#which likely means his plan involves getting rid of everyone

[chirpsythismorning]

What’s up with the spores? Like, has anyone got info on what spores do to a person who is exposed to them????

This got me thinking about all the whose getting vecna’d speculation in s5, and it could very well mean ALL of them are in danger in terms of being targeted.

If all it takes is them being exposed to the spores, could they all be at risk?

Maybe they could all experience effects like nightmares/hallucinations??

This also reminds me of El’s line at the start of s4 where she says We’re all time travelers if you think about it!

Is it possible ALL of them could be dealing with having to confront past memories, ie they’re own form of time traveling to figure out how to defeat vecna??

[gingintigtig]

To give International peeps an idea of what the fuck is happening to the Conservatives in the UK right now, leading up to the July 4th election

In a grand total of only 14 days, the conservatives have done the following on the campaign trail.

Announced the election outside of number 10 in the pouring rain with no plans to use an umbrella or take it inside.

Went to a brewery in Wales and asked if they were looking forward to the summer football, only for staff to respond that Wales didn't make the qualification for the cup.

Person who questioned the PM on Television was actually a plant

Went for an interview at the Titanic Quarter in Belfast and the reporter said "are you captaining a sinking ship into this election?"

This picture.

Promised a return of National Service which OBLITERATED the young vote.

A top Tory minister instead of campaigning went to fucking Greece.

A Tory minister gave up her own seat and told everyone to vote for the Reform candidate instead.

Three Tories defected to a different party.

Did a PR thing involving the PM dribbling a football and someone commented on camera "he's as good at football as he is as being Prime Minister" (he was terrible).

Former Tory minister suggested on Twitter that once he loses the election he would bugger off to California to be a speaker at GOP conferences like other former Tory ministers have done, and he had to furiously deny the allegations.

He said he'll get rid of poor value for money University Courses and when asked which ones, couldn't name a single one.

Announced the election but were nearly 200 candidates short to compete and are scrambling to find some.

Hung the flag upside down in their campaign video, which means we're in distress.

Gave a speech with factory workers, and one woman was so aghast at his bullshit on camera that they sent someone out to stand in-front of her to block her reactions; it has already been satirised.

A high profile conservative MP called a pollster who was live on air, the pollster answered, telling him that he was going to lose his seat by a massive majority. The MP didn't say anything and just hung up. Again, this was LIVE ON AIR.

They went campaigning in Hanley, and in the river behind them, the Liberal Democrat party very slowly sailed by on a little boat. The camera man panned the camera away from the prime minister to focus on the Liberals in the boat slowly sailing down the river.

A new poll shows that for the first time in decades, if not over a century, the Conservatives could be in third place, with Labour (Social Democrat) and the Liberal Democrats becoming the top two parties.

I hope you've been keeping count here, because it's been fourteen days and that is 18 pieces of terrible publicity.

[kumimi3]

❪ LOOKISM BOYS<33 ❫ ❮ little sweetheart (child!reader) ⟡ ↳ platonic!Harem (workers version)

- Who knew a young child is involved in such a criminal association such as the workers? Who knew the young sweetheart has captured many of the workers hearts’ as well?

- Your presence was sudden, having been introduce by none other than Charles Choi, giving everyone a brief notice that you are welcomed by the elite CEO himself, that must mean something. You’re special.

- You play such big parts in the worker’s plans despite being young(around 13-14 yrs old), earning Eugene’s approval, praising you for your logical intelligence as he pats your head in soft caresses

- Yuseong, his younger twin, has taken a liking to you as well, offering to let you play with his toys whenever you visit the company--Which happens ever so often, but nobody complained, in fact, they preferred your presence over anything else

- It didn’t matter that you were childish, it was a part of growing after all, a reason why Eugene lets you run rampant inside his company like it’s a playground. Eugene creates rules for safety measure, but other then that, he gave you the privilege to do anything, even going as far as to enter the room when there’s a meeting.

- Samuel acts ever so stoic and dull on you, scolds and huffs at you like a tired father, yet he hopes you know that he only means well. He takes pleasure in being your bodyguard, pretending to act as if it’s nothing when he hears your arrival, yet he is always at the entrance, eager to meet your doe eyes as you open your arms to hug him, to which he complies

- He has taken you to rides before, often being assigned to take you to the private and luxurious school Charles Choi has transferred you in, but he didn’t mind it, even when he clicks his tongue in feigned annoyance, yet he still assists you, even going as far as to show off in his 100 million car. He has grown to like you alot, to the point he lets you play around in his cars

- “Oi! You scratched the new leather seats I got.” “I’m sorry Sir Samuel, I didn’t mean to!” “... It’s fine, just keep still next time, brat.” If it were someone else, they would’ve been 6 ft under.

- Neko gushed at your cuteness, ignorant of the fact that a young teen managed to enter the private area filled with blood and gore--She definitely hides you from the treacherous games, but yet she wanted you to stay.

Ryuhei Kuroda kept pinching your cheeks and teasing you for your height since the day you came, thinking of you as the child of him and Neko, such childish dreams, but he made it obvious all the time

“Yah, Neko~ Our baby Y/n is here!” “Want your papa to buy you a toy or something? Oh, right…. Yeah, I’m your papa!"

Now gun and goo, even with a child, they are still so careless

Goo screams your name from a mile away throughout the entire building, opening his arms wide as he runs towards you, holding you up in the air as he twirls the both of you around

Being given mission by Charles Choi, the infamous pair are always there by your side, protecting you from any harm as you complete your quests for the workers affiliates

Gun, as with his calm demeanor, it’s relaxing to be with him, receiving soft pats and short praises from him many times, not to mention his liking towards carrying you

Whenever you’re with him, he doesn’t waste no time to hold you with one arm and resumes to his schemes, he may be quiet but he’s really great with the littlest of details

You don’t like pickles on your burger? He’ll get rid of it before you can even see it. You gushed about a pair of toys 2 week ago? It’s inside your bedroom now. You only like a certain color in a pack of gummy bears? He’ll pick them himself so you wouldn’t have to &lt;3

Goo is vocal with his wants, always whining that you should call him “Big brother/Oppa” instead of ‘sir’! Spends millions on you, from the headband on your head, to the custom made designer shoes you wear for school.

