#to anyone in that one post they're too character-based for me it's a great responsibility to let someone else have them

[yume-fanfare]

posting hnw-related things to twitter feels so weird its like Do They Know im not just doing redraws ? im actually crazy insane about this i got credentials and everything im overqualified for redraws

[agirlandherquill]

alrighty, so being tagged by @katwritesshit means i'm up for a very interesting tag game so here goes

rules: answer as many (or as few) of the questions about your WIP as you can

What was the first part of your WIP that you created? - might be my favourite question of the lot but for me at least, it's pretty simple, i start with an idea - a theme of sorts I suppose, and I wanted to write about a heist, I wanted treachery, danger, and crime (lots and lots of crime), and from there I spun the rest of my story

If your story was a TV show, what would the intro song be? - consulting my many, many Spotify playlists has made answering this one very difficult (shoutout once again to @katwritesshit for The World Ender because I love that song) but I'm going to have to say Dinner and Diatribes by Hozier or As It was, also by Hozier, most likely because I've spent a great majority of this story listening to Hozier along the way, since Wasteland Baby is one of my favourite albums and it fits so so well

Who are your favourite character(s) and why? - I feel as though I'm committing to a betrayal here by not saying the character who is supposed to be the main protagonist but I'm going to go for Fenley, purely because his cynical, overall dark demeanour has been the most entertaining to write (and his POV contains some of my favourite scenes of the novel)

What other pieces of media could share a fan base with your WIP? - now this one is FUN. especially since I draw inspiration from so so many things, Throne of Glass, The Cruel Prince, The Mummy (one of my all time favourite movies), Now You See Me, The Witcher - just to name a few, I'm not even going to mention the inspiration for the combat scenes because action movies are just (insert chef's kiss)

What has been your biggest struggle while writing your WIP? - truth be told, finding the time to write, as this labour of love has taken me a solid four (ish, I think) years to write, a lot has happened, I've grown with my novel which is to me at least, a very heartwarming thing

Are there any animals in your story? Talk about them! - sadly there aren't any major animal characters in my story, my characters use horses for transport most of the time but that's about it

How do your characters get around? - well, when they aren't on horseback they're either walking or sprinting for their lives

What part of your WIP are you working on right now? - edits, dreaded, dreaded edits - just kidding I'm loving getting to dive into the earlier parts of my novel and change bits as I go, I'm falling in love with the story all over again and I'm only editing Chapter 7/40(something, the current number escapes my mind)

What aspects of your WIP do you think will draw people in? - hopefully the sheer and utter chaos of unlikely thieves trying to do an impossible thing, the characters are my favourite sort to read about, and the tropes (not giving too much away I do enjoy a good mystery :) )

and that's about it, this was super fun so thanks for the tag!

and passing the metaphorical torch on, I'm going to tag: @the-ellia-west @somethingclevermahogony @unlikelycreationwasteland @leotheponderer @alwri-tes and of course anyone else that would like to give it a go! (being new at tag games appears to be my fatal flaw since i have very little clue who to tag, but here you go!)

(and as usual in my rambly responses, very, very little read through, but in my defence this is a late night post so I feel as though the grammar-police might cut me some slack :) )

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

So my man what do you think of how bnha act 3 has treated the villains so far?

I think it's going exactly the way the story hinted it would. No surprises there.

In terms of narrative, people should give Horikoshi his flowers. MHA might not be as flashy as other mangas, but Horikoshi keeps it consistent and to the point. I'm glad that he doesn't sacrifice the writing of a plotline in order to create flashier or more action based fights. I'm also glad he's been with the villains' ideologies and their reasons to do what they do.

It's funny, the hero side might be the one who's more surprised with the current outcome of the final showdown. You have moments like Ochako risking it all for Toga, which is a dream come true for villain fans yet might be hard to process for other people. I'm personally satisfied with how the author treated the Enji and Dabi plotline, because in the end it was not Shoto who alone could do a miracle. A bit of a "family issues must be solved by the whole family" opinion, but I'm glad to see Rei, Natsuo and Fuyumi getting involved. They all had the spotlight in a heartwarming moment to stop and help Touya. They all took responsibility for their role in what happened to their family.

So far, so good.

To be honest, my perception is that Horikoshi has great respect for some of his villain characters. He has so far dedicated a lot of the story to Tomura alone, to his connection with Izuku. At least when it comes to the League, sacrifices are not simply plot twists, you know? They held meaning, they're respectful to the character.

I can't say the same for other antagonists and villains, tho. It's understandable, those secondary characters won't receive as much screen time and that's okay. It's just a bit sad to think that some of them have a lot of potential, but the story keeps them backstage. I certainly miss seeing some of the members of the Meta Liberation Army, for example. I loved the implications of corruption of power in the hero society. I miss Lady Nagant too, I can't wait to see her reaction to knowing that AFO is finally dead. Right now I wonder what the hell Horikoshi had planned for Hawks, lol. Every time I think his plotline is getting kickstarted, it runs for a second before stopping again. If he's there it's because there are unfinished businesses with him, maybe we will finally get a resolution on his connection with Toga and his past with Twice, but that's for later.

I have faith in Horikoshi, I guess. He has shown us that he does what the story demands and doesn't change the course of it for the public as much as other mangakas do. That is what movies are for.

I'm sure we'll see Spinner and Compress again, but most of all I'm curious worried about Kurogiri. I insist that the resolution between Kurogiri and Aizawa and Yamada will wreck me. In my wildest dreams I see Kurogiri begin for Tomura's life aka to save him, to give him a chance. I saw Aizawa's face when he heard Kurogiri talk about Tomura. He knew it was not only an order, but also a part of Oboro still alive. Oboro would do anything to help someone in danger, he'd pick any stray cat, give his life for anyone. I'm on the edge of my seat with that trio. Teachers on opposite sides of the war, once friends. Don't even get me going about Yamada and Kurogiri. Whenever I think of Mic and his role in that situation, it's pure torture.

If you ask me, I'm getting what I wanted. Act 3 has been great. It got a little boring for me when the whole focus was fighting AFO (I don't know why, maybe AFO is just not my favorite character to focus on). The rest? Amazing. Beautiful panels and drawing style, emotional instances that reveal the heart of the villains, their determination and dreams were respected, they got treated for once as real humans and not just villains... I'm behaving like a total kid with what is happening with Deku and Tomura in the 415 chapter.

Now, post-battle is another matter. We will cross that bridge when we get there, but they must be all alive and well or I'm ending what the League started and taking this whole world down with me (I'm not exaggerating at all haha why you ask?)

[rohirric-hunter]

A phrase that basically revolutionized my online interactions is, "It's the Lord of the Rings to them."

Let me explain. The Lord of the Rings is very important to me. So important, in fact, that I've kind of lost my sense of humor about it. Satire that plays off of it is at best uninteresting and at worst offensive; congratulations, you noticed the low-hanging fruit and bad pun that is Bored of the Rings, a pair of smarmy comedians long since beat you to it and their sense of humor sucked too, let me block you real quick. A lot of jokes regarding it strike me as distasteful, when in reality they're just jokes made by someone who casually enjoyed it, instead of shaping their entire personality around it like I did. Often when I express these frustrations people mistake this as me perceiving these people to not like it; this is not strictly true. I understand that they like it, but am bothered that they don't like it enough, or in the right way. "Tolkienesque" is a terrible word, as are other words that are on the surface level based on ideas from Tolkien's work but actually describe very different concepts from the ones they claim, such as "treant."

I'm working on my behavior with regards to these perceptions but that's not the point of this post. The point of this post is that the root cause of these perceptions is an overwhelming obsession with LotR that ends up inserting rather absurd bias into the most innocuous of interactions surrounding it. Mind that by "the most innocuous" I do not mean all interactions. I mean the most incidental interactions. Ones that involve low-effort jokes, questions about the story's logic that indicate a surface-level reading of it, dumb parodies, and people borrowing concepts from it simply because it's a behemoth in fantasy that most people are at least passingly familiar with.

A number of years ago I encountered a series of posts on here wherein someone was ranting about Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (a book they had, by their own admission, not read). They tore apart the whole concept, swore up and down that it was the most disrespectful thing ever to disgrace Jane Austen, it was horrible, trashy, disrespectful that anyone would ever even think of turning such a great novel into a cheap horror story like that. (It's actually a genre comedy but I digress.)

I actually started to type up a response to them, that went something along the lines of: Hold up. You're taking this way too personally. You haven't even read it. Yes, it's overbearing and dumb in the first few chapters but let's be fair, so is Pride and Prejudice. It doesn't really pick up until after the Gardener's ball. You can't judge any book by the first few chapters. And the genre shift is actually really well done and emotionally satisfying as well as funny; the characters remain well characterized throughout and the different situation they find themselves in just shines a different spotlight on the themes of the story. As you get well into it you can really see how the author loved the original, and yeah it started an annoying fad of P&P genreshifts, but you can't blame it for that any more than you can blame the Hunger Games for modern YA. Sure, it has a few more dick jokes than I would like, but --"

And that's where I stopped, because suddenly it occurred to me that whoever this person was, they weren't going to care about any of those arguments. Nothing I could say would persuade them that it wasn't a big deal, actually, because to them it was. It was the Lord of the Rings to them. Pride and Prejudice, or perhaps Jane Austen's work in general, meant to them the same thing that the Lord of the Rings meant to me, and some idiot on the internet who read and enjoyed Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, of all things, was never ever going to convince them of anything at all with regards to those works. And, like, I disagree of course, but I get it. Where the thought is coming from. How can you improve on perfection? Why would you want to? The actual disconnect is whether or not any individual thinks of Pride and Prejudice (or the Lord of the Rings) as "perfection," but, like, why would you even want to get into that argument? Best case scenario, you're being annoying. Worst case scenario, you're actively trying to make someone hate something that they live and breathe.

