#and while i don't mind ppl liking it

[inkskinned]

i got rickrolled today but it didn't work because i have adblocker installed, so youtube just told me i violated the terms of service. yesterday i was trying to edit a picture as a joke for my girlfriend, and google made me check a box to prove i'm human because i wasn't "searching normally".

it isn't just that capitalism is killing fun and whimsy, it is that any element of entertainment or joy is being fed upon by this mosquito body, one that will suck you dry at any vulnerability.

do you want to meet new friends in your city? download this app, visit our website, sign up for our email list. pay for this class on making a terrarium, on candlemaking, on cooking. it will be 90 dollars a session. you can go to group fitness, but only under our specific gym membership. solve the puzzle, sign up for our puzzle-of-the-month-club. what is a club if not just a paid opportunity - you are all paying for the same thing, which makes you a community.

but you're like me, i know it - you're careful, you try the library meetings and the stuff at the local school and all of that. the problem is that you kind of want really specific opportunities that used to exist. you are so grateful for libraries and the publicly-funded things: they are, however, an exception - and everything they have, they've fought tooth-and-nail to protect. you read a headline about how in many other states, libraries have virtually nothing left.

do you want to meet up with your friends afterwards? gift your friends the discord app. you can choose to go to a cafe (buy a coffee, at least), a bar (money, alcohol) or you can all stay in and catch a movie (streaming) or you can all stay in bed (rent. don't get me started) and scream (noise complaint. ticket at least).

you want to read a new book, but the book has to have 124 buzzwords from tiktok readers that are, like, weirdly horny. you can purchase this audiobook on audible! your podcast isn't on spotify, it's on its own server, pay for a different site. fuck, at least you're supporting artists you like. the art museum just raised their ticket price. once, they had a temporary exhibit that acknowledged that ~85% of their permanent art galleries were from cis white men, and that they had thousands of works by women (even famous women, like frida! georgia o'keefe!) just rotting in their basement. that exhibit lasted for 3 months and then they put everything away again.

walmart proudly supports this strip of land by the street! here are some flowers with wilting leaves. its employees have to pay out-of-pocket for their uniforms. my friend once got fined by the city because she organized a community pick-up of the riverfront, which was technically private property.

no, you cannot afford to take that dance class, neither can i. by the way - i'm a teacher. i'm absolutely not saying "educators shouldn't be paid fairly." i'm saying that when i taught classes, renting a studio went from 20 bucks an hour to 180 in the span of 6 months. no significant changes to the studio were made, except they now list the place as updated and friendly. the heat still doesn't work in the building. i have literally never seen the landlord who ignores my emails. recently they've been renting it out at night as an "unusual nightclub; a once-in-a-lifetime close-knit party." they spent some of those 180 dollars on LEDs and called it renovating. the high heels they invite in have been ruining the marley.

do you want to experience the old internet? do you want to play flash games or get back the temporary joy of club penguin? you can, you just need to pay for it. i have a weird, neurodivergent obsession with occasionally checking in to watch the downfall and NFT-ification of neopets. if i'm honest with you all - i never got into webkins, my family didn't have the money to buy me a pointless elephant. people forget that "being poor" can mean literally "if i buy you that toy, i can't afford rent."

you and i don't have time to make good food, and we don't have the budget for it. we are not gonna be able to host dinner parties, we're not made of money, kid. do you want some kind of 3rd space? a space that isn't home or work or school? you could try being online, but - what places actually exist for you? tiktok counts as social media because you see other people on it, not because they actually talk to you.

there was a local winter tradition of sledding down the hill at my school. kids would use pizza boxes and jackets and whatever worked, howling and laughing. back in september, they made a big announcement that this time, rules were changing, and everyone must pay 10 dollars to participate. when im not scared shitless, i kind of appreciate the environmental irony - it hasn't gone below 40. so much for snow & joyriding.

i saw a bulletin for a local dogwalking group and, nervous about making a good first impression, showed up early. the first guy there grimaced at me. "sorry," he said. "there's a 30-dollar buy-in fee." i thought he was joking. wait. for what? the group doesn't offer anything except friendship and people with whom to walk around the city.

he didn't know the answer. just shrugged at me. "you know," he said. "these days, everything costs money."

#spilled ink #warm up #“why did u tag it warm up” bc i wrote it off the cuff while drinkin coffee lol #btw the 30 dollar buy in for the dog walking is bc they pay the organizer a small pittance so she can #run fb ads and stuff and like she does put in a lot of work i don't mind paying her #but that's exactly what im fucking talking about like. #ppl can't afford to volunteer their time anymore and we all understand it!!! everything costs money for everyone! #like we didn't have to use to say ''do you mind paying me back for the stuff we ate'' #we used to be able to afford to feed our friends once in a while!!!

[noxious-fennec]

"الخيل و الليل و البيداء تعرفني ... والسيف و الرمح و القرطاس و القلم" ، المتنبي

Translation: "the stallions, the night and the wasteland know me ... and the sword, the arrow, the parchment, and the pen", Al-Mutanabbi

A tribute of sorts to a man of many attributes.

