#there’s yet a new agenda

[takesfew]

Railao as text posts this time

[everysongineverykey]

every single fucking time a new susie sprite is revealed every single deltarune fan with even a modicum of photoshop experience shoots bolt upright in bed waking up in a cold sweat and unable to stop themselves immediately opens their computer and slaps the sprite over a lesbian flag background and makes it their new pfp

[laundrybiscuits]

“Eddie,” Robin says, eyes wide in a way that means trouble. “Edward Munson, I sincerely hope your last will and testament is in order, because you are going to completely and totally die when I tell you who just got hired at Scoops Ahoy.”

Eddie groans. “Don’t tell me Tammy Thompson is giving up on her Nashville dreams.”

“No, I hate you, shut up forever, you’ll never guess.” Robin pauses, then in a dramatic whisper she’s definitely picked up from Eddie himself, says: “Steve Harrington.”

“Jesus. No shit?”

“Yeah, I have to train him. Oh my god it’s the worst. He’s so bad at, like, everything.”

She shoves at his shoulder until he moves out of the doorway of the trailer, and flings herself backwards onto his couch. “Like! Okay! I showed up to my shift thinking it would be a completely normal day in which I would be bored out of my skull distributing frozen dairy products to the flotsam and jetsam of Hawkins, and Ned’s like, hey Robin, you’re showing the new guy the ropes today. And then that freaking jackass has the freaking nerve to say—” Her voice drops a full register. “Uhh, nice to meet you, I’m Steve. Nice to meet you! God!”

Eddie cringes sympathetically, sucking air between his teeth. There’s a special kind of indignity to being so completely and utterly below the radar of Hawkins High royalty, even former bearers of the crown. It’s not as if Hawkins is a big town; Eddie’s pretty sure he could pick every single person in the graduating classes of ‘84 and ‘85 out of a crowd. He’ll probably be able to do it for ‘86 too, though he’s trying not to think about it too hard. So he’ll be a senior again (again) this fall, whatever. It’s fine. It’s whatever.

Once in a while, he wastes some time really, really wishing he’d gotten to know Robin earlier in the year. Maybe even last year. For undying friendship reasons, yeah, but also because with her in his corner, he might’ve actually passed enough of his classes to fucking graduate on his second fucking try.

But he’d only actually met her, like actually met her for real instead of passing her in the hall sometimes, when he’d let himself get suckered into rejoining band. It wasn’t like he could’ve brought his guitar in, but he let it slip to Miss Genovese that he could read music and keep time, and they needed someone to wallop the bass drum, and he figured a little experience fucking around with percussion might be the one thing he could salvage from the year. He’d just…been so goddamn tired of feeling stuck, spinning his wheels. Music was something he could actually handle; something he could actually get better at. Something he could master. He's man enough to admit he needed a win.

The actual songs were all stuffy Holst and Sousa numbers, but they’d had some fun technical bits he spent his evenings hammering out for a couple weeks. And then right around the point when he’d gotten good enough to get bored and think about quitting like last time, it had somehow wound up that shooting the shit with the gangly weirdo in the trumpet section was one of the best parts of his day. Unfortunately, by the time they’d gotten close enough for her to start bullying him about homework and shit, it had been way too late to save his chance at walking that ‘85 stage with assholes like Steve fucking Harrington.

Not that Harrington would’ve even noticed, apparently.

“Anyway, the one singular saving grace about the entire situation is that he looks even dumber in the sailor costume than I do, so at least that will make me feel better about my life until he gets fired for burning down the ice cream freezer or something like that. Eddie, I cannot stress this enough: he is so bad at this job.”

Eddie very tactfully does not bring up the litany of screw-ups that Robin’s admitted to over the last couple weeks since she started at Scoops; he just says, “Buckley, it sounds to me like you might be in need of some quality relaxation time this fine evening. I can offer you a nice cold beer, some herbal refreshment…or a fiendishly weird new song to learn with an intro riff that'll make you cry.”

Robin, inveterate nerd of his heart, sits up immediately and chirps, “New song, please!” just like he knew she would. She’s going to run off and elope with his acoustic one of these days, and he’s not even mad about it.

“Coming right up, m’lady,” says Eddie. “I promise this entire Harrington situation will be over before you know it, and neither of us will ever have to think about him again.”