So I deleted my response and moved on with my day and honestly I wasn't even mad about it. Sure, whoever this was could probably do with a little bit more self-awareness with regards to their own bias, but I certainly wasn't going to be the one to give them that. They'll come to it on their own. Or they won't. Either way, I can only make the situation worse by engaging. And since then I honestly try to live by that every time I see someone online taking something way too personally. I don't always succeed, but I try. It's stupid, it's bizarre, they're making mountains out of molehills, whatever, who cares. Take a deep breath. It's the Lord of the Rings to them. Let them have it, move on.

[morallyinept]

HAPPY SUN MONDAY LOVELIES! 🖤

Well, this week whizzed by, didn't it?! But what a week! So much wonderful Pedro to grace our eyes, that I feel like I'm still not over it... I mean, warn a girl next time, would ya, Pedro?! 🥴

Posting this a little later this week, due to the birthday posts that came out yesterday. It was my birthday, and I also hit a follower milestone this week. 🎉 Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes, I feel truly spoiled. 🖤

My week off is over and I'm back to work tomorrow (boohissboo!) but it was lovely to have a break and indulge in some much needed me time. (I do have another week off in 3 weeks time, so I'm looking forward to that!)

So, let's get into this week's whip round. Crack that whip, Jack!

Catch up on last week here, sugar

☆ Things I've posted this week

Oof, it's been a busy one...

Five Days - Chapter 5 - The comments and responses I get to this Joel fic of mine just amazes me. I am so glad, and so thankful, for all those reading and enjoying it, and who are invested so much in Joel and Reader. 🥰

Good Morning Agent York - Dave York GIFLET

The Wolf & The Lamb - Dave York GIFLET (requested by an awesome Anon Ask)

Dress Me Up & Call Me Pretty - A Dieter Bravo One Shot. This was my first time writing for Dieter, and I'm so glad you've been enjoying the character study of Dieter's inner workings in this story. Special thanks to @for-a-longlongtime for shouting about this fic so much (I love you!) and for letting me toss ideas and snippets at you.

Broadcasting Live Tonight - A Dieter Bravo One Shot - Had Dieter on the brain this week, clearly. After all the SNL hype, just had to throw this one together. I blame Pedro entirely, and that blazer... 🫠

I released two birthday themed fics this week for my birthday: Candles - A Joel Miller One Shot 🕯& Birthday Cake - A Frankie Morales One Shot. 🎂

Self Care with Dieter & Jett focused on ways to combat loneliness this week, with a very brief cameo from sultry Javi P.

This Week's Writer Wow shone the spotlight on the amazing @chronically-ghosted, please go and give Taylor a follow and enjoy and re-blog her work - it's absolutely fantastic!

I also released the next batch of fun cocktails this week in my Pedro Pascal SNL Character Cocktail Special. These are so much fun to put together, and with the SNL content over this past week, it was kind of a must. Shout out to @secretelephanttattoo for reminding me about this - you read my sozzled mind. 🍹

☆ Things I'm currently working on

I teased out some WIP's this week based off of the WIP Game that was doing the rounds. So I'm working on some of those currently.

They're here if you missed them: Ezra WIP, Javi P WIP, Joel Miller & Agent Whiskey WIP & Marcus Pike WIP - All coming soon.

Always got more going on in the background for one shots and GIFLETS.

☆ Things I've read this week

My Pedro Character Fic Rec List has been updated again this week. Lots more fics and writer's added. There's so much on there I still need to read myself. Seems to get bigger everyday... but then, that's a pretty great problem to have, right?

Some gems I read that stood out this week were:

Dream Within A Dream - @gasolinerainbowpuddles This Incubus!Ezra fic is written like a dream, and it was an absolute dream to read too. Anything Ezra and I am there, hello! But this is deffo a must read for anyone in the fandom. I am still not over the impression it left on me, and Puddles' writing is just sheer perfection. 👌🏻

An American Hero - @secretelephanttattoo I got acquainted with El's OFC Katie in this wonderful fic. And I love her! I love how she knows exactly what she wants and is not afraid to get it. Javier Peña has met his match! 😜

Pent Up - @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin Another Javi P fic this week by the talented and lovely Angela, who I just adore. And this fic left me panting, let me tell you. Read it for yourself and you'll understand why... 🥵

Close Shave - @mothandpidgeon A detailed look at Dave York shaving, and it was chock full of vivid imagery, that I felt like I was there watching him do it. Absolutely delightful writing. 😍

Obsession - @tropes-and-tales This Dave York fic also painted some incredible imagery and is such a great read. I love how this was written and you should absolutely check this one out. 👍🏻

Hinterland - @legendary-pink-dot Camping? ✅️ Camping with Frankie? ✅️ Camping with Frankie who's sleepy and docile and warm? ✅️ Camping with Frankie who's sleepy and docile and warm and then starts to... ✅️ Read it for yourself to see what happens next. You won't regret it! 🥵

☆ What have I been watching/listening to this week?

I binge-watched The Fall Of The House Of Usher this week, all in one day... 🥴 It was so good and I highly recommend it if you're a Poe fan - or not, watch it anyway. It was dark, clever and I love how they brought such an old, renowned tale into the 21st century. I absolutely crush hard on Carla Gugino also, she's such an amazing actor. 😊

I also rewatched Strange Way Of Life and Bloodsucking Bastards, because, you know, I had to... 😉

Also watched Talk To Me and I really enjoyed that film too!

☆ What have I been up to this week?

I've been on on annual leave from work this week and it's been filled with a ton of writing, some hiking, catching up with friends and family, and it was my birthday too - phew! Back to work tomorrow, and I almost feel like I need another week off to recuperate from this one! 🥵

Thank you again to everyone who sent Asks and DM's this week. And thank you so much for all of the birthday love. Honestly, you guys are amazing!

Well, that wraps it up for this week. I hope you all have a great week!

This is Jack and Jett signing off to go to the rodeo, based on @wildemaven 's amazing Jack moodboard here. Yee-haw!

Stay kind & stay creamy 🖤

🖤

[aprillikesthings]

Man I got through that last one fast

s4 ep8 Boys' Night Out

(This one took way longer but also I stopped partway through bc Mal the cat had zoomies and I must appease him with the laser pointer)

ALSO this ended up with multiple Our Flag Means Death references, you're welcome

Glimmer etc. save a bunch of sea elf people from a little village as Hordak destroys it, roll intro

Apparently Double Trouble is refusing to tell them anything more

also they're still arguing about Glimmer going off on her own

also Mermista is taking a long bath and eating all the ice cream in Bright moon apparently

But yeah more arguing with Glimmer, and specifically getting mad at any hint of Adora telling her what to do

Which reminds me of a quote I copy/pasted into my fic notes (I do not remember where I got it I just know Nate said it)

"I think Adora has a huge character flaw where when she feels responsible for someone, she'll do anything to protect them to the point of fencing them in and accidentally taking away their agency. She thinks this is something that she's supposed to do, and I don't think she's fully addressed this part of herself. Catra and Glimmer think it comes from her ego, but she was raised to believe she was only worth anything to anyone if she was useful to them, so really she's just trying to prove herself to them. To prove that she's worth existing, even."

and like

ouch

but yeah it's hardcore on display here

Swift Wind invites himself along lol

lol

Hordak is a big dick, is gonna try to conquer more of Etheria himself so he looks all badass when Horde Prime shows up, orders Catra back to the Fright Zone

and she's stressed out and smooths out her hair D:

the bit of this character being asleep, getting elbowed awake, and iMMEDIATELY starting to play is so funny

why does Swift Wind know the words

new headcanon: Sea Hawk was a stripper at some point

*adds to "this wasn't meant to be a Sex Joke...probably"* collection

THE PHRASING DOESN'T HELP

Look I make so many jokes about cartoon bondage, and here Sea Hawk PAID SOMEONE TO TIE HIM UP AND PRETEND TO KIDNAP HIM I just

I can't even add to that lolol

something something insert "Our Flag Means Death"-based joke here

Swift Wind: I will contact Adora via MAGIC

back to Bright Moon

Adora: "what is going on with you? I know things are bad right now, but we can fix it!" Glimmer: "Why is that always your answer to everything!" Adora:

If you don't let me fix it I HAVE NO WORTH OR VALUE AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

Glimmer: we haven't fucking fixed a god damn thing and shit is getting WORSE Adora: WELL YEAH BC YOU WON'T LET US HELP YOU,

Swift Wind: "She hung up on me!"