He’s a maniac, he’s a psycho, but he just couldn’t help but feel at ease with you, for once he’s not meeting new members just as a nutcase like him, you were a breath of fresh air for him

They all protect your innocence from the illegal work they do, they’ll protect you from being ruined, not matter what, you’re their little baby after all &lt;3

Little do they know you’re just as deranged as them lol

[eightyonekilograms]

Obviously, JD Vance's proposal to give parents additional votes stirred up a furor from progressives saying it's anti-feminist, reactionary, trying to keep women in the kitcen, etc.

And I agree with them. Frankly I wouldn't shed a single tear if Trump "who will rid me of this meddlesome running mate"-d a second VP in a row and I never had to hear from Vance or his 2010!NRx ideas ever again. But I have a more prosaic objection also: if implemented, I don't think this plan would actually work?

Like, as I understand it, there are two proposed justifications for how this might be a good idea, but I don't think either of them stand up to scrutiny.

The first (and less plausible) one is, people who selfishly want more votes will have more children in order to get more political leverage for [whatever they want]. Even though they're doing it for selfish reasons, children are a public good, and so on net this is good for society.

I think this theory can be dispensed with pretty easily. It sounds just like one of those $1000 payments for having another child that budges the birth rate not at all because it's way too small a reward for the expense involved. Even speaking as someone intensely annoyed by trendy anti-electoralist cynicism, I know the EV of an additional vote is microscopic compared to the expense of having children. It won't move anyone except at the very bleeding edge of the margin.

But that's the easy case. The much more interesting theory of the Vance Plan is that of fixing broken incentives. The story goes like this: one feature of democracy, for better or worse, is that it rewards those who show up. If you have no vote (or don't use your vote), you are invisible to democracy, so your wants will be systematically underrepresented. This is why wealthy first-world countries are increasingly gerontocratic in both legislative makeup and resulting policy: old people reliably vote, young people don't, so even with no conspiracy involved, democracy gravitates to favoring the wants of the old. Vance says, hey, children cannot vote, so just as you'd predict, their interests (as a class!) get ignored, so we end up with a legislative landscape that doesn't favor children and makes it harder to raise them.

It makes perfect sense on paper! But I think in the real world it falls apart.

What are the actual bits of legislation and policy which discourage people from having more children? I mean, people can and do argue furiously over this question, but IMO three of the most significant ones are:

NIMBY localist housing policy locking young potential parents out of the housing market

More localist tax and education policy making competition for "good schools" a Red Queen Race which drives up house prices still further, requiring two working parents

Safetyist legislation which, while well-intentioned, is making everything from cars to child care more expensive than it necessarily needs to be

In order to believe that giving parents additional votes will cause a more child-friendly society to emerge via electoral pressure, you have to believe that parents are more likely than non-parents to oppose 1, 2 and 3. And that just... doesn't seem true? At best there's no difference, and to be blunt, I think as a class parents tend to be worse than non-parents on all three. #NotAllParents, of course, there are plenty of people with kids who still want good abundance policy, but averaged over everybody I think it's hard to deny that parenthood tends to push people toward defensive, loss-averting "protect the children" mentalities which, on a global scale, fuck everyone else over. That talking point you constantly see among the Very Online Right that parents are more likely than non-parents to think Beyond Themselves and want to build a stable world for the long term, just seems obviously false to me. Or at least if it is true, it's true in a way which is mostly irrelevant, since these "long-view parents" don't know how to turn those wants into policy which actually achieves them.

Frankly, I think it's easy to envision a world where the Vance Plan makes all policy around child-rearing worse instead of better, and depresses the birth rate even further.

[phoenixyfriend]

Post-O66 Mace going into hiding as a pirate with a crew like Hondo's, is that anything?

I got a bunch of input on discord. Calling this one:

A bunch of pirates, a Jedi Master on the run, and a traumatized twelve-year-old.

Kicking off with a key part of it all is @atagotiak (Tia):

He’s annoying because he’s such a stick in the mud (by which I mean it’s rather inconvenient for a pirate crew when the new recruit has morals and stuff) But he’s too valuable to get rid of, due to having all that experience with administration

I am enamored with the idea of Mace's main job being just. Pirate Admin.

Mace: So this is what I am reduced to. Aiding and abetting… in tax evasion. Hondo: And piracy. Mace: The tax evasion is a bigger hit to my pride.

Tia:

The pirates are annoyed that despite him stopping them from going through with the more immoral (and lucrative) plans they’re still making more money than before

Pirates: How are we making more money now-- Mace: Have you heard of a budget.

@jebiknights (knights):

okay but traditionally pirate ships have a quarter master who is high ranking, in charge of the bounty of every prize and therefore in charge of dividing everything up fairly like that could work really well lmaooo

The crew runs into Obi-Wan during the Leia incident and it's just time for "I can explain" on both ends.

Tia:

Hey, d’you think the pirates go after force sensitives? Mace managed to talk them into recruitment and/or relocation instead of selling to the empire. (And that’s another thing that could possibly have worked out better for them than the immoral option (not least because the empire doesn’t really treat its allies well)) Obi-Wan: and how are you dealing with Hondo’s… nonsense? Mace: eh, it’s not like he’s any worse than you or Yoda. (Mace is probably just messing with Obi-Wan. Probably)

Also I'm thinking that one of those initiates that Hondo let go(?) that one time finds them because a pirate might be likely to sell them out but they're demonstrably competent at evading arrest, so maybe-

And that's how Mace ends up with another padawan. Maybe Katooni.

