for each other there.

★ his love language is praise, both giving and receiving. he wants to make sure you feel loved and wanted. even when it's something small, like getting him coffee for example, he'll go on and on about how wonderful you are, how good you are to him and how much he loves and adores you.

★ on the receiving end, he'll absolutely melt if you give him reassurance that you reciprocate his love. and if you hold him — cup his cheeks or wrap your arms around his waist — while whispering praises? as emily said, IQ of 187 slashed down to 60.

★ the first time he said "i love you" was sort of an accident. he had just come back from a case and he was so tired that he collapsed into your arms and you had to drag him to bed. you were making sure he was comfortable and in his delirious state he mumbled "love you" in the sleepiest voice imaginable.

★ movie nights! whenever it's his turn, he either picks some pretentious, foreign language, criterion collection, 3+ hour film...or he just puts on reruns of star trek or doctor who.

★ when you moved in with him, you both had to buy another bookshelf. both because of the books strewn around spencer's apartment that were unable to be shelved due to overcrowding, and to fit your books there too.

★ he's super worried about doing something wrong. this is probably his first actual serious relationship, so he's being extra cautious to not accidentally insult or hurt you. over time, he learns to relax around you but the worry is still there, just in small doses.

★ he doesn't really like PDA, but he makes up for the lack of it with tons of hugs, kisses, and close contact in private (specifically at home, but anywhere private will do).

★ whenever you two go out and you want to wear formal attire, he'll help you with putting it on! he'll zip up your dress, help tie your tie, fasten your necklace, maybe help with cuff links. he absolutely loves being able to assist you with anything, no matter how small.

★ he was definitely worried when he brought you to go meet his mom for the first time, so he made sure to pick a day where she would be in one of her good moods and also told you everything he knows about schizophrenia and alzheimer's. he was thankfully relieved when his mom liked you and vice versa.

★ a bit corny, but he loves reciting love poems to you. this can also extend to passages from books that discuss romantic love; he has an eidetic memory after all and he's going to put it to good use!

[shadowstarion]

ahem ahem aheeem..... ermmmm as a poly party enthusiast, would youuuu possibly have any more headcanons on the tadpolycule? 👀👀👀 thank you so much!!!

YES I HAVE SO MANY THOUGHTS. i’ll go character by character for headcanons and how i imagine different dynamics.

tadpolycule headcanons!

shadowheart is basically programmed to be non-monogamous and extremely repressed at the same time. it’s just sex and physical attraction with astarion and karlach until it isnt and then things get complicated. the idea of casual openness throughout the camp is comforting to her— clearly if they were interested in pursuing other partners that meant whatever they had with shadowheart wasn’t anything serious, right? she’s definitely closest to astarion and karlach but not at all opposed to fooling around with anyone else (maybe even aylin and isobel if they’re into it)

astarion isn’t sure about all this, but the lack of exclusivity is similarly comforting. he can make his own decisions about who he wants, what he wants, and when he wants it. he can decide that he’s craving a particular partner or type of play and he’ll have it damn near guaranteed. he’s showered in love from head to toe in every way he could possibly want it. the additional benefit to having flexibility in partners is that he never has to go without blood again, but he does have his preferences. shadowheart, halsin, and wyll are his top 3.

karlach has big feelings for everyone. shadowheart is her primary partner in the sense that their relationship is both romantic and sexual. when it comes to the rest of the group it’s usually one or the other; she has strong platonic bonds with wyll and gale that seldom cross into sexual territory, and sexual attraction to astarion and halsin thats more of an undefined grey area between romantic and platonic. she is also the group nicknamer; she will call you things and they will stick. shadowheart is shaddy or princess, astarion is fangs or stars, halsin is big guy or boss, wyll is prince charming, gale is teach

gale my absolute autistic legend does not even realize he’s included in whatever this is until it’s far too late. he can flirt yes, but being flirted with almost always goes over his head. gotta push my bladeweave agenda here by saying he’s ultimately closest to wyll, they’ve got some real friends to lovers/same trauma let’s kiss about it dynamic going on. as for the others i think he’s down horrific for shadowheart and halsin. has some weird sexually charged rivalry with astarion that’s mostly one-sided on astarion’s part. and karlach is just a solid bro

wyll is the group goody two-shoes without a doubt. he gets so easily flustered especially when it comes to astarion, karlach, and shadowheart. astarion flirts with him and poor wyll is a trainwreck, karlach is majorly physical once she’s able to be and it makes wyll’s heart race every time she hugs him, and shadowheart is so pretty it leaves him tongue tied. wyll’s a gentleman about everything too, he’ll give gale his coat as soon as he notices the wizard is shivering, insists that halsin take a rest and let him finish up chopping their firewood, etc.

halsin is the poly expert!!! he would absolutely be the one to give everyone else they language they need to discuss their relationships and boundaries. he’s the most sexually open of them all and doesn’t have any particular setbacks when it comes to sex; he’s happy to indulge anyone who wants him and let them indulge in whoever else they’d like. with halsin everything is super casual but intimate at the same time, all about pleasure and connection and enjoying life as nature intended. he’s the group service top and has definitely been called daddy at least once by everyone.

[lloydfrontera]

i'm not sure how intentional this was but i do think there's something extremely poignant about how similar javier and alicia are to each other. especially in the context of their roles of the original story.

like. they're both sword prodigies, both extremely dedicated to being the best they can be, both reserved and unwilling to open up to others easily. and it's not often but sometimes their thoughts just,,, echo each other. and not like lloyd and javier's do, where they're both thinking the same thing but from opposite perspectives, no, they just both have very similar ways of thinking.

I am not afraid. She wasn't confident that she would win. She didn't expect to. But it didn't matter to her. Even if she lost and perished, she vowed that she would at least buy enough time for her kingdom and people to be prepared to protect themselves. That is why. She walked toward the Bone Dragon once again without a moment of hesitation. This is my duty Failure. Death. None of it scared her. She instead glowered at the Bone Dragon with a calm gaze. -Ch 217

Javier tightened his grip on the sword and turned around, swining the blade empowered by the remainder of his aura and his eight. It was significantly weaker than usual, but that did not matter. Just once. As long as he could deliver some kind of damage to the king of hell, there was hope for Javier; Lloyd could perhaps survive. [...] Javier bled from his left shoulder once again, as he readied himself to launch another strike. He turned pale and his movement slowed down. But the grandmaster did not stop. Not yet. It wasn't over. Lloyd was still unconscious. He had to buy him more time so his unruly master could get up and run away. That was his duty as knight. -Ch 398

it's not that often and it's not that noticeable (mostly because there's a serious lack of alicia's pov compared to what we get of javier's but i digress) but i do think it's interesting.

and i think it makes sense when you take into account their roles in the original novel. javier as the protagonist, alicia as the antagonist, it makes sense their characters align in order to make parallels and contrast to each other.

i think it's a shame we don't really get to explore alicia's role as the villain in the original story beyond what little we get from the ending spoilers. nor the dynamic she would've had with javier as the hero. they, more than anyone else in the story, were made for each other. they, more than anyone else, should've been intrinsically linked to one another. but instead they're both just,,, around each other without ever quite touching. not truly. not in any significant way.

i dunno, i just think it was a missed opportunity to not have them develop their own relationship outside of their connection to lloyd. it would've helped to balance out the dynamics between the three and made alicia actually feel like a third protagonist rather than awkward love interest.

also i'm obsessed with the metanarrative of tged and it sucks that alicia's role as villain has almost nothing to do with the restoration of fate. if the role of protagonist is so important then the role of antagonist should've had at least an impact in the story rather than just being something to avoid!

[mysticstarlightduck]

OC Picrew Tag!

I found this really cool Picrew and decided to make some of my OCs using it! I think you guys might like giving it a try as well, so I'm tagging a few people in this post (:

Here we go!

Rules: Use the provided Picrew to make one of your WIPs OCs, then provide a quick description of the character, and (optionally) a "funny/bad" version of a summary

SUPERNOVA INITIATIVE

Deimos Soll

About: An infamously silver-tongued assassin, sniper, and mercenary known for being unpredictable and always having hidden intentions, Deimos is Jack and Cassie's former crewmate and first childhood friend, turned rival, turned begrudging-friend-again. Deimos is the most successful and deadly sniper in the whole galaxy, feared even by the Junction at his full potential.

