#it wouldve been impossible to finish it on time...

[milkbreadtoast]

I WANTED TO DRAW SOMETHING IN TIME FOR THE MESSAGE BOOK TO GIVE TO AUTHOR SOOKYM BUT I DIDNT FINISH.... but thats ok bc im proud of this sketch and now i can finish it leisurely and not have to rush🫡🥹

[two-calicos-in-a-trenchcoat]

Every bookbinding tutorial i found online: "DO NOT TRY THE COPTIC STITCH AS A BEGINNER ITS TOO ADVANCED"

Me who has only bound one book before and used a completely different method: "ehh it can't be that hard"

2 hours later

.....I was right. Its not that hard.

[yume-fanfare]

i have sooooo many (cool) things to do within the next week and a bit ahhh time to lock in (i am still sleep deprived)

[treetyofversace]

okay so it has been substantial time since the race finish let's have a quick recap of all the unhingedness of it

1.Mercedes😭😭😭 Bro what were you doing they were just there to defy FIA lmao

2. MAX- THIS MAN OMG HE KNEW VERY WELL HE AINT FINISHING THAT RACE ON THE PODIUM WHAT DID HE DECIDE TO DO? PRESSURIZE NORRIS, HELP CHARLES AND GIVE THE REST OF US INCLUDING FIA AN ANEYURSM WAITING FOR HIM TO PIT HONESTLY HE WAS JUST CAUSING MENACE

3. Lando norris win- tbh I don't want to join on the hate train it's too similar to what max was going through during his time trying to be the wdc that being said I was very sad that charles lost his p1 and also was not too happy seeing him win but that's just my biased opinion he deserved the win through and through

4. Charles losing p1😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 even tho max tried his best to help his husband, it was near impossible to overtake the witchy supercar, I am- not happy no- okay with p2 but let's be honest we all were praying desperately for Charles Leclerc p1, tbh I wouldve preferred he take more risks but yea- it's easier to say than to actually do it

5. Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda 2nd crash of the season i felt a bit bad but all in all glad nobody was harmed

6. Alonso introducing his Aston Martin to the barriers- again just glad that he was unharmed but the crash wouldve been more appreciated if it had been during Max's lead

7. The Princess of Monaco handing 2nd place trophy to Oscar instead of Charles and Oscar having to clarify it and me having to witness a very chaotic chat window😭😭

8. Whatever the fuck Williams were doing today idk what their strategy was but it wasnt very helpful at all

9. Lestappen being better teammates to each other than their actual team mates that was proabably the highlight of the race for me lol

10. Scratch that the highlight was definitely lestappen dominating Lando Norris and him calling reinforcements in the form of one (1) Oscar Piastri hence enabling us to witness lestappen vs landoscar drama

And yea that was pretty much it, i wrote this mostly because I need to focus on my exam due day after tomorrow and I cannot have these thoughts revolving in my head 🙃

Anyway what a shitty good race on to Barcelona!

[unstably-stable]

Debriefing Mi8 SPOILERS BELOW

Okay so holy shit I just finished watching Mission Impossible the Final Reckoning and I have a LOT to say (overall I LOVED IT)

I’ll go in the order it comes to me so bear with me.

I’ve been taking some cinematography classes and making some movies so I’ll admit the first 25 mins of the movie were mind boggling because so much happened at once with little to no context, really strange framing and cuts, and I was surprised at how different the editing and cinematography style were.

The part where Ethan absolutely fucks up Gabriel’s men threatening Grace was pretty funny though, I love when Ethan gets a little off his rocker with the violence. ALSO BENJI FINALLY GOT TO WEAR A MASK AHHHHHHH YAYYY.

Things REALLY picked up after the intro.

I admire how they made the storyline so easy to follow despite the insane stunts, parallels, and different portions of the mission going on. I was a bit iffy about the president at first but I’m impressed by her character (will get to that later).

The entity pissed me off but also filled me with dread because I think what this franchise tends to do is highlight different real world problems in a more dramatized way, and this intelligent AI intent on world destruction really put it into perspective how badly things could go. I digress, however so let’s move on.

I’d like to mention I absolutely ADORE Paris in this movie (and the last one too), her performance was great and she is so badass, really a great addition to the team and a great balance for Benji. I enjoyed their interactions and think it’d be a cool thing to explore (i really like their dynamic guys)

Truly I got whiplash by Luther’s death I was like “WTF” and there was so much going on I doubt Ethan and Benji had much time to process either- I hope they talk about it after the credits roll.

I appreciate them bringing back William Donloe (and his wife she’s so adorable!) the whole action sequence in their home was insane and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time as they switched between the team and Ethan struggling w their issues. Also BENJI FIGHTING? HELL YEAH DUDE he absolutely ate.

The shot where they all momentarily reunite was a nice breather, and YES IK it was tragic they cut the forehead scene but I am grateful they put it in the trailer bc it makes us think to Ethan and Benjis reunion and what a relief it must’ve been to them. It is still canon, I don’t care if they didn’t show it.

Ethans whole episode underwater was kind of disarming and felt really isolated, I wish they’d dragged out the stiller parts more to highlight just how frightening it would’ve been. Shoutout to the team who helped him get under, they were great! Also I love Grace but the whole CPR scene lwk disturbed me IM SORRY 😞

Now let’s get to the other sequence that was INSANE. Idk if you could tell by now but Benjis my favorite character and I’ve never actually found him so attractive until the moment he got shot (my bad). I’ve seen a lot of people complain about how it’s out of character for Benji to not tell Ethan he got shot but ETHAN NEVER WOULDVE LEFT HIM IF HE KNEW GUYS IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE EVEN MY DAD SAID HE LOVES BENJI TOO MUCH TO LEAVE OFC HE HID THE BULLET WOUND.

Anyway! When Benji got shot I looked at my dad and he was like 😦😦. The whole sequence following this moment was INCREDIBLE. I love how it really showed how everyone in the team is important, with Donloe and his gang disarming the bomb, Paris operating on Benji, Grace preparing to capture the entity, and Ethan grappling Gabriel for the poison pill. Tensions were so high in this moment and we really should appreciate how Benji instructed both Paris AND Grace all while his lung was collapsing and he couldn’t breathe BENJI WHAT THE HECK this was too attractive (I’m sorry guys just like William Brandt I am NOT just an analyst). And GO GRACE GIRL she really showed us the difference between a good and great pickpocket ⏰. This climax of the movie couldn’t have gone better in my opinion and as someone who was pissed at the cinematography the first 25-30 mins it was SO SO SO GOOD.

The PLANE STUNTS OH MY GOODNESS they somehow brought it up a notch. Gabriel makes my blood boil and although his death was a gory one it was satisfying. Although I knew Ethan had plot armor for a few moments I really did think he was going to die and I’m so so glad he didn’t.

Now let’s talk about the president rq. She really is the sum of her choices and truly hats off to her for making that decision and to the general for choosing to save her with his weapon. I’m glad she gets a moment with her son at the end.

The ending, honestly I had to use the restroom really badly by then but I STILL teared up at Luther’s message and I know I’ll ugly cry the second time I watch it. Godspeed my friend you will forever be appreciated and missed.

The team parting at Trafalgar Square was also pretty bittersweet minus the sweet but I hope they get closure. Ethan walked toward either Benji or Grace at the end, so I hope they get time together afterward, especially him and Benji bc there is a LOT to talk about.

Overall things I wanna say are I really wish there had been more dialogue and interaction between the team themselves and a more clear ending in terms of their future relationship, although I think the lack of these things still did well in the movie. As someone who loves Ethan’s different dynamics w specific members of the team, I wish they’d done a bit more of that. He barely interacts w Paris and mostly just meaningfully gazes at Benji but liike ykyk

This has been a wild ride and such a crucial part of my childhood, and I left the theater with a bittersweet feeling of completion. Thanks to everyone who made this franchise happen 🫡

“We live and die in the shadows, for those we hold close, and for those we never meet.”

