#like we talk about people having traumatizing trials but this is like

[cosmicconversations]

Astrology Lesson of the Week: The 8th House

Welcome back to the Astrology Lesson of the Week here on my blog. I have been going backwards through the houses, week by week, to explore each of them in-depth and help you understand them better.

This week, we are tackling the 8th House!

The 8th House is kind of like the 12th in a few ways. One of those ways is the notorious reputation it has. It is seen as the “spooky” house where all things traumatic and dark and death-related roam. I should just say one thing about that. Any astrologer who tries to predict your death or talk about you dying in any way by analyzing your 8th House is unethical. Yes, those kinds of astrologers do exist but they tend to be very “doom and gloom” to begin with. You actually can often assess the circumstances of someone’s death through the sign and/or planets in the 8th. People can pass away when there is a major transit in their 8th. But, it is not up to anyone to declare that in a reading.

Don’t get freaked out about that because it may not be your death. It could be someone else’s passing, which is not necessarily easier. Yet, no one may actually die when you have a transit through the 8th. The “death” here can be metaphorical. So, you may experience a loss in resources or status or go through intense situations that result in a personal death and rebirth of sorts. This can be jarring to those who maybe have an empty 8th House. Empty houses still affect you, especially when transits are passing through them. A strong transit through your 8th can intensify circumstances in your life and cause you to endure trials or tribulations that leave you forever changed.

However, this is business as usual for most people with planets in their 8th House. With my Venus and Lilith here, I have gone through so many cycles of transformation. The crises or confrontations that serve as a catalyst for this transformation can seem terrifying, as scary as death itself. Death has a few different meanings, as I have said, and we all have some sort of subconscious understanding of that. So, anything that is uncomfortable on an emotional level can feel like it is going to “kill” us. And people use that kind of language a lot in a metaphorical way. But, death (the literal and metaphorical kind) is really just transformation. It is all a matter of how you perceive that kind of change and how much you are capable of letting go or surrendering to face it. Pluto, the natural ruler of this house, can decimate whatever is in its path but also make way for something new to thrive.

8th House people make for survivors and resilient powerhouses. Most individuals with this chart influence know this from experience, from life throwing them into the deep end and forcing them to sink or swim. Some of them may spend much of their lives unscathed until a particularly traumatic event or time period really shakes them up. This is not the most pleasant stuff, to put it lightly. For starters, a lot of 8th House individuals have major childhood trauma and pain. I am not saying all of them. But, it is very common. Various forms of abuse or the early loss of a loved one or living in tough conditions can instill a profound inner wound. Yet, those with an occupied 8th House have the chance to become supreme healers. This healing power is shaman-like, as shamans have to endure incredible pain as an initiation before they acquire their healing abilities. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that you deserved to have bad things happen to you. What I am saying is that you have the special ability to take those painful things and alchemize them into emotional gold: deep wisdom, insight, strength, empowerment, empathy for others, and the power to be an example of surviving the darkness.

However, there are some 8th House people who don’t answer this call. They may allow themselves to repeat the cycle that was passed down to them or ignore their emotional pain because it is too scary and overwhelming. This is when you see these people turn into the “monster” they once feared at an early age or just psychologically shut down altogether. The type of 8th House person unwilling to deeply investigate and work on themselves is going to live an empty and frustrating existence. They may not even be able to articulate what they feel so defeated by or what they are running from. But, it’s like when a child (or even adult) doesn’t want to clean their room so they keep throwing their dirty clothes in the closet. And the closet is eventually so stuffed with clothes that they don’t want to open it because it will just make a huge mess.

I always say that if you don’t deal with your issues, eventually, they will deal with you. And this is true of anyone, whether you just have a sign on your 8th House cusp or planets here. This is where we deal with our psychological issues. Well, some people do. Some people go to great lengths to avoid them. Going to therapy or doing some heavy-duty journaling is 8th House territory, as well as shadow work, in general. Whatever is in your 8th House is something that has been scarred and needs to have its pain tended to. No one goes through life totally unscathed. Even if you have a generally happy childhood, adulthood can still be full of horrors like toxic/abusive relationships or personal betrayals or grief over loved ones. As unpleasant as it is, this is the underbelly of life that we can’t ignore, even if you have the impulse to stay in denial or run away.

So, because of how intense and unnerving this house is, I have often seen people try to say that sex isn’t the domain of the 8th House and that it is truly the pleasure-filled 5th House that rules sex. Well, the truth is that they are both concerned with sex. And I feel like anyone who tries to deny the sexual element of the 8th must not have planets here. While the 5th House is simply the fun side of sex, the act is emotionally charged and complex in the 8th. This is where people “make love” instead of just screwing. It is about intimacy, not just physically getting off. No matter what their sexual lifestyle or relationship status is, 8th House individuals tend to prefer deep connection when they’re having sex. They may go through periods of casual sex but there is nothing like that true intimacy for them. Even while being more casual, they could easily get “hooked” on certain people if the connection is electric.

When there is a spiritual dimension to this, there can be an intense soul merge between the two people or even a transcendence to another plane of consciousness. Yeah, it’s that intense. There can also be deep sexual healing that takes place, either because they’re with the right person or because they are the right one for someone. Unfortunately, a lot of 8th House people have sexual trauma, too. There can be a scary and dark side to sex, as well. Being a survivor of sexual abuse or sexual assault is sadly common among those with 8th House planets. Also, it may have been a matter of being sexualized too early. 8th House people, when growing up, too often experience sexual harassment or objectification from adults or may have even been sexually involved with someone much older. Ultimately, it can all leave a scar that makes it tricky for the person to navigate and express their sexuality.

Even with an empty 8th House, this is something you could have dealt with. Sex is something that is abused or used against people, especially more vulnerable individuals, far too often in the world. In addition to that, there is also a great deal of sex-negativity in the world: judgment and shame and fear when it comes to something so natural. So, this area of the chart is also where we can learn sex-positivity and how to fully embrace our sexual side without fear or guilt. This can be the house of sexual repression or sexual liberation. People can be slut-shamed here or even feel compelled to hide any non-hetero desires. And it is also a place where we may have been taught to fear our sexual self because it was targeted or abused or activated too early. The journey of healing that shame is deeply personal and may take time. And healing never truly ends. But, in the 8th, you have the opportunity to gradually see your sexual nature as a form of power to be appreciated and embraced, not hidden away or denied.

Extended Portion of Astrology Lesson of the Week (8th House) (how this house represents our inner power and inner shadow, our relation to magic/the occult and connection to the afterlife)

[violexides]

so i finished turnabout succession, meaning i’ve watched all of the cases in aa4 excluding the first case - which i am considering watching at some point but likely in the distant future, seeing as trucy and klavier are not yet introduced in it and i already know the plot of the case. many thoughts on ace attorney 4 but i am just going to talk about klavier gavin real quick because. i need to.

[if you don’t want spoilers but are still reading these posts i’m REALLY going into spoilers so like. guys please]

i really wish Capcom had done more with klavier both in the sense of backstory but also in the sense of future games, since iirc he only appears once or twice in dual destinies and not at all in spirit of justice. what i CAN say though is that despite all this, they gave an amazingly written character to us - even if he, again, only predominantly exists in three cases.

i really cannot get over the tragedy of each one of them, though. turnabout corner, where he faces off and loses in a trial - his first trial returning to prosecuting - to the disciple/employee of his older brother. who aforementioned employee had imprisoned for murder. and he’s extremely kind compared to other prosecutors, willing to help out, and also among one of the most well-prepared ones. he’s fun and melodramatic and he doesn’t throw a fit at losing.

and then you IMMEDIATELY go to fucking turnabout serenade, where he has a concert in which basically everything goes wrong for him, including the performance not meeting his high standards and someone literally dying DURING HIS CONCERT. in which his guitar ALSO set on fire mid concert btw. and he’s very emotionally attached to them. and then you find out all this, on top of the fact that it was not only his second guitarist but his BEST FRIEND of at LEAST seven years who committed the murder. someone he deeply trusted, and he has to be the one to take him off the case and put him on the stand.

and then THREE MONTHS PASS, and he is put on the trial for the jurist system, a system created by phoenix wright. he knows from the start that despite his desires for a simple case, it’s going to be complex because of wright’s involvement. and then it turns out that the current murder provides insight into the events of seven years ago, a trial he had prosecuted on in which he got someone disbarred with information he shouldn’t have had and became CONSUMED WITH DARKNESS FOR SEVEN FUCKING YEARS to the point that he LEAVES THE PROSECUTION JOB TEMPORARILY. and then he is told, by apollo justice - former employee of his brother, frequent court rival, person who put his best friend AND brother behind bars, and current employee of phoenix wright the attorney that KLAVIER HELPED DISBAR - that the events that transpired seven years ago, when klavier was SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD, were manipulated by his brother. 

and he STILL wants to believe in kristoph. and that’s what gets me - we know next to NOTHING about these guys’ history. and yet we see it in everything - klavier and kristoph finishing each other’s thoughts as klavier fights harder than ever against apollo in the cross examination, klavier and kristoph showing superficial levels of affection that sink deeper for klavier but fall apart at the top level for kristoph, the respective distrust and resentment they have for one another, the fact that kristoph tells klavier to CALM DOWN and CALLS HIM USELESS and implies he’s IRRATIONAL over and over and OVER again even trying to THREATEN him into not saying anything - up until the moment that klavier says that it’s time for them to empty their family closet. 

up until the last line said in the court trial for kristoph gavin - in which klavier looks his brother in the eye and says “you are not needed anymore.”

and then it shows post credit scenes in which he’s like hey lol the gavinners are breaking up but i’m excited to go back into court again soon ^_^ LITERALLY HOW YOUR ENTIRE LIFE HAS BEEN RUINED BY THIS MAN . OR I GUESS LIBERATED . I HATE GAY PEOPLE 

anyway I love klavier gavin and we should have gotten more of him in later games but for now i’m going to go uhhh read fanfiction. or no shit i should do homework. read fic AND do homework. yeah :] 

[secretmellowblog]

The thing is, Jean Valjean’s “nineteen year prison sentence for stealing a loaf of bread” from Les Mis isn’t actually unusual….not even today! I see people talking about it as if it’s strange or unimaginable when it happens every day.

