#frog boiling etc

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

oooh, i need to knit four (4) rows of this shawl every day until the end of the month to finish by the recipient's birthday. which isn't, like. bad. but it ALSO doesn't take into consideration that, a.) the early rows will be much quicker than the later rows, b.) i've got three (3) lil non-negotiable deadlines to hit by or before then, too, or c.) i've been backburnering the knitting and doing like. MAYBE. two rows a day so far.

[intertexts]

all the prime defenders r so fucked up rn dude. ashe possessed by the literal devil & dead or missing, wiwi dead and actively rotting & slowly losing all of his senses as the tether btwn his soul & body slowly erodes, all of dakota's bones are under immense internal & external stress and are just going to fucking fracture and explode one day... vyncent is the only one of them who's not fucking falling apart!! & he has so many problems also!!

[toytulini]

i am so normal. about. the library

[isaut]

what do you think about all the Chrollo x reader stories that are always yandere. I personally feel like it’s too ooc for him. I agree he’s very dark and I guess you could say ‘evil’ to an extent, but I can’t understand why he’d treat his s/o like how ‘yanderes’ do. Wouldn’t he treat his s/o like family like he does the troupe? Idgi 🥲

I just wanna read smthin where he’s not literally being a r*pist

lmao i think no matter what universe you put chrollo in hes yandere. i also think no matter what universe you put him in chrollo isn’t a rapist.

yandere basically means that someone is sick with love— and will do anything to have their love fulfilled. i always think about yukako yamagashi from jjba. girl will do anything to get with koichi.

and i think that because of chrollo’s belief in fate (that he must both bend to the will of and write his own) makes him the perfect yandere. he thinks that he can make you fall in love with him no matter what he does.

but you’re right, in he isn’t a yandere that’s going to kidnap you and lock you up. instead, he’s going to spend days months years courting you until you’re in so deep he can throw the key into the ocean. he loves the thrill of the chase. his eye is on the prize but he can wait it out. watching you slowly fall into his trap, watching you willing fall into his trap provides him with all the satisfaction in the world. (think of a spider weaving a web around the most beautiful butterfly he’s ever seen with no thoughts other than: pretty. want for myself.)

he wants true love. he wants to believe in love in first sight. he also believes in nudging true love to happen. giving it a helpful little push. an object in motion stays in motion, after all.

[hourglass-meadow]

do you think once a new popular social media crops up we'll forget about tiktok and redirect all our hate towards it instead

[on-leatheredwings]

18+, dark themes, tw somno mention

more about these types:

stalking + spying yandere - Self explanatory. A lot of cameras and audio bugs used. They will literally stalk you and find out everything about your life. What they do with that info varies. Mostly, they enjoy the surveillance, simply watching you. This yandere often is a voyeur. They would do all this recon in order to best appeal to your personality/interests, and get in your good graces once they initiate contact.

manipulative yandere - They have the upper hand on you intellectually and make sure you know it implicitly. You may fall for a lot of their lies because of perceived inferiority. After all, they're just so much smarter than you! What they're saying has to be correct or for your benefit. This yandere most likely turns you against your family/friends, gaslights, etc. You only reach a breaking point in the far future, like the idiom of frogs in boiling water.

isolating yandere - They will physically isolate you in a room, cage, etc. Methods of subduing you vary (whether by violence or drugging). The whole point is that they're your only source of social interaction from now on. This yandere enjoys quality time, and every time they see you is a 'date' in their eyes. They're most likely to have a jealous/possessive streak.

never-lets-on yandere - Essentially, this yandere never lets on that they're a yandere. Everything is done without your knowledge. Either they get lucky because things play out to where you don't against their plans; or they're simply amazing liars/actors. They tend to just run your life without your knowledge, pulling you around like an unknowing puppet. Because you're totally unaware of it all, you view them as perfectly normal, and perhaps even one of your closest friends (if not already dating). This type differs from stalking and manipulative, because while they can overlap, this yandere doesn't change your life perceptibly. You can still have friends, family, a life, a sense of agency - they're just secretly a control freak behind the scenes. You've never had true 'free will' since they met you. Most likely to commit somno.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

End Game 6

No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as noncon/dubcon, age gap, stalking, and possible untagged elements. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: Your gaming buddy asks to meet up but it doesn’t go exactly as planned.

