#you couldnt see the roots otherwise

[sleepiestslooth]

personal hc that lloyd was born a brunette but because of golden power inheritance it slowly turned blond as he grew up, he tried dying his hair once but his roots are a force to be reckoned with

[shrimpalbuspotter]

Do you think that If there were other wealey/potter kids in slytherin that it would take away from albus's story and character? Also what do you think are the certain traits that are a must for writing him? Like AUs can change his character but what things need to be the same to still be albus?

GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE I ALSO WONDERED THIS A WHILE AGO.

No, I don't think Albus being in Slytherin was the root of his problems. Yes, people wouldn't care as much because he isn't the FIRST Potter/Weasley, but he's STILL Harry Potters child and unless it was James Sirius that was Slytherin, it would have still been a big deal. (It would've been a big deal anyway). Now if Harry was the one in Slytherin, nobody would care. Infact, Slytherin would gain a pretty good reputation. BUT there's one issue, Albus Potter is terrible at magic, and he hung around with Scorpius Malfoy. THAT was what really made all the bullying start, so that would keep his character on track and not change much of the story. We even see in the play that Albus and Harrys issues don't lay in him being a Slytherin, so they'd still have the fight, and he'd still try save Cedric!

Now onto the next question. Some quintessential Albus things that I personally think are important to his character are these:

1. Being a Slytherin. I think taking away this key part of him, or even just any of the traits that come along with it, ruin his character. If you show me an Albus who is brave and disregards his safety and would throw himself infront of an avada for people, I will not recognise him.

2. Being sharp tounged/surly. This may just be me, but i think him being able to bite back at Harry on the spot in a way that really hurts and isn't just a playground taunt is amazing. He had to go through shit to get a backbone and by god he won't let it go to waste. Timid, shy Albus just doesn't work well for me, it feels like doing an injustice.

3. Being bad at magic. One of the biggest things with Albus is the fact he has no talent. His dad was Harry Potter and he's the saviour of the wizarding world, who learned to cast a Patronus at 13, who tutored a group of students in DADA at 14, who survived the killing curse 2 times, and many more things. Albus was terrible at spells, he was surprised he could perform Incendio whilst going into third year (a first year spell), he only learned expeliarmus in 4th year, and he couldnt even get his broom to lift. But these things are IMPORTANT! Because he has so much pressure put onto him as Harry Potters son and he SHOULD be working extra hard to make up for being in Slytherin, but he doesn't even try. He only learns spells that would be useful to him in a situation, but otherwise he just can't find it in him to even care. I dunno this is just important okay okay.

4. His relationship with Harry. I dislike people thinking Harry should've been the perfect dad, and that he should've understood Albus. Harry probably doesn't even accept the fact he experienced abuse or bullying, nevermind trying to understand his son who is open with the fact. Their relationship and their reconciliation at the end of the play is essential, because it shows that they both care about eachother so much and just don't know how to show it. It's sweet.

5. Scorpius always has to be his bestfriend. Even if it starts with them being enemies and becoming bestfriends. If he isn't even mentioned in a fic or characters act like they don't know him... God... SOB.

6. LOOKING LIKE HARRY. Albus needs to look into the mirror and feel sick at the sight of his face because a young version of his dad stares back at him. He needs to become a teenager and find appreciation in the sallowness of his face, in the murky green of his eyes, and the awkward way he stands, because he finally looks different from Harry and its all he wanted. He loves his dad, but he needs people to know he's a seperate entity. Yeah... yeah this is essential for sure mhmhmhm

7. DRY HUMOR. THATS IT. PLEASE MAKE HIM SARCASTIC.

Okay that's it uhh I guess SOME of these could be taken away and it'd be fine but overall Albus needs to be characterised as a self proclaimed git who pretends to hate his dad that he is a replica of and is always sad slash angry except when he's around his bestfriend. Thanks you for the ask..🙏

[tunaababee]

20 Questions for Writers tag game!

gonna chuck this under a cut since it's gonna be lengthy!! thank you so much for the tag @popjunkie42 <3 <3 <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3? eight! my one foray into DDADDS, a handful of Homestuck fics (notably Cats and Coffee, which i need to rewrite at some point!!) and 2 for acotar, though that number will be going up!!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 76,793!!

3. What fandoms do you write for? mainly acotar at the moment - i will probably dip my toes back into homestuck periodically though, it is where my roots lie!!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Strained (my one ddadds fic for a crackship) Cats and Coffee we will be everything we say Little Games Is It? (im pretty sure this was my first fic lmao)

5. Do you respond to comments? almost always, they make my day and mean so much!! if i don't reply im either busy and forgot bc my brain is like a sieve or happened to receive and influx and got overwhelmed!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? probably Breathe, which i wrote while having severely unmedicated depression and also being angry at how they shafted my fave character!!

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? oh, hands DOWN wwbews. that is the fluffiest most tooth rotting ending and it was DELIBERATE!!!

8. Do you get hate on fics? im very lucky to have avoided anybody's ire, but i also love biting people on the internet sometimes and i am very liberal with my block button lol

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? i think i would die a little bit if i couldnt write smut?? i mostly write relatively sappy, breeding-kink heavy stuff haha. i want to dip my toes into stuff thats a little more taboo though!! (*cough* ascendant astarion mind control *cough*)

10. Do you write crossovers? no, personally i like keeping stuff in its own little pockets!! mad shoutout to crossover writers though <3

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not as far as i'm aware!!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? no, but if anyone ever wanted to all they'd need to do is ask!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? nope, but i may have something in the works at some point soon 👀

14. What is your all-time favorite ship? no matter what, Karezi will always be my absolute ride or die, but Feysand is pretty fucking up there too!! i love most acotar ships, but in terms of homestuck ones, Arasol and Davejade are big faves too!!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? there's an old Homestuck wip i have deep in the folders called Glitter that i remember the vague direction of? but i know that one is not seeing the light of day, along with a barely fleshed out bandstuck au haha. im determined to make my acotar ideas/wips see the world at some point though!!

16. What are your writing strengths? mm hard to say? i'm very pessimistic/negative about me and my work by nature, so it's difficult to say with honesty, but i like to think i convey emotion and inner thoughts decently well! i also think my dialogue is relatively grounded for the most part?

17. What are your writing weaknesses? so many. i struggle with writing out of order, so when i get stuck on something i get STUCK. i have a tendency to repeat names a lot, i struggle with scene transitions and when to call a scene done. i'm also either always going way too over the top or way too underwritten, i struggle with finding a good middle! there are probably many more i could think of but i don't wanna get too in the weeds.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? i haven't used other languages as far as i can recall? if i ever do i would try and get a native speaker to give it a read over, but otherwise i am afraid our old beloathed google translate would be carrying my ass.

19. First fandom you wrote for? that i published on the internet??? Homestuck. things that never saw the light of day?? shit man, i couldn't tell you. i've been thinking about cool things my blorbos could do since i was a kid.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? very biased, but wwbews. i genuinely think its some of my best work, my first ever completed longfic and i put so much time and love into it!!!

---

tags, if you're feeling like it!! @reverie-tales @starfall-spirit @shardminds @damedechance @cauldronblssd @climbthemountain2020 <3

[shesmore-shoebill]

Smosh ask game made by @babychosen (i believe). Thanks for making this!

I think I was tagged by @unknownteapot and @poppyfamily - sorry if I missed any others!

Tossing it under a cut bc i got a little rambly lol.

1. How long have you been watching Smosh?

Hmmm. Not counting seeing some of the OG stuff growing up, I think I watched a TNTL or two when other people I knew crossed over (Specifically Critical Role and Starkid). But there was a later, very different point when the switch in my brain actually flipped and i got INTO it properly. I think counting that... maybe the start of this year? Late November/December? I had just started checking the channels/smoshblr more regularly (but wasn't subscribed yet) when Love Is Blind dropped. So. You know.

