#they've given us a lot

[deadlydelicious]

I hate to be that person.... but I am just so sick of fans who have only been around since Buck kissed YKW speaking down to or speaking over fans who have been watching for years as though their emotional attachment is invalid. I'm not saying you don't love the show as much as the long timers but... saying Bobby's death being done like this is fine because the show was 'getting tired' when you've only been here a year like....how would you know? i've been here 5 years, some people have been here 7 years. this family has been with us through a LOT of shit. I can remember sitting on my sofa sobbing over the COVID vaccine episode because it was airing like a week before my actual vaccine appointment and the feeling of that, of watching the firefam fight back against this actual HORROR I was living through when there was some light at the end of the tunnel was so palpable

The show didn't need this sort of change. character development is fine, but in this way? killing the character of an actor who didn't want to leave, and in a way that is so reminiscent of the trauma that this show specifically helped so many people live through. it's rancid bullshit.

this was a lot of peoples comfort show, notably their comfort show through the trauma of COVID, the thing they watched because they knew at the end of the day the firefam would be ok, even through the hell of the real world

I guess i've just noticed a VAST different between the fans who have been around for 3-4+ years and the fans who just showed up last season because ooooh Buck kissed a boy

[greyedian]

MAN I'm seriously so sad about season 2. Bc I wish act 2 had the same emotional impact on me as it appears to have on so many others. But rn I'm just somewhere between unable to care and actively annoyed by some of those writing decisions. Seriously the more I think about it the less I like it.

[stormyoceans]

i'm curious about one thing though, isn't it a bit meh to ship two people when one of them clearly finds it annoying/uncomfortable? although maybe that's just enemies to lovers excellence lol but i usually love enemies to lovers so idk why i don't ship junpo... it's not because of thamepo because i honestly find them a little bit boring for my taste but something about po being so (on the nose) whipped for thame doesn't let me enjoy junpo, you feel me?

i do get what you mean, po is so enamored with thame (and so annoyed by jun sfjksgfj) that for some people may be hard to imagine him ever developing feelings for jun, which is why in the context of the show i also tend to lean more towards a thame/po/jun poly (thamejun is very interesting to me too ngl), but at the same time i think part of the fun of shipping comes from the fact that it doesn't necessarily have to make perfect sense

canon gives us the framework, and within that, we can play with as many possibilities as we'd like, as long as they're interesting to us. this is something that i think fandom has lost a little over time, it seems to me that it has become a bit more rigid compared to when i was younger, but i've personally shipped characters who didn't even interact with each other (like, EVER) just because i thought their dynamic would be fun (shout-out to jayfoei, those bitches truly had me moving differently)

so to me, it's not that hard to imagine junpo somehow happening, but maybe it's because im also very biased towards jun and i don't read po as being uncomfortable with him. annoyed and frustrated as fuck due to a mix of a bad first impression, jun basically being his complete opposite, and po not being able to understand jun's intentions? sure. but uncomfortable? not really, and i think the proof of this is that po is ready to praise jun when jun isn't there to hear him, he doesn't mind touching jun or jun touching him when thame isn't around to see them, and he willingly shared personal stuff with jun when they were trying to bring nano back to the group (which he didn't really have to do for the plan to work)

jun also brings out a side of po that we don't see with anyone else, not even with thame, at least not after the first episode. po is someone who tends to overthink and doubt himself a lot, and he often has a hard time speaking his mind (see: telling the vendor he wants only one sandwich now, for example), but he doesn't have that issue with jun, and sure, one could say that it's because he doesn't care about jun's feelings (although imho po is way too kind for that), or maybe it's because their dynamic allows po to be more open and more true to himself

also, if you think about it, in the first episode po started out disliking thame because he thought thame was like his ex, but then he got to learn about thame and what he truly felt and po's feelings for him started to change, so i don't see why that couldn't happen with jun too, especially since po has never seen jun being vulnerable (in po's eyes, jun is the smart one, the cunning one, the annoying one, the unbothered one, but what if he saw jun struggling and breaking down in front of him????? DELICIOUS)

so yeah, idk. they're obviously never going to happen in the show, and maybe in the next episode the writers are gonna be like SIKE. JUN NEVER LIKED PO. but they still remain a very compelling pair to me, and in my head it's not that hard to imagine a future where thamepo break up and po eventually falls for jun

for some people that may be unrealistic, for me it's not, and i think both point of views are valid. at the end of the day, fiction is our playground, and as long as we don't hurt anybody, we can play pretend with what it offers us in any way that sparks joy!!!!