#someone send me an ask about all the goddamn symbolism i put into this #i dont think ppl read my long ass tags so one of you has to bear it lest i explode or smth #also this is no way the end of my fanart of this guy oh ho no #its just something i wanted to do for a while #also don't mind the bilingualism i just cant help it #this beast took approx 55hrs over the course of the entire pomegranate season #i wasn't dead for the past 2 months no i was dealing with uh chronic illness and also finals #peace and love hope yall like it or I'll cry #my art #cwilbur #dsmp #dsmp fanart #no glasses here cus i had to draw his freckles it had to be done #fennec.art

[emdotcom]

The Mario movie thing is so funny to me. Here, look at this:

Sonic movies (1, 2, & w/ 3 on the way) come out, does INCREDIBLE in box office, decimates Marvel films, who previously had a stranglehold

Nintendo sees this, wants a piece of that pie, buckles down to make a Mario movie Incorrect order of events, as pointed out here! Mario movie announced before the public knew about Sonic movie.

(Potentially because the previous Mario movie was so out there, did poorly, & was disliked by fans & then promptly forgotten,) they pair with Illumination, a studio that is largely known for making very sterile films

Btw, is it just me that finds it weird that there is no mention from Nintendo or online of the previous movie, in all this? Maybe I'm the only one who remembers this film idk

They announce casting. Everyone immediately boos because they cast Chris Pratt as Mario.

Immediate outrage, as Charles Martinet, the voice of Mario for DECADES, was not cast in his claim to fame roll

There is a (unsourced) rumor that a test screening for the film was met with disappointment, making Nintendo unhappy

Slightly corroborating this, Nintendo buys Dynamo Pictures, to make Nintendo Pictures, with the intent to make future movies in-house

Anticipation for the movie likens it to other sterile animated movies of the last 10 years, like the Minions movies

Trailer comes out.

People continue to boo Chris Pratt, a bad cast for a beloved character who is putting 0 effort into his voice, in comparison to all other VAs putting in 110%

Chris Pratt goes to bed "depressed," at seeing the response I was incorrect, that is an older article, about when he was thanking his wife for providing a healthy child, to which people drew immediate parallels to his ex-wife's son, who has many health complications & needed many surgeries.

But with your help, we can make him being depressed after media backlash reality!

Lol, &, may I say, lmao.

#gale chatter #mario movie #chris pratt #sonic movie #btw i 100% believe that rumor you cannot tell me that ain't what happened #also it is transparent that nintendo wanted what sonic movie had #damn maybe i don't do that batim video as my first maybe i do mario movie #my hot take is they should have cast both charles martinet & the super mario bros super show va #& used them interchangeably #bc. that would own #i wanted to mention thr jack black ass thing here but i feel it's too out there & irrelevant #at first reading the quote ppl got mad at i was little like 'oh dang is this not as bad as i thought' #but then i remembered 1) it's chris pratt he says rancid shut all the time & 2) #this response of stating he feels depressed while not like apologizing is just to do nothing but evoke pity #& he easily coulda apologized & been like 'i didn't mean it that way' or 'i wasn't thinking abt it & I'm sorry' #but he's not sorry. he doesn't see anything wrong with what he said. it's the internet's reaction that is thr problem in his mind #so he wants to make them pity him & feel bad that shit is TEXTBOOK manipulation i would know lol

[schmweed]

#David Tennant #Alec Hardy #Ellie Miller #Broadchurch #my gifs #Yes they're talking about something extremely serious. #But can you see soft way his eyes tenderly trace her eyes and just rest on her face like it's the best thing he could look at? #He spends so long just looking at her -- and she is so mindful of his comfort level and RARELY looks back when he's looking at her. #If he's looking at her she's always looking ahead or down or away. #Except if she needs to hold his gaze to get a message across. Like go make some tea. Or if they're both worried. #This reminds me -- she is so naturally instinctively understanding of him #We rarely hear her addressing him by name after the rant that falls out of him when he has dinner at her place in S1. #She gets that simply looking at someone while you're talking to them is enough. And you don't need to tack on their name on top of that. #Which astounded me actually! I wondered if Chris Chibnall had spent some time around an autistic person! #Because I feel EXACTLY like Alec does abt names! I hate names. I hate using them. It's so unnecessary. #I'm not as outspoken as him though so I use them when I can't get out of it. But I hate it and I hate ppl using my name. #That scene was ASTOUNDING I'm telling you -- it took my breath away to find my very specific struggle onscreen! #Anyway. Yeah. She doesn't bug him or insist even though to her it's second nature. #I bet you she's very good at coming up with pet names -- another thing my autistic brain shrieks at and sth I suspect Alec finds impossible #Oh Ellie -- beautiful beautiful adorable strong wronged Ellie! #Wronged by everyone except him <3 #Well and a few others -- Mark was kind to her despite his pain. Brian never treated her badly that we know of. #I will always love them for that. #I wish Jack had survived -- I think he would've been kind too. Maybe she would've hidden in his store when it got too much.