2. Favourite Smosh cast member(s)?

I dont think I can dodge any accusation of loving Amanda, but its critical to note that Angela is why I got into Smosh at all, and that, not counting Angela for Starkid stuff, Arasha was actually the first cast member I started actively seeking out more content for. Def the first person I started looking into Smosh content for more of.

So uh. Its triple A! Its triple A. I like a lot of the other cast members but i know my roots. and my roots are gay!

3. Favourite pairing?

At one point I was asked about my top three and I couldnt even do that successfully. Oh boy. I think by frequency of what I post about, we have to assume Amangela but I do really love Shaymanda as well. Changela makes me so 🥰. And I know Triple A is a trio but. :) Ah fuck I'm doing it again. Honestly all iterations within the Love Is Blind 1 lineup have increasingly captured my heart

If we're talking RPF, Amangela by leaps and bounds, but maybe that's largely because of how much content already exists for it. Courtrasha could be VERY good, Im just saying....

4. Favourite recurring character?

Recurring characters dont always hit for me, so this is an interesting one. I think maybe Dominic- its about the joy Courtney gets from playing him + the "such a toxic fool it somehow loops back around to harmless". If Angela ever brings Angelo back I am sad to say it would probably be him. Oops.

but yk who the real recurring love of my life is. Its the hot dog joke. <3

5. Favorite Smosh video?

CRUEL AND UNUSUAL QUESTION. This is so dependent on whatever Im thinking of at the moment LOL. Love Is Blind 1 is up there for sure. For a few I consistently rewatch/listen to, Amangela Trivial Pursuit, Smosh Hunger Games, LIB1, All Rise, Pride Stream, FNAFs, and a few specific Smosh Mouth episodes. For ones with a special place in my heart: Lets Do This Scam + Revenge, any Challenge Pit w/ Triple A, Smosh Pit Theatre IM Messages, and like. The FNAF 2 & FNAF VR.

6. First video that got you into Smosh?

I had seen the Critical Role TNTL and a few others I had tried from that, and petered out. Then I tried again after the Starkid TNTL, but I wasn't actually won over until. UNTIL. While on an Angela Starkid rabbit hole I was watching compilations, and then hit THE Arasha scam video (iykyk) and went "what the FUCK is the context for this", watched the full Lets Do This episode, fell into EIOYI's and Funerals and Challenge Pits and TNTL's and so on. So i had watched some videos beforehand but the thing that REALLY made me go "Oh. Wait. I kind of love this? And these people? I want more of them specifically?" was. The "I Lied". <3

7. Favourite picture of the cast?

To avoid putting like 30 pictures of different groups of people . Im assuming this means full cast. If so the most recent photoshoot I REALLY liked everyone's photos for! Otherwise? The Anthony's Funeral ones........ hot.

8. Favourite picture of your fave?

okay ngl im late on answering this game SPECIFICALLY bc of this question lmfao. :( i cheated and did 3 photos of everyone in triple A. did i end up going to videos and taking screenshots so technically defeating the point of this question. idk maybe.

Amanda:

Angela:

Arasha:

akdkakfjsjhfaksjfjahd. gay. (me)

9. What Smosh series do you want to see more of?

OKAY. First of all- Smoffice with current cast. But. Listen. Reading Reddit stories is fine and fun but. You know what I want more of? The cast acting out dramatic readings of Reddit stories. Please watch that video if you haven't. The current skits are fun but don't tend to align a ton with my sense of humor, but I'd LOVE more of this. We get goofy cast readings. Cast members doing cast ridiculous over the top acting mocking both a story and each other. They get to do over the top takes of ridiculous scenarios, and if I can't have Smoffice back CAN I PLEASE AT LEAST CAN HAVE MORE OF THIS. THERE WAS ONLY ONE AND IT HAD JACKIE AND AMANDA AND SHAYNE IN IT AND IT WAS SO GOOD. THEN THEY TOOK IT AWAY.

Other than that I mean. Im not COMPLAINING about the trend of Amangela playing video games. 👀

10. Dream guest on Smosh Mouth?

Ngl, I tend to enjoy guests that Shayne and Amanda really vibe with moreso than just people I know. Like I wouldn't be opposed to Syd and Olivia again, despite not having watched their stuff before that episode.

assuming there would be good chemistry.... you know what? Brennan Lee Mulligan. I think the humor would mesh beautifully and I think he could appeal to both Shayne and Amanda in specific ways and the conversation could vacillate between really deep insightful discussion or unhinged comedy bits.

I took long enough to answer this that I think everyone I think of immediately has already done it 😅 So if you'd like to and havent already, take this as your sign to go for it!

[separatist-apologist]

Hi, I am your Ottoman Obession era Anon.

Yes, I would recommend the book. Shadows of God by Alan Mikhail. I think i pick thus book after halfway watching Rise of Empire : Ottoman in Netflix. Why you should read this book? Please allow me to share my thought

1. I am not someone from History study or Labguage study. Therefore, I want to read history book that are easy to understand and not overcomplicated. You know,most often I put down the book because I couldnt follow the story or underatand what is going on. And i am not native English speaker, and it just hard for me to read certain book. Or maybe the author tried to hard to impress reader with bombastic word that after googling the word, i am still dont see how it make sense.

But this book? Damn, i feel like a girly pop reading a diary. It doenst just blandly narrated a story but I found this book interesting because it also give us the insight of the character. If i look back, it follows Selim journey from his childhood to how he claimed the throne. I can understand what is going on in the book and not to get lost myself.

Ngl, since the historical figure mention in the book is Selim, i am now rooting for him to claimed the throne and praying for his mother wellbeing. And oh! I love Selim mother the most in the book. The author touched a lot of aspect being an ottoman prince mother and his mother contribution during Selim ruling as a gavernor in Trapzor. They are very close to each other and i found it really sweet.

2. It does not exclusively follow Seim jourbey. The author also gives us hindsight on what is happening aroubd Europe at the time. I have read history book before and they exclusively narrate the historical figure and it made me confuse when there is foreign figure appear around the main historical figure. But this book? It tell us what was happening around,guve an idea where actually this event set place and how it correlate to other event in history. It became so fun to read when I can recognize othe histrical figure. For example the borgia. I know the borgia family because of a manhwa (korean type of comic).

It so fun to read and trigger my roller coaster emotionally.

3. I found it more interesting when I learn that Selim as said in the book is not highly favoured by his father. Especially when he is sent far away from Constantinople (or istanbul atm) assigned as governor. They said that the more far away the son is sent to givern a state,the lesser the chance the son get to be a Sultan.

It really made me think, did Beron apply the same thing? Except his intention to worsen the sibling relationship? Because i think I remember in one of your fic you had this scene where eris mentioning how lucky for Elain that Lucien is exiled. Otherwise, Beron would pit her and his other daughter in law. Which to me was genius since Beron wanted his son to fight each other for the throne.

Even in the book, it mention that the father/current Sultan is not excluded from this fraticide practice. The son still can and have the right to claw their own father from the throne

I recommend this book. Why? Simple, because someone slow like me can read it and enjoy the drama in this book. I think you would too. Sorry for the rambling tho.

You're back! This is the exact kind of recommendation I'm looking for, ESPECIALLY from a non-fiction book. When I was in grad school, one of my professors discussed what made good, academic writing ESPECIALLY if you were writing for lay people. And the hallmark of it was accessibility. Even within niche topics, your writing shouldn't be so convoluted that you need to re-read sentences over and over.

You can get away with some of it in academic journals but I'd argue if I'm reading a paper on a topic I'm knowledgable and published in, and I'm asking myself "what the fuck are you trying to say?" you've done a bad job.