Characters: Andy Barber

Note: Andrew keeping us angry this fine friday

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me.

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Please do not just put ‘more’. I will block you.

I love you all immensely. Take care. 💖

You leave your headphones around your neck and tuck your phone into your pocket. You focus on the simple steps of loading the coffee machine as your grandmother mutters and shuffles away. You can hear her harrumph as she goes into the front room and the groan of her chair as she sits heavily.

The scratch of dry pages sounds as she gives no acknowledgement to the intruder. You stop in the archway as a chill runs through you. You’re sick to your stomach. The walls are closing in. They always feel a bit tight, suffocating even, but you’re really trapped. He’s not going to stop. He’s showing you just that. 

You make yourself keep going. You come out into the front room. Andy stands by the bay window, looking out onto the unmowed lawn. His shoulders are straight even as he has his hands in his pockets. He wears a pair of sleek pants and a powder blue button-up with short sleeves. He looks as put together as ever, definitely out of place in your grandmother’s cramped house. 

“Coffee on,” you croak to your grandma and Andy turns, his lips twitching as his cheek dimples, “can we talk outside?” 

He tilts his head, “sure,” he accepts, “Cassie,” he nods at your grandma as he struts across the room, “sorry for disturbing you. You have a lovely home.” 

Your grandmother rocks the chair and looks up at him. There’s an arch in her brow that isn’t entirely bothered, “thank you, Andrew? Was it?” 

“Andy,” he grins. 

“Hm,” she grumbles and narrows her eyes, “sorry to hear about your kid.” 

“Thanks,” his voice falters, “getting through.” 

He nears and you quickly turn away, keeping your distance from him as he follows you the door. You can barely get it open before he catches up. He holds the door above your head as he trails you outside and you stumble down the step. You spin to face him, crossing your arms as you maintain a wide breadth from him. He stops on the bottom stair and watches you. 

“Why are you doing this?” You ask crisply. 

“I’m trying to help you.” 

“I don’t need help--” 

“You sure about that?” He challenges swiftly. 

You wince and look away. You’re embarrassed. You never invited friends over because they weren’t welcome. Even Kara only ever saw the outside of your grandma’s house and you never told her about the nasty remarks or the boiling silences that had you fleeing like a frog from hot water. 

You swallow and purse your lips tightly, “I’m sure. I’m just fine.” 

“Can’t be easy, living like that,” he remarks. 

“Stop,” you keep your gaze averted. 

“Not just the peeling walls and whatever, but her, she’s not very nice, is she?” 

“I told you to stop,” you snap at him, facing him, “you do not know me or my life.” 

“You’re the one closing me out,” he accuses, “honey, please, I want to know. Has anyone else even asked? Checked in?” 

“I have friends--” 

“Yeah, but they got their own live, don’t they? Like, what’s her name, Kayla?” He puts a hand up, then snaps his fingers, “Kara, yeah, that’s it. Sure, you had your day out but what’s she doing for you now? Miles away.” 

“I’ll figure it out. I am,” you sniff, “it’s not your business, Andy.” 

“You know, making yourself suffer isn’t some great show of honour, right? You’re just spitting in the face of the escape you’ve been hoping for--” 

“No, not with you,” you sneer. 

“How do you know that? Why can’t it be me?” 

“You know--” 

“I know, I lied. I hurt you. I’ve apologised over and over and I’ll keep doing that as long as I need to. Honey, let me ask you, when has anyone ever said sorry to you? When have they ever cared about your feelings? About your forgiveness?” He cranes to look at the house then back to you, “did your parents ever say sorry for leaving you here? Does your grandma ever say sorry for insulting you? How about Kara? Does she ever apologise for ignoring you for that skinny kid she’s got nipping at her heels?” 