[devondespresso]

writing my silly little fic and again im struck with how much opportunities they missed by pretending the s2 stancy breakup wasn't messy, specifically for Nancy's guilt about barb and forcing herself to grow up too fast

like s1 Nancy spends one night being a stupid teenager goofing off at her boyfriend's party and staying over to get spicy while Barb goes home. then she later realizes Barb disappeared and died that one night she was letting go and having fun. this is widely recognized trauma for her and informs a lot if not most of her actions through the rest of the show

in season 2 she's feeling the weight of it more around the first year anniversary. steve trys to help by taking her to a party to forget for a little while and 'be stupid teenagers' for a night. a perfectly set up parallel already

the way the show wants it to go, we get the bullshit argument, they fight, allegedly break up at some point, and nancy sleeps with Jonathan. later steve tells her to go with him and we're supposed to read it as Steve stepping back so jancy can happen. we're supposed to be seeing this as a happy ending.

but with the material we're given this would have been the perfect place for an emotional repeat of season 1 for nancy. she and steve go to the party and pretend to be stupid teenagers for the night. but oh no! nancy lets lose too much, lets herself relax and drink and dance, and the next day her boyfriend's pissed. hes saying she said things she never remembered saying and its hurt him and she doesn't know what to do. and kids around school are talking about them breaking up at the party, and that fits with Steve's anger she saw, so they must've broken up right? it sucks, even if she wasn't in love with him, that'd be the worst way to break up with someone (especially if she's confusing platonic and romantic feelings or convincing herself it has to be romantic when she really just values him as a friend)

and then she doesn't have time to work it out, she needs to go with Jonathan to avenge barbs 'disappearance' to give her family closure. She's got a lot of conspiracy shit to do and its stressful. so when murray starts going off about how she's not really in love with steve, how she actually likes Jonathan and he seems to like her back. they finished a lot of the hard work with the conspiracy stuff, she can let her guard down and have a quick good night.

then the next day is chaos. demodogs and labs and will being possessed. It a rough fucking day. Steve tells her to go with Jonathan while they get the mindflayer out of Will, civil like they're on good terms so she does (and thank god she did because that was rough and they needed all the help they could get)

and then everything's fine again, with the upside down. and it looks like she handled things better this time, was about to relax occasionally and still made it through.

except apparently she and steve didn't break up. he thought it was just a few fights, that they put their shit aside for the apocalypse and now they can work things out.

and it could ruin nancy. a year later and she's still hasn't learned her lesson, that letting her guard down hurts the people she cares about, that relaxing and having fun makes her lose people. its her fault for the messy breakup with Steve and its her fault that barb is gone. she's the reason she's lost friends close to her, 2 for 2, and now she only has Jonathan left (and what do you know, season 3 has her conflict with Jonathan and in season 4 she's not let anyone else get truly close to her and fred still dies)

you see what i mean?? by having conflict magical resolve itself in the background we loose so much powerful, painful character drama for her. our girl who thinks she has to keep the world around her up solely on her shoulders because she can't handle the loss of her best friend in season 1. Nancy who desperately wants to be normal and have people she loves but keeps losing them, through factors both in and out of her control, but feels like everything has to be her fault just because some things were.

and to be fair, that story is still present in the show. its there and definitely compelling, but it could've been even more so. i feel like if maybe there was less 'nancy has to be a strong independent girlboss' in there (abd it's definitely there, they want to make a point of making her a Strong Woman Character so bad) and she was allowed to have mistakes acknowledged by the narrative, this is the direction it would've gone. She could've been an excellent example of well written women who are strong and awesome through their own right instead of the narrative trying to make us like her

#nancy wheeler #stranger things meta #stranger things thoughts #platonic stancy #stranger things #platonic stancy because while this could definitely be used in a jancy breakup then stancy fic #my personal theory is that she thinks she should like him romantically because he sees her like that but she actually likes him as a friend #and the bullshit scene was just the worst way for her to say it because she waited so long and refused to when she was sober #also didn't tag anti-nancy because i don't think it is really? like its anti-canon-depiction-because-i-think-they-did-her-dirty #also this is kinda nancy pov so its not like she's actually at fault for everything but in her mind she blames herself anyway #so yea #the fic is my Steve Henderson AU btw for ppl who've never seen me before #stancys not the focus (its steve pov with the Hendersons being main characters) but i want to do a serious platonic stancy workthrough in i #so this is just my headcanons (technically canon compliant based on what we see on screen but not following the narrative direction y'know) #devon's steve henderson au #steve henderson au rambles #hoping praying to god this doesn't make people angry but if it does feel free to block me i don't mind and i really dont want to argue #no disc horse for me just silly little thoughts and headcanons thanks for understanding #devon thinks sometimes

[skrunksthatwunk]

jsjdkdbjsskh this fucking movie man

^^destruction caused by a fight his boys and some randos got into

#hadnt seen it in a while and got the urge. why is it so funny #again: if the 2007 rgg movie has one million fans i am one of them if it has one thousand fans i am one if it has one fan i am that one fan #i love it sooo much idek if it deserves it but it's better than ppl give it credit for and I'll stand by that #rgg #like a dragon 2007 #yakuza #ryu ga gotoku #majima goro #he's sooooi environmentally conscious lol #anyway if you havent seen it it's on youtube and it's under 2 hours. go watch it #i didnt like it the first time but once you get past ur expectations that it'll be an adaptation of the plot of the first game #it'll fuck goofy style (don't hold me to that) #open your mind #if you need incentive it's uh. the most overtly sadomasochistic canon rgg content im aware of. it's a theme and everything #and if thats not your spice it's got funny gooft baseball physics so. slapstick #anyway

[lemonhemlock]

Thoughts on alys/aemond and alys in general

It's very hard to get a proper reading on Alys' character because she is tied with the supernatural and the maesters writing the histories do not understand and tend to dismiss magic. She is supposed to be twice (or thrice??) Aemond's age, but looks unusually young. Is she just a MILF with a good skin care routine? Is she a fire priestess like Melisandre? Can she even get pregnant anymore? Does she conceive the child via magic?

