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wrotelovelytears · 7 months

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They stare cause they know

IT Girl from ATL

👀Honestly I'm grateful for this Saturn in Pisces transit. I've learned so much about myself and the world around me from isolation. I'm not going to lie and say it's been easy because my mental health has taken various directions and without this time completely alone, I would never have the personal understanding I do now.

‍💀This transit has been about learning to be alone and what it means to be oneself. I see this as a preparation for the Saturn in Aries transit which entails taking those lessons learned and helping others with it through leadership. And I will be starting my Saturn return then too

👀I've noticed as we get closer and closer to Neptune in Aries the world gets more and more... Violent. Like there's no other word to describe it but just pure malice floating in the air. While I could use only astrology to explain it, I'm not going to pretend like there's no big social things that happened that are also making the world this way. Ever since the beginning of the pandemic human behavior has taken a turn for the worse. Add in "forced" isolation from the masses and you get a world ripe for conflict. Yes Neptune is about illusions and honestly it shifting to a more active sign, yeah we might just have to take that L collectively.

👀 I also peeped we will have Aries ruling Neptune, the North Node and Saturn all at the same time at some point. Not saying the world gonna end or nothing, just saying prepare to see more of the current things you see.

👀 So are we gonna talk about how everyone was going the Age of Aquarius is gonna push society forward in good ways just to end up having degenerate behavior become the norm. I understand that Aquarius is the sign of change and "futurism" and it also is the sign of headassery individuality to extremes. Aries is more about individuals leading (ie group work) while Aquarius is more individuality rediscovered and using that to lead (being yourself and that making change). Unless we all course correct this newfound sense of hyper individuality the world is gonna get worse.

Y'all my sons

👀Since my solar return is coming up (this may or may not be posted around or on it), I want to reflect on my past solar return chart. (I will be using whole sign and sidereal chart as a heads up if your wondering why certain planets are in certain signs)

‍💀This time last year I was working two jobs at once, two separate times, I'm blaming my first house mars. Like I have never in my life made a decision so short sighted and yet I managed it because not only is my mars in my first house but Taurus as well. I'm stubborn already but when I was told it was impossible to do both, yeah I doubled down.

🤭That Taurus Mars also made me very conscious about my appearance and how I see myself. This wasn't a negative thing however, I've done so many things to change my appearance to fit the version of me I think is best. Including getting various piercings, doing another big chop (also didn't want long hair no more), buying clothes that made me feel attractive and saying more affirmations in the mirror. The biggest change (that I had little to do with) was finally achieving my body goals. With it being in a 29 degree, I believe this is almost certainly my final form.

‍💀I find it funny how my Moon is in the 22° (which is also the natal degree it's in) and in Cancer because when I tell you I fucking cried all the time and for everything. I did. I know I'm naturally very sensitive but it's like someone turned the dial up and broke it. This has led me to happy tears as well. I also did emotional eat a lot or vice versa. I think combining this with Taurus Mars did make me a little more suspectable to food and emotion related ups and downs.

🤭I also made a lot of progress in therapy due to just wanting to finally process and get over certain shit. I'm going to say the third house holding it is what made me more willing to talk. However this also led to me randomly remembering some tragic thing that happened to me at some random ass time and going "wow, that's kinda fucked... Whomp whomp".

‍💀The crazy thing about this entire transit year is starting it off with a head injury that's kinda led to some long-term neurological issues. Literally didn't even get a day into the year and got the shit knocked out of me because Aries wanted to chill in the 12th house.

🤭Even though I had to stop working due to multiple head and neurological injuries, I at least learned what jobs, bosses, and work environments I do and don't like. I also learned how to easily see when someone is not in my corner and rather be headstrong then correct.

‍💀My MC happened to be in Capricorn that year and yeah, I definitely worked my ass off. I wanted to focus on longevity and stability. That's honestly been my theme this year (and moving forward). That did mean I might've let my relationships struggle because I was working and constantly outside.

‍💀Back to appearance (let me be vain in peace), my Sun and Aphrodite transiting the 6th house probably played a big role in why appearance was so important to me. Having them being in Libra made it just double down.

💀As I am editing this I also have my Ascendant in the 6°, I already said my current sixth house is ruled by Libra so yeah. Being hot n sexy was my goal this year. I achieved cute and "uwu" in the end tho.

‍💀This has honestly been the first year (since I was like... 12) that I haven't had any type of romantic relationship, I think this leads back to Saturn being in Pisces mostly. I also think it's me having a Scorpio Venus (which happens in my natal chart) but in the seventh house. See that's squares my natal Venus despite being in the same sign. {Actually my whole chart this year squares my natal but that's not the topic at hand.} I honestly didn't know what to do in the beginning of the year, I wanted a relationship and understood how important they are to me (sorry I'm a romantic at heart, I love love and being in love. Transiting the seventh duhh) AND I did almost no work to seek one out partially due to things I had to work out from my past (there's that pesky Scorpio in me popping up). Anytime I was approached for a romantic partnership I automatically questioned the person's intent and if it was self fulfilling prophecy or my intuition being OP, I never had anything pan out. In the beginning that annoyed me and I realized one I wasn't done doing work on my lack of trust in people, two seventh house rules open enemies and them people did not have my best interest at heart.