And books ESPECIALLY because history is, in my opinion, one of the most fascinating subjects AND should be one of the most accessible ones as well. History is like gossip, it's half rumor, half fact depending on who is telling it. It's like when your friend texts, "can I say something fucked up?" like HELL YES tell me the atrocities and salacious gossip, I beg you.

I had a world history teacher in high school who once said history was the greatest soap opera and he made it accessible in a way that I've always been obsessed. And I'm saying all this because you said it was dumbed down enough for you to understand- but consider that it was WELL written enough to keep your attention rather than being so smugly satisfied with itself that the author renders the subject matter boring.

You sound exceptionally smart to me. You're reading in two languages! Give yourself WAY more credit and remember that a LOT of academics are just puffed up blow-hards that could use a regular person telling them, actually- you're not that interesting.

[royposting]

i do understand that they have a limited dragon battle budget, but so many of the scenes feel nnot conclusive/dramatic enough for a season finale, you know? the rhaenyra/alicent scene was good, and the one with daemon kneeling to rhaenyra. but all the rest of it? it just felt like filler. i would rather have seen some more helaena stuff actually being built up instead of the mud wrestling, or some sort of mini-resolution to ulf the dragon rider being an ass, or aegon actually making the decision to leave and some tension while he sneaks out. it just felt kind of...lame. they could have gone heavy on the interpersonal drama, but they just picked random scenes that felt like midpoints instead of beginnings/endings of plotlines. episode four, not episode eight. even rhaena and the wild dragon felt unfinished. end it with some dramatic eye contact instead of just dragon lands, plotline over.

oh i definitely agree - this FELT like episode 8, to me, but of a 10 episode season. especially after the dramatic ending to season 1, with the vhagar vs arrax fight.

as a book reader, i get why they couldnt make a whole lot more content - the next things coming up in the book, after the sowing, are some major and huge battles that they could not afford, which is why i suggest moving things around a bit and ending the season on the sowing.

imo, helaena is one of the major flaws of the show version, where in the book she goes insane in her grief after her son is murdered. i would have loved to see that, especially with the otherwise improved helaena of the show. a combination of that with the show version, of her in a murderous rage, would have been cool as hell. ulf being an ass is a major plot point that cannot be resolved yet, so i get that they didnt.

aegons disappearance is one thing that really stuck out to me in the show, and i even commented on that to my gf who was watching with me; in the book he simply goes missing and noone knows how or why and if he had any help. i actually prefer that a lot, even if im loving the actors performance as aegon and find him a delight to watch.

the sheepstealer plot is also a little wonky to me - i get why they decided to combine rhaena and nettles into one character, and the choice makes sense for the show. but its just a bit weird to have her run through the vale and just happen upon him. i would have loved to see more of that for sure.

i would argue that instead of the pointless scenes of which there were many, some introduction to daeron could be very useful, hes gonna be a major player next season and introducing him now would be awesome. i did love the glimpse we got of tessarion, shes looking gorgeous, but just some introductory scenes of him would have helped massively and, made people care for him.

i would also argue that theyve already set some things up for failure already, things that cannot be retconned. one of the major things they added is that aegon is apparently a rapist now. they made aegon completely irredemable; its just an insane character choice to make for him. in the book part of me roots for him, and the show seems like it wants me to do that too, but i just cannot. the ages of everyone is also really weird, and excluding maelor from the plot makes nothing make sense anymore.

im enjoying the show and am holding out hope that this episode was just a blunder and a rushed decision upon hbo telling the team they could only do 8 episodes; hopefully the next season has some more plot and a higher budget.

[stayteezdreams]

finally back to reply ugh i havent been active on here coz classes are kicking my butt and mental health is absolutely dead and the fear of the future is too much im sorry how are you? how was your thanksgiving if you celebrate? were you able to fix the flooding issue that happened a while ago at your house? how are your dogs? Hows your mum doing? (okay so i couldnt send the ask to your other blog coz it kept saying bad request dunno why)

Hii!~ No worries, I understand the struggle. I'm sure everything will work out, I am rooting for you! <3 <3 If you ever need to rant or talk anything through my dms and ask box (on either blog) are always open! <3

That's weird that you couldn't send an ask to my other blog, wonder what that's about. Hmm.

My Thanksgiving was good! I host/cook everything myself so its always busy, but it turned out good! How was yours? (If you celebrate as well)

My door hasn't been fixed to stop any water flooding, but monsoon season is over so it shouldn't happen again unless we get a winter storm. But I got the bottom of the door blocked off so rain can't come through as much again.

As for my dogs and mom, everyone is doing well! Thank you for asking <3

I hope everything is going well with you otherwise. I know school/classes can be stressful as hell, so make sure to put time aside for yourself to relax!

As for his blog, I knew about Kpop and heard some of it occasionally, but was not super into it until I discovered Stray Kids (through tik tok of all places lol). Once I got really into Stray Kids, I then got into Ateez (another group), and then I just spiraled into the writing side of it lol. So I've only been in the "kpop world" for a little over a year now.

I was reblogging a lot of Kpop stuff on my sideblog (truthbehindthereflection) and I felt like my followers there didn't want to see it that much so I made this blog and decided to start writing!

I don't get into the fandom stuff too much because it can unfortunately be very toxic in some areas. But all of the writers I've come across (or most of them) are super cool! I'm enjoying having this blog a lot!

xx

[foulserpent]

tho semi-related note ive been thinking a lot about the like, mythology of the "psychopath" irt crime its really interesting. like its inventing a sort of bogeyman mental illness to explain why people do bad things and it falls apart when you examine it

like im listening to some real fuckin stupid true crime podcasters and its just a CONSTANT thing where theyre so surprised when a "psychopath" cares about their family, or likes animals, or actually does exhibit empathy. and these people always dont know what to do with it so they either settle at 'thats so weird' and move on or presume its all an elaborate scheme by the like supernaturally calculating Psychopath. like, its easier to believe that the Psychopath is lovingly petting their dog in private as part of some dastardly long con than maybe they just like their animal and are petting it just like anyone else.

and its bc the "psychopath" is kind of an imaginary label to pathologize violence or 'criminal' behavior. its not actually synonymous with the disorder its Technically supposed to describe (aspd) . its a notion that theres a whole Other form of human who is fundamentally monstrous. and its like, a way of justifying the police and prison systems bc literally so much propaganda revolves around the notion that Psychopaths are out there and you need to be protected from them. its a mechanism of racism and ableism by claiming theres a type of person inherently predisposed towards violence and 'crime'.

it also interests me bc yeah there are neurodivergencies where you lack affective empathy and may have limited/no ability to feel remorse, and some 'psychopaths' may have them, but like empathy and remorse are actually so variable in everyone. like people who commit violent hate crimes will often love their families, be concerned when someone gets hurt, feel remorse when they accidentally harm someone, but this empathy does not extend to their victims bc theyre primed by systemic bigotry to see their victims as a less human 'other'. theres no intrinsic difference between a serial killer inflicting suffering without remorse bc they have categorized their victims as 'others' or deserving, and a homophobe who loves their family committing remorseless gaybashings bc they have categorized their victims as 'others' or deserving

[monstermp3]

I was wondering, with the news of the "hiatus" or leaving or whatever with Jae, why are a lot of people so angry?

like I see your tags about validation seeking and I just don't know if I'm missing something? Especially when people are messaging in and agreeing about his character being poor and stuff, I just don't really know what's going on

I can understand people being upset, but the band is on a break anyway as everyone enlists and whatnot, so I guess I'm confused as to the like...vitriol

there are some events that have led me to adopt the view that i have today but it also has a bit of gut feeling thrown in!!