Badly/Funny Summarization: Essentially a young, alien, 'space opera' version of John Wick with extra angst and a very questionable moral compass

Lyorna Alyrii

About: A young and optimistic freedom fighter from a water folk of a faraway planet in the Khosmonian galaxies who believes in a freer future for her people and an end to the oppressive regime of the Junction. Focused and brilliant, Lyorna wants to uphold her father's legacy and bring peace to the galaxy. She becomes friends with Jack Tithus during his crew's mission on the Khosmonian galaxy and later on they become each other's love interest.

Bad Summarization: An overly optimistic, too-precious young adult who should be protected at all costs and has almost no plan for anything at any given moment in time and should not be left unsupervised.

Noctus

About: Though his full name is classified and unknown to the cast, his reputation precedes him. He is the single most successful special forces secret agent currently in the employ of the Junction - he has never failed a mission, never missed a target. And he always follows orders, always obeys the rules. However, is everything about him what it seems? A forgotten and suppressed part of his memory may prove that the system he fought so dearly to uphold may have actually made him into their perfect living weapon, and there may be many other lies yet to be uncovered

Bad Summarization: Twenty-something secret agent done with everything and everyone who only wanted to have a simple mission and ends up 'adopted' by the gang of misfits he was sent to supervise.

SONG OF THORNS

Tullieh Aerlys

About: The undefeated and steadfast commander of the Guardians, who protect the Mountain Elves' hidden kingdom and keep outsiders from discovering their land. Tullieh is a serious, no-nonsense young man to whom duty and honor mean everything, due to a personal grudge against humans, especially those who hunt mythical beings, he will do anything to honor his vow and keep his people - especially his younger siblings - from being found by outsiders, even if it means being ruthless and unforgiving to a questionable degree.

Bad Summarization: Traumatized ancient teenager who grew up way too fast and should never have been given a gun and a sword under any circumstances, but has both of those things and a lack of self-preservation instincts to make everything worse.

Renn Atrius

About: A foreign noble from beyond the royal lands, he was forced into the lifestyle of a thief from a young age, after being orphaned when his father, a Vampyr, was murdered for refusing to obey their neighboring kingdom's crown. Learning the art of disappearing into the night and taking valuables from the land that took everything from him and colonized his nation, Renn quickly became quite the nuisance for the King. But thankfully to his connection to raw blood magic, his slight vampiric abilities ensure no human soldier ever proves a real threat to him. He starts to fall in love with Roselyn, having become friends with her after trying to steal her coin purse (having mistaken her for a tourist from the capital).

Bad Summarization: Goth dhampyr way too reckless for his own good chooses to be a menace to the System while also refusing to deal with his very much unresolved childhood trauma.

Cadenza Narellie

About: A young faery noble, Cadenza is the only child of a once-powerful, now defamed, High House. After rumors about her father's supposed alliance with their nation's enemies, the human royals from the neighboring kingdom, their reputation came crashing down, and so did the bond they once shared, as her father grew mysteriously distant from her. Realizing something is seriously amiss, Cadenza takes it upon herself to investigate and find out the truth about what is truly happening, even if it gets her accused of treason herself.

Bad Summarization: Local faery with way too much time on her hands and no friends decides to dive into a conspiracy and is surprised when that decision has consequences.

Tagging (gently): @sleepy-night-child, @kaylinalexanderbooks, @smol-feralgremlin, @oh-no-another-idea, @littleladymab,

@winterandwords, @cowboybrunch, @eccaiia, @sarahlizziewrites, @illarian-rambling

@agirlandherquill, @anoelleart

@leave-her-a-tome, @writernopal, @anyablackwood, @unstablewifiaccess, @forthesanityofstorytellers

@i-can-even-burn-salad, @cakeinthevoid

@lassiesandiego, @thepeculiarbird, @clairelsonao3, @memento-morri-writes, @starlit-hopes-and-dreams and OPEN TAG

[lucky-clover-gazette]

prince's gambit highlights & annotations

chapter 1

indented text is from the book. some quotes have commentary, some do not. some comments are serious, and some are definitely not. most of them will only make sense to people who have read the series. and, like, there are spoilers. so please read the books first if you're interested!

also: part of the reason i'm doing such a close reading is to study cs pacat's style, especially in terms of how she does romance and erotica. there are "craft notes" that might seem weird, like i'm being redundant or restating something rather than analyzing, but those are more things that i want to remember/take away from the writing!

i'm going to tag these longer posts with "sam reads capri" in case anyone wants to read them all at once.

this is a google doc i wrote with overall content warnings for the captive prince series. it's not perfect, but i do think it's important to include.

Across the courtyard, a couple of alaunt hounds came bounding down the stone stairs to throw themselves ecstatically at Laurent, who indulged one of them with a rub behind the ears, causing a spasm of jealousy in the other.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

the first thing laurent does in this book is pet a dog. i love him so much.

craft-wise, this foreshadows the shift in damen’s perception of laurent that occurs throughout book 2. his/our first impression of laurent in book 1 is him cruelly demeaning damen, almost like a dog, which is something we’re meant to hate. our first impression here is him affectionately indulging actual dogs who clearly know and love him. this might make the reader ask: why do these animals love laurent, when we understand him to be cruel? is our understanding incorrect, and/or incomplete?

context: in arles, the regent closely observes laurent’s attachments. he can and will destroy anything or anyone laurent cares about. but here, outside of arles, it makes sense that laurent would immediately feel more comfortable being affectionate.

laurent’s hot girl summer has officially begun ✨

Damen craned for a glimpse but, not being an owl, saw almost nothing.

The physician rummaged in the satchel and produced one of his endless ointments.

doesn’t this become a running gag? ointment reference #1

That was really too much. ‘It’s cosmetic?’

does damen take pride in his scars, and other physical indications of his experiences? that could be an interesting parallel to the cuffs throughout the series. or maybe he just knows he’s hot either way. or doesn’t want to be fussed over.

he is technically still laurent’s property—has laurent given any kind of indication that he finds the scars unattractive? or did paschal simply make that assumption, which laurent then went along with, knowing it would annoy damen?

The physician said, ‘I was told you would be difficult. Very well. The better it heals, the less your back will trouble you with stiffness, both now and later in life, so that you will be better able to swing a sword around, killing a great many people. I was told you would be responsive to that argument.’ ‘The Prince,’ said Damen.

paschal, sighing deeply as he commits laurent’s exact words to memory: i’m about to become the first homophobe in vere because these petty gay bitches can’t keep their nonsense to themselves

actually, new thing to count—every time a minor or secondary character has a valid reason to complain about damen and laurent’s lack of professionalism in the workplace. this is lamen hr complaint #1 (paschal).

But of course. All this tender care of his back, like soothing with a kiss the reddened cheek you have slapped.

great line.

connects to an ongoing theme: niceness vs. goodness. damen “sees through” laurent’s niceness, as it conflicts with laurent’s meanness that he personally has experienced. in the same way damen has a favorable bias towards kastor and the regent, he has an automatically unfavorable bias against laurent. which is totally fair, given the events of book 1! but this is a new book, and a new stage in damen’s overall series arc.

additional theme for books 2&3: tenderness. a wound is tender; it aches in need of soothing. but what soothes an ache? tender care. if nice is good and mean is bad, where does a concept like tenderness fit in? how exactly will we go from “all this tender care of his back, like soothing with a kiss the reddened cheek you have slapped” to “i think if i gave you my heart, you would treat it tenderly”?

Damen snorted. ‘It wasn’t that bad.’

a consistent damen behavior: the refusal to admit that he is helplessness, and/or experiencing circumstances beyond his control. i would call it toxic masculinity, but i don’t think it’s meant as gender commentary—it has more to do with being a prince and a king, worthy of the throne. toxic royalty, if you will.

‘If you served the King,’ said Damen, ‘how is it you now find yourself in the Prince’s household, and not his uncle’s?’ ‘Men find themselves in the places they put themselves,’ Paschal said, closing his satchel with a snap.

laurent of vere: the people’s prince ✨

also, interesting juxtaposition with previous dialogue about damen and paschal both being at marlas, on different sides of the battle. can we truly say that damen, at age 19, had put himself there? what does that suggest about his character and his kingdom?