‍💀My Jupiter was in retrograde which could've played a part in why I dropped most of the spiritual aspects of my life and tried to raw dog it. That was a terrible idea, I ain't never felt so lost before lmao. While I could have religious talks, the spiritual aspect was lacking. It was like belief without practice for me and that's not really believing. As the year is coming to a close I've been getting more "lucky" and spiritual again. I had to learn that certain aspects of my life just work and others don't. And that my definition of my religious beliefs are vastly different than what others of my faith might be.

🤭All in all I learned the lesson of the importance of individuality within community. Not community without individuality. Or individuality before community.

‍💀Another reason for my struggle with religion, spirituality and all that was Saturn being in my 9th house. My will to continue higher education and be involved in anything literally besides work was gone. Now my life long dream has been multiple PhDs but when I tell you I avoided any conversation around finishing my first degree, one PhD was looking real unattainable.

‍💀Saturn really beat my ass this year as it was also the ruler of current profection. Hopefully my luck will truly change (in literally every aspect of life at this point) by the time my Jupiter year comes around.

‍💀Another note about my third house Moon, I fell back in love with the things of my childhood. That included gaming, socializing (on my own accord), "weird core" related things like the backrooms and analog horror and so on. The moon transiting certain houses can honestly unlock new (or old) things about you that bring comfort.

‍💀I'm a fixed Dom in my natal chart so being a Cardinal Dom for a year has been very exhausting. I'm used to finishing and quickly learning things. The way I was constantly tested this year had me always on edge. I think it is a good thing however because even though I did end quiet a few things, I also picked (back) up even more things. This has been a year of change without bounds (thanks Aries Uranus ), change that was honestly needed.

‍💀My chart is also pretty evenly distributed. Like I wasn't lacking fire, earth, water or air which explain why change was whooping my water Dom ass. Yes I know water ain't still (even ice isn't unless absolutely 0), and damn how do the fire and air people live like this? I could barely take a break to process anything. I had to process on the move and always be on it.

🤭I'm hoping next year it's more relaxed and stable, I can't handle all this change and movement.

‍💀Funny how my PoF was in Leo fourth and I worked with kids. It was beyond rewarding because I witnessed everything from first steps and words to the start of public (or private) school.

🤭Ceres might have also played a role in how invested I was in my jobs and the children I worked with. However my ovaries might have been on one because I started wanting to have a baby myself and that really isn't a good decision at the moment.

🤭Ceres also might have helped me connect more with my own mother as well which surprised quite a few people but I'd say it's been worth it. Learning how to mother myself has been greatly useful and even helpful with understanding my own.

‍💀This year I found out that I'm Chinese, Japanese and Peruvian, through DNA testing (again). And while doing so caused both my parents to have an identity crisis, I knew of my Asian heritage and somewhat of an Indigenous one as well. Problem is the countries were all wrong from family stories. (At the end of the day I'm still Black, that hasn't changed at all). I find it unironic China and Tokyo conjunction in my 8th house while Inca (what I used as a Peru substitute) chills in my third (almost second). To further that China and Tokio trine my Ceres and yes it is my mom that's half Chinese Japanese (and Vietnamese but couldn't find nothing for Vietnam, we taking what we get). And Inca trine my Jupiter (which I personally associate with my Father because he's a Pisces). My parents on the other hand hate this news because it did bring up old things they wanted to bury in their past (8th house coming through). My only lasting question is how the hell-

💀See I had a strange aversion to taking pictures of myself and even moreso posting the ones I did take. Turns out my Photographica was conjunction my Saturn and opps with my Moon. Anytime I'd take a picture I'd automatically feel disgusted with it despite feeling "pretty". Self image has been difficult this year, despite a lot of improvement.

Asteroids mentioned: Ceres(4)(ur mom) , Photographica(443), Aphrodite(1388), China(1125), Inca(8275), Tokio(498)

This my first actual post in idk how long. This year was.. A lot for me on a personal and societal level. While astrology may not be my source of a ton of dopamine anymore, it's still an interest to me. There's so much organizing I have to do with this page, so please be patient with me as I try to get back into the swing of things.

(If you learned something new or would just like to support me you can leave a wittle tip via the tip button or one of the links in my masterlist. Kofi: nymphdreams🧸)

#astro tumblr #astroblr #astrology #astro notes #astro observations #asteroid astrology #solar return #nymph writes astrology #its been a while #saturn #Aquarius

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capriciousleo · 1 year

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“Fatui Harbinger Natal Charts” Pt. 3

∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴ ∵ ∴

Parts: 1, 2

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𝑺𝑪𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑴𝑶𝑼𝑪𝑯𝑬’𝑺 𝑵𝑨𝑻𝑨𝑳 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑻

Sun- Capricorn

Moon- Cancer

Mercury- Capricorn

Venus- Cancer

Mars- Scorpio

Rising- Aries

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OKAY! Let's start with me correctly guessing his sun sign before he was canonically announced to be a Capricorn kgekbhi. He possesses typical Capricorn traits, with his Mercury-- cold appearance, a bit standoffish, a tiny bit arrogant and condescending, sarcastic, cynical. He places huge value into respect and authority, hence why he constantly reminds others that he's a god and he's above others (ex: Sumeru Archon Quest). He doesn't particularly understand that respect also needs to be earned, however. Many Capricorn placements are known for their sharp tongue that is not usually used for malefic purposes. Scara is also known for this, and speaks about it himself. Despite voicing out the hardcore reality and facts, people constantly get upset and hurt by these placements. Even Dottore's pride was hurt by Scara's simple, and imo, not even negative words about the latter and his experiments on the former. He simply called things as they are, but Dottore saw that as disrespect and was so quick to jump on "You have to be more respectful with me, Scaramouche" thing. Capricorn Suns and Moons don't get along particularly well, I've noticed hfihfiewhwi. Deciding to get rid of his feelings so it would disrupt his goals is also such a Capricorn thing, but I'll also come back to it in his Mars placement. Capricorns are also quick to cut out what’s not serving them any longer, hence why he chose to sever his ties with the Fatui and not go back after Dottore kicked him out, which other Fatui members perceived as Scaramouche betraying them.