Their dynamic is also open to discussion. Aemond puts House Strong to the sword, but spares Alys. What does she feel about this? Some of those children must have been in her care; she must have breastfed them herself. Is it true that she gave them up willingly? Did she betray them because she was afraid? Did she give them up because she hated them and felt mistreated by them? Did Aemond abuse his power differential in regards to her? Is Alys the one actually manipulating Aemond here?

In any case, Aemond's relationship with Alys is a norm-transgression. This is where I disagree with the majority of green takes on Aemond. By entering in a relationship with Alys, he disrespects his betrothal with the Baratheon girl. Green Knights like to argue that dutiful Aemond would lawfully marry Alys, so that their child wouldn't be born a bastard, but the text isn't clear on whether this actually happened. I would counterpoint that Aemond marrying Alys makes things even worse. The reality is that he can get away with having bastards because he is a man. If he marries her, he completely breaks off the Baratheon pact, bamboozles his brother's alliance with an important military player and effectively endangers the lives of his family by making them vulnerable to a Baratheon coup.

We joke about Robb being irresponsible with Jeyne Westerling, breaking his betrothal and ultimately contributing to his own downfall. We should extend the same type of criticism to Aemond. Bear in mind that, as compensation, Robb offered Walder Frey another very profitable marriage pact. Edmure was not just Some Guy, he was the Lord of Riverrun and Walder Frey's liege lord. And, yet, Walder Frey still orchestrated the Red Wedding in revenge. He wasn't content with Edmure, he wanted the King as his brother-in-law, as promised.

Similarly, the Baratheons were promised Aemond, the second son, with the biggest dragon. Would they settle for Daeron, the third son? Maybe, maybe not. But what about the shame of one of the Four Storms being set aside for a bastard wet nurse? Rhaenyra also has sons they can request for betrothals. This is why Alicent moves quickly after Aemond's and Helaena's deaths to betroth Aegon to Cassandra Baratheon. They are important military allies they need to keep no matter what.

From a story writing standpoint, by introducing Aemond's and Alys' relationship, the author places Aemond on a slippery slope towards the point-of-no-return. Aemond cannot come back from the God's Eye now, because there is no place for him in the narrative anymore. He cannot reunite with his family, because he would have to set Alys aside and marry the Baratheon girl. That is impossible, because his obsession with her becomes all-consuming. He is effectively snatched away from his own story by the paranormal. Alys is a witch with a terrifying aura about her; as an extension of the supernatural, she cannot be contained within the Red Keep as Aemond's mistress.

Their relationship signals the beginning of the end for Aemond. It traps him in a limbo from which he cannot exit, but also cannot go on indefinitely. His arc can only end with Daemon and Caraxes.

My reading of Aemond is that he is a person struggling with his sense of duty, after keeping to his principles and to societal rules for so long. He receives no compensation. He loses an eye and is denied justice. He becomes more suited than Aegon for kingship, but it is all in vain, because unworthy Aegon will always be ahead of him in the line of succession. Aemond has followed the rulebook to a tee, only to end up feeling slighted and disregarded.

The one time he unleashes his buried feelings of injustice and rage, he loses control of Vhagar, kills Luke and inadvertently starts the war. He will blame himself for Blood & Cheese, for causing his family unimaginable pain, for crushing his sister's soul. He will spiral and lose impulse control and drown before he can save himself.

Aemond is a very tragic character and the story advertises his doom very noticeably with the inclusion of Alys. But, ultimately, an analysis of Aemond shouldn't ignore the fact that, textually, he is an oathbreaker and a hypocrite. He interacts with the issue of bastardy both by sleeping with a bastard of House Strong (!) himself and by fathering a bastard child on her. He endangers his family by breaking his vows to the Baratheons. Dutiful Aemond fights for his brother's claim till the very end, but he threatens the success of his brother's campaign precisely by not carrying out his duty.