@dracothulhu:

Hondo would put him in so many stupid costumes

knights:

i also just realized that mace loses both of his hands in rots..... hondo tries to convince him at least one of said hands should be a hook or a lightsaber

Tia:

Probably deliberately playing straight man about it. He doesn’t care about dignity that much, but there’s benefits to exaggerate how humiliating he finds it Hey, y’know what’s piratical? Eyepatches

[vibrates in response to baiting for Nick Fury jokes] Love it

Tia:

I do think as much as jokes about Samuel L Jackson’s other roles are fun, pirate Mace shouldn’t swear much, even after becoming acclimated to pirate life.

knights:

also i agree i think pirate mace shouldnt swear much, he should get to use his classically trained acting chops and give dramatic speeches like hes the love interest in a pirate romance novel hondo is swooning in the background .... nixy im about ready to start crack shipping them bc of this dammit this is going to pick at my brain isnt it dhgisrjgser (pirate mace not the hondo/mace part) honestly the funniest thing is that mace would probably really enjoy being a pirate after all of the beauracracy he had to deal with in the senate during the war. things are much more simple even if everyone drives him nuts lol listen mace didn't intend to get directly involved in the actual like heists probably, he is there to lay low and also to keep the ship organized and make sure hondo doesnt blow all their money on booze and "investments", but then hondo's dumbass probably gets in over his head along with his first mate and some other crew members and mace is starting to like the life hes living esp bc he is still able to help people on the Path in between thievery and tax evasion, so he goes to rescue them and is like... what am i supposed to do i am too recognizable i am supposed to be dead and puts on a disguise and just goes for it

Another thing Mace is good at is contracts He is. Painfully good at it. He doesn't enjoy it, but watching Hondo draft up a contract is almost painful. (Hondo is smart at this. He's clever. He's experienced. But he didn't take multiple classes on contract law.)

Tia:

Hondo never seemed especially book smart, and he never made a promise he hadn’t at least considered breaking so contracts would be a weak point for him

[fangsforiris]

How would the sakamaki brothers react if they find out that they were the sons of the same mother and that they're biologically brothers but karlheinz killed their real mother and separated them . (Btw i reaaally love your blog 💕💕)

Sakamaki Brothers’ Reaction to Being Blood Siblings Related by 1 Mother

——————————

Shū:

“We are blood related…? Seriously…? And here I thought I only had to deal with Reiji. …It seems as if that man will never rest. …That poor woman…”

• Shū wouldn’t be as shocked as compared to the others. He’s been used to Karlheinz’s plans for years longer than the others.

• However, he’d be more tired if anything. Like always, he can never be rid himself of his father and his constant need for his plans to succeed.

• I doubt his relationships with the brothers will change, since beyond this revelation, they are all still the same people. Within the same environment which conditions them to act within a hostile manner.

Reiji:

“Father… he… No. I refuse to believe such a sentiment. I already loathe being related to that deadbeat enough, but this? …What will become of us now?”

• He’d be the most in denial. As in, it would take Reiji the longest to accept that this was even a possibility in the cards.

• Reiji is known to idolize his father, so for this to occur? I think it would heavily confuse his loyalties.

• However, since he does have somewhat of a maternal instinct for his siblings, mainly younger, he’d use this as an opportunity to get closer to them and have more of a ‘close knitted family,’ in the way the Mukami’s do.

Ayato:

“Ehh!? What do you mean we all shared a mother?! That doesn’t even make sense…! We don’t even look alike? Gah… that old man has some explaining to do!”

• Most confused 100%

• Either he skipped a few biology lessons or fell asleep in them, but even he knows that it doesn’t add up as much as it’s supposed to.

• I think he’d use this as a way to perhaps become a bit closer to all of the brothers and in a sense, make amends for the past teasing/borderline bullying he participated in (mainly towards Subaru.)

• Since he is considered to be the most ‘humane’ out of the brothers, it isn’t as far off for him to have empathy and to want to start brand new.

Kanato:

“We… all share a mother? What do you mean? Am I not my mothers son? I don’t understand, Teddy. What are is he saying…? What are you saying!? This does not make any sense…!”

• I think he’d also be in denial, or mainly shocked beyond comprehension.

• It’ll take Kanato a bit to understand, especially since this will deeply impact his pre-established identity issues.

• He was heavily narcissistic about his hair due to it being almost exact to the late Cordelia’s, so for him to not have that connection, one that he founded his entire self-esteem on, it would be detrimental.

Laito:

“So it seems we were fooled, weren’t we? Fufu~ That man certainly knows how to cause a commotion. …That woman then is no mother to me…”

• Out of everyone, I think Laito would want to do further research into this woman and who she was.

• Due to his complicated relationship with his mother, and his pre-established self-loathing, I think this will make him wonder if in another life, he’d be able to have a healthy correlation with mother figures and sexual activity as a whole.

• Laito already does somewhat act as an ‘older brother’ towards Ayato, Kanato, and Subaru, but perhaps this would allow him to get away with more in the scope of caring and involvement.

Subaru:

“He… killed her…? That damned old man! He’s selfish to the core, not one ounce of feeling to be found in him…! That’s all we are… just pawns…”

• Subaru already hated his father due to what he did to his mother and himself. So to find out that he shared an actual blood bond with his brothers, and not just a half-bond would be almost incomprehensible to him.

• He’s always wondered what it’d be like to share a fully-blooded sibling, so to find out it was always here… is bittersweet. Especially since the pre-established relationships between him and the rest of them are sour, and based on tearing down his self-esteem.

• He’d feel the most bad for the woman, and whatever alternate universe could’ve arised from him having a good parent that didn’t project all of their emotional turmoil onto him.

[jasmine-tea-biscuits]

Everyday I fight the urge to write a Leander fic inspired by the Darkling’s “fine make me your villain” line. Everyday I struggle not to rant about how he reminds me of that shadow wielding little shit.

And today’s the day yall get to hear about it. Sorry.

I’ve mentioned before that I think his kindness comes with another motive, which could involve studying the mc’s curse and potentially using it to his advantage. Perhaps against the Senobium? Perhaps his beef with them has to do with whatever he thinks is the greater good but perhaps he also believes he’s the only one capable of leading everyone there, and that’s why he needs you indebted to him and trusting him specifically.

And plenty of people have talked about the life and death imagery related to him, especially where immortality is concerned, which also makes me think he’s been biding his time for a LONG while, so losing the opportunity you present is NOT an option. He might’ve had perfectly good intentions when he began but maybe time and the isolation that comes with power has made him secretly very jaded, even if he’s not as crazy old as part of me likes to theorize.