“How do you know that?” You exclaim, “what-- why--” you can barely speak as your head reels. You don’t understand how he knows about Kara or how he found you or why he just won’t give up. “Andy, I—you can’t replace Jacob, alright? I don’t want anything from you. I can’t-- I can’t take it. Alright? It’s not right.” 

“I’m not trying to replace him, he’s gone,” Andy drops his shoulders and steps onto even ground, “I’m trying to start over and I’m offering you the same thing. You don’t have to stay in this shit hole. You don’t have to wallow like this. I could get you into a better school. I can make a few calls, get you in at UMass or Boston, close to me--” 

“What the fuck?” You burst out, “what-- no. No. You’re... you... I don’t want that.” 

He’s quiet. His brows knit as he stops just a step away, “why not?” 

You stare at him, stunned. You should want it, shouldn’t you? To get out? To have better? Opportunity doesn’t knock on your door every day but this is not that. This is strange. He hasn’t said so but you know there’s more than just generosity at play. More than a mourning father trying to do good. 

“Because I don’t want to be anyone’s burden. So no thank you. I am not interested in whatever you’re offering. I can’t trust you. Everything between us is based on a lie,” you say, “you need to understand that and move on.” 

He stares at you. His blue eyes search your defiant face and he blows out slowly through his nose. He pushes his shoulders back and stands at his full height. 

“No, you don’t understand,” his face darkens and you back up, “you don’t understand everything I can give you. Everything I could do for you. You don’t get it. You’re young and you have no idea because you’ve never had any of those things.” He steps closer as you inch away, “but what you really don’t understand is what I can take away from you.” His lashes flick down and he sighs, “I didn’t want it to be like this but it’s the only way to make you see.” 

“What do you mean?” You utter. 

He smiles, not a real smile, a wry, almost mournful smile. He shrugs and you flinch as he sidesteps you. You keep out of his way as he strides down the walkway and you turn to watch his back. He stops at the end and peeks back, “you and me, we were meant to be together. Can’t you see that? It wasn’t chance, it’s fate.” 

He puts his back to you once more and struts to his silver SUV. You stay as you are, trapped in everything he said and didn’t. He’s not done and there’s nothing you can say or do to stop him.  

Or maybe it’s not you who needs to stop him. 

🎮

It isn’t your first time in a precinct. You have vague memories of similar scenes from your childhood; some faded by the years, others out of pain. As you pass through the doors, doubt stops you in your tracks. How many times did they send you home with your mother still reeking of alcohol or let your father out still in one of his rages? 

It’s been a long time and the world is different. Isn’t it? Besides, you’re an adult now. You have a voice. You better start using it. 

You approach the desk where a man in uniform sits behind thick plexiglass. You cough to get his attention and bounce nervously on the balls of your feet. You can’t think how to begin so you just start talking. 

“Uh, hi, um, I think I need to file a police report?” You say. 

He looks at you dully, “for what?” 

“Well, er, I... don’t know what it would be technically called, I guess. But, this guy, uh, a man... he won’t leave me alone.” 

The officer scoffs, “really? You young ones...” 

“It’s not... I don’t know him, sir, so--” 

“Let me guess? He whistled at you on the street? Or maybe he offered to buy you a drink?” He narrows his eyes. 

“No, sir. He’s been following me. He showed up at my work and my house and I told him to go but he... won’t.” 

He rolls his eyes but grabs a piece of paper. He shakes his head and slides it under the slot, “fine, fill it out. We’ll put the incident on file. Unfortunately, we don’t lay charges for being social.” 

Great. So you were wrong. Again. And why would they take you seriously? No one ever does. 

You sit and fill out the form. Your info, Andy’s info, and a written recount of each incident. You think you have the dates right. You bring it back to the desk. 

“I have texts too, if that helps.” 

“Nah,” he takes the form as you push it through, “not like you’re going to court.” 

You grimace. You hate being talked to like you’re stupid, you’d rather be ignored. 

“Well, thanks, I guess,” you grumble. 

“Hold up,” he says, “gotta do a quick check before we file this.” 

He types into his computer. He looks between the paper and the screen. You wait. What a waste of time. Now you’re sure he’s just trying to make you look stupid. 

“Where is this Andrew Barber from? He’s not in the local records.” 

