#we're allowed to disagree with each other on things

[icannotgetoverbirds]

🚗🔨⚒️💥

Now that I have your attention:

hey. with all the shit going around I don't wanna see any trans infighting, okay? we have a chance to stick up for each other together right now. I saw a post talking about how the people discussing transandrophobia are (partially) behind the transfem hate campaigns with absolutely nothing to back it, most likely (and I'm just hazarding a guess here) because of the perception that people talking about transandrophobia don't care about transmisogyny.

While I, personally, don't feel qualified to speak at length on transandrophobia quite yet, I think I am qualified to say that yeah, this shit happens. Ultimately what you call it is more semantics than anything, but trans men face unique oppression for being both trans and men, on top of what we face for being afab. it's all sexism in the end regardless.

With that said? I am here for the trans women being targeted by smear campaigns, mass reporting, and whatever the hell the ceo is trying to pull. Seriously, what is up with that guy?

This blog is a safe space for transfems, transmascs, and transneutral folks; any discussions of transandrophobia are never to speak over or take higher importance than discussions of transmisogyny, or vice versa, and neither are to take priority over discussions on exorsexism, or vice versa.

Right now it's important that we trust each other to be speaking in good faith unless proven otherwise, and that we don't dehumanize anybody, even if somehow some vile accusation turns out to be true.

[pigcowboys]

Hi boo(i hope that was not too cringe)! Could you pls do a percy jackson, enemies to lovers! story? Like in everyone in the Camp knows their hatred against each other but then they get send on a quest together and end up kissing each other to disguise their quest?!

I would really appreciate it!

Have a good Day!

pairing: percy jackson x gn! reader (2nd pov is used but someone does say 'chick')

summary: much to your displeasure, you find yourself on a quest with the one person you hate the most.

warning(s): BICKERING. mutual pining (they just don't know it yet.), kissing, swearing, enemies to lovers.

a/n: IT WASNT CRINGE DWW HAHA, i tried my best!! school starts for me pretty soon so im trying to write as much as i can before i have to go back.. (also im sorry abt the images i dont know whats going on with my computer.)

you hated them, everyone of them.

that wretched camp and it's obnoxious staff oh, and don't even get you started on that stupid oracle. she set you up! they all did.

gods, why of all people did it have to be him?

perseus jackson - most of the time shortened to just percy jackson, maybe even peter johnson at times. what an ass he was.

believe it or not when you first came to camp half-blood you had actually taken a liking to him. he was cute, full of energy and full of endless bravery, your exact type.

you weren't sure when it begun, your hatred for him, that is. it kind of just..started. when? not sure. your exact guess must've been that one valentine's day when he accidentally sneaked the last muffin at breakfast. yeah, that must've been it.

to be honest though, you didn't need a reason. you just did, and you weren't exactly quiet about it either. from the day you started to hate his guts all his advances to be nice to you were met with a glare or a huff. sometimes you'd just straight up walk away from him.

so, it basically didn't take him long to send you back the same glares or huffs or even the smallest mutter of 'geez, not this chick again..' everyone hoped the feud would dissipate, that the two of you would grow the fuck up and call a truce.

too bad their prayers didn't help.

infact, you were pretty sure that even if the gods themselves came down from olympus and said 'get along or die right here' you'd pick the latter in a heartbeat.

so, when you'd initially been called into chiron for some 'great news' you'd expected him to tell you that percy had finally decided to leave camp - or that you'd won the lottery. fuck, you wished that was it.

"hey, stay on your side, bucko!" you said, nudging percy to the side aggressively. "i'm not on the market, especially for you."

"can you be serious for second!" percy snapped back, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "we have to prove to chiron that we can do this." he turned back to face the front. "or...we're in for another lecture."

"i wouldn't mind, really," you grinned. "i've perfected the art of sleeping with my eyes open."

"if only you could perfect the art of silence.."

you glared at him.

the two of you were submerged underwater at the moment in one of percy's bubbles. chiron had asked of you to go to queens in order to do..something? you didn't really pay attention to chiron at the time - besides, you were thinking about drowning yourself in the nearest lake when you'd heard the percy going on the quest with you in tow. the only thing you could remember was that it was super important to not let anyone see you.

something about the appearance of two demigod children to monster being dangerous? you weren't sure why he thought the things wouldn't be able to sniff you out anyways.

the bubble wasn't even your idea to be fair. you'd suggested just taking the train, as it much easier but percy disagreed - as usual. said it would be quicker to just swim over via bubble transfer and although you wanted to disagree, you settled on the idea that the station at this time would be packed as hell.

so you bit your tongue and allowed yourself to be trapped in a bubble with percy for about a half an hour or so.

"ugh, how much longer..?" you asked, adjusting your clothes uneasily. the bubble wasn't by any means uncomfortable just..kind of warm? weirdly enough. percy didn't spare you a glance only opting to shurg his shoulder slightly as he focused on the vast ocean in front of the two of you.

you glared at him from your spot in the bubble, uncomfortably crossing your legs as you turned away from him, jumping when you realized a never before seen fish was staring into your soul from outside the bubble. it wasn't a surprise to you to see the fish, percy was the son of poseidon, you expected him to go full aquaman one day and pull up to camp half blood with a stream of wild dolphins and squids.

still, the beady little dead eyes scared the shit out of you. and in your natural knee jerk reflex, you moved back, inching into percy and bumping his shoulder. he turned to face you with a distasteful look, face contorting in confusion when he noticed the small school of fish now gathering.

your face morphed into one of uncomfort as you gazed at the tons of fish that seemed to spawn out of nowhere. "uh..can you call your friends off?"

percy seemed to share a look with the fish, a look of embarrassment flashing over his face briefly as he glared at them intensely. you looked on at the exchange in silence because, was he really talking to fishes? the fish eventually scrammed after a while and you and percy were back on your way. silence fell over the two of you before you spoke up suddenly.

"i didn't know you spoke fish.."

"drop it."

"i think we're here." percy annouced as the bubble started to drift closer to shore. were you guys there? you weren't sure at all. you were just happy to be out of that bubble - the close proximity was making you break out.

you were in fact there, somehow. and it was by then it hit you that this was a quest - a really important mission for a demigod and since it was assigned to specifically you and percy, it meant you had to deliver.

your duo walked towards the city, looking around for any suspicious looking civilians or any sign of irregular activity. it would've been an easy task to scope out the objective of the mission if it wasn't for percy's loud breathing.

seriously, you could hear him practically breathing down your neck as the two of you walked. him and his stupid big nostrils - you couldn't focus.

"mind breathing a little less loud?"

percy blinked at you. "these requests are starting to get literally concerning." his face contorted in confusion. "how the hell does one 'breathe a little less loud' ?"

"they not be percy jackson."

"that wasn't even english??"

you were about to say something else smart when a couple of people ahead caught your attention, they weren't inherently weird looking but, you got this vibe from them - that they weren't completely human. your mind raced as you looked around as nonchalantly as you could.

there were people here. to your right, 2 parents and their one hyperactive son who clawed at the ice cream in front of him with his tongue, a bright smile on his face and to your left a group of younger looking teenage girls who were chatting brightly. most likely about hair dye because their highlights were so bright they were giving you eye cancer.

you thought fast. pulling percy by his wrist as you dashed down the street, rushing into the nearest store slash tourist attraction you could as you pushed him into the corner roughly, looking behind you to see if the people had followed you.

he gave you a completely surprised look, slight annoyance forming on his face as he exhaled heavily. "is there any reason you felt like dragging me into this.." he looked around, eyes landing on a random cowboy hat that was situated on a hook in the corner of the place. "slightly..cool place?" he finished, grabbing the cowboy hat and observing it curiously.

"i saw them, well - i think i did.." you mumbled out, looking around erratically as you watched out for any signs of being followed. percy quirked an eyebrow at you.

"the IRS finally caught you orr.."

"percy, this is serious!" you exclaimed, growing slightly embarrassed when the store owner shot the two of you a look. you smiled at the owner awkwardly, ushering percy into a corner with your hand.

"look, i'm pretty sure i found the guys we were going here for." you said, still stealing glances behind you. "i saw them..just now, when were walking."