Add to that the charisma and droves of followers despite (or maybe even thanks to) the mystery of where he came from and how he got this powerful?? On top of the fact he was already so fascinated with the curse, even calling it YOUR POWER, while seemingly being unaffected by it as if that shit wasn’t REALLY that out there for him to experience??? Like he could be familiar with that sort of power to begin with????

AND THEN THE SCREENSHOT OF HIM IN THE MC’S ROOM??!!!

ITS GIVING LIKE CALLS TO LIKE, ALIKE AS NO ONE ELSE WAS OR WOULD EVER BE, YOU AND I ARE GOING TO CHANGE THE WORLD, YOU WERE MEANT TO Be MY BALANCE TYPE OF OBSESSED!!!!

So yeah, I’m hoping Leander’s potential obsession with mc has something to do with him planning to use them till he realizes they might be the one person who gets him and he’s just desperate not to be alone again, even as he does terrible things for what he thinks is for the greater good.

But the part of my brain that hasn’t gotten rid of 17 year old me screaming about her questionable ships might be reaching and the very tense hand holding during the first meeting with him sure as shit ain’t helping my mental state. That screenshot could very well be a bad ending and all my theories and comparisons could mean nothing for the rest of his story. I could be delulu.

But I’ll be delulu till the game comes out.

[jaskierx]

@piratecaptainscaptainpirates keeps posting meta which is a disaster (affectionate) bc it gives me Thoughts and Feelings

this post got me thinking specifically about izzy and control. izzy clearly wants and needs to be in control and he deliberately works to maintain this control. he acts as an intermediary between ed and the rest of the crew, choosing what to tell each party about the other and often lying. when he feels disrespected or as if he has no control over the crew, he lashes out - we see this when he makes lucius scrub the boat and when he cuts wee john's rations.

but when his control over ed specifically is threatened, we see him doing Something Big to try and get it back - such as deciding he's going to duel stede, or selling the crew out to the navy, both of which are attempts to get stede permanently away from ed by killing him.

then, in s1e10 when stede actually is removed from the situation, izzy is thoroughly unimpressed that ed is still acting 'wrong'. moreover, his role as the only go-between between ed and the crew is threatened - he panics when ed asks to speak to lucius, and he panics further when ed is being more open and like himself with the crew, because the only thing that's allowing izzy to keep his control over ed and over how ed interacts with the crew is the myth he perpetuates about ed being terrifying and unapproachable. if ed is violent and volatile and too busy to talk to anyone unimportant, then there's a role for izzy bc it makes sense to the crew that ed is not available to them. but if ed is Just A Guy, who wears a robe and sings about his feelings and wants everyone to join in with a talent show, then that myth has a massive hole in it and izzy's role is no longer necessary. so he pushes the exact buttons that he knows he needs to push to force ed back into the blackbeard persona and drive a huge wedge between him and the crew.

which leads us to the beginning of s2, where the pivotal moment that changes ed and izzy's relationship is when ed tells izzy that someone else could do his job. it's not when he cuts izzy's toes off, it's not when he overworks the crew, it's not when he's taking loads of rhino horn - the sole thing that crosses a line for izzy is the threat of being replaced. because losing his toes doesn't mean a loss of control - if anything, it solidifies his position as playing a unique role in relation to ed, since the rest of the crew remain unharmed. but the threat of replacement most definitely does.

and it's at this point that we see izzy trying to use the same tactic as in s1e10, pushing the right buttons by yelling at ed and referencing his feelings for stede, except this time there's nowhere else for ed to go. there's no defence mechanism to retreat behind. he's already in the persona that izzy wanted him to be in. he's already acting the way izzy wanted him to act. so he shoots him. and it's a pivotal moment, not because of the physical harm (because this has been discussed to death and violence in ofmd is not treated the same as violence in the real world) but because it's a turning point where izzy tries a Big Gesture that involves ed directly (as opposed to e.g. the duel or the navy, where he's trying to get stede away from ed as opposed to trying to do anything to ed) and it doesn't work like it did in ep10 - it backfires (literally!) and izzy is harmed as a result.

his entire redemption arc is based on him accepting that ed is better off with stede - and therefore on him ceding the control over ed that he's been clinging onto for years.

which is also why it makes so much narrative sense that he dies at the end of s2. because s1 izzy would not have got shot. s1 izzy would not have been there, helping with the plan, working alongside stede and ed together. he would've been trying to separate them, trying to find a way to get ed to leave stede and the others for dead, or working with the enemy if it meant he might get rid of stede and get ed back to himself.

but s2 izzy's arc is about learning to let go of his need to control ed and ed's image, and about how when he lets go of this ed gains the freedom to be himself and to interact with the crew as himself. he got the only ending that would make sense - a final bit of closure, a final letting go moment where he releases the last tiny bit of control he has over ed by apologising and telling ed to 'just be ed'. when izzy takes his last breath, so does blackbeard.

anyway thanks for reading my novel i love you have a great day

[stromuprisahat]

How do you think Alina becoming the queen alongside Nikolai and Zoya replacing Aleksander as the general would have gone?

First of all, we need to rid them of their plot armour. There will be no miraculous adoration from hateful masses. Not in my world.

Second- Ravka's doomed.

Unless all three of them grow up pretty fast, the country will be torn apart in months max.

Nikolai's too nice to everyone and it's not just armour in his case. The only time we read about him doing something unpleasant is when he retails a story of Sturmhond, and later, when he's starving his own people to make Aleksander's reign harder. For which he's cheered on, because everyone hates the Darkling more, obviously. His reign is built on naïve plans, sudden widespread love for Grisha and stupid/accommodating nobility.

Alina doesn't really want to be involved. She likes the advantages of being important, but doesn't care for responsibilities. She's severely underprepared for leading position knowledge-wise, prone to jumping to conclusions and whenever there's a glimpse of growth on the horizon, either Malyen or Baghra drag her back down the shamebbit hole. She'd need to get rid of both of them and avoid older female authority figures, unless she gets over her mommy issues, learns confidence and realizes being valued for herself means INCLUDING her powers. Oh, and that mentioning she's Grisha isn't the same as living their life.