[unactive-shroom]

The last thing Leo Valdez expected was to see Y/n L/n in bunker nine.

Crouched beside a large metal frame, her oil stained hands made rapid movements as the machine shuddered and emitted a grey fog across the bunker. Although Leo guessed the contraption was about to combust, he couldn’t help but fix his gaze on the girl in front of him.

it had been almost a year since he had seen her last, her previously long, dyed hair was now tied back out of her face, the dye settled at the ends of her hair like dripping paint. Her natural black hair created the perfect silhouette for her face, emphasising her sea-green eyes and her ethereal seeming features. She seemed tired, but happier, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

“Y/n?” Leo stammered. “When did you get here?”

The girl looked up and smiled a cheeky grin back in response, before giving the machine one final thump with a mallet before it spurred to life, clanking and clunking, gradually clearing the grey smog from the room.

She stood up, wiping her slender hands on what appeared to be a pair of school trousers. It seemed as if she had just left school, which was impossible. Her school was miles and miles away, surely she wouldve had time to change. Besides, School finished up almost a month ago in America.

Before Leo could decide whether an “I missed you so so much ” or a “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back early??” was a better thing to say, he was engulfed in her arms, her familiar ocean and oil smell frying his brain for a split second.

“Man, I’ve missed you, Leo. Sorry for rooting around in your bunker without asking you, I thought you’d already be in here and then I got a bit distracted I guess”

She explained how she arrived early after some empousai attacked her boarding school in Birmingham, causing the year to finish early. As for why she was in her uniform still, Apollo still owed her a favour from when he was turned mortal, so she asked him to bring her to camp half blood.

As they left bunker nine and headed to dinner hand in hand, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a thick square wrapped gift.

“didnt think I forgot your birthday, did you?” As she handed him the present he looked at her sceptically. “Did you for real get me a book for my birthday? I mean damn, I love you and all, but a book? seriously?”

Regardless, he carefully unwrapped the vibrant paper around the gift, revealing a red leather book with the title bearing “Esperanza Valdez”. Speechless, Leo shot you a careful glance before opening the book. Inside was a handwritten note.

“Cariño, you told me once that you would do anything to have a picture of your mother, beside the newspaper clippings from that night. You told me it was pointless though, because it was impossible. That your family would never even talk to you again, let alone give you anything of your mother. You have given me what I thought was impossible. Love, acceptance. A place to go. I think it’s time for me to return the favour. Mi vida, mi alma, mi sol. Te amare por siempre. Feliz cumpleaños, mi amor.” ^

Leo flicked through the pages in disbelief. The inside of the book was filled with scrapbooked pictures of his mother in her youth, all the way to pictures of her mother holding him with his grandparents, his mother playing legos with him, his mother and him going about their life, content. Before the accident. When he got to the last page he couldn’t hold it in anymore. He collapsed into her arms, sobbing a mixture of grief and gratitude, all while she stroked his hair and waited for him to calm down.

When he had done so, she asked if he wanted her to read him the final page, a crinkled handwritten note carefully glued into the final page

“Necesito ir a comprar algunas cosas a las tiendas, hijo. Si te despiertas antes de que regrese, no tengas miedo. Volveré tan pronto como pueda. llamar a nuestro vecino si algo sucede. ¡Te amo! -Mami”. ^^

It was heartbreaking how something so mundane can cause such Greif - A note from Leo’s mom for his child self not to worry as she went shopping in the early morning. Leo had never had anything like it, a note written by his mother, her *handwriting*, it felt so surreal. He remembered reading the note as a child, waiting patiently by the door for his mothers return. But now there was no door to wait by, no mother to walk through it. He looked up at y/n with tear filled eyes.

“How did you even get these? I know Aunt Rosa didn’t give them to you, no way.”

And so she explained how she sought out Clios, the Greek patron of history, and did many complicated and time consuming, and some straight up ridiculous quests in exchange for old photos of his mother. The handwritten note had been a “tip” for doing such a good job on the quests.

Leo was completely shocked. How - *why* would someone do all this for *him*? He thought to himself how he didn’t deserve such a wonderful partner such as y/n, such a kind and thoughtful human was surely wasting their time being with *him*.

Despite his thoughts & tears, the two of them made it to dinner, where Leo showed piper and Jason the pictures of his mom and him. It was too personal, too raw to share with anyone else yet. And after Leo’s 20th “thank you so so much I love you the most anyone has ever loved ever” they finally blew out the candles on the cake, and when anybody asked, Leo was sure to tell them that it was the best birthday he ever had.

a/n : I can never nicely finish up a one shot can I. Reader is implied daughter of Poseidon. Anyways, translation for the Spanish :

^ “my life, my soul, my sun. I love you forever. Happy birthday my love”

^^ “I need to go buy some things at the shops, son. If you wake up before I come back, don't be afraid. I'll be back as soon as I can. call our neighbor if something happens. I love you! - Mami”

Sorry if my Spanish is bad bro I suck at sm and won’t lie I used a lot of google translate for the second piece. Okay hope you enjoyed 🫶 happy birthday Leo

[nagoo]

I also wanted to ask something. What is Vincent’s place in the Snood AU? I’ve seen some art of him tagged with the snood au, but I couldn’t find anything that explains what he does. Is he a leader of the Naga cult or something? I was considering some involvement between him and Lucrecia, but I’m not sure how the timeline of that would work out. Could you explain this for me?

Vincent is very special in The Snood AU,, I am also the sort of individual who ships Sephiroth with Vincent, which im sure not everyone is crazy about, but alas, i simply cannot care. Vincent's involvement with Lucretia as such platonic in The Snood AU, but she does still play a role in how hes ended up with The Snood. The Snood himself is an actual Deity, but he is still very much artificially created here as well, a joint effort between the Goddess Jenova, and her two most trusted worshippers, Lucretia and Hojo. Jenova, having watched the mortals for so long, wanted more than anything, to know what it could be like, to have a family, something so intrinsically hers that would have come, and been created - not by her, but from her. Lucretia and Hojo were to help her. But where Lucretia's intentions were to achieve their goal, learn, and please Jenova, Hojo's ambitions were more corrupt. He DID want to create Jenova's son.. its just that he wanted him to replace her, under his control. Vincent's role in all this was as the person assigned to assist them. Vincent's Job wouldve been to retrieve the extremely rare materials needed for their experiments, and as such, when things got Hojo'd, Vincent would have been in the middle of the ocean, making his way back to deliver something. He would then have been juuuust barely far enough away to not die instantly from the initial effects of the conflict between Hojo and Jenova. That whole thing is its own loooong explanation, but basically, Vincent is the ONLY living thing aside from The Snood himself to have been alive that impossibly long ago, and the ONLY individual to actually truly remember and have experienced firsthand, what the world had originally been like, back when all the minor gods - and Jenova herself - were still alive. He is, for all intents and purposes, the oldest living thing on the planet; because he was literally around during the creation of The Snood! everything else would have been either destroyed instantly or would have died or gone extinct afterwards, but because Vincent just so happened to be at the one exact spot at the right time, doing the right thing in the right way without even realizing it, he survived to see what is basically an entirely new world built on the ashes of the old one. The Snood found him, dormant and fading away, sunk deep within an ocean cavern and has become incredibly attached. at this current point in time, The Snood hasnt yet learned all this however, as He has only recently found Vincent. As such, Vincent isnt a Snoodist, but he also isnt not a Snoodist - not a usual one, anyway. He is fond of The Snood, and just wants to help him be happy more than anything. The Snood is all he has left in a world he no longer recognizes, and Vincent is The Snood's only tie to a past that was taken from him before he had ever even finished forming. The Snood, despite his many adoring worshippers, is a very lonely creature, because he cannot relate to the mortals, and he has no peers among other gods because there arent any left; not even lesser ones, all of them wiped out before he even got the chance to leave the cocoon he was formed in. Though Vincent is not a god, he was able to have been alive to experience them to a degree no one else has, and has been alive long enough to be the next closest things as far as The Snood is concerned, even if only because of external side effects of The Snood's birth. There is so much that he just doesnt know or understand, and its overwhelming. it makes him anxious, but Vincent is quiet and calm, and it Soothes The Snood. The Snood fears constantly that now that Vincent is awake and no longer held in stasis. Vincent is just a mortal after all, and The Snood has been alive long enough to see many thousands of years worth of mortals come and go. But maybe He can find a way to keep him around...