"did they follow us?" percy asked, more seriously now.

"i'm not sure," you frowned.

percy thought for a moment before speaking once more."they wouldn't do anything with all these humans here - we just have to make sure we blend in."

"and how do you suppose we do that?"

percy grinned at you, reaching over to grab another hat that was right next to the one he'd picked up earlier.

you grimaced, who's idea was it to put you two together?

"do you think we lost them?"

"nah, we definitely still need the disguises."

the two of you were situated on the street currently, attempting to look as normal as possible. though, it was pretty hard to with these stupid cowboy hats percy insisted the two of you had to wear. claimed it would be "inconspicuous" but in reality it was extremely, eye catching.

you figured he just wanted you to wear it so he could laugh behind your back about how utterly foolish you looked. it didn't help that he'd picked out the hat with the corniest design for you - and it was bedazzled.

you let of a huff of frustration. "can we switch? this one's too big on me., i'm half blind here, man."

"you'll live," percy reassured. "besides, it's better if they can't see your face."

"what's the use? they'll just sniff us out eventually."

percy shot you a look. "you're no fun."

you opened your mouth to say something when percy's face changed as he locked eyes with something behind you. you barely had time to react when he pulled you into a brutal bear hug, turning you away from whatever it was that was behind you.

your muscles tensed as your face started to burn with embarrassment. a "what the fuck, percy?" was muffled into his shirt as you felt the presence of the monsters nearing closer. your heart sank to your feet as realized how near they were really.

"whatever i do.." percy whispered in your ear. "just promise you won't be too mad."

"what're you talk-"

and then before you knew it, you'd lost your lip virginity. i mean, it wasn't the worst first kiss story you'd have to tell people. boy kissed me in order to distract the bloodthirsty monsters that were tracking us down! wow, how romantic.

in all honesty, you knew percy just did what he had to do. you knew he just had to keep you to keep your disguises up. that was probably the rest why you leaned into the kiss, hands coming up to rest on his chest as his brutal bear hug eased into more a gentle hug, his hands moving the hold your hips.

the kiss had to look real - romantic. that's why you pretend to be so into it that you let out a satisfied hum. you weren't sure if the monsters had moved on from the two of you, you weren't even sure if you were safe at all in the moment. but, it was starting to get hard to think as your mind swirled with various conflicting thoughts that stemmed from your actions at the moment.

percy broke the kiss, his eyes gazing into your curiously as he removed his hands from your hips slowly. you removed your hand from his chest, pulling away gently. your eyes searched his own for any sign of discomfort or disgust as you started to grow weary of the fact he'd just stolen your first kiss.

yet, you were surprised to find that there was none - just confusion and surprise. you tore your eyes away from him, clearing your throat. as you fixed your outfit. "i..i think i saw them go somewhere over there." you pointed at the secluded alleyway not too far from where you and percy stood. "let's go - we can get the drop on them."

percy stared at you for a moment before nodding, slightly dazed and following you towards the alleyway silently.

the ride back home - or should you say float back home was silent, as it always was. though, something different seemed to be hanging in the air this time. a feeling of awkwardness that was mostly unnatural to you and percy.

you wanted to ask about it - the kiss, why did he do it? why was that first thing he came up with? why did he lean into you slightly? why did the world seemed to stop for a second when your lips met and most of all whyyy the hell did you want it to happen again?

you stole a glance at percy. the two of you were a few feet away from each other, on opposite sides of the bubble. maybe you were going crazy or something but did percy look..good? you swore it was just because of the mixed feelings you had about him being your first but you couldn't shake the thought about how beautiful he looked in the moment.

okay, something's not right.

"do you wanna talk about it?" you blurted out suddenly, shifting positions as you leaned forward slightly. percy turned to look at you, he wasn’t annoyed nor angry, not even suicidal. he looked, enamored — and slightly caught off guard by your question.

"talk about what exactly?"

your eyebrows furrowed. "you kissed me, percy jackson." you pointed at him accusingly. "and you liked it."

percy blew a raspberry, a slightly surprised look on his face. "what makes you think i liked it?"

you paused. had you read something wrong? you thought about dropping the idea but thought against it, deciding to die on that hill. "because your hands somehow found their way onto my hips," you started. "and your lips pursed — and your heartbeat picked up little by the little the longer it lasted."

you crossed your legs, inching away from percy as you gave him a small frown. "and..you looked at me weird." percy's face was flushed as he looked at you silently from his position on the other side of the bubble.

"how did i look at you..?"

you glanced at him. "like you didn't want to drown me in the lake and leave my body for the fishes." you joked. "like..you didn't hate me."

"i don't hate you."

your head spun towards percy, your eyes widened comically. you opened your mouth to say something but the words were caught in your throat. percy analyzed you before speaking once more.

"i don't think i ever have, it's just - you're very annoying." percy sighed. "and it sucks because you're more attractive than you think you are." you stared at him in silence. your heart pounded in your chest as you gulped.

"do you like me?"

"do you like me?" percy repeated with emphasis on the me.

you laughed, inching towards percy on the other side of the bubble. "i do." you stopped in front of him, a warm smile on your face as you watched a smile break out onto his face. "i like you too." he whispered, staring at you quietly before leaning forward slightly to test the waters.

you instantly took the bait, leaning forward as well as you locked lips with percy one again. a bolt of lightning shot through you as you leaned into his touch, placing your hand on his shoulder as you climbed into his lap. percy seemed more than happy to have you there, his hands coming to rest on your hips so he could keep you steady.

you broke the kiss, hands slithering around his neck as you looked down at him with a small smile. you were about to say something when your attention was brought to the sickly sight of a line of fish outside the bubble once again. you yelped in surprise, stumbling back slightly and if it wasn't for percy's grip on you, you probably would've busted your ass.

percy looked behind him, slightly annoyed at the presence of the fish. it lingered for a bit longer before dashing off reluctantly. at which point, percy turned to you with a frown. you eyed him curiously.

"what?"

"he's going to tell everyone about the '2 demigods getting it on in the bottom of the sea'. "

[monstersinthecosmos]

buncha discourse a year or so back about how Marius and Daniel are both complete people without Armand (agreed) and that acknowledging the way Armand sort of haunts their relationship means we're taking agency away from Daniel as a whole person (vehemently disagree) and basically I just think, it's very short sighted to look at a relationship like Marius & Daniel's and NOT acknowledge the empty space of Armand between them.

Of course!!!!! We must acknowledge that fanworks and fandom are about transformative work and someone can easily devote time & energy to writing fics where Armand is never acknowledged once if that's what they want, but it's not what I want! It's not how I prefer to approach them!

I think there's something very salient about Armand's absence between them! I want us to spend time with it! I want to ask, when Daniel is at his worst, how much of this is Armand's fault? And I want to ask, when Marius nurses him through it, how much guilt does he feel? How might he look at Armand's behavior as a maker and wonder if he fucked up, if he did wrong by Armand by not being a better maker himself, if this could've been avoided?

It's such incredible source of trauma to look at--for Marius, I think it's a matter of "He behaves this way because I couldn't keep him safe, and I didn't rescue him, and I didn't rescue him because I couldn't reconcile how betrayed and triggered I felt by his cult, and if I had taken care of Santino and taken the cult seriously all along, this could have been avoided."

And for Daniel, we have to remember it's not JUST that he had a bad turning, that he's sensory-overloaded and bad at vampiring, but this is the nastiest breakup of his life! Especially considering that like, it's so much beyond being a marriage of sorts--TILL DEATH DO US PART except they'll never die. It must have hurt him so badly. And like, he was 20 when his life effectively ended, so it's entirely possible that this is his ONLY real bad breakup, and this was his only like actual adult relationship.

But even for him, I love thinking about how badly Armand hurt him, but as he gets to know Marius and understand the situation better, and understand Why Armand is Like That, there's such a potent space for forgiveness and empathy.

