#the smartest character and the dumbest character having a kid

[malice-and-macarons]

So Stanford Gleeful is notably less educated than Stanford Pines.

Okay. Hear me out. (Read the hyper fixation break down under the cut)

Reason 1: What they learn and How they use it.

Stanford Pines focused on anomalies and science. Gleeful spent most of his time messing around with the arcane. They were learning different things and with different intent.  Pines is all about his studies and that is how he attempted to connect with the world (to debatable success), but Gleeful is only interested in what it can do for him specifically. While Pines is enamoured with knowledge for the sake of knowledge, Gleeful is more interested in how that information can be utilised and (let's be honest here) abused.

Reason 2: Drive to learn

They both have the capacity to benefit from education and are both equally intelligent, but where Stanford Pines had to ‘work twice as hard, fortunately that’s what I do best’, Gleeful never had to work that hard. He was a bright kid from a wealthy family and very few people gave him grief the way they did Pines. Even if they did, Gleeful considered them beneath him and that ideology was only reinforced by the rest of his family. Gleeful never really felt a need to belong or prove himself, he just enjoyed looking down on others and exploring his own interests at his own pace. Sure he wants to show others he’s better than them, including in terms of intelligence, but he doesn’t fixate on that as his core value or the one thing he’s acknowledged for like Pines did. Power, influence, intelligence, general vibes - so long as he’s superior to others, he’s happy.

Reason 3: High Intelligence Low Wisdom ass motherfuckers-

Stanford Pines is the dumbest smart guy you’ll ever meet. Stanford Gleeful will convince you he’s the smartest person in the room. None of this means that Gleeful is less intelligent than Pines, but he is less knowledgably. His focus is just dedicated elsewhere (magic and manipulation) and he never felt the need to work as hard as Pines did in terms of book smarts. Gleeful’s intellect is better utilised by managing other people to do the heavy lifting for him and getting them to think they need him while they’re doing it. Basically Pines fell for a demon’s con, Gleeful is the one conning you. 

Keeping in mind this is just how I think of this AU character and even more specifically it's accurate to my AU version of the character so like it's not law.

Anyways, Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk.

[sporco-filth]

I've been thinking for a while that I might do like a series of posts spotlighting media and stuff which have slob scenes and stuff

Anyway I'm going to do it.

So, today I was working on the epilogue for Slob City and I was thinking about soft drinks because of the soft drink taps in the story. You may or may not know, but I do not drink soft drinks so I wondered what people actually think of Pepsi and Coke so I was looking it up on Reddit and saw someone quote a movie and I was like... this quote sounds interesting... and so I looked it up and found the movie and here it is, today's

Slob Spotlight: Idiocracy

The basic plot is an average guy gets put into suspended animation and gets woken up 500 years in the future (2505). In those 500 years, human intelligence has decreased dramatically (because smart people had less kids than stupid people) and society is in shambles. The average Joe (his name is in fact Joe) is now the smartest man in the world and is confused by this weird new society.

This film is probably the closest thing to Slob City I've ever seen.

It's also available on the internet archive: https://archive.org/details/Idiocracy_201507

Fair warning though: it has a lot of slurs in it. The slurs are never directed at characters who they would actually apply to and 99% of the time it's from characters who are probably not smart enough to realise they are slurs but the point still stands.

There's a moment early on which is the source of the quote I alluded to earlier which I'll let speak for itself:

Not going to lie, I wish I came up with this line for my story.

Everyone drinks this 'Brawndo' which is some sort of sports drink. They even use it on crops. Corporations own the FDA etc so laws and recommendations have been changed to benefit them. Even smoking is more common.

Also they've got no idea about waste management and garbage is piled up everywhere.

And the TV channels and films are the dumbest things ever. Like the most popular film is called 'Ass' and it's just video of someone's bum for 90 minutes (plus some farting). And there's a whole channel called the Masturbation Network. On that note, the society is hypersexualised to the point Starbucks now sells sex.

The film ends with the main character becoming president after he saves them all from dying of famine by watering their crops with water again, and it's implied society will eventually fix itself since his kids are smarter than everyone else, but also the idiots are still reproducing like rabbits so who knows.

It's also not too bad a film. It's also kind of depressing to think how society is kind of drifting to this sort of thing (or it's hot if you want things to be like that. I'm sorry but I have said that in my normal life I'm not a slob and so I don't actually want the world to be like this but I mean if I were in the mood and really like dissociating myself from my real world concerns I could find it hot but when it strikes too close to home it just makes me kind of uncomfortable).

[ao3feed-superbat]

birds dont sing

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/EkQdIoZ by seasonal_depression Clark Kent is just trying to balance being Superman and working for the Daily Planet without anyone (ie: Lois Lane) connecting the dots between the Man of Steel and the shy, nerdy journalist. Everything’s going great until he gets sent to interview the Prince of Gotham, Bruce Wayne, on one of his many galas. Now sporting a crush on both the handsome billionaire and his mysterious bat-shaped superhero co-worker, Clark finds out that life gets even harder if romantic feelings are involved. [or: Clark somehow manages to be both the smartest and dumbest person in the room while Lois and Diana have fun playing matchmaker (and Oliver too if we're being honest).] Words: 2668, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: DC Extended Universe, Batman - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Clark Kent, Diana (Wonder Woman), James "Jimmy" Olsen, Oliver Queen, Dick Grayson, Kon-El | Conner Kent, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Lois Lane, Other Characters Mentioned Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent & Lois Lane & James "Jimmy" Olsen, Diana (Wonder Woman) & Clark Kent & Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Journalism, Identity Porn, Clark Kent is a Ray of Sunshine, Bruce Wayne is Brucie Wayne, Eventual Smut, Getting Together, Bruce Wayne is Good With Kids, Clark Kent is Kon-El | Conner Kent's Parent, Protective Diana (Wonder Woman) read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/EkQdIoZ

[thedastrash]

OC Tag Game!