Zoya wanted to be a soldier. She longed for recognition. What if she gets the highest position possible without merit? Will she work on herself to deserve it after that? Would she be able to recognize she doesn't deserve it to work on herself additionally? Would she be able to let go of her black-and-white worldview, carefully maintained delusions and grow a spine? What about her desire to be loved and appreciated by a father figure? Would she recognize it makes her vulnerable to ancient dragon shapeshifters? (No, according to KoS, but we've already established we're ignoring it for the purpose of this exercise.)

So yeah, either the scales have to fall from their eyes, or they'll soon end up dead with Ravka in flames.

[daemon-in-my-head]

Saw the post where you said:

"As for malicious compliance, not only is that guy fucking quiet quitting, doing the very bare minimum he's required to do while mourning his late wife's passing, he's also doing what he's told but not the way he should be. He's following Bane, he's supposed to be a tyrant, feared by his subjects. Yet that MF is being revered and celebrated as hero. Yes sure he's ruling the city but in the wrong fucking way."

This, right here! This is not talked about nearly enough. Gortash is arguably a terrible Banite. Yet at the same time, he's also incredibly effective. Imagine Bane's frustration. "You are doing it ALL WRONG!" but also admitting that he's getting results. Maybe even re-thinking his strategy. It's 1492, after all. Maybe it's time to change up the face of Tyranny.

That's the thing though. He sucks as Banite. But he's also one of the best ones. He's Schrödingers Banite.

He's undeniably feared by his own followers, smth Bane approves of.

But the common folk love him as their hero. Big dislike from Bane for this one.

And the Patriars r split on their opinions of him, but at least before their inevitable death they definitely feared him.

He's using everything and everyone he can get his grabby paws on to further his plans and plots, which is once again smth Bane approves of. I mean, he's not below using even himself; but on the other hand he's outsourcing fking tyranny to his PR teams and all.

Bane is having a stroke with this best-worst chosen of his. As am I at times when trying to make sense of this lil murderous train wreck. Gortash is like that 1 guy in your company where you constantly wonder how they're still here, but the sht they do isn't actually bad and HR just can't get rid of him cuz it would be a nightmare for everyone involved.

[xf-cases-solved]

S2E3: Blood

Case: In, ah—one sec... Franklin, Pennsylvania! It's in Pennsylvania, definitely remembered that on my own accord. Anyway, in Franklin, Pennsylvania, a bunch of people are losing their marbles and murdering people in seemingly random attacks. What ties these crimes together is that right before they went murder hobo, they were in a situation that exacerbated their biggest fears, and also they hallucinated technology telling them to kill, which is very entertaining bc it's the fucking 90s, so the technology is very silly on its own, but is even sillier when it says "KILL 'EM ALL" in big red letters, but I digress. Mulder—with continued secret help from Scully on the side, as well as the Lone Gunmen (!!)—begins to suspect that these killings might actually be related to a pesticide the government is testing on people, but you know how the government gets when you try to claim they're involved in some big conspiracy, la dee da, so it goes.

A man gets laid off work, but that's the least of his problems as technology keeps telling him to kill people; a microwave tells a lady to stab Mulder to death; Mulder gives Frohike Scully's phone number; my notes say there is a handsome cop with nice hair, but I don't know who I was referring to or why I wrote that down; and Mulder's work on the case is ALL DONE. BYE-BYE!

Does someone die in the cold open: He got laid off so he's probably dead inside, but physically everyone is alive. (This does not last long.)

Does Mulder present a slideshow: Still no one to watch. Maybe he makes them for himself and plays them alone in his office and cries.

Does the evidence survive the investigation: Mmmmmmm, not sure. My guess is that the government is planning to get rid of any evidence that they were allowing chemicals to be tested on its citizens, but I'm not sure if Mulder held onto anything or not. I mean, he usually doesn't, so probably not, but -shrug emoji-.

Whodunit: Subliminal messaging caused by a pesticide that the Pennsylvanian government okayed to be tested on the town's residents. I think.

Convictions: None, but the government has to stop spraying people with LSD.

Did they solve it: I'll give it to 'em, why not? Mulder knows what caused it; more or less got a confession, or at least got them to stop doing the thing; and I feel like his report would be one of the less annoying ones he's submitted in his time in the FBI. Good job, Mulder! (And Scully, but unofficially.)

[how do i determine if a case is solved? check the scale here: x]

THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY: Not being a test subject for government issued pesticides. I mean, like... you can try, but in the end, is it really up to you? What is the government testing on you right now? What have you been exposed to against your will? Is it LSD? It might be LSD, but who's to say for certain?  Not being a test subject for government issued pesticides — honestly, you're fucked, so maybe you should just... kill 'em all*... *This company does not endorse homicide, even if those homicidal impulses are the government's fault. Please don't sue us.

***

General Total Stats:

(green means stat has changed since last ep; red means new stat added to list)

Total Cases *Definitively* Solved So Far: 14 (two in a row!)

Total Number of "Mulder/Scully, It's Me": 6 

Total Number of Times Scully Has Conveniently Not Seen Something Crucial: 6

Total Number of Times Mulder Has Been in Mortal Danger: 8 ½ (i mean, technically that lady came at him with that knife so i'll give him a half point, but i doubt she would have ever been able to actually mortally wound him) 

Total Number of Times Scully Has Been in Mortal Danger: 8

Total Number of Sexually Charged, Uncomfortably Intimate, and/or Flirty Moments Between Friendly Coworkers: 13

Total Number of Autopsies Scully Has Performed On Screen: 5 (and there were no worms in the body!)

Total Number of Times Scully Plays Doctor: 2

Total Number of Times Mulder Talks to an Informant: 16 (x come back, bb, i miss u)

Total Number of Times People Making Out in a Car Are Hurt or Killed: 2

Total Number of Times Someone Correctly Guesses a Password: 3 

Total Number of (Plot Relevant) Nosebleeds: 5 (changed stat to specify plot relevancy, so i can get away with not counting it if someone gets beat up and their nose happens to bleed or something. the nosebleed in this one did make that man homicidal, tho, so i will up the stat lol)

Total Number of Times Mulder Has Tasted/Sniffed/Touched Something Questionable Without Following Proper Safety Procedures: 3

Total Number of Times Someone Says "Trust No One": 3 

Total Number of Times Someone Says "I Want to Believe": 3

Total Number of Times Someone Says "The Truth is Out There": 2

Total Number of Cigarettes Cigarette Smoking Man Has Smoked: 8

Total Number of Maggie Scully Sightings: 1

Total Number of Lone Gunmen Sightings: 2!