I like thinking about Daniel coming out of it slowly and allowing Marius to see his real personality, and all the space where they get to know each other and care for each other. It's not unlike the Devil's Minion--growing something where there was something else. With Armand it was fear and revulsion that become familiar and passionate. With Marius it starts with caretaking and confusion, and as he gets ahold of himself and things come into focus they can get to know each other as people.

idk I just really love this triangle in VC and the dynamics are really fascinating to me, and I'm happy that I've been poking at it and dissecting it for Vamptember, and I hope my haters of the past who told me I was stupid for approaching this way know that they can simply keep scrolling and write their own fics if they don't like it! :)

[curio-queries]

SMERALDO GARDEN MARCHING BAND

My thoughts prior to the release of MUSE. I've avoided pretty much all reactions and analysis posts until I finished this so I have no clue if anyone else has come up with better words to describe some of these concepts but here's my take on it. I wanted to get this out prior to MUSE so that I can see how my view evolves with further context but here's where I am now.

Initial Reaction:

I'd actually had a few issues that night so I wasn't in the best headspace to take in a new song but I did listen to it on Spotify first and then watched the mv twice, once without subs and once with. (And yes, I know it's technically not called an mv...deal with it lol)

Anyways, I definitely wasn't immediately sold on it - which is expected from me, it's EXCEEDINGLY rare that I like any song on first listen but SGMB only took a couple of runthroughs before I was on board. One thing that helped me reframe it in my mind and with my previous expectations is to remember the first part of Jimin's self-proclaimed attributes: Cutie, sexy, lovely. SGMB leans very solidly into the cutie aspect, a little near the lovely side but far deeper into Cutie than anything we've seen in his solo releases. (RememberCute was an answer in the seossword puzzle). That got me thinking about where the rest of his songs would be in comparison and here's the placement I've landed on. Some of these have changed over the past few days but I'm curious where y'all disagree with my placements.

Good old Serendipity, a perfect balance of the three in my opinion. All of FACE is firmly in the Sexy section with Like Crazy leaning more evenly into Lovely. Lie is also right there with LC but more closely on the border. My beloved Promise and Letter holding down the Lovely section with CTT straying closer to Cutie. If you forgot about the cutie circle though, SGMB would have seems like it was complete out of the expected range. I am curious if we'll ever get something that's a mix of cutie and sexy, I can't comprehend what that would be like but I wouldn't put it past our JM to find a way!

Theories?

So, how do I think I did with all of my theories? Let's go through them one by one:

Open Locker Meaning: nothing to prove/disprove this yet. There were an awful lot of references to Serendipity in the mv though, so maybe that's the tie-in? I don't know, this one was a streeeeeetch in any case.

Sound Effects Interlude: we know we're getting an interlude but we'll have to wait for MUSE and any behind info to learn if it's sound effects that Jimin recorded himself like Dive.

Rooms Going from Dark to Light: Yes! I mean we knew it was going to be a lighter album than FACE but I think the word BRIGHT is all over SGMB. And I think this technique in both of those videos was trying to highlight that for us.

SGMB as an Actual Band: Yes! Definitely right here too! I'm going to talk about this more below because I think this is actually a very important part of this song.

The Emoji Poll from the Insta Chat: Yes! I think some people are still trying to make the argument that each option is supposed to represent different songs on muse. And while the others may lean more into any of these specifically, SGMB definitely has elements of all of them as well

An Actual Band?

So, like I mentioned in the theory above, I had the thought that SGMB could be portrayed as a fictional band itself, very similar to what MCR did with the Black Parade. And since Jimin decided to use this as the song's title; as well as make it the pre-release track, I think this is an important topic to delve into.

First, this allows Jimin a perspective shift to share with us his career outside the lens of BTS. Not because he NEEDS or WANTS to separate himself from them but he has had his own journey as an artist that may differ from his experiences from the perspective of a BTS member. Obviously BTS is completely woven through this journey and he gives us an acknowledgement of that with the line about 12 June and the handsign.

(Sidenote, whenever I see any of them do that now, I instantly think of that moment in Jimin's pixid ep where he said they don't anymore...I think we may have been misled...) 😝

Second, the frame of SGMB from a band's perspective also puts the song firmly in the categorization of 'work' rather than 'personal'. With FACE being such a deeply personal projectregarding his very deep human experiences, i love that he'svery upfront with us about MUSE being a work project. I've said this before, and it's one of my absolute favorite things about Jimin's music: he crafts it so that we can easily adapt it to our own interpretations. There's a lot of loving and beautiful imagery in the lines of this song that can have special meaning in all levels of relationships; platonic or not. But his delivery if this message to us, is professional. This is reinforced by the suits Jimin has worn in all of the material released so far. He's following a work dress code. (If you happen to see this post within a week of release, we have a poll regarding Jimin's suits on @bts-polls )

ME + US = MUSE

I just want to touch on this briefly here as I expect there'll be more once the album releases but there are some hints already. Like I discussed in my FACE post, Jimin has again come up with some key words to weave through the project. In FACE, it was several sentences but MUSE seems to be focusing on the following:

ME: Jimin himself

US: Jimin's view on his audience

MUSE: His awareness of us and how that effects his creations and manner of artistry.

SGMB and CTT are both bursting with these references and viewpoints. But I honestly don't think of SGMB as a traditional 'fan song'. I have another post where I talk about the different kinds of fan songs. Like I said above, SGMB details Jimin's experience as an artist and how his audience plays into that process. Not like CTT that's literally a diary of our journey with him. Maybe an extremely nuanced take but SGMB just doesn't feel like it belongs in the same 'fan song' categorization that CTT does.

The End for Now

Does anyone know anything about that little hand-wave Jimin does during the bow at the end? He repeats it. Is just an additional flourish that he's added in himself? I've never seen anyone do that during bows after a performance so I'm wondering if it's a cultural/industry thing.

What do y'all think? I'd love to hear your thoughts! If any of you have made posts about SGMB, I'll try to read them now but rumblr is not very forgiving if you miss something in the timeline. I'm very happy for you to share links to your posts in the comments!

[satureja13]

After Jeb and Kiyoshi finally came back to consciousness, the Boys went to Porto Luminoso. Since they're already here and the members of the Council scattered to the four winds, the Boys could as well cherish their time here before their meeting with athena and Ms Coombes tomorrow afternoon.

And since the Bond wasn't able to join Ji Ho and Vlad beyond the Veil and it's finally, finally allowed to run free (No curse! No spell! Nothing to hold it back anymore!) it's grimly determined to get its share! It's feeding off of the love shared between Ji Ho and Vlad and it's been starving all these years! Ji Ho and Vlad felt the pull from their Bond. It wants them alone. And close to each other! And they decided not to act up, since the Bond already hates Vlad (for trying to kill it - twice!) and they are afraid it would punish him again, should they not obey ö.ö' Vlad: "Eh, Ji Ho and I..." Jack laughed: "Got it! See you later for dinner at Porto Azzurro! And: don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

The others went over to Porto Azzurro. Sai and Jeb fell behind because Sai was drawn towards 'Moda Capoliveri', the fashion store. To give Jeb and Sai some alone time too, Kiyoshi said: "Jack and I are going jet skiing. See you later!" Jeb was flustered, being alone with Sai after all those months apart is still a mine field, but answered: "Uhm, ok..." Jack was proud of Kiyoshi making a bold move like this: "You're totally my kind of scum. Fearless and inventive." And off they went.

It still feels awkward between Jeb and Sai. They agreed to start over again but Jeb is afraid if he says the wrong thing, it would all go downhill again... But Jeb didn't need to talk. Like the Bond, Sai is grimly determined to make it work this time. Sai: "Do you remember our first date? Tomorrow it's two years ago. You also took me to a fashion shop." Jeb laughed: "It was just the Thriftea ^^' But of course I remember." They didn't have money to buy anything since they're already deep in dept for their tutoring, but Sai loves it to browse for new ideas for Noxee and his fashion store Strawberry Cake Fashion.