Ooo thanks for tagging me @kittynomsdeplume & @cleverblackcat!! This took a while to get to but it was very fun!

Favorite OC: Evil question to start. I can't possibly choose unless I set some limits for myself so I'm going to cheat and say my most popular OC. I have the most art of her by no fault of my own. Velaneth Surana is my canon HoF and Warden Commander. Vela is a very open person: never lies, has no body shame, and loves to learn about other people and where they’ve come from. She walks into every hostile situation with her best foot forward trying to make friends and allies.

Newest OC: I’m slowly congealing my ideas about Orlagh Trevelyan because I’ve been imagining what the different cultures of the Freemarches look like - especially on the coast where trade is frequent. She’s from Ostwick of course and trained as a Templar as a youth but spent summers at a monastery with her aunt in Wycome which I imagine a bit like Morocco. I’ve been staring at my Pinterest boards imagining her lonely days growing up and what it means for her to leave her walls behind and be thrust into this new organization with all these people and their differing ideals. I'm particularly interested in exploring her being a templar but having some latent magic that has been tied up in her templar abilities so long she didn't realize it was ever there.

Oldest OC: In DA my oldest OC is Topaz Brosca from my original run of origins. The one where my save got deleted right before the Landsmeet lol rip. I've recently revisited her and I'm falling in love with her again. She's a hot trans girl and stabby rogue and she falls in love with the surface world immediately. My oldest OC ever though... might be a self insert hobbit character I made for myself as a child before I knew what fandom or fanfiction was lol! I think her name was Charlie? my memory is BAD but I know that's a name I loved as a kid.

Meanest OC: Szadrine Aeducan is my final origin from DAO to get an OC and I'm slowly growing deeply obsessed. She’s involved in (literal) cutthroat Orzammar politics and ends up skipping the warden bit after the whole betrayal and exile thing. She simply deserts at Ostagar. I think she should end up kicking ass in Orlais because she would be so good at the Game.

Softest OC: Bearnard Cousland is a soft, sweet, bookish baby-gay who would rather bury himself in his research in a library than seek glory or fight battles or do politics. Bearn is the second son so he’s gotten away with avoiding some of that but of course he has to attend his lessons and participate in the tourneys. His scholarly work lends him some political savvy since he’s intimately familiar with Ferelden’s history, but he’s most interested in lost texts and translating ancient works. He never had good gay role models growing up and thinks of himself as homely and forgettable, so he never felt like that was an option for him, but Maker does he ever pine lol!

Most Aloof/Standoffish OC: Gotta be Irene Amell. She's a real bitch with resting murder face. Incredibly unapproachable, intimidating Domme energy. Tends to default dislike people and keep to herself, prefering to slink around and eavesdrop than talk to people for info. She’s very protective and loving toward her close friends and lovers, but it’s hard to get close in the first place.

Dumbest OC: Myrna Hawke is a smart woman, she's an accomplished mage, enjoys reading, quick witted, but she has zero self-awareness and has a very hard time even understanding how she feels, much less how other people feel about her. She’s absolutely clueless and fully blindsided by anyone’s interest & gets tongue tied and stupid when she’s horny. She’s also very impulsive and acts before she thinks things through which leads to getting into a lot of dumb shit.

Smartest OC: There are excellent contenders here: Bearn with his book smarts and Topaz with her street smarts, but I want to say Ithadhea Mahariel because even though they are incredibly dense when it comes to interpersonal relations, their wealth of traditional knowledge from their clan is incredible. They are not really a people person, usually quiet and solitary, but they took to hunting like they were born for it and eagerly learned everything in the realm of woodcraft and survival. They know all their clan's stories by heart and and know resources by seasons in a way that is part of their internal clock. I think this kind of generational knowledge probably outstrips the scope of any of my other OC's knowledge.

OC I’d Be Friends With: Edric Cadash is so laid back and friendly I think he’d be one of the easiest to make friends with. I want to have tea and gossip with him and have that turn into late night drinking and telling stories by the fire. Vela would be an instant friend as well; she wants to befriend everyone and she'd have an easy time with me!

no pressure tagging some of my DA OC enjoying friends: @sinquisition, @highwayphantoms, @lets-get-brave, @sandalinbohemia, @dismalzelenka and anyone else who wants to share! Feel free to @ me so I can see your post! <3

[tohisprettyc00l]

Hello! I never did this, but can I get a romantic/platonic match up with a toh character?

-I am 15 years old.

-I'm bisexual. (More leaned towards boys. Its like 65% boys and 45% girls.)

-I am a November Sagittarius.

-My MBTI is ENFP 7w6.

-If I play D&D I'm always a bard,no question asked.

-Being someone with an ADHD is very interesting (thats me,hi).

- I'd say I'm hardworking and determined,but I have a low motivation.

- Sometimes I feel like I don't have any self-esteem at all (being always the weird kid has its effect for the long run.)

- I feel that I am sometimes the smartest person in the room and the dumbest the same time.