(ETA: First chapter of this fic has been edited/expanded and posted on AO3)

[tanoroe]

how lottie asked nat out fr

[tchallasbabymama]

I finally went blonde last week, and it’s really putting the YEE in my HAW 🤠

I gotta get the most out of the big hair before I start my loc journey next month, but this born-and-bred Nashville girl is .5 seconds away from storming the Opry stage!

[benetnvsch]

it's too hot here

[eljeebee]

Valentina Asvang's Wardrobe

[drop-the-curtain-123]

Wisdom is also knowing these are two sapphic love stories

[fluffypotatey]

*thrashing against the lmk authorities* hey…hey y’all *struggling to grasp the door back to the teen wolf thiam fandom* hey i just had this great thiam au— *they pull me back*

[unproduciblesmackdown]

and I'm Always Saying This: let's think about how confident we can be that what's on the verge of happening in the comic is the savoys easily catching up to mordecai trying to scoot along a guy like thrice his size in a squeaky desk chair through a derelict brewery, serafine will noscope gracie, and mordecai will have to agree to Stay Friends With The Savoys Whatever Happens if for the practical purposes alone (as he presumably did when enduring rather than physically fighting his way out of, oh you know, serafine putting a hand-width sigil on his chest with a knife amidst the congregation Zulie Is There like hands together against my nose and mouth Deep Inhale. absolutely beyond belief. happy pride) when otherwise he'd at best be left with the savoys having something to hold over his head without any especial incentive to cash it in on any particular thing, so rather may as well let them use the leverage to press the Affiliation on him, when evidently in offering it in the first place, the savoys aren't that invested in staying affiliated with marigold forever, nor even really anticipating being thus indefinitely. plus, yknow, maybe if mordecai, for the strategic interests of it all, offered up the info that he's trying to figure out what's going on around here re: marigold, because the savoys might like to know too rather than everyone being jerked around & kept in the dark while they're here, mysteries re: atlas / anticipations of breaking ties or forming other connections or no, such that they're at all willing to help / be in on it

it also just seems Probably Helpful more generally for mordecai to have allies based on recognizing a kindred spirit of Trying To Survive, Brought Here By Nearly Dying existing in the (ferocious little, gay little) shadow(s) and this rather than emphasis on mordecai ending up isolated thanks to people finding him impersonable not even simply b/c of his efficient gunman job aaa eek but just his personality (autistic character alert) like that matter of why mordecai ends up with that brush with death initially like, was he cooking the books? seems completely plausible, in that: he'd be able to do so successfully for any amount of time, and escaping tenement conditions is time-sensitive (as in the sooner the better for like morale but even more general wellbeing), and random bookie probably doesn't pay as well as doing that And being a gunman And ferocious little shadow, even if it pays better than things like, i dunno, see: newsies. other possible child labor '20s moments that are more "legal" haha lmao & furthermore lol. wow yeah apparently the higher competition for jobs during the depression shifted things so that now there was that incentive to regulate child labor to now prioritize adults, Lol Lmao, additionally, whatmakesyouhaha.mp3 like christ. one does imagine the employment opportunities for an immigrated jewish child in a tenement are a heartwarming inspirational bootstrapping tale for the ages waiting to happen for all, way to fuck that one up mordecai. same as we see the charity(tm) bestowed upon the young savoys & the authoritarian violence of its cishet agenda to be a real opportunity they fumbled! smh! which, just as they say, We Are The Same Kind. happy pride, again (savoys are Not of the cishet agenda in any way shape or form. neither is mordecai)

so that is to say. potentially Great to indeed have a steadfast alliance that is based directly on "i recognize we're kindred spirits who are trying to survive on this bitch of an earth" rather than that anyone finds mordecai personally likable & charming, since how much they care if he lives or dies again sure is more weighted on "oh well You Know how people hate his general personality" than on what he actually does, see: already i'm like [my god the Autistic Character Alert] that "gee mordecai you're really good at killing people before they can kill you" factor is what makes people interact with him Positively at all, doesn't particularly factor into [wow you're so hated], bobby framing it as like "oh i don't even have to theorize or confirm that mordecai crossed anyone by cooking the books. i'm sure any & everyone was raring to kill him because he's so annoying & weird & it inspires seemingly completely speculative rumors of disability to explain the nature of his just day-to-day existence" and that speaking of speculation it's entirely plausible someone else might've been skimming funds from [whoever / whatever mordecai worked for] & mordecai was just an easy scapegoat to settle that (this hypothetical responsible party could just stop / change course after that lol)