“I don’t... know,” you blink. He said something about Boston U? “Massachussetts, maybe? I think he’s a lawyer.” 

���Pretty common name...” he mutters as he hits several keys, “hmm, let’s see. Lawyer... sure, makes sense—ha, assistant DA? All the way down here?” He looks at you, “alright, honey, why don’t you go have more fun on Google?” 

“No, it’s not--” 

“You know it’s obstruction to file a false report,” he says. 

“No, it’s true. I told you, I have messages--” 

“So you don’t know him but you’re texting him?” He challenges, “I’m advising you to leave right now before I book you for wasting my time.” 

You exhale and shake your head, dropping your shoulders as you turn. You drag your feet across the gray tile and to the door. So much for trying. Just like everything else, it’s a lost cause. You’re starting to believe Andy. He might be your only chance. You really are that pathetic. 

No, you won’t give in. You might not have had much in life. Maybe not a nice house or a good family or even done anything great but you’re still your own person. You’re working towards that. You’re going to school, you’re making minimum wage, you’re doing what you have. It’s a means to an end. Andy can’t be that end. 

You don’t know what to do. It’s not like you can ask your grandma. She’d never listen long enough to understand and even if she did, would she care? 

You wander down the street and sit on a bench, numb as you try to think of something. You clutch your phone and look down at the screen. You have one lifeline left but is it too much to ask? You unlock the phone and find Kara’s name. 

You hit the call button and raise the phone to your ear. Maybe she knows what to do. She always had boy troubles; you remember when Michael had a crush on her in grade eleven. 

“Heya! How are ya, girl?” She answers with a giggle. 

“Kara, I’m...” you search the street and your eyes water, “not good.” 

“Oh,” her tone falls, “oh, is everything okay?” 

“No.” 

“What’s going on? Are you hurt? Is your grandma okay?” She hushes someone and you hear rustling as she moves on the other end. 

“Kara, you remember that boy I met online. The one I was supposed to meet?” 

“Yeah, the one that stood you up.” 

“It wasn’t a boy. I mean. It wasn’t who I thought it was...” it all comes tumbling out before you can stop yourself, “it was his dad.” 

“What?” She nearly shrieks, “ew. Oh my god, what the fuck?” 

“Yeah, and he...” you see a silver SUV and your words crackle. The window rolls down as the car slows and Andy peers out at you. 

He knows Kara. He saw her at the con and somehow he learned more about her. How did he do that? Obviously, he has connections. Far above you. And her. If he can find out who she is, where you are, what else can he do? 

You’ve already told her too much. 

“Sorry, Kar, I gotta go--” 

“Wait, wait, wait, you can’t drop that on me and just bail,” Kara squeals. 

“I’m sorry, I just... I’ll call you back.” 

You hang up and lower the phone. You stare at Andy as he parks and gets out of the car. He shuts the door and crosses the pavement, turning to sit beside you. He peers around casually. 

“So, should I expect a visit from the police?” He asks. 

You sit back and scoff, “whatever, dude.” 

“I got a lot of buddies on the force. They don’t mess with DA’s, even out of district. If you gave me a chance, you’d know these things about me.” 

You don’t say anything. He’s not listening and he’s not going to. You should be used to that. 

“So, do we keep going?” He asks. 

You slide to the edge of the bench. You don’t look at him. You just walk away. He’s your problem. You can’t make him Kara’s too. Not when he’s showing you exactly how far he’ll go. 

[communistkenobi]

this is self-admitted by many modern day western social scientists, that they have pulled back from any grand theory of the social world and focus now on much more narrow, modest questions of social inequalities or divisions or etc, and in fact show great intellectual hostility to grand theories as de facto indefensible on account of them being too ‘coarse’ and ‘aggregate.’ And it’s like a frog boiling process where I get used to how theoretically bereft and merely descriptive a lot of modern western academic writing is, and it’s both extremely pleasurable and enraging whenever I’m jolted out of it by reading literally anything else. Like I am continually drawn to grand historical claims as a necessary antidote and response to this type of orientation to knowledge. Granular detail certainly has its place but it can’t really compete with Césaire’s claim that Europe is indefensible or Marx’s argument that all of history is class conflict. I am so bored of any defence of nuance

[blue-ten]

Windows 11 and the Last Straw

Bit of a rant coming up. TL;DR I'm tired of Microsoft, so I'm moving to Linux. After Microsoft's announcement of "Recall" and their plans to further push Copilot as some kind of defining feature of the OS, I'm finally done. I feel like that frog in the boiling water analogy, but I'm noticing the bubbles starting to form and it's time to hop out.