Jeb sensed how tense Sai is and how much he dreads their meeting with athena and Ms Coombes tomorrow. Jeb: "We will be able to pay back the school fees and of course Ms Coombes will give us a loan. Vlad, Kiyoshi and I worked hard over the weeks you've spent at the beach house and we even payed back Rubyn and the others and were able to put some money at the side. Don't worry, hm?" Sai: "Gods, while we wasted our time with that stupid game and the tin can!" Jeb: "Don't say that. This game helped us a lot and it is going to help others too (Jeb sensed that Sai wanted to scream and disagree, but he kept on talking). Sai, the Therapy Game was worth the trouble. And our stay at Verdantis was worth it too. Look on the bright side, hm? We got amazing tutoring and improved a lot and the game helped us to overcome some of our hardships. I feel we're able to face anything now. You did a great job keeping us together and making us stronger." Sai smiled at Jeb, he always knows to say the right things to him. Then what Jack said earlier came to his mind (about Jeb trying to avoid woohooing with Sai) and so he tried to nudge Jeb in a different direction... Sai: "Since we improved a lot, will we also be be able to put our relationship to the next level? We could ask the owner of Hotel Elvis for a free room, since we chased the Council away from Tartosa again ;) We've spent our second date here, do you remember?" The Little Goats: 'Yes, yes, YES!'

But Jeb didn't find it fair to the others (they are supposed to sleep at the campsite tonight to keep their money together) and does not want to exploit the hotel owner, so he declined Sai's offer... Or maybe he really tries to avoid getting physical because he does not want to hurt Sai should he want more...

'She: You know, sometimes I ask myself: What is this a kind of fear to lose you? What is inside of you that makes you unique And makes me fall in love with you?

He: I like to spend days teasing you With phrases that I get old And, perhaps, your impossible character Makes me fall in love with you

Cosa Sei - Ricchi e Poveri

'A volte, sai, non so perché, mi trovo a chiedermi cosa sarà questa paura che ho di perderti. Che cosa c'è dentro di te che ti fa unico e mi fa innamorare di te?

Mi piaci sempre e passo i giorni stuzzicandoti con frasi come «Sto invecchiando sopportandoti» e forse è proprio il tuo carattere impossibile che mi fa innamorare di te.'

From the Beginning 🔱 Underwater Love 🔱 Latest

Current Chapter: 'Here comes the Sun' from the beginning ▶️ here Last Chapter: 'Who killed Jack?' from the beginning ▶️ here

📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 23-28

[badaziraphaletakes]

I accept that you likely won't take this well, but I would carefully suggest that you take a step back, and recognize that not every post is serious, and not every opinion is intended to harm you. You are going to see stuff that hurts you, and you are going to see stuff that you disagree with (I do too!), and it is important to learn how to accept that everyone comes from their own place and are going to have their own backgrounds and traumas and opinions. You are allowed to have your opinion too! But you usually come across (unintentionally or not) as attacking the poster, not their opinion, and you really have no idea who they are or where they are coming from, or what trauma they are dealing with (and I am not trying to make you feel bad here!). No, you've never disagreed with one of my posts, we don't follow each other, I'm not personally hurt (and I often agree with your opinions, I think Aziraphale didn't have a choice, he was doing everything he could to protect Crowley, he is not the villain here - and neither are you!) - I just think there are a lot of bad things in the world, and I would offer a gentle constructive criticism that you can do a better job of refuting negative opinions of Aziraphale without causing more harm or hurt feelings (and I know you're not the only one, but it's the whole point of your blog). This fandom is fading (but will hopefully come back with S3), so can't we all be just a bit nicer to each other?

✅ "You likely won't take this well"

✅ Confusing calling out bigotry with “attacking people”

✅ And then not pointing to any specific examples

✅ "You need to 'accept' that..."

✅ "People are just joking"

✅ "It wasn't 'intended' to be harmful"

✅ Conflating offensive content with "content you don't agree with"

✅ Clearly not having read the pinned intro post, where we address all of these points, even though it would have taken less time than writing this ask

✅ Conflating people being offensive with "people having their own opinions"

✅ Implying that trauma means you get a pass on being bigoted

✅ Tone-policing

✅ Implying moral equivalency between saying offensive things and getting angry at the offensive things

✅ Choosing a blog that explicitly states up-front that it exists to be a safe space for Autistic, survivor, queer, and fat fans to be the blog to call out, out of all the blogs in the fandom (and plenty of them are far, far more "not nice" than we have ever been)

✅ Telling people calling out bigotry to "be nice" and implying that the lack of "niceness" in the fandom is our fault, rather than the fault of the people saying the offensive things in the first place

...Yeaaaaaah, we'd be more likely to stop running BAT if we *didn't* get asks like this. 😇

#We're not changing a thing

#Why mess with a winning formula?

[wild-karrde]

I'm gonna say something, and it's not targeted at any one user in particular because I've seen this ramping up A LOT across the fandom, especially with the premiere coming this week.

People are allowed to have different expectations/hopes/opinions than you, and that's not a personal attack on anyone. They are allowed to do that.

You can hope a character comes back from the dead. In a franchise that has practically written the joke that only Qui-Gon Jinn can't survive a lightsaber to the chest, I think it's more than fair to hope Tech re-emerges (I have my own EXCEPTIONALLY dark theories on how that may go, but we'll see). It's also ok for you to want him to stay dead. You are completely allowed to think that his arc hard run its course and his death served a purpose.

You can like the clones' physique as it's portrayed. You can prefer them thicker. And having one of these opinions is not an attack on the other.

You can want a happy ending for the Bad Batch and can be sad if it doesn't happen. That's allowed. You can also expect them to all die and to have our souls crushed. And wanting one of those doesn't make you "naive" or "too dark" or whatever adjective for not expecting the other.

I could go on and on with examples, but all to say there's this weird passive aggressive atmosphere going on right now where people post one thing, and others in the same circles/community feel the need to post the exact opposite like it's some kind of weird debate. There's posts circulating that feel borderline shaming for people that have particular hopes for the season. This is Tumblr. People just post stuff that makes them happy. Posting something you enjoy or have a theory about on a show isn't an attack on someone else or their opinions. And if you don't like someone's opinions THAT MUCH, then just unfollow them. It's really that simple. I've done it without saying a word to the person I disagreed with.

It's just really strange to me that a community that thrives off of theories and possibilities and different character interpretations and twisting threads of canon into complex stories based on a single line of dialogue or passing glance would be getting chippy with one another for having the same types of theories and hopes for undetermined canon. This is media we all love, so can we please let each other have our individual thoughts and opinions about it? I have had PLENTY of differing opinions with my friends on here about things I did/didn't like in a show. They're still my friends though.

In addition, can we all remember that just because something doesn't turn out the way you wanted, that doesn't mean it's bad; sometimes, sure, it's bad, but what I've found is that most likely means it just wasn't for you. And that's fine. Not everything can/should be for you. So go write a fic about it. Seriously. We all live for AUs. Go do it.

Let's all just be kind to one another, yeah? Because lately it feels like we're stepping on one another's excitement, and I'm not here for that.

[shallowseeker]

Yes, yes. We've talked about the futility of windmills and striving wind with regards to all hunters, workers, and soldiers.

But there are other things in this hotel that are SO CUTE.

Dean and Cas are very often twinned by their morals and values. You could say that they're very often tilting at the same "windmills." Struggling with many of the same things, albeit at different timelines.

There's also...flowers in the decor.

LOTS of flowers.

Prominent yellow flowers in the bedroom appear between them, symbolizing pesky, bubbling happiness between the two of them.

There's often this concept of "blooming" between Dean and Cas. Springtime. Hell, we can even point to Dean's dance number in s15, "Let's Misbehave," originally written for Irene Bordini.

(They say the Spring Means just one thing to little lovebirds // We're not above birds // Let's misbehave)

There's April Kelly, the reaper, and also the Leviathan blossom (that grows OUT of death). An association to Lily Sunder and her daughter May, born after spring, as Jack will be born in May.

Dean himself is like a valley of death, but ALSO a valley proper, with the capacity for growth and spring-green, and it is this that associates him to many of the Lily characters, like Lily Baker.

Anyhoo, this cute motel is mirroring the blossoming friendship. It's full of Netherlands motifs, including the windmills but also tulips and blooms. The low-lying land of the Netherlands is what makes tulips flourish there.

Later The Empty will "tiptoe through Cas's tulips" as it reads his mind (and his love).

As Dean is undergoing individuation, he too is blooming.

And wooden shoes.