- I love memes,dank memes and overly people say I am a fun person to be around.

- Being the oldest daughter I love to care about people who deserves it.

- I love listening to peoples dreams/what they want from life or just rambling about anything.

- My hobbies are listening some music (any kind really), writing fanfictions,reading and drawing.

- I love dogs,cats,raccoons,reptiles, bees really anything. Even spiders. Just don't jump on be.

- I am easily scared by loud voice or jumpscares. I hate horrors :c

So thats it💛

And thank you for ur work.

(And sorry about my grammar,english isn't my first language)

I romanticly match you with: Luz Noceda!

-Luz loves D&D and no one can convince me otherwise. She would 100% play with you if you wanted.

-Fun fact: she also had ADHD! (like canonically) So she can relate to you when it comes to that.

-She literally moved dimensions because she was seen as "Weird" and that definitely contributed to her season 3 self-esteem issues. So with that being said she can be and is a great help with boosting your confidence.

-You'll wake up to like 50 texts from her and they're all memes.

-She may not be the oldest (Vee's a year older) but when she cares it is clear. She goes all out showing her affection.

-Bro if you are okay with listening to rambling get ready to know every detail about The Good Witch Azura. You'll know just as much if not more than people who have read the whole series.

-Girl loves writing fanfic and reading it! If you're in the same fandom as her and you post your fanfic she'll happily be your beta reader.

-If you think you like animals like spiders or things people don't usually like you've seen nothing yet. The weirder the animal the more Luz likes it.

I platonically match you with: Vee noceda!

-She would love to play dnd with you.

-Yeah Vee can relate to the motivation thing :/. So I mean y'all can talk to each other about it.

-Vee loves memes tbh. But she doesn't really understand any of them.

-Vee doesn't really think about her future. Mainly because it gets overwhelming for her because she isn't used to a 'normal' life. But being able to talk about to someone even if it is a one-way conversation.

-She cares for animals a lot, she finds them very neat.

-Vee likes spooky stuff but in a more fun way. But if you don't like that either she's fine not looking at spooky stuff when you are around.

I hope you like it!

[gloriousprincesscreature]

[text in image: “I felt like a man many years ago, when I had to take responsibility. Early on, with my mother and my sisters, but also with my career. At a very young age I was making decisions about tens of millions of dollars—not that I think necessarily that is a definition of being a man. Manhood? I don’t know, I guess manhood is having the courage to stand up for what you believe in, no matter what. Even if it costs you your friends. Even if people dislike you for what your choices are.”]

TC is so Interesting in this 1994 Vanity Fair article (archive link), except for this bit. It's like 10 years before the whole couch jumping and Psychiatry Is Fake series of incidents which imploded his career and made him too scared, I think, to continue to pursue interesting dramatic roles. I really wish he had never met Mimi Rogers and fallen into the Scientology rabbit hole, or that he at least remembered that you have to question your beliefs instead of just insisting on them, as if the truth is another one of those settings that you can opt out of in life.

[text in image:

A few days later, after our aerobatics, his thoughts return to his father. “He was a very complex individual and created a lot of chaos for the family before we left him,” he remembers. “If I came home from a fight and I had lost, then I had to go back out there and do it again. He was one of those guys: ‘You go out there and you don’t lose. Period.’ And I certainly wasn’t the biggest guy on campus.”

“Was it an insistence that you had to be macho?”

“No. It was more not losing. It also had to do with his own way of loving me. He was the kind of guy who really got picked on a lot at school himself when he was growing up. He had also been small, though he ended up being six foot two. People had been quite brutal to him. Inside, I believe he was a really sensitive individual. He just didn’t want me to have to go through the kind of pain that he had felt in his life. I think that all this was a solution to solving that problem. He was very, very . . . ah . . . tough on me. Very, very tough. In many ways.”]

TC on his father. I might be reading too much into a puff piece about a celebrity but the article seems to be pointing us toward the conclusion that this Father stuff taught him to just never reverse course on ... Things, because it would be Losing or something.

There's stuff on Nicole and the two kids too! It's absolutely heartbreaking that Isabella is now Deep Into Scientology ...

[text in image: Cruise turns the question back to his decision to play Lestat. “No, not really. . . . You know, I’ve never worked so hard on a character as I did for Interview with the Vampire. I lost 18 pounds. I worked on my diction, my movement. I read out loud from classics so that the language became easy for me. I was nervous about it. But it was that fear that drove me into it. The guy who taught me to race cars would always say to me that he didn’t know whether I was the smartest guy around or the dumbest . . . but I’ve always had this thing that when I was afraid I never backed off. I always went forward.”]

There's so much amazing stuff in this article! "[W]hen I was afraid I never backed off. I always went forward." Inspiration and wisdom for the ages.

[highwayphantoms]

OC Tag Game :3

Tagged by @thedastrash <3 ty!!

Gonna limit myself to Dragon Age OCs just because I have a ton of them and I'd be here all night if I tried to pick favorites out of all of my characters, lolololol.

Favorite OC: making me pick my favorite child is cruel how dare you it's Serafina LOL. She's an awful terrible gremlin, salty and bitter, and she'll bite you for saying so but she does have a soft heart somewhere underneath all the hostility.

Newest OC: Hmmm I think Emmy is the newest, and she's not even that new tbh, that was less than a year ago. She's a Fenhawke kid who, of course, inherited magic, and her mother is Determined that she will have the stable childhood that none of the Hawke children got. Things don't quite work out that well, but Briar tries.