[lloydfrontera]

i know canonically javier looks all elegant and beautiful even while sleeping but in my heart he's more like a cat. like. if he has lloyd's lullaby he can and will fall asleep in the weirdest positions possible no shits given. he'll be in the most uncomfortable and scrunched up pose imaginable and look like he's having the comfiest nap of his life

[khaoala]

Okay so I got the official synopsis of THK (released) from tiktok and I actually find it....really good ! But it does not sound like a romcom plot...I mean 🤔

uhmm, many people have said this before, but i find it interesting that when they say romcom, people think slap dickery or that it'll be 100% fluff or have zero stakes, and it baffles me bc most if not all romcoms i've watched growing up were always made of couple meet up, they fall in love, problem happens, they solve problem, and live happily ever after. it's all about tone, in my opinion, and if you're reading the synopsis hoping it'll be something or unconsciously leaning towards a certain tone, that's how your brain will process it.

i debated quite a bit how would i word this without saying anything spoilerly and came out empty, so let's talk under the cut.

i don't know anon, i mean, you get a hot tattoo artist who goes bowling (of all things) one night, gets a hook up who ditches him in the middle of the night and said hot tattoo artist CAN ONLY THINK ABOUT HIS HOT ONE NIGHT STAND (because apparently bison is that good, i mean, i don't doubt it), just to find out later that he'll have to investigate said hot hook up guy, but hot hook up guy got a scary brother, so hot tattoo artist goes to his hot mechanic best friend who apparently is crazy enough to flirt with the scary hot brother. AND HOT MECHANIC BEST FRIEND AND SCARY HOT BROTHER HAD A FIGHT IN THE PAST BC HE REAR-ENDED SCARY HOT BROTHER'S CAR and now has to win him over being a complete pain in the ass.

madam lily only got adoptive children to turn them into killing machines and later on turns the older one (poor pepper honestly) against the other two bc he's jealous of all the high end quality killing jobs his younger siblings got.

and they proceed by reconciling, and stealing from their own mother to run away (in kb's case) or stay and keep burger business going (fs).

i find this absolutely hilarious tbh.

oh but they break each others' hearts and they'll turn against their mother and their brother will try to kill them. it's part of the process. we don't know what's the tone they'll use for the show yet. we didn't get the official trailer, so i would wait until it comes out to make more assumptions, but TO ME? it sounds like a fun ride.

[amischiefofmuses]

Current mood while trying to figure this shit out with @vitrumbra Any codebreakers out there that can give us some translations? I'll owe you my first born child.

[nyxypoo]

remembered final timeline taiju has a Normal relationship with yuzuha and hakkai... gagging

[blazingblorbos]

oh god. oh god. oh.. oh gosh. I didn't expect this so soon. I didn't expect this today, I've been busy with life related things so the HYV calendar is really unbeknownst to me, is this update really next week already?? where can I rant about this- whERe can I rant about this-

oh. I made a blog for that exact purpose ! OKAY—!

fuck. fuck me, dude holy-

FUCK.

the slightly worried look on Arle's face as Snezhevna is reaching out her hand, only for her face to seemingly revert back to cold and neutral once the camera actually focuses in on her. Her tone is cold but her words are reassuring,,,,,,,,

ALSO GOD FUCKING DAMN IT. HOW GENTLY SHE HOLDS HER HAND.

the d o o r. the DOOR. THE FUCKING DOOR, CHAT. the slow opening at first, and once you can make out that it's certainly Arle's silhouette she shoves it fully open - both doors, both hands. incredibly attractive—. the FEAR in that man's eyes.