IS IT GONNA BE KARL

playing Sea Hawk was probably fun in general but he did in fact make seagull noises

omg it is Karl

okay so Admiral Scurvy is just like I WANT MONEY which brings me back to asking WHAT CURRENCY ARE THEY FUCKING USING

mopey kitty. do you need laser pointer zoomies, too

oh no she doesn't know Scorpia has left and is pouring out her heart not realizing nobody is listening

"Listen, I'll kill you if you tell anyone this, but...I thought winning would be different. Or at least more...I don't know, fun?"

poor bb

Back to the boys: the Horde paid their ransom 😬

oh god this is great

but also Glimmer and Adora are having a screaming match and Glimmer punches LOW, including the line "Maybe your best isn't good enough! If it was, my mother would still be here!"

I took a screenshot of Adora's face in response but I can't post it it's too sad

but anyway, bigger things to worry about

Mermista: "The boys are in trouble!!"

oh hey I remember that scene

Bow: Friendship takes work!!

that is a very good point

also let's face this episode exists in part just so we get to have an episode in which three male characters get rescued by three women :D

okay I like Mermista's song ngl

omg the double meaning of "fight with friends" catching up to them near the end of the song

and Catra goes looking for Scorpia and goes into her room and

omg this is so funny and cute

I forget where I read it (I've gone through so many interviews etc at this point omgggg) but iirc the note just says "sorry"

Back on the ship: Glimmer reaches out to try to talk to Adora--who smacks her hand away and stomps off

😬 oh boy

ADORA GOD DAMMIT

Mermista and Sea Hawk are still singing and having a good time, Bow stares off into the distance singing along, end of episode

...I took way more screenshots than I expected on this one lol

[papa-evershed]

from the first episode of the show it's obvious that they are showing that Daniel is suspicious, you know with his first sort of lack of reaction to his father's death, to little things he says like "my mum" then "our mum", the banged up car, not finding out who the company's are and then needing money (and his bloody coat, maybe he's hiding something in there) ofc the show is throwing us of, when I first watched the episode I wasn't paying attention to the other characters because I was just thinking what is Daniel up to (and why is rob James collier so good looking) but I've been thinking about who the murderer could've been, it could've been the wife, the best friend, or any of the siblings or ex boyfriends, or it could be a situation where they all helped to kill the dad, and they all had their own motives. But I completely agree with you on your other post, all of them or some of them have drinking problems. Part of me feels like the murder wasn't a 1 man job tho.

Alright guys, just for the sake of saving myself some time and people's dashes from being flooded I'mma answer all of these at once and under a read-more, hopefully that's cool. Plus, I'd probably answer them all fairly similarly and a read-more may be for the best in case anyone out there doesn't want any spoilers/speculation.

I've definitely seen a few people now speculating that there could be more than one person responsible for their father's death. And it's definitely not out of the realm of possibility. I lean away from it being all three siblings (but still could be two of them or a nonsibling involved) for a few reasons though.

First, I really don't think Daniel did it. Like one of you said, I believe we're supposed to the suspicious of him but based on a few things I just don't think it was him. I felt like his reaction to finding his father's body was more of an "oh shit, who is going to bail me out now" mixed with a bit of shock, most likely. RJC said in an interview that Daniel is quite selfish, has used his father his entire life, and has taken from the family pot on the regular. Someone else hypothesized on Discord that the accounts their father has been sending money to could very well be Daniel's and I think it's a great catch and probably likely based on RJC's quote and the fact that Daniel was quick to take those papers and offer to figure it out...while never actually doing so. If his father has been bailing him out on the regular, I don't see someone jumping to murder for more money, especially since getting an inheritance can take a long time to be sorted. Daniel really has no motive, his father was worth more to him alive than dead, and even if he'd learned of the will change, I'd definitely hold off on killing him if I needed the money asap (which Daniel clearly does).

Could it still be him? Sure. But I really hope it isn't because that just seems too easy and also nonsensical at the same time to me. I think most of his behavior can be blamed on how he's scrambling now without his financial safety net.

Which leaves Chloe and Sian for the siblings and Chloe is still sus af to me. Why was she cleaning? I feel like these small details are usually added in for very specific reasons, they're supposed to be anyway, so I wonder if 'ol girl needs to remove some evidence. 👀 And if by some chance I'm right, then I really, really don't think Daniel is in on it because he was the one to ask her why she was doing it. Plus, like I said earlier, she's just too quiet but her eyes are so knowing. Mind you, they're all supposed to have secrets according to the official plot so perhaps I'm reading too much into this girl's poor face. 😂

I still don't know what to make of Sian. She seems more detached than the others but that's just how some people grieve. Could also be a red flag. Maybe the ladies teamed up and took out dear Dad for some reason. 😅

I do really like the idea that there are clues hidden in the home videos and that sinister things were accidentally captured. The creeper in the caravan I'm still clueless on, none of the characters introduced so far seem the sort to hide out in creepy caravans, except perhaps the father's ex-best-friend. I do wonder if the caravan scenes could perhaps be on a different timeline that we need to catch up to though and in that case it could be one of the siblings or well...anyone, still.

I'm reminding myself of the fact that this is a mini series, so it's all got to be summed up in only three more episodes which seems like a lofty goal to me. But I will say the pacing on this show has been amazingly executed so far, it definitely feels like there's zero filler (although I wouldn't object to Daniel related filler) which is also why I think every tiny detail is placed there for a very specific reason. Their time is so very limited, I don't see anyone wasting time on throw away scenes or even lines. As mentioned above, even the music choice seems exceptionally intentional, more so than most shows, so I'm just going to continue to assume everything is being said or done for a reason until I'm proven wrong. 😂

Maybe we're all wrong and the dad killed himself because he was tired of these damn kids. 🤪

[crisp-sweet-pink-lady]

One of my go-to Christmas specials from my childhood is Santabear's High Flying Adventure, but it was only a few years ago that I learned the special was based on a promotional character for a chain of stores in the Midwest that was so popular that not only did they release a new plush of him each year, they put out all kinds of other merchandise, too (searching ebay reveals a lot of mugs, among other things). Now, I knew that post special, Santabear's love interest, Miss Bear (Missy in the special) was added to the plush/merch roster, but it was only this year that I learned that for a few years, from 1988 to 1991, so was the special's antagonist, Bully Bear!

To be fair, for two of those years, a couple of other characters from the special were also included, but it is just wild to me that the bad guy was featured so prominently. And what's really amusing to me is that since the art style used doesn't give the characters mouths, and Bully Bear is characterized by having "mean eyebrows," he just ends up looking so done all the time:

(images from The Detroit Historical Society)

By 1990, Bully Bear was considered a friend, so here are a few thoughts I have on how his redemption arc went, based on the merchandise:

In the special, Bully Bear is seeking revenge against Santa Claus for rejecting him as a Santa's Helper, and plans to deliver ruined presents to sully Santa's reputation. He's stopped, of course, and is taken to jail at the end.

As part of the plot, Santabear and Missy bonded by writing a song, and the theme for the next year's merchandise was Santabear putting together a musical group (The Polar Club), presumably to perform for the residents of the North Pole. I would like to think that if there had been a special for this year, the plot would have revolved around the production of that performance. But things keep going wrong, all over the North Pole. Unbeknownst to anyone, this is due to Bully Bear, who escaped from prison and is now sneakily causing chaos all over the North Pole, with the goal of sowing discord in Santa's workshop and ruining Christmas. Everyone is blaming each other for the mishaps, hampering production, and even threatening to cancel Christmas!

With tensions running so high, Santabear is even more determined to make the performance perfect, but his final song is missing something. While sneaking around, Bully Bear hears Santabear working on it, and in spite of himself, he reveals himself to help Santabear with the song. Santabear is skeptical, but he has a big heart and is willing to give Bully Bear a chance, even if Missy is not as forgiving.

But oh no! The penguin cops show up, on the lookout for Bully Bear, and the show will never be finished if he goes back to jail! What to do? Make the penguins part of the show, of course. While they're busy rehearsing, the bears are able to finish the show while keeping Bully Bear hidden. And maybe Bully Bear is even enjoying himself while being part of the group?

On the night of the big show, disaster strikes again: Santabear is sick and can't go on! There's only one solution: Bully Bear has to pretend to be Santabear and perform in his place (it's a major plot point in the special that these two look exactly alike). The performance goes great, but while Bully Bear was on stage, the cops found the sick Santabear and assume that he's actually Bully Bear! In a move that shocks everyone, especially himself, Bully Bear reveals the truth, including all the things he did that others were blamed for. But Santabear and Missy also surprise everyone by going up to bat for him, telling everyone that he was responsible for making the show so good, and that they've seen a different side of him, much as he'd hate to admit it. Santa steps in and is willing to give Bully Bear a second chance, mostly because of Santabear vouching for him. The penguin cops are not pleased, but Santa's the authority there, so they agree to go back to the South Pole, though one of them stays behind to act as Bully Bear's parole officer of sorts.

I don't have nearly as many thoughts about the following years, but I imagine that the next year would involve an expedition to somewhere (the theme was based on the 1990 International Trans-Antarctica Expedition), and Bully Bear would do something that would prove once and for all that he had turned himself around, probably saving everyone when he had the chance to only save himself.