‘Yes, of course,’ said Damen. Then stopped. Jord didn’t notice.

he needs acting classes from laurent

Damen said, ‘If you’re not going to tip your head back, why don’t we go find Paschal? He can give you a scented ointment.’

HA. ointment reference #2.

Damen thought of the ivory and gold casing that held a creature duplicitous, self-serving and untrustworthy. ‘You’re so loyal to him. Why is that?’

really nailing in the damen perspective subversion setup. also, the irony re: aimeric's loyalty!

Damen joined the work, where he was the only man to smell, expensively, of ointments and cinnamon.

ointment reference #3. he’s expensive.

‘Aimeric’s young. He says it won’t happen again,’ said Jord. It will happen again, and once the two factions in this camp start retaliating against one another your campaign is over, he didn’t say.

i love how we finally get to see damen in his element here, after experiencing The Horrors for 13 + prologue entire chapters in book 1

‘The Captain is in one of the horse stalls, up to his waist in the stableboy,’ said Jord. ‘The Prince has been waiting for him at the barracks. Actually . . . I was told to have you fetch him.’ ‘From the stables,’ said Damen. He stared at Jord in disbelief.

laurent wastes no time before assigning damen unpleasant tasks. does this count as an hr complaint? i mean it would be damen doing the complaining, am i counting charges they have against each other? no. they’d wreck the curve.

Inside, Govart was unambiguously fucking the stableboy against the far wall.

“unambiguously”

‘The Prince stays here often?’ The castellan mistook him to mean the keep, not the rooms. ‘Not often. He and his uncle came here a great deal together, in the year or two after Marlas. As he grew older, the Prince lost his taste for the runs here. He now comes only rarely to Chastillon.’

context: >:(

Laurent said, ‘I have saved you till last.’ Damen said, ‘You owe the stableboy a copper sol.’ ‘The stableboy should learn to demand payment before he bends over.’

“honey, i’m home!” sitcom entrance

‘Your virtue’s safe. It’s just water. Probably.’

somebody’s feeling playfulllll

Laurent placed the goblet carefully back on the table, and picked up the knife. It was a sharp knife, made for cutting meat. Damen felt his pulse quicken as Laurent came forward. Only a handful of nights ago, he had watched Laurent slit a man’s throat, spilling blood as red as the silk that covered this room’s bed. He felt shock as Laurent’s fingers touched his, pressing the hilt of the knife into his hand. Laurent took hold of Damen’s wrist below the gold cuff, firmed his grip, and drew the knife forward so that it was angled towards his own stomach. The tip of the blade pressed slightly into the dark blue of his prince’s garment. ‘You heard me tell Orlant to leave,’ said Laurent. Damen felt Laurent’s grip slide down his wrist to his fingers, and tighten. Laurent said, ‘I am not going to waste time on posturing and threats. Why don’t we clear up any uncertainty about your intentions?’

laurent explaining to damen that his behavior in arles was a bit in the most insane way possible

He was so infuriatingly sure of himself, proving a point. Damen felt desire come hard upon him: not wholly a desire for violence, but a desire to drive the knife into Laurent’s composure, to force him to show something other than cool indifference.

they’re so normal and well-adjusted

He said: ‘I’m sure there are house servants still awake. How do I know you won’t scream?’ ‘Do I seem like the type to scream?’ ‘I’m not going to use the knife,’ said Damen, ‘but if you’re willing to put it in my hand, you underestimate how much I want to.’ ‘No,’ said Laurent. ‘I know exactly what it is to want to kill a man, and to wait.’

“yes, and” “yes, and” “yes, and”

Laurent said, ‘When this campaign is over, I think—if you are a man and not a worm—you will attempt to gain retribution for what has happened to you. I expect it. On that day, we roll the dice and see how they fall. Until then, you serve me. Let me therefore make one thing above all clear to you: I expect your obedience. You are under my command. If you object to what you are told to do I will hear reasoned arguments in private, but if you disobey an order once it is made, I will send you back to the flogging post.’

this is their starting place for the book! “we hate each other, we owe each other nothing, we know that we are going to eventually attempt to kill each other—but for now, we are calling a truce and working together”

also. would laurent still love damen if he was a worm 🥺

Another pause, and then Laurent indicated once again to the chair. This time Damen followed his prompt and sat. Laurent took the chair opposite. Between them, unfurled on the table, was all the intricate detail of the map. ‘You said you knew the territory,’ Laurent said.

this is part of why i love damen and laurent so much as a pairing. they have interests and skills in common, and they make a genuinely good team. they’re intellectually compatible, in addition to sexually and romantically compatible.

[nerdwithabirb]

In Praise of Bluey

I haven’t been on Tumblr in a hot minute because life marches on and I forget about some of my socials for a while.

Anyway, today I’m doing something a little different in the form of a longass rambling post so if you read to the end, you’re great and I hope all of the dogs you meet want you to pet them. (If you’re not a fan of dogs, insert whatever your favourite animal is.)

I’m not a parent. I will most likely never be a parent. I got my tubes removed almost two years ago now, by choice, because of medical issues that would impact a pregnancy, and sociopolitical issues I don’t want to bring a kid into. If I decide I want children, I will adopt them. But for now, my nephew is enough to get my fix of hanging out with kids.

With that said, I adore Bluey. It’s a masterpiece of animation, especially as far as modern kids’ shows are concerned.

Conflict Resolution and Realistic Characters

I find that many modern children’s shows are, for lack of a better word, sterilized. They don’t seem to like to show any sort of conflict. Bluey shows conflict. The Heeler sisters get frustrated with each other, with their friends, with their other family members. Bluey herself can be bossy and vindictive at times, occasionally bullying her sister Bingo, her cousins Muffin and Socks, and her classmates. Bingo is shy and sensitive and has a love of nature, but she runs into problems standing up for herself. 3 (later 4)-year-old Muffin behaves like an average toddler: absolute chaos, but not trying to be bad on purpose. Chilli and Bandit aren’t perfect parents - they get frustrated and sometimes hurt their girls’ feelings as a result. But they all learn from their mistakes, and they’re not afraid to admit when they’ve done something wrong — even the adults.

I grew up with an emotionally abusive father who was always too afraid (or too many beers deep) to form a meaningful connection with me. He’d belittle me for being interested in the arts and actively bullied me when I passed my driving test instead of congratulating me at all. He’s never apologised for any of it. Bandit is the dad I never got to have: he’s entirely devoted to his wife and daughters, even when it humiliates him. He’s not afraid to own up to his mistakes and learn from them.

Chilli reminds me of my own mother in a lot of ways: witty and sarcastic on the outside, completely losing her marbles on the inside because she’s afraid she’s not a good enough mom. Like my own mom, Chilli has a passion for drawing and encourages her daughters to keep practicing. She’s warm and welcoming and gives great hugs. She’s got both jokes and sage advice. And she sets out to right all the wrongs - my mom apologises to me all the time for stuff that happened years ago. (I love you, Mom!)

Tackling Serious Subjects and Different Family Dynamics

Another thing Bluey does absolutely spot-on is addressing serious subjects tactfully and in a way kids can understand. In the episode “Copycat,” Bluey starts her morning annoying the hell out of Bandit by copying everything he does. Things take a turn for the serious when the pup finds an injured budgie and rushes to the vet with her dad. The little bird doesn’t make it, which crushes Bluey. To cope, she plays out the events of the day in a game, but budgie-Bingo doesn’t get the memo and acts all better. Bluey realises that, like the budgie dying, Bingo derailing the game is out of her hands, and she comes to accept it.

In “Dance Mode,” Bandit steals Bingo’s last French fry. She’s given three chances to activate Dance Mode on her family, but gets all of those taken from her as well. Poor little Bingo is absolutely heartbroken when Chilli asks her an important question: “Does your outside voice sometimes say yes, when your inside voice is saying no?” As an (at the time undiagnosed) autistic kid who often struggled with speaking up and asserting myself growing up, this hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Early Baby” tackles premature birth with Bluey’s classmate Indy, “The Show” nods to Chilli having had a miscarriage, “Grandad” emphasizes that aging parents still need to take care of themselves for their adult children.