i think it’s pretty easy to tell that he has been very antagonistic in recent months + behaving immaturely (think a 14 year old adolescent who feels like they’re grown enough to use cuss words?) + tasteless behaviour (uploading an ambiguous message scheduled on 1/1/2022 12am kst that is nothing different from the status quo hence thereby reintroducing chaos to already still waters... and then going on live right after, thanking twitch subscribers, collecting his twitch rewards, cussing every few seconds)... may i also reiterate that this is coming from the observations of someone who has been supporting him throughout 2021 till november bc honestly !!! it seemed like it was him vs the management and that truly deserved some sympathy and compassion! but what he did yesterday hit a raw nerve for me bc it was in such bad taste (i mean. compare ~this~ to the other members’ thoughtfulness on bbl, things they’ve done to show appreciation pre-enlistment, behaviour on public platforms... you just know that jae and the rest are in two completely diff spheres of maturity)

[saturniade]

your recent is. such a weird post to make. 99% of the time anime will rely on displays of characters’ cultures like their names, where they live, and the activities they partake in to show that theyre japanese rather than character designs. all of these characters are clearly meant to be japanese and its whitewashing to say otherwise just because they dont look japanese to you. plenty of asians get told they dont look asian because their features dont match up with what others perceive as “asian features” and this is super reminiscent of that. i dont see what about the names “reigen arataka” and “shou suzuki” scream white to you

i absolutely see your point! however. i think its interesting to imagine a non-japanese person (specifically a second-generation white/white&japanese immigrant) in a dominantly japanese environment + it puts an interesting spin on reigen's character with how it at the same time would alienate him in society while helping him create the image of this Incredible Psychic [more thoughts under the cut]

reigen very obviously lived his whole life in japan and recalls it sometimes (his school memories come to mind); he is familiar with the traditional clothing, food and activities, folklore, geography and such. so i do believe he has lived his whole life in japan! however, seeing how we haven't got to meet or even see or learn the name of his parents, i truly think he could be a white-with-an-asterisk dude who was born in japan. so culturally he is as japanese as it gets, but that doesnt mean he couldnt have white* parents/roots!

as for his name. 霊験灼か (reigen arataka) is actually not a traditional name, but a pun on the japanese phrase    that sounds the same. so his name doesn't 'scream white to me' necessarily, but it isn't very strictly japanese either if that makes sense. even disregarding that and focusing on the possible-immigrant aspect:

first name arataka is self-explanatory, japanese (-sounding) name given to a kid who would need to integrate into the society (i am not actually sure that this name exists as neither the romanization nor the kaiju search return results besides reigen's name). and his last name reigen is not necessarily an originally-japanese surname -- it could be a katakana-zation of an english last name like Ragan or Ragen!

i also think that it would make sense to him to become a (charlatan) psychic because being white is seen as Other/Alien in the japanese society and it would add something of a mysterious prestige to his persona which would lead to more interest in his business etc. the other psychics who do psychic business in mp1OO present themselves in a pretty exotic manner (im talking hairstyle, clothes, tattoos) while reigen is just wearing a simple fucking suit and tie! and i think it would be really interesting if he had chosen to use his appearance/race to create this image of a 'professional foreigner who is very serious, competent and familiar with japanese culture/ghosts'.

i could write even more speculations re: his parents and races and heritages and just make up a whole shaky tower of headcanons but i dont really feel like researching it too long. what i will say from what i learned before falling too deep into this rabbithole: wiki lists reigen's birth year as a year of a rat. i think it's 1984 (would make him almost-thirty around when mp1OO was being published). before 1985, japan's jus sanguinis only automatically granted japanese citizenship to those who were born to a japanese father. so i think it would make sense for his father to be japanese/mixed and for his mother to be white*.

[homieswithhades]

why steve rogers returning to the past was wrong

disclaimer: im clearly a stucky enthusiast, but please, do not be thrown off by that. i admit, there may be undertones of bias because of that in the following, but i did my best with trying to lay out the facts and draw logical conclusions, so do please give me a chance. also, i may have accidentaly omitted some moments and some quotes may not be 100% word for word, as my memory lowkey sucks. ALSO this is NOT a peggy hate post!! i think shes a dope and underrated character and quite frankly she was done dirty. but i also definitely h8 the trope of badass woman falls for the hero.

first and foremost, every sane person knows endgame was complete and utter bullshit when dealing with steves character, so this post will be more for you to maybe show (and hopefully convince) some stubborn friend or family member. nice, concise (not) and including proof from the movies (+a few tweets and stucky undertones, if u dont fw that i respect it but bucky is an integral part to steves character regardless of how u interpret their relationship) here is why steves character development was thrown away at the end of endgame.

let us begin at looking at the cap trilogy.

in ca:tfa it should be noted that steve had no one to return to in the 40s, except bucky. i believe steves relationship with peggy was no where near as developed as it should have been to elicit him returning exclusively for her. as we are aware, steves driving force has absolutely always been bucky. bucky was there for steve after his parents died, when he was sick, and always protected him from whatever trouble he got himself into. "until the end of the line" right? steves relationship with peggy was forced and short lived, literally, we're talking a matter of months here. i need to keep emphasising the important disparity between bucky and peggy, as it is absolutely key in this whole argument. steve dropped everything and went against every order just to even attempt to save bucky. even the slightest chance of him surviving being captured was enough for steve to break into a hydra camp and free the 107th division. steve even had the chance to capture zola, one of the main villains and masterminds of the war, but again, steve prioritised bucky. when theyre trying to escape the exploding hydra camp, the exchange between steve and bucky is critical. steve says "go! get out of here!" as all he wanted was bucky escaping safely. he put bucky's life over his own (this wasnt the first time he did this, nor the last) but bucky rooted himself to the spot, and yelled back "no, not without you!". they both escaped safely as we know, and then steve gathers the howling commandos to take down the red skull. bucky then falls off the train, nd steve blames himself for his death, even visibly crying over it twice. steves morals went from "i dont wanna kill anyone. i dont like bullies, i dont care where theyre from" before buckys death, to "i wont stop until all of hydra are dead or captured" after. stuff happens and steve defeats the red skull and is now in control of the flying ship with the bombs. he connects the comms with peggy and she tries to convince him theres another way to disarm the ship. steve was so dedicated at that point he didnt even want to hear it. he didnt even attempt to do anything to ensure his survival. this alone proves, peggy was not important enough to him to return to.

next is ca:tws. The stevebucky movie. in the museum, peggy confirms that steve saved the man from the 107th division who eventually became her husband (steve was never in the 107th, just to clarify) i believe her husbands name was daniel sousa (as revealed in the marvels agents of shield show) steve then finds out peggy is alive and talks to her. she, in short, tells him she's lived her life, and it was his turn to live his in the time hes in. the "my best girl" line was unnecessary and out of place; again, steve barely knew her. again, shit goes down, and steve finds out the winter soldier is bucky and immediately drops everything, and becomes dead set on saving him. not killing, not imprisoning, but saving him. no matter the cost. "he saw me, and he didnt even know me" "hes not the kind you save, hes the kind you stop. he won't recognise you" "he will." god, steve KNEW bucky would recognise him. regardless of the brainwashing, steve managed to break through the barrier hydra fought so hard to drill into buckys mind. nothing ever broke him out of that state exept for steve. "im not gonna fight you, youre my friend." "youre my mission" "then finish it. cos im with you till the end of the line." [[good fucking lord let me break out of my essay-esque semi professional format here and just say how fucking heartbreaking those lines are. oh my god. read them, over and over until it hits you.]] steve shows us again, that he is willing to not only die for bucky, but literally die by his hand. he would let bucky kill him. he'd dropped his shield. he didnt fight back. steve always, always, ALWAYS got up and fought back. always. exept that time. the time bucky could have killed him. that scene is the essence of "im with you till the end of the line" because then, it was true. it was true because steve was okay with dying at buckys mercy. theres a difference between sacrificing yourself for the greater good (steve going into the ice), willing to die for someone (steve risking his life multiple times in attempts to save bucky) and finally, being willing to let someone kill you, because you love and trust them so much (hellicarier scene). the difference between peggy and bucky's relationship to steve is that steve may be willing to die for either, but only willing to be killed by one. not to mention, bucky pulled steve from the river. he recognised him. steve broke through 70 years of brainwashing with such impact it literally drove bucky away from hydra out of his own free will.