There's an abundance of tulips flanking the bathroom, sprouting up alongside the Dean side, over near the couch. On what will become "the Cas side" of the domestic space... shoes.

Dean is trying not to feel things. Cas is trying not to feel things.

///

Anyway, when Cas asks for help, he gets in REEEEEALLY close again:

And Dean gets a little nervous again, shifts, slightly pouts his lips and then cracks a joke:

They've been so mean to each other. Hehe.

After all, Cas's immediate reaction to seeing Sam and Dean again was to lay into them about being failures and not worth the effort and rebellion he put into them, so Dean's cattiness is understandable here.

It's tense. Awkward.

They've been disagreeing with each other and telling each other how they've lost faith in one another and don't believe in each other's plans...which oddly is EXACTLY the sort of emotional honesty that will make their bond stronger.

They keep orbiting each other, walking around and around each other in circles, and moving into each other's spaces. Even without the dialogue, the body language is interesting.

Cas is trying to read him, to figure out the human rules of him not being allowed to move threateningly into Dean's space, but Dean being allowed to move into his ... plus Dean making off cultural references that involve HOLDING HANDS and sailing off cliffs.

Then brushing past him so closely, and what exactly ARE the rules for personal space? Also, we see the yellow flowers between them here.

Dean may be under the impression that Cas doesn't care about him that much. That he helped him on a moral whim and now he's stuck with him/them.

And they're very close to one another again. Dean is fishing for information. "I'm your strategical bait, huh? That's all?"

And Dean relents.

///

So anyway, the body language is legendary for a reason, but the flowers are such a nice backdrop. :DDD

Aside///

I love how Cas just marches in on the Cas and tries to be frank with everyone.

Poor Cas. Just a mere hundred or couple hundred years ago, this would've worked. He really COULD march in there and start talking angels and demons with some authority, might have even been able to tell them that he was an angel.

What we call the modern world is still so new. We as a species have believed in supernatural worlds for so much longer than we haven't.

And Dean just... can't help getting into Cas's personal space. I find that so cute about him. He establishes the norms of personal space and then he proceeds to fiddle with Cas's clothes. Meanwhile Cas is just like ????? wow human rules are so illogical.

*Dean fiddling*

Dean, honey. I promise you that if you'd handed Cas the badge, he would've grabbed it somewhat normally.

///

Dean *fiddling with his own badge and coat and steadfastly NOT looking at Cas's face*

*can't resist*

Aside/// I love so much that SPNwin poked fun at THIS in particular (as well as SPNwin's John making silly voices).

Sighting on main: Man with a nascent, burgeoning mega-crush tries to make rules about personal space and then winds up being even weirder about space than the person he was accusing of not adhering to normal human etiquette...

DEAN: *buttoning, buttoning, I know I'm taking a while to button this, pay it no mind. now imma fix your tie...*

[wistfulwatcher]

ok not only was this just a bad narrative choice for the show in general and natalie's character, this was also such a WEAK narrative choice for misty, too.

christina has talked about how something happens at the end of the season that "changes" misty. but the thing is, this has happened before. to her. same circumstances. this is the opposite of something that should change her, because it's exactly what happened with crystal!

both times misty found a friend when she was desperately alone, she clung to that friend and put everything into the relationship. and then, due to the intensity of her relationship—sharing everything with crystal, wanting to protect natalie—she caused the death of the person she loved.

there is nothing i love more than parallels, but for a parallel to be narratively meaningful, there needs to be a purpose to it. you need to use it to highlight differences, or show a progression. there is no progression for misty here. this is just history repeating itself. if misty didn't change after crystal died, and nothing has changed between then and now for misty, then WHY does this change her? she just needed it to happen twice??

killing natalie was a disgusting choice, and if we're supposed to believe that it was necessary for misty's character growth, with absolutely no narrative justification for it to be, then—beyond it just being awful—it is an entirely lower level of bad storytelling.

i am all for a story where these women continue to (figuratively) cannibalize each other as adults; i signed up for a dark show about women making bad choices. but 1) this wasn't a choice. this was, once again, an accident. i signed up for a show about women with agency, and making everything around them an accident or an unintended consequence is absolutely spitting in the face of that (presumably to make them more ~sympathetic, and i hate it).

and 2) there are other ways for them to hurt each other without death being a factor. this show is supposed to be about struggling with trauma, and you can't struggle with trauma when you're dead. the far more interesting story is one where the past is well and truly saturated with conflict—with characters you know are doomed and you still learn to love, and with characters you know survive and you have to continually struggle to forgive and understand.

i had so, so much love for season one because that's what i thought we were getting. i thought we were getting a bittersweet love story about the complexity of women, the complexity of trauma, the complexity of survival.

instead, this is becoming yet another show where things happen to women. where, to make them sympathetic—as more palatable to mainstream (cough male cough) audiences—they need to write women as victims of circumstance, as victims of their pasts, as victims of their own actions.

this is becoming a show where women who make bad choices are not allowed to stand behind them. who must be out of control (shauna, lottie, tai), or must be punished for the unintended consequences (misty), or must die (nat, van potentially).

and now, with natalie the antler queen in the past, and a character we no longer have in the present, i wonder how long it will be until she becomes the scapegoat for the surviving characters. how long until the worst actions in the wilderness are put upon natalie's shoulders, to lighten the load from the surviving women. how long until the only characters allowed to have agency, allowed to be complex and make disagreeable choices that they intend to make, are ones who die.

how long until our beautiful, complex, surviving characters are washed down to nothing, to shells of themselves in the name of making them more sympathetic. more palatable. how long until this is just another shallow mystery, without the beating heart of the first season.

[thenhlteaissuperhot]

not disagreeing with you, just want to know how exactly is the bruins cabin the healthiest or what has chara done so revolutionary

Chara has banned the word "rookie" from the locker room because he believes that everyone on the roster is a part of the team in the same exact way, no matter whether someone has played hundreds of games with the Bruins and is going to be a hall of Famer with a retired jersey or is yet to experience his debut in the league and the team. Because of that, they have also banned the rookie lap tradition.

He has also made all the European guys, who don't have English as their first language, talk in English in both the locker room and on the ice so everyone would understand each other and there wouldn't be any language barrier or fragmentation among the guys, saying that they can talk in their native languages with their countrymen when hanging out with each other, but not when it comes to matters that involve the entire team - mind you, Chara himself comes from Europe, he is Slovakian, so this wasn't a case of an American being annoyed by the guys speaking Swedish, Czech, and so on around him.

To make the foreign guys feel welcome, he has also learned how to greet each player individually in their native language - a small gesture, but one that definitely is heart-warming in your eyes if you come to the NHL without confidence in your English language skills and homesick, hundreds of miles away from where you come from.

Back in 2021, Bergeron made the entire team sit down and watch the 25-minute TSN interview with Kyle Beach, saying that while it was hard for everyone, it was crucial to go through it together as a team to showcase that there is a safe space in Boston to come out with this sort of stuff and ask for help or counseling if anything similar happens to anyone of the team.

Brad Marchand has come forward on numerous occasions, standing up for and supporting the LGBT community:

"I want to stand up for what I believe in, and I don't think it's right when people say things or bash people because of their sexual orientation. I have friends who are in gay relationships, and I don't think it's right for people to be against that. Everyone is allowed to find love whatever way that is."

When he was asked if the Bruins would accept a player that has come out, he responded:

"Guys would accept that, no question. We're a team in the [dressing] room and a family. It doesn't matter what different beliefs guys have, or where they come from, or whatever the case may be. Guys would accept it. Again, in the room, we're a family."

Charlie McAvoy has also been vocally supporting the matter, even attending the Pride Parades in Boston, despite all the backlash many fans sent his way after seeing the photos.

You can hate Boston for how they sometimes act on the ice and how their fans act on social media, I don't deny that Brad is a bloody rat more than often, whom I would have detested wholeheartedly if he wasn't on my team, but you have to admit that Bruins have the healthiest environment in the cabin and the most mature and considerate core in the league.

Plus they play good hockey too and Boston as a city is gorgeous, so if I found myself being a professional hockey player in another life, the Bruins would definitely be my dream destination.