In modern America — often as a result of pointlessly cruel (and racist) habitual offender and mandatory minimum laws— people are routinely sentenced to life in prison for minor crimes like shoplifting or possession of drugs.

The ACLU did a report in 2013 detailing the lives of various people who were sentenced to life in prison without parole for nonviolent property crimes like:

•attempting to cash a stolen check

•a junk-dealer’s possession of stolen junk

metal (10 valves and one elbow pipe)

•possession of stolen wrenches

•siphoning gasoline from a truck

•stealing tools from a tool shed and a welding machine from a yard

•shoplifting three belts from a department store

•shoplifting several digital cameras

•shoplifting two jerseys from an athletic store

• taking a television, circular saw, and a power converter from a vacant house

• breaking into a closed liquor store in the middle of the night

And of course, so so so many people sentenced to life without parole for the possession of a few grams of drugs.

And we could go on and on!

Gregory Taylor was a homeless man in Los Angeles who, in 1997, was sentenced to “25 years to life” for attempting to steal food from a food kitchen. He was released after 13 years. The lawyers helping to release him even cited Les Miserables in their appeal, comparing Taylor’s sentence to Jean Valjean’s.

And there’s another specific bit of social commentary Hugo was making about Valjean’s trial that’s still depressingly relevant. He writes that Valjean was sentenced for the theft of loaf of bread, but also that the court managed to make that sentence stick by bringing up some of his past misdemeanors. For example, Valjean owned a gun and was known to occasionally poach wildlife (presumably for his starving family to eat.) . So the court exaggerates how harmful the bread theft was—he had to smash a windowpane to get the bread, which is basically Violence— then insist the fact that he owns a gun and occasionally poaches is proof that he is habitually and innately violent. Then when Valjean obviously becomes distressed traumatized and furious as a result of his nakedly unjust sentence and begins making desperate (and very unsuccessful/impulsive/ poorly thought through) attempts to escape…. the government indifferently tacks more years onto his sentence, labels him a “dangerous” felon, and insists that its initial read of him as an innately violent person was correct.

And it’s sad how a lot of the real life stories linked earlier are similar to the commentary Hugo wrote in 1863? Someone will commit a nonviolent property crime, and then the court insists that a bunch of other miscellaneous things they’ve done in the past (whether it’s other minor thefts or being addicted to drugs or w/e) are Proof they’re inherently violent and incapable of being around other people.

A small very petty fandom side note: This is also why I dislike all those common jokes you see everywhere along the lines of “lol it’s so unrealistic for the police to want to arrest Valjean over a loaf of bread, there must have been some other reason the police were pursuing him. Because the state would never punish someone that harshly and irrationally for no reason. so maybe javert was just gay haha”. (Ex: this tiktok— please don’t harass the creator or poster though, I don’t think they were intending to mean anything like that and its just a silly common type of joke you see made about Les mis all the time so it’s not unique in any way.) because like.

As much as I don’t think Les Mis is a flawless book or that its political messaging is perfect….the only way that insanely long unjust sentences for minor crimes is “unrealistic” is if you’re operating on the assumption that prisons are here to Keep You Safe by always only punishing bad criminals who do serious crimes. And that’s just, not true at all. Like I get that these are just goofy silly shallow jokes, and I’m not angry or going to harass anyone who makes them. but it feels like there’s an assumption underlying all those goofy jokes that “this is just not how prison works!” “Prisons don’t routinely sentence people to absurd laughably unjust pointless sentences!” “Prisons give people fair sentences for logical reasons!” When like…no

Valjean being relentlessly hounded and tortured for a minor crime in a way that is utterly ridiculous and arbitrary in its cruelty is not actually a plot hole in Les mis. It’s a plot hole in …..society ajsjkdkdkf. And the only way to fix that is to fight for prison abolition or at least reform, and (in America) stand up against the vicious naked cruelty of habitual offender and mandatory minimum laws.

But yeah :(. I hate how Les Mis opens with a prologue saying the novel will be obsolete the moment the social issues it describes have been resolved— but two hundred years later, the book is still more relevant than ever because we’re dealing with so many of the exact same injustices.

[ambeauty]

a few thoughts on the different types of romantic love in the bear

One facet of the show that I feel like is incredibly poignant is the emotional realism. I think I read another post or podcast about "emotional realism" in the bear so I will be borrowing that to talk about emotional realism when it comes to romantic partnerships in the show.

I feel like a lot of people wanted Sydney and Carmy to be this magical soulmate pairing that faced no opposition, trials, or tribulations on their journey to love and let me be the one to tell you right now. That's just not realistic. So in order to showcase how the show portrays different versions of romantic love, I wanted to focus on some couples that are not so triggering when it comes to the idea of romantic partnership within the context of the show.

Natalie x Pete: Natalie and Pete are the epitome and pinnacle of romantic love in the show. BUT, and STRONG BUT, they are not without their challenges. Natalie's family for the most part do not like Pete. They tolerate him, now, but for the longest time and to this day, they talk shit about him, because he's not like them. He's an outsider who has a different way of loving, and they don't understand it. Should Pete have left Natalie because her family didn't accept him?

Natalie's traumatic childhood still makes her feel insecure about her relationship. Plus she has a lot of generational trauma that she is working through to not pass down these things to her daughter. Should Pete leave her because she's insecure and traumatized?

You would answer no.

Richie x Tiff:

Richie and Tiff are divorced but they are still deeply interconnected because of Eva. You know that there is still a deep love between them because of the conversation on the bench. Tiffany wants Richie at her wedding because that's her family. Not to embarrass him or make him feel bad, but because she still has a deep love for him as a person. I get the sense that they didn't work out because it took him well into his adult life to figure out what he really wanted to do. Sometimes love isn't enough, especially when a child is involved. Tiffany and Eva deserve stability and at the time Richie wasn't able to provide it for YEARS. So I don't blame Tiff for leaving, but if Richie was in a better place, I know she would've stayed.

Just because you aren't with someone anymore doesn't mean that their importance to your life and the love you have for them just goes away.

Tina x Mr. Marrero

We don't get to spend a lot of time with them but we get to see such a beautiful dynamic between Tina and her husband. Now that they've been given it to me I need more. Tina and her husband are doing their very best to take care of their son and live a content life. They aren't rich but they've created a warm and comforting environment that is built on the foundation of their love. When Tina loses her job, it shakes up everything. Mr. Marrero is focused on his duty to take care of the household on his modest income. And Tina is so independent and knows that they need her income in order to survive. Her husband supports her through this transition even if it's stress on him and her. They work as team to get through this life change. Should he have left Tina the moment she became frustrated with finding employment? Should Tina have left him because his income alone wasn't enough to sustain them?

Again the answer is no.

The emotional realism of the bear shows that relationships of any kind are never perfect and never without challenges. Familial, platonic, or romantic. Sydney and Carmen are no different. While I support whatever decision Sydney makes, I do believe that what they are going through is their biggest trial yet. Syd and Carmy have failed to communicate in a healthy way for 3 seasons. And once these miscommunications finally bubble over it's going to be catastrophic. In one way or another. Who knows? At the end of the day what's important is that they do learn how to communicate because whether they stay business partners or become more or less, there will be obstacles that they will need to work through and grow from together.

"What grows together goes together."

thank you @thoughtfulchaos773 for encouraging me to expand on this

[zebulontheplanet]

A lot of people don’t know this because I don’t really talk about it, but I’m talking about it today!

I’ve been to three psychiatric hospitals in my life. Three. That’s quite a lot. I went from ages 12 to about 15 maybe younger, and was in for months at a time. People don’t realize how utterly terrifying and traumatizing psych wards are and it shows. If you even dare to say “psych wards aren’t that bad” then get the fuck out cause we had two different experiences.

It’s constant fighting, screaming, violence, sedation, med trials, seeing people getting restrained and getting restrained yourself. I’ve never personally been restrained or had more than a voluntary pill sedative, but still. Seeing those things, witnessing those things, is traumatizing. Seeing constant violence, being in constant fight or flight mode is not fun.