The next year's theme was "Santabear's Dream Adventure," which apparently already has a story, but I haven't been able to find a scan of it, only the shorter tag that was on Miss Bear and Bully Bear, which mentions that Santabear hasn't been able to sleep, so they make him a dream basket. And since a lot of the merch has the bears (in their pajamas) baking cookies, I think that at first Santabear would try to hide the fact that he couldn't sleep, using the cookie baking as a cover. Plus, then you could have the meme:

Missy: It's 4'o clock in the morning. Why on earth are you baking chocolate chip cookies? Santabear: Because I've lost control of my life.

The last year to feature Bully Bear was a straight up cookie theme that also had its own story, and I was able to find a few pages of it, which I mention mostly because they confirm Bully Bear is a good guy now, or at the very least not a troublemaker. The fun thing about this year is each of the plushes came with a cookie cutter of the character, so you could make your own "so done" Bully Bear cookies:

In 2000, Santabear and Miss Bear finally got married, and it would have been nice if Bully Bear came back for that (someone has to be the best man bear!). The mouse came back when the theme was The Nutcracker (1997), and he hadn't been included since 1989.

[masschase]

i can’t remember if you talked about it before, but for the ask meme i’m curious about troy and casey. and if you have already, or feel like talking about more than one ship, what about casey and viola?

Ooh, OK! I thought I wasn't going to get any this time around so this is a pleasant surprise! 😊

Have your followers send in suggestions for ships for your OC, and you describe how good/bad/amazing/disastrous/hilarious it would end up.

Casey and Troy

So Troy and Casey is a definite no! At one point early on in forming my hcs I was going to have them be cousins, and while I have yet to give a definitive answer on whether they are or not, I've been shifting back in the direction that are, but that unlike my original hc, neither of them remotely know that in my main-universe. In fact, you know what? They are and I'm going to do a post on that later because I have more to say on it. 😁

However, speaking from a potential situation where they're not related... it's still not something I can see.

So just off the bat I don't ship Casey with anyone during SR1 because she's only 15 at the start(slight exception being in universes where she has Zoo as her co-boss and/or friend as they are the same age, so I shall allow them their little moments). The next youngest Saint is Dex who I hc as 21 and gay so... yeah, no. But I do have the thing of Casey having one-sided crushes on Johnny, Lin and Dex.

Why not Troy? He just wasn't someone she saw as "cool" like she saw the others, in fact he was quite protective and responsible with regards to her and this is why I see their connection as more familial and duty-based (because I believe regardless of Troy leaning towards the Saints overall he's had a keen sense of protecting civilians drummed into him since childhood) even if they aren't related by blood. When she starts to succeed in life, he feels pretty proud of her.

Additionally, while I see that Troy is a complicated and probably conflicted character, Casey takes a long time to get out of the mindset that he betrayed her. It's one of those things where she knows it's not entirely black and white but she can't quite shake the grudge she felt when she woke up from the coma and found out.

There is the brief and admittedly kind of silly thing about Troy having a wife who resembles Casey(referencing ONE mission and something I thought of bc of posts so far back I will NOT be able to find them but you know). I don't believe that's because Troy has some secret attraction to Casey, I think it's something he just doesn't really see because he doesn't want to. He sees them too differently.

So there just isn't a place and time for them, you know? But even if things were to align, I just don't think they're attracted to each other, sexually or romantically, so I can't really envision a ship dynamic for them.

Casey and Viola

This one is interesting. I think Viola is incredibly grateful Casey allowed her to join the Saints, but her overall opinion of her is Boss first, friend second, and Casey reacts accordingly, so they're not super close friends. I can see some physical attraction between the two, more Casey towards Viola than vice versa(partly bc of Viola's thing for Shaundi, but also just in general). I don't think they ever hooked up but like they easily could have given the right situation.

Romantically, on the other hand, I can't see it at all. Viola and Casey are both, to me, "cool" characters emotionally. While they aren't unpleasant people I think both of them have a certain standoffishness, though Viola's would appear as more "professional/detached" and Casey's as "chill/unphased".

I think they both have a great deal of capacity for love. But I think they both need an emotionally warm character to unlock that. I think Shaundi for example is emotionally warm even if some of the barriers she puts up from SR3 onwards make it hard to see, which is why time and place dependant, she works as a ship for them both. For the record, they could potentially work as a triad. Maybe. But I also feel like there's also something about the Shaunvi vibe that Casey would just throw off completely. Maybe because she's almost the mediator between them so she might balance out what's passionate and interesting about them.

This is going a little off topic but I've actually wanted to talk about this aspect of Casey for a while because when you look at their first impressions you wouldn't get that she is the cold one and Matt is the warm one. Matt doesn't immediately come across as "warm" at all but I would chalk that up to fear and anxiety. In SR4 we get to see him acting a lot more openly emotional as well as passionate about things he cares about, because he's found a group of people he actually feels comfortable enough around to be himself. Leaning more towards headcanons (although maybe not so much when you see his rejected advances towards Asha in-game) I have him as quite physically affectionate/touchy feely. It's a combination of sensory seeking and not always being able to put his affection for people into words.

I don't allude to it here as much but in my writing I make frequent mention of it. Casey talks about how she's always cold and Matt is really warm as a justification for being physically close with him. I constantly have Casey tell Matt to relax/breathe when he's panicking and talk about how he finds her cool touch calming. That sort of thing. If you want to go one further there's the fact that Casey smells warm (cinnamon) but feels cold when you get closer, and Matt smells cold (lemon) but when you get closer he's physically warm.

But getting back to my actual point- Matt and Casey take a long time to get together because he's like a very persistant hairdryer melting a block of ice. But it works eventually. With Viola, Shaundi is more like a decent heat source which melts the ice very easily once her own barrier (in my hc, finding out in 2016 that Johnny isn't actually dead) is lifted. Viola and Casey on the other hand are just... two blocks of ice. It's a nice thought but it's just not going anywhere.

[the-breath-in-air]

Fixing "Boy Erased" (2018)

I recently decided to watch Boy Erased (2018) again, now that we're a couple years out from its initial release (and hype). And I came away with some thoughts.

First, something I think worked. You know that scene near the end, when Jared (Lucas Hedges) is trying to leave the conversion camp and he's racing through corridors and whatnot. That whole sequence works, but there's one moment that really stands out.

Jared attempts to get his phone and Michael (one of the 'camp counselors') tries to physically wrestle it away from him. There's a bit of a fight but eventually Jared makes his way to the bathroom and he calls his mom to come take him away. He then emerges from the bathroom and says to Victor Sykes (who runs the camp), "If you, or anyone else puts their hands on me, I have witnesses." Victor puts up his hands and says, "Nobody's gonna put their hands on you. Why would anybody do that? Come and sit. We're gonna wait for your mom, okay?" Then there's a hard cut to this:

Victor Sykes and Brandon literally laying their hands on Jared and praying. And I love that juxtaposition because it brings to light the violence inherent in this situation. They're restraining him through enforced religious acts. There's violence in this prayer.

And on top of that, it serves as a pretty good metaphor for the whole film. Jared's parents (especially his mother) believe they're helping but really they're hurting. They can't see the violence of their actions in sending him to the camp.

If only the rest of the film was working on this level.

Problem the first: Audience as observer. The film is really about observing its subject, Jared, as he experiences these events. But it isn't about giving us any insight into his perspective or interiority as he does so. The camera is looking at Jared more often that it is revealing to us what he's seeing. Perhaps the most obvious example of this issue is with the perfume ad scene. Jared is on a run and he comes across a perfume ad on the side of a bus stop with a bare chested buff guy. The camera shows us the ad, and then the rest of the scene has the camera (and thus, the audience) placed some distance away as we see Jared first touch the ad, then throw a rock at the ad, and then scream "fuck you" at it repeatedly. The ad itself isn't salacious enough to illicit that kind of response in the average audience-goer, and the camera is so disconnected from Jared's experience that we aren't really gaining insight into why this ad is affecting him in such a strong way. It ends up making it so that scene really does not work.

This isn't to critique Lucas Hedges's performance in that scene. It's more to say that all the other elements of that scene make it feel ridiculous - because the audience has not been guided toward viewing that ad in the same way that Jared does in that moment.

The second problem: Casting. To be absolutely clear, this is not a knock against any of the actors performances. On the contrary, I think everyone was pretty dang exceptional. Rather, it's more a conversation about casting choices. Two of those choices really stand out as somewhat misguided: Xavier Dolan as Jon and Emily Hinkler as Lee.

Turns out Emily Hinkler is a nonbinary actress. Lee (the character) is a cis guy who is conspicuously unmasculine. (If you've seen the movie - he's the one who gets hit in the head with a baseball). Casting a nonbinary actress as a cis boy at a conversion camp feels a bit off on it's own in that a conversion camp would be forcing people to adhere to assigned genders at birth. But I could get behind it as a sort of statement, like, a casting decision as direct opposition to the enforced gender binary of a conversion camp. i.e. Why should the movie adhere to the oppressive gender binary that the camp would? However, by casting a nonbinary actress as the least conventionally masculine character - it actually feels like it ends up reinforcing the binary. Lee's defining trait is that he's small and unmanly and, afaik, he's the only one of the male characters who is not portrayed by a cis man.