Oldest OC: Serafina again! She's been through a half dozen incarnations but there is a 10k fic I wrote back in 2015 that features one of the early versions of her. It's on my old AO3, so good luck finding it lol, but this was before she was a mage, before she was named Serafina, but the bones of her character are there.

Meanest OC: You might think I'm going to say Serafina again but no, it's Tabris. Who is from the same worldstate as Serafina, if I am remembering my worldstates correctly. There's a wip somewhere in my files of them getting to be Salty and Angry About Everything together and it's great fun. But yeah, Tabris is all rough edges and not shy about it.

Softest OC: Oh that's a hard question. I want to say Emmy, but you know, I don't think that's true. I think Cyren is the softest. Which... that seems appropriate, he is a healer haha.

Most Aloof/Standoffish OC: A close tie between Serafina and Tabris. Serafina has a long history of avoiding social interaction and people in general as a method of hiding her magic (if no one knows you exist, no one can report you to the templars, or so her logic goes), and Tabris just plain doesn't like most people.

Dumbest OC: Serafina sure has her moments lmao.

Smartest OC: Very probably Cal. They keep their cards close to their chest, but Cal is well-read (as well-read as one can get in the Circle, anyway) and tends to collect all sorts of information without even trying. You need a solution for a weird problem? Cal can probably help.

OC I'd Be Friends With: Honestly, most of them. Erik is an asshole so not him, and Tabris probably wouldn't give me the time of day, but the rest of them are mostly decent folk. Oriana and Cyren, for sure (aside from the part where I'm human lmao). Cal and Briar, too.

And lest I make this any longer than it already is... I'll tag @lost-inthyme, @sulky-valkyrie, and anyone else who wants to talk about their OCs for a minute!

(Don't know who any of these characters are and want to? This hasn't been updated in a hot minute but go here)

[psionotic]

My Favorite Culture 2023

It's New Year's Eve, so time again for my annual post to this platform! Here are the things I experienced for the first time in 2023 though of course not all of them are from 2023.

—Books—

Tell Me I’m Worthless. There’s something rotten in the haunted house of Albion, and it’s British fascism and increasingly normalized transphobia.

Station Eleven. The world ended, but a small troupe of survivors travel the wasteland, performing Shakespeare and making music.

Friday Black. A collection of science fiction stories that nibble at our social and racial conscience. “Through the Flash” has become one of my favorite short stories.

Klara and the Sun. Another Ishiguro novel narrated by an insightful, sensitive outsider? Check. Sad robots and sick kids? Ow my heart.

Piranesi. A stately, somber fantasy about truth, memory, and identity (re-)formation.

I also enjoyed: Kaiju Preservation Society, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr

Classics I read for the first time: The Scarlet Letter, Billy Budd, Bartleby the Scrivener, Clotel, Little Women, The Awakening, Immortality, Assassin’s Apprentice, Man’s Search for Meaning, The Witching Hour, ‘Salem’s Lot, The Remains of the Day, Between Two Fires, The Leftovers

I was mixed on: Fairy Tale, You Died: An Anthology of the Afterlife

I was bummed out by: California

—Movies—

Godzilla Minus One. Yes, the best movie I saw this year is about a giant nuclear-powered monster. It’s also about found family, redemption, and reckoning with a nation’s trauma—and shame.

Barbie. The anti-Fight Club; an all-singing, all-dancing Jewel of the World.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Come for the visual and auditory wonderlands, stay for the kinds of character stakes that more literary films can only genuflect towards.

Nimona. An adorable sci-fantasy queer allegory anchored by the punk rock snarl of Chloë Grace Moretz.

The Menu. The world’s most feted, reclusive chef (Ralph Fiennes @ maximum menace) throws an invitation-only dinner for some jagoff 1%-ers. Things get weird and then very, very bloody. Also Anya Taylor-Joy is in this and she’s maybe my favorite working actress..?

I also enjoyed: Polite Society, I Tonya, Elemental, The Marvels, No One Will Save You, Two Distant Strangers, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

Classics I saw for the first time: The Haunting (1963), In the Mouth of Madness, Escape from New York, The Warriors, Lady Snowblood, Stalker, Sicario, Hanna, Insidious, Devil’s Pass, Edge of Tomorrow

I was mixed on: Creator, Last Night in Soho [though AT-J does her best!], The Invitation

I was bummed out by: Totally Killer

—TV—

Reservation Dogs. Succeeded Atlanta and Derry Girls as the best show about loveable weirdoes living in fraught circumstances. Now all three are over and I don’t know what to do, except say, “Love you bitches.”

Poker Face. Natasha Lyonne in a Rian Johnson-channeling Knives Out-by-way-of-Columbo joint with fun mysteries, a delicious visual sense, and delightful guest stars playing against type.

Scavengers Reign. Spacefarers separated during an emergency land on an alien world. An alien alien world with a complex, baffling ecosystem. Each is transformed by their experience. Alternatingly beautiful, horrifying, and profound.

Cunk on Earth. In this very British documentary series about the rise (?) of civilization, comedian Diane Morgan (as Philomena Cunk) asks some of the smartest historians and critics some of the dumbest questions imaginable. We’ve watched this maybe ten times this year, and it just keeps getting funnier every single one. Best line: “…they’d probably have a stroke, wouldn’t they?”