The corporate tech sector recently has been such a disaster full of blind bandwagon hopping (NFTs, ethically dubious "AI" datasets trained on artwork scraped off the net, and creative apps trying to incorporate features that feed off of those datasets). Each and every time it feels like insult to injury toward the arts in general. The out of touch CEOs and tech billionaires behind all this don't understand art, they don't value art, and they never will.

Thankfully, I have a choice. I don't have to let Microsoft feature-creep corporate spyware into my PC. I don't have to let them waste space and CPU cycles on a glorified chatbot that wants me to press the "make art" button. I'm moving to Linux, and I've been inadvertently prepping myself to do it for over a decade now.

I like testing out software: operating systems, web apps, anything really, but especially art programs. Over the years, the open-source community has passionately and tirelessly developed projects like Krita, Inkscape, and Blender into powerhouses that can actually compete in their spaces. All for free, for artists who just want to make things. These are people, real human beings, that care about art and creativity. And every step of the way while Microsoft et al began rotting from the inside, FOSS flourished and only got better. They've more than earned trust from me.

I'm not announcing my move to Linux just to be dramatic and stick it to the man (although it does feel cathartic, haha). I'm going to be using Krita, Inkscape, GIMP, and Blender for all my art once I make the leap, and I'm going to share my experiences here! Maybe it'll help other artists in the long run! I'm honestly excited about it. I worked on the most recent page of Everblue entirely in Krita, and it was a dream how well it worked for me.

Addendum: I'm aware that Microsoft says things like, "Copilot is optional," "Recall is offline, it doesn't upload or harvest your data," "You can turn all these things off." Uh-huh. All that is only true until it isn't. One day Microsoft will take the user's choice away like they've done so many times before. Fool me once, etc.

[ceilidho]

i love love love when johnny is a weird little freak and like, i love the idea of a fucking. oblivious reader who johnnys doing all sorts of weird shit to but its boiling the frog style so its not until someone else points out like hey. why does johnny keep putting his hand up your shirt if you two arent dating/together/etc and reader is just like. oh he does that sometimes shrugs, and the friend/colleague/etc is like babe.... seek mental help and reader goes oh fuck that is weird because hes jsut. desensitized them to it.

Johnny to your friends when they start asking questions about the nature of your relationship with him

[toastedjeans]

So anyway i made a pizza tower oc/self insert/fanchild?? Technically?? If you squint.....

Their name's Ziti and they're Peppino and Gustavo's adopted "kid" (they're around 16). If you saw this post before, i aged them down a bit and changed/got rid of a few other things.

Anyway, some info about them below

I'm still too lazy to put all this into sentences and in an order that makes sense so here's a bigass list

They were adopted by Peppino and Gustavo after the tower fell

Used to work in the tower in the background, probably in a computer room. There was never much work there so they often fell asleep or doodled on the side. When there was work it was very stressful for them and they were easily overwhelmed. They never took days off cause they felt they didn't deserve to. Still, they desperately need a break (more on that in the backstory post)

Very anxious, but unlike Peppino, their anxiety does not turn into rage, just more anxiety and later on extreme tiredness. They're always tired tbh

Likes goofing around with Gustavo. He's the slightly sillier dad, while Peppino is slightly more caring and comforting (he can relate to the trans struggles. We love trans Peppino in this house). Of course, they're both caring and silly and great dads and love their kid very much

Random headcanon that Gustavo likes picking up people as a sign that he likes them a lot, and you know he often does that to Ziti (and Peppino lol)

Absolutely cannot cook, they WILL burn the kitchen down while trying to boil water. Please for the love of pizza do NOT let them near any kitchen. Peppino is honestly amazed by how bad someone's cooking skills can be (he says they're worse than Maurice's, which is saying a lot)

Not used to physical affection, at first only cuddles with Brick. Touch starved as hell.