The crossed hands. We can't see her face but you know what expression she's making (it's not really an expression. it's neutral but you can feel it). THE FUCKING F E A R ON THAT MAN'S FACE.

Oh- she literally just grabbed him by the throat. Just like that- ! There's the expression. Oh, you feel it, alright. If you go frame by frame, you'll notice her eyes narrow in the slightest right before ->

POV: you're getting chocked out by Arlecchino, and that's actually the least of your worries. (my god she is beautiful).

I did not expect him to simply be thrown down to the ground and I ... d i d not expect her to step on his FACE. [insert gay masochistic joke here. you know the one]. Did not expect her to smile (this is the ONLY scene wherein we see her smile even slightly... huh...) *And the reason I say "I did not expect her to smile", is because with the momentum we were getting I thought she was straight up going to crush his throat, or stab him (hand, weapon or otherwise). It looked like she was digging the forefoot of her shoe into the guys head and not the... .. y'know deadly fucking heel, so that.. confused me. (and the sound when she supposedly stomped his head in did NOT sound all that impactful) but ANYWAYS I digress-

I'm of course assuming more happened after the cut to black because . madam where did you get that bloodstain on you—

BLOODSTAIN ON HER FACE!?!?!? (more on this in a second)

Freminet??? Freminet feature ! (not Lyney or Lynette.. interesting). :(((( the poor boy sounds so,, desensitized. His father

holy shit quick intermission. After the mental chronological fuckfest that was "The Song Burning in the Embers" I don't think I can look at Arle and the HotH the same anymore because she's.. she's like not even 10 years older than them (?) it's insane this doesn't make any sense- ANYWAYS.

HIS FATHER comes back with what we later see to be real blood on her face. Tells him "I've acquired new funds". We know what that means... HE knows what that means!!, and the way WE - THE AUDIENCE - know that Freminet knows what it means is because the boy replies "Oh.. Okay.."

LIKE-! chat omg this is truly just routine for them,,,, Like out of the 3 siblings, Freminet always gave off the biggest child assassin vibe, but wow. To see that routine and desensitized nature of the HotH's line of work just,, splayed out in a Character Trailer is . wow. and the look in his eyes as he says it is- wow.

YEAH UHH BLOODSTAIN ON HER FACE??/ The lighting in this scene now is evidently less saturated. And it's just- oh my FUCKING GOD it does so many things:

the blood on Arle's face looks... dry. it doesn't look as fresh as you may expect which could mean many things. It could mean she spent,,, hella long in there with that guy doing what needed to be done. It could mean she took care of something else immediately after dealing with that guy (perhaps smth related to the children Snezhevna wanted to save). But regardless, it means she didn't put in the effort to clean her face and hide what happened. OBVIOUSLY !!! that is so . obviously her style but to S E E IT IN MY GENSHIN IMPACT CHARACTER TRAILER it's- oh my god

it serves to highlight the really, truly, bleak nature of the scene now that we know plain and simple Arlecchino just killed a man. There's no subtext, there's no reading between the lines. The only thing that didn't happen is that we didn't see contact nor see a body. But, no sugarcoating, Arlecchino killed a man. No one is hiding it. You are not surprised. No one should be but damn.

and ofc it acts as a representation of Snezhevna dying...

because it seems like the saturation is back once the camera switches to looking at Snezhevna laying in bed.

And is it me, or does it look like Arle's allowing herself to actually display a tinge of worry in her expression this time? And also, EVER so slightly in her tone as well. You can feel it, it's gentler.

"Once I'm better I'll start my next mission.."

THIS. THIS!! IN SO MANY WAYS THIS!

OKAY. so bear with me. I haven't actually read any of the sibling's character stories yet, so there could be a LOT of info I'm missing but:

There's still a pretty thought-provoking conversation going on (in MY mind, at least) about just how intensely these children are being trained to be soldiers for the Fatui. They're obviously in an environment that indoctrinates them into being soldiers of SOME kind, but I still don't know what kind of soldier that's supposed to be. Are they all ALWAYS extensions of the Fatui? Or are they more-so extensions of Arlecchino specifically..? Snezhevna was obviously trying to help those children she came across, and I'm assuming that happened on her latest mission, so was the mission for a charitable cause?? What was her next mission supposed to be?? Same line of work? Saving people? Or would it switch up and was she going to be sent to "take care of" (kill .) someone???