I would never go back, nor do I think I can ever go back due to my current support needs and the fact I need access to constant AAC which a lot of places deny.

I have severe psychiatric issues, and I think it was a good choice that I went when I did, however I will never be the same because of the experiences I went through while there. Yes, I had some good experiences, yes I had some bad experiences.

I’m tired of the constant romanization of psychiatric hospitals. I’m tired of the quirky “grippy sock vacation” shit because like, what the actual fuck? Do you know what psychiatric wards are like? Do you know how traumatizing they can be? Do you know that you can’t show an ounce of misbehavior or you will get in trouble. I couldn’t meltdown, I couldn’t shutdown, I couldn’t show anger, hurt, anything without getting in trouble! That sucks!

Please stop glamorizing it. Stop trying to make it silly and fun because it isn’t and you’re causing real harm. Instead, educate about psychiatric hospitals, tell the truth. Tell your experiences.

This post is not at all to deter people from getting help. If you need help then get help! If you think it’s the best option for you then go for it! Psych hospitals are great for getting stable on medication. That’s what they’re made for. To get you semi stable so they can do outpatient care or residential care.

I’ll speak more on this later but yeah. This was just my current thoughts.

[oatmealzz]

Firstly so sorry for the graphic image. I found this on the Danganronpa reddit. Also MAJOR DANGANRONPA V3 SPOILERS.

I feel like this very crudely drawn image of Kokichi’s dead crushed up corpse is the last piece I needed to fully accept his death.

Not being able to see the state of the body during the investigation, created a barrier for me to fully understand Kokichi’s exit out of the main story. It just felt like he “left” rather than died.

Additionally, none of the characters saw the dead body and that definitely had an impact on their attitude towards him. His death was brushed off because they also never got to see his dead body. Maki didn’t investigate the body and such. There was no opportunity to be traumatized but ample to refuel their hatred towards him. Remember when Nagito’s body was found? The characters wouldn’t stop talking about the stab wound and the spear. The graphic depictions of Nagito stabbing himself added to the nightmare fuel situation. Like SOMEONE did that to his body vibe. In this trial, that wasn’t discussed in a manner that resembled 2-5. Not being able to see the graphic nature of a body being crushed flat means the characters can avoid it. Again, put yourself in the situation you felt when you initially saw Kokichi’s death. Seeing his crushed body would absolutely impact your experience because it’s like DANG, WHO DID THIS?! Did he really deserve a death like that? And so on.

This is why his absence during the class trial wasn’t discussed to its extent such as with other characters. Imagine seeing the body and then going to the trial where the exisal was talking in his voice. It would be SUPER weird. LIKE I SAW HIS CRUSHED BONES AND ORGANS OUT ON THAT PRESS AND NOW IM HEARING HIS VOICE? I know for some people, not seeing the body meant that maybe both Kaito and Kokichi were alive and that they used another body to substitute a killing. After Monokuma revealed that it wasn’t possible to do so, I don’t remember anyone who acknowledged the body afterwards due to how the trial was going.

I’m no Kokichi Stan but I did warm up to his character pre-chapter 4. I always felt that his death and trial were lackluster and lacked needed impact. Personally, I thought the trial wasn’t very good but seeing a depiction of the body has changed my opinion on the trial.

Kaito also never saw Kokichi afterwards because he never lifted the press after it crushed him. Kaito doesn’t really have to carry the weight of the plan and his actions, because he never gets to see the honest result of them. Therefore, he was able to focus on the plan to foul Monokuma and stick to the script that a dead boy wrote. Personally, my entire view on Kaito would drastically change more if we both saw the state of the body. Like learning that Kaito killed Kokichi in the most violent way possible. This is no stab to the neck or strangulation where a character might crack a joke (throwback to Ryoma, Miu and even Nagito). I remember thinking that their plan failed because the gang ended up figuring out their scheme and there is a viewpoint that Kokichi’s plan failed. If it did, he died for nothing and in the most violently unnecessarily way possible too.

Danganronpa V3 had many victims where the remaining cast had a short mourning period for (Rantaro, Ryoma and Miu). Each student had different circumstances where the cast couldn’t comment too much on their dead peers. Rantaro distanced himself from others, and no one was particular close to Ryoma or Miu.

However, Kokichi was one where almost no one mourned his death.

It’s interesting for sure. I think more people mourned the losses of the culprits more than the victims.

Anyways - I recommend reviewing 3-5 again and seeing this image somewhere during the investigation. I promise, my opinion on 3-5 drastically improved afterwards.

[mulletmitsuya]

Sano Groupchat (and closely affiliated)

Warnings: swearing, suggestive, the word necrophilia is mentioned twice, mentions of kidnapping, mentions of drugging, also a "description" of a penis (it's not what it sounds like i swear)

Side note: i've realized that my warnings without context, make me look like a crazy person so please bear with me 😔🙏

Desc: Mikey gets kidnapped by a crazy fan and so forth (i'm so bad at these, might remove them 💀)

Shinichiro: Mikey, we're glad to have you back. i'll release a statement saying you need to recover from the traumatizing situation you've just been through. just rest up okay?

Emma: yeah, we're here if you need anything :((

Izana: you're alive, so

Emma: Izana ☹️

Izana: ...

Izana: we are here to support you through difficult times

Izana: as your "siblings" 🙂

Shinichiro: what are the quotation marks for bud 😞✊?

Izana: my hand slipped

Shinichiro: oh okay then!

Mikey: guys

Shinichiro: Draken, how's the arrest going?

Draken: the girls trial is in a few weeks from now and she can't afford bail so she's locked up

Mikey: guys it's not that deep

Mikey: like, it's not as big of a deal as you're making it out to be

Izana: see? he's fine

Emma: YOU WERE MISSING FOR 2 WEEKS

Emma: YOU WERE LITERALLY KIDNAPPED BY A CRAZY FAN. IT'S A BIG DEAL

Mikey: but they didn't hurt me?? they made all my favourite snacks and food and tucked me into bed every night. which maybe was a little weird but i still liked it. i had a very good time actually. so why are we arresting her? she's chill fr

Draken: that's all she did?

Baji: how do you know she didn't drug you in your sleep and do things to you 🤨

Mikey: bro?

Shinichiro: Keisuke, that's a very sensitive topic for some people, so let's not say it so casually okay?

Baji: what?

Baji: is it a long shot to say Mikey was touched or something?

Baji: i mean, what other motives did she have

Baji: and you guys saw her tweets right? she's obsessed with you

Baji: wasn't she the one who calculated the circumference, length, girth and colour of your penis??

Draken: no that's another one

Baji: nvm

Baji: that was Haruchiyo

Haruchiyo: fuck off

Mikey: Baji we literally go to onsens together with Haruchiyo. you've all seen my penis 😐

Baji: hard and soft are two different things

Baji: you pervert

Haruchiyo: it wasn't me, what the fuck?

Haruchiyo: i'm too famous to be risking my reputation like that

Haruchiyo: i'd need a burner account no one could access, which i don't have

Haruchiyo: so no Baji, i don't have a Mikey fanpage

Haruchiyo: that would be crazy and weird and bordeline insane

Baji: i didn't say any of that?

Baji: and you are all 3 of those things🤨

Mikey: well whatever cause everyone was wrong. it's small

Mikey: you know what it's not even small. it's average for my size, actually

Mikey: i mean i'm 5'3 yk. what did people expect

Mikey: like, it would look weird if i had a big one

Mikey: it would be disproportionate to have a big one

Mikey: i see people saying "i know it's big😍" or stuff like "i wanna gag on it"

Emma: gross

Emma: why are you telling us this 😟

Mikey: which i find really flattering

Draken: flattering isn't the word i'd use

Mikey: yeah thats cause you're a fucking prude, Ken-chin

Draken: it's cause i have a wife, jackass

Emma: 😊❤

Mikey: but seriously it wouldn't make sense for me to have a big penis

Baji: excuses excuses 🙄

Mikey: my penis is fine

Baji: they gave you dick dysmorphia

Mikey: whatever it's not like i'll use it anyway

Baji: bottom?

Mikey: i just don't like sex 😐

Izana: are we here to listen to Mikey talk about his small dick or what

Shinichiro: yeah maybe we should... not

Mikey: well, yours is skinny so whatever

Shinichiro: no it's not 😕

Shinichiro: i've had many people compliment me for my size, actually

Izana: "many"

Izana: "people"

Mikey: we know it's not girls, just say you fuck men (Wakasa) dude

Baji: no girl wants you bro

Baji: (isn't it Takeomi?)

Mikey: (Takeomi is violently homophobic)

Baji: (oh yeah)

Haruchiyo: what are you guys doing

Mikey: (whispering)

Haruchiyo: you guys are texting

Haruchiyo: we can all see this

Haruchiyo: are you fucking dumb

Haruchiyo: not you, Mikey

Mikey: thanks Haru 😋

Baji: he was doing it too???

Baji: i get why Takeomi was homophobic 😒

Baji: (when are you going to address his crush on you, Mikey)

Mikey: (it's not a crush, you ever heard of bff's, Keisuke🙄?)