My issue with Xavier Dolan's casting is much simpler: Jon feels like he was written as a teenager and Xavier Dolan was approaching 30 when this was filmed. Maybe it wouldn't have bugged me so much if I didn't already know who Xavier Dolan was when watching the movie? Like, maybe if you watch it without knowing the actor's age, it works better? But also, the character feels like a teen but isn't explicitly stated to be a teen. So whenever he was on screen I kept wondering if actually part of Jon's situation is meant to be that he is 30 but stuck in a sort-of adolescence due to his relationship with his abusive father. Or did they just cast Xavier Dolan to portray a teenager?

This brings me to the third problem: Not enough of the ensemble. Jared, and thus the audience, spends proportionally, little screen time with the other people at the camp. They are rarely shown talking to each other - especially outside the restrictive observation of the camp's 'counselors.' This could be part of the point - i.e. that the camp is so isolating - but that isolation wasn't really highlighted by the camera/scenes/dialogue...so it really feels more like it's just an oversight. The movie focuses on Jared and his individual story and so the rest just fell by the wayside.

This is really unfortunate because there are some (potentially) great characters in there, especially Jon and Gary. Jon went through the program once before and is now back for a second time. We don't know what happened to make him come back. He appears to be 30-ish but he's staying at a hotel with his abusive father. He is completely invested in the program and treats his sexuality like an addiction. He has even taken it upon himself to forego all physical contact with other men (not even a handshake). His self-loathing is at once horrifying and heartbreaking.

In contrast, Gary (Troye Sivan) knows the entire program is bullshit, but he's playing along for his own survival. He's over 18; he lived with his boyfriend for a year prior to coming to the camp. So that begs the question of how his family convinced him to enter to the program. Also, Gary's so invested in his own survival, that he stays silent and is complacent in the abuse and violence he witnesses against others in the camp. He is both a victim and a bystander (at times).

I think this film would've really benefited from spending more time with these characters (as well as Sarah, portrayed by Jesse LaTourette, and Cameron, portrayed by Britton Sear) in the camp and seeing how they all interacted with each other. Give us a sense of their different contexts and perspectives - and give us a better sense of the ways that conversion camps disempower the people sent there (even people like Gary, who knows it's bullshit). It's the thing that makes all the other movies about conversion camps work so well.

Which brings us to the fourth problem: the ending. If we spend more time with the ensemble, we'd either end up with a really long movie or we'd have to cut out something else. Well, folks, we can cut about 10 minutes off the end. Everything after the dinner Jared has with his mother post-escape can go. The climax of the film is when Jared finally decides to leave the camp. The resolution comes when his mother places herself in opposition to Jared's father (which she had never done before) and decides that she's going to take Jared home. And the emotional resolution comes when she admits to Jared that they made a mistake and that they harmed him by sending him to the camp.

Everything after that is extraneous. We don't really need to see Jared living in a city with a boyfriend, or see him begin to reconcile with his father. His relationship with his father was never the emotional core for the film. Boy Erased is, in some ways, a movie about self-actualization and that's the sort of movie that's best to end with something a bit open-ended. Y'know...a sort of end-that's-just-the-beginning kind of thing. Because the story of Jared falling in love and dating and moving out and gaining the self-confidence to confront his father - well that's a whole other movie. And here it gets shoved into the epilogue, which does the whole thing a real disservice.

Then there are the informational cards at the end. Two stick out as being particularly frustrating. One, "The real Victor Sykes left L.I.A. in 2008. He now lives in Texas, with his husband," feels irrelevant and unnecessary. The audience cares about what happened to Gerrard Conley (who wrote the story and whom Jared is based off of). But why do we care about what happened to the real guy who ran the camp? We don't...except for the jab about him now being married to a man - which feels like it's a more significant point for the cis straight people in the audience than for anyone queer. Turns-out-ex-gay-pastor-was-actually-just-gay-the-whole-time is not revelatory, I gotta say.

Then there's also this:

The emphasis about conversion therapy "practiced on minors," feels a bit disconnected from the film we just watched - which emphasized how abusive and traumatizing it is, even for adults. And in the U.S., all states currently legally allow conversion therapy for anyone 18+. Only Washington D.C. has banned it. And that, to me, is equally egregious, yet it isn't mentioned. The film itself challenges the notion that it's somehow okay for this to be practiced on adults because it's ostensibly their "choice," and then the info cards at the end shy away from that stance by focusing on kids.

I think the thing I find most frustrating about this movie, is the wasted potential. As I said at the beginning of this, there are some moments that really stand out in how they use the medium to convey meaning. There are some choices in how the film uses light and brightness (or lack thereof), that are pretty dang good, too. But ultimately, it's a film I feel so detached from and I think some of what I explained above is part of why.

[rpbetter]

I often see multis post that they want to make a new muse, at the same time as they're backed up on threads and asks, and they get their followers to "enable" them to make that muse in the post replies. What is your take on this? Is it a they-can-do-what-they-want situation, or is it reasonable to be annoyed when I see this? Or both?

Hey, Anon!

Both.

I mean, as usual, this is my opinion of an opinion-based matter. This isn't an equation that has an objectively right to wrong scale, it isn't actually hurting any living person or thing. But...it is incredibly annoying and can be hurtful.

They can totally do what they want, and much of the nature of genuine creativity is exactly that - the allowance of doing whatever you so desire. It's something I support rather adamantly, but it's also something I support trying our best to do responsibly and without being hurtful to anyone in a hobby that involves more than ourselves.

This isn't deciding to write another fic when you've not finished the previous four or five that others were interested in, or never finishing any of your original fiction, but continually starting new projects. While others might be enjoying those things as well, you didn't agree to interact with them. They're audience members, not participants.

When others are participants in a hobby that has to work both ways, it's different. Your actions do affect other, real human beings.

So, I totally feel like you've a right to be annoyed every time you see that happening. I do. I tend to unfollow people who do that repeatedly, as we're not pursuing the hobby in the same way. I'll argue all day that someone has a right to their, sometimes literally, eighty-plus muses they never develop or stick to, but that doesn't mean I want to engage with them as a writing partner.

For those of us who want long-term writing partners with the same, well-developed muses, this kind of thing just is annoying. As is everything else that comes with it.

As in...

They're constantly posting "talk me out of adding x" as code for "talk me into writing x."

No one actually wants to be talked out of it, which was probably more obvious to everyone else here than it was me for a little while lmao I tend to take things rather literally. This was, as one can imagine, not appreciated! Telling someone in total earnestness, "I really don't think that's a good choice. You're always saying how overwhelmed you are and just dropped multiple threads yesterday, so adding another muse is going to make you feel worse eventually. Don't do it! :)" is so not what they were looking for. As was evident by the return meltdown over how they could do what they wanted, like I said they couldn't or had any authority over what they're doing with their time.

It's an obnoxious bit of pandering for a foregone conclusion.

Have you ever seen anyone who posts that sort of thing not pick up that muse? I haven't. I've only seen muns who are legitimately on the fence about it asking others in private conversations or testing out the muse decide against it. The thing that makes this incredibly irritating is the attention-seeking and need to validate something they must know isn't a great choice, otherwise, they'd just do it. They're aware that they're behind on drafts, asks, and other things - aware that this is maybe a dick move when they owe everyone already. So, they're seeking "permission" with full knowledge that multiple mutuals are going to hop on that post with encouragement, even some of the ones being messed over by this choice.

It puts people in a bad situation.

Some of those people genuinely don't care, they just want to interact with any muse, and I'm going to be awful and say it - they don't care about totally interchangeable muses and have them themselves. That's fine, this isn't a problem for them. It is for the mutuals who are hoping that maybe if their writing partner gets into this new muse, they'll get a reply to their threads with that energy, or that they'll stick to this one and they can have consistent interactions with them. It is for the mutuals who feel pressured to respond positively because they fear not responding at all will make them seem like bad rpers.

One more thing playing into the counter logic excuse for shitty behavior of "it's just a hobby" is one more thing too many, and it does exactly that.

No one wants to be accused of being remotely too invested in RP anymore, of taking it too seriously, or having any emotional investment in muses, stories, or muns. Not accepting every choice someone makes that negatively impacts you with a grin on your face while you dump confetti on them for it just isn't a comfortable option for a lot of muns anymore. Honesty isn't a comfortable option. While the other option isn't either, it seems better than that mutual noticing you're the only writing partner who didn't hop onto that post with support any of the multiple times they reblogged it. It's only a hobby in which everyone can do what they want until what one wants clashes. Then, you're getting a callout for being addicted to RP.

And the way it tends to clash most is in having expectations of others. Ones that would be totally normal in any other hobby requiring interaction with other people.

Like not overburdening yourself at the expense not only of yourself but those on your "team." That's what is being done when someone knows they cannot keep up with themselves, but continues to add to the situation with new muses.

Not only are you no longer getting responses already while they're intending to add even more to their overflowing plate, you'll be dropped again when they have to "fresh start" their blog because they're burned out.

I have to put that in quotations because I don't know how it's a fresh start when you keep everything but the blog layout the same. All the muses and all the behaviors, including adding a new one despite not having the time or interest necessary to do so, is inevitably maintaining the problems that led to burnout. Dropping every thread, changing the URL, a new blog layout, new aesthetics, isn't fixing the issue even if it temporarily reinvigorates the mun.