[whywhatswrongwithblue]

DW REWATCH

S01E03 THE UNQUIET DEAD

The Doctor has great expectations for his latest adventure when he and Rose join forces with Charles Dickens to investigate a mysterious plague of zombies.

Mr. Sneed sucks.

The Doctor's already beginning to enlist Rose's help in flying the TARDIS--mind you, this is only their SECOND adventure ever. She hasn't even moved in yet!

Rose has a great little line in here, "But, it's like, think about it, though. Christmas. 1860. Happens once, just once and it's gone, it's finished, it'll never happen again. Except for you. You can go back and see days that are dead and gone a hundred thousand sunsets ago. No wonder you never stay still." and it's wonderful how she just GETS him immediately. She understands, immediately, what keeps him going. It's also something she desires in her own life. RTD summed it up perfectly, she humanises him while he time-lords her.

Charles Dickens!!! I do love the historical episodes of DW.

YOU LOOK BEAUTIFUL. HE'S SO IN LOVEEEEEEEE. "considering" you're not being slick Doc!!

That little touch of Rose rushing to the door first; it portrays perfectly how she's fit for a life like this, travelling with the Doctor. She's adapted so quickly! Keep in mind here, the previous two adventures haven't exactly gone "well" and yet she's so eager to see what awaits them.

She looped her arm into his....my heart

What phantasmagoria is this? me @ every episode of the 60th

Rose is so incredibly empathetic. This old woman just flipped and burped out, like, a whole ass entity, and she hurries over to check on her.

The Doctor's fangirl moment is so charming! How exactly are you a fan? In what way do you resemble a means of keeping oneself cool? :D

What the Shakespeare is going on?

Rose asking the CORPSE CLIMBING OUT OF ITS FUCKING COFFIN if it's alright. Babe i love you and your bleeding heart but GET OUT OF THERE

Rose laying it down for Sneed! Go! Girl!

It's interesting that Charles is so hesitant to admit that there might be things in the world beyond his understanding, and it's especially interesting that the Doctor's the one reprimanding him when he's like that too. [The Impossible Planet]. Well, at least he's self aware?

Rose immediately going to help with the washing up. Girl how many times are you going to win my heart. "How much do you get paid" ROSE. BABE.

Super appreciate the nuance of her being (very) condescending towards Gwen. It's such a fine line to tread---Rose clearly sees herself as a voice for the "disenfranchised" but she regularly gets ahead of herself and disregards the opinions and wants of the actual person. This topic is also (horribly) touched upon with Hermione and S.P.E.W in the HP books, and it's something I find very interesting o.o

Bad wolf mention! Also 'the darkness'...was Rose always meant to dimension hop? I always thought Billie chose to leave at the end of s2 and that's why she was written out (and back in eventually)

Good smile. Nice bum. It's literally canon that Nine was outside eavesdropping on this; Ten was sculpted very, very purposefully, ladies and gentlemen.

Gwen points out Rose has been thinking of her father now, more than ever. She has just travelled backwards and forwards in time, her mind is obviously wandering to the man who left such a large gap in her life!

Gotta mention the concerned glance Rose shoots the Doctor during the seance. She's so in tune with his feelings and his emotional state. (AKA SHE KNOWS VERY WELL THAT TEN WOULDVE NEVER MADE A MOVE)

I think it's interesting to point out that when confronted with the Gelth's plan, only Rose stands up against the Doctor. Gwen, Sneed and even Charles fucking Dickens automatically accept the Doctor as some sort of greater authority---but wonderful, brilliant Rose is so strong in her moral convictions. She thinks of herself as his equal.

The exposition is done so neatly in this--the Doctor's explaining to Rose, and to us, how time is in flux and how history can be rewritten in the blink of an eye. (mavity, anyone?) It truly is a reboot of the show, explaining so elegantly to new viewers how the science of time-travel is going to be handled in here. Going on a tangent from that, nothing the Doctor does or says indicates that he's ever travelled with a human companion before. A general rule of thumb in media is the characters are unaware of their genre so it is inherently unfair to blame Rose for reacting the way she does in School Reunion. Remember folks, Rose antis are the weakest link.

At the tender age of 19, when confronted with her death...Rose chooses to assure this broken man she barely knows that her death isn't his fault. And this won't be the only time she does it this season. My. Heart.

IM SO GLAD I MET YOU HELL YEAH TURN UP THIS SONG ALL MY HOMIES LOVE NINEROSE

Alright I've raved enough about how Rose is endlessly empathetic and refuses to leave Gwen but let's talk about how the Doctor refuses to leave as well! They really are perfect for each other.

Special mention to the actor playing Dickens, he's so good!

But in your time, he was already dead. We've brought him back to life, and he's more alive now than he's ever been, old Charlie boy. A beautiful line, and it also got my cogs turning with how it relates to the Tenth Doctor. It's funny; when you consider time travel, everyone's dead already and everyone hasn't been born yet and everyone's existing, all at the same time. As long as they're not part of your personal timeline, someone can be immortal---you choose a moment in their life and you visit that. And for Ten...Rose is fundamentally immortal. With sending her back to the other universe, he ensures that she'll live forever, in a way. He'll never see her age, never see her die. She'll live on only as he remembers her. Idk if that makes sense but god. He gets her forever. And Tentoo gets her everyday. What a ship, right?

Everyone go read Laddie, Lie Near Me.

Anyway. Decent episode! 7/10 for me. I'm not a huge fan of the Gelth.

[obsolete-stars-if]

progress update

1st feb 2024

like i wanted to do this year on every 1st of each month, we have a general progress update, what ive been up to, general stats, plans for the upcoming month, how the last month treated me and how i treated this game. lots of personal detail will happen.

january has been the least productive month yet, im trying to not let it get to me, i had to take lots of breaks, my bed literally broke down on me on the 1st and it took over 2 weeks to get the new bed to me. sleeping on the ground made writing so impossible bcs i got chronic pain flair ups, migraines as well as hip pain. it was agony. i did however cleaned my room and got a new bed and this change of paste was really welcome. now that i finally have an actual desk to write on again, I can look outside my window and watch the squirrels while i write, so beautiful. that does mean i didnt finish chapter 7 which is a bummer, but im trying to stay positive. i did publish part 2 in a more rough than usual state, just bcs i needed it out, i wouldve lost my mind if i didnt update it. I allowed myself to take a break from OS since the last update, bcs even if i didnt actively wrote most of jan, i still thought about OS and beat myself up for not writing. And i had some time to work on other things that I plan for the future, others stories i wanna tell some day (im not starting a new wip bcs i will literally never finish anything if i do), and also just, reading and drawing without thinking about OS too much. It were only a few days, but it was a much needed break, bcs since OS went officially online last May, there wasnt really a day where i didnt think about OS.

stats from Jan: I wrote a total of 8.477 words over the 8 days that i worked on this. That doesnt sound much, but its still about 1k words each day. obv the 8,5k words arent the 20k I set out to do in the beginning of January, but im just happy i did something.

The game is now over 70k words long (including code, i wrote that shit imma count it), i know its not as much as other ppls wips, but damn, it feels crazy to me, knowing i sat down, laptop on my lap (in my bed primarily) and just wrote that much in less than a year.