Total Number of Alex Krycek Sightings: 0 (BUT GUESS WHAT NEXT EPISODE IS???!!! 😀😀😀)

Total Number of Times I Had to Look Up What State the Episode Takes Place in Even Though I Literally Just Watched It: 10½ (shut up) 

Total Number of Times I Had to Look at an Episode's Wikipedia Page to Fill This Out Because It Was Fucking Confusing and/or Too Boring for Me to Pay Attention: 5

[themightymoose]

And let me just talk about the whole "Frenemies" episode, by which I mean Vinnie's thing in that episode. So, basically, in that episode we discover that he's not actually clumsy, or well, he is but only because his tail somehow impairs his balance. Like, a lot.

So, he's genuinely not clumsy because he is distracted or anything like that, it's literally all his tail. Now, that leads to a delightfully angsty conlusion. We can all agree that he love loves dancing, but he's bad at it and always seems to destroy or hurt something or someone while doing it. So, he loves it but it's something that technically he shouldn't be doing. That is as long as he has his tail. Well, the conclusion is easy: tail = bad dancing, no tail = good danacing! ...So why not just basically get into the habit of detaching it every time it starts regrowing?

Now, it's not that easy cause it's not like it would be just a little tug. He would have to tug h a r d on it, repeatedly and with all his might most likely. Going by lps rules for that it's possible it would work like that, that's what I choose to believe anyway. And for my sake, maybe it would even involve blood. And of course pain, lots of pain. I mean sure, it might be detachable in some way, but it's still an entire fucking limb, plus it's meant to be detached by predators as a last resort, not by himself to have good balance.

Sure it hurts... but what's little, limited-time lasting pain compared to what he gains by not having his tail? Yeah, it regrows so he has to do it fairly often, but still. He's gaining a lot and it's not like he's hurting anybody. Well, besides himself, but who cares about that, right...? Others certainly don't seem to care about hurting him, so why would he? He can't change everything about himself, but at least he can get rid of that tail and spare everyone the burden of his clumsiness.

This limb is such a dead weight... why not just get rid of it since he can?

This is basically just self-harm with extra steps and I love it

No because I literally came to the exact same conclusion. Like... I was planning on putting this in my Vinnie headcanon list when I get to that.

Imagine if someone walked in on him trying to pull off his tail. How would they react? Would they stand there in shock or desperately try to get him to stop? Would Vinnie even try to hide the fact that this is what he does or would he just treat it like a normal thing?

10/10 angst material

[robininthelabyrinth]

NHS/JGY are cultivation soulmates

“Oh,” Nie Huaisang said, blinking. For the first moment, he looked just as stunned as Meng Yao was – but, unfortunately, he recovered faster. “Oh, this is wonderful!”

This was terrible.

Meng Yao had plans, plans that did not involve turning out to be unusually compatible as dao companions with the notoriously useless and empty-headed second son of the Qinghe Nie, no matter how charming he might be. He was going to get back to Jinlin Tower – he was going to get the name and patrimony he was owed – he was going to be the one standing at the top of the stairs, not the bottom –

“I’ll have to tell da-ge at once!”

“No!” Meng Yao blurted out, too panicked to stop himself, and only afterwards belatedly realized that his reluctance could be interpreted as an insult. And that, of course, would be even worse – Meng Yao needed his position in Qinghe Nie to get into a position that would allow him back into the Jin sect, and he couldn’t afford to be throwing ‘wonderful’ opportunities like this back in the faces of the sect heir. After all, for all that Nie Mingjue seemed to like Meng Yao well enough, everyone knew how much he indulged his brother… “Ah, that is – Nie-gongzi –”

“I see,” Nie Huaisang said, looking at Meng Yao thoughtfully. “No, no, it’s quite all right. I’m not offended.”

He said that, but was he really?

“Really,” Nie Huaisang assured him. “I mean, I’m hardly a catch, am I? But that’s fine. We can fix this.”

Meng Yao frowned at him, not understanding.

“It’s just a matter of figuring out how to make this something we both benefit from, that’s all – a way we all win.” Nie Huaisang smiled. “If you stay here and become my dao companion, Da-ge benefits from my cultivation improving, I benefit from having a good friend, and you…well. We need to make sure you benefit, too, don’t we?”

He laughed even as Meng Yao stared, having never seen this particular side of Nie Huaisang before.

“What is it you want?” he asked. “Your rightful name as Jin Ziyao? Would that be enough? Or, ooh, do you want to inherit Jinlin Tower? Because that would be very convenient – da-ge could rule here, you and me could rule there…as long as we can get rid of the Wen sect, which we’re going to have to do anyway, that would position us quite well, now, wouldn’t it?”

“…you want to rule the cultivation world?” Meng Yao asked disbelievingly. That didn’t sound like the Nie Huaisang he knew.

“I want my sect to do well, like any good son,” Nie Huaisang corrected him piously, then grinned. “Besides, why would I want that when you and da-ge can rule the cultivation world for me instead?”

That…sounded a lot more like Nie Huaisang, yes.

“So what do you say? Are you in?”

Huh. Maybe they really were soulmates.

[mekha-draws]

🍇🍓 for ask game?

🍇Share the "villain" or main antagonist of your clan and talk about them! (Note: Doesn't need to be a cackling supervillain, it can also be an annoying trickster, etc!)

-For this one I'm treating the Roving Altar as the main lair-

there is not a current antagonist (yet), there is plenty of lesser evil guys but most are centered on their own goals and dont really involve themselves with the rest of the clan(s) unless someone is nosy and loud about them

Latronis on the other hand is very much the whole deal, he is the one who set in motion the series of events that would lead to the creation of the Altar , therefore indirectly affecting everyone involved in that clan, like bringing up and granting someone of the likes of Mellus the equivalent of inmortality (which allows him to continue his own crimes) or Golgoryas getting allowed to continue his experiments and abuse without consequence.