Baji: (that's like saying me and Kazutora are bff's)

Mikey: (you are?)

Baji: (i'm in love with him)

Mikey: (oh yeah)

Mikey: (but Haru isn't in love with me)

Baji: (he probably creams his pants when you use that nickname)

Haruchiyo: i can see this

Haruchiyo: you aren't "whispering"

Haruchiyo: IT'S A FUCKING GROUPCHAT

Draken: does this matter?

Draken: we were talking about the fact that Mikey was kidnapped

Draken: Baji is right, something really bad could have happened if they have you longer

Draken: along with the statement, we need to talk to your fans man

Draken: this is a line crossed

Baji: no shit

Baji: also, why didn't you, i don't know, fight back and escape or something?

Mikey: i didn't want to hit a girl 😔

Mikey: like i said, i enjoyed my time there

Mikey: knew you guys would find me eventually so it was like, a side quest

Draken: of course you'd call a kidnapping a side quest

Emma: how'd she even kidnap you?

Mikey: she saw me at a convenience store and they'd run out of my favourite sweeties

Mikey: and i was whining about it to the cashier, so i guess she overheard

Mikey: and she said she had some in her car

Mikey: so i go there with her

Mikey: then she asked for an autograph

Mikey: then i'm pretty sure she drugged me with chloroform or something cause i was out

Emma: chloroform isn't like the movies. it takes a while to knock someone out, so that's not really likely unless you stood there and took it

Mikey: ...

Mikey: ok fine, do you want me to say i fell asleep in her car? huh?

Mikey: cause that's what i did

Izana: it's like you *want* to die or something

Izana: nvm

Baji: are you stupid or something

Draken: Mikey

Draken: you are 25 years old

Draken: and you're telling me

Draken: that you fell for the "hi kid, want some candy?" trick

Draken: are you fucking serious

Shinichiro: Mikey...

Shinichiro: you could have gone to another store 🙁

Shinichiro: i almost lost you

Shinichiro: because of jellybeans? really?

Mikey: they're my favourite sweet okay ☹️

Mikey: and i was lazy and tired

Mikey: hence, falling asleep

Baji: he has to have necrophilia or something

Shinichiro: i don't think that's the word buddy

zana: "necrophilia"

Izana: didn't you graduate?

Baji: working on it 💪

Izana: ah alright

Izana: what's your IQ?

Baji: below average

Mikey: Baji, don't tell people that ☠️

Izana: ...

Izana: wow he actually answered me

Emma: *sigh*

Draken: what's the point of tying out your physical actions

Emma: shut up a little babe

Draken: ok

Emma: what Baji meant, was necormancy

Draken: that's incorrect, babe

Emma: omg can we just wrap this up

Izana: both of you are wrong 💀

Izana: what is wrong with you people

Izana: necrophilia= sexual attraction to a dead body

Izana: necormancy= communication with dead people

Izana: narcolepsy= condition characterized by an extreme tendency to sleep

Izana: i'm assuming you guys meant to say the third one, for Mikey

Izana: holy shit

Emma: no need to be mean about it 😒

Baji: i'll add those to my "new words" list

Mikey: maybe i do have that

Mikey: i do fall asleep in very odd places

Emma: you know what we can talk about this tommorow. time out

*only admins can send messages*

[therainscene]

Since The First Shadow has folks talking about Henry’s queerness (or lack thereof), I wanted to share my take on it as someone who tends to interpret him as gay.

I’m not going to be talking about his relationship with Patty, though -- I can’t afford to see the play and don’t want to rely on secondary sources for this, so I simply can’t comment on it. (I’m sure they’re lovely together, though.)

To me, Henry’s queer-coding isn’t a question of whether he’s literally gay -- it’s a question of what role his villainy plays in the story.

The biggest non-Patty-related criticism against queer interpretations of Henry is that it would carry an uncomfortably homophobic implication: that queers are dangerous predators.

This was a common belief in the 80s, and the show references it by having Troy chuckle at the idea of Will getting "killed by some other queer" -- a prediction that comes symbolically and unpleasantly true when Joyce finds him with one of Vecna’s vines literally shoved down his throat.

It's tempting to try and solve this problem by interpreting Henry as straight -- the homophobic implications of his child-assaulting villainy will disappear if he's not queer, right?

Well... in my opinion, no.

A key aspect of Henry's character is that he's different. Whether you interpret that difference as queerness, neurodivergence, or simply that he has powers -- the fact remains that he is fundamentally the sort of person whom society looks down upon with fear and suspicion.

If he’s not a predatory queer, then he's a remorseless psychopath. If he's not a remorseless psychopath, then he's a vessel for an evil alien. There's no way to escape the implication that he’s dangerous because he’s different.

Eddie’s character resonates with this principle too. Indeed, our introduction to him is a monologue in which he complains about being treated with suspicion just because he’s different.

Given their similarities in this regard, I think it’s interesting that the show endears us to Eddie in the same breath it makes us fear Vecna. It almost feels like a test--

We know you’ll sympathize with a weirdo who sells drugs to troubled minors when you get to see things from his perspective, but can you sympathize with a weirdo who hurts troubled minors when you don’t get to see things from his perspective? Will you jump to unfair conclusions about Henry in the same way the town jumps to unfair conclusions about Eddie?

My point here isn’t that Henry did nothing wrong or that his villainy is justified -- I’m pretty sure he did commit the murders Eddie was scapegoated for and I’m pretty sure that’s a bad thing -- but he’s always held at arm’s length from the audience. The show plays the role of Jason, encouraging us to blindly hate him on gut instinct instead of giving him a fair trial.

It’s an easy test to fail, because it does seem like we get to see Henry’s perspective -- he has a whole villain speech, after all.

But the trouble is, this speech takes place within NINA. What we’re watching is footage that has been curated by his abuser and shown through the eyes of a traumatized girl who barely understands what happened -- secondary sources who are invested in viewing him as a threat.

Consider that Henry’s hairstyle mysteriously changes during the massacre. It’s one of those subtle costuming choices that isn’t meant to be consciously picked up on, but which registers at the back of our minds and leaves us feeling unsettled -- this Henry isn’t like the Henry we were looking at before.

The obvious way of interpreting this is that the mask has finally slipped -- the “nice” Henry was fake, and now we see him for who he “really” is. But I’m not inclined to interpret it that way, because of all the hairstyles they could have chosen... they just so happened to opt for one that resembles Brenner. (Pun intended.)

This isn’t Henry with his mask off -- this is Henry as Brenner wants him to be.

Fear-mongering over the existence of queer people has long been a useful tool for those in power -- in the 80s, fear of AIDS did the job nicely -- and so too has Brenner forged Henry into a tool to further his own goals, no regard given to the harm he causes in the process.

Like the “predatory queer”, Henry is defined on his oppressor’s terms, and like Eddie, it makes him a useful scapegoat. He only became what he did because of an unethical institution, and treating him as the problem is just as short-sighted as blaming gay men for the AIDS crisis.

That isn’t to say Vecna hasn’t become a genuine threat, though. Will makes a prediction as to how S5 is going to end--

--and while I’m not expecting things to end as violently as Will implies here -- that’s not Will’s thing -- I do believe that Vecna is going to be defeated by his hand. As tragic as Vecna’s origin was, he still made his own choices once he was free from Brenner, and he’s likely too far gone at this point to be capable of earning his happy ending.

But that’s what makes it so important that Will gets his happy ending.

Queer characters have been exclusively cast as villains or tragic sadbois for so long that I can completely sympathize with people’s hesitance to embrace Henry as a tragic queer villain.

But villains only exist within the context of the heroes who challenge them... and in a show about a queer-coded villain who personifies the anger and despair of being abused for what you are, a loving gay boy who breaks the cycle of abuse by learning that he has the right to be the hero of his own story is the perfect foil for him.

[usernamesarehard1]

The Magisterium is incredibly abelist when you think about it, and I don't think we talk about that enough. Not only do they have a test to get in where you have to climb a rope ladder (that there didn't seem to be any magical solution for), but they also constantly treated Call badly for being disabled which was so weird. They also have major issues with victim blaming people with PTSD like Call and Alastair, as well as the various devoureds and the devourds families (like the Rajavi's). Like, they are CONSTANTLY shitting on Call and Alastair for not trusting the Magisterium or thr Assmbly when in reality they have absolutely no reason to trust the Magisterium and the Assembly.

And the books just...never acknowledge this? They actually act like it was fair for Rufus to not only a) choose a traumatized young boy terrified for his life as a PUNISHMENT FOR HIMSELF (because yeah, Call and Alastair's situation is so hard on YOU, Rufus /s) but also b) literally TELL CALL THAT to basically shame him for being afraid for his life. And on top if that, later having Alastair become devoured as a punishment for the crime of....not wanting to send his child and last remaining family member into the care of people that caused the death of everyone else he loved and hundreds of other people. Like the books actually act like that makes sense!

EDIT: I also added some more info in the comments that I thought of later because I didn't want to update the whole post

I knew there was something I really didn't like about the first book and I couldn't put my finger on it for so long, until one day it hit me. There was SO MUCH victim blaming in that book it was disgusting.