in between ca:tws and ca:cw its confirmed (im p sure sam says it) that him and steve looked for bucky for two. years. even off screen, bucky was steves priority.

im going to squeeze in 2 points from from age of ultron here, for chronology's sake:

steves worst nightmare, as portayed in the movie, is LITERALLY going back to the 40s and being stuck there (with peggy too??lmfao) and also the quote "family, stability, the man who wanted all that went in the ice 75 years ago. i think another one came out." objectively confirms that steve isn't the man he used to be, and doesnt want to return to the past. aou may have sucked, but that doesn't mean the character development should be thrown away.

ca:cw. hoo boy. steve went against 117 countries and half of his closest friends and colleagues because he believed bucky was innocent of the bombing of the un conference. god, steve quite literally, did everything to defend and protect bucky. though i shall acknowledge that steve did attend peggy's funeral, however, there was no real connotations there other than the fact he was mourning her death (understabdibly so). steve then proceeds to protect bucky for 2 hours 27 mins and 41 seconds to the point where they escape together to siberia after the airport fight. "i dont know if im worth all this steve" "what you did all those years... it wasnt you. you didnt have a choice." "i know. but i did it" again, absolutely heartbreaking quotes if you read it a couple of times and truly understand the meaning of them. steve somewhat indirectly tells bucky yes, yes he is worth all of this. otherwise, he wouldn't be doing it. a quote to support that would be "for the longest time, i always did what i thought was right." (disclaimer this is not a direct quote i deadass couldnt find it to save my life, i belive steve said it at some point during civil war or tws, but the point is, bucky is the only thing that could have shaken steves morals so intensely.) and finally, the most important part of cw, the fight at the end with tony. bucky and steve constantly protected each other. steve kept fighting because he was fighting for bucky. to keep him safe from tony and the world. he got up, time and time again. "i can do this all day." the fact that he said that to tony, some people consider them the closest of friends, proves again, a million times over, bucky is more important to steve than literally anything else, INCLUDING his shield. his mantle. he dropped it and left it like it was nothing, because his priority was bucky. as always.

theres not much to discuss for infinity war other than their hug whicg was honestly just adorable.

mmmmm endgame. i will not go into how much i hate that movie because it would be a rant quintuple the length of this one. in the support group, steve dead ass fucking says "you gotta move on. you gotta move on" and that sentiment was literally forgotten at the end. my main point for endgame is this. people tend to tell me, the reason steve abandoned bucky and went back to be with peggy is because he knew that he was finally safe. :/. if you had half a braincell youd know that's not true. the steve we know, never would have left bucky for good, ESPECIALLY after the "dont do anything stupid until i get back" exchange [[god i want to beat the shit out of the r*ssos]] mostly because, bucky had fucking no one in the time he was living in!!! no family, no friends and most heartbreakingly, no one he could trust. (yes sam was there but were just seeing their friendship develop now in tfatws, all that wasnt there in endgame) and secondly, what made steve think bucky was entirely safe??? half of the worlds population just suddenly reappeared, which as we see now, there were massive consequences for that. i simply believe steve is not that stupid. steve going back was disrespectful not only to his character, but to bucky AND peggy. most importantly, the steve we've been watching since 2011 would NEVER abandon bucky, no matter how safe he thought he was (he visited him frequently in wakanda, the safest place on the planet arguably ffs) especially for such a dumbass and quite frankly, nonsensical reason as going back to be with peggy, who clearly stated to him she moved on, and so should he (which he did. idk endgame writers prolly didnt watch the previous movies :/) its not even debatable. bucky is more important to steve than peggy. even in terms of screentime.

now allow some tweets to speak for me, this one being the absolute most important one:

ladies and gentlefolk, all of the stuff ive said can be summarised in that last line. "it would be contrary to who he is."

heres some more:

and now finally, id like to briefly mention steve and tfatws, so beware of spoilers (writing this as of ep 4 coming out; praying it doesn't age badly)

bucky mentions steve, unprompted, fucking constantly. he clearly isnt over steve leaving, and im hoping that gets acknowledged and talked out in the show.

in conclusion, tl:dr, steve shouldn't have returned to the past and stayed there, it is contrary to who he is, as shown to us through his trilogy and other appearances in the mcu. not to mention the timeline bullshit in endgame makes zero sense in the first place.

[peanut-butter-parkerxx]

he died his hair prank

peter decided to prank y/n by temporarily dying his hair silver..

pairing: peter x fem!reader

status: dating

peters pov

i finally found a way to get revenge on y/n and her stupid yet believable pranks, since she loves my brown hair so much, no i did not decide to cut it aunt may would literally murder me if y/n didnt so it before her, i decided to temporarily dye it silver but she doesnt need to know its temporary ;)

y/n/n and i decided to hang out in the evening since i told her i had to go run some errands for may, thankfully she believed  it, so now im on my way to go buy some hair dye....*nervous laugh*

i got the hair dye and i took all the stuff out spreading them on my bathroom counter, i decided to record this coz i dont think ill dye my hair again any time soon, plus it felt like i was filming a youtube video

"ok so i watched a couple of videos before this coz i dont wanna mess this beautiful gem up" i said reffering to my hair "im obviously not gonna bleach it, so lets hope my hair is light enough to show the dye" i prayed and attempted to put my hair in a ponytail and it looked pretty good, i watched how y/n does it on my hair everytime we do face masks but doing it for yourself is wayyy harder

*A/N: look at this cutie 🥰 anyways back to the story*

i dyed the side of my hair first getting the dye everywhere, thank god i took the bathroom rug out so it would not get stained, and then took the bun out and sectioned it

"dont let me down brad mondo" i whispered getting even more nervous than i was before i brushed the dye of the first section "i did it" i smiled proudly but then it hit me "i did  it, i did it, this part of my hair is silver! oh my god" i was panicking, what am i doing? this is a prank this is a prank its not real calm down peter

suddenly i got a facetime call from y/n

*babyyyy 💕👀 would like to FaceTime*

lit up my screen, i panicked a bit trying to find an excuse to not answer the call or at least not show her my face, but i remembered i was in the bathroom....hopefully this excuse will work

i clicked on 'accept' and waited for her to connect

"hey babyyyy" she beamed, shes cute when shes excited but her smile faded when she couldnt see me "where are you?" she asked

"im in the toilet babe, but i couldnt not answer your call" i laughed trying to act normal and backing up from my phone as much as possible

"oh" she laughed, i wanted to grab something from the counter and i thought i did it carefully but what she said, said otherwise "wait why is your hair silver?" she asked her eyes widening

"wHAT? what do you mean?" i squeeked, i hesitantly put the undyed of my hair to the frame and she sighed in relief "my hair is brown, love nothing to worry about"

"thank god, although you kinda looked like jack frost which was kinda hot....but no no no no i prefer brown, dont even think about it" she warned, i laughed at her statement, it kinda made me more confident, maybe i would look like jack frost "anyways, ill see you in a few, im almost at my house, gotta go, byeee" she said waving her hand at the camera

"byeeee" i put my hand in the frame and waved, she laughed and ended  the call...that was close

after a few curses and an hour of dying my hair, i finished! and im pretty proud of the results, lets just hope my hair doesnt fall out

*A/N: this is the only picture i found of a guy with a somewhat wavy hair so imagine this is him but with messier hair dye and its all over his hair but not till his roots, OH and silver lmao*

so i took a photo of my hair and sent it to ned, he was with me throughout the whole process coz i needed someone to talk to, i usually annoy y/n with my daily rants but i couldnt so ned had to hear me talk abt how Mrs Barbosa gave me extra homework for being late

After I texted Ned, I got a text from y/n/n

"Babyyyy 👀💕: hey Pete, where are we hanging out? My place or yours?"