Plans for feb: for the love of god i need to get chapter 7 done. i also set the goal to 10k, since there are less days in february and i know that i might not get the time to write as i will be job hunting, yay. the goal will be adjusted in march depending on if and what job i get maybe. in general im pretty scared of february and march, bcs i will lose the financial aid and im not sure yet how the fuck will i finance myself, since moving back with my mom is a no. and i refuse to open a kofi or patreon. im very against earning money from my hobby and i hope i dont have to resort to it ever. (personal opinion)

Anyway, thanks for listening and lets hope that february will be a good month, ey

[nyxyooni]

(2)Honey Ties

hello!! this is like a day and a half later than I had hoped it wouldve been but it is here!!! and since it is incredibly late i will be editing it after i get some sleep into me. enjoy this chapter!!! 

Prev/ Next

———

Admittedly, it was harder to notice when someone was staring at another person rather than at you but it was a skill that all seven of them had to learn. Nobody would get away with eyeing their father in even the slightest of disrespectful ways. Yeah, maybe Dick, Jason, and Tim dressed to truly impress whenever they attended events with their father to hopefully get some attention off him. They would do anything as long as it got the attention off their father.

Luckily for them, everyone was much more interested in the allusive Wayne children actually attending a public event than Bruce showing up. Barbara was right but then again when wasn't she? Rich people loved the spectacle of an event rather than the event itself. Naturally, if all the children that Bruce Wayne had, who were near impossible to spot in public, showed their faces in one place for all the upper-class fuck-faces of Gotham to look them over to their heart's content would garner a lot of attention.

If they had to fight back chills from hearing an older woman whisper to her friends about how, 'oh, the Wayne-Drake boy is just about legal, didn't you know,' then it was all worth it to not have those same women try and rub themselves over their father. Tim was raised by Rich Folk so he, unfortunately, knew how to handle these types of situations very well, Jason, on the other hand, was in charge of making sure Cass didn't shred some creeps throat with a fork and vice versa.

However, somewhere along the night, Steph joined the gala and offered an excellent distraction for Cass. With one potential threat neutralized and Dick had finished his rounds, quietly and swiftly stifling any raising suspicions as to why the host of the gala, the one, and only Bruce Wayne wasn't present, he put himself in charge of keeping Jason back.

"Where's Duke?" Sipping on a glass of champagne he swiped off a server on his way to where Jason had made himself comfortable on the shaded side of a column, Dick leaned against the other side of it. The one with proper lighting hitting it.

"Hm? Oh." Jason tightened his crossed arms, "he's with Bab's at the table near the entrance," not moving, voice miffed Jason answered. It was no secret that Jason absolutely despised galas. It wasn't the fact that a large number of strangers milled around a part of the manor, no, it was the fact that there were hardly ever any genuine people attending. Galas were places where rich old men could have their pissing contests, prey on younger women who most of the time were there as eye candy and decoration, and most importantly assholes desperately trying to get into Bruce's bed.

Jason remembered, very vividly, a time when he was brought to a gala where a man who was at least thirty years older than Bruce at the time was trying to get him to leave Jason with, 'some of the pretty girls I have around my house.' The only reason why Jason didn't claw the motherfucker's eyes out was because Bruce had picked him up, held him just a smidge too tight, and damn near snarled that they were leaving.

"That's good, I was worried that Duke would have to go at it solo but seeing as he has Bab's with him then it should all be good," taking another sip from his glass Dick shifted against the column, "leaving him alone would've been like leaving fresh kill out for hungry wolves..."

Groaning, Jason banged his head against the column pretty hard considering that Dick had managed to hear it, "I keep telling you that we should just kill the old hag," Carmila Ellsworth was a woman who had been preying on young boys ever since she turned thirty, she was one of those people who everyone knew belonged in jail but no one would ever see her behind bars. Jason had been crusading for her death ever since he heard her say some nasty shit to Dick while he was still very much underage.

Nodding, Dick sighed, "I want to too but Tim is in the process of swindling all the money he can from her and he can't do that if she's dead." Throwing the last bits of his drink back Dick set his glass on the tray of a server passing by, smiling at the man kindly. "After Tim's done, then you can kill her."

Whatever joy Jason had felt from the news was completely drained out of him when he saw a certain someone walk in the hall and of course, he wasn't the only one because almost immediately the volume of the place increased as people wasted no time.

Dick sucked in air, clicking his tongue when he saw some women practically run over to Bruce, "I hope Damian doesn't get spooked..." and it was a valid concern, the baby was on the sensitive side when it came to strangers. But then on the other hand if Damian started getting angsty then Bruce would have no choice but to leave...

Chewing on his bottom lip Jason couldn't stay still, pushing off the column he took a couple of steps towards where Bruce and Damian were steadily being swarmed but stopped in place. Sure he could go in there and scare all the fuckers away but... how many times had Bruce told him to behave? How many times did Bruce pull ever so slightly on his ear as he gently scolded him, 'Jay, you have to be careful,' as if he was judged for his own behavior and not Bruce.

"Damian looks cute..." Dick had to bite his lip to keep himself from bursting out laughing, it was obvious that Jason was trying to distract himself from all the people swarming their father and potentially stressing their baby brother into a fit. "Since when has he had a suit?" Nodding towards the baby's direction Jason crossed his arms again, "I mean, it's gotta be tailored, right?"

"Yup," walking to stand next to his brother Dick kept carefully trained eyes onto all of the people loitering around Bruce. He may not be as loud as Jason but boy does he have a pair of lungs on him. "Bruce had to it done for him..." tearing his eyes off his father and baby brother Dick found Jason standing so ram-rod straight and stiff that a strong enough breeze could shatter him into a million tiny pieces of spite, disgust and smoking protectiveness. "A while ago..."

"Hm, I see." Jason was practically eating the entirety of the inside of his cheeks. So really, how was Dick not supposed to poke fun at him? Especially when he was glaring with so much heat that his eyes seemed to almost glow red and a steady stream of spoke floated out from his nose.

"You know... it would work a lot better if you stood right next to Bruce��" Dick didn't get to finish whatever he was going to say and considering just how hard Jason had elbowed him, he wasn't going to finish anytime soon. Gasping as quietly as possible so as not to attract the wrong type of attention Dick tried to regulate his breathing, shit, did Jason break one of his fucking ribs?

"Shut up." Jason turned to glare down at him, it would've been very effective if Dick hadn't known him since he was a little kid and grew up with Alfred.

Grinning Dick looked over at Bruce, unlike before there were less people around their father, maybe because he had his baby son with that people became a little less interesting with... socializing with Bruce. A little bit of a shock considering how there was so much buzz about the brand new addition to the Wayne family, sure Bruce could take in disturbed teenagers all he wanted but maybe he shouldn't adopt a baby. Tabloids from just about everywhere kept repeating the same bullshit for almost two months, 'Bruce Wayne is not suitable for raising a baby.'

Yet, even with so much hubbub from the public, there wasn't all too much traffic around Bruce and Damian, great, maybe it was destined to be an uneventful night. Perfect for not only them but also their father, it was also a rare night, no one had hit on Bru—oh no.

Whatever smile was just about to be stamped onto Dick's face disappeared the moment some man leaned into Bruce's personal space, probably whispered some bullshit into their father's ear as he held their baby brother—

"Ja—" It was too late, Dick was still trying to put himself together physically and Jason was already walking toward Bruce and the stranger.

How hard was it to have a decent night in one of the most wicked places in the world.