Something funny(? about him is that while in present day he is still a bad guy (stealing from graveyards and the occasional crime towards travellers that roam his territory), in the past he was worse lol.

In search of divinity for himself he made a deal with a lesser god to purify his soul via a great sacrifice; whatever that entailed, he grossly misinterpreted (out of a bit of malice to those he didnt from his lair to begin with), instead he sacrificed his old clan in an "accidental" cave in resulting in a massive grave that was meant to "bury his sins for his new life". Of course the lesser god was appalled by the action and denied his request (pointless denial in the end as the tundra ended up getting his wish thru other means, but with a worse cost)

Eventually he came to meet a lone survivor from the cave in, Azopteros (who didnt recognize Latronis as he was a hatchling at the time). While at first he took the other under his wing reluctantly with plans to getting rid of him, he soon learned that the damned guy was given the divine gift he was denied and not only that but the fool didn't even know!. This would lead to a confrontation between both but given Latronis' luck he had abscond the fight as he had no means to kill Azopteros as he was still a mortal and a cursed one at that.

🍓Show off your favorite wet cat (pathetic) dragon and share a fun fact about them!

Thorn is very much my fave pathetic alcoholic meow meow.

when full-swing drunk, he has tried pretty much any drinkable liquid known to dragonkind that anyone brings to him, yes even that one you might be thinking and doing a face about

[find-roronoa-zoro]

Roronoa Zoro X CisFem Reader

9

"Oh ho... Aren't you a little mature to be walking around with hickeys my dear sister?" Thatch crept up on you and poked a tender spot on your neck.

"Shut it." you groaned, "He got a little carried away."

"Oo that thing is ugly, yoi." Marco added entering the kitchen.

"You guys suck." you mumbled.

"Not us, but clearly your boyfriend." Thatch chuckled.

"I hate you." you tossed a baby carrot at him.

"Awe, what kind of brother would I be if I didn't tease my favorite sister?"

"Your only sister." you sneered.

"That doesn't mean you can't be the favorite."

"If I was really the favorite you'd help me get rid of it because the second Ace sees I will never hear the end of it."

Marco took a coin out of his pocket and gently raked it across the bruised skin.

"I'm pretty sure that's an old wives tale." you commented as he stepped back.

"The swelling went down a little." Thatch sounded surprised.

"You'll have to do it a few times to make this monster go away. You should probably go put some makeup on it, yoi."

"I'll take over here." Thatch pushed you toward the door.

You went upstairs without protest to dab some concealer on your neck.

When you came back down dinner was ready and everyone was sitting at the big dining room table waiting for you. Your brothers and their girlfriends had managed to leave you a seat between Pops and Zoro. The greenette was still a little stiff from your surprising interaction earlier and adorably averted his gaze as you claimed your chair.

"It's nice of you to join us, lass." your father rumbled.

"Sorry for making you wait." you murmured as Thatch began passing bowls of sides around.

Conversation shifted to the anual Newgate Christmas party, which was one of the biggest parties of the year only second to the joint celebration of New Year's and Ace's birthday. You hadn't been to either in so long planning it was getting you excited. You just had to promise not to start a fight this time.

After dinner everyone helped clear the table and disappeared leaving you alone in the kitchen elbow deep in soapy water. It wasn't your favorite chore but you turned on some music and shuffled around making the best of it.

"I could keep digging

Provide all the things that you're missing boy

But why should I worry that I'm not enough

Say you don't like me - "

You were so absorbed in swaying and singing that you hadn't noticed anyone enter the kitchen.

"Enough to stand up and just fight me boy

Then we will both know that it's time to give up -"

He smirked watching you get more involved in the song, not having the will or the heart to interrupt.

"If I could just tell you

I've fallen in more than I care to now

It's strange, so afraid I might be in love...

Slow down, slow down

Take it from the beginning

I'm here why are you still aro-..."

As you were finishing the chorus you turned cutting yourself off in a gasp at the sight of your company.

"Zoro, shit... You scared me!" you flushed wildly and slapped his chest with a kitchen towel.

"I just came to see if you needed a hand," he had a rosy tint to his cheeks as well, "I didn't know you could sing."

"I wanted to be famous when I was a kid." you laughed, "Marco used to help me put on little talent shows at the orphanage."

He chuckled joining you at the sink while your music continued to play.

"Here, you dry," you handed him a freshly rinsed plate, "What did you want to be when you grew up?"

"Still working on that actually," he muttered, " I'm saving up to open a dojo."

"I didn't know you were into martial arts." you handed him another dish.

"Kendo." he specified, "I'm an instructor on the weekend."

"How many jobs do you have?" you couldn't help but smile imagining him teaching little kids.

"Just the three." he answered sliding the plate he had just dried into the cabinet to his right.

"I'm sure you'll have the space you need in no time, sensei." you nudged his elbow earning another light blush from the greenette.

"Maybe a couple more years."

"Let me know if you need anything. I know a lot of realtors through the company."

He nodded.

"Why didn't you try to be famous?" he glanced at you curiously.

"Things changed as I got older," you shrugged, "plus it would have crushed the old man if I didn't want to take after him."

"I'm glad we convinced him to go in there." Nami whispered as she and Al watched the two of you converse from the barely open door.

______________

It was one of the rare evenings that you had to spend with your boyfriend. You sat with your back against his chest while tattooed fingers absentmindedly fiddled with yours. He was engrossed in some medical show that you had no interest in so you let your mind wander.

Law had noticed your aloof behavior. He may not have spent much time with you, but he could tell when you were tuned out. There was also this nagging feeling of something lacking, like you just couldn't complete the connection. He assumed it was because he was always busy, and unfortunately there wasn't much he could do about that. After the first of the year he'd be taking over for the current attending.

The silence was interrupted by your ringing phone. Seeing Marco's picture flash across your screen gave you an uneasy feeling for some reason.

"Everything ok?" you didn't bother with a greeting.