So I don't know whether to interpret that line as a hint of them being overworked and 1) feeling like they need to continue their work out of pure fear that they'll be deemed ineffective and useless... or 2) feeling like they need to continue their work out of a sense of loyalty and duty to the place that took them in and raised them. Or both..

and ofc the funeral scene. I can't say much more than what's already shown right on the screen.

and am I bugging? Or is the location of the grave....

[chronurgy]

I'm starting to dread (ha) Dreadwolf, partly because Solas is the main antagonist and I have...... Absolutely no feelings about him at all, actually. The best I can summon is a big old "meh". And if they center him (which it seems like they plan to) and make a big deal about whether you want to kill him or redeem him or stop him or join him... Well frankly I just won't care and I'm worried that means I won't have a damn thing to care about in the game's main plot

I'm also worried that his success or failure at taking down the veil will be preordained since that's too big of a plot line to leave up to the player - there just wouldn't be any way to structure future games to account for that player choice. This is obviously a less well founded worry, but it makes it really hard for me to care about the stakes of the game

Idk I'm not trying to shit on people who are excited for this game (I am too, despite the bitching and moaning) but it's really hard to get excited for a game when the one thing you know about it is so completely uninteresting to you

[glimblshanks]

In regards to Boim'Lyn popularity on Reddit, I've observed the shippers fall into two camps. There's the normal ones who ship them because Boimler's uptight for a human and T'Lyn is wild for a Vulcan; therefore they're "compatible" but then there's the other group who think Boimler can only win at life if T'Lyn falls in love with him and sometimes dislike that Mariner is Boims' closest female friend.

I mean I guess the first reason makes some sense? Although by that logic I would think Mariner x Ma'ah would also be a popular ship and it doesn't really seem to be. Kind of odd honestly, sinse imo they have more chemistry than boim'lyn does.

The second reason is ... yeah. I had sort of picked up on the vibe of T'Lyn being a prize for Boimler to win from some of the Reddit threads I've seen and it definitely leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

I haven't really seen the Reddit fandom treat other female characters in the show that way either, so it's kind of weird to me that T'Lyn is getting this reaction? But idk I don't actually spend much time on Reddit, so maybe I'm just missing something.

[arolesbianism]

Thinking abt my dupe ocs again... Maybe Quinn does have hashtag issues actually

[itsahotminuteinbetween]

me reading a book and muttering under my breath: oh my god this guy's so naive he doesn't know how to separate reality from theory people aren't actually rational in practice and government isn't always by the people for the people justice isn't the sole implementation of a government things are corrupt the world doesn't run on logic you ignorant-

*...keeps reading it anyways*

[social-cocoon]

Saw that Raphael romance petition floating around and uhhhh yikes, I really hope Larian doesn't listen to it even a little bit. I appreciate that Larian has been very open to fan feedback and requests and have even implemented some, but at some point if they aren't careful it's going to bite them in the ass with fans feeling more and more entitled to getting changes put in the game.

[victorluvsalice]

AU Thursday: Valicer In The Dark -- First(ish) Meeting

I have been really into Blades In The Dark and thus my Valicer In The Dark AU lately, so I figured this week, I'd share a little bit of fanfic from the verse with you all! Namely, how Alice and Smiler first met Victor -- because, if you recall from previous posts, Alice and Smiler were actually already somewhat acquainted from Alice's previous trips to Silkshore (the pleasure district, and thus the Advocates' main stomping grounds and where Smiler peddles their Joy Serum) to visit Nan. The context is that Alice recently finished her trip through this world's version of A:MR, and has thus realized that Bumby is the one responsible for the deaths of her family AND that he's selling the children under his car to despicable sorts. HOWEVER, in this world, she can't just confront him at a handy underground station and shove him under a train -- not only are subways not a thing in Duskwall, killing Bumby the wrong way in this world might leave a ghost, and the last thing Alice wants to deal with is Bumby ghost! So instead she chose to head to Nan at The Manged Mermaid to discuss with her what to do. She's making her way through Silkshore, wrapped up in dark thoughts about Bumby, when suddenly...