[leebsian]

steve feels like he's ascended into some other dimension. feeling eddie within him, around him, above him, it feels like he's drowning and he never wants to emerge. he wants to sink further and further into the warmth of this feeling and lie in it forever, letting time pass without a care as his only focus was the feeling of being completely submerged in eddie. steve wasn't sure what he did in his past life to deserve such love, god knows he didn't deserve it in this one, but he was sure he was going to thank whatever higher power he would meet at the bottom of that ocean for giving it to him.

and god, did eddie give it to him. he had never known a love like eddies in his entire life. everything he did was out of love for steve. he feels it in the way eddie presses into him, the way his big lips fit against his and kiss him like his life depended on it. he loved eddie so fucking much, and he made sure to let him know in the breathy little noises and vaguely understandable 'i love yous' that dripped from his mouth at any given opportunity at the feeling of their bodies moving together. he'd do anything for the man above him, anything he asked. he was completely and undeniably his.

steve knew nothing back before he knew eddie. nothing about himself, nothing about love, certainly nothing about the world. eddie came into his life and showed him a life he didnt even know existed. if you had asked him back then if he had expected it from eddie munson, the answer wouldve been fuck no. back then. but now, well now it all made perfect sense. looking back it's the only thing that made sense in his messed up dumpster fire of a life. that he loved eddie, and eddie loved him. the matching scars on their sides and necks burned like iron welding them together, indicating just that. steve harrington and eddie munson were simply meant for each other.

finishing with eddie was something steve would never get tired of. he moaned loudly as he felt eddie push against him, feeling him moving inside of him and filling him everywhere all at once. his arms travel around his back pressing him impossibly close, needing eddie more and more every second as their lips messily slide together and their hot bodies melt in the best way. steve could die here. he thinks he might as he feels the pressure release inside of him and his body feels like it might implode. he feels eddie fall on top of him and he feels like dead weight, but the pressure of his boyfriend on top of him keeps him from drifting too far. he slides his hands up eddie's back feeling up his spine and over his shoulders to curl into his long beautiful hair, moving his head aside just enough to press lazy kisses to his jaw and neck before wrapping his arms tight around his loves shoulders pulling him close. he breathed eddie in deeply, his heart pounding in his chest as he came down from the high and the smell of him fills his lungs allowing the waves to wash him over, letting him sink. yeah, steve could die here.

- an excerpt from my steddie rp

[endcant]

everything is so much. everything costs so much. ive been applying to jobs for a fucking year and nothing’s happened. the year before i had a job but i didn’t build up my savings at all for such a fucking broad number of reasons that felt insurmountable BEFORE i broke my leg. ive accepted at this point that the days of meeting my ko-fi goal each month (which never paid anything but my most important bills) are over for now because it’s not like anybody else has spare money to spend and that’s like literally fine i don’t think my artwork is providing that much joy to anyone if im being honest. and i just keep applying and i keep trying to improve my resume and portfolio with skills im gaining using time and money i dont have. and i need to deal with my car and with my hospital debt and i was supposed to get help with that but it just hasnt happened. and honestly thats fine because its my responsibility i should simply have a job already. and it seems impossible to stick to my principles with so little energy and time and money to turn my intentions into actions. and its been a really dry summer on top of everything. that bears relevance to my neglected garden btw. and i just get up each day and ask myself why im depressed and take my meds and work on my to do list and try to believe it’ll start working out once i have enough money each month to work on covering my bills and paying off my debts. and i know things would be different if i stayed in california and finished my degree but im not actually sure i wouldve survived even another week there. so i cant really regret any of the happy and unhappy accidents that got me to where i am. like if i have genuinely been trying my best and i only break down once a month rather than daily then there’s an upside to having seemingly insurmountably negative dollars and no concrete hope that things will improve anytime soon.

[chikirya]

OK I FINISHED S4 AND WTF WAS THAT ENDINGGG.

SOMEBODY TELL ME THE VLAD AND LISA SCENE WAS JUST A HALLUCINATION OR A DREAM OR SOMETHING.

I was literally saying the whole time "okaaaaay wake up Alucard morning now." "It was just a dream, it's to show you're happy that even if your parents are both gone at least they're together rightt?"

"No, they definitely wont throw this curve ball at you, that the ENTIRE FUCKING POINT OF THE SHOW THAT YOU HAD BIG FEELINGS FOR AVENGING YOUR MOTHER BY KILLING YOUR FATHER BIT?????"

ok I need to calm down......

The other arcs' endings were ok for a rushed final season tbh, 2.5/5 .

Pacing was weird and I felt like there were unnecessary scenes here and there. Felt like Isaac's story had so much more screen time compared to the main buildup and climax to the ending. The whole Lindenfeld part felt too long, I wish they used that time to really set up the Death battle or at least Varney bit too.

I can forgive them for keeping Trevor alive (tho i really wouldve been happier if he just died a hero, cuz idk the Death fight just seemed... incredibly Impossible??? Even with the saint germaine bit i just cant). I can forgive the show for that but Dracula and Lisa's scene at the end just took me out of it????

My dears...

It seems I have fallen into another rabbit hole.

[anarchistbitch]

hiiii, how are you?? how's school treating you??

ok, I'll be honest, I do not remember what that last link was sjhjks i have shit memory and i usually just go back to check what it was but it seems like they erased the post, but yeah, it was probably about sxf sdjhsjk I CANT BELIEVE YOURE DONE WITH MANGA WHAT KJSHSJKF Anya deserves everything she desires and by god are Yor and Loid going to try their best to give it to her

i'll have to look up that review bc there's always so much thought going into costuming that the average viewer wont notice and it's so cool to learn about it all

edwina being angry was so necessary, they really did her wrong and it wouldve been a disservice to her character if she was just like 'it's ok, you love each other' so yeah, super satisfying and validating

i thought the queer storyline was gonna come from benedict kjdhekjdh eloise i was hoping would find her own happiness by herself despite society making it basically impossible back then

sjhhghagsf perfectly understandble, the friend i usually watch shows with also hasnt finished cbaw

oh shit a retelling of the fall of the house of usher that sounds amazing, im gonna look the book up now

i have also ditched the goodreads challenge despite having set it up for like 5 books only, last year i didnt even reach that so yeah, then again i forgot i was reading a korean novel ???? like full on forgot about it until i was checking my bookmakrs and found it again lmao

yeeeeeeees the cauliflower metaphor was amazing, and sfhjhfh yeah, karthik helping aman on the train was just *chef's kiss *

my friend and i finished it last night and just ahhhhhhh i am so happy about it, imogen was a dear and im happy that even tho there were changes from the webcomic it all still felt so true to character and the storylines from the webcomic werent erased, just changed a bit

no, fr, she does have something against tao bc no come oooooon, what is that (im joking about the stylist but not about how bad the hair is)

JOE LOCKE REALLY BROUGHT HIM TO LIFE SO WELL like seriously, he was a perfect Charlie :'3

for real about yoongi, he has said so many things that live in my heart, the others have too like Jin's speech for (i think) 2020 graduates, that one hit me

oh it makes perfect sense, im a casual fan of so many groups and not a proper fan bc theyre always churning out so much stuff, i cannot keep up with it all

my recs: kard, loona, dreamcatcher, a.c.e (four members are in their military service rn tho), the rose, day6, i've been really into straykids lately but that is mainly bc i find lee know hilarious and instagram has been feeding me their reels, i like twice, enhypen, itzy, txt, kep1er, oneus, alexa, taemin, holland, wonho and rolling quartz too

kard are awesome bc theyre a co-ed group and they generally dont subscribe as much to kpop industry's purity culture as much, loona i found bc their song heart attack is gay af and the rest of their songs are amazing, dreamcatcher are more rock leaning and when they started out they had a HEAVY horror concept, love that from them, their song deja vu gives serious gay vibes too, a.c.e i found bc i like techno and edm as well and they started out leaning into the genre, theyve moved on from it by now tho, theyre still talented af and i do try to keep up with them as much as bts, the rose are a band in the more traditional sense, they each play an instrument and stuff, and have LOVELY songs, day6 and rolling quartz are also traditional bands, rq are more new tho and more rock leaning than the others i'd say, straykids are awesome, they did the opening and ending for the tower of god anime (which i recommend as well sdkhjksd), blackpink is another of the groups i try to keep up with as much as bts but they dont put as much music out or as often as bts does and im conflicted about it bc 1, the kpop industry is just insane about that, and 2, it means they get more time to rest and produce quality content but 3, their company has other artists that DO put out music pretty often and it generally feels like they just dont care about them (stinks of misogyny too) so yeah, enhypen debuted with a vampire concept and it was just fantastic, heavy twilight vibes on their debut mv, sinc then they havent really abandoned the supernatural concept, twice are insanely good and i would stan them but theyre very active and ive got no energy lmao, the others i mentioned i dont stan either but theyre super good, taemin, alexa, holland and wonho are soloists btw, holland is gay and he's producing a BL and starring in it with han gi chan who acted on where your eyes linger