I also enjoyed: Silo, Fall of the House of Usher, The Last of Us, Harley Quinn, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, What We Do in the Shadows, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Castlevania: Nocturne, Star Trek: Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds, Last Week Tonight, Taylor Tomlinson’s Quarter-Life Crisis and Look at You, Game Changer

I was mixed on: Star Wars: Ahsoka. Apparently the only nu-SW I can really enjoy is Andor and The Last Jedi…? Sad, this is.

—YT—

Folding Ideas. The best video essay channel covered the Metaverse, BlizzCon, and the GameStop stonks phenomenon this year.

Hbomberguy. The best video essay channel put out only a single video this year, the nearly four hour “Plagiarism and You(Tube)” which broke the internet and ended at least two careers.

Jacob Geller. The best video essay channel put out a half dozen videos this year, covering horror games, “Art in the Pre-Apocalypse”, the non-evolution of execution methods, and more.

Double Fine PsychOdyssey. A 32-part making-of documentary, following an indie game developer trying to build the at-long-last sequel to their most iconic game. During the seven years of development they face personality conflicts, staffing issues, artistic disagreements, the implosion of their publisher, angry fanboys, COVID, near-bankruptcy, a buy-out attempt, and a thousand other obstacles. If you’re interested in game development this is a must, but it’s also highly recommended to anyone involved with or fascinated by making collaborative art under capitalism (theater, film, etc).

—Games—

Baldur’s Gate 3. This was an incredible year for games, but nothing tops Larian Studios’ masterpiece. As good a simulation of an excellent D&D campaign as is possible in the medium, they’ve done just about everything right: deep character creation, memorable side characters and relationships, decisions with consequences that really matter, epic story moments, and satisfying tactical combat through some clever simplifications to the Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition ruleset. People will be talking about (and re-playing) this for a long, long time.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The follow-up to one of the most creative and joyful open-world games ever made is even better than its predecessor, with a more heartfelt story and an unsurpassed physics and building system.

Alan Wake 2. Remedy’s Stephen King-meets-Twin Peaks classic got its loooong-awaited sequel. One half survival horror, one half hallucinogenic crazy train, all disturbing surreal goodness.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns. A little X-COM, a little Fire Emblem: Three Houses, marrying satisfying card- and turn-based tactical combat with some lovely character work. I never always knew I wanted to go stargazing with Illyana Rasputin, or watch movies with Nico Minoru, and this year I did both of these. (I also went fishing with Blade and joined a book club with Wolverine, so…).

I also enjoyed: Remnant 2, Dead Cells, Marvel Snap, Dead Space (2023), Resident Evil 4 (2023), Spiritfarer, Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart, Super Mario Wonder, Mario Kart 8 (booster courses)

Classics I played for the first time: Psychonauts, Portal 2, Rayman Legends

I was bummed out by: Diablo 4 [congrats to my once-favorite developer for earning this spot two years in a row!]

—Albums—

boygenius: The Record. Supergroup of queer indie-rock darlings put out their first LP and it’s top-to-bottom majesty. “Leonard Cohen” and “Not Strong Enough” might be my favorites now, but “True Blue” was my song o’ the summer and I must have spun it up a hundred times.

Mountain Goats: Jenny from Thebes. The first concert I’ve seen post-COVID was the Sacramento leg of the Goats’ recent tour. “Fresh Tattoo”, “Clean Slate”, and “Great Pirates” are highlights.

Susanne Sundfør: Blómi. I think I prefer the more europop-centric installments in Sundfør’s arty europop oeuvre (Ten Love Songs is still my fave), but there are some lovely songs here in art-music land, including the title track and “fare thee well” .

I was mixed on: Janelle Monáe: The Age of Pleasure, Paramore: This is Why.

—Podcasts—

If Books Could Kill. Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri vivisect nonfiction bestsellers about politics, dating, manifesting, getting rich (quick!), and weight loss. Remember kids: Gladwell is a hack.

Just King Things. Two cultural critics who loved Stephen King as teens take up the Roland-ian task of reading and discussing every King book, once a month, for as long as it takes (the current schedule goes through 2028, but Uncle Steve is still pumpin’ ‘em out, so could be a while).

Triple Click. Kirk, Maddy, and Jason’s weekly non-cynical discussions of games and pop culture is my mood-enhancer. They’re gamers, but not Gamers, you understand.

I also listen to: You’re Wrong About, Hard Feelings with Jennette McCurdy, WTF with Marc Maron, The Besties/The Resties, Strong Songs

[marinerainbow]

//A Kitty Shiny friendship snippet! This is them at the salon.

Shiny: *getting her nails filed* So, what's that school of yours like?

Kitty: *shrugs underneath her blowdryer* It's okay I guess.

Shiny: Any cute guys?

Kitty: Some of them but I don't wanna bite. They're not my type.

Shiny: Bad apples in the barrel huh?

Kitty: Don't even get me started! Their way of a good time is chugging beer in the back of one of their rich dad's trucks and putting leaves down each other's pants. They're just a bunch of mouth-breathers.

Shiny: Fun rule about men, honey. You could have the smartest guy in the room and put him with five other smart guys and they'll still end up doing the dumbest thing you can think of.

Kitty: Oh yeah? What's our rule?

Shiny: That we mature 14 years into existence and they mature 40 years into theirs.

Kitty: *laughs* Yeah that sounds about right.

Shiny: You know you're alright, when Poppy told me she had a human friend I got worried. No offence but, you guys are such sticks in the mud.