Cancer Moon + Venus cries. He's a baby. Despite putting on a Capricorn front that nothing hurts him, doesn't feel anything at all, and that he's practically invincible, he feels fuck ton of emotions. After all the years Ei left him, he still feels deeply hurt. Remember him being discarded because he was too kind-hearted? Boy literally played around with kids, collected flowers/fruits, helped around, etc etc. He wants to feel loved. Now, as the Wanderer, and after spending time with Nahida, I do think that he slowly heals this trauma and slowly develops the sense of inner calmness. I may make a separate post about his transition lmk🤭.

Scorpio Mars. All of the things that happened in his life, people leaving him in different ways, he saw that as betrayal- he said it himself. This Mars placement is distrusting and cynical, and it takes a long time until they begin to open up. And, whenever someone betrays them, they feel it deeply. I do not think any other Mars placement feels the pain of a betrayal and hurt as deep as Scorpio. They may not show it on the outside in the beginning. These people are like a volcano- the emotions, like lava, slowly but surely rise up until they finally explode and burn everything on their way. Scara, the same way, piling everything up, turned evil and became a part of the Fatui. Erasing his emotions to achieve what they want is something this placement shares with Capricorn placements, particularly Suns and Mercuries. He’s also quite cunning and knows how to get around. And let me mention the way he looked when he was in the Fatui- it was so greatttt. The dark colors added onto his already dark brooding appearance, and his hat veil will be missed, rip. I want it back it looked amazing, crying.

To be frank, the rising was somewhat difficult to conclude. I was running back and forth Scorpio and Capricorn, but in the end I picked Aries🧍🏼‍♀️. Scaramouche is not afraid to say what’s on his mind, he’s quite opinionated and has an air of leadership around him. He does have the energy to fulfill his goals, which I believe also comes from this fire placement. He’s dedicated, intense, and not afraid to be independent and walk his own path. I think he can also be prone to jealousy.

P.s. Sorry it took so long, my lovelies! But Laura’s back ❤️

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arctodus · 2 years

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ship chart with spuriken bc the hyperfix is strong yall

explanation for some:

- the “cis man (?)” is because i am a gender queer cassidy truther, like the whole name change just kinda feels like a deadname lol

- i truly believe that cassidy and genji are so awkward in social situations, just going off the voice lines in game they both handle conversations very passively.. almost as if theyre avoiding conflict.

- i did however classify their extroversion and introversion based on if they gain more energy from being around people or vice versa. definitely see genji actively seeking breaks from group settings especially after missions and cassidy immediately understanding and checking on him a bit later (blackwatch buddies!!!!)

- genji is big spoon, cole is a big ass heater you already know it

- genuinely think that throughout the entirety of blackwatch, cassidy was immediately head over heels but out of respect for his situation and general CSD (chicken shit disorder) he never had the balls to admit it. genji on the other hand saw cole as attractive but only saw him as a cute coworker. i feel like something clicked like he just saw him in a different light for a split second and he immediately had to get his feelings off his chest.

- i dont think they fight all too often, sometimes over moral differences (like hanzo’s redemption..) but are quick to understand the other’s point of view and come to an easy conclusion.

- cole is totes easily jealous bc genji just has a way of creating close and intimate relationships with people and not realize romantic connotations. like his playboy past (and autism, dont even get me started) he genuinely is a great person to connect with, and sometimes cole struggles with recognizing that genji only has eyes for him. (autism x autism)

- after blackwatch it’s obvious the two spent a very long time separated, i think with the hiatus in their relationship they were slow to adjust post-overwatch reunion. like genji’s only outside contact was angela, so i do think he has the habit of stayinh alone in small nooks around the watchpoint where only cassidy is able to find him. but i do think they eventually get over it and get attached at the hip

- literally i mean, i do think their PDA levels are off the charts, not like make out in public but more like open displays. genji’s hand on coles waist, cole placing his hat on genji, leaning and resting on each other. i dont think it took the rest of overwatch long to realize they were not just close friends

#overwatch #overwatch 2 #cole cassidy #genji shimada #spuriken #genssidy #mcgenji #i physically needed to talk about this its so crucial to me yall #i wanna be like ‘they break up every 4 days’ but in reality they are both grown men with awful pasts who just want to be understood #im gonna start posting my spuriken headcanons i need these out of my brain

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heliza24 · 1 year

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@megfeiny left this comment on one of my posts:

“If you're up for it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Lucia scene in S1.E5. Simon's exasperation combined with his inability to resist Wilhelm's vulnerability is so powerful. And that hug!!! Oh my god. I have no words. It's just beautiful.”

So I thought I’d write a little installment of my intimate scene analysis series about this scene. (You can find the other posts in this series here, here, and here). I was especially interested to revisit it because I know some people really love it, but I haven’t really thought about it separate from the other things going on in that episode before. So let’s dive in and see what we can discover.