Also, side note for something kind of unrelated but also kind of similar: the log thing in the first book makes NO sense. Like, they're SUPPOSED to have a hard time staying on the logs. That's the point. They use some magic to throw water and some magic to balance themselves, hence using two types of magic at once. So Call easily could have done that. Yeah, it may have been harder for him than the other kids because he wouldn't have as much natural balance, but the whole point is that they're not relying on the natural balance. So why was he exlcuded? And Call fell off of CELIA'S log. He jumped on when she fell off laughing and totally unharmed. Celia didn't drown or get injured but somehow Call did??? It was the same log. And even if he did get injured from this exercise, wouldn't that be the MASTERS fault? I mean, they're the ones holding exercises where kids are expected to fall into the water in places where people's legs can get caught under the water and make them almost die from drowning. Why are we blaming Call for this???????

***I have a ton of other issues with the logistics of the Iron Trial test, as well as lots of other major plot points in this series that actively harm the characters for absolutely no reason, that I really want to rant about too, but that's probably better for another day

[toriangeli]

I get the impression that the writers didn’t expect people to be that invested in Armand which is odd bc he’s a popular book character but. It almost seems to me like they thought everyone would be invested in Lestat and Louis only and they can do whatever with Armand. I still think he was well-written for the most part don’t get me wrong. However.

I think his motivations are muddled in this version of the story and it’s weird that he had no strong relationships to anyone all season. The Louis thing didn’t matter to either of them that much bc he was willing to let him die (weird), nothing with Daniel yet, didn’t seem very upset with the coven members dying and didn’t even seem to hate Claudia all that much?

I feel like they didn't think we'd love him if he was as much of a maniac as he was in the books? Crazy time to start worrying about what their audience thinks. ffs, Rolin talked about how bad they felt for Armand upon rereading the second half of book 1 and then didn't even quote the line that made them feel so bad for him in the first place (the thing about how he's done everything for Louis and Louis doesn't love him and seems totally dead to him).

He was definitely very attached to Louis, but Louis' lack of attachment to him and Daniel's utter contempt guided the audience's opinion a lot more than the softening of his terribleness. Even if it's not their intent, he comes across as the least favorite child. Lestat dropped Louis from the sky and gets a pass, but Armand did...what, exactly? Louis forgave him for playing a part with Claudia's death, but being willing to let Louis die was unforgivable, even after he pulled Louis out of the sun? And Rolin talked about how these were genuine attempts from Armand to be better, to be good to Louis, only to be met in 2.05 with the bleak understanding that none of it meant jack shit to Louis, it was all just a sign of Armand being a boring person who did boring things. "As empathetic as possible," says Rolin, but the actual audience is taking its cues from audience surrogate Daniel, whose opinion isn't based on Armand's experiences or even Louis' experiences, but his own. His entire take on the situation is centered around what Armand did to him, so he ignores anything that could actually make him see where Armand is coming from. He even calls his tragic backstory into question. And don't tell me Armand lied so much he deserved that. Nobody deserves it. Anyway, according to Rolin, Armand lied about two things: who saved Louis at the trial, and how involved he was in the trial itself, and all subsequent lies were covering up those two. Do you ever see Armand bringing up his tragic backstory when he isn't asked to do so? He plays victim about other things, sure, but never about that.

And frankly, some of the things he plays victim about, he has the right to be pissed about. It feels like nobody really grasps 2.05 with any sense of compassion for both Louis and Armand--it's always one or the other of them in total wrong. Either Louis is emotionally abusive during their fight, or Armand tortured and neglected him and made the whole situation about himself.

What if both things can be true, but we understand where they're both coming from? That's the thing about dark fiction: we can actually look critically at relationships like these and see nuance. It's not safe to do that in real life unless you're the therapist involved, but in fiction? We can actually look and see and think. Don't do that if you're in a toxic relationship irl, just get out.

Louis is using drugs to run away from something Armand could have prevented. There's kind of a karma in Armand being forced to be his caretaker. At the same time, I know what being the codependent in a relationship feels like, so...yes, Armand making the situation about himself makes a lot of sense because no situation is ever about himself. He drags Louis out of the sun, and we never talk about how traumatic that is for both of them. Rightly, the focus is on Louis, because Louis is the primary victim in the situation, but he's not the only one traumatized by his own suicide attempt. We, the audience, have the capacity to have empathy for them both, but we seldom do. Instead, we see Armand doing something wrong--the secondary victim demanding understanding from the primary one--and focus way too much on that instead of why.

People feel sorry for themselves because they're overcompensating for the fact that only they ever seem to validate their own experiences. Judging by some of Sam's attitude, I suspect the last person who told Armand "you went through something fucked up and it's okay to not be okay about it" was Marius. Right before the attempt, Louis actively invalidated some of the worst shit Armand ever went through, so sure. I obviously don't agree with Armand's actions in the aftermath, but the important thing is, I'd consider it shitty, shitty writing if the writers decided everyone should immediately be able to act rationally about this. That's not how people work. It's the opposite of how Armand should work. Armand is so poorly socialized, he doesn't know the unwritten social codes, or even why he does what he does. And any time someone calls him out, they can't seem to do so without invalidating completely unrelated traumas he's had.

You can say, "Oh, well, this season was Louis' story, so of course they focused on Louis' perspective," but here's the problem with that: we are not getting a The Vampire Armand season. It wouldn't make sense. The only two main characters who are in those flashbacks are Armand and Marius. That means sidelining almost every series regular for an entire season if they did a TVA season. If every POV character (Daniel, Louis, and Lestat) has total contempt for Armand, exactly when is the audience supposed to have things cleared up for them?

[threebea]

People say Obi-Wan and the Jedi by extention, stiffled Anakin's emotions and Anakin couldn't open up to him or anyone else. This is the reason why he explodes.

In the 2002 film Attack of the Clones our first scene with Anakin and Obi-Wan involve them discussing a traumatic dream. Obi-Wan asks if it concerns Anakin's mother which implies the two have discussed these dreams and Anakin confided in him about it. Obi-Wan tries to comfort him. Sometimes dreams are just dreams. It's not a callous disregard of Anakin's emotions. Obi-Wan is speaking as someone who has lived in a community of psychics that have visions. Anakin is nineteen in a time of heightened stress where he thinks he should be promoted. Anxiety dreams are more likely than visions, and even visions can be fickle as we see with Sifo Dyas building an army to defend the Jedi that ends up slaughtering them, and Anakin killing his wife when he was supposed to save her.

Anakin then changes the subject to talk about the woman he has had a crush on since he was nine, making a very direct statement about how he's rather dream of her. If he feared Obi-Wan's judgment of his amorous emotions he would have swallowed them down and not brought them up.

Although Obi-Wan reminds him of his commitment to the Jedi Order which cannot be easily broken he isn't exactly clutching his pearls, and Anakin pokes at Obi-Wan's suspicion of politicians.

Anakin begins to show dissatisfaction with Obi-Wan when he is being viewed by said woman he likes as a little kid compared to Obi-Wan's Jedi Master. He also feels because of his natural abilities he should be able to take his trial to be a Jedi. Obi-Wan disagrees because of the obvious arrogance Anakin shows about his powers.

Mace Windu known fanon Anakin hater suggests that Obi-Wan is being too clingy and he needs to let Anakin spread his wings and fly for a solo mission with Anakin's forever crush. Thanks for the hookup, Mace. Yoda who also gets a reputation as anti-anakin agrees, poking fun at Obi-Wan mentioning a lot of Jedi can be rather arrogant. Flashback to Pada-Wan Episode I for the most handsome twerp in space bullying Jar Jar Binks.

Yoda and Mace: he's at that age, but your smothering isn't going to help him grow.

Obi-Wan: As his primary teacher I don't think he's ready, but if you think he is then alright. (Spoiler Alert, he was not ready)

Anakin, because of dreams that involve his Mother but do not give him any specifics eventually takes unnecessary risk, tries to abandon the mission Obi-Wan said he wasn't ready for, then brings his mission to Hutt controlled Tatooine for what could still be an anxiety dream (he's on a mission with his crush!). He proceeds to watch his mother die (being right about the vision does not mean he did not put his feelings before his duty) and seeks horrible revenge killing an entire village of sand people, including woman and children who are implied to have not taken part in Shmi's torture.

Anakin, having just lost his mother and also knowing he did a horrible thing that the Jedi would not approve of blames everyone he can for his actions. He blames Obi-Wan for holding him back.

Anakin never blames Obi-Wan for not letting him find Shmi. He blames Obi-Wan for not knighting him (which as we saw in Phantom Menace it's actually up to the Council, although Obi-Wan putting a good word in would maybe help). Anakin is blaming Obi-Wan for not letting his use his full power potential by keeping him a Padawan, after the scene where Anakin uses his power without any restraint.

Padme (for some reason) reassures Anakin it's normal and human to be angry and the Jedi are forever misinterpreted as emotionless rather than having taught their students emotional regulation (so they don't slaughter a village, not that you need to be masters of your emotions to not slaughter a village or anything. Just saying.)