Kitty: I'll be the first to agree with you, someone at the institute drew a bear on a unicycle once and let him loose through the hallways. Everyone loved him and he loved the attention. Faculty heads didn't. "Relocated" him to ToonTown. He'd never even been there.

Shiny: That's so sad, but I'm not surprised it happens everyday. I wouldn't even be allowed in some of the salons north of Brentwood. Actually I was once.

Kitty: What happened?

Shiny: Apparently they didn't appreciate me mixing the make up pallettes around and replacing them with something more vibrant. Freaking depressing hole that place was. Oh and they got mad when I sharpened the acrylics, don't get mad at me when you don't have a weapon when walking at night, Ma'am, I tries to warn you. They aren't the night life types anyway, they're the white wine and profiteroles on a Hamptons vacation types.

Kitty: *snorts* I know the ones. We had a guy's Mom come in to complain once. About how it was unfair her little darling got suspended for vandalising a studio because his girlfriend dumped him, saying he was just a kid, he was nineteen.

Shiny: Sounds like a rube.

Kitty: He was.

Shiny: Well your hair is looking great!

Kitty: Thanks, it's always been hard to style. My Mom used to have a heck of a time with it.

Shiny: ...You miss her huh?

Kitty: Every day...

Shiny: I don't know you as well as Pops does but I'm sure she'd be real proud of you. You grew up into a beautiful, strong-willed chick.

Kitty: *nods* Thanks Shiny. And your nails could slice open a pickle jar.

Shiny: You say the nicest things!

I love this so much!!!!

You got Shiny's character on point here! She absolutely would try to 'spice things up' for Uptown gals. She's only looking out for them! Who wouldn't want a weapon that hides in plain sight? I can definitely see them having this conversation. Meanwhile the salon employees are probably looking at Shiny like "Who let this crazy witch in here?" XD

And just- as usual, Kitty is perfect. She is so nice and awesome. It's no wonder so many toons like her ^^ if Shiny ever heard about that date prank that got pulled on Kitty, she'd have some words to say to the douche

I raise you; Kitty, Shiny, and Poppy all go to the movies to watch some re-running cartoons. I can assure you, that will not be a boring evening XD

[lords-of-fortune]

OC tag game

Tagged by @gvnseylike (thank you!!) I'm sticking to dragon age ocs for the dragon age blog because I have made so many ocs I don't think I'd be able to make these choices otherwise lmao

Favorite OC: This changes almost literally hourly. Right now I'm leaning towards Rodaine but Tierce is so close behind it's barely a difference lmao

Newest OC: of dragon age ocs I *think* it might be Halen's brother Ephraim. I just recently figured out quite a few of his character traits and renamed him so he's basically a whole new guy now lmao

Oldest OC: I literally wouldn't be able to answer this if I wasn't doing just DA ocs lmao. Of DA ocs, though, my oldest is the apocryphal Nico Tabris who was my very first Warden ever. He was a massive contributing factor to my absolute obsession with dragon age lmao

Meanest OC: I think it's Tierce? But Rodaine isn't close behind. Tierce tends to be very blunt when asked for feedback and he can also be rather glib in situations where dicking around maybe isn't appropriate. Rodaine is also very blunt and he doesn't always realize when that bluntness should probably be tempered a bit to soften a verbal blow. He tends to be a lot more apologetic about when something he says lands differently than he intended it to where Tierce tends to just shrug it off or double down because he's stubborn as fuck so that is why I think he's meaner lmao.

Softest OC: Probably Alding? Or maybe Serenity, who is Rodaine's younger sister. Hard to really say though because most of my character have a very tough edge to them even if they tend towards softness. I like that Alding and Serenity both choose that softness despite the difficult things they've been through.

Most Aloof/Standoffish OC: Rodaine. He doesn't mean to be, he's just quiet and has a resting bitch face most of the time. He's very serious and is slow to trust so he comes off as unfriendly and unapproachable and he isn't good at picking up social cues so he doesn't immediately realize when people are trying to befriend him and that sometimes makes him seem uninterested in friendship when that isn't true.

Dumbest (Affectionate) OC: all of my ocs are dumb in their own ways but I think I'm going to go with René, who's Rodaine's brother. He's just a jock and he's at peace with that and I think that's the right mindset but also he's just a himbo.

Smartest OC: Rodaine. Big gifted kid energy. He's not great with social stuff but he's smart in most other areas, clever, tries to think things through before he does them. He loves magic and has spent so long studying his craft and he's a nerd who likes to read history books

OC I'd Probably Be Friends With: this one is hard... I think maybe Alding? Soft boy but he knows how to have fun. I think Rodaine and Tierce would intimidate me in different ways lmao. I think I'd also like Annika and Rosalie (Rodaine's sisters) and Aned (Halen's sister)

This took me a second to get this one done lmao and I will tag...