oop, sorry the kmusic thing got really long, there's just plenty of great artists, and im sure many more that i know nothing about

ahhhhh i cannot wait to hear your thoughts on ons and jjk (specially ons, i have been obsessed with it since like 2016 or 2017), i tend to lean towards action anime, i am not immune to a well animated fight scene, another great one is the god of highschool, that one made me bawl, tho i watched it again with my friend earlier this year and she did not shed a single tear in that specific scene lmao

sorry if there's too many recs, got too excited dkjsfhdj

monster hugs are the best :'3 specially from a dear friend like you <33

hope you're having an easy time and staying hydrated

-M<3

m!!!!! bestie🥺🥺 how are you?!!?!?[sorry for not answering i was out of station and my draft got deleted so rewriting rn]

never underestimate what a person can accomplish while trying to ignore important tasks😎 i finished the sxf manga in? 2 days and it was so good omg. i really liked how they named each chapter "mission" like thats so cute🥺 okay so half of the manga is the family stressing out over academic & political on goings and the other half is them stressing out hiding their identities its quality media u really should read it if u wanna!!![ the anime is pretty much the same but the anime adds more action scenes like in ep 5 and also the song when loid was zipping down??] me🤝🏾 loid 🤝🏾yor wanting to give anya the world and more

wait ill link it right here. the video spans the summary, her own review then the costume bit which made the video very enjoyable and her other videos are p cool too!! [and ooh the met gala reviews. she articulates her videos pretty well but the met gala reviews are my fave cause. well u have to watch it!!]

edwina was one of my fave characters and also like in s1 its pretty mild simon and daphne literally just made out but anthony fell in love with edwina's sister like that actually scandalous and it made it more interesting but also WOOW bro thats her sister. still enjoyed it tho :p

i thought for sure that benedict wouldve begun an affair with the art guy , and in s2 they were hinting at eloise and penelope i think (hopefully im not the only one) idk i wish they hadnt ditched it cause!!! it wouldve been cool idk. although in s1 i thought eloise and penelope would end in a qpr or the regency equivalent of a qpr

im gonna try to finish cbaw by this weekend!! one of the main reasons i havent finished it yet is cause the only way i can access it is on a site with a lot of pop up ads and my ad block expired so i figured out a way to download the episodes then watch so the weekend awaits me!!

also fair warning i read the book a long time ago so check out the tw's before you read it

brooo i set my goodreads goal for 69 this year as a JOKE😭😭then mid april i was behind 17 books so i dropped it cause everytime i logged on there goodreads basically spit on me lmao wait which korean novel👀👀 and speaking of!! i recently started semantic error manhua and i might start the novel after a month or so cause its so interesting

smzs subverted a lot of classic bollywood tropes like *checks list* chasing a train and helping someone on it, defying parents, interrupting wedding of ur lover, and pretending to be the partner at the wedding covered by a veil into a movie about gay men and its one for the ages🏳‍🌈

imogen was really cool imo and i like how they handled nick turning down a romantic relationship with her. i was literally pin pointing out the scenes with the webtoon tab open 😭 the kissing scenes with the shoes was just ahhhh so good😊😊

ppl were plotting against tao fr

joe locke!!! was the perfect charlie!! also side note thats such a cool ass name

a lot of the things bts say do lodge themselves in my mind and the graduation speech is one of them. jin's speech about wanting to catch up to everyone else and rather to take it slow because everyone has a different pace and to let go of the disappointment that comes with taking your own road was important to hear especially during 2020.

i have heard most or all of these of these groups and i do have a very large kpop playlist that i keep meaning to arrange properly into other playlists, but i keep forgetting😭

skz, twice , enhypen i do try to follow them and i like a lot of their songs especially fever by enhypen and literally twice has soo many bangers likey one of the best gg songs ever imo. loona and dreamcatcher have really cool themes and they execute it pretty well!! i started following rolling quartz after finding out that theyre a rock band and what more reason did i need akfhsdklfhs

i haven been following holland and wonho for a lot of time!! i heard about his bl show and i cant wait!!

i already started them jjk and ons and im thinking of taking it slow and finishing the god of high school first cause the premise sounds very very interesting

dont worry about the amount of recs lol i love content [and u💜]

ur a dear friend to me too🥺🥺 giving u 3 monster hugs today!!!

also just realized i havent given you a song rec in a while so: heavy by yonaka

staying drank !! hope ur safe and hydrated as well

[springfieldblues]

my long ass review for S32E03 Now Museum, Now You Don’t

warning: LONG because i rambled about history more than i thought i would

id been looking forward to this one because i like art history, especially after seeing how they tried their best to stick to historical accuracy in the previous episode I, Carumbus. this time however….they didnt try that hard. i dont know why i thought theyd go through that sort of trouble again LMAO

but its okay, i dont really expect the simpsons to be the paragon of historical accuracy or anything. especially in anthology episodes told through a particular character's lens (in this case, lisa, whos already feverish so whatever)

first i just wanna say that this is, i guess, less of a review and more of an accidental list of history fun facts. so im just gonna get my general thoughts out of the way first.

the episode was fun! to me at least haha. i mean it got me to think and do a lot of research on my own so that must count for something. besides a couple of really weird ones, the jokes were good. anthology episodes tend to be….not that good but i thought this one was one of the better ones so far. idk.

anyway on to lisanardo da vinky its the renaissance! jesus christ the italian accents in the beginning of this segment were annoying as hell but i also feel like that was the joke lmao. ill be real i kind of tuned out for a second there when grampa started rambling so idk what he said.

i told myself i wouldnt get nitpicky with historical accuracy if the jokes were funny (final edit: so that was a lie) but this meh bit with the pizza guys and mascots was really not worth ignoring the fact that its impossible for italy to have any tomato-based food in the 15th century (tomatoes were brought to europe from the americas in the 16th century, and pizza as we know it today—flatbread, cheese, tomato—originated in the late 18th century)

oh this next part was kind of legit tho. lisanardo, like the real leonardo, became andrea del verrochio's apprentice at his workshop. i loved this next bit:

"Whoever paints the sweetest cherub will have the honor of having MY name signed on their work. That's what great artists do!"

SO YEAH as it turns out, lisanardo painted the sweetest cherubs. the painting here is called The Baptism of Christ, and the real leonardo assisted verrochio in finishing it. specifically, he painted the cherubs in the corner.

this causes verrochio to quit and go someplace with less talented people: a music school (yes, verrochio did quit painting after getting owned by young leo and his mad angel painting skills. he never did anything with music tho, he was more of a sculptor)

alongside lisanardo, in mr largo-verrochio's workshop we have barticelli (botticelli bart), dolphatello (donatello dolph), ralphael (raphael...ralph) and mediocrito (no one that i know of. sorry milhouse) (and kearney i guess but they dont refer to him by name). botticelli and donatello are said to have also been apprentices at verrochio's workshop, but raphael came a couple of decades later so he couldnt have been there. and donatello was too old so that claim is a bit questionable. but anyway

it IS true that leonardo's peers envied him, to the point where he was anonymously and purposefully accused of being gay (a major crime punishable by death in 15th century florence) while he was still working at verrochio's workshop

we are then treated by what im pretty sure is the fourth time the show has used 'at seventeen' by janis ian, this time sung by a dejected lisanardo (man they really do keep making yeardley sing these days huh) who only wishes to be appreciated and not envied.

"I'll show them all! I'll show them all in a secret diary that no one will decipher for 400 years!"

some of lisanardo's future inventions. who wouldve known

so after barticelli, for some reason (revenge??? or something?? what was his plan here idgi) steals lisanardo's diaries full of blueprints of her inventions and takes them to mr burns who i have to assume is pope alexander VI here, they decide to use her inventions for war.