The atmosphere of this scene is really off the charts, isn’t it? Sometimes I feel like a broken record talking about the beautiful lighting in all of the intimate scenes but it’s incredible here. I like that there are some candles lit on the windowsill of the classroom, giving an in-universe light source so it feels natural. But there’s also no way just a few candles could create such a soft, golden effect across the entire classroom. So hats off to the cinematographer for making the lighting feel both realistic and heightened at once. I love the way it transforms the classroom, which has often been a place where the differences between Simon and Wilhelm are reinforced (think about Simon realizing he has to basically bribe the teacher to give him the same grades as the rich kids) into a private sanctuary where they are equals.

I think it’s worth pointing out too that this scene isn’t without its strife; I think you can tell that Simon especially feels conflicted about Alexander taking the blame for the drugs. But as @megfeiny points out, Wilhelm’s total emotional vulnerability is what allows Simon to still connect to him, despite those conflicting feelings. And the way that the classroom feels out of time, separated from the rest of the school, reinforces that this is the only place that Wilhelm feels like he can be that vulnerable.

The image of both boys in their Lucia gowns is also really striking. They look like angels, which reinforces the idea that they’re in their own sacred world. White is also the color of innocence, and the gowns have very childish looking collars. This is the last moment of innocence that Wilhelm and Simon have together before the video. I also think it’s significant that everyone is wearing a Lucia gown in this episode except August. I am not Swedish and am not super familiar with the Lucia tradition, but I know it’s about bringing light in the long, dark winter. That’s a thing that Wilhelm and Simon are both about to need, and August is the one causing the darkness in their lives.

I’ve already written about the needle drop used here, Samurai Swords, in my post about the music in the show. But I love how it seems to apply to both Wilhelm and Simon and August, and how its melody really captures the sadness and desperation of the scene.

I also think one of the reasons this scene is so effective is the editing. The way it cuts back and forth between Wilmon and August uploading the video creates a sense of urgency. These two events are happening at the same time, and we can feel Wilhelm and Simon’s time together running out. I also love how Sara and Felice both have significant scenes in this sequence as well (Sara seeing August, Felice giving Sara the role of Lucia). This is one of the moments where all five characters feel perfectly balanced. (Another editing/camera thing that I love, that isn’t about Wilhelm/Simon: the slow push into Sara watching August upload the video through the door of the library. It lets us feel the emotional and physical distance between Sara and August in that moment, but also captures her curiosity and his feeling of doom at being caught).

I also just have to shout out Edvin and Omar’s acting in this scene. The way Simon sighs with frustration when Wilhelm says that Simon is “the only person here he can actually talk to” even as he stands up to embrace him, and the way that Wilhelm is kind of shrunk into himself from all the stress, is just so well done. And of course the way they’re hanging on to each other for dear life in that hug is so affecting.

I think those are all of my thoughts! If you have another scene you want me to look at in more depth, my ask box is open.

#young royals #my meta #ask box #cinematic analysis

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squadrah · 2 years

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Wait forget the character bingo ask I didn't know you filled it already (😅)

If la Squadra had a complete free for all fight, with adequate amount of times to prepare, who do you think is winning?

There's 2 separate fights. One is just physical strength (to accommodate for sorbet and gelato) and with stands.

Weapons not allowed unless made by stands (to accommodate for sorbet and gelato, they're probably expert at that)

Personally, I think Illuso is loosing the stand battle unless it takes place in a home. Melone would be second last because he can only make 1 junior at a time.

Dear Anon: don't you worry, I originally considered posting it so people could send in characters, and then I thought I should really do a team one so I went ahead and did that, but individual ones are fun, too! Here's the one I did for Prosciutto on my main blog if anyone wants a gander at that!

I love the questions you sent, and I actually do have some ready-made resources for you that I can use to round out my answers with Gelato and Sorbet, ehehe.

PHYSICAL STRENGTH COMPETITION

Originally I got asked a similar question on CuriousCat, so I'm going to grab that answer from my drafts and revise it for this ask.

Risotto definitely feels like number one based on size and bulk alone. He's ripped and over two meters tall (fuck the updated height chart, he's forever 202 cm), and has three years of experience assassinating people as an ordinary person, so even someone as feisty as Ghiaccio and Gelato will struggle.

I would put Ghiaccio next, but oh, my god, Pesci. While Ghiaccio uses White Album to confer extra strength onto him, Pesci has to rely on his own strength for Beach Boy, so the fact that he could support the weight of two people with his Stand means he has incredible core strength. Even his fighting spirit is no problem where the stakes are making Prosciutto his team proud!

Ghiaccio comes third on the list because skating and butterfly stroke require a lot of strength and stamina to pull off, and if anyone has the energy and determination to go all out physically, it is this guy. I see your anger and your thunder thighs, Ghiaccio.

In my original draft, Formaggio came next, but in this new version, he is preceded by Gelato because he is way more hardened and also ridiculously into fighting. Gelato is similar to Ghiaccio in this respect, but while the latter runs on rage, Gelato is in it for the sheer thrill of wrestling for control. He's like the Black Knight from Monty Python, except he's laughing as he tells you it's just a flesh wound.

The next one is a tie; let's see Formaggio first. From his aesthetic and build, he's clearly strong enough to hold his own in a fight, even if he is not as trained as most of those above his rank. Consider him your average fit guy who sometimes lifts when he can be bothered, and cruises by on trick moves to get the upper hand. Meanwhile, Illuso is very tall and probably has great reach with those long limbs, and above all, he might allow defeat to those before him, but he would never want to lose to Formaggio himself. That said, if you hit him right just once, he'll be on defense the rest of the time.