@iamonlybutaneel and @my-dumb-obsessions

[faemothra]

oc tag game

tagged by @spinejackel ty <3 i dont normally talk about my guys much as i should :')

not tagging anyone so do this if you want!!

favorite oc: torn between eli & caoimhe - they're both amalgams of traits i love in a character (eli being a selfless guy who acts with his heart before his brain can think, and caoimhe being an evil (in a fun way) wizard obsessed with death and the body and generally rebelling against nature)

newest oc: stole indrid cold for my own nefarious purposes

oldest oc: dmitri - can't remember if they were a demon or an alien, but they were a product of 13 year old me's obsession with mad scientist archetypes (the only art i have for them is ancient so i wont subject yall to that. peace and love)

meanest oc(s): fionn - my nasty awful elden ring man; he's an entitled rich kid who fell from grace (ha), who made it his mission to take the lands between down with him. he is incredibly annoying to be around and his finger maiden is like a hairs breadth away from killing him in his sleep; honorary mentions go to billie, skuld, weiss, ren, striscia & senape

softest oc: haruno (third pic), who's a sweet kid that really isn't built for his field of expertise; and mako (who i haven't posted any refs here SORRYYY), someone who's been through a lot of terrible things but still retains a sense of cautious optimism

standoffish oc: solfrid (who only exists as notes in a google doc and a pinterest board atp sorry); she was largely created bc i was getting weary of seeing so many grizzled father figures who (may or may not) have adopted kids. she is definitely not parent material but by god will she protect her circle however she can

dumbest oc: without a doubt alloran - not quite sure how he's survived this long (and it certainly isn't due to his charm), but he's here for a good time not a long time; and in a similar vein, the 777th daughter of lucifer, duchess of hell (or just lucy) is up there. she's not like actually dumb but she is a loser. and she's constantly finding herself in situations that are incredibly silly and would be preventable if not for her hubris

smartest oc: unfortunately my golden kamuy oc luka (who is another no good terrible little man. do you see a pattern here) - he's a certified surgeon who graduated from med school with flying colors, which was definitely not a good thing

oc i'd probably be friends with: definitely shin! he's such a relaxed dude, i think taking a nap under some trees with him would fix me

[superblysubpar]

OKAY OKAY OKAY YES?!?!? Like the parallels between them all?!

And it also works the other way too?! Like if it wasn't "flipped" and they truly are upside right on their side, just parallel to the real side?

Like Max is Nancy's place and hello? Yes? Are they not the same person in terms of not fitting the mold being thrust on her, grieving and haunted by a death, and so so so capable of so much and so strong? And also that whole scene even at the end of s4 with Nancy sawing the gun? And the don't miss from Max and Nancy's I won't miss?!

Then that would be Erica where Eddie is and again? Hello?! Lady Applejack & Eddie the Banished?! Thrust into this group. The Dnd. The speak their mind no matter what. The sarcasm. THE LITERALLY BEING HUNTED BY THE JOCKS???? Erica standing up for Eddie and Hellfire at the town meeting? ERICA FIXING LUCAS' WEAPON AND LAYING OUT THE FACTS WHILE EDDIE MAKES SURE DUSTIN ALSO HEARS THE FACTS?!

OKAY. NOW HEAR ME OUT ABOUT THE LUCAS/ROBIN & DUSTIN/STEVE POSITIONS

Not only. Do we have the whole Lucas with Max and Dustin liking her in S2 too and the whole sort of Robin befriending Nancy Steve weird love triangle that isn't a love triangle on Robin's end but Nancy doesn't know that BUT

I truly think Robin and Lucas have more in common than I ever realized. Especially if you think about Lucas trying to hide his nerdy/Dnd side in S4. He just wants to get through high school and fit in and be cool and I mean Robin is literally hiding this huge part of herself and sort of doing the same? Granted she's not a jock and doesnt seem to hide her nerdy side, but I do think the parallels are there. And I think they're both under utilized and smarter than the group gives them credit for (let's just remember that Lucas is the one who does confirm and find out El was lying in S1 and that the Lab is the reason the compass is malfunctioning - see Robin decoding the secret message S3 - in S2 I feel like I could go on about how he stands in front of Max with a weapon - in line with the adults protecting their kid behind them - which just makes me think about Robin staying back with Steve to save two kids she barely knows - and S3 he's the reason they have the fireworks to help fight/distract which makes me think of Robin and the molotov cocktails (see also Lucas and his wrist rocket) ). BUT ALSO SEASON 4 AND THE STATE OF THEIR LOVE LIVES SEEMING VASTLY UNIMPORTANT IN THE STATE OF THE WORLD BUT STILL -

I feel like I need a whole other post about Steve and Dustin to really get into it but 😅 I think when we look at them in the show, we are supposed to think they're completely opposite of each other's characters. Dustin one of the smartest, Steve one of the dumbest. Dustin a nerd. Steve a jock. But in reality, they have a lot of the same characteristics and even mannerisms? Idk. I think they represent the parts of each other that they want to be. And they're both a voice of reason for their groups, even if it's not always listened to immediately or even left out of the group for a bit (see Max going to Dustin after not getting Lucas or Nancy and the kids always looking for El or Nancy and ending up with Steve), but even so they're not afraid to put their lives on the line for the rest of the party - no hesitation when it actually comes down to protecting.

Anyways my brain hurts and I need to go to bed but I also need to rewatch the entire show and analyze this further??????