“Flat Pack” is an allegory for evolution, faith, getting older, and the struggle that is putting together flat pack furniture.

“Sleepytime” and “Baby Race” show some of the more everyday aspects of growing up, like sleeping independently and learning how to walk, all set to beautiful arrangements of classical pieces (Gustav Holst’s “Jupiter” from The Planets and Bach’s “Prelude in C Major,” respectively). And I won’t lie, as a nightmare-prone kid who was super attached to my mom, both of these episodes hit me hard too. I can’t watch either of them without getting a little misty-eyed.

In a more general sense, and regarding different family structures and dynamics, secondary characters like Judo, Winton, and the Terrier brothers are all shown with single parents. Rusty’s dad is in the army and, as a result, away on deployment for long stretches of time. But none of these things are made out to be a show or a spectacle or something bizarre, just a fact of life: different kids come from different backgrounds. I can guarantee that if a same-sex couple were to be introduced, it would be in a way that feels natural, like one of Bluey’s or Bingo’s classmates saying “My mums/dads are here to pick me up!”

Humour and Art-Related Ramblings

The character designs are simple and memorable. They have extremely expressive faces and movements despite being made of basic shapes like rectangles and ovals. The animation is smooth and fluid while embracing the “cartoony-ness” of being a cartoon. Everything is colourful but not to the point where it feels like a rainbow exploded on your screen. The backgrounds are simple, but not TOO simple, and many settings are nods to actual places in and around Brisbane.

Joff Bush and anyone he collaborates with on the soundtrack can convey everything from the beauty of nature to a boring workday via music alone, whether through arrangements of classical and folk music or original pieces. Bush isn’t afraid to use a variety of instruments, from a delicate music box in “Charades” and “Mount Mumandad” to a rambling banjo in “Grandad” and everything in between.

The humour is amazing, especially for children’s media. There are a few jokes that are clearly aimed at the adults in the room, like Bandit’s Polaroid camera going off in “Bob Bilby” when Chilli arrives with her tandem bike, or his discussion with Fido about getting a vasectomy/neutered in the original cut of “Perfect.” Bingo innocently asks Bandit questions about where babies come from in “Takeaway” and “Daddy Putdown,” though he always dodges the questions. “Dad Baby” is all about the struggles of pregnancy from the perspective of Bandit carrying Bingo in an old baby harness and it’s frankly hilarious; despite not being a parent myself, I have a nephew and I’m in that magical spot in my twenties where several of my former classmates are having kids left and right. There are well-timed fart jokes (“Daddy Robot,” “Fairies”) and slapstick moments (“Dad Baby,” “Born Yesterday”).

Conclusion

Bluey is a show that people of all ages can watch and learn from. It has heart, humour, and lovable characters. Its natural conflict resolution teaches its audience to be better people through showing rather than telling. It’s a beautiful show and I’m unashamed to watch it as a childfree adult.

[caatws]

What you said about the mcu being uwu about Gamora's death at the hands of her abuser is exactly where they screwed up. It's not always comfortable to have these conversations or deal with issues of equality but the reality is you can't use a light touch and sugarcoat abuse, trauma and death when it comes to women and poc. It's unfair and not right but people will connect with and empathize with a white male character dying even without all the bells and whistles of a funeral and flowery words and open emotions far more easily than they will for other characters like Gamora. You have to be bold and loud and show some of the nitty gritty details if you want people to care even half as much for a character like Gamora.

They needed vol 3 to be a Gamora love fest with bells and whistles galore and it wasn't. But to make matters worse the whole movie skirted the line of being just subtle enough about all the characters feelings outside of Peter and dismissive enough of her death and life all together that they unfortunately pushed her right over the line of non entity for many people. I know in the next week or so vol 3 discussions will fade away because the movie will have been out for a while and new interests will pop up, but I'm still kinda torn that this is the end of the trilogy and where Gamora's story ended. I think even one movie or Disney plus special about her that had more thought and details could have made all the difference. Or as lofty as it might be some detailed commentary from James Gunn about the complexity of Gamora's role in vol 3 and how before she died she was an important team member. Something official to balance what's lacking in the movie would be really nice

yeah! honestly i had a similar issue with the mcu's tone with black widow seeming to try to walk a line between being actually really dark and serious in a realistic way with its kind of graphic depiction of human trafficking (especially in the opening credit sequence) and still being a comedic mcu film. i think when/if the mcu wants to tackle serious themes, they need to commit more fully and not try to uwu-ify it with as much mcu humor and stuff. so in the case of gamora - another victim of both abuse and trafficking, just like nat and yelena (and nebula) - there was a whole lotta care that needed to be given when handling her storyline that just...really wasn't in iw/eg.

at least vol 3 showing how much everyone loved and missed her would've shown how much the characters lost. and i think you and i are both right to consider her race and gender as factors to consider in why her death, the circumstances of her death, and her legacy were handled the way they were in canon. there was definitely more story to tell there before the endpoint we reached

[torturecave]

it seems that a lot of your ships have shifted to top/dom boys mostly, bottoms/subs girls mostly. its interesting, i feel like its reflective of your relationship with avvy and such... its sweet, to see you two grow into yourselves and others like that !! but i wonder if you have any feelings for dom poppy at all ? if yes, what are they... if NO, why do you think it doesnt appeal to you anymore :o ?? i love dynamics n hearing peoples opinions on them

[personal sex-life talk so, a read more as a courtesy for you guys 😅]

Haha, so much has changed over time due to our relationship (and us) growing together... I can't help the way I do ships now — I need to connect to it and see it as 'us' in some essential way. The gender skew isn't necessarily always boy/girl (though it often is) ; more importantly, we define things by being 'Birds or Avvys'. And Bird is the seme while Avvy is the uke, such is the way we are built. We didn't always do this though, and so you had a middlezone where we both sort of related to characters... like I think Branch was a kind of 'shared' form of expression for us. It's funny to look back on now, but also cute, we were still playing together...❤

This is why I say, even if I feel embarrassed about some old stuff, I have to understand that it embodies what I felt at the time, and there's unique euphoria in the past. [scratches nose] Especially considering that once we were getting more 'serious' than a couple hook ups, I became Avvy's sub. (Though I was still like, in the role of fingering / humping etc., that's just always been the preference lol.) Even if that changed eventually, the early parts of our dynamic was reliant on Avvy taking charge and moving us forward.

Back then, I wasn't confident to be in the position of dom, as around when I met Avvy I was in quite a low place with my self-esteem and mental health. In a state of recovery, as I was still coming out of some bad times.. I needed a lot of caretaking and encouragement, which I would say isn't so dissimilar to what our 'bb branch AU' was focused on — being taken under a cool older girl's wing haha, helped from depression and isolation, kissed better. <- Not to get too fiddly with details, but this art actually came before my subbing... wait, maybe before we ever had sex kfkfjhg so... I wasn't self-aware how much I was expressing my desires at the time.

That being said, it means when I made that art, I lacked a lot of tangible experience, so I didn't really know what my preferences would be. A lot was 'hypothetical'... I knew I liked things, nebulously, but maybe not sure whether I'd prefer to be on the receiving end or not. [glances...] And when you're a soft-spoken, passive, people-pleasing guy IRL, it feels like the most logical conclusion would to being dominated or something? Sure, I will be good boy, bark bark.

The funny thing is HISTORICALLY... I've actually been a dom in past relationships, and Avvy's been a sub — so I think we headed towards our natural conclusions, over time. As I recovered and became more confident, and had someone to figure myself out with, a lot clicked. Things became less 'maybe I would be into that? idk' and more defined by, this is something I'm absolutely into. In fact I'm so into it, I want to do this, and nothing else...

ALL THAT TO SAY!! I can't get into a dom Poppy, as that is no longer what I want to see from her. Part of the 'why' would be that it's not something I can inhabit? Which is key in shipping and art for me, I need to connect to it, as I mentioned. It's almost like... if I saw a depiction of a dom Poppy nowadays, I'd be like 'eh I don't see it'... Genuinely just can't grock it.

But I want to clarify, I'm still attracted to all her playful rowdy traits, I like the way she pushes Branch's buttons, all that good stuff. She's wonderful, she's forward, she still overwhelms and steamrolls, she's a whirlwind of energy. I think it's all essential aspects of Poppy still. It's just that the 'conclusion' I see for those behaviors has shifted.