Prosciutto is next and my all-time favorite form is the one on the updated height chart: long legs, stick build, delicate and grim as he should be. That said, based on how he sends Pesci to the floor in canon, Prosciutto knows how to work with angles and timing, so while he can absolutely be overpowered by those larger and stronger than him, you have to beware the kicks and punches.

Sorbet ranks below Prosciutto despite his slightly bigger build because he is actually averse to physical altercation. He loves to snipe, but as soon as someone gets close enough, he's so over it. Almost as elusive as Illuso too, so if he lasts longer than he ought to have, it's because he was picking his hiding places well.

As for Melone… he should not be doing anything physical. His posture is a mess and he's as skinny as Prosciutto but puts himself out on the field even less. Who even let him fight.

STAND BATTLE VS. WEAPONRY

First, I will link a resource: I started publishing a series of headcanon posts about La Squadra's Stands on Ao3, and for Ghiaccio's chapter, I included a very detailed rundown of hypothetical Stand fights to determine if he might be the strongest Stand in Vento Aureo (spoiler alert: he is). Check it out here!

With that out of the way, and just so nobody has to read that to have some fun with this question, here are my general thoughts:

1) For this battle, they would have to lay down some general rules like you did, specifically for handicapping the more lethal Stands. Without that, Prosciutto would automatically win unless Ghiaccio remembered to stock up on frozen air and plug his air hole in the back. With that in mind, the rules are: Prosciutto can only age a minimal amount and cannot use any ice for himself; Ghiaccio can only use his armor and no additional ice; Risotto cannot use Metallica on a person directly; Pesci's hook cannot target vital organs; Formaggio can only shrink himself; Illuso cannot take anyone or their Stand inside the mirror.

2) For weapons, I would love to give Gelato and Sorbet something potent but not lethal. Gelato I think would appreciate one of those rubber truncheons used by the Naples Pigs and Bacon Department, and Sorbet would get something like a paint gun to uh, ink everyone's splat zones, I guess. For him specifically, the rule is that he wins when he gets paint on at least two vital areas, or a clean head shot. (Yes, Mista survived three bullets to the temple at point blank range, but nobody on La Squadra is that favored by Araki God, so.)

3) I see your predictions and they are not wrong, but I wouldn't give Melone a single Junior because they take so much time to make that he would get pummelled before he could pull this off (not to mention no parents around if this is between La Squadra only); instead Baby Face Computer is allowed to use weapons like Sorbet and Gelato, and it is currently wielding a knife. Terrifying.

4) With all these restrictions, I feel like it all boils down to sheer moxie. Formaggio is one of the most formidable of the bunch at this point because his Stand has a built-in blade, he can play with his own size to dodge, AND he has the courage. Illuso has amazing maneuverability with mirror shards, but I feel like he teeters a lot between overconfidence and playing it too safe. Pesci is possibly overpowered because of the damage deflection ability of Beach Boy's line - he would probably need to bide his time until everyone else has fallen to focus on the last person and trap them to win. Prosciutto is still powerful, but he's not nearly as fast as the others; here his edge is more psychological because of the way The Grateful Dead looks and moves. Baby Face Laptop has a similar advantage, but it is much smaller, so there's that. Risotto, bless his heart, can only win by properly cornering someone with makeshift knives, which is no easy task when some move around unpredictably. Ghiaccio has to rely on brute force to win, which is no problem, but those aware of the air hole or targeting his visor would probably get the better of him. (Imagine if Sorbet got paint all over it and it just hard-froze over his head...) As for Sorbet and Gelato, well... Sorbet would be very patient about it, and I bet he manages at least one headshot and a few vitals elsewhere. Gelato, on the other hand, would incur the most damage inflicted because he'd just go about truncheoning every single person he sees until he gets knocked away by their Stand, and then he'd pick himself up and do it all over again to somebody else. He makes it into at least the final three, but who the final ones are, I will leave to the imagination based on the above, haha.

There! Hope you enjoyed these!

#jjba #la squadra #risotto nero #formaggio #prosciutto #pesci #ghiaccio #melone #illuso #sorbet #gelato #squadrah headcanons #squadrah original #again go to Ao3 and read my fics #kudos the fics comment on the fics bookmark the fics

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rosebramblewolf · 1 year

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Recipe Blog: How to Spend Two Months in the Hospital and Still Stand to Look at Your Dinner

this is not a hard and fast """recipe"""" or however the kids are saying it. its more an example of the kind of mindset you have to develop to keep your sanity at mealtimes during a long term stay in a hospital or other care facility where the cafeteria's priority is making sure they can serve everything possible to the various restricted diets

this works if the facility doesnt have set meals or at least has some kind of a la carte menu, or if you have the resources to suborn accomplices to bring you outside food (and the means to store it - my room on the chemo floor had a mini fridge, but the rehab one does not, so im limited to shelf stable items or things ill eat at the time of arrival)

but more on that at the end of the post - without further ado, Half Decent Broccoli Mac and Cheese in the Hospital

(yields about double this amount, i just kept taking another bite and not remembering to take a picture)

ingredients:

1 serving hospital cafeteria macaroni and cheese

3 condiment packets black pepper

2 condiment packets table salt

2 side cups hospital cafeteria shredded mild cheddar (can substitute better cheese if you have access to refrigeration)

1 large chunk hospital cafeteria steamed broccoli

use provided dinner utensils to scoop macaroni and cheese out of ramekin, dividing into thirds on dinner plate. sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper to taste.