STRANGER THINGS | 4.07 “The Massacre at Hawkins Lab”

[calbeloved]

opinion on bad and crazy: soooo good. it had a bit of a rough start and i was very bored with the plot at the beginning but it really did get better, and i was obsessed already after episode 4. was thinking of giving it something under 10 but its a solid 19/20 literally such a good one.

love how pathetic ryu suyeol is, somehow both the smartest and dumbest guy in the room at all times. lee dong wook did such a good job, he can make his characters feel so real and he can change the whole atmosphere of a show so fast even with just his face expressions– it's amazing, he was a great pick for this role

wi hajoon as k. soooo fucking great. GREAT awesome character and same goes to his actor. i loved him so much, genuinely with every episode i watched i was hoping he'd show up

like i said, it was a bit boring at the beginning to me. it felt like there was too much information at a time and there was constantly action and something going on and all and that'd leave me confused and overwhelmed which resulted in just. not wanting to watch further. but then my dear k started showing up more and all was fine actually. more than fine because i began to think about them all the time and would genuinely get so angry and sad that i couldn't watch it at all times. just some healthy obsession

but the show was silly even if it had a lot of action and i did a really good job pretending it's a comedy i think. haven't watched all of the behind the scenes yet but love those as well, you can tell they were having fun recording it which is just amazing

one thing i really likes was the fight scenes. nice amount of blood, nice amount of groaning and moaning in pain. veryyy nicely made and recorded, loved them a lot

the relationships between the characters are just chefs kiss. amazing. i like how practically every character has their motives shown to us, really liked how i could easily understand all the reasons behind their actions. and also it was just sweet. even for example suyeol and his brother or mom and even that one teenage kid.... amazing, all of those. they're all so fun to see

some more words about the plot now because it was GOOD but im obviously gonna be mentioning spoilers, so if you want to watch id say stop reading here

loved how everything was connected. not in a way that it was rushed or a reach to get everything to work together– it was SO GOOD with what i felt like was a lot of thought behind it. the murder of minsu still being relevant so far into the series. the whole plot with the drugs. it was all connected by a tiny tiny thread and it was so much fun watching that unravel and realise it.

two of my favourite plots were suyeols backstory with shin, and miss yong and her drug business. the way that first one was shown and resolved was GREAT seriously so amazing. i spoilered myself that shin was yunho by accident but. still such a good plot twist i would have NOT seen that coming until the last moment. and miss yong and andrei.... they make me sick i loved them so much. their relationship was really fun and i wish we got more of that (them in general, i would have looved to see more of miss yong just doing stuff) but the plot was also so great. good episodes i enjoyed them lots

k leaving was. well. id say it was a perfect ending for a show really, despite everything. it made sense and was done so very well (ks face when he's crying behind that door STILL haunts me and it will forever probably) and even if it was sad. it was good.

such a nice experience watching it, definitely a favourite of mine

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

birds dont sing

by seasonal_depression Clark Kent is just trying to balance being Superman and working for the Daily Planet without anyone (ie: Lois Lane) connecting the dots between the Man of Steel and the shy, nerdy journalist. Everything’s going great until he gets sent to interview the Prince of Gotham, Bruce Wayne, on one of his many galas. Now sporting a crush on both the handsome billionaire and his mysterious bat-shaped superhero co-worker, Clark finds out that life gets even harder if romantic feelings are involved. [or: Clark somehow manages to be both the smartest and dumbest person in the room while Lois and Diana have fun playing matchmaker (and Oliver too if we're being honest).] Words: 2668, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: DC Extended Universe, Batman - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Clark Kent, Diana (Wonder Woman), James "Jimmy" Olsen, Oliver Queen, Dick Grayson, Kon-El | Conner Kent, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Lois Lane, Other Characters Mentioned Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent & Lois Lane & James "Jimmy" Olsen, Diana (Wonder Woman) & Clark Kent & Bruce Wayne Additional Tags: Journalism, Identity Porn, Clark Kent is a Ray of Sunshine, Bruce Wayne is Brucie Wayne, Eventual Smut, Getting Together, Bruce Wayne is Good With Kids, Clark Kent is Kon-El | Conner Kent's Parent, Protective Diana (Wonder Woman) via https://ift.tt/ur0iaoD

[geneticcarnage]

i wouldnt say i have a proper analysis but this Is a really interesting topic 2 me because like..

zim, at first and second glance, is Fweaking Stupid. like, the entire plot of the show is "what if he decided to go about everything in the dumbest and most ineffective way possible." but look just a little harder and you'll see him constantly fixing and creating super advanced technology, running long-term experiments with live specimens, he was a literal scientist forever ago, so on. he is both an idiot and a genius. kind of echos how he's simultaneously the most dangerous defect to ever make it out of the hatching tube and also the laughingstock of the entire empire.

dib meanwhile though kind of takes this same idea and mirrors it. because the kid is brilliant, right? aside from being the one of the only ones to see through zim's disguise, he has a voracious appetite for discovery and learning. he asks questions and makes insightful comments. we frequently see him using advanced technologies, etc etc, and his intelligence is amplified by the fact that the rest of the iz world is so goddamn dumb.

but then you get to know him a little more and think about things a little harder and it's like, oh, no. this guy is also stupid, just in his own way<3 the comics hit this pretty hard ("if zim flew into the sun, would you follow him?" "what could he possibly have to gain from that? could we beat him there?") but i think it's one of the more lowkey gags of the show as well..

then we could talk about gaz and how in most ways shes the smartest character in the whole darn thing. she knows zim's an alien but also knows he's basically harmless, which is a big step up from her brother the supposed boy-genius. she's also implied to build her own robots ("security" in gaz: taster of pork), which is an epic detail that i never see anyone talk about.

Does anyone have an analysis on iz intelligence

[tinfoil-jones]

Conspiracy theory:

Tiny from Red vs Blue: Zero is the daughter of Dr. Emily Grey, and Caboose.

I mean... we don't really know how long it's been since season 17.