The mun is definitely doing things that are not helpful to them, it's stressful and upsetting to experience burnout, but it's at least that mun's choice. Both to do it and to become defensive over fixing it, thus, never fixing it. It isn't anyone else's choice to be repeatedly dropped or ignored, though...unless they just keep sticking around for it.

Again, we're supposed to respect everyone's choices. That's fine when it really works that way, when it is truly everyone. But it's not an acceptable decision to see a multimuse of twenty or more muses and say that's your limit, that you've experienced too many muns who are serial muse-adders not being able to keep up with themselves, so you don't interact with these blogs. If one feels that way, they had better not put it in their rules or ever be upfront about this as a reason, when one is demanded, for not following back or interacting.

It's not acceptable to see a writing partner adding another muse after they've owed you for months, just wiped their inbox, and keep expressing being overwhelmed/behind and become annoyed. Let alone dropping them or explaining to them why you are doing so.

The only "acceptable" course of action is hoping that they totally forget you exist so you can quietly slip away.

I don't feel like that's especially fair or mature. It certainly isn't helping the communication problem we absolutely do have here in the RPC when only one party is allowed to communicate without fear of being labeled, rather ironically, as a bad RP partner.

While this problem seems to be most prevalent in more casual RPers, it's certainly not isolated there. I feel like it's necessary to say that I've had muns I both interacted with and were simply on my dash alike who were not on that more casual side who went from being multis to being muse collectors. Once they hit over fifteen of them or so, they stopped even bothering to try to refrain from picking up at least one muse from every new piece of media they consumed or were inspired by.

It was more annoying because they had been capable of writing truly unique characters they stuck to, and even if they were, with full and upfront admission before interaction, slower to respond, those responses were well worth any wait for the quality of writing and storytelling going on. That's so much worse than someone who was always at a lower skill level as a writer, didn't have a good grasp on characterization, and wasn't especially dedicated to anything. It's depressing and disappointing, but it's also not what you think you're getting into when trying to carefully pick who to write with. Like everyone else, my time to enjoy this hobby is far from twenty-four-seven as well. It's important to me to try to choose muns I'll work out with well so that neither of us is wasting the other's time. And that's what it feels like - the investment of time was a waste because their hobby became adding infinite muses, or rather, the idea of muses.

So, yes, while it is fully everyone's right to write what and how they want to (even if it amounts to not writing at all), it'd be nice if we were all as committed to doing so in a way that was adult enough to respect commitments we've made to each other as we are, as a RPC, to losing our minds when someone merely drops the words "commitments" or "respect."

For the inevitable muse-collectors running across this:

Fiction is inspiring! That doesn't mean you needn't be inspired by anything, just that picking up or creating a whole other muse might not be the best way to follow this inspiration.

If you're considering another muse, but you find yourself already behind and/or overwhelmed? Try one of these instead:

create a plot based on it! Write up the idea and put it in your wanted plots/wishlist tag. Bring it up to partners you think might be interested in it as well, or seek out a crossover from that fandom

make it a new verse for an existing muse! This is as close as you get to creating a new muse without actually doing so, and in many ways, it takes even more creativity. How is your muse different in this AU than they are in canon, how are they the same? In the ways that they are the same, what similar events but done in a way that is natural/logical to this universe have happened to maintain that? Get really creative!

for either/both of these, make some moodboards and aesthetics with that energy while you're waiting on someone to take you up on these new things. Answer some HC asks or tag games using your new verse, or write an independent HC for the verse or plot

talk to writing partners who already love that muse about their new verse/your desired plot! No, not pressuring talk, just normal conversation between friends, but maybe they will be interested in starting a thread

simply be inspired to include some aspect of what you liked in an existent thread. A particular scene you could pull ideas from, the overall mood of a film, or the way something was written in a book - include that in your replies somehow! RP is creative writing, be creative

There are so many, honestly more organic, directions to take inspiration than bluntly adding a new muse. Especially when you're already overburdened, not holding up your end of replies, and/or not able to portray each muse as their own character properly.

Sometimes, it's not just not a great idea to add a whole new muse, and that's alright. There seems to be a serious problem with fomo going on with this whole issue, too. You're not going to miss out if you do not immediately add this character to your multi, and you're never going to fully keep up with what is trending anyway. Do it because you still want to write this muse in four months instead, they're obviously not going anywhere if that's the case, and they'll be a better developed, interesting portrayal for that.

And people do have a right to be annoyed when they feel sidelined by you seeing a shiny object and repeatedly pandering for validation in dropping them for it. Particularly if you're a mun who, further, expects everyone to be just as interested in every new muse you make as the last. As in, you're annoyed when you keep creating muses no one is falling over themselves to interact with, guilting, shaming, or outright demanding that this new muse is interacted with before they have access to the previous ones.

They don't have a right to be mean you to, but they have a right to be annoyed and to drop you. They even have a right to politely decline explaining this to you if they feel unsafe, or to politely explain it to you before they move on.

Absolutely everyone's right to pursue RP and every facet of it as they so please, but no one else has to like what you're doing.

If this response grates on some of you out there? Consider the other options you have, how you might be making others feel, and that it's actually completely okay to tell yourself no. You won't perish if you tell yourself no to taking on a new muse when you, honestly, should not! It'll be okay! Maybe, you just need to evaluate if there is another muse, or more than one, you should remove before adding one. Maybe, you just need some time to reorganize how you reply before you add this one. "No" when told to yourself can simply mean "no, not right now, it isn't a good time/situation."

[mintchochipkookie]

For the Fandom ask: Merlin (if you haven't already answered for it).

Hi hi hi! There's been a sudden increase in Merlin edits on my dash and I've been so nostalgic for the show but it's been so long since I watched it. These answers are gonna be solely based on vague memories and ✨emotions✨ that have stuck around for 10 years.

my favorite female character Really the only 2 who got any focus were Gwen and Morgana and I love both of them. Morgana had a lot more going on in general and I think her character journey was interesting, but I think they could've added more nuance to it. Because of that I'll probably go with Gwen. She is a lil ray of sunshine who deserves everything good in this world. She's so sweet and awkward and loyal, but is a strong queen in her own right and you know what? Good on them for ending the show with her on the throne. One thing I'm still upset about is the lack of Morgana/Gwen interaction or relationship exploration, post S3?????

my favorite male character I think this one's gonna come down to the 2 leads as well, but I've never been able to decide on just one tbh. They both really are two sides of the same coin and their characters have SO much overlap. Based on nothing but sympathy, I'm gonna pick Merlin because I think he went through a lot more pain and suffering and shouldered all his responsibilities in secret. He didn't do it for any reason besides protecting his best friend and also he is a good boy. (Arthur is a very good boy too, don't get me wrong.)

my favorite season Ummmm I think S3 or 5? My memory is kinda foggy, but I generally love the third season of a show lol it's just a thing. But it's also when a lot changes and things get going sooo

my favorite episode Oh there's a few that I always remember and will rewatch when I need to smile. A Servant of Two Masters is one of those cuz they're just such dorks omg. I also really like The Death Song of Uther Pendragon?? And I really loved every time Lancelot was on, it's a shame he barely got any time on the show. 😢

my favorite cast member Look Merlin was during the peak of my Tumblr geeking days and I just really really love Bradley and Colin's relationship, and I'm not picking one.

my favorite ship I'm gonna say Merthur even tho idk how I ship them. It's mostly platonic for me, but idk, like their relationship is definitely really intense. However you want to interpret it, Merlin/Arthur is the heart of the show and is the most important one. I also liked Arthur/Gwen and Lancelot/Gwen was kinda cute too.

a character I’d die defending Is there anyone to defend? Who is out here hating on any of these sweet babies? They're all great, I'd defend any of them in a heartbeat.

a character I just can’t sympathize with Uther, FUCK that guy.

a character I grew to love I don't think there was anyone who I didn't really like you know. I think maaaybe Gwaine, just cuz I ended up liking him a lot more than I did initially.

my anti otp Again, nothing in canon that's too weird, but Merlin/Gwen. I refuse to ship them romantically at all, I loveee their friendship.

Send me a fandom ask!

[rivertheshimmerscale]

Continuing from a different post, but I decided not to reblog because this would be one long-ass reblog, plus it kinda goes off topic as well.

I also don't know how to use the "read more" so... Well, fuck. Sorry.

@localblueslinky

Apparently by "a little," my subconscious meant to dump all of my OC's designs, evolution and backstory at your feet. I'll try to summarize lmao.

I had gotten this idea at the beginning of 2019. Maybe a month after CYM was released. I really wanted a SU OC and my favorite color was blue at the time, so, naturally, I ended up researching a ton of blue gemstones and minerals. The very first name I contemplated was Blue Spinel, which I thought sounded kinda dorky written down and I preferred Kyanite. But the name grew on me and I couldn't decide on Kyanite or Blue Spinel.

Here's a referenced version of Kyanite's very first concept:

I briefly had an idea where she was bubbled on Earth and still got hit with the Corrupting Light, but it only half affected her because of the bubble. This was because I wanted to make her design really feral and monstrous because frankly, I love those designs. Then I decided not to because that idea had too many inconsistencies for her backstory.