[cornchrunchie]

We talk a lot about how Crowley and Aziraphale make each other smile, and how they're united through their shared excitement about the world. While this is very valid, I feel like we're forgetting about another important part of a relationship: mutual complaint.

Oh, how much I adore this brief moment between them.

Do you know how much trust it probably takes for someone like Aziraphale to openly complain about something related to his work?

First of all, he is not allowed to complain about anything in Heaven other than Hell. We see this a lot in S1 when he tries to discuss the plans of Armageddon and is repeatedly (even violently) shut down by the archangels. He is an Angel. He works for Heaven, the so-called Good Side. Everything he does, he should do with delight. Being unhappy about a task? Not wanting to do something, let alone disagree with it? It’s just not on.

Second of all, the way Aziraphale says it, he is expecting a certain reaction from Crowley, an affirming one, that is. He is saying it in a way that is asking: “Isn’t that awful?” He is not afraid to be judged, rather the opposite: He believes that Crowley will show him sympathy. And most amazingly, Crowley does.

Not only does Aziraphale trust Crowley enough to complain about something and communicate negative emotions about his work, but he also knows Crowley well enough to anticipate his understanding. He makes himself vulnerable and is rewarded with validation in return.

Even if this was already part of Crowley’s plan to speak about The Agreement, Aziraphale wouldn’t know it. And if we're honest, it doesn't really matter. He trusts Crowley because Crowley deserves his trust.

Sure, getting excited about the same things is fun. But additionally, being able to complain to somebody and knowing that they will be on your side, building a foundation of mutual trust by shared dislike?

Damn. That truly is some love right there.

[decolonize-the-everything]

calling lesbians who aren't okay with "trans men lesbians" radfems is weird as hell when "trans men are just confused lesbians" IS a widespread radfem stance. if you support them whatever but it's disingenuous to act like lesbians who don't want to date trans men are radfems for that

I think policing relationships and gender and such in the queer community is genuinely one of the worst things that's happened to us in the last 20 years.

I think if you're attracted to someone or not then ok? That's it. Period.

Who cares how they identify or the words they use?

"lesbophobia"

Give me a fucking break. Show me the trans man killing lesbians. Trying to get lesbian relationships to be criminalized? To have them removed from the queer community?

You can't. Because it's not trans men doing that. It's TERFs.

"they're invading our spaces!"

Oh like a hypothetical evil cis man would invade a bathroom by pretending to be a woman?

I said radfem-lite lite for a reason ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We made up a bunch of rules for how the Other person you're attracted to identifies and then moralized it and made DNIs and started calling queer people"-phobic" based on Your own ideas of gender/relationships (good job creating a more inclusive shitty binary with rules btw) and acting like everyone who doesn't agree with Your rules and ideas is some queerphobic enemy is fucking wild.

The whole point of queerness is simply that we aren't allo cishets. That we're different. And it's something we ALL experience so we're supposed to be understanding. That sometimes people WONT have the same concept of gender as you, the same rules and that's okay. We are a community because understand each other on that. We agree and have that solidarity because we ALL experience this from people who believe that binary can NOT allow for trans people or queer relationships.

I will literally Never ever agree with anyone who disagrees any of this. They're no ally of mine or the queer community. You are wildly accepting of your siblings or you have some queerphobia to work on.

Believe whatever the hell you want but to say Specific queer people are "invading" your space is also just fucking ahistorical. For a long time lesbian was the only word even used if you presented as a woman and liked people who presented as women. Did you know that? Who cares if you were a man or woman or trans or a gender?

If you feel like how someone ELSE identifies undermines your own identity then welcome to the Same Exact reason that homophobic and transphobic straights are homophobic and transphobic!!

We make them question gender and relationships in ways that make them uncomfortable. That make them question their own relationship to gender itself. And nobody is supposed to do that. You're supposed to follow the rules. Girls aren't supposed to kiss girls. And nobody is supposed to want to transition.

And so just like we tell them, I will tell you: if there is no harm being done, then there's no foul. Mind your own business instead of worrying about someone else's.

Some lesbians having the same struggle to accept this as allo cishets do, does not mean that they are being attacked and persecuted by trans man lesbians anymore than cishet women are being persecuted by fake trans people.

Can we please be over this now?

We get enough shit from straight people trying to regulate gender, we truly do not need reinvent the same fucking dynamic in our own community.

[arbitrarygreay]

So I have this hot take, which is that Utena did nothing wrong during the first arc's Touga episodes. People high on having freshly discovered fictional analysis love to make a lot of hay about Utena not paying attention and ordering Anthy to say what she wants to hear. Implicit is that therefore Utena deserves to have lost, as well as being as complicit as the rest of the Student Council. Such analysis tends to also point to the later 3rd arc moments where Utena admits that she was selfish about her prince self-image. I now find this analysis pretty facile. Per my current Utena post with the most notes, the girl is 14, not even in high school, and an orphan. Holding her to the standards of immortals operating on 5 layers of subtext isn't something we should do to anyone, much less a 14 year old orphan. In fact, I'd think that Utena was showing a higher respect of Anthy's agency to assume that she wouldn't take such obvious rhetoric as a literal command, because Utena was treating her as an equal who is allowed to either disagree with her or might appreciate someone speaking in solidarity for her. What benefit is there to policing Utena's already extremely milquetoast language? (And that doesn't even get into the part where Anthy was lying the whole time about her obligation to obey her "groom". The whole point of the damn show is that she could chose to disobey even Akio. Utena never had any authority over Anthy, and neither did Utena have any evidence of an enforcement mechanism for that obedience, which is why Utena thought that she could dispose of that power dynamic by simply saying "nah, we're not doing that", which is fully reasonable to think!) Watching Star, another aspect comes into play, which is culture clash, particularly as it applies to class dynamics. In Star (which is centered on Atlanta Black culture), people talk over each other and make orders on others' behalf and order each other to do things incessantly. Speaking in the declarative just how they talk. Noticing, much less having or respecting boundaries is for for the people who didn't grow up in the lower class (and so scoffed at by the people in the neighborhood). In fact, not crossing those boundaries is often a limitation on getting ahead, dictated by the need to hustle. Being overly familiar with each other is often cast as a love language. Holding back for dignity is seen as class privilege, and the upper class in turn wrongly sneer at the apparent lack of sensitivity as vulgarity. What does RGU look like if it was set in inner-city America? What does that first Touga arc look like? How should 14 year old orphans speak when defending their friends from bullies? What ethical/moral judgements should be imposed upon their language?

[theroyalsims]

BREAKING: "YES, I'VE BEEN IN LOVE... ONCE" - ANYA OPENS UP AND GRACES COVER OF SOGUE MAGAZINE'S 150TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

Strike a pose! Covergirl Crown Princess Anya`stuns on the cover of Brindleton Sogue's special 150th anniversary issue.

The issue has been kept hush-hush until its release today. The swanky publication is currently celebrating its 150th anniversary, and what better way to mark such a milestone than to have the future Queen grace the cover... again. This is the second time that HRH has featured on the cover of the posh magazine.

The voluminous issue also includes wonderful new photos of the Crown Princess, taken in various picturesque locations around Brindleton. Her Royal Highness also very noticeably let down her natural curls and wore very few pieces of jewellery and minimal make-up for the feature. Crown Princess Anya's "stripped bare" hair and make-up are in stark contrast with the dramatic ballgowns she wore for the shoot.

Perhaps more importantly, however, Her Royal Highness sat down with the magazine's editor-in-chief for a very intimate conversation. The interview is said to be Anya's most honest and candid interview to date, and that's saying a lot, considering that the royals very rarely agree to be interviewed. The Crown Princess answered questions on her family, her work, and finding love. Snippets of the article are reproduced and translated below:

Your Royal Highness, for what seems like years now, there have been speculations on certain, shall we say, disagreements between you and some members of the Family. The... discord... has caused multiple speculations, and some would even argue that it has affected the public's trust on the monarchy. How are things now within the Family?

At the core of it all, we are a family - much like yours and everyone else's. Perhaps what sets my family apart is the fact that we live under constant scrutiny, and with that, the tiniest things are magnified to the point of being ridiculous.