--

“Hi Alice!”

Alice damn near started right out of her skin, hand automatically heading for her knife – then her brain caught up with her reflexes and provided her with a name to go with the voice. “Oh,” she said, shaking her head as she turned toward the source. “Hello, Smiler.”

“Gave you a bit of a fright, huh? Sorry about that.” Smiler grinned at her over the top of their little carry case/makeshift display for their Joy Serum samples. “You looked awfully deep in thought just then,” they continued, snapping the lid shut and reaching down to fold up the legs. “Everything all right?”

“I. . .” Alice ran her fingers through her hair, staring at the cobbles nearby. “Not really.”

Smiler’s expression in her peripheral vision softened, becoming concerned. “What’s wrong?”

Uh-oh – how safe is it to tell an Advocate that you’re feeling blue? On the other hand, they haven’t tried to stick me with a syringe yet. . .in fact, Smiler’s always been quite respectful of my boundaries. More so than Dr. Bumby, that bastard. . .should I tell them what I’ve learned? I mean, I don’t know them that well. . .but they’ve always been a friendly face around here for me. Quite literally. Always ready with a smile for anyone who needs it. . .and they did just give me a handful of slugs one day when I mentioned I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay for my lunch. Never said a word about if or when I should pay it back. Bloody hell, that probably makes them the closest person I could call a friend in this world, after Nanny. Oh, but would they even believe me if I told them? Bumby’s got such a good reputation, and I’m. . .lucky not to be Hollow.

“You’ll never find out if you keep dithering,” Cheshire told her, batting her foot with his paw. “Thought before action, yes, but you must eventually move to action. I would say the devotee of Mar-Mal can be trusted this far – if only because they have a duty to their less-than-forgotten god to stamp unhappiness out. And Bumby has caused a lot of unhappiness.”

Fair. “It’s – Dr. Bumby,” she began, turning to face Smiler properly. “I’ve – I’ve got reason to believe he’s done something terrible. Is actively doing something terrible, in fact. You see–”

THUMP!

At least this time when she started, Smiler was right there with her. They both whirled around to see a pale man with dark hair and an equally-dark suit lying on the cobbles just behind them, surrounded by mist and fog. He lifted his head slowly, revealing a thin, pointed face with large brown eyes so dark they were almost black. He stared back at them, expression tight with desperation. “Oh,” he breathed, stumbling to his feet like he was unaccustomed to having them. One white hand reached out, almost glowing in the light of the streetlamp. “I. . .are – a-are you alive?”

Oh SHIT – Alice’s hand plunged into her pocket, digging around desperately for the spiritbane charm that lived in there. The pale figure swayed closer as she did, forcing her back a few terrified steps. Not what I need, not what I need –

“Alice!” Suddenly Smiler’s hand was plucking at her sleeve, pulling her out of her own head. “No, it’s okay, look! He’s breathing!”

Alice did look. Sure enough, as she watched, the pale man’s breath fogged in the air, same as theirs. And now that her senses weren’t overtaken with terror, it dawned on her that he looked far too solid to be a ghost. “So he is,” she said, relaxing slightly. “But – where did he come from?”

“Though that – oh. . .” The man frowned at a nearby wall, hand still half-raised to point. “I – um – t-there was a door there. . .”

Smiler ventured closer for a look. “Huh. . .I think I can see an outline,” they reported, squinting. “But if there is a door there, it’s been bricked up for ages.” They glanced back at the man, one eyebrow raised. “So I haven’t the slightest how you got through it.”

“I’m n-not sure either. . .m-maybe it only matters that t-there was a door there once,” the man said, shaking his head. “T-the world looks so m-much different on the – the other side. . .”