Like, Padme is talking him down and soothing his obvious emotional breakdown at the loss of his mother. There are a few theories on why she doesn't see him killing the Sand People as repulsive or at least indicating a red flag. (Star wars wants aliens to be seen as normal people but also wants movie monsters. Anakin kills a bunch of Geonosians too when he's the one sneaking onto their planet and he's being executed for espionage, not murder so...) whatever the intention for Padme is there, she ends up showing Anakin that she accepts his dark side (pun intended), although she might not really understand the extent of what he's trying to communicate.

Anakin never tells Obi-Wan about killing the sand people, and he also does not tell Obi-Wan he has married Padme.

Is this because he can't open up to Obi-Wan because Obi-Wan raised him to push all his emotions and fears down and never speak of them? No, we already have evidence they had spoke about the nightmares more than once and Obi-Wan was worried enough to bring it up.

Does he actually truly hate Obi-Wan for holding him back and resent him bitterly and blame Obi-Wan for his Mother's death? No he once again disregards orders with the smallest nudge from Padme to go and try to save him. A task that he does not accomplish, puts the woman he was supposed to guard in the hands of the people that want her dead, and has to fight in a gladiator arena. I'm starting to think he wasn't ready for this mission. And is overconfident in his abilities which allows him to justify actions he should not be taking especially as a Jedi...man Obi-Wan really knows him.

I can't remember if it's in the deleted scenes or RotS canon but Palpatine knows about the sand people slaughter. Anakin doesn't tell Palpatine this because he trusts him more than Obi-Wan, he tells Palpatine this because Palpatine will be sympathetic and say acting on his anger by going into a blood frenzy was natural.

Anakin couldn't tell Obi-Wan because first, the sand people slaughter would have meant he would be scrutinized. Would he get kicked out of the Jedi? Probably not actually. Like legally he's probably in the clear considering how Tatooine has been shown to work. Jedi wise we have storylines outside the moves that imply it would be the Jedi's responsibility to get him back on the right path especially if the law has no jurisdiction. Either way he wouldn't be knighted anytime soon. Second, he did not tell Obi-Wan about the marriage because as a Jedi who understands and adheres to the code Obi-Wan would believe in the real danger that kind of relationship could hold for Anakin and he would make him choose one. He already said as much when Padme falls out of the shop when they go after Dooku.

If you want to talk about bad moves on Obi-Wan's part it's the he convinces Anakin not to go after Padme (who is basically fine) because he can't take Dooku alone and (unintentionally imo) convinces Anakin through his attachments rather than through duty.

So Anakin doesn't tell him knowing he would have to pick because he believes he is powerful enough to be an exception to the rules. No Jedi should have a romantic relationship but he can because he is special and he can handle it (it's like there's a pattern). Meanwhile, Palpatine and Padme both reinforce the idea that Anakin is more 'human' than other Jedi.

Jedi teaching is: even if you're angry you should not let your anger control your actions and kill people. Palpatine's lesson is: give in to hate and bloodrage without thought and don't hold yourself back even if it hurts others and yourself.

This is not me being Anti-Anakin. I think he's a great tragic character. I think he does love Padme, I think he was devastated by losing his mother and that his trauma at being a slave and having to leave her so that he could have a better life all added to what came later.

But he was also arrogant because of his natural talent, and thought he was above the rules because he always thought he was powerful enough to be an exception.

When Obi-Wan tells him he's won because he has the high ground there are a number of things he could have done in that moment, but he jumps from the position of disadvantage because he thinks he is powerful enough to overcome it.

His fear is how he got manipulated, but his arrogance constantly led to his downfall and gave Palpatine ammunition.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Soooooo.... what if Wukong didn't always have stage fright? What if he ONLY started being afraid of large crowds watching him....

AFTER his rampage through Heaven and he was sentenced to death, trigrams furnace, lots of stabbing, and when nothing else worked 500 years under a mountain by a LARGE CROWD of angry gods.

Mac is more than a bit surprised to learn yhe boisterous, bold Monkey King was more than a little traumatized by the whole experience and maybe he needs some hugs....😈

Ooo thats a spicy idea >:3

My hc is that Wukong is good at bluffing and improvising - but the second there's a "script" to follow or something is expected of him, he just freezes. He can drunkenly retell his Havoc in Heaven to the Brotherhood with perfect comedic timing, but if he's asked to make a speech infront of his own army he stumbles. He'll def improv a troop raising call no problem, just don't expect him to keep any decorum.

And oh gosh, imagine that the modern stage reminds Wukong so much of the "trial" he endured in the Celestial Realm after the Havoc.

Hundreds of people he can barely see, many that want to hurt/kill him, reduced to his birthday suit (think the "you flicked too damn hard!" scene in Thor Love and Thunder), the location of his sworn siblings unknown, Mac's no where to be seen, and he just heard Lao Tzu say something about a furnace??

Wukong had the attention of All of Heaven on him. He never wants to endure that again.

At least with armies of angry soldiers, he can physically fight back and repel them. When his "audience" has him restrained or expected to remain calm, Wukong starts to panic. He feels like an chained animal. I'm surprised that he didn't have a more negative reaction during the talent show in Lantern City.

Macaque of course always knew Wukong was bad at scripted speeches, so he had been the one to whisper lines into his ears/hold up cue cards for him back in the day. Macque had always been the better actor. Just another way they were like Sun and Moon together.

But the first time he sees the great Sun Wukong get swarmed by paparazzi in the aftermath of a rough fight, and the king freezes and can't even speak? Mac jumps in and whisks him away via shadow portal.

Macaque: "You never used to lock-up like that... not even when I dragged you into my plays for the little monkeys." Wukong, slowly calming down: "I... it's just all the eyes on me... It reminds me of the trial... All those face just... watching me and talking about me like I'm some sort of animal..." Macaque, flooded with regret and remembering what Wukong said under the mountain: "Oh..." (a hug occurs) Macaque: "I'm... sorry I couldn't come to your rescue back then." Wukong, trying to deflect with humor: "Hey lets be fair - I doubt you could have taken on the entire Celestial justice system by yourself. A lot of what I said back then was cus my brain just got finished steaming." Macaque: "I could have tried." Wukong: "Then we would have shared that furnace. And we'd be two idiots chained beneath the mountain together." Macaque, small smile forming: "You speak as though that would be so terrible." Wukong, forgot how much natural rizz Mac has: "ah." (//∇//)

The two monkeys later find a simple solution to the problem. Lots of Wukong clones, all doing advertisments and public appearances. Small downside is now a few hair clones will hum advert jingles and get too ethusiastic at the mic.

Macaque: "...tell me, why were you using a cardboard Wukong if you could make temporary clones of yourself?" Wukong: "Sentimental value."

[olympiansowl]

I’m gonna do a thread of why I think that Miriel will live. First, I’m not exactly a Tolkien expert, I still have to finish a lot of his books, but I’m gonna point out why I think killing her isn’t the best choice, not only from the “I love her and she’s my fav” line but from the “it doesn’t make sense to me as audience/reader" line. And, at the end, i will say why I think she will die. I am torn on this topic.

1 - The hints i talked about previously. Galadriel tells Miriel that she doesn't have to choose the path of fear and that she can choose the path of faith. We see that Miriel is really afraid of that faith because her father was forced out of his throne for it and, at the top, because she knows Numenor will be destroyed. She, eventually, makes a choice and we see that she has chosen faith. In the books, we know very little about her, but in the series we are actually seeing how much of an effort she’s making to follow the right path. Another hint, that might not be a hint, is the scene with that wood dolls (I don’t know the name in English, sorry) and Galadriel is saving Miriel from a dark place. Might hint that maybe something different will save Miriel in the end and it also might mean that she actually just accepted the Gods and made the right choice. Another one, that might be my favorite one: the DAMN EAGLES! Really, every single time we saw them in adaptation, it was to save someone. They saved Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Thorin and his whole company…I know the eagle it’s sign on the scene, it shows that Miriel is the rightful Queen and in the books we see that they also disappear bc of her grandfather and bc of Pharazon, but they’re connected to the Gods, so I’m a little bit hopeful.

2 - THE GODS! Forgive me, guys, but Gods are supposed to be merciful, you know? Specially those Gods! Like, they know who tries and who doesn’t. They send giant birds to coronations and they also made clouds, like eagles but in clouds, appear on the sky to warn Numenor that they weren’t pleasing them. They see everything and not her efforts? Like bitch please there’s no way they don’t see that Miriel has been suffering like Jesus!

3 - Why her death doesn’t make sense to me in the books and why it won’t make sense if she dies like that in the series: she’s a good one. And the really, extremely good ones that I read about didn’t die. Not only that, but like I said, that woman is suffering too much to just die? When we watch a series that a woman suffers too much, she never dies. I can point a lot of female characters that suffered for at least three lives and are still out there surviving the most dangerous and traumatizing things. For me, it didn’t make sense for Tolkien to kill her just for the sake of narrative because her death doesn’t impact other arcs. Numenor was already destroyed, she was not a Queen anymore because she didn’t have a kingdom. I think he just killed her because he didn’t want to go too much into her, because it doesn’t make sense for a man that portrays faith in the way he does, to just kill of a character that has been faithful and tried to do the best for her people. In the series, she’s more explored and we actually see her efforts. She got blinded, usurped, might be forced to marry, will pass through a damn trial with a giant sea monster…all that, and all that fucking magic, and girl can’t be saved? Be fr. The actress said she had to get a license, so Miriel will probably be underwater for a time and I do believe Numenorians have some elvish blood on them, even if it’s little…she has to live.