like absolutely No Exaggeration Required that truly like mordecai is as endangered by "yeah people dislike him in interpersonal interactions & find him weird, grating, rude, surely just too full of himself, and so on. hmm" as by the danger of lethally dangerous jobs & like oh no now viktor lives for revenge e.g. (which we probably would've heard about by now if he did. even if he's also probably not thrilled mordecai kneecapped him. just another classic no emotions zone fellas type of moment. it's kind of funny how much i Don't often think about the mordecai & viktor history & dynamic but i do appreciate them lmao. no characters / dynamics that Can't be appreciated around here, like goddamn) and like, especially because This Is A Narrative lmfao like now we Know it's not required like hay's code style "well this must end with everyone being arrested, because of the crimes" or similarly that we should weigh & rank those breaking Laws or God's Laws (abelard arbogast time) and decide on a threshold for Whom Must Die about it. kicking my legs thinking of these irl Certified Lawbreakers and like the right hand man of years who kept living w/this lady after they retired from the business & doing poetry, all the interesting stories of (and still very recent) history....But it is like. :/ wuh oh, autistic guy everyone hates. oh lord and he's [Romance Armor]-proof. :/// plot armor For Now but most everyone's got that (except how i think gracie's a page away from being shot on sight by serafine, as mentioned). Staying Friends No Matter What Happens With The Savoys and their triumvirate being able to break away from marigold and anyone else too and keep offering collaboration on Survival to each other? that's great i think that's great i think mordecai could use that Something, Anything to help him out on that front. And i think they're a lot of fun as that trio, though i have to presume that unfortunately once again the savoys probably must personally dislike mordecai (who has certainly had actual extra hostility towards them lmfao and they've also apparently only been interacting for like, a handful of days at most? which also still only contributes to the joys of the savoys agreeing "well been mulling him over & damn if we aren't the same kind!!!" like well i respect the hell out of that lol. and of course i like the savoys on their own, as a duo & individually) and their interest in messing with him to get a reaction probably still starts & ends with Like A Chew Toy dynamics there (extrapolation based in Boy Is There An [Autistic Character] Moment Here (Ongoing Of Course)) but. one can dream of "path to Genuine Familiarity via both this active interest & in shaking this range of reactions from him." but again, that's where "regardless, they recognize being The Same Kind & want to forge a transcendent affiliation based on That" comes in.

and i appreciate the drama of it all. let's think again of Missing Scene scarification like. bracing inhale

[nebulousfishgills]

People treat Baldur's Gate 3 like a dating sim sometimes, they spend so long painstakingly trying to seduce their favorite characters and sometimes screw it up.

Meanwhile somehow someway I manage to seduce Lae'zel by complete accident.

[danthropologie]

What do you mean when you say that the clause news came from max’s camp?

the guy that originally reported it, erik van haren, is a dutch journalist with close ties to max and his team (and previously NDV's team, but obviously that's not really a factor anymore 😭), similar to what nate saunders is to daniel's team

[kyouka-supremacy]

I am totally pushing the aku top of the school agenda HOWEVER this mf would pop a vein before tutoring anyone (teaching math would end up in murder)

I swear I am extremely fascinated by and genuinely interested to understand what prompts this fairly spread perception of smart Akutagawa because I really can't see it.