“Other side?” Alice repeated. “Of what?”

“Of the f-field. . .please, y-you’ve got to help me,” he pleaded, hands clasped before him. “I – I w-woke someone up I s-shouldn’t have and I’ve been t-trapped on the wrong side of r-reality and I don’t–”

“Victor, darling. . .”

Alice hadn’t thought anyone with skin that white could blanch, but this fellow managed to pull it off. It was honestly impressive. “No,” he whispered, lurching toward Smiler as the closer option. “No, no, p-please, don’t let her f-find me, it’s not her f-fault but don’t let her find me–”

“Hey, hey, it’s fine,” Smiler assured him, wrapping an arm around him. “It’s going to be all right. You’re safe now. We’ll get you out of here, don’t worry. Alice, you were heading toward the Mangled Mermaid anyway, right?”

“I was,” Alice confirmed. “And I don’t think Nanny will mind be bringing along someone who obviously needs a blanket and something fortifying put down his throat.” She waved the two along. “Follow me – we’ll get you there safely, Mister. . . ?”

“Victor,” the man said, shooting them both a grateful look. “Victor Van Dort.”

[tentakrool]

some facts about robert prevost (leo xiv) that i think are important to know:

while he was born in chicago, he has spent the vast majority of his life outside of america. he went to rome at a young age, then spent most of his priesthood in peru

pope leo xiii was well known for his interest in social justice -- the fact that prevost chose this name may show that he also nurses an interest

he was one of pope francis' closest advisors

he's described as being balanced in terms of his outlook, but has progressive views on some specific issues, including migrants and poverty

he is relatively young -- we will probably have pope leo xiv for a long time

quote from CBS article: "While Prevost is seen overall as a centrist, on some key social issues he's viewed as progressive. He has long embraced marginalized groups, a lot like Francis, who championed migrants and the poor."

another quote: "Cardinal George of Chicago, of happy memory, was one of my great mentors, and he said: 'Look, until America goes into political decline, there won't be an American pope.' And his point was, if America is kind of running the world politically, culturally, economically, they don't want America running the world religiously. So, I think there's some truth to that, that we're such a superpower and so dominant, they don't wanna give us, also, control over the church." -Robert Barron, bishop of a diocese in Minnesota

so while it does leave a bad taste in the mouth to have an american pope at this time, he is definitely not the kind of pope trump will like, nor will the conservative base. while he probably won't catapult the church into a lot of uncharted territory, he does look as if he will at the very least continue and support the work francis laid the groundwork for

additional information:

apparently he is involved in sexual assault coverups -- not fantastic, but to be honest the entire catholic church is so incredibly guilty of this it's not surprising

robert prevost has tweeted five times since joining twitter. one of those tweets was telling jd vance he does not understand love

updating information: "He didn't cover up those cases though. It seems like he opened the investigation in the case of the two women who were abused and encouraged them to go to the police, and then the investigation was closed by someone higher up than him afterwards. With the priest who abused kids, yes he let the abuser live at the priory—under supervision, which given that abusers have to live SOMEWHERE I'm glad that it was somewhere he was being observed. (In any case when the USCCB revised the rules two years later to be stricter, the abuser was moved somewhere else; Prevost was just following regulations as they existed at the time.) As for the accusations Sodalitum has made against him, Sodalitum themselves were dissolved last year for having a shitton of sexual abuse going on in their group, and since Prevost was part of shutting them down they hate his guts; any accusations they've made against him are extremely sus at best." this information seems reliable, but needs evidence attached to it. it is public knowledge that Sodalitum were dissolved (by Pope Francis).

even more information:

robert prevost was a high-ranking augustinian -- this order is notoriously pro-immigrant, pro-environment, and anti-materialism to the point of criticising capitalism

i already mentioned that the previous pope leo was something of a social activist. specifically, pope leo xiii specifically championed worker's rights

update: since taking the papal seat leo xiv (prevost) has specifically called out ai as a threat to the world and its workers, comparing leo xiii’s campaign for laborers to his own dedication to addressing this growing concern

[clownfangs]

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