Yes, there have been arguments, and yes there have been fights but at the end of the day, we all take a step back and remind ourselves that we are a family, and much importantly, we owe it to the people to ensure that the monarchy is in safe hands. We're good. We're solid. We're very much a team. I love my parents, and I love my siblings. It's not always as dramatic as everyone sets it out to be.

So I suppose it's safe to say that all is well with The Harvelles?

What exactly is "well?" *laughs* They seem very happy with their lives, and I'm quite content with mine. I wish them, to use your word, "well." Really, I do. They have a lovely little daughter, and I'm quite certain I'm the least of their worries. I'm sure they'd rather spend time with each other that concern themselves with what other people are saying about my relationship with them.

Speaking of, YRH, have you seen your niece? Have you met her?

Of course... during the odd family gatherings and dinners, when we all come over to the big house. I find it quite entertaining how everyone's painting me out to be the evil aunt. I think she's a darling little girl. And of course, I've met her, yes.

You're to take on a very massive challenge next year, vying for gold at the World Sports Festival. How are the preparations going?

I'd like to think it's going quite swimmingly, and I hope my coach doesn't disagree. *laughs* I won't be taking a leave of absence for training; I don't think the current workload allows it, but I do make sure to free up some time to get on the saddle. I love horses, and I've been riding since I was a child, so my training - gruelling as it may be on certain days - isn't really that much of a hardship for me. I enjoy it, really.

I also love training with the rest of the Brindleton Team. I've made lots of new friends and I'm very proud to see so many gifted young athletes represent our country.

It's been a while since you last completed professionally, what made you decide to compete again?

It's alway been a dream to bag the gold at the Festival and bring it home to Brindleton. So for me, it's now or never. I'm not getting any younger, and I realised that if I want to try and achieve that dream, I should get my act together and get back on the horse, figuratively and literally.

Since you brought it up, I hope you don't mind my asking, YRH, but there has been much speculation about your, shall I say, lack of prospects, and those write-ups came right after your birthday. Does that affect you in anyway?

When did I bring this up? *laughs* Ah, yes. I've heard about that. Mostly, I laugh it off. I know I'm no spring chicken *laughs* but these things... they can't be rushed, you know? Do I wish people would stop talking about my private life? Yes. Do I expect them to? No.

I know my place and I am very much aware that it's part of the job. This role, this life I'm born into... it's...well, I know what it entails. Let's just leave it at that.

Since I'm being so bold, I'll take my chances - have you ever been in love?

My, my. That is bold. They warned me about you. *laughs* Yes. Of course. Yes, I've been in love... once. But it was ages ago. It feels like a lifetime ago. It was beautiful and glorious, and most importantly, it was mine, ours. But you know, life happens, things change. You grow up. It is, however, something I look back very fondly on. I feel lucky to have experienced that.

And now? Are you looking for love?

No. Not actively anyway. I'd love to, but I can't afford to. And I promise you not every man who crosses my path fancies me. *laughs*

No, I... I believe things will fall into place when it's supposed to. Gosh, I sound like such a sap. *laughs* No... it's just that... I had it once... and you know, I grew up surrounded by love, by two people who are very much in love. So if it's not like what my mum and dad has, I don't want it.

That's fair enough.

Isn't it? I feel like that's a very small and reasonable demand. *laughs*

Finally, Your Royal Highness, What do you think shall be seen as your greatest legacy Crown Princess of Brindleton?

I really don't know. That's a very difficult question to answer, but if I were to free to hope, I hope it's my work with the youth. It's very important that we give our children, our teenagers - girls, especially - a fair and equal chance in life. And I'd like to think I've made an impact on that regard. I am very passionate about supporting children's well-being with a focus on their mental health, especially our teens because it's a very crucial point in one's life.

Don't you just love how Anya and her siblings call the palace "the big house"? And for once, it's refreshing to not speculate about something that our royals did or did not do! Case in point: Anya HAS met her niece, contrary to the ongoing rumour that she has been snubbing poor little Lady Ella.

However, we can't help but wonder who exactly was The Crown Princess' one true love? Could it be Mario? Or Dr. Greg? Maybe even tennis pro Sterling? But then again, she did mention that it was a while back... so it couldn't possible be her footballer ex. Curiouser and curiouser... Leave it to Anya to actually share her secrets and yet leave us wanting more!

The issue has been selling incredibly fast, and major retailers have already reportedly sold out. And it's no wonder! It's so rare that we get to hear directly from our royals (especially notoriously tight-lipped Anya), so this issue is, indeed, a must-have and a must-read for all royal fans out there!

[casanovawrites]

random sentence prompts  ━ from various tv shows, part 8

it’s hard to figure out where you fit in. 

it’s not so easy for me to make friends. i’m not cool like you.

you’re making it really hard for me to be mad at you right now.

it was my fault. i made a mess of it.

something dreadful is about to happen.

high school is the best your life was ever going to get.

you’re gonna leave here thinking that you need to worry about me, but you’re wrong.

we did so much fucked up shit out there. and yeah, maybe it was to survive. maybe. but i don’t think we deserved to.

if you’re done crying, i can tell you some stories.

you sound like you’re about to snap someone in half with that tongue of yours. 

what are you saying, i’m not innocent?

i don’t want to be something you have to learn to live with.

you know me. i don’t always listen.

you are my ghost story.

i know you don’t think you’re strong enough, but that’s not true.

it’s family. there’s always an explosion. 

someone like you, you seem serious. i’m not sure i’m ready for serious.

understand that i love you, but i will not be waiting up for you.

i spent a long time feeling like i wasn’t enough, and i don’t want to do that anymore.

what about you and me against the world? you and me in the world.

you think i’m lonely?

your job is cooler than mine.

stop smiling, i’m kicking your ass.

i’m chasing ghosts. long story.

you’re itching for a fight.

your neck, it’s bleeding.

there’s “packing away” and there’s “throwing away.”

this is what i get for disobeying your orders.

do you wanna die? answer me. do you wanna die?

you can’t put all your feelings in a box.

we’re actually back on the same side.

if what matters to you most is how other people see you, then you haven’t learned a damn thing.

you think pain is weakness?

why are you worried about a lack of trauma?

we're finally hot, at least according to me.

with them, it’s always two steps forward, then get stabbed in the back.

i crack myself open for 50 minutes, walk out feeling like i was hit by a bus.

i kissed someone. or, they kissed me.

i don’t want to keep on making the same mistakes.

you’re family. it’s what we do. we look out for each other.

are you going to come back?

i don’t have anywhere else to go. you made sure of that.

you were worth the wait.

i guess now i know all your secrets. 

don’t make it weird. i love you.

i’d hate for things to get messy again.

talk about your dumb luck.

it doesn’t matter. you always come first.

why is it your job to take those risks?

i’m saying, i love you. and i want you to quit. 

it was a big deal to me. you saved my life.

the truth is worth everything.

don’t settle for being half of anything. go out there and do something that allows you to be 100% you.

people go away. i don’t want to miss anyone else.

people go away. and it’s sad and it hurts. but you know, not everyone goes away forever. sometimes they come back.

i know what it’s like to be stuck inside the worst part of your life.

no offense, but you’re never the one getting left behind. you’re the one who leaves.

now it’s time for me to figure out who i am without you.

you are like, out of control. 

you know i’m really in love with you, right?

if today can be a good day, maybe tomorrow can, too. 

i already feel like a fool. i don’t need the rest of the world to know the joke.

everyone wants to save the world, they just disagree on how.

i wonder if anyone survived.

i’m not usually the “take it easy” type.

do you ever want something good to happen? a really good thing?

there are no answers here.

your type is losers.

one nightmare isn’t necessarily a reason for concern.

that’s not why i came. i’m only here for you, in case you needed me.

i have walked through fire every single day of my life because of you.

you're so hot when you talk shit like that.

it’s all a goddamn prison anyway.

you want a natural disaster? look no further than my life.

i haven’t felt it in years, and it feels wonderful. but it also feels fucking terrifying.

if i’m repressing things i don’t know about, i’m very okay with never figuring it out.

you should be ashamed.

i love you. and as long as i know you feel the same, i can say it enough for the both of us.

i feel a lot of things when i’m with you. happy, safe, a million other things that i can’t explain right now. but i do feel all of that for you.

i’m not pushing anyone away. i’m taking steps back.

home isn’t a place, it’s a people.

all you’ve got out there is your instincts.

love me anyway.

i don’t think good things are gonna happen to me anymore.

sometimes the hardest part is going home by yourself, being alone with all that quiet.

if it’s meant to be, they’ll find their way home.

no one gets under their daughter’s skin like a mom.

i’m not ashamed. i’m glad i’m alive, just like you are.

you’re a good person. you really don’t belong in this place.

life isn’t a science experiment. you can’t control your world forever.

do you ever get tired of winning? or being the fucking worst?

you two together, you are unstoppable.

so who’s gonna die today? you? or me?

hey, you’re back. are you back…?

i know you’re afraid of people leaving you.

i’m afraid that i’m never going to feel normal again.