4 - Now as a viewer. I heard, don’t know if it’s true, that they can change how a character will die, but not if that person will survive or not. Like Saruman. He dies in a different way, but still dies. So, to me, as a viewer and seeing how they’re writing female characters, it would make more sense for Miriel to die in battle. And on the last battle, alongside the others. Miriel seems to be more rational, so I have trouble thinking that she might just die while trying to make everything right. I am not the producers or the writers, so I don’t know how they would write the rest of her arc, but I could only hope to see her with Elendil, building a new kingdom. I also want to know the point of Earien. I love the actress and I know that the character is young but like…she helped usurp a Queen, using her faith against her…the same faith her father has 🤡 and she’s doing all that bc her brother decided to go to war. He could’ve stayed but he wanted to go. Why tf this girl is blaming Miriel?

5 - As a viewer again: yes, for her to die in Numenor and all might make sense bc she fought to save that damn city, but she’s also worried about its people. Like, all the faithful are supposed to leave the island and those are the ones that are faithful not only to the gods, but to her…why would she stay on that damn city? She knows how this story will end.

7 - Why I think she might die: her arc with Elendil. I love them so much it hurts, but I think they’re going to build the “she’s going to make something out of me” kinda o story line. He became her eyes and she will teach him what she knows about being a leader. Lloyd said something like that in an interview and I couldn’t agree more, because she will hear what he sees and he will hear her interpretations. The feelings they have for each other will affect their path and her death will be his ultimate push to be a leader and honor her memory. What I think to be incredibly sad is that she will drown, trying to save her city. And his late wife also drowned while trying to save their son. A parallel, a sad one.

8 - What I hope for: hope is the last one to go. I would like to see her being saved by the eagle and marrying Elendil, or at least building the city with him. It would be amazing.

9 - Make noise on social media if y’all want the magical eagle to save that woman.

[xjulixred45x]

To be honest, Yaga was taken from JJK way too soon. Can I please get general platonic Headcanons for Yaga and reader. Reader uses a puppet based CT akin to Kankuro from Naruto.

Ooooohhh this is quite interesting! Thanks anon.

Platonic Principal Yaga x Reader

Genre: Headcanons

Reader: neutral

Warnings: SPOILERS!!!! Fluff and Angst.

although I think it depends on whether the reader is of the age of the current generation or the previous generation (i.e., 2007).

He would definitely be less serious with a reader from 2007, precisely because 1- he hasn't been through so much traumatic shit and 2- being with such strong companions and a healer, he expected them to be safe.

He acts more like an older brother than a father in this case.

Even that would probably change after the Geto incident. There I would take more care that the reader had no problem telling him things and especially if he wanted to stop being a sorcerer. He would understand.

(he would understand even without all the shit that happened in that arc)

He would have been worse at handling the reader emotionally because he would not have had as much experience as his version of the present, it would be a matter of trial and error.

although I feel that he would be less authoritarian.

with the reader of the current generation it is more paternal, more tired, more experienced.

He handles the reader much better having already raised a panda. I'll with this one.

The reader probably belonged to a clan similar to that of Inumaki, that is, although it was powerful, it was not really that recognized, but it was feared.

This is precisely due to their power to manipulate complex puppets for battle using cursed energy. it made them unstoppable in fights, but at the same time it made others fence them in and quote them for conflicts.

The reader probably already grew up with this fixation on creations related to puppets, which was encouraged and refined by their family, but at the same time they did not give it as much relevance due to the complicated social situation of the clan.

Similar to Kanguro also includes a super powerful little brother vessel of a monster? Because if so it would explain quite well why the reader was suddenly orphaned, simply one day their clan could not contain their brother and the vast majority died.

or in the worst case, the other clans set a trap for them to get rid of possible competition or enemies.

In any case, the reader is left alone with the only thing that remains of their family, their puppets, their weapons, their souls.

People may not even have realized that there was still a survivor of the clan until Yaga himself went to see the area (to study the remains of the family's cursed technique for himself) since the reader remained locked in and isolated improving and fixing the remaining puppets.

To say Yaga was impressed is an understatement.

We are talking about how a child, alone, was able to fix hundreds of puppets on their own, make them compatible with their own curse technique and improve said puppets.

Yaga simply knew reader had potential, but he had to know if they had the will and motivation to do even more.

Although it was difficult, the kid didn't even speak the first times he went to see them, and Yaga is not the talkative type.

Although he also tried to be friendly with the child, seeing the situation they were in.

Yaga brought them things like hot food, blankets, clean clothes, etc. hoping they wouldn't get sick and would stay healthy.

Little by little the reader began to open up to him, being more talkative and even asking him for advice on certain areas of cursed energy that he doesn't understand (they were a child after all).

This is how the link between them is generated, Yaga used the cursed reader technique as a reference for her own studies with her creations and taught the reader as he went.

Although it wouldn't mean that they would agree to go to a sorcery academy so easily at first NOOOO

We could say that it was quite the opposite. After all, the children of the clans that killed his would be there, what ensured that they wouldn't finish the job?

We could say that the reader's main motivation is to survive and keep his family's legacy alive, so at the beginning he was not willing to risk it just to have "potential."

but at the same time it was that very thing that convinced Yaga even more that they had to give sorcery a chance.

Yaga would assure the reader protection during his training for the jujutsu school, both before and after his entry, a roof over his head, etc.

Although the important thing is that he would give them free rein with their puppets, both in materials, media and experiments if they wanted it.

Do you want to maintain your family's legacy? Well, show them that everything they left behind was not in vain.

If we go to more advanced terms, it is something interesting.

Yaga definitely makes reader and Panda interact, they don't have to like each other if they don't, but it makes Yaga especially happy to see his two children wards getting along even a little bit well.

The reader probably has few social skills thanks to learning Yaga's workaholic tendencies, so Yaga would try to put them in "larger" groups so that they learns to open up and have more "manners" (he actually worries that they won't know how to socialize properly)

reader and Yaga have already worked together on some experiments related to Yaga's creations/reader's puppets, nothing that goes beyond the rules, but it definitely gives...interesting results.

Yaga may even have put the souls of several of the reader's relatives into several of their puppets in case they ever runs out of cursed energy. In addition, this way it better guarantees its protection.

Outside of all predictions, I can see this man telling bedtime stories to the reader. just a hunch. No matter how "old" you are, if you can't sleep, you'll read something together.

Yaga IS NOT letting them meet Satoru, simply NO, he has enough dealing with him at work, he will not let him maliciously influence the reader.

By the time the reader is at the academy, Yaga gives them tutoring when he can or if necessary, but again, it seems more necessary to give them classes on how to socialize with children their age🤣

Yaga definitely encourages the reader to have good grades, he is not a strict parent, but if he knows which reader can do better, he will encourage them to do better.

He is also a father who allows room for mistakes, he cannot avoid them, but he will help the reader learn from them and their consequences. mainly with their experiments.

Like, knows that to learn sometimes it is necessary to fail. You could say that he has more patience with Reader than with Gojo. As always

I don't think he wants to tell the reader about the secret of how he created Panda, not only because it would be dangerous if the reader tried it on their own, but because he fears that those above will come after them if he does.

It is not for lack of trust, it is for the safety of both.

Imagine that some of Yaga's cursed corpses are going to greet the reader every time they come home🥺

Yaga also definitely keeps a low profile when it comes to reader, also for security reasons.

He's the kind of dad who wants you to text him every time you get somewhere, what if you don't? He would think you died.

If we talk about Yaga formally adopting the reader, it would be quite nice.

They are both not very talkative, but there really isn't much need. It is as if they communicate in Morse code in front of the students.

Also thanks to this, Yaga (with a good level of security) can use the reader as a kind of internal agent and know, for example, if someone is leaking information at the academy.

If the reader wanted to learn how to make cursed stuffed bodies similar to him, he would be internally jumping with joy that finally the reader wants to change his habits a little.

The same thing would happen if reader called him "dad", whether by accident or on purpose, he keeps his face straight, but as soon as he is alone, he turns into a waterfall.

(Gojo will definitely use that as blackmail material)

Even after Shibuya and pressure to hand over the last member of the reader clan, Yaga remains steadfast. He may hand over some puppets that he created using the reader's puppets as a reference so that they don't go after them, but not beyond that.

but eventually that is not enough.

When...what happened happens, some special cursed body for the reader will probably be activated, one that will protect him from now on.

Even when he is gone, Yaga continues to take care of them. always.

Shares, reblogs and comments are very welcome!

Ahhhhhhhg i make this a little shorter but i hope it's okay😭 i think this Reader more like Kanguro turns out more like...Sasori? Anyway.