#aemond targaryen #alys rivers #house of the dragon #dance of the dragons #i hope alys is like skade from the last kingdom bc that would be hilarious #she just looks at ppl in the most intentionally provocative way and says the craziest shit #while everyone is terrified out of their minds it's so funny #she has never said one normal sentence in her life #i want to like this but aemond is so doomed!!!! #i'm so weak i just want him to have a break #i will probably end up liking alys i'm a sucker for the cool witch trope #but i'm screaming @ him to fly back to storm's end & marry his baratheon lady #this is also why i don't agree with the idea that aemond would never father bastards or helaena's kids #BUT MORE ON THAT ANOTHER TIME #anon #ask #riverdragon #anti alysmond

[totalspiffage]

Had passive transphobia and fatphobia at my gyn appt today woooooooo love to be invalidated while someone is literally rooting around inside me lmao

#she was clearly uniformed bc she was like you know hormones stop your period and it's really unsafe #and i was like on microdoses where you stop it comes back so #plus i don't want??? my organs??? so #and she had never heard the terms afab or amab at all #transphobia mentioned in tags #explain your gender while i feel your breasts it's fine #the only reason i mentioned i was trans is because i showed my facial hair and she was like oh #that's really common a lot of women get laser hair removal or go on spiro and i was like i don't actually mind #like please stop assuming a physical feature is a problem to be solved?!?!??? #like there's plenty of cis ppl who also don't care

[wildmelon]

a long time ago when i was a simblr lurker i didn't really get why people got irritated by repeat wcifs and wcifs in the replies etc, i'd be like "just answer again it's not that hard" but lately i'm at my wit's end lmfao 😭 like i try to just nicely answer everyone bc ik there are a lot of new ppl right now who don't know the etiquette but like i have a read first is it really too unrealistic to want ppl to actually read it before sending an ask 😭 i didn't get it before and thought it seemed kind of uppity or whatever to complain about this but now i get it. it just really feels impolite and maybe a bit disrespectful even? like it's not respectful of my time/effort, i'm doing a courtesy by providing everything and you don't have the same courtesy to just look through my tag? & if it's "too far back" well either you have to click through the pages looking for it or i do when i reply "answered here" ...

#i don't want to stop answering them or turn them off like it's not bothering me that much and i like doing them #i genuinely like helping ppl find cc and never mind the vast majority of wcifs #i guess i'm just saying like be more polite in online spaces and put in the effort to understand the etiquette #i don't want to sound whiny this has just been on my mind for a while #lush.talk #mini rant

[jessamine-rose]

/obey me! vent/

#jessamine rambles #before i start. pls keep in mind that this is fully subjective and could just be a 'me' problem. i just want to get this off my chest #ngl i've been contemplating on whether i want to stop playing obey me. both the og game and nightbringer #idk i've been playing the game since its first month and while it's given me a lot of joy + memories + chances to befriend other ppl. i'm #pretty burned out. not to mention TIRED of my consistent disappointment with the game #the main story.....where do i start?? i actually enjoyed s1-s3 despite my qualms with the fillers and pacing but s4 disappointed me. i was #rlly looking forward to simeon's storyline and the new characters but ultimately. the devs tried to squeeze too many things into one season #not to mention that there is a notable difference in how the characters are written. i.e. beel's hunger and asmo's beauty #being watered down to running gags instead of the complexities explored in the old dg stories and chara songs #gameplay-wise. i was there when the devs raised the rewards price of the event urs and removed the demon ssrs completely #but nightbringer was the last straw for me. the amount of time it takes to grind for two games. knowing that the og app has essentially bee #abandoned by the devs?? not to mention that while the plot is interesting. i haven't touched the main story ever since the coma arc #i will give credit to the devs for improving the event stories by choosing to focus on 1-2 demons. but it has always felt like a quantity > #quality situation. esp if i were to compare it to my other fandoms #it also doesn't help that i'm currently at a point of my life where i'm questioning if i could use my time on obm for better things #seeing how the game is giving me less reasons to believe it is worth my time #idk this may also be a short-term phase since i DID get back into twst after a long hiatus and i recently got into whb #which btw has felt like a breath of fresh air despite my frustrations with the bugs and current gacha #but yeahhhh........as much as i love the obm characters and fanfics. i'm just tired #at this point i feel like the only reason why i still play the game is due to the nostalgia and so i don't waste the years of grinding #aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh #this is what i get for being the type of player who only plays a few games so they can rlly dedicate their time and passion to it #that's all

[evil-ontheinside]

Friends & family byler fic recs!

all I know at the end of the day by @strangerange1s

Holly thinks that she likes Will the best from all his friends. Lucas and Dustin are kind, but there’s something about Will that makes Holly feel happier. Maybe it’s because he lets her borrow whatever toys or crayons he’s brought to their house. Maybe it’s because he absent-mindedly plays with her hair when she’s close to him, and it feels nice.

Maybe it’s because Mike smiles the most when Will is around.

Or, in which Holly observes her older brother's relationship with his best friend. (And maybe they get Holly'd along the way.)

Dustin Henderson, the Scientific Method, and Homosexuality by crow_of_crimes (Theyna_Shipper)

Dustin Henderson is, if nothing else, a firm believer in the scientific method. As a bug collector since age 4, an aspiring computer scientist since 5th grade, a member of Hawkins A/V since 6th grade, a science camp attendee since 7th grade, and a boy with a lifelong passion for science, he recognizes its principles: careful observation, study, and peer review.

So when strange things begin to happen in Hawkins, that fall outside the usual nature of strange things that happen in Hawkins, he returns to his roots to find the answers. After all, the scientific method applies to social science, too. And if any observation ever needed careful dissection, it was this one.