layer first third of macaroni and cheese into ramekin. layer cheddar on top. continue layering until all ingredients but broccoli are in ramekin. mixture will be slightly heaping.

place ramekin back on dinner plate and re-cover with provided insulating lid. let stand approximately 5-10 minutes or until bored.

if cheese is not sufficiently melted, enlist friendly nurse to microwave ramekin for 30-40 seconds.

stir well to combine.

using fork, separate florets from large broccoli chunk and discard stem. shred florets to size desired and stir into ramekin.

eat and enjoy.

pro tips:

you HAVE to hoard your condiments. you can usually order them with your meal and the nurses can often bring you more, but sometimes food service will forget them or send you wildly too much, just at random, so hoard the extras. i still have 5 individual servings of peanut butter from like a month ago when i was having it on toast for breakfast, and it's great for dipping. also one of my pepper packets today was sealed but empty, so i was glad i already had extra on hand.

get to know your hospitals menu. mine doesnt say, under the build your own sandwiches, that they will grill/toast them if you ask, but you can totally have them grill you a cheese. and the side of shredded cheese isnt listed at all - lots of stuff they will happily serve me isnt on there. talk to the food service people when youre ordering, i thought i was going to have to melt cheese slices onto a baked potato until she told me i could order it shredded

be nice to the nursing staff and they will help you out with stuff. any of them CAN microwave something for you, but its hard to ask if theyre already avoiding your room bc u just reamed them out for taking 5 minutes too long with your ice water (but do definitely stand up for yourself if they are actually screwing up on something!)

if your medical professional has you on a restricted diet and there are things the food service people will not let you order, i do not advocate using suborned accomplices to circumvent these restrictions. if you think your doctor is wrong about what you should be eating, talk to them about it. there may be some kind of compromise you can come to, or an alternative way to manage what they are hoping to achieve with the restriction - or they could just be full of it, and you have the right to put your foot down and request that they remove it or get a second opinion. i had a doc put me on a cardiac diet for a week because he misread a note in my chart, never told me he was doing it, and now im taking salt supplements because my sodium was low; this happens! so i had the conversation, he apologized and lifted the thing. doctors are human and they are not your boss (in this context, even if you personally are employed by or directly report to a doctor, dont be a smartass)

order as many non perishable snacks with every meal as they will let you, selection permitting they have something you like, until your storage is full. then only order snacks with your meals to maintain your stock, or perishables you intend to eat right away

beware the weird off brand sugar free jello with a smiley face on it, it melts at room temperature and it stains

Asd

#The Spinal Saga #(except the late stage cancer is no longer merely probable)#rosebramblewolf cooks #(sort of)

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xanthine · 6 years

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Books of 2017

I somehow read more books in 2017 than I did in 2016. Somehow. Here’s the full list of books I finished:

January 1. CBT at Work for DUMMIES by Gill Garratt 2. MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood 3. The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher 4. Wild by Cheryl Strayed

February 5. Chalked Up by Jennifer Sey 6. Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher 7. My Age of Anxiety by Scott Stossel 8. Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher 9. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel 10. Where am I now? by Mara Wilson 11. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

March 12. Illness as Metaphor by Susan Sontag 13. Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay 14. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon 15. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick 16. milk and honey by Rupi Kaur 17. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

April 18. Love x Style x Life par Garance Doré 19. The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau (audio)

May 20. The Right to Write by Julia Cameron 21. Better Than Before by Gretchen Rubin 22. The Revenge of Analog by David Sax 23. Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths 24. Adult Onset by Ann-Marie MacDonald 25. One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul 26. The Sound of Paper by Julia Cameron 27. Shrill - Notes From a Loud Woman by Lindy West

June 28. Caffeinated: How our daily habit helps, hurts and hooks us by Murray Carpenter 29. Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert 30. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin 31. The Path by Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh 32. Still Procrastinating? By Joseph R Ferrari 33. You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein 34. The Science Writers' Handbook by The Writers of SciLance (edited by Thomas Hayden and Michelle Nijhuis)

July 35. Confessions of a Sociopath by M.E. Thomas 36. Night Watch by Terry Pratchett 37. The life-changing magic of not giving a fuck by Sarah Knight 38. Dear Mister Essay Writer Guy: Advice and Confessions on Writing, Love, and Cannibals by Dinty W. Moore 39. The Shadowed Sun by N. K. Jemisin 40. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

August 41. Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor 42. Works Well With Others by Ross McCammon 43. Rest: Why you get more done when you work less by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang 44. Haldol and Hyacinths by Melody Moezzi 45. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell 46. I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong 47. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell 48. Everyone's a aliebn when ur a aliebn too by jomny sun 49. Son Of A Trickster by Eden Robinson 50. Systematic by James R Valcourt

September 51. When Everything Feels Like The Movies by Raziel Reid 52. City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett 53. Hygge: The Danish Art of Happiness by Marie Tourell Søderberg 54. Unf*ck Your Habitat by Rachel Hoffman 55. Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel 56. The Upward Spiral by Alex Korb 57. Too Much And Not In The Mood by Durga Chew-Bose 58. The Spooky Art by Norman Mailer

October 59. Beauty Queens by Libba Bray 60. The First Time I Got Paid For It… Writers’ Tales from the Hollywood Trenches edited by Peter Lefcourt and Laura J Shapiro 61. My Boyfriend Barfed in my Handbag... And Other Things You Can't Ask Martha by Jolie Kerr 62. The Last One by Alexandra Olivia 63. The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker (audio) 64. Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard 65. Hunger by Roxane Gay

November 66. When Watched (stories) by Leopoldine Core 67. The Productivity Project by Chris Bailey 68. The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin 69. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire 70. The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy

December 71. All Inclusive by Farzana Doctor 72. We Are Never Meeting In Real Life by Samantha Irby 73. Next Gen PhD: A Guide to Career Paths in Science by Melanie V Sinche 74. Turtles All The Way Down by John Green 75. the sun and her flowers by Rupi Kaur

#books of 2017 #a year of books #charts will go in a separate post because this is already way too long #65 of these 75 books are from the library #libraries are the BEST

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littlemixnet · 2 years

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Little Mix vow they WILL reunite and say ‘we can’t live without each other’ in their LAST interview before hiatus.