Fakey is kinda like a mix between a best friend, a big brother, and a weird pet to them. It's weird at first, seeing how he resembles one of their dads so much, but they eventually get used to it

An awkward piece of ham™, but there's a silly goofy goober under all that anxiety

They always put other's needs in front of theirs, resulting in them neglecting their own needs because they're "not important enough" in their mind.

Always tries doing things on their own because they don't like bothering others, even if they know they can't do it alone. Will not actively ask for help but will reluctantly accept it when offered.

Giving gifts is their love language. Gives gifts randomly whenever they find something, but still feels bad when they don't have a gift on a special day (birthdays, Christmas, etc), or if they think their gift is lame

They're very forgetful, but they do remember tiny things nobody cares about. Will forget your birthday, but remembers that they once saw a frog jump directly into water and exactly how the resulting splash looked. This has no significance to anything at all, but they do remember it!

No fashion sense. At all. I mean look at them. Bland white ass. (No wonder tbh if you know where they come from)

Very pale, often got called a vampire or zombie when they were younger. Peppino and Gustavo sometimes lovingly refer to them as their little Mozzarella (despite both of them being smaller than Ziti)

Lastly, they're strangely obsessed with Noisette's cooking. Their favorite is her peanut butter spaghetti. Never gets sick from any of her food. They're not picky is all I'm saying. (Kinda explained in the backstory post)

[christmasintheloonybin]

the core of technological slavery is slow changes. like boiling the frog. we can all see the memes like you have to say the brand name to end the ad you have to maintain eye contact with the screen for the ad to end etc and say this is ridiculous if this happens I just won't participate, I'll drop out etc. well, 1. this is impossible, you really don't have a choice, which is why the term "slavery" i think is appropriate. 2. this won't happen all at once, and in 10 years when this is the way it is you won't have realized the change, at least not as a major one, because it happens so slowly. you'll say "yeah its not great but what am I supposed to do?" a relevant story from my personal life - when youtube announced that they would start playing two ads instead of just one before videos I thought, no I won't participate, I'll stop watching youtube altogether. but it's a very useful resource and I quickly got used to the two ads. and so maybe they will start playing three ads or four. eventually you'll only be watching ads and you'll say "well it's not great but it's just the way things are." especially as the internet becomes less and less free and customizable. and all technology becomes more like cell phones, very simple machines which are too difficult to alter in any way for the average person or illegal to alter for people who know how. it's all leading people down a very narrow path, technology has really got the entire world by the balls.

[zuko-always-lies]

Zuko trying to comfort Sokka

"Boiling Rock Part 1":

Zuko: I'm really sorry, Sokka. Sokka: So we came all this way for nothing? I failed ... again. Zuko: Ah, [Holds his chin in thought.] what would Uncle say? [Cut to a frog-view as he looks up at the sky.] Sometimes, clouds have two sides, [Walks over to the railing.] a dark and light, and a silver lining in between. It's like a silver sandwich! [Close-up of a disinterested Sokka; voice-over.] So ... when life seems hard ... [Sokka glances to the side.] take a bite out of the silver sandwich!Sokka's eyes widen when he notices something; close-up of his cheerful expression as he gets up. Cut to a frontal shot of Zuko while Sokka runs up to grab the railing next to him, excitedly looking down to the yard below. Sokka: Maybe we haven't failed after all! Zuko: That's the spirit! [Folds his arms.] I can't believe that worked. [Looks down.] I didn't even know what I was saying. Sokka: No, what you said made no sense at all. But look ... [As he points, the camera shifts to an overhead view of the yard, before rapidly zooming in on a dejected-looking Suki.] It's Suki!

So this is just about the only scene where we see Zuko try to comfort someone else in ATLA (there are a couple other partial exceptions but they're partial), and he sucks at it and has no idea what he's doing. Zuko evidentially has very little experience comforting people. I doubt he ever tried much when he was younger.