Or: Dustin Henderson applies the scientific method to figure out why two of his best friends have been acting so strangely.

The Darkest Eyes by @light-lanterne

1988.

It’s a year after the gate to the Upside Down was closed for the last time, and the people of Hawkins are trying to readjust to normal life. Some of them went to college, some others are just finishing high school, and all of them are trying to figure out how to move forward after fighting to stay alive for so long. For the most part, they are doing fine. And Jim Hopper couldn’t be happier: he married the woman of his dreams, his daughter is safe and happy, and he has two amazing boys to look after now.

There’s only one pesky little problem in his life. Someone he sometimes wishes he could have thrown through the gate right before it closed, never to be seen again: Mike Wheeler, who has somehow managed to sneak into his life again and, even worse, who Hopper has started to not hate.

What has his life come to?

or: a semi canon-compliant character study of mike wheeler, his unaddressed trauma and his relationship with will byers, told through the eyes of a very tired jim hopper who can’t help but to become attached to the boy who keeps dating his children.

the yellow box by @zombiewheeler

Holly watches from afar as Mike Wheeler slowly comes to terms with his love for Will Byers.

why you are always alone by @willow-lark

Poor Mike Wheeler, Vecna condescends. You lie to yourself. You lie to your friends. You are the worst kind of person—a conformist, trying to pretend it doesn’t eat at you like it does.

“You don’t know anything,” Mike cries out, voice cold and strangled.

You’re not a kid anymore, Michael. What did you think, really? That you were never going to have to buck up and face it?

Or, Mike Wheeler gets the Nico di Angelo treatment.

Smalltown Boy of Hawkins by @withoutanynamefics

After the Byers family leaves, Mike is left with feelings and thoughts he rather wouldn't face. Unfortunately for him, there are times when you have to confront your fears to be able to finally breathe.

@bylerficrecweek

#and another one wuhu #I really like these fics even though it took me a while to find all of them oof #I hope ppl won't mind me tagging them #and don't forget to check the tags as usual before you read anything :) #even though these are totally worth it: safety comes first! #bylerficrecweek2023 #byler #stranger things #fic rec

[magnoliamyrrh]

.

#i need to stop doomscrolling its four in the morning im so exhausted i technically have school shit i needed to finish and i have to get up #to go to class in a few hours too #it helps nothing either. its horrible to look and its horrible to look away and they both do absolutely nothing past a point just like w th #other endless amount of absolutely horrible things going on in the world rn #theres no new information now either. just the fallout and seeing what comes next #this and no other horrible thing going on in the world is abt us and how it affects us emotionally obviously like that's just specs of dust #on the thing itself #but. yeah. i. i dont think the human mind copes well w going from locally based ape empathy to exposure to every horrible thing everywhere #....... russia has bombed more apartments and civilian buildings too :( ppl caught under the rubble and dead #just. dear god.. i just keep thinking that. i just keep saying that to myself. dear god #dear god oh lord of duamne ya allah yarabbi whatever variation its most of what goes through my mind on loop #while my mind runs through so much of it. palestina and all the videos of dead and murdered and the children the videos from last week of #that tourist girl in israel the war in ukraina whats happening in kosovo armenia the uyghurs and china all the conflict in india and #pakistan the state of afghanistan yamen civilians being tortured by gangs in south america torture in general and the prisons around the #world and the slavery and the torture and the killing and the starvation and the pain and the million other things going on i don't even #know about and the fucking climate jesus christ the climate change??? #and my mind just doesnt stop. it goes through so much shit it maps out this horrible web of pain and pain and pain throughout the entire #world ;;_;; #i uh. i desperately need to take more time in my life and for years on end ive needed to tske more time in my life to think #of the good things happening in ths world too. small things big things anything just anything good anything getting better anything thats #working any proof of humanity in this species #i just. . #. #i go through the full range of human emotion from rage to numbness and dissociation to bitterness to shock to nothing shocks me to endless #sorrow to disgust and i end up at the end #feeling like the same kid who wants to cry and ask why can't we just be nicer to each other please. as if its that simple. j wish it was. #god. i wish

[seaweedstarshine]

Sometimes I think of Amy Pond, who grew up being called mad by those who wielded the word as a tool of exclusion and shame —

Amy Pond, who though forced into the hands of four psychiatrists, still clung to that which they called madness until those systems which elevate psychosocial conformity above humanity stripped it from her —

Amy Pond, whose imaginary friend reappeared for a single hour after twelve years and reignited that faith before disappearing for two more years —

Amy Pond, who spent those those two years under the same implicit threat ingrained in her through psychiatric violence, and thus began to believe the man who stopped the invasion was “just a madman with a box,” only for him to agree, and to also call her “mad, impossible Amy Pond,” reframing madness as non-negative for the first time in her life —

Amy Pond, who ignored the disembodied voice of her imaginary friend even as she ran away with him for real, who still lived each day with the traumatic internalization of deviancy dictated upon her by the psychiatric-industrial complex that shaped her from childhood —

Amy Pond, who wouldn't acknowledge the Doctor's voice, such that it took an Angel in her eye that was literally killing her to ensure she couldn't reality check herself —

Amy Pond, who stood before a room which muttered about “the psychiatrists we brought her to,” and though afraid, escaped their rigid parameters of acceptable existence.