"With these, we can kill the most evil people in the world!! ....Slightly different Christians."

leo actually did this of his own accord. im surprised this is what they decided to do with lisanardo instead of talking about leo's love of nature and vegetarianism (not a single mention of that in this episode? come on...) then again, trying to do good only to end up indirectly making things worse is a very standard lisa storyline. i guess they didnt want to miss the chance to have evil pope burns (very fitting, especially for that era since they were all about money and controlling the people)

so lisanardo decides to leave for france, unlike the real leonardo who was more or less persuaded by his ultimate fanboy king francis I to move to france.

"Lisanardo, I have many questions. Why are you hitting yourself? A nerd says 'what'? And how is it possible that I am rubber and you are glue? Et cetera, et cetera."

that line may seem a little random, like hes just nelson saying nelson things (and i mean, obviously he is) but the real francis also "had an unquenchable thirst for learning, and Leonardo was the world’s best source of experimental knowledge. He could teach the king about almost any subject there was to know, from how the eye works to why the moon shines." so yeah, he did have many questions and lisanardo, finally being appreciated for her intellect, was happy to answer them all. its very interesting how lisa assigned this role to nelson in her retelling of da vinci’s life :^)

and so she lived the rest of her days in france, nat king cole's 'mona lisa' plays because duh, and they make a da vinci code reference because duh. and the segment ends. and not a single time did they show the actual mona lisa painting. the fuck?

(ngl i was fully expecting bart to say 'leonardo da vinky' for a second here)

so this next segment is about french impressionist painters, most likely the batignolles group, a name adopted by the early representatives of impressionism. its much more vague than the lisanardo segment since no one here is referred to by name (except moe, more on him in a sec) but i dont feel like it really matters in this case. bart is prrrrooobably claude monet but its hard to say, this segment is kind of a mish-mash of a lot of things. also i gotta say i really liked how lisa introduced the story to bart with an 'if you hate the formal study of art' and not 'if you hate art' because thats exactly my headcanon. i LOVE the concept of artist bart and whenever its referenced it just makes perfect sense to me.

anyway the segment opens in 1863 at the école des beaux-arts (back then it was actually known as the académie des beaux-arts), preserver of traditional french art styles. skinner reviews his students’ paintings one by one. praises the plain, unimaginative paintings depicting your typical european countryside landscapes. very run-of-the-mill (haha get it...cuz theres….a windmill) (although the real académie didnt approve of such basic stuff, they wanted artists to draw epic historical and mythological scenes) then he gets to barts painting and he gives him an F- because the painting made him think.

(the paintings in this scene arent real famous paintings as far as i know but they are inspired by real paintings enough to get the point across)

in comes barney dressed as bacchus as a model for the students to sketch, which i just loved:

barney: “You prefer robe open or robe off?” skinner: “Just cover your privates with this walnut shell.” barney: “Whoa!!! So roomy!”

skinner gasps in horror at bart’s sketch, which “looks nothing like him” and bart explains that “it shouldn’t; we’re making the art that we feel because we can’t compete with a camera.” damn, you go bart. take that, realism. draw what you feel!!

(also no, you didnt need to hold still for 17 hours for a daguerreotype. 30 min tops.)

nelson haw-haw of the week: FOIE-gras!

so here they are at the moulin rouge (“enjoy it before baz luhrmann ruins it” hey shut up. i love that movie), which wouldnt be built for another 26 years, but it is the most widely known gathering place for bohemians in the public consciousness so i can understand why they went with the moulin. nelson delivers this anachronistic line:

“This époque keeps getting beller and beller!”

which alludes to la belle époque, the golden age of france usually dated from 1880 to 1914. made me snort so ill let that slide

and heres moe! as henri de toulouse-lautrec, who was actually born a year after the year this segment is set in. yo moe szyslak he was just 1

toulouse-moetrec introduces himself as the chronicler of the demimonde (not an actual job). an iconic figure associated with the moulin rouge (largely due to his affinity for alcohol and prostitutes), toulouse-lautrec was also a painter, having illustrated a series of posters for the moulin himself. he simply had to be in this segment, anachronisms be damned, just because they decided to include the moulin. cant have one without the other.

and yes he did have a walking cane where he kept his liquor.

i love how everyone drinks absinthe in this place. theyre bohemians what else would they drink

toulouse-moetrec points out that barts paintings are the greatest thing hes ever seen (and hes seen like five things!) and that hes a genius. milhouse realizes that they should stop doing what the teacher says and use their own minds to instead...start doing what bart says lmao. to the easels!

next we have skinner hyping up chalmers about the art his students made for the salon de paris, an art exhibition that the emperor of france will attend. he assures him that none of these paintings will encourage debate, provoke thought or be out of place at a dentist’s office. when they unveil the art, theyre both SHOCKED at how scandalous the paintings actually are.

this reaction was kind of accurate. impressionism was severely rejected at the salon de paris, due to paintings not looking finished enough to them, they thought they were ugly and vulgar for depicting nudity in a contemporary setting (historical and mythological nudity was fine). these impressionist paintings were sent to the salon de refusés, which is. yeah. the place where they sent the rejects. the salon de refusés does not make an appearance but this scene makes a reference to it when the artists get expelled from the royal salon. also:

“What about our student loans?” “Oh they’ll be refunded. We are not barbarians, I mean, come on.”

(god if only)

so the painters are down because they want the emperor to actually see their paintings. toulouse-moetrec pipes in once again with an idea.

“There is one thing the emperor loves more than anything.” “France?” “No, he hates France.”

apparently the emperor really loves cheese, which makes sense since its napoleon III (who loved cheese) and homer (who loves cheese.) so the painters roll into the salon inside a giant wheel of cheese (obviously.) as lenny said, “Eh, you know French cheese. Very runny.” napoleon III chases after the wheel into a room, where the wheel falls apart after getting chomped on by the emperor. now that they got his attention, the painters proudly show the emperor their impressionist art, which he couldnt be more indifferent about because he just wants to eat his cheese dammit, and he awards them with the royal medallion just to kind of get them out of his way. skinner immediately starts kissing ass (as he does) until marge’s like ‘hey wait a minute. you expelled these students from the royal salon’ and an executioner immediately starts ominously measuring skinners neck.

“Uh, sir...is your tongue sticking out because you’re dead or because you’re mad at me?”

and thats the end of that lmao (gore in this episode, gore in the last episode, and next week we’re getting gore too cuz its THOH, what the hell is goin on)

we get a short intermission with maggie, who wants a story for her too! lisa tells her that renaissance artists loved to put babies in their paintings, especially baby angels.

here she is showing her The Triumph Of Galatea by raphael:

King David Playing The Harp by peter paul reubens:

and a very simplified version of pretty much any depiction of hell by hyeronimus bosch lmao:

not much else to say about this one, really. but i really liked that sky!

the last segment is about frida kahlo and diego rivera. or as bart puts it ‘the one about a fat guy whos wife is too good for him.’ i was REALLY looking forward to this one because i love frida and i thought itd be a cool opportunity for animators to go bonkers and do really cool shit with her art as inspiration…..but the segment is not about frida, its about diego and his selling out to capitalism. and its also yet another story with homer and marge drama. no funky cool animation here. sigh i guess i’ll take it

the story begins in 1929 at la casa azul, frida’s home (now museum dedicated to her life and work.) frida and diego are getting married. this courtyard definitely did not look this way yet back in 1929. also theres something very cringy yet funny about lovejoy saying spanish words the way he does, i honestly cant decide how i feel about that one

the writers know theyre being cringy with their gringoness so they go along with it.

moe: “Spanish for ‘best wishes’!” mel: “Spanish for ‘congratulations’!” bumblebee man: “Spanish for ‘muy bueno’!”

OH YEAH BUMBLEBEE MAN this is his new voice actor, eric lopez! hes not mexican but its still great to finally have a latino actor voicing a latino character and hes very excited to be part of the show so i hope to hear more of him!! im rooting for him

el barto/zorro makes an appearance which i am very confused about. he has jack shit to do with frida and diego and mexico in the 20s-30s. el zorro was set in the spanish california of the early 19th century. their use of the original theme song makes me think they just wanted to flex their disney privileges tbh

lets not talk about that that whole scene was bad

anyway diego announces he and frida are going to new york, without even asking her first. frida is obviously pissed.