Basically I feel like, a girl can be all those things, and subsequently be a manic excitable sub. Which is fun to think about!! In fact, it's quite enticing to get a girl like that on her knees. Reduce her, have her bent over and whining... [Sorry to take you into my basic straight guy brain.]

She can still give Branch a run for his money, like yank his chain around a bit, that's fun. That's like the core of their chemistry you know, Branch needs to be challenged... It's good for him lol. But I suppose I see it now as being baited almost, spurred to be forward in response. My wife vibes the term sasoi uke and I'm often like [nods stoically.] It's.......... fun to be tempted, you know? lol...

Anyways that's enough rambling, hope this was an interesting read. 😷

[cricketcampbell]

BIOGRAPHY • MUSINGS • INTERACTIONS

character name: cricket james campbell

nickname: chef, bug (by her mom)

age & dob: november 14, 1997 (26)

gender identity & pronouns: female, she/her/hers

sexual orientation & relationship status: bisexual, single

residential area: ocean crest apartments

occupation: personal chef

place of birth: tuscon, arizona

length of time in aurora bay: two years (as of jan 2024)

personality traits: + audacious, - naive

faceclaim: rachel sennott

FAMILY.

mother: libby campbell

father: unknown

siblings: mavis campbell

cousins: atlas nolan, scottie nolan

TL;DR.

tw power dynamic

grew up on the road at the whims of her generally unstable mother, who never could quite manage to settle down in one place...until she did, with a man who had no idea that she had children and essentially left cricket in the dust. after a nannying gig gone wrong (affair with her boss), realized her passion for taking care of people through food, and attended culinary school in california, where she returned after a brief european stint over two years ago to work as a local personal chef!

HEADCANONS.

is fully convinced that miley cyrus and hannah montana are, in fact, two entirely separate people and will not be accepting any criticism on her theory!

diet coke fiend, her go to caffeine fix more than anything else

sometimes lies just for fun, a habit she picked up in her childhood, especially when she knew she wouldn't be sticking around somewhere for long--not usually about anything major, just a little something to keep it interesting

only got her first cellphone a few years back but caught on very quickly; doesn't quite understand twitter yet but is fully addicted to tiktok and has recently started posting little day in my life as a personal chef videos as a sort of online journal

has absolutely zero clue who her birth father is and never bothered to ask, but thinks her middle name could maybe possibly be a homage to him

cooking for others is her love language but when it comes to feeding herself, it's either strictly the basics (kraft mac & cheese, pb&j, cup noodles) or she's ordering takeout! definitely pays for dashpass

recently adopted a street cat she's named caesar (after the salad ofc)

despite the lack of stability, the one thing her mom was serious about was school, so through a combination of both in person and homeschooling, cricket did get a high school diploma, and even managed to graduate early

personal chef is her main gig, but does offer a less expensive meal prepping service for some extra cash!

has a finsta @friendswholunch where she posts little photo dumps of pics she snaps of her friends when they go out/come over to eat! not only to document good meals but also good company 🫶

started and runs a cookbook of the month club! basically everyone chooses a different recipe to recreate from the same cookbook and then all meet up on the 3rd saturday of the month for a cute little potluck 🤭

CURRENT CONNECTIONS.

younger half-sister of @maviscampbell

ocean crest mommy issues club founding members with @finnbrooks

her recipe tester guinea pig/not so reluctant sous @aidenxstevens

forever hiding from their awful third roomie with @lorelailewis

ex-girlfriend of @mackmontgomery

the older brother she (probably) never had @buddywellls

co-club head and dinner party coordinator for @samucl-kane's community garden

wants @paxton-brady's mom to adopt her

culinary school pals/used to run a pop up restaurant out of @solaadisa's apartment

london friends with @luckylewis

work besties to reg besties pipeline @helenasoarcs

@santiagodeleons used to date her mom

cool older sister vibes @thegillyxliang

cousin of @atlasnolan and @scottienolan

if @ravirussell has zero haters it’s because cricket’s dead!!!

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

clients (either personal chef or meal prepping)

someone who she sometimes enlists as a sous chef

blasts from the pasts from her time on the road/abroad

stable influence(s)

roomies

somewhat recent ex

someone (or someones!) she'd consider to be her best friend(s)

members of her cookbook club or the community garden!

someone she's decided to lie to for fun and it's just spiraled from there

friends who've had a falling out/frenemies/enemies

party/drinking/smoking friends

fans of her tik tok

neighbors

fwbs/one night stands/tinder dates

@aurorabayaesthetic

[give-me-stuff-to-watch]

Watching Stuff Day 23 - 7/29/2023 - Current Streak: 23

For today's thing I watched, I saw the short film, Empathy Man.

Right off the bat, I found the concept of Empathy Man and his abilities really interesting. I really think the super hero agency he was applying to was really undervaluing him when they rejected him. All he needs to do is team up with someone really empathetic and sympathetic and he could probably one-shot and contain a lot of criminals without causing any physical harm. If he links the criminal to them, he can make the criminal feel guilty because now they'll be empathizing with all of the people they're bringing harm to, causing them to stop. 1 on 1 he can't do much, but he can be really effective with the right team-up.

I also found the use of his powers they were going with in the short film to be really interesting too. I really like the idea of trying to experience more harsh emotions in a more temporary and controlled setting in order to be better prepared for when they have to be encountered for real. I also liked how his biggest downside/weakness was his own lack of empathy. He really did not care how mean-spirited his plan was when it involved kicking a kid's sand castle. Even if the kid was just building it for fun and there wasn't a tragic backstory behind it, that's still a dick move and unnecessary.

Another aspect I liked about the writing was the theme/message of the film. About how you should appreciate your loved ones in both life and death, and cherish the moments, memories, and connections you have with them. I thought it was pretty creative how they were able to display all of this as well.

Visually, there was a lot done well in this short film. There were some creative uses of lighting and interesting shots, especially when Empathy Man was using his powers.

I also do want to give mention to the acting here. I initially found out about this short film since I'm subscribed to the main actress' youtube channel, Not Even Emily. Since her videos and the skits within them are mostly comedic, it was interesting to see her in a serious role like this. She did really well with it, and there was a lot of nice subtle details in her performance, I honestly think she did a great job. The actor for Empathy Man did a good job too, there was just 1 or 2 moments I thought were slightly off. The only real questionable acting in it was from the kid character, but I'm not going to be to harsh about that given that he is a child, so this was to be expected. I'm sure he was doing his best, the lack of experience did show though.

Overall, I thought it was really good and definetly worth watching.

[ariveth]

SHIPPING INFO! ♡

Answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog. REPOST. Don’t reblog!

WHAT’S YOUR OTP FOR YOUR MUSE? Don’t really have one in terms of Skyrim NPCs! I guess I did consider Teldryn after I first created her, but the fit wasn’t quite right.

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO RP WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING? Honestly? Anything. Angst, fluff, smut, unhealthy dynamics, comfort, hateships; whatever! My faves are ships that promote character development (especially when it’s mutual).

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE? As long as all characters are 21+, age gaps don’t matter to me at all.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING? I am, but only when it comes to the actual writing (I don’t ship based on faceclaims or lack thereof, and I don’t care whether a character is an OC or canon), and the quality of the character: I like complex, characters that have been fleshed-out with a strong presence, balanced strengths and flaws, and an established, consistent personality that I can bounce Ariveth off.

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY’RE CONSIDERED NSFW? I think clothes-off is the cut-off, or intimate touching that becomes graphic in description. Depends on the thread!

WHO ARE OTHER MUSES YOU SHIP YOUR MUSE WITH? Basically all the characters she’s currently romantically involved with lol. There are also a few characters I can see future potential with too, for sure.

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU? Not really, unless you want to plot a pre-existing thing! Chemistry is key, and that requires in-character interaction. If an interaction naturally ends up flirty/romantic in nature, I will almost certainly be keen to ship without having to be asked (though I do like talking about ships anyway, and about the characters, where we want them to go, how we want them to develop etc. tl;dr I’m a talker dkdflks).