#I like seeing it as indicating she began hearing his voice when he was gone for all those years! why else wouldn't she say anything? #actually psychotic Amy agenda #Amy Pond #eleventh doctor #reclaimed language #oh look its another antipsychiatry themed doctor who post #sumn abt in Fairies At The Bottom Of The Garden audio AND Imaginary Enemies comic we see Amelia bein called slurs against psychotic people #(shes called psycho in both) #like!!! and SO MUCH OF AMYS STORY is about her claiming her agency in ways that previous companions weren't allowed to- #companions whose status as a Wife was a signifier of an to end of their value individually- 'this is no place for a married woman' etc #in some cases Wife-ness forced upon them *as* a denial of agency 'I spent all that time trying to find you I'm not going back now!' etc #whereas Amys story deconstructs that; Amys “Choice” is an illusion- Amy being a Wife doesn't demote her agency as an companion #anyways I love that aspect of reclaimed agency for Amy but ALSO #“madness” as an expression of agency against systems of oppression is SO relevant. the mind defends itself and the alternative isnt better #the oppressive system in this case being ableist structures and the psychiatric system ITSELF which is a whole other layer #the moral being that even if the Doctor WAS a delusion? he'd still be a needed coping mechanism for a child who says “ppl always leave” #and instead of examining her feelings of abandonment they insist 'aLiENs DoNt ExIsT' as seen in the 'sTaRs DoNt ExIsT' psychiatrist in TBB #they don't care that she's in PAIN- why would they?- they just care that she's 'abnormal' and therefore not deserving of humanity #(eleventh) doctor is neurodivergent tag #I mean technically this is about Amy but I once (twice) used that tag on the post about the Master. its the spirit of it! #and Amy Pond + her Raggedy Doctor as “mad” people is very *chefs kiss* #((you know what im putting the tag on my last Amy post :D )) #Mels experienced this very differently and I'll make a post about her at some point- I just wanna make sure my points are got across better #sumn abt Amelia's “crazy” was Mels' “delinquency.” Amy treated as if she doesn't know her own life while Mels treated as threatening #sumn abt adultification of Black girls while Amy is infantilized #Amy Pond who could rewrite reality in a reborn universe because she grew up with a Crack in her wall that no one believed was special — #ableism #saneism #unreality #because I mean Amy's stand against psychiatric dehumanization was to REWRITE THE UNIVERSE with her Crack powers

[cinna-bunnie]

love when u play a game and see some recurring themes in the negative reviews, then u actually play it yourself and know that people just aren't used to that kind of game or had preconceptions that just weren't correct.

#I'm playing a metroidvania that i think was tagged as souls-like too. and i see how both classifications tie into it. #and being someone who thoroughly enjoys and is used to both genres - and is coming from a ds3 replay #i picked up the parry timing IMMEDIATELY and think it's super fun. #i feel like the reviews r ppl who r used to metroidvanias wanting more healing items laying around and ppl who r used to souls games #not being used to having the platforming/traversal aspects incorporated into combat. but I'm sorta seeing #aspects from both games that I'd expect (or even want!) and idk it's just a lot of fun so far :3 #i got rly sucked into playing Grime on my lunch and it's very fresh on my mind (⁠｡⁠ﾉ⁠ω⁠＼⁠｡⁠) I'm excited to play more later #regarding the lack of healing abilities or loot though like they literally DO give u healing right off the bat u just gotta learn the #parry mechanic! if u time it right u can absorb an enemy (or part of it if it's a boss) and once this meter is filled u can regen health. #so it kinda encourages u to go fight and absorb things instead of just outright killing everything w melee/projectiles #there r ppl who claim to be fans of the genres too but yeah i just do not feel the same sry to y'all. #i think part of it too is this greater issue with art where‚ in my observation‚ people don't rly like going into things w no #expectations or preconceptions. also calling things bad for not being perfect even though they never tried to be there's just a #specific story they wanted to tell or experience they wanted to share and did that well. #the latter really bugs me (⁠´⁠-⁠﹏⁠-⁠`⁠；⁠) and falls under the “u can say u didn't like it without it being Bad” umbrella. like it's fine to #just Not Like Something while still acknowledging it does what it set out to do.

[yeonban]

from ash . me &. the bestie ! ✌️ :P ( < - - - guy who irritates the crap out of ash )

* kind of conditional for the spoiling one , bc soaking up tobias’ resources &. funds is hilarious sometimes , but too much &. ash’ll start rejecting it . especially if nothing is asked in return . 🙄

* betrayal is also conditional because ash works on a “ don’t betray me / give me a reason to betray you &. i won’t ” basis . so it depends on tobias really . betrayal from ash’s side would be unlikely almost impossible if tobias was able to achieve ash’s loyalty in the first place , but that’s a matter of if , so ! depends !

Are you Tobias' type?