Akutagawa is THE flawed character of the franchise. He has barely any redeemeing qualities. His being a ruthless, mindless dog, a beast, an animal is a central theme of his character: he's one of the most inhuman characters, no rationality, no emotions. It only makes sense he'd also be lacking in intellect, one of the most intrinsically human qualities, right? Let's also keep in mind that when it comes to intelligence, he was specifically trained since a very early age so that he wouldn't develop any critical thinking skill or wisdom. He was appositely built to be an executor, never a thinker. A killing machine, a mindless beast. He was made to be a tool, not a person. He is the very epitome of irrationality- and that much shows in everything he does! There's plenty canon evidence to support it. His actions are never guided by preliminary thoughts, he just acts on instinct, akin to an animal. He will kill his target in chapter 4 although his mission is specifically not to, he will barge into a building full of security guards right through the front door without even ordering his subordinates to offer support, he will go rogue and storm into the Moby Dick destroying everything in his path no matter the consequences, he will naïvely jump off a balcony to catch a repetitor just because his worst enemy said it had Dazai-san on the line- do I have to continue? His whole character is exclusively driven either by orders, or by instinct and irrationality. Guys, it would have been SO MUCH EASIER if upon seeing Ranpo's message Akutagawa had just took out his phone and gone “hey Chuuya-san, it's likely we've found the mastermind and the whole thing will be solved here at this place, can you come over one second?”. But he didn't, and it's not simply a matter of suspension of disbelief (in the way that the events are more satisfying this way). Was it for his pride then? Indeed, but Akutagawa's pride and irrationality are in a perpetual concomitant relationship of cause and effect, where one is constantly born from the other. I do think his very simple and straight-forward objectives (1. kill the Jinko 2. be acknowledge by Dazai-san 3. die) are themselves expression of his simple mindset, and so is a certain naïvety he has, that I honestly wish more people took into account when characterizing him.

It's funny because, the thematic relevance of it is the whole point- in reality, I don't think there's such a thing as a stupid person, I firmly believe everyone has their own kind of intelligence, a field each of us excells in. But it's exactly because Akutagawa isn't a person (well. in this context at least), but a character, that one can push a characteristic to its extremes in order to make it symbolic of something, in order to make an archetype out of his character. And Akutagawa at his core is irrationality, he is Dazai's failed trainee and ugliest foil, he is the ultimate pawn, he is the beast. The fact that Akutagawa is a character– it's relevant. He's not a person, he's a vassel for themes. I can dare to rudely talk about him like he was an animal because it's the narrative itself that before anyone else pushes the reader to see him in a dehumanizing way. Akutagawa once literally tore the skin off a man's neck with his teeth effectively killing them. It's quite not simple dog coding anymore lol. But he's just a dude from a book really, he's just symbolism: and that's why he can become a dog, or a pawn, or the stupidest person of Yokohama, as the author or reader pleases. It's really not that deep ahah

I can guess a possible counterpoint would be that perhaps, in a universe where he wasn't subject to the slums and Dazai's abuse such as high schools aus, Akutagawa would get his chance to be witty? But then I can't help but think, if you don't make Akutagawa stupid... Aren't you taking a fundamental trait of his character away from him? What's left of Akutagawa then? What would be the point of reading, let's say, a sskk high school fic if you can't recognize Akutagawa in it? But then again I guess this is exactly the reason why I can't bring myself to like most of alternative universe bsd fics (╥﹏╥)

Also, ultimately, there *are* personal preference components to it. In my headcanon Akutagawa has autism / adhd, and although those don't always have a negative impact on one's academic results, there is a chance they do. And I'd honestly lean towards that chance more when it comes with Akutagawa, because he is the pathetic man that has everything going wrong for him. There's symptoms in his impulsivity and scarce self-control, and I believe they'd make school life very hard for him, especially when it comes to focusing in classes and for studying- which is fitting tbh, can you imagine Akutagawa ever having a happy life? (I'm jk I swear I love him)

Besides, I must have mentioned how one of the main appeals of sskk for me is how despite being thoroughly flawed people they can still be loved. It's surprisingly comforting to think that even the most evil of people can be loved, and it's the same when it comes for stupidity. Stretching Akutagawa's flaws just makes him more symphatetic and enjoyable to read about.

[lesbiradshaw]

you can dislike/criticize peggy carter without ignoring or trivializing the fact that red skull, john walker, baron zemo, and brock rumlow are all canonical white supremacist characters btw. like. both of these things can happen at the same time.

[dr-lizortecho]

valevans and giving each other looks

[sureuncertainty]

coming up with a new OC now that I know i'm plural and might introject them is so stressful now, it's like okay i have to come up with character traits for a person and a design and all that but also they might become a permanent fixture of my brain and member of our system so like no pressure but also they might not and it might not even go anywhere or matter anyway

i'm in the early stages of planning a story where i just dont' know whether this story will actually Become something or if it'll just. end up falling to the side like most of my other projects