HOW OFTEN DO YOU LIKE TO SHIP? Anytime, since I love shipping in all forms: flirtationships, flings, ex-lovers, star-crossed lovers; everything. And luckily, Ariveth’s character lends itself well to all of that. I’m just a lot slower to ship serious, longterm stuff because I like to get into a thread or two to test the dynamic first.

ARE YOU MULTISHIP? Sort of! I plan to have a single ship for Ariveth’s canon storyline, but I’ll consider multishipping in AUs.

ARE YOU SHIP OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS? Gosh I literally don’t know dbfjsdhf. Both?? Let’s say in-between lol.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM? I.... feel like its controversial so I’m not gonna say lmfao

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU? Ask me for a pre-established non-serious romantic connection, or just interact and lets see if it happens! Ariveth’s flirty nature makes it very easy to ship with her. 

As for endgame ships (and specifically Ari’s ‘canon’ ship): that’s something I’ll only consider doing after extensive writing. If our characters have already established chemistry and a romantic dynamic in more than one thread, and I feel like the other muse would be a good match for Ariveth, I will mention the possibility to you. This isn’t something I care to rush however, given the slight exclusivity it entails, and I want to make sure there's compatibility plus a healthy relationship/mutual investment with the other mun. I wanna be clear: I do not expect more time/effort be devoted to our ship than others at all (in fact I’d encourage equal investment among all your ships) but I’m very wary of committing Ariveth to a character whose mun neglects the ship or gets bored/goes through ships quickly. I prefer to have minimal yet quality ships. I hope you can see it from my perspective and understand my trepidation. I really want to be sure. If you ARE interested in this, interaction is the only route toward it; I will not pre-plot without proper development.

TAGGED BY: stolen off the dash  TAGGING: whoever sees this and wants to do it, steal it from me!

[anbubisibuna]

explain why is Mara and Magnus your favourite canon ship from dha?

Overall I do like their Story the most. There are a few little things I would have done differently. But I think it's normal and okay maybe not to like every parts of your ship. For me it just reflects that people are not perfect in real life either and so are may stories. If that makes sense.

Their chemistry is just the best one from all the couples.

Their feelings for eachother feel the most genuine.

They convince me the most

They have the cutest moments together

They both bring out the best in eachother

It's show not just tell.

They are two of the most interesting complex characters on the show.

It's interesting and it has personality.

The other three are trash. Sorry.

They never broke up with eachother.

It's doesn't draw so much attention.

They had the best first kiss.

They aren't afraid to talk about more serious stuff.

Mara didn't care about Benny

Their chemistry just feels the best for me, because they show alot of scenes of them being vulnerable aswell. And the two connect really well aswell. They do have fun with eachother. And their relationship doesn't feel forced. It doesn't feel like it has to be perfect in every way. Like Nina and Daniel for example.

Their feelings feel the most genuine. By the things they do for eachother, it's obvious that they love eachother. They also are the one couple who had to get to know eachother first before falling for eachother. ( Except maybe Nina and Daniel.). But I always feel like their relationship is the least superficial one on the show. As Charlotte starts crushing on Kaya literally just because he's hot at the beginning, Luzy is in love with Max just because of the letters and Nina and Daniels whole relationship just seems superficial to me and lacks depth. They aren't just in love with their good parts. Mara tells Charlotte one time in S3 that everyone has good parts and bad parts which could mean she loves Magnus beside his bad parts aswell And so does Magnus, as in PD7S. Even if Mara has to plan everything and it may drive him a bit insane. He still loves her. And in S3 when Magnus took care of a sick Mara. She wasn't at her best in that moment. Nobody is when they are sick. But just that Mara feels comfortable with him taking care of her when she doesn't look her best and didn't care about looking good for him because loves her for way more than that, just shows how genuine those feelings they have for eachother are.

They convince me the most. They do act the most like a couple. Especially in Season 3 they sell me the most that their are in a relationship. Which I sometimes miss from the other couples. Just the general touch off affections they do. Okay, Charlotte and Kaya weren't in a relationship throughout most of the show and Season 3 was them just pining.

They have the cutest moments together. Magnus sleeping in Maras bed. Or Magnus taking care of a sick Mara. Or Mara being worried that Magnus works for Radus. Their breakfast in bed eating rituals. They said they loved eachother, that they feel comfortable around eachother and that there is something special between them. They do have those moments of intimacity with eachother.

They both bring out the best in eachother. Mara has become alot more confident and self assured through him. And Magnus is able to show more of his vulnerable side through her. They have already been that before. But the other person just brought it up more.

It's show not just tell. This is really important to me. You can actually see that they fall for eachother and it's not just tell. I think from all the girls in the show Mara never specifically said that she was in love with Magnus. But she didn't had to because you could see it. It also was the most convincing. As the other girls never or rarely looked at their boyfriends like Mara did. She also shows the most through actions that she loves him. They actually show us them having fun with eachother, building a relationship with eachother etc. Which again I miss from the other couples. Nina says she wants to spend every minute with Daniel. And in the movie she says they had the most fun craziest most romantic six months. But it's never shown where. Where do they have so much fun together? Or in S3 Nina says how much she has missed Daniel after he has been kidnapped but has never put any actual work searching for him either. Charlotte just has a crush on Kaya at the beginning because he is hot. They show us how they hang out, once like around Ep 40 or something, were they play Twister. And afterthat they don't show them having any scenes together. And then around Ep 92 it's literally said that Charlotte has been in love with Kaya for a long time. Where? Or Luzy. I know she works with Max. But after he kissed her. They just tell us through those weird dreams she has, that she is in love with him without ever seeing them really spend time with eachother on their own. They try to convince us that the letters and the dreams and the kiss are the prove that Max and Luzy are meant for eachother. Without knowing first how the two connect with eachother.

They are two of the most interesting complex characters on the show. Just in my opinion there is some of the most depth in their characters. They both were at their worst in S1 and they both made mistakes, altough not comparable. Which just makes them more interesting characters to me to watch and therfor also more of an interesting relationship.

It's interesting and it has personality. I love how in S3 how their personalities work in the relationship. And how good they complement eachother. Magnus being more impulsive but yet more logical and rational. And Mara being more patient but yet more romantic and idealistic. And when they were captured by that tattoo artist. How well they worked together. And I could see how Mara got some parts of his personality in S3 aswell, the being suspicious. She doesn't trust Rosies date Paolo, she thinks Felix E-Mail could be fake.

The other three are trash sorry. Charlotte and Kaya had alot more potential and I did like them kind of in Season 3. But Nina×Daniel or LuzyxMax? I just don't like them. Nina and Daniel don't have dates, chemistry anything else than the Club. And Luzy and Max were maybe kind of cute after they got together but they were so weird in S3. I just don't understand how the writers did Mara and Magnus like this. And the other relationships like that. Okay Nina and Daniel was mostly the chemistry to blame. ( Although their Story wasn't really good either tbh. Especially in the movie) How can they show a scene of Nina almost cheating on her boyfriend and the next scene is Mara snuggling up to a sleeping Magnus. Or Mara telling Magnus that she prefers him alot more over Benny and a few scenes later we have a happy no guilt whatsoever Nina going on a date with another guy.

They never broke up with eachother. And instead of immediately breaking up they talk it out with eachother and work on their relationship. Daniel had legitimate reasons to break up with Nina because she cheated on him. But Luzy and Max break up like zillion times in S3 and sometimes it doesn't even feel like they are together even when they are supposed to be. And Charlotte and Kaya break up like a minute after they got together. Instead of like maybe talking to eachother first. And I don't know if it's me but I always found it weird that Max didn't know anything about Luzys plan going to the USA or that this was her dream.

It doesn't drawn so much attention. Okay. This is not the other couples fault this more like the other peoples fault who get involved in their relationship. Nina and Daniels relationship in S2 sometimes feels like an attraction to the others which I don't really like. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that they have to hide it, that would be worse. But it just feels so much like an attention for the others. Which makes those moments they have less for eachother but more for the others aswell kind of. And I also don't mean that they can't share happy moments with the others they had. Absolutely not. But there just seems to be too much the others know and the two barely have any alone time, were they tell eachother stuff just they know. And in S3 the others pretty much comment on Max and Luzys whole relationship drama. I mean I don't really understand how nobody commented on Mara and Magnus in S2. But I do like how uninterested the others are in their relationship. Realistically you would talk about their relationship the most as the literally sleep in one bed together at times. And the only person who really gets involved are Felix and Malika. Two people who are close to them.