I told her that she could come to my place because I got a 'surprise' for her, i knew i had to record this so i quickly placed my phone on the desk

"YOUR BITCH HAS ARRIVEDDD!" y/b barges in, flopping on the bed next to me

"h-hey y/n/n" i said laughing at her dramatic entrance but still confused on how she didn't  notice my hair, just act casual, she moved closer to my body looking at the computer thats on my lap

"what are you doing?" she asked curious "

oh nothing, just watching guys surprise their girlfriends with dying their hair a bad color"i laughed acting as casual as possible

"oh thats funny, but if you did that to m- *looks up* *big dramatic loud gasp* PETE- I- WHA- HOW-" her eyes were as big as ever, I've  never seen her this shocked "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY LUCIOUS BROWN CURLS" she shouted completely ignoring my computer and sits on my lap to get a closer look

"YOUR curls?" i laughed

"yes MY curls what happened to the light brown almost hazel in the sunlight curls?" she brushes my hair through her fingers trying to get the dye out "i dont think my brain processed this yet- WAIT YOU DYED IT RIGHT? SO THAT MEANS IT'LL STAY FOREVER?" looked down her mouth parted

"isn't  that what dying your hair means?"

"HOW ARE YOU SO CALM ABOUT THIS I MEAN ITS A WHOLE DIFFERENT COLOR, AND WHY SILVER-ISH GREY?"

"I actually really like it" I said combing my hair through my fingers but she swatted it away so she could look at it more

"babe *laughs* you said I'd look like Jack Frost" I told her tilting my head

"well Jack Frost is hot but you're hott-ER I don't want you looking like Jack Frost because I said so! I love you for who you are....especially your brown hair"

"so if I told I like it you'd be ok with it?"

"Yes if you like it and it's your choice? %100"

"so what if I said it's a prank?" She was gonna nod her head coz she thought it was like the other question but then stopped midway and widened her eyes

"your kidding"

"yes in fact I am" I laugh and point at the camera and she gasps

"you..you....YOU BITCH" she punches my chest jokingly "I ALMOST GOT A HEART ATTACK AND GOT ALL SAPPY AND MUSHY FOR YOU JUST SO YOU COULD PRANK ME?!" she shouts point her hands everywhere "You know I was like scared! Coz you said you liked it and I was like, oh no I gotta get used to this no more chocolate curls, but not as in i lied I just gotta get used to it which added more pressure than I already felt!" She stated but I only laughed even more and awed

"babe don't worry"

"I HAD A MATH QUIZ TODAY" she point at herself "AND YOUR HERE LAUGHING YOUR ASS OFF?? no wait let me sit on the bed since you like when I sit on your lap"

"no no baby I'm sorry" I said while laughing, her face was hilarious

"no you're not! and no kisses till Monday" she huffs and looks at the wall, I give her ten seconds until she turns around to ask one more question, and she did

"hop on the shower we're cleaning the white of you, you Jack Frost wannabe" well more like a demand I huffed but got up with her and turned the recording off

"neds gonna love this"

Have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening/night!

-quacksonlover

[foolgobi65]

i really wish the writers of lucifer hadn't turned chloe and maze's friendship into such an afterthought! like ok:

- when they start in season 2, both of them are in pretty isolated places socially. chloe, already a pretty introverted workaholic, is just newly divorced and has exactly one (1) friend: lucifer. maze has finally split off from lucifer and has two (2) friends: linda and trixie, but for the purposes of this comparison linda really is maze's one friend. maze has just accepted that she's not actually going back to hell, that this time on earth isn't really just a lunch break before they go back to the real world (hell) and so she now has to figure out how to build a real life in LA.

- basically, both maze and chloe are kind of in similar positions in terms of being isolated and really only having a singular overwhelming relationship with someone as opposed to having a network they can rely on so that all their eggs aren't in one basket. you can see where this backfires on both of them throughout the series when linda spends the week not talking to maze after seeing lucifer's face, and when lucifer runs off to vegas and suddenly chloe is stuck with all these feelings she can't express (and crucially can't talk about to him, her best friend.) ofc lucifer and maze's relationship transcends friendship just based on their immense history and is its own weird thing that i also kind of wish they had given more thought to, but w/e.

- enter: maze and chloe's friendship! i think for both maze and chloe, the other person is as "far" as you could get from themselves, but is fascinatingly still someone they can like, respect, love, and be loyal to. for a good while (and this is something i REALLY wish they had maintained) chloe, maze, and dan are basically raising trixie together which takes so much respect and trust that the other person is someone you want having a hand in influencing a kid you love! i think what's interesting is that, unlike lucifer who is trying to answer existential questions about his place/purpose in the universe, maze is really just focused on the people she cares about and having a good time (which is rooted in her doing meaningful work as a bounty hunter.) chloe is someone who pursues duty to the point of self-sacrifice, and obviously her friendship with lucifer helps her loosen up, but the pedestal he places her on/reverence he sometimes feels for her prevents him from really popping that bubble in the same way maze does. also chloe and lucifer's relationship gets SO much more complicated around the time maze enter's chloe's life so the role that lucifer once had to shock chloe out of her comfort zone kind of goes to maze once chloe has to draw some personal boundaries with lucifer.

- i think the key to maze and chloe's friendship is that they're both people who desperately need someone who embodies the other person's best trait. while this tendency isn't always healthy, maze is fundamentally someone very loyal to those she believes deserves it. obviously she's also betrayed people a billion times but at her core she's deeply committed to those she cares about which is something that i can see chloe find really appealing. at this point chloe has spent so much of her life in this weirdly precarious position where, since her dad's death she hasn't been able to fully trust anyone or open up to them. obviously she loves dan, but its clear that even when they're still "good" he doesn't trust her instincts or potential like he should, and when he spent those months gaslighting her the issue for her even beyond the fact that he shot malcom would have been that he didnt support or trust his wife. the appeal of lucifer is that from the beginning he identifies that she's smart and moral with good instincts. he trusts her, and strangely over the season she begins to trust him too! and then he runs off to vegas, etc etc lol. maze's primary loyalty probably isn't to chloe, but we see that to the best of her capacity she wants chloe to be happy -- she gets the prison warden killed, she "tries" and then really does listen to chloe venting about lucifer, attends the parent night chloe was stressed about, sets aside her grudge with lucifer to find chloe.

- in turn, chloe's best trait is her ability to accept people as they are and see their potential. of course she doesnt really have that many friends, but the people she is attracted to are all works in progress (dan is obvious, as are lucifer and maze lmao, but there's also ella who confesses something very personal and scary to chloe and gets a hug in return, and even charlotte who chloe's had clashes with both as charlotte and Mom for years but still gets the benefit of the doubt.) maze does have to change when she comes to live with chloe and trixie, but we see trixie grow up heavily influenced by maze in ways that makes it clear that chloe must genuinely like maze, or those influences like the handshake and the passion for gore and the knife training wouldnt have been allowed. we know that the reason maze is so loyal to lucifer is that he was the first person to ever accept her for who she was unconditionally, without shame or judgment. we see that for lucifer chloe is that person, especially because she sees his potential for growth just as she sees maze's. because she doesnt have preconcieved notions of what they're supposed to be she only sees them as people going through a difficult period of growth and supports them as best she can: reminding maze that they're friends, worrying about her in canada, trusting her with trixie who is the most important person in chloe's life.