“Don’t worry, as a woman, you’ll be treated with much more respect in America.”

so in new york, diego is having a bit of a business meeting with mr burns as one of the members of the rockefellers, who is commissioning him to draw a mural for the rockefeller center. its kinda funny how he refers to him and frida as socialists even though they were very much communists lmao its okay you can say it. ok so far, but then frida says ���yes, we hate the capitalists! right now, a young socialist is being born who will take them down! mr. bernie sanders. i hope hes quick about it’ and that was a simple enough joke and couldve been left at that but then its immediately followed by this weird as fuck family guy-esque cutaway gag to bernie as a baby:

“Getting a cootie shot should not cost your lunch money. And if you don’t listen to me, listen to the Bernie Babies! What? Everybody’s got goons.” *larger babies start beating up this other baby* “I disavow that, and welcome it.”

this confused me so much that i had to ask one of my american friends to help me understand, but even she was like ‘uhhh yeah thats a weird joke,’ especially now that hes been out of the race for months (then again these episodes take almost a year to produce. i guess they couldnt be bothered to replace it with something more relevant.) whatever that was weird and confusing and unfunny moving on

frida is pretty irked that diego is going through with this deal. after all, it goes against everything they believe in. im not sure how the real frida felt about diego doing the mural, but she did feel a bit of rage during her visit to the united states, especially the obvious disparity between rich and poor. she hated having to interact with capitalists and found americans very boring. in this segment, frida seems to be acting more like the american communist party, which diego got kicked out of for accepting commissions from wealthy patrons. in any case, frida is pretty upset about this whole thing.

and finally we get the first and only kind of surreal frida moment. kinda. maybe. its more cartoonish than anything but im desperate ok

interesting how they felt like they had to add a “don’t smoke” in big letters after showing patty and selma flying away on their giant cigarettes. i wonder if this is something theyre making them do now? i remember hearing something about them toning down patty and selma’s smoking

diego comes home to frida, drunk as hell, followed by the marx brothers. i cant believe they didnt make a marxism joke come on it was RIGHT THERE. THE MARX BROTHERS. KARL MARX. COME ON

frida paints her feelings.

this makes diego realize that frida is a genius and he is not half the artist she is. he proclaims he will now show his awe of her by sleeping with other women, starting “an hour ago.” to which frida replies, “and i will start sleeping with other women, starting two hours ago.” yes this was pretty much their relationship. though im just wondering how the hell did diego not know frida was this kind of artist until now? i know homers an idiot but jeez. art was how frida and diego met, diego knew from the get-go that frida was an incredible artist. i guess the fame got to his head or something. again, homer just being stupid.

“well enough already, while the art is still deco, okay?”

its time for the mural diego painted, Man At The Crossroads, to be unveiled:

rockefeller examines it. good and great so far, and then...uh oh

“Who’s that fellow…? With the beard, and the bolshevik smile…” “That’s the founder of Soviet Russia, Lenin!”

“B-b-but he’s a communist!” “Oh he just attended a couple of meetings.”

rockefeller will not have this communist in the temple to capitalism that is the rockefeller center, so he orders diego to paint over it. diego stands his ground and refuses. despite rockefeller’s threats, diego says that theres only one person he wants to be proud of him no matter what and in true homer & marge fashion, frida is touched by this. they happily leave the rockefeller center.

now, the real story of Man At The Crossroads and the rockefeller center was actually not that different. as soon as the rockefellers found out diego had snuck in a portrait of lenin into the mural, they ordered him to paint over it, to which he refused. diego even offered to include abraham lincoln and even american abolitionists in the mural as a compromise, but the rockefellers simply did not want any references to communism whatsoever. they did not complain about the hammer and sickle, though. yes, they did know diego was a communist and hired him anyway. what did they expect? lmao. diego said:

"Rather than mutilate the conception [of the mural], I shall prefer the physical destruction of the conception in its entirety, but preserving, at least, its integrity."

so they decided to destroy the mural before it was even finished and they never talked to each other again.

diego then repainted the mural at the palacio de bellas artes back in mexico, this time known as Man, Controller of the Universe. this new version included even more communist leaders and a depiction of john d. rockefeller jr. drinking at a nightclub, right underneath a depiction of syphilis bacteria. cue nelson haw-haw:

this was the version they used in the episode also, since the original was, well, never finished and also destroyed. only a black and white photograph of it exists, taken by diego before it was destroyed so he could remake it.

right so, homer!diego then pulls a Barthood and finishes the episode with a large mural summarizing the entire episode. he says some rick and morty thing i didnt get because i dont watch the show idk idc

the end

ALRIGHT NOW ITS TIME FOR THE STORY OF VINCENT VAN MOE

[clumsyclifford]

1, 5, 7 for hello hello, 19 for cruel summer jalex, & 24 for the fic asks? -megs 💙💙💙

shalom amiga or should i say.......hello hello . that was a missed opportunity on my part tbh and i have to live with that

1: Is writing cathartic or stressful for you? i try not to write when it feels stressful. there's nothing worse than feeling like you're wringing words out of you like a dirty towel, lmao. most of the time it's cathartic. but also a lot of the time it's neither? like it's just...fun. i enjoy it. it's a thing i do because i like to do it

5: Share a snippet that you’re proud of from an upcoming fic/chapter. oooooh ohohohoho well joke's on you chica i haven't worked on anything that hasn't been completed since i got to camp because i don't have the time or energy for incomplete fics baby !!! that's probably a lie. let me go trawl my drive.

omg i forgot i started writing this. im not sure ill ever finish it but here's a snippet i like

The man leans through the passenger side window. His face is concealed by the night, barely aglow from the lights of the dashboard. There's a shadowy scruff of beard around his mouth and a backpack slung over his shoulder.

"Hi," he says, in a voice that sounds like it's hiding something sweet. "Any chance I can hitch a ride?"

"Are you a murderer?"

"Yeah," says the man. "But obviously not a very good one. I'm still working on the whole secrecy thing."

7: Were there any ideas you had for hello, hello that you couldn’t make work? What were they? mmmmmmmmmmm interesting question. the only one i can think of is i had a halfway intention to make calum be a bartender, but that was less of an intention and more of a retrospective "oh shit, i didn't give calum a job, what's a job that could have weird hours" realization. but then i don't think it wouldve worked because it would have come up in conversation when they decided to go to a bar and theyd probably have gone to whatever bar calum worked at and it wouldnt make sense from a narrative standpoint for them to be at a bar but for the fact that calum is a bartender to not come up even once, so i decided against it. i'll figure it out though maybe he's just a trust fund baby or something who knows

19: 15 words to describe the aesthetic of fever dream high in the quiet of the night. i'm saying this is 15 concepts not just 15 words because 15 words is impossible okay go:

whispers, neon, leather jackets, red, headlights, hands, blue, bruises, summer, darkness, exciting, cars, kissing, desperate, painful

is this how you describe an aesthetic?? i don't know. side note, if anyone feels like making a cruel summer jalex moodboard i would very much not say no to that

24: Which fic of yours do you wish people would ask about more? Why? this is a difficult question because i have so many fics it would just be unreasonable to expect to be asked with any frequency about almost any of them. i guess hmm i know it's a more recent one but the jalex breakup fic took a lot of time and effort and i'm very happy with how it turned out but by its nature it's pretty sad and it is also somewhat long so like, i don't expect to be asked about it. also, the fics i get asked about change as time goes on, like i used to get asked a lot more about baby driver and iydk fic and neon weekend and stuff, but i've basically talked myself to death about those so it's definitely for the best that we've all collectively moved on. i realize i haven't really answered your question here but honestly i'm happy with however much these fics get asked about. twist my arm, my answer is jalex breakup fic.

fic ask game!!