They had the best first kiss. I don't know if I can even compare them to the others. Nina and Daniel's just has no Chemistry. There is no build up or anything. There is never a moment where the two were about to kiss eachother. It's just suddenly BAM! In the S1 Finale because they have to. Luzy and Max was okay but because I didn't like how she didn't know who it was and that she supposed to felt it through the kiss without liking him before that. But it looks more like a quick peck than a real kiss. And Charlotte and Kaya in the S2 Finale. It was so random that I'm sure this wasn't even their first kiss. Meanwhile with Mara and Magnus before their actual first kiss they almost kiss eachother like 3 episodes before but don't. And when Mara comes out of the stall and she leans in and kisses him. And Felix comes in but they don't hear him because they don't care at that moment and then they slowly pull apart kind of still in that moment and they look at eachother realising what they just did. It looked like the most with them that they were lost in the kiss or something.

They aren't afraid to talk about more serious stuff. Which I think could be the reason why they never broke up on the show. Because they are talking to eachother. They talk about their feelings. And overall just about their feelings in general aswell. There were a few instances of miscommunication. But they always try to understand eachother and work it out. They talk about their families etc. Mara tells him that it's important that they trust eachother and they do work through that together. Especially with Nina and Daniel it felt like the writers just didn't dare to go deeper with them. Which I honestly think they should have kind of had a talk after Nina cheated on Daniel with Benny, especially how she did it. Instead of just shrugging it off with a letter and forgetting about it. The way Nina treated Daniel it was like she had some underlying issues with him and I don't think it's really healthy for a relationship to cheat on someone and then not really talk about the issues why and what bothered you.

Mara didn't care about Benny. I love how Mara had no interest in Benny whatsoever from the beginning. And even if they had some problems during that time because of the blackmail letter Magnus received. Mara still chose him. Even if there will be troubles they don't end up cheating on eachother.

[justanotherquinnfan]

So this beauty of an audio came out only a few days ago, but has already caught the Quinnisphere (is that a word? meh) by storm. Now, to be clear, when I thought about writing this post, I wanted to make sure that I am being as careful as possible with my language. Mostly because Quinn is so deeply personal for many, if not all, of the creators as well as the listeners. In no situation will I be yucking ANYONE'S yum and while I get one person's kink is another person's squick, this is not what it's about. Like what you like, it's stuff like this that is what's getting most of us through the day.

That all being said, I can't begin to describe the actual full-on joy this audio gave me. I often feel that the more produced audios don't get the same love as the more stripped down (hah, puns) stories that are more like the general friends-to-lovers, enemies-to-lovers, spouse experience ones. And while there is definitely a niche for those, the part of me that joined Quinn and immediately binged all of the originals feels sadness for the ones that actually have some real universe added to them that don't get as much love.

Which is why I absolutely LOVE that drRapture and Adrian's collab [It's Alive!] has gotten as much traction as it has. I took the screenshot above LAST NIGHT and you can see it has almost 1600 plays and nearly 500 favorites (one of them being mine, but of course). I think the main draw for many is the fact that it's a collab and a surprising one at that. Or maybe just surprising to me, even though it honestly shouldn't have been. drRapture is a phenomenal voice in this industry, bringing so much color to his audios, really working hard to make you feel like you're in the room with him. He is dynamic and natural and at no point is your suspension of disbelief broken around him. He is SO much fun to listen to and his curve appreciation audios are...hard to beat? Difficult to top? Hmm. Some compliment that doesn't IMMEDIATELY sound like a double entendre, I'll let you decide on one.

Adrian is also an incredibly unique voice as well. I will admit that at the time of writing this post I have not listened to many of his audios. A big part of that is that I am in the process of finding an entry point to his work. This has happened to me with a few other creators and it's just part of my journey especially when I find a voice so different from what I'm used to. If I could describe Adrian it would be, "Intense, SO INTENSE OMG" and I just need to ease into that. But despite my lack of experience with Adrian, what I HAVE encountered has fully cemented him as a fantastic and talented actor on this app.

So, to have them both in one was intriguing, to say the least. And as it dropped, to IMMEDIATELY make the Rocky Horror Picture Show connection, I went from somewhat interested to laser focused.

Now, normally, I like to give a first listen to these audios while commuting to work. Sometimes, it's the only thing that gets me actually moving to the office. But I decided to give this one the space and quiet of just listening at home and I'm glad I did. The production values on this particular audio are amazing. If I didn't already know that this was done in-house by the creators themselves, I would have thought this was an Audible-scale production. Though, honestly, just because some people call him Daddy Bezos, Amazon could never.

I am going to put the rest of this post under a cut, in case people haven't listened to it yet (WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR) and want to not be spoiled. But read on if you have!

We find ourselves in a waiting room talking to Nurse Joy, a character whom I adore both for the fact that her name fits in so well at drRapture's lab, but also for the potential Pokemon reference.

As an elder millennial, I'm not mad at it.

While we wait for our appointment, the Doc himself appears and he is just as delightfully unhinged as I would have hoped for. One minute incredibly serious, while the next cackling with unabashed scientific glee, he leads us through the facility, wherein we hear about all manner of...sticky situations happening. And we are finally led to the room in which our new friend, Adrian, is waiting to be booted up and tested. It then becomes one of the best binaural experiences I have ever had. With Doc in one ear and Adrian "in front of us" (you know what I mean), what follows is tremendously sexy with Adrian SO ready to please and Doc Rapture barking orders in the background. My favorite moment was just hearing him go, "Be. Louder." Like, damn ok, sure, doctor's orders and all that.

Adrian himself undergoes an evolution as the audio goes on, going from near-grunts to full sentences, showing how he learns as he...works. The effect is subtle, but undeniable, it creates this sense of "you're learning how to teach him and he is learning how to fulfill his purpose." And then, by the end, he even has a naughty sense of humor that we don't see at the start. This really underscores how incredibly tight the acting is. And yes, I know, another pun, I have fully given up on trying to find other phrasing. But the acting is, indeed, tight and at no point do I ever get pulled out of the story itself, even if I were getting swept up in other feelings. His character is not as fully fleshed-out, being that he is a Rocky pastiche, but despite that, Adrian can take the tiniest amount of character development and really go the mile.

Throughout the encounter, you also hear what sounds like muffled moans from behind what we know to be the one-sided mirror in which Doc Rapture is behind, "observing." This further adds to the environment that is created and adds the wonderful sense of reality to the whole audio.

I think, whether you're into any of the tags associated with this audio or not, it's absolutely worth a listen. It's funny and sexy and such a loving homage to both The Rocky Horror Picture Show as well as scifi campiness in general. I never thought, when going into this audio, that I would enjoy being the Janet in this situation. Columbia was always my favorite. But this feeling of being somewhat wide-eyed (I mean as wide-eyed as one can be given that they ordered a man to be specially created for their pleasure) and just going along with the ride, so to speak, was just so much fun, in a way I don't see as often. Don't get me wrong, I love the more serious, more straightforward stories. I love the Regency romances and the sweet girl-next-door moments and the darker, rougher stuff. But who says you can't have a good laugh while having a good time?

Dammit, Janet, I just love this so goddamn much! And I can go on, but I won't at the risk of Tumblr enforcing a character limit. But I would love to know what anyone else thinks of this audio because it's just so fucking good.

[deafchild2000]

Lizzie Saltzman Was Wrongly Diagnosed as Bipolar When She Really Has Borderline Personality Disorder

When it comes to Legacies, I admit as a blogger, I didn't post a lot about Lizzie Saltzman. Either if I do, it's using her #Lizzie Saltzman tag to bring other people to relevance to my Legacies posts, Inheritance fanfiction, highlighting what she did wrong (and not blaming it on Bipolar Disorder), or connecting her with anti Josie posts.

This is one part of the last one but also explores Lizzie.

I'm guilty of a bit of ableism, but only joking with my mom by saying she's bipolar when she suffers from Depression with OCD - long story (which isn't technically wrong since both are under the umbrella term of "Depression").