❛ Hm? ❜ While the amount of checked boxes and the feat of achieving (multiple) bingos fall short of a surprise given the person who's completed them - for had they truly been that different from one another, Tobias would never have taken this longstanding of an interest in Ash -, his eyes immediately dart to what appears to be a small, typically unobtrusive note at the bottom of the card. Without it there, perhaps he would have found it more compelling to contemplate the meaning behind having been willingly handed something of this sort, but as things stand, Tobias' gaze falls on the minuscule comment and after a single, reticent blink, the nonchalance in his expression cracks and the corners of his mouth begin to twitch. ❛ Pfft--- ❜ It isn't long until he caves and laughs, and a finger must soon reach to wipe the tears that threaten to form in his eyes.

It takes a prolonged moment for the laughter to subside (through rather monumental efforts on his part) yet even after it fades, the glint of amusement in Tobias' gaze remains steadfast, unwavering. ❛ You should go ahead and check the 'similar sense of humor ' box too. I'd say the difference isn't quite as big as you think it is. ❜ One last soft chuckle, the previous laughter's final bastion, and the mafioso decides to swiftly gloss over Ash's answers. The majority of the important ones are checked, with the sole exception of being trusted, and dare he say another one has also positively caught him off-guard, but instead of letting it show, a mischievous grin steers the conversation towards the harmless, unchecked ones. Travel and adventure. Does Ash dislike them because of past experiences, a distaste for new experiences, or because he's the one he'd have to be stuck with for the entire experience? ❛ Are you sure you don't want to give some of these others a go, though? If you combine everything you've left unchecked, you might just give Dino a heart attack. ❜

#muse: tobias. #effigist #* tobias. / ic. #PLEAAASEJNKADSJIASDIASDISUADISH TOBIAS BURST OUT LAUGHING THE /SECOND/ HE READ THAT 'LMFAAAAOO' #I couldn't reply til now bc he was TOO busy having a haha and a hehe and a lol and a roflmao 😭😭😭 #I find it very interesting that Tobias' view of Ash differs from Ash's own tho. Might be bc of the people they compare him to but #in Tobias' eyes Ash IS kind whereas Ash didn't check that box. I'm assuming Ash compares himself to the general population who's #committed no crime/isn't as jaded etc meanwhile Tobias compares him to their entourage/the underground which Ash is NOT fit for in HIS eyes #case on point he doesn't trust Tobias but he wouldn't betray him unless betrayed first... Tobias at this logic: ?? #he's appreciative of it and it's one of the things he really likes abt Ash but also an unkind person would Jump at the chance to betray sb #they don't trust. w this in mind tho I don't think Tobias would ever betray Ash either. specifically bc of This. it's rare to find ppl who #are actually trustworthy & while he doesn't exactly need anything from Ash it's SO much easier to be around him than ppl w ulterior motives #ALSO ABOUT TOBIAS' LAST REMARK for the past few days he's been thinking about getting Ash on a ride in his newest car which. #idk if you've read about it but a flying car has been authorized recently. and to no one's surprise Tobias bought it SO fast #hence the adventure part. 😭 travel would also be hilarious if he didn't tell Dino and found a way to take Ash (&possibly his men) overseas #He's not even going to bother thinking about the judging check box bc somehow now it's become funny. Ash can judge him all he wants

[mariemariemaria]

the people who think that christianity is the worst most problematic religion ever and the people who think that islam is the worst most problematic religion ever are two sides of the same coin to me

#mind blank no original thoughts no nuance #not actually caring about women and other people who are negatively effected by the religion. #if you don't care about all women who are oppressed by religion then you don't care about any women #like the ppl on here who criticise xianity all the time for being sexist or homophobic #but then refuse to do that for any other religion?? ok so u dont actually care about women and gay people beyond ur culturally xian bubble👍 #meanwhile they refuse to recognise that xians are oppressed in many parts of the world alongside other religious groups like muslims #just completely western centric #this isn't to deny that christianity is oppressive like ofc there's valid criticisms of it #personally i think the catholic church should be dismantled lol #but it is not uniquely oppressive and to pretend it is is to position victims of religious oppression in a hierarchy #with xians at the top while ignoring other victims and refusing to build up solidarity with them #and u could say that this is an online problem but it's not. its so pervasive in the actual world bc ppl are either focused on their own #experiences (which is understandable to an extent but still pls look at the world around u lol) or they are so focused on defeating bigotry #that they ignore any and all criticisms of another religion. which also is not helpful and actually damages their cause #not to mention the people who are actively harmed by forms of that religion everyday #this doesn't just apply to these two religions obviously but unfortunately this dominates western social cultural debate #like i think you could definitely make parallels here with irish history and politics and how the liberalisation of both the north and the #south is a key part of the peace process. northern protestants became more at ease & trusting of the roi when it started to liberalise and #develop out of essentially being a catholic theocracy. northern catholics were more accepting of the existence of ni when protestant #domination and the protestant churches/o.o. could no longer decide government actions #a united ireland is more likely now because the republic has (largely) thrown off the shackles of the catholic church #like in the late 20th century northern protestants were generally fearful of the republic and considering divorce wasnt legal there until #the 90s it was with good reason. it wasnt all in their heads lol #idk i just think there's similarities there #posting this against my better judgement. please engage in good faith if you engage at all lol