Instead I settled to changing her name to Cat's Eye Kyanite, - after discovering that was a thing - using this as an excuse to give her some catlike features. Cats are cool.

Kyanite gets fangs and claws.

I know she looks a little like Lapis, and this is probably because I have some annoying drawing habits. I can only draw Peridot, Spinel and Lapis, so I tend to lapse into these habits when I try to draw anyone else.

Kyanite/Blue Spinel's main power was:

Dissolving her form into a beam of striated light, which resembles actual raw kyanite. It's kinda ironic because the beam is just a simplified, liquid version of her physical form. Raw, primitive light. She can only move in a straight line while using this attack, as light only moves forward.

This reflects off of Steven's shield and bubble. He unintentionally curb stomped her attack the first time they met; she simply ricocheted off his shield and went flying in the opposite direction.

After lately discovering Sonic, this ability has been removed since the coincidence was a little too much for me lmao.

She was a very insecure, melodramatic Gem prone to anxiety, though very protective of those she cared about. She would leap in front of a poofing blow without a second thought, and could be a little scrappy at times.

Kyanites can detect a falsity from miles away, so never lie to her. She will know.

Her full gem name was Cat's Eye Kyanite Facet-8 Cut 3YK. Quite a mouthful, huh?

Her original backstory is kinda janked, so after this I'll share her scrapped one that's still kinda in progress.

Basically, she was made alongside a team of cabochon Kyanites, but was a defective deep-cut. Her Gem was faceted instead of smooth, she was shorter than she should've been, and instead of being calm and balanced like all other Kyanites, she was nervous and impulsive. Despite being off-color, her defects had benefits. She was a brighter color and slightly stronger than her fellow Kyanites, so her superior ended up keeping her anyways. Though a lot of abuse was still directed at her from said superior and teammates. She also had limb enhancers.

At some point, the Kyanites' manager got sent to earth to help with the colony's construction. While the Corrupting Light was being initiated, 3YK ended up being left behind and bubbled in the Facet 5 Cluster lab. In this version of the AU, the Crystal Gems found her bubble after destroying all of the force fusion shards. They took it back to the temple and Steven convinced them to pop it in case it was an innocent Gem. After all, if it was just another corruption or Homeworld Gem, they could catch it again and no harm done... Right?

I ended up just kinda putting this OC down for a while and never came back to it, but after the movie came out, things got interesting. I never would've anticipated an actual canon Spinel, and, to my mild surprise, my own OC had some obvious similarities besides part of the same name. Some of which include a widow's peak or whatever it's called, similar stature, short hair/fur and then longer tufts, similar coloring system, personality, and some more subtle things.

But I liked both of these characters so much that I just have 2 sub-characters; Blue Spinel and Cat's Eye Kyanite. They each have their own individual AUs, I guess, as well.

Ok, for Blue Spinel now!

I have a headcanon that there are other Spinels on Homeworld, but they're not necessarily the same as the Spinel everyone knows and loves.

As you might know, spinel in real life is rather rare and as such not many people know about it. One could say it's underrated. Gem hierarchy on Homeworld seems to be primarily based on Gem worth and popularity on earth. For example, Diamonds being the highest rank gem. Diamonds are actually one of the most common gemstones on earth; and they're very well known by the community.

Ask someone what the most important gemstone is (not in the context of Steven Universe) and they'll probably answer "diamond" without skipping a beat. So by this logic, Spinels on Homeworld could be kinda rare, and not of a particularly high rank but still important nonetheless. Like Pearls, they could be considered the expensive pets or toys of the upper classes.

Take Pink Spinel. She was made for Pink Diamond, especially customized to look and behave like her. She was made to entertain and be Pink's best friend.

In the movie, Pearl sings:

"This will be fun

Aren't you the lucky one?

Her cut is perfect and she's pink, as well

She'll bring you endless entertainment

Your new best friend, Spinel!"

Steven is lucky to have a Spinel? Are they rare? Perhaps only for the highest of the elites, and most likely much more important than Pearls.

Pink Spinel is, in a way, the ultimate or Diamond quality Spinel. Like Jasper is the Ultimate Quartz.

She's the same color as Pink Diamond/Steven, but, how would Pearl know that Steven was Pink? He shows no physical traits of her, besides her Gem, which is also covered and not obviously even Pink Diamond. Pearl was also reset and completely disregarded Steven in all scenes, as Greg was her new owner.

Is there something different or special about Pink Spinels that deserved a mention in Pearl's basic description of these Gems?

These are, as it seems, in an order. Lucky to have a Spinel. She's perfect and,

Pink.

She'll entertain you.

It's unlikely that these two are connected, but it could be possible that different color Spinels have different purposes.

Pink gems, as a stereotype, might be more fun-loving and goofy. Take Pink Pearl and Pink Diamond. We haven't met very many Pink Gems, but they all seem to share this trait. This could also be because they were modeled after Pink Diamond, but hear me out anyways. Blue Gems tend to be rather solemn. (Lapis Lazuli, Blue Diamond, Blue Pearl, Sapphire.) Green/yellow/orange/red Gems tend to be more sassy, energetic and/or egotistical. (Peridot, Yellow Pearl, Yellow Diamond, Ruby.)

Why wouldn't there be a trait for pink Gems?

Homeworld could've utilized this to create a naturally happy-go-lucky Spinel whose purpose is to be happy and entertain other Gems.

But are all Spinels entertainers?

Entertainment seems like a foreign concept for Gems, and within the busy hierarchy, who would ever have time for fun?

In real life, spinel is known as the copy gem. It can mimic almost any crystal because it comes in such a wide range of colors and has a hardness of 8 on the MOHs scale.

So I created an adaptive theory.

Real spinels can be used to mimic other gems. Homeworld Spinels are one of the customizable "accessory" Gems, which take an appearance and personality very similar to that of their owner.

If this were the case, they would be like a higher quality Pearl with more diverse skills. Programmed to have a base personality exactly like their owner, and if their owner screws up bad, they could just be replaced by their Spinel if they're essential to the hierarchy.

Spinels can be entertainers, friends, substitutes or replacements.

Possibly, not all Spinels are solely entertainers. There could be others out there either way, and with this they could be much more relevant in the Gem society though still very rare.

Anyways, it's just a theory. I hope that made sense.

I might put that specific theory on a separate post as well since I'm rather fond of it lmao.

And now, for her backstory.

Celestine was an important Gem. Her role was to manage a portion of Blue's court, and give reports on how her Diamond's colonies were progressing. She, along with all the other Celestines recorded everything that happened and acted as messengers for higher elites. She oversaw colonies when Blue was away and aided her Diamond in their managements. She specializes in this position of great responsibility.

Alongside their roles, Celestines in general can quickly freeze liquids and control them in their solid state or at a certain temperature below freezing. Unlike Sapphires, however, they cannot generate ice out of thin air. Celestine has a pair of ice wings she can summon from her Gem. These Gems also have construction jobs on colonies. They typically work alongside Lapis Lazulis, who use their powers to excavate Kindergardens. Celestines either froze or evaporated the excess water for later use once the Kindergarten was completed.

At some point, Celestine made an error in her job managing Earth's resources and was threatened by her manager, an overreacting Aquamarine, to be replaced. She couldn't be rejuvenated or harvested because she needed all of her documents of colonies, so her Aquamarine instead requested Blue that she be given a backup Gem as a warning. This was Blue Spinel. Blue Spinel was programmed to behave like Celestine, and replace her immediately if need be. She was also meant to record and report her behaviors to Aquamarine.

Celestine was both terrified of and hated her new little replacement snitch. Spinel had to follow her everywhere, which sometimes tested Celestine's temper. The feeling was mostly mutual. Spinel had been occasionally hit and threatened by Cryolite/Celestine, and would try not to interact closely with her. Though, Spinel had a rather calm demeanor and never retaliated.

The two Gems got sent back to the Earth Colony alongside a few Lapis Lazulis to build the Beta Kindergarten. When the corrupting light was being initiated, Celestine found an opportunity to ditch Spinel and they both took seperate ships back to Homeworld. But as they were leaving, Celestine shot at Spinel's ship and knocked it offline. She was on the ship while the Gems were corrupted.

And Spinel's been stuck in the ship for a couple thousand years, eventually giving up trying to fix it. It circled in a slow spiral pattern towards the planet before finally being sucked in and crashing.

She met the CGs and now lives in Little Homeworld or something, this most likely took place after the movie. She had nothing against Steven or the CGs aside from the fact that she had to fight in the war a little bit at some point, but it was all fine and dandy. She didn't cause any problems when she ended up on Earth.

I don't actually have a finished design for Celestine, but I expect she'd have snow colored hair in a sort of angel wing shaped bob, feathery looking shoulder pads, sorta pale bluish skin and a blue-gray dress/skirt. Sorta sharp white boots like Holly Blue. Her gem is on her naval like Spinel, and of course she's really tall.