THEY have spent 11 years as a group, had five No1 singles, won three Brit Awards and released seven hit albums. But as Little Mix prepare to bow out - for now, at least - they have insisted they are doing it as the best of friends and are doing everything they can to ensure they aren’t pitted against each other as they prepare to launch their post-band solo careers. In an exclusive final print interview with The Sun, just a week before they go their separate ways, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall have revealed their timetables will be carefully managed so there is no way they will put new music out at the same time. Perrie, 28, said: “We’ve all said we will let each other know when we’re going to release so we don’t end up clashing in the charts. We’re rooting for each other, not competing against each other.” Jade, 29, who has signed a solo deal with RCA, added: “It’s just not going to happen. There will be a conscious effort from all of us to make sure of that.” Leigh-Anne, 30, said their friendship was too precious to risk a head-to-head and the fact they remain so tight-knit will mean they’re able to be open with each other about their solo plans. She has recently signed with Warner and said: “We are so close and that’s the thing. We’re all going to be in communication about this the whole time.” In the 11 years since Little Mix were first brought together on The X Factor, they have become Britain’s most successful ever girl band, selling more than 50 million records worldwide and collecting over 22 million monthly Spotify listeners. Next Saturday will see the final performance of their sold-out Confetti tour. It will end with an emotional show which will be livestreamed around the world from London’s O2 Arena – the last chance to catch the girls before they bow out for their hiatus. Perrie, who has also already started working on solo music, said: “Even though it’s a massive, epic show, I think knowing everyone is watching it is going to make it feel super intimate.” However, they are already plotting their comeback as a band and promise they won’t follow the lead of One Direction, who went on their “hiatus” in 2015 and show no signs of reuniting. Perrie said: “Honestly, we haven’t even parted ways yet and we’re already talking about when we’re coming back! We’re like: ‘is two years away enough? Two and a bit years?’.” Jade points out they are parting as the closest of friends and so there’s every reason to get back together sooner rather than later. She said: “You can’t deny our relationship – whenever anyone comes to watch the show or sees us in interviews or on social media it’s pretty obvious that we can’t actually live without each other. We know how phenomenal we are together, so why would we never want to do that again? Change has to happen in life, you have to move on at some point and try new things, but it’s such a comfort to know we have each other to come back to. We don’t know how long this will be for but I’m already ready for that reunion!” MAKING HISTORY There have been plenty of record-breaking Little Mix moments over the last decade, not least when they made history in 2021 by becoming the first girl group to win Best British Band at the Brits. They used their moment to pay tribute to the likes of All Saints, the Spice Girls and Girls Aloud who came before them but were always overlooked. Perrie said: “We couldn’t get our heads around the fact that a girl group hadn’t won it before. There were incredible girl bands before us who deserved that award, but it always went to males. We’d thought there was no way we were ever going to win simply because we’re female, which is kind of s**t. So we were really shocked when we won and we wanted to shout out all those women who were so deserving of it. We’re so grateful to have won that award and it’s a huge deal for us. But it should have happened sooner.” Huddled together in their hotel room today, it’s clear how close the three of them are. Leigh-Anne says that after all the success, they no longer feel like they have anything to prove. She said: “As a girl group we’ve been constantly trying to prove that we’re credible. But this tour I feel like we’re all up there just having fun because we frickin’ earned it.” Jade agrees and says the bond between them is stronger than ever. “People have come and gone throughout the last ten years but this relationship we have has remained and I think that’s very telling. We’ve come through a lot together, all the ups and downs and to get to this point and be as close as we are, I think says a lot about how we’ve grown as women.” MUMS ON TOUR They all laugh when talking about how different the atmosphere is on tour now compared to the party days of the past. Leigh-Anne and Perrie both became mothers within a week of each other last August and say the backstage booze has all been replaced by baby paraphernalia. Perrie said: “It’s all baby bouncers, highchairs, you name it. Life has changed. I mean, we were never exactly rockstars before – it wasn’t like you’d walk into bottles of Jack Daniels all over the place with us having it large. But it is a different dynamic.” Perrie has a boy Axel with Liverpool star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 28, while Leigh-Anne has twins with fiancé Andre Gray, 30, who plays for QPR, although she hasn’t made the babies’ names or sex public. She said: “I’m just trying to keep it as private as possible for as long as possible. It was a decision we made at the time because [the attention] was freaking me out a little bit.” Both say that going into rehearsals so soon after giving birth was a challenge. Perrie said: “I feel like me and Leigh-Anne should have had a note from the doctor saying: ‘Perrie and Leigh have baby brain, go easy on them today’. Baby brain is real! Jade would pick up the routine in two seconds and we’d be there for an hour doing the simplest of things and then totally forget what it was. I’ve never struggled so hard for a tour. I thought I was going to die! Our bodies weren’t ready, our minds weren’t ready. If it wasn’t for Jade, keeping the morale up and the positivity going then I don’t know if we’d have made it.” However, Jade said she was in awe of how well the new mums managed everything. “Perrie and Leigh-Anne have had to adapt after having kids and being able to go into full-on rehearsal mode while breastfeeding and having the babies there was so amazing. And then to get on stage and these fabulous costumes! They’ve been incredible. I struggled with rehearsals, never mind having to look after children as well. So I know I’ve had an easier ride.” As for what’s next, they are all playing their cards close to their chests but say they are excited and nervous in equal measure about what the future holds. Jade said: “I’m just stepping into the unknown, I don’t really have a plan! We all sort of have an idea what we want to do and how we want to do it. But personally, I’m going to enjoy not putting pressure on myself to have to do something by a certain time.” Perrie added: “As long as I can sing somewhere and at least someone is listening, I’m happy.” Leigh-Anne said while they hoped to explore lots of avenues, music is where their hearts remain. She said: “I feel like we’ll probably all dabble in a bit of everything, I don’t think we’d ever want to restrict ourselves. But being on stage is everything to me and I can’t picture myself being anywhere else. It’s what we do, isn’t it?”