[tfdtreasurer]

This is a part 2 to this ask.

Erigam

Now we're getting to the real rarepairs. Erigam. My initial judgement is: mmmmmmmm it's pretty alright. I don't think it's anything to super write home about, but I can see how they make a funny pair. I admit to a lack of ideas for their dynamic mainly stemming from the fact that I don't feel I know too much about Gamzee as a character. Normally if I'm not that much a fan of a character to go to such depths of analysis I'll do with Eridan, I'll delegate to other people's interpretation. The problem with that for Gamzee is that people are super divided on him. Even those that are more charitable to him, which I tend to lean to because my overall interpretation of Homestuck, tend to be divided in their interpretation. So, I guess I'm on my own on this one.

The Dynamic

To start: Gamzee's character, in my view. My general sense about him is that as a result of parental neglect, he was taken in by the subjugglator ideology, which triply represents a gang environment, esoteric spiritual cult, and at the same time, mainstream evangelical religion. So, you kinda know he's gonna come out of it severely fucked up. I'm not like psychiatrist or anything but I also wouldn't rule out some weird psychopathology going on as a result of it. I tend to lean that way though because how faygo and sopor allude to alcohol and drugs respectively, and thus it seems to imply that through his substance abuse, Gamzee was self medicating for the more dangerous parts of his personality. But two very fucked up things canceling each other out isn't a very stable situation. As I will always say, Doc Scratch is the manipulative, abusive guardian of the trolls, and like how Vriska was manipulated directly by using her ego, and Eridan manipulated by her trust in history, Gamzee's constant associations with puppets are not just for kicks, and he's been very deliberately wound up like a spring, to be unleashed when the moment is right. If you trust my analysis about Eridan's villainous turn, that it's like film (jack) noir, Gamzee's is like a jack (noir) in the box. So, we can start to see how they make a decent duo symbolically and as villains.

There's also the question of what to consider when analyzing: red or black? Well, god gave us quadrant vacillation for a reason, so why not dip our toes in both.

As a dynamic, I can certainly see where caliginous feelings arise. This is reaching back into some of my primeval analysis of Eridan, shit back from when I was a kid and was first reading homestuck, back to my first reasons liking her: Like how a lot of the trolls are meant to represent kinds of online archetypes, I saw Eridan as representing the archetype of militant atheist. Constantly insistent on the fakeness of magic, including Gamzee's belief in miracles, makes it pretty clear how they would come to disagree and potentially despise each other. True believer v non believer. Faithful v faithless. To put into more Homestuck terms: Gamzee is pure prospit, optimistic, credulous, oriented in favor of creation; Eridan is pure derse, cynical, skeptical, oriented against creation. Creationist, anti creationist. Like, you can get it, there's only so many ways to put it I guess, but all of it works as an excuse for the kismesissitude angle.

Villain Duo

Normally, I like analyzing Homestuck with the idea that it did not originally intend to end so cynically, with so many dead children, and many of our protagonists being under-developed as characters. I also tend to choose murderstuck as the point of divergence from canon, as it allows the big trio of Vriska, Gamzee, and Eridan to perform the moral wrongs that are vital to their characters, while also being the narrative spot to prevent everybody else dying, and setting up both the time and space for everybody to develop positively under Karkat's leadership, which is a defining part of how things could've turned out for the better. For this post though, I'm not gonna make it all sunshine and rainbows, because I think for the most fun with Erigam is less immediately about their redemption from their villainous roles in canon, and much more their blundering cartoon villainy together as a pair.

While Eridan's run as villain was a lot more short lived, but they're both notable for being the two only "true" villainous troll kids, left unredeemed and unforgiven by the narrative by the end. Eridan, at least in my biased opinion, works well as a villain. She's capable of the same menace as Jack Noir, but unlike him, is more talkative, when dialogue is Homestuck's strength. So, for this hypothetical, we're just gonna extend Eridan's lease in the narrative, and let her be another long term villain. It's a good thing to do, because one of Gamzee's weaknesses as a villain is the relative obscurity of his "why." He's a puppet doing things for the forces that use him, but at the least, it'd be nice to know his opinion on the whole thing. Having a character that is a villain alongside him, and especially one that will endlessly argue with him, gives the narrative plenty of space to flesh out his motivation and exposit important information for the audience. For how they bounce of off each other, it's good that they're both vulgar. It's good that they're able to at least promote their own supremacy over each other's castes. Imma be real though, it's bad that they're both purple. Gamzee is a headache enough to read at times. Idk, let Eridan lose her fuckin shit for real this time, go truly off the deep end, grimnoir mode, for no other reason than to make her text black.

As I discussed in their dynamic, these two are very nearly diametrically opposed in motivation, which makes their kismesissitude obvious, but why they would team up as villains together not so much. It's simple: cahoots. Like her relationship with Vriska, Eridan's reason to work with her kismesis is an alliance of convenience. You can have a lot of fun with two villains that work together but not to the same ends. It provides a lot of interesting push and pull, and for the sake of narrative, ways for heroes to poke holes in their villainous plans. For example, Imagine the scene where one's villainous monologue to whichever of the ensemble protagonists is disrupted by the other, and they erupt into an argument that serves as deus ex machina for the protagonist escaping or making their way to their objective. Imagine the comedic potential of cutting back to them at whatever moment you need. At the same time, imagine the thematic potential of a character with false god tier, and a character who doesn't even believe in the reality of god tier powers.

Til Death Does Them Part

I know what you're asking: Where does the vacillation come in? Well, in this hypothetical, besides it just possibly being interspersed during their villainy, I would say the main thrust of red romance would coincide with whatever potential for redemption that the narrative deems to give them. Because y'know, they're still children, still being manipulated by darker more powerful forces, we can sympathize with them even as they do wrong things. Even then, Gamzee is still comedy and tragedy. And like those Greek plays of old, while a comedy may end in marriage, tragedies typically don't. Oftentimes redemption requires sacrifice, and what is better to embody both the marriage ending of comedy and deadly ending of tragedy than their marriage, or symbol thereof, happening simultaneously as their final act of sacrifice that redeems them? I can certainly imagine a symbol of marriage common in Homestuck, and a character with a free finger for it, and the how the destruction of it would be pretty thorough in destroying the wearer too (I'm suggesting that Gamzee put a ring on Eridan as they fall into a volcano together, if it wasn't obvious).

Maybe you don't have to end it like that. Maybe you want to go deeper with their story and let them be redeemed in life. The switch from amusing antagonist pair to amusing side characters is perfectly fine in terms of having fun with it. Now, is it as poetic as the comic-tragic ending? Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Conclusion

Well I started this saying that I can see them as funny and then accidentally analyzed my way into a huge bummer ending. Just couldn't help myself. I'm a English major, I see a character that alludes to sock and buskin masks and immediately start thinking of their bittersweet ending. But the ship does absolutely have narrative potential, and while it maybe depends on a controversial understanding of Gamzee, I will bump it up to "cute" tier.

Remember folks, the ask box is open and free. You too can goad the moron behind the screen into typing... Shit, that's ~1500 words shipping Erigam. c'est la vie. Well you can get me to write this much about your ship of choice is the point. I also do non ship stuff. Whatever random nonsense as long as it's Eridan related.

Next up: wwixards!