[weremarkable]

Armie's interview that will set the tongues wagging

Can't believe they're not sharing pictures of Armie splayed across the bed! 😞

When I walk into Armie Hammer’s suite at New York’s Crosby Hotel, Hammer is splayed across the be. It’s the middle of the day on a Saturday, and Hammer is still fully dressed in a maroon sweater, black jeans, and sneakers. “I’m not going to be laying down here during the interview, I promise,” he says. “This is going to be like therapy — I’m going to lay down on the couch.” In one fluid motion, the six-foot-five actor peels himself off the bed and relocates to the couch, kicks up his feet, and smiles. “Can we talk about my deepest fears?” he deadpans.

We’re in his suite to talk about something similarly daunting: Hammer’s new movie, Hotel Mumbai, in which he plays a tourist on holiday in Mumbai with his wife (Nazanin Boniadi) and baby when a series of terrorist attacks begin to unfold across the city. Directed by Anthony Maras, the film is based on the real 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, and though many of the characters (including Hammer’s) are composites (rather than based on real victims), the film is a bleak, difficult watch. It’s also something of a departure for Hammer, who’s beloved in the public imagination for cavorting sexily through Italy with Timothée Chalamet.

So perhaps it’s appropriate that we’re talking about Hotel Mumbai in patient-therapist format. We also delve into some less-bleak subject matters: the status of Call Me by Your Name’s much-anticipated sequel, whether Hammer is going to play the Invisible Man or Batman, and why he’s suddenly gone quiet on social media.

Hotel Mumbai is a very dark, very violent film. Why take it?

The script was incredible. Brutal. It was just dripping with humanity. And I saw a few of Anthony’s short films, and he made a short film called The Palace that was so fucking intense that I literally had to pause it at one point and stand up and pace around the room. And be like, “What is he doing? Why is he doing this to me? This is a personal attack! I’m being attacked by this man and this direction!” And I thought, If he can do this in a short …

How were you able to get in and out of this really dark place on set?

I had no choice, really. You’re being pursued by men with guns, screaming at you in a language you don’t understand, running through smoke-filled corridors. It felt really firsthand. And also, it was a very serious set. And not just because the subject matter is so intense, but because we all couldn’t help but just feel and be reminded that people had really gone through this. And they didn’t have the luxury of yelling “Cut!” when things got too intense for them. It was really somber, and the way we dealt with that was to celebrate each other’s presence at night. We’d go to dinner and just sit and have meals and talk and just laugh and joke and have wine, and really try to enjoy life, knowing that these people didn’t have that opportunity. We were filming in a situation where the idea of life felt really fleeting, so we tried to make the best of it at night.

Was your family on set?

Elizabeth [Chambers, Hammer’s wife] was there. Harper [Hammer’s daughter] was there. Not on set on set, because there was a lot of gunfire and blood. Elizabeth was like, “Aah, I don’t want to do this.” And Harper is so young, I don’t want to subject her to that.

You’re subjected to some serious violence in this movie. Was it particularly upsetting for Elizabeth or your family to see you in this one?

The overall violence was more upsetting than [mine] specifically. Just feeling like you were in a first-person terror attack was really jarring. So it was about the bigger issue more than me — that this shit happens, and that fucking sucks. It just happened again [in New Zealand]. How about we just stop fucking shooting each other? Antiquated, extremist ideas. Xenophobic philosophies. Extremism, indoctrination. Enough. It’s so dumb.

You’ve been pretty politically outspoken on Instagram and Twitter, but lately you’ve gone quiet. What’s that about?

Healthy emotional boundaries.

When did you put those up?

Not soon enough. [Laughs.] It was fun for a while, the whole social media thing — “I can say whatever I want,” “Ooh, that got me in trouble,” “Oh, I can say this,” “Ooh, that got me in trouble, too.” It’s a dangerous dance partner. You might have a moment of fun dancing, and then it’s gonna stomp on your feet. I’m just like, I’m getting too old for this shit. I’m done.

Was there a specific moment where you were like, “I’m done”?

No, it was kind of gradual. It was a generalized thing, built up of specific moments.

Like when you were fighting with Jeffrey Dean Morgan?

Yeah. Part of me was like, “Oh, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, really, lashing out here? Methinks thou doth protest too much, my man! Do you feel guilty about posting a picture of you and Stan Lee after he died?” [Laughs.]

I heard a rumor someone lost a hand while filming Hotel Mumbai

No, the director lost a thumb! He stuck it into a fan by accident. In India, they don’t have the same safety precautions; they don’t have OSHA. He tried to move a fan that didn’t have a grate over it. His thumb went into it and it just went [makes the noise of a thumb being cut off by a fan]. It shot blood everywhere. And Dev [Patel] ended up finding the thumb on the floor; they ran on foot to a hospital. Tried to reattach it, and they couldn’t.

He has no thumb?

He’s got, like, half a thumb.

How long did it take to start filming again?

He was out for three days in the hospital, and finished directing the movie from a hospital gurney on set.

Holy shit, really?

Yeah, it was hilarious. This was toward the end of the movie.

I have to ask about the Call Me by Your Name sequel. It’s in my contract.

Is it really?

No, but we do care so much. So what’s the latest?

Timmy’s out! I’m not sure why. Timmy said the only way he’d do it is if they paid him $15 million. [Laughs.] No, the truth is, there have been really loose conversations about it, but at the end of the day — I’m sort of coming around to the idea that the first one was so special for everyone who made it, and so many people who watched it felt like it really touched them, or spoke to them. And it felt like a really perfect storm of so many things, that if we do make a second one, I think we’re setting ourselves up for disappointment. I don’t know that anything will match up to the first, you know?

The experience of filming it, or the movie itself?

Both.

Do Timmy and Luca feel that way, too?

I don’t know. I haven’t had that conversation with them explicitly. But I mean, look. If we end up with an incredible script, and Timmy’s in, and Luca’s in, I’d be an asshole to say no. But at the same time, I’m like, That was such a special thing, why don’t we just leave that alone?

That’s new, though, because you’ve said for a while now that you guys were saying it was definitely happening. What shifted for you?

I’m not sure that it was ever really definitely going to happen. People just seemed so excited about it that we were like, “Oh, yeah, fuck it! We’ll do it, sure!” [Turns to publicist.] Was it ever really like, real real

Publicist: I think it’s not real until it is.

Hammer: It’s not real until it is. And I won’t do it for less than, uh, $10 million! [Laughs loudly.]

So there’s no script or concrete plans.

No. I was talking to Luca, and he was like, “I think it might be fun to do this, or it might be fun to do this!” And I was like, “Those all sound like great ideas!” But that’s as real as it is right now. And I was joking about $10 million. I want $12 million.

Okay, I’ll make sure to write that down.

$12.5 million actually. Let’s go $12.5 million. Plus 10 percent commission for my agent. [Laughs.]

When was the last time you talked to Timmy and Luca?

Timmy and I texted yesterday. Luca, I talked to him the day of the Indie Spirit Awards.

The last time you spoke to Vulture, you did this great profile with Kyle Buchanan. And you spoke about how, in certain ways, you had fallen in love with Luca on set. When he read that profile, what was his response to it?

It didn’t really come up. But it was the thing we both felt. It’s not like he read it and was surprised. He was like, Aw, nice of you to say. I feel the same way. It’s a really intense process to make a movie in a foreign country. And when you do it with people you really resonate with, it forms a special bond.

I’m really excited about your upcoming remake of Rebecca. How are you going to make your version of Maxim de Winter different, Armie Hammer–ish?

Well, he’s going to look like me. It’s funny because we’re still really getting into it. There’s a new draft of the script coming up soon, and Ben [Wheatley] is such an amazing director and so collaborative that I feel like we’re going to come up with something really interesting and different than the Laurence Olivier version. With that being said, we haven’t started getting into it yet. It’s a couple months out; we’re filming this summer.

And what about these Invisible Man rumors?

I recently read those myself! What is the Invisible Man?

It’s part of Universal’s Dark Universe.

What is the Dark Universe?

They tried to build a franchise around their classic monsters, like Frankenstein.

Okay. I don’t know what that is. I’m not against it! So it’s a peripheral universe?

They had these big plans to create a universe, and it failed, and there are rumors they’re trying to restart it again … with you.

Shows you how much they’ve talked to me about it. I haven’t heard anything about it from anyone who makes actual decisions. I read about it online: “Armie Hammer might play the Invisible Man.” I was like, “Okay! Do I have to be in it?”

That’s true, because you’re invisible.

I know, that’s the thing! Voice-over job? That would be so easy. I would do that in a second.

You could literally phone it in.

I would literally phone it in!

Do you have a Google alert for yourself?

No, no, no. That’s part of the healthy emotional boundaries. I feel like a lot of the things on the internet, like Twitter, are largely populated by the people that go on Yelp and write one-star reviews just to be like, “Fuck that place!” I don’t want to take the brunt of that. I used to. Full disclosure, I used to have a Google alert for myself, and search myself on Twitter. It never gave me anything other than anxiety, so I was like, “Maybe it’s best to just not do this.” If you don’t Google yourself, and you don’t know about something, it doesn’t exist at all.

Though you did know about the Invisible Man.

I did. Because I get asked about that, and also about Batman: “Are you gonna do Batman?” I’m like, “No …” They’re like, “Are you gonna do the Invisible Man?” And I’m like, “Who is making these calls?! No!”

Which man will you be, Armie?

The bat or the invisible? But, no, neither.