- of course, chloe and maze have lucifer and linda but narratively lucifer and linda become so much MORE for chloe and maze. the show sunk linda/maze lmao but linda's clearly the adult maze cares most about just as lucifer is chloe's. and for both in s3 this person they each place so much of themselves into suddenly hurts them and they both spiral. i think there was real potential for chloe and maze to become each other's support and develop into a really steady, enduring friendship in contrast to the chaos of their individual romances (you will NEVER convince me that triangle was about amenadiel rather than linda lmao.) even post s3, they don't really address that maze really hurt chloe by pushing her towards pierce, and that chloe hurt maze by lying to her. i really think there could have been a lot of growth from maze going back to living with chloe and trixie after making full ammends and chloe realizing that actually, yes she can deal with this and it isn't that scary and then the tragedy of her maybe missing her shot with lucifer becomes more stark. we see chloe and maze teaming up in the first episode of 5A but then they blow that up too! i get that chloe needs space and its clear they're both using the other as placeholders for the people they really want, but there's no reason that they couldnt have come back together later and re-established their friendship on screen. obv they wouldnt work together after lucifer comes back, but to me this is where i believe they should go back to living together. without that, maze's connection to trixie in terms of what they can show on screen becomes tenuous and chloe's home life just becomes less interesting/worthwhile to see bc it'd just be her or maybe her with trixie. without that, it feels like we just see a lot of chloe either at work or in relation to lucifer (bc thats the best bang for your buck in terms of interaction!) we do get to see maze with linda, which is nice, but idk just feels like a step back from early s3 when maze felt more embedded in a community of people who liked, accepted, and cared about her wellbeing.

- i think one of the issues is that chloe and maze's friendship might have seemed like a knock off of their "main" relationships with lucifer and linda bc they have similar dynamics with them, but idk! there's a sense of fun that we get from their friendship that we dont really see from the main pairings because those are so serious and passionate and the main mechanisms by which the 4 grow so there isn't as much room for the lighter stuff. i know i said that chloe sees the potential for growth but she's not really pushing maze to talk about her feelings. she's doing the dishes maze won't, smiling at maze and trixie's handshake, shrugging off the fact that maze is throwing knives at their rented walls. maze and chloe create space for each other to be seen as themselves, good or bad, in ways that linda and lucifer can't for whatever reason. they don't really push each other, just let the other person be. it wouldnt be the ideal dynamic if they were the only person in each other's lives, but i think its vital to have someone in your life who can, in chloe's case, gently push you outside of your comfort zone and in maze's case offer acceptance, friendship, and trust.

idk this is just going in circles as i repeat the same points over and over and over but i really wish they had put more thought into sustaining the maze and chloe friendship throughout s4 and s5 because it would have brought out notes in both of them narratively that i think are lost otherwise. also its just sad for trixie that someone who was basically part of her family who she was living with is just...not there anymore and that's never addressed. : (

[lostcauses-noregrets]

am i crazy, or are u not supposed to relate to eren? atleast not manbun, libero eren? i keep seeing people say they relate and im ? so confused that they would want to commit literal war crimes ?? because of what, losing your mother? like 90% of the other characters ??

like i can see how ull relate to eren at the start when titans were still just mindless monsters, but eren attacking libero was so uncomfortable for me to watch bc i couldnt believe this young boy i used to sorta root for had turned into the exact thing he wanted to destroy.

but idk, am i misinterpreting it?

Okay, so there’s actually quite a lot to unpick in here....

Obviously it’s possible to like a character without approving of their actions. It’s also possible to relate to a character without approving of their actions.  And you can like and relate to a character and their actions, without condoning similar actions in real life. We’re talking about fiction after all, and there is no direct 1:1 correlation between fiction and reality.

In terms of Eren, Isayama has created a really interesting and complex character who arouses all kinds of conflicting emotions.  I know there are many fans who still have an deep emotional connection to Eren, despite his recent actions, because they remember him as the brave headstrong boy who wanted to avenge his mother and save his friends.  That’s perfectly understandable and I have a huge amount of sympathy for these fans.  It must be heartbreaking watching your favourite character literally turn into a monster who slaughters millions.  I also know there are fans who enjoy Eren’s character within the context of the story and that’s perfectly understandable too.   Eren’s story arc has been incredible and it’s been a wild ride from start to finish.  I can also understand people who relate to Eren’s anger and courage, even though they disapprove of his later actions.  Eren’s genocide may be reprehensible but no one could ever accuse him of cowardice.  What concerns me though are the fans who relate to Eren’s character and who have been cheering on the slaughter.  I genuinely don’t understand how anyone can condone mass genocide, fictional or otherwise, and I’m inclined to give a very wide berth to those who do.

As to what we’re supposed to do, well that’s a difficult question to answer. Isayama can be a frustratingly obscure writer at times, but if he has been clear about anything, it’s that readers should draw their own conclusion from the story. I guess all we can do is interpret it within the parameters of our own moral compass.  Personally speaking?  I’m with Hanji on this one…  

[botanyshitposts]

whats the deal with proven winners?

okay. so. this is actually how i got into botany in the first place; i got an unpaid internship at a greenhouse in high school and realized, very quickly, that we live in a jurassic park hellscape where big companies breed plants solely for their looks and performance, and i found that so fucking weird that i couldnt get enough of it and fell down the rabbit hole. i don’t find them bad per say; i find them weird and how they manage their product in terms of policing their retailers is very sketchy to me, but they’re not like, monstanto-level off the shits (yet). with mother’s day next weekend we’re coming up on one of the biggest greenhouse/ornamental plant industry sales days of the year, next to valentines’ day (which favors the rose industry especially), so this is an exceptionally convenient time to talk about this. 

proven winners is one of the biggest ornamental plant companies in the united states, possibly the world. you might know them from their patented white flower pots. they’re centered in california (as, actually, a lot of these large flower producers are) and they manage a HUUUUUUGEEE network of giant industrial flower greenhouses. 

like, you have to understand, all garden retailers have to buy their shit from somewhere, and although the centers and local greenhouses selling proven winners stuff are often small and independent (unless ur talking like...flowerama or something), a large portion of the plants themselves, like many things in capitalism, form an industry of their own dominated by a handful of oligarch corporations, of which proven winners is one. small retailers order bulk products from these companies, should it be through full-color paper catalogs (which exist, btw, and are wild in and of themselves to look at; i actually have a few back home that i keep around solely bc they’re incredibly fascinating in a slightly offputting jurassic park kind of way), online, or through a sales representative for their region. 

it depends on what they’re ordering, but they can buy seeds, plugs (the black trays of like....tiny plants you buy at garden centers to put in planters? the ones that come in, like, six packs? those are called ‘plugs’), and in the case of perennials, woody plants of various ages, among other things. these plants are bred, marketed, and sold on a goddamn industrial scale. it’s wild. 

now....this is where it gets absolutely fascinating to me. this isn’t just proven winners, but proven winners is one of the top contenders of this. some highlights of how plants are actually marketed on an industrial scale: 

-plants come out in collections. like, you have horticulturalist designer people who put their names on some stuff and they all go out as like, The New Hot Thing(tm). 

-they always promote their top selling stuff, and the plants that won awards, and like, the most popular flower arrangements and stuff. this in and of itself, again, isn’t like.....bad, it just feels weird how plants are marketed as objects rather than living things, you know?

-these plants are 100% bred and optimized for their commercial value and how they look. see the above point about how it feels like they’re treating them as objects. 