Azula and Mai are two characters the Avatar fandom generally looks upon as "evil," "unfeeling," unemotional," "psychopaths," etc. However, interestingly, when we see them try to comfort people, they've pretty good at it. They're not perfect, but they know what they're doing. Evidentially Azula and Mai, unlike Zuko, have a significant amount of experience comforting people.

[tossawary]

I've only seen 3 episodes of the new "Percy Jackson" show so far and my main complaint with the first two episodes was pacing. I thought the pacing in the third episode was much improved and overall very good, but a lot about the first two episodes felt rushed to me.

I think episodes 1 and 2 both could have been two episodes each to slowly introduce us to Percy, Grover, Sally, Mr. Brunner, Mrs. Dodds and the Minotaur, and then to the Camp, to Annabeth, Luke, Clarisse, the satyrs and the different cabins, etc.. I mean, I think what was there was pretty solid! I like the actors! I don't think it's badly written (I think making Luke show Percy around the camp was a good choice to make later things hit harder, since we will have more time with Annabeth on the quest itself later), but I would have liked more breathing room scenes, like when Percy burned the blue jellybeans, for things to settle in, and I blame the studio for not giving this show a longer season to work with.

As it stands now, the first two episodes felt more intended for existing fans, rather than for onboarding new fans. I feel like a frog being thrown into boiling water instead of the water coming up to a boil around me. If you're not familiar with this religion & lore already, if you don't know who the Twelve Olympians are, the introduction to the Camp doesn't give you much of a foothold, which is quite unfortunate when PJO was many people's introduction to this stuff.

The blue food is not really explained. The tension of the mystery with Mrs. Dodds kind of gets thrown out because it all happens so fast. There's no time to slowly build a feeling of normalcy and then wrongness. Percy's relationship with Chiron is undermined by how little time they get together. Percy finding out who his father is happens SO QUICKLY that we don't have a proper understanding of what's wrong about his claiming when it happens. The camp looks cool and I want to see more of it! How it functions is barely explained! We barely get to meet anyone! It feels like Percy is there for less than 48 hours before he's leaving on a quest again, so there's very little time to build up his attachment to it. I have less emotional investment in Percy's conflict with Clarisse because we barely get to understand what daily life at Camp Half-blood might be like (although I understand putting less focus on Clarisse now knowing that you'll be able to play catch-up during future storylines).

I think the show is making pretty good choices with the time that they have, I just wish they had MORE time. I don't think that they have to include every little detail and scene and character from the books. I like a lot of the changes they've made just fine. I just feel like the writing and acting is being undermined by the fact that there's very little time to set things up so that you can knock them down, and that it takes more time to show something visually than it does to read a sentence. Everything in episodes 1 and 2 is moving so quickly that some of the magical aspects feel... less magical to me because there's less time to develop contrast. And the show doesn't have as much time to potentially develop cool NEW things, to slide in more new funny character interactions, because it's all so smushed down. I want more time to see these actors shine together.

(Although, admittedly, it is VERY funny to feel like Percy is stuck in some sort of speedrun version of the story. Every day is a new rollercoaster of Percy not knowing what the fuck is going on and going with it because he's not given the time to ask questions. Sure! This might as well happen next! His life sucks already. That part feels very true to the books, although I think the feeling could still be preserved if the show was given more time.)

I'm tired of 8 episode seasons. I don't know if I think that PJO needs a full 20+ episodes to tell the story of the first book, probably not, but being constrained to only 8 instead of at least 10-16 feels disappointing.