Thanks for the Request ❤️

[chiefdirector]

Talking | Tim Bradford | The Rookie

Act One | Chapter 16

I’m in a&e (er for my American friends) so y’all are getting a chapter early

"So, Detective Bradford, what evidence led to the arrest of my client." Wesley asked, pacing back and forth, arms crossed behind his back. He looked at (Y/N) expectedly.

They had been going over trial preparation for the last hour or so. In exchange for his services, (Y/N) brought a take out for them, as well as Tim and Angela. The other two had retreated into the kitchen to have some beers so as to not bore themselves to death.

"The operating detective arrested Mr. Smith of the claim of him being found holding the murder weapon over his dead fiancé."

"That proves nothing. Could he not have just picked it up in the heat of the moment? It must have been pretty traumatic for him. People act irrationally in moments of crisis."

"He could've but he didn't." (Y/N) rebutted, leaning further into the couch. "He practically confessed."

"There's no "practically" about it, detective. Either there is hard evidence that my client did this or you have arrested an innocent man going through one of the most terrifying things that one could experience."

(Y/N) flicked through the case file she had been given to build her testimony around. The acting detective hadn't been all too thorough as they were sure it was a clean cut case. Letting out a small "ha!" She smugly presented Wesley with a sheet of paper. "Here you will find the prints we ran on the gun. Only one set, belonging to Mr Smith. Any more questions?"

"No more questions at this time," he said, finally sitting down and reaching for the beer Angela had brought through to him a little while back. "You did good. Just keep that energy up and you'll be fine."

(Y/N) sighed, "You think? Court was never my strong suit."

"Yeah. I'd challenge you in the courtroom any day."

"No thanks. This was hard enough." (Y/N) laughed, leaning her head back to look into the kitchen, watching Tim and Angela bicker about something. "You wanna call them through or should I?"

"Actually," Wesley stood up, "I should probably get her home before something stronger comes out. You know how those too get."

"Oh god, don't remind me."

It didn't take long for Wesley to gather Angela up and make a quick departure. Once Tim had closed the door behind them, he made his way back into the kitchen where (Y/N) had begun to clear up. Dishes were stacked up high in the sink and bottles littered the counters.

"God, how much did you drink," she said, turning to face her husband. "It looks like the remnants of a brewery made a home here."

"Hardly any and not nearly as much as Angela, I always forget how much that woman can drink." Tim moved forwards, pacing his hands on (Y/N)'s hips, bringing her body into his. Softly he kissed her, "Leave all this for tomorrow."

"And what will we do now," she said, leaning in to kiss him again.

Quickly, he moved his grip on to hold her waist. Swinging one arm under her legs, he picked her up bridal style, moving towards the bedroom. "I can think of something."

- - - - -

"You look happy," Angela teased as she walked over to (Y/N)'s desk. "Too happy."

(Y/N) didn't look up to respond to her, knowing the direction Angela wanted this conversation to go. She didn't want to humour her friend but she also knew that if Angela wanted to do something, it would happen. "Can I not be happy? Is that against the rules?"

"Not at this time in the morning you can't." She said moving round the desk to lean over (Y/N)'s shoulder, now whispering. "Somebody got laid."

(Y/N) let out a breathy laugh. Shaking her head, (Y/N) continued to type. "And someone's trying to live vicariously through me. Having a dry spell, are we?"

"Not at all. But as much as I like talking to you about this, I have a suspect on the store robbery; his name is Damian Barrett. I'm sending Harper and Nolan to bring them in..."

"Right, okay? What do you need from me?"

Angela smiled,  "Nothing. I just wanted to say 'hi.'"

"Bullshit," (Y/N) leaned back in her chair, finally turning to face Angela who had decided to perch on the surface, "Also, that isn't a chair."

Lopez rolled her eyes as she got down. "I do have a reason for coming here though. Patrice is on my case about this wedding."

"And Patrice is...?

"Wesley's mom." She took out her phone, scrolling through her messages to show (Y/N) "This is just from last week. I need help."

"Don't ask me, Tim and I almost eloped. A lot less fuss and mess." (Y/N) smiled as she absently played with her rings, "I say go to the courthouse and throw a party or something after."

"You're wedding was lovely. How did you do it?"

"I didn't have much to do with it. It was all Grey and Tim."

Angela raised her eyebrow, "Sargent Grey? Sargent Grey as in the Sargent Grey who works here and was your boss helped plan your wedding?"

"Yeah," (Y/N) said, smiling as the memory came back to her.  "Grey nearly lost his head when I mentioned eloping. Something about how it would be a 'tragedy' and that it would happen over his dead body."

"Great," Lopez sighed, moving back towards her desk. "You are no help."

"Hey," she laughed, "You asked me!"

- - - - -

It was only mere moments after Angela had returned to her own desk did she approach (Y/N) again, this time her easy-going demeanour had hardened into something more serious. She had their shared case file tucked under her arm. 

"Harper and Nolan found our friend and put in interrogation. He's waiting on us. Seems like bad news, but like I said, he's only a suspect and we have got nothing concrete. We're going to try for a confession," Angela said, taking off, not leaving (Y/N) to question her any further.

With a small sigh, she got up to follow Angela to the interrogation room. She was going to let her take the lead, it was her case after all, she only came onto the case as a consulting detective. Besides, by the looks of the case, (Y/N) thought it may be an easy win.

Act One | Chapter 16 | Chapter 18

Series Masterlist | Masterlist

Tags: @xceafh  @kmc1989  @buba424 @salty0cracker @iamasimpingh0e @malindacath @agentred27

Tags are open :)

[bettyshoweduptotheparty]

Reputation to Midnights and Final TPD Predictions

With 4 days until the Tortured Poets Department and two lines of lyrics we have so far, here are my thoughts on how we got here over the last 5 albums and final predictions for what's coming on Friday:

2016 changed the game - reputation era and long-term bearding

Many people might disagree, but I think the year 2016 changed a lot of things for Taylor. Without going into detail about snakegate, a possible failed coming out and scrapped album and the presidential election, her music has had a different tone ever since reputation (and I don't just mean sonically). As someone who writes a lot about love and relationships, the way she was writing about them changed from fairy tale love, pining and heartbreak to forever/long-term love, commitment/endame, 'us against the world' sort of love. And I do think she wanted to put that album out in 2016 but can't really do that when you're newly single and writing about wanting forever with someone... so in came Joe Alwyn who became the free pass for writing songs about long-term relationships, marriage and kids for the next six years. But LWYMMD (the song and the mv) made it pretty clear that this was not her first choice. Whatever happened, she had her agency taken from her, and she was mad about it. She may have made one hell of a comeback, but rep Taylor was on a revenge mission, and she has been ever since. Now, add to that the very same people foiled her coming out (possibly) a second time in 2019, I can well imagine the tortured poet that Taylor became during the pandemic with all that built up anger and misery pouring out into the folklore and evermore albums. And my guess is that with the plan to re-record the first 6 albums came an idea of how she could possibly get her revenge after all, which brings us to Midnights and TPD.

Midnights and Tortured Poets Department - Reflection and melancholia

Midnights had a similar tone to me than what we have seen of TPD so far: introspective, sombre and looking back on happier times and missed opportunities (hence the whole '13 nights throughout my life' concept). There is a lot of wondering about what ifs and regrets and always with a sense of vengeance in the background, which shows how Taylor clearly holds a grudge and has a hard time letting things go that have hurt her. And this continues in the two lines we have seen from TPD so far. The 'full eclipse' gives me love blackout vibes and this line

is so similar to many folkmore and Midnights songs where she talks about not being able to move on from a traumatic event (failed coming out *cough cough*). So, this album clearly continues the theme of reflection, regrets and vengeance, but with an additional touch of reckoning or impending judgment. I've seen some people say it seems like Taylor is putting someone (else or herself) on trial, and both the evidence file esthetics and the legal language she has been using in the hidden words puzzle on Apple Music have been feeding that theory:

She told us back in February she'd be entering all of her defenses and her muses into evidence, so is she the one being trialed and we are the jury? Or is she presenting evidence in her defense and accusing someone else? I initially thought the former, but now I'm thinking it could be either or both.

The songs will tell the story of the most painful times of her life and we will be able to decide if she chose her suffering or if the context/industry is to blame. My favourite swifties pointed out this morning that the ‘un-recall’ lyric is a parallel to CIWYW “I recall late November”. So what is she trying to forget? The 2016 election. The start of the love blackout. Much like the ‘full eclipse’ lyric. They almost had it all but then her plans got foiled and Tr*mp was elected which forced them underground. And where did she run off to? London. And what’s track 5 called? So long, London…

So, a lot of this album so far gives 2016 vibes. And I’ve said in a previous post (here) that the visuals seem very rep-inverted. Black vs white and the half yin-yang ☯️ in the logo. It’s looking likely that this is going to be the reflection on that time where her vendetta originated before she goes for revenge. And I’m not trying to clown but the rep parallels haven’t stopped:

This QR code mural in Chicago is very rep-cover coded and leads to a website that has the same 321 error message as the TS website the night of the Grammys. The message then was red herring. And not to sound too crazy, but I've said from the start that something feels off with this album. The absence of proper promo or merch is still weird. And would an entire album as a red herring be too crazy? Probably. But is she a crazy woman? Definitely! 😉