-every year, there are new plants, which are put at the front of the catalogue and like, show them off as the Hit New Products. these are all part of the year’s collective collection, so like, proven winners has their 2019 collection all ready on their site in a special little tab: 

FUN INDUSTRY SIDE STORY: looks like they have some new orange petunias this year, which reminds me fondly of the 2017 purge ordered by the USDA of a ton of illegally GMO orange petunias....

you see, orange petunias don’t exist naturally, so what companies do is either 1. systematically breed orange into them, which can take years, or 2. take red petunias and just put in some coding for yellow from the maize genome, which makes them orange. usually, you have to submit all this paperwork and go through a ton of government red tape to sell GMOs, including required trials conducted by the federal government, but what some of these large ornamental seed companies were doing was just....not telling the government and just kind of...pretending that they bred them. so in 2017, a netherlands team noticed that these were like....kind of Suspicious(tm), and started doing some tests....and accidentally uncovered like, this huge international orange petunia scandal across all these companies, over 30 varieties of illegal petunia being sold internationally. they had to alert the actual EU, which then alerted the USDA, who then gave an actual government order for these large companies to literally burn, bury, or otherwise destroy all their industrial stock of the proven illegal GMO orange petunias. 

small retailers who had bought them assuming that they were legal were allowed to keep and continue selling what they bought, but the actual producers were ordered to just fucking. violently destroy everything. the USDA informed these companies that they could sell them again, but only if they were put through the proper government channels and received proper certification. i checked the old recall list and didn’t see these, so i’m assuming they’re like...Legit, but. im 👀 somebody test these lol

AAANNNNYYway that aside, if you would like to see the Proven Winners 2019 Flower Collection Showcase(tm), they have a bunch of......weird kind of ads on their youtube channel showing artsy pics of their new shit. to this day i can’t pin down exactly what about them makes me feel slightly uncomfortable, but you really do get a sense that they’re selling an object to preform, which i guess is the point, but...idk, it’s just a very different view of plants, i think, then i personally have. very sci-fi-y, if you will. all their ads are like this; these video are essentially very similar to what you get from their print sales booklets, but in video form.

see, last but not least, my biggest beef with proven winners is the weird way they handle their company. 

you get inspected by the plant police.

im not kidding. for those not very familiar with plant reproduction, you can grow vegetative clones of plants through a process called taking cuttings, where you cut off a part of the plant and put it in a new pot under the right conditions, and it develops a root system and becomes a genetic clone to the parent. obviously, anyone can do this with a lot of the proven winners plants, especially because PW plants, as i’ve noticed, tend to be bred to be more vigorous. 

proven winners wants to ensure that there’s no Illegal Plant Downloads taking place, so they literally like....send people out to these small retailers and ask to see their stock to make sure that all the plants are going in the Patented Proven Winners White Pots(tm) with the Patented Proven Winners Information Tags(tm). you MUST plant proven winners stuff in the pots they send you, with the instructions they send you, and they will check you for this. the first time my internship mentor ordered from them, they accidentally planted the plugs in generic brown pots instead of the white ones, and the weird proven winners police rolled in unannounced for an inspection and told them that the next time it happened they wouldn’t sell to them anymore. what they’re worried about happening is that the growers will order a small amount and then just make a bunch of cuttings without paying them, and it’s just......weird. like i get why they do it but that’s always struck me as really, really shady lmao

[leovaldezaskblog]

Leo Valdez Hates Himself

2this is going to be an OOC post but i was thinking last week after a really tough therapy session about how much i relate to leo. 

its made pretty clear in the series that leo really doesnt like himself for a few reasons and covers it up with jokes and a sarcastic smile but i started really looking into some reasons that were talked about and it just hit me. this kid fucking hates himself so much. 

one of the reasons that was touched on quite a bit when we were getting to know him was that Tia Callida noticed his powers early on and tested him by placing him in the fire where (i recall correctly) he fell asleep or was otherwise comfortable. now let me just say that i wasnt really raised in a very traditional household but my extended family, my tias and abuelas are/were very religious, crosses over doorways and beds, portraits of jesus on the walls, a very worn bible on the bedside table, church every sunday, the whole deal. let me tell you, if i ever told my family that i practice some forms of witchcraft, they would loose their minds. imagine how people around leo wouldve reacted if they saw that he could SUMMON FIRE FROM HIS HANDS. he would immediately be feared by anyone who practiced religion seriously. 

now that were talking about the fact that he can conjure fire, id like to bring up how he blamed himself for the fire that killed his mother. that in itself would fuck a kid up. loosing a parent that young will really affect a kids head. but add the fact that he can summon flames at will and his mother died in a huge fire. obviously hes going to blame himself for killing one of the only people who really showed their love for him in a meaningful way. the trauma of loosing his mom is enough but blaming himself is a different story. in my situation, it was different because i was put up for adoption by my mother who said she wanted to be part of my life. when i turned 2 and began to know her voice on the phone, she stopped calling, the aunt she was living with always said she wasnt around and eventually the phone line was disconnected. i always had this awful feeling that i caused that. even though rationally that doesnt make total sense but growing up knowing your mom didnt want you then changed her mind about wanting to speak to you on the phone once every 6 months really hurts. 

lets move on to his ADHD now, shall we? this is the one that had me begin to relate to him in the first place. i was diagnosed with ADHD when i was 7 because if someone dropped a paper clip on the floor and i saw, i had to go grab it. i was up and down from my seat, squirming, talking out of turn, sitting in my seat backward, not paying attention, had trouble with friends, the whole shebang. there was hardly a week that went by that i wasnt called annoying, too loud, too squirmy, too much. let me tell you that my ADHD is the root of a lot of my depression. i cant stop myself from talking even when i have the thought of “i need to be quiet”, i cant stop moving, my focus is everywhere, my speech is disorganized and then to hear that im annoying was just the worst. my peers said it as if i didnt already know. as if i dont live with it every day. that fucking hurts. im sure this was the same in the series. as much as you laugh and shrug it off, it hurts. knowing that you are fundamentally irritating to everyone around you, hurts and it makes your existence feel like a chore. you learn how to be the funny one so people will tolerate you and you bounce from group to group, never settling because if you do, they will get sick of you. we obviously see that constantly in leo where hes the funny guy who is helpful by fixing things.

ADHD to this day makes me feel stupid. i cant have a normal conversation about school or classes without crying or ending up suicidal, because i know that no matter what, how hard i try, i WILL fail my classes. i never had any clue until i was 17 that i had an above average IQ at 120 which is a point away from a Superior IQ. i thought i was fucking stupid because i couldnt get anything over a C at best and on average got a D. its so discouraging to want to learn when you know that you can put all your effort in and want to learn and then find out that you learned it wrong or just cant get the hang of it. its cannon that leo was solving college level math problems at 7 years old, he is cannonically a genius and you cant tell me he didnt deal with that hatred of himself for having trouble paying attention in his classes. 

im going to move on to a headcannon that i have but i wanted to throw it out there. i cant see leo as anything other than a repressed gay (maybe bisexual) kid. how hard he tried to be normal and get a girlfriend, how much stock he put into having a girlfriend, how much he felt left out for not having a partner. in mexican culture, being gay is one of the worst things you can be. of course its getting better but gay men still come up missing or wind up dead after coming out or being outed. the idea that hes gay would be unfathomable to him so he covered it up by flirting with every girl he saw and being so aggressively out there when speaking with girls he didnt know. he just couldnt handle the idea that he could be a man attracted to other men so he covered it up. maybe i just like this idea because i ship leo and jason but i cant help but feel like he repressed it so hard because he was terrified. 

i really think leo was terrified of himself. and that he really fucking hated himself.