[skunkes]

honestly skipping to "good parts" in homestuck (whatever they are) won't work, simply because it's so self referential at all times, it's boiling you like a frog for better plot perception. hard to get into it otherwise.

that being said don't feel like you missed anything.

ya but as mentioned the result wasnt "skipped the beginning bc i got bored and therefore i didnt understand the story because I missed chunks of it so ummm its bad media!"

it was more "oh so it literally just stays the same boring the whole way through and not even the "good parts" pique my interest enough to want to go back and read it from the beginning so I can understand...ok. bye" it was inescapable at the time so i osmosed some things from others around me....still just did not do anything for me to make the story telling format, writing, etc worth it, not my thing besides the interpretations of designs via fanart ^_^

[dansevilpianotea]

what are some phancoded songs?

hiiii omg thanks for the ask!! i absolutely love talking about songs i associate with my interests!! (autism has been activated to the highest degree so this will be a long post, you have been warned)

here are some of what i think are classic dnp coded songs:

Guys by The 1975 (i see this as more about the phandom than about dnp tbh but its very very dnp coded no matter how you interpret it) That's So Us by Allie X Still into You by Paramore The Only Exception by Paramore

i have a whole ass 100 song long playlist about dnp but let me give you my favourites that aren't the usual classics:

Eighteen by Pale Waves

This city depresses me But you try to be everything I need We sat on the corner kissing each other Felt like I could finally see in colour I was 18 when I met you Poured my heart out, spilt all my truth I finally felt like I could feel for the first time When I met you

i mean????? thats 2009 dan and phil????? dip and pip??? hello!!??

also fun fact!!: this band is from manchester and this song was written by their non-binary drummer and lesbian lead singer (who lowkey gives lesbian version of dan). you should rlly listen to pale waves. idek if theyve heard of dnp but theyre true phannies to me.

Starlight by Muse

this song, man. never heard of muse until i got into dnp and then i this song was the first one is listened to.

Hold you in my arms I just wanted to hold You in my arms

i feel like it says sth about the expectations of being in a relationship while also presenting yourself on a massive public platform. wanting to be authentic and produce content^tm vs. being closeted and wanting to protect your relationship. 'I will be chasing a starlight, Until the end of my life, I don't know if it's worth it anymore'. Is worth it to constantly push the content out while feeling like a fraud for being inauthentic about your identity? 'And our hopes and expectations, Black holes and revelations'. the future may seem very dark and hopeless sometimes, it may not turn out how we expect or hope, but only once we face instead of fight it (embrace the void etc) we will forgive our past selves and see that the future really is bright. so yes, very dnp coded.

Anniversary by Autoheart

Years of nothing have subsided We have fixed each other up Giving you up? What are you on about? I'll never give up believing in us Giving you up? Now why would I do a thing like that? No I’m not giving you up, no way I will never stop when it comes to you

this song is not only dnp coded (kind of an october 19th theme song) but also has gained a new meaning since the return of dnp games <3. they didnt give up on us. they came back. and we really helped each other get here <3. think about it like that when listening and i guarantee you will be sobbing. the song also has some marriage themes bc theres wedding vows during the bridge so i will just let you live with that <33

Where the Lines Overlap by Paramore

Tracing patterns across a personal map And making pictures where the lines overlap No one is as lucky as us We're not at the end but oh, we already won Call me over And tell me how Well, you got so far Never making a single sound I'm not used to it But I can learn

we werent ready for their comeback / we're still learning to get used to it / just look at them / boiling frog theory / hard phaunch / do i need to say more

Yellow by Coldplay

this song became part of my playlist when phil didnt know a single coldplay song. unfortunately i cant take it serious anymore after dan was turned into a golden pig, then was literally glowing golden during a book event all while #pissyourself4dan was trending and every phannie on twt made their pfps yellow. i will curse your mind to with the lyrics and mental imagery: (im sorry but im also not bc this is how my autism thinks humour works)

Look at the stars Look how they shine for you And everything you do Yeah, they were all yellow ✨✨ Your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones Turn into something beautiful ✨✨✨ And you know, you know I love you so 💛

✨✨✨

(im sorry again)

Safe & Sound by Tonight Alive

Dan in BIG: "for the first time since I was a tiny child I actually felt safe."

Nothing compares to what we share I don't have a care in the world Cause even if it all came crashing down, As long as you're around, I'll be safe and sound. 🧡

ending it with a nice one because its beautiful and sappy and its so them afterall. they really won rpf.

thank you for this ask, i enjoyed answering it!! (im sorry for taking so long. im on day 11 of a cold so ive not had much energy.)