Owning up to that, as a writer, I do serious research whenever I contemplate writing a character with a mental disability.

Lizzie Saltzman is a piece of work in Legacies and I find her growth fascinating when it comes to comparing her from season 4 to season 1 (and early/late Originals and The Vampire Diaries).

To be frank, she's bossy rude, self-centered, selfish, and a lot more I won't bother to add. However, she's sensitive, caring, honest, willing, and progressive in fighting against her brain chemistry. That growth is something I find rather appreciative in a story about being supernatural and dealing with mental health.

So, looking back at her episodes and comparing it to my restarch, I initially though I was wrong and something got lost in translation, but after double checking and realizing our lovely Legacies fans & Lizzie stans on Tumblr caught it too, I reached a conclusion:

Elizabeth Jenna Saltzman does NOT have Bipolar Disorder!

It's too obvious now, that Julie had the idea for Lizzie having it but not committing to the symptoms right, much less say what TYPE of BP she has!

Looking at it, if she had BP, it would be type 2.

For example, in a related yet unrelated comparison, one character from a show who's acted our the correct symptoms of Bipolar Disorder was Eliott Demaury from Skam France. Now, I don't watch the show, per se, but fanvids filled me in, and watching the scenes where his disability is shown fits everything all my textbook researched to a T! Especially the boat scene, if ya'll Skam fans know what I'm talking about!

Bipolar symptoms:

Mood: mood swings, anxiety, deep sadness, euphoria, general discontent, guilt, hopelessness, or loss of interest or pleasure in activities

Behavioral: compulsive behavior, impulsivity, irritability, restlessness, or self-harm

Cognitive: lack of concentration, racing thoughts, slowness in activity, or thoughts of suicide

Sleep: excess sleepiness or insomnia

Psychological: depression or grandiosity

Also common: rapid and frenzied speaking

See? Simple, easy to see in Lizzie, and if you were a half decent writer, easy to pick out for your character.

But handpicking out symptoms doesn't always work.

Yes, there are differences between men and women woman with bipoplar disorder, but as a writer, I don't play with statistics unless I created odds that meet my favors.

What do I mean? Here are two of the main differences that stick out like a sore thumb: Regardless of gender BP surfaces in, men discover their diagnosis 5 years earlier (the early 20s) than women (late 20s) & Women with BP are frequently misdiagnosed! While children as young as 5 can be diagnosed with as young as 5, there's only a guess that she was diagnosed once her age started hitting double digits!

Meanwhile...

Borderline Personality Disorder is a mental disorder characterized by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships. Something that sounds more in line and more narrow in ages for young children when it refers to Lizzie. And considering the symptoms (list below) overlap with BP, it's easy to reduce how she could have been misdiagnosed!

Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms:

Behavioral: antisocial behavior, compulsive behavior, hostility, impulsivity, irritability, risk taking behaviors, self-destructive behavior, self-harm, social isolation, or lack of restraint

Mood: anger, anxiety, general discontent, guilt, loneliness, mood swings, or sadness

Psychological: depression, distorted self-image, grandiosity, or narcissism

Also common: thoughts of suicide

Notice that mania isn't on the list. Wanna know why? Because:

"Borderline personality disorder involves a longstanding pattern of abrupt, moment-to-moment swings -- in moods, relationships, self-image, and behavior (in contrast to distinct episodes of mania or depression in people with bipolar disorder) that are usually triggered by conflicts in interactions with other people."

So if you just happened to be that witch who made the new werewolf student at your school uncomfortable - and downright said your happy he killed his girlfriend to be able to meet you - and took it out by rampaging on your boarding school's kitchenware and stopping yourself just in time before nearly cutting down your father?

Then, your name is Lizzie Saltzman!

Looking back at this scene in 1x01 in a BPD perspective and not a BP perspective, backed by the fact we (the viewers) don't know she's actually Bipolar by 1x10 and referenced again in 1x12.

Which was either intentional or they had no idea whether to write her as bipolar until later!

And since BPD has types, I'd believe Lizzie suffers from Discouraged Borderline Personality Disorder.

Discouraged Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms:

mood swings that can last for as little as a few hours, or up to a few days, but no one else can see them

suppressing feelings of anger or denying that you feel angry

withdrawing when you’re upset

avoiding talking to others who have upset you and cutting them off instead

blaming yourself whenever there’s a conflict

persistent feelings of guilt and shame

having a “thin skin” and taking things personally

extremely poor self-esteem

feeling like you’re a burden to others

feelings of numbness or emptiness

feeling detached from the world and sometimes feeling like you’re in a dream (derealization)

people-pleasing, even at a cost to yourself

deep-seated fear of rejection

social anxiety and self-isolation

fear of being alone, yet pushing people away at the same time

inability to build connections with others (depersonalization)

self-harm or suicidal thoughts

Acting inward can complicate an already invisible mental illness. With quiet BPD, you may direct significant feelings toward yourself without letting others see them. Such intense emotions may include:

anger

anxiety

emotional attachments/obsessions

fear of abandonment or rejection

mood swings

self-blame and guilt

severe self-doubt

rage

And of course, with a misdiagnosis as big as this, there's bound to be consequences, and who do I point at to state the explosive setbacks:

This girl here! Caroline's gone and Alaric is busy being everyone's parent, so this girl who makes ableist comments left and right shares half of the blame. Not to mention her issues left Lizzie unable to have a life without her!

The other half?

🔽

There's a myriad of reasons why people would not take their meds and if Lizzie's episodes are anything to go by, I'd say not just bad med but incorrect medication would make Lizzie worst!

[blueholic]

Bnha spoilers!!

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I don’t hate Aoyama nor the fact he is the traitor

But… I wish it was just someone who had a little more emotional bond to and throughout the class? Nobody was that close to Aoyama enough in the first place hence the reveal just having the entire class feeling betrayed as a whole

At least I wish Aoyama had had his own group of friends he felt especially tight-knitted to so when his identity was revealed there would be a mix of reactions based on how close they had been with him

If it had been another classmate for example,

Kaminari is a character whose interactions with the rest of the class has been shown exclusively throughout the story.

If he had been the traitor then there would be different levels of betrayal felt according to their friendship such as the Bakusquad or Jirou

Bakugou: Kaminari (imo) is one of the rare cases where Bakugou has actually opened up to. As of now with Aoyama as the traitor, he isn’t showing much emotion, but if it had been Kaminari, who hung out with him a lot, he would’ve shown a side of him that hasn’t been shown before as he hasn’t been directly betrayed by a close friend before. Especially with [Midoriya-Shigaraki] [Iida-Stain] [Todoroki-Dabi] [Uraraka-Toga] conflict-based potential battles, Bakugou doesn’t have a match for him readers can look forward to compared to the others who have connections to individuals in LOV. If Kaminari was the traitor, he could fill in that spot, and that could lead to a match with wild explosions and electricity with Bakugou having to fight someone he had actually trusted, meaning a fight with both action worth looking forward to and overflowing emotions.

Sero: I think Sero would be one of the most shocked. Sero is always so collected and calm that I would have really liked to see what he would have been like if he was in shock.We would also get to see serious Sero compared to his usual easygoing mood.

Kirishima: Kirishima would be devastated. He was like Kaminari’s brother from another mother. He’d probably not be able to get over the initial shock and be trying to have some space to himself that would worry the class to bits

Mina: I would really love to see Mina have more screentime regarding pivotal plotlines. But it was already shown that she broke down after seeing Aoyama as the traitor, so for Mina I wish that Horikoshi had just shown us more of her than just one panel :(

Last but not least, Jirou: Jirou is encouraged by Kaminari and Jirou strengthens Kaminari. They depend on each other and make each other laugh. But was that all just an act? Because they had a lot of screentime together, it could build up to a high range of emotional outbreak

And above all, we could have seen Kaminari’s closest friends and the rest of the class who also love Kaminari get it together and steel themselves to rescue Kaminari from the villains, plus Kaminari would get an interesting backstory and more screentime and we would get more sides of him if he had been 'acting' to hide his secret

Tl;dr: Aoyama lacks the bond and chemistry with his classmates that lead to an mediocre traitor reveal

(+just me ranting cuz ive been waiting my whole life for traitor kaminari \（ｉДｉ）