"It's Pops, yoi," he breathed, "we're headed to the hospital."

"On my way!" you jumped to your feet and ended the call.

Law dropped you off at the hospital, kissing your forehead before you exited. Knowing how stressful these situations can be, especially with all of your siblings he opted to sit this one out. When you entered the emergency room waiting area your eyes immediately fell upon your younger brothers huddled in the corner.

Ace saw you first and rushed to hug you and fill you in on the situation.

"They are going to do some scans and blood work." the raven gently tugged you down to the seat between he and Sabo.

"Basically they think it has spread." the younger blonde added.

"F/N," you heard your older brother call across the room, "we need you to come back for a moment."

You trotted to him and followed him passed the double doors down a darkened corridor to a more private exam room where your father lay.

"Hospice?" Marco questioned as you entered.

"Yes," the redheaded doctor affirmed, " he's reached a stage where we would suggest professional help attend to him at least twice a week. Especially now that he has refused further treatment."

"Refused treatment?!" you all but shrieked.

Thatch shushed you and pulled you into his side, "He doesn't want to deal with the side effects anymore."

"It's now in your best interest to spend time with him and keep him comfortable." the oncologist added.

Your blurrying vision swayed to the enormous man resting quietly in the hospital bed.

"We'll d-do whate-ver he asks." you hiccupped, knowing there would be no way to change his mind.

Your brothers enveloped you while you sobbed.

"We'll admit him to get him stable over the next forty-eight hours. By the time he's released we'll have a hospice schedule mapped out for you."

After the doctors left your brothers sat you down.

"I don't think we should tell the babies." you muttered gnawing on your lip.

"They deserve to know." Thatch argued.

"They're young and they won't understand, yoi." as expected Marco took your side.

"And you know Ace when he's upset. I don't want him to shut down. If they don't know they'll go about like they always have with him." you wiped the moisture from your cheeks, "Pops would prefer that."

Thatch let out a sigh running a stressed hand through his deflated locks, "If that's what you think is best I won't argue."

After collecting yourself you went back out to tell the boys Pops would be admitted and sent them home. You sat in the waiting room a while longer fumbling with your phone. Thatch and Marco would still be a bit longer, staying to be sure paperwork was filled out and Pops was resting comfortably in his room.

Before you could stop to think about it your fingers were gliding over the keyboard on your phone.

Me: I need you.

Zoro: What's wrong? Where are you?

A/N - Song is Eggshells by Wild Child.

[can-i-see-your-passport-please]

Various betrayal headcanons due to my illnesses

The ambush happens in Half Life anyway, so originally it was gonna go how it does in Half Life, but then Benrey was introduced into the equation and the soldiers decided there could be an easier way to get Gordon into the ambush room.

They basically told Benrey "Look, we only want Freeman, if you lead him to a specific room, we'll ambush him, take him to Topside for… 'questioning', and once we're through with him we will let you and your team go free, turn a blind eye and say we got all of you and let you get eaten by some of those creatures"

Benrey isn't that stupid. He's stupid, but not stupid enough to blindly trust military soldiers. (In his worldview, the US military is Bad, so anything they say must be a cover for something.) He can tell that they're gonna kill Gordon. But unfortunately for all, he's under the assumption that Gordon can respawn. So obviously, get Gordon killed, and the soldiers will assume he's permadead. From there, meet up with Gordon again, get him out of the suit (too identifiable), and then they'll be able to get out alive.

(That part was also a lie. They were never gonna let the rest of the team go. They'd just kill Gordon, then kill the rest of the team. Get rid of the leader, it's easy to pick everyone else off.)

Benrey got Bubby involved because they're besties and because Bubby went off to play soccer with him while the others were discussing their dreams. Bubby agreed because Gordon was being an annoying little bitch and was holding back his speedrun strats :/

And obviously, we know the ambush went absolutely perfectly according to plan is what I would say if I was a fucking liar.

Bubby was pretty much excited the entire time until the arm came off

Benrey started off fuckin HYPED but then Gordon got more beat up and there was more blood and he started to be like "wait this sucks actually"

Once Gordon was in the room and got attacked, Tommy tried to get in to save Gordon, but was being held back by Bubby. He was fuckin TERRIFIED for Gordon's life.

And Dr Coomer... So in Half Life, the ambush is a cutscene, yeah? Well, why wouldn't that be true in HLVRAI too? It's just Half Life with VR and absurdly advanced AI slapped on top of it. The main plot stays the same, though the details are VASTLY different. Therefore, the ambush is just a cutscene with altered context. The gang can talk over it, yes, but it's still a cutscene. Meaning they can't interfere, no matter how much they want to. If anyone tries to walk into or out of the room, they'd just hit an invisible wall. They can't get through it no matter what- can't clip, can't break it, can't do anything.

You will never guess who steps forwards to help and hits the invisible wall first! it's dr coomer

This does not help with his existential crisis (and may have caused him to go full clone fight)

And then Gordon lost his arm and even without the wall, everyone was too shocked to even try to step forwards and help him.

They weren't meant to cut off his arm. That was never discussed with Benrey or Bubby.

Coomer managed to drag Tommy away with him (Tommy needed a minute alone to just completely freak out because What The Fuck, Coomer needed to be alone because not just What The Fuck but also the invisible wall didn't help)

Bubby stayed with Benrey due to guilt, and about half the soldiers dragged Gordon away. The others stayed behind to thank Benrey (they were unaware he'd gotten Bubby involved), and Bubby became FUCKING FURIOUS and attacked them

The remaining soldiers managed to overpower Bubby and drag him off to his tube (which they told Bubby), and Bubby was freaking the fuck out yelling for Benrey (the only other one around at this point) to FUCKING HELP HIM HE'S GONNA GO BACK IN HIS TUBE

Benrey was too in shock to do anything but just stare at Gordon's arm that whole time. He didn't move for a long, long while. (Once he had the thought to do anything, he basically, on autopilot, found the soldiers and tore them to pieces.)

Remember how I mentioned the ambush would've happened anyway, and then the AI were introduced into the equation? Benrey and Bubby joining in with the ambush was what changed the code to have them cut off Gordon's arm.