#little mix #article #6may22

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theowlsarequeer · 3 years

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So Dana said on a stream that it's too late for a full Season 3 of The Owl House (there are going to be three 44-minute episodes instead of the 20-ish the crew had in mind,) probably because the crew has already started working on the episodes and scheduling and stuff. However, it's not yet too late for us to possibly get a season 4 and beyond. The Owl House is an amazing show with off the charts animation, lovable and relatable characters, and A+ representation, and it deserves more than what Disney is giving it.

So many people of different ages love it (I watch it with my siblings and it's our favorite show and there's a significant age gap between me and the youngest,) and the cast and crew have obviously poured their heart and souls into every episode and it shows, so it would be incredibly sad to see it get only 2 and a half seasons.

On a slightly different note, I have heard some stuff on Twitter about some kind of graphic novel based on TOH, kind of like we got with Gravity Falls. I'll let you know if I hear anything about that.

So, what can we do to get more seasons? It's pretty similar to what we were doing before when we wanted a full season 3, except now that we're 5 episodes into Season 2, we have a little more information as to what's working and what's not.

Snail Mail is still the most effective way to persuade Disney to extend a show. This is partially because people who send letters are slightly more likely to be adults, aka people who can pay for a Disney channel/Disney+ subscription, but also because the amount of letters they get is tiny compared to the amount of notifications they get on social media. The address you send these to is: Disney TVA, 811 Sonora Ave., Glendale, California, USA. For people who can't send letters, someone might be willing to mail letters for you. I only found one person and they stopped doing it before I could submit, but if I find someone else I'll definitely tell you. If you know anyone, drop the link in the notes! Another important note: I've heard that Disney will throw out letters they classify as "hate mail," aka anything accusatory, and while I don't know how accurate this is, we probably shouldn't take chances. Explain how much the show means to you/your friends or family, say that it's a wonderful show, talk about your favorite parts, and maybe throw in some fanart if you're an artist! Also mention the queer representation if you can, because that's the part Disney was most against doing, and if they can see that people think positively of it (aka they can get money from it) they'll likely allow more, either in The Owl House or future projects.

Every time we get a new episode, the show trends to a certain extent on Tumblr, Twitter, or both. Disney execs see this. Keep posting! I might try to organize a trend event like with Infinity Train in between seasons 2 and 3 if that's something people would be interested in.

Stream the show on Disney+. I know we hate supporting the mouse, but if you have access to a Disney+ account this is absolutely one of the best ways to support the show. Season 1 recently became available in Canada, and I heard something about it becoming available in Columbia a few months ago. The first five episodes of season 2 will be available in the US on Disney+ starting July 21. (Separate Tides, Escaping Expulsion, Echoes of the Past, Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances, and Through the Looking Glass Ruins.

Petitions only go so far, but it takes 2 seconds and can't hurt. Here's 2 I've signed, feel free to add more if you know more: Petition for The Owl House Season 4 and Petition I've been spreading for awhile now

Create content! Fanart, fanfics, animatics, et cetera. This helps us trend and gives us less artistically talented fans some much-needed content. I'm considering giving 1 TOH-focused artist a week a special boost in addition to my regular art/fic reblogs but idk if my platform's quite big enough for that.

If you have Twitter, consider giving some crew members a follow. Infinity Train creator Owen Dennis has said that networks will often look at a creator's follower count before greenlighting their show, to see how much support the show would get. The crew is also filled with some very cool people who post very cool things.

Animated TV shows are the most popular they've been in a long time among teen and adult audiences, and TOH has a pretty big fanbase. I believe we can harness that power for good and get some more of the show we all love. I'll be updating whenever I get more information, and feel free to drop any petitions, information, et cetera in the notes. I'll make a separate post later to boost content creators. In the meantime, hoot hoot, let's get a Season 4.

#cody speaks #toh #the owl house

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quicksandblock · 3 years

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MCYT Demographic Survey Part 2 RESULTS

IT’S TIME!!!

Once again, thank you so much to everyone who participated! 1,654 people total responded to this - about four and a half times as many respondents as the first survey. It’s honestly incredible. I’m so happy the rest of you are as interested as I am in this stuff :D

The increased turnout is also why these results are being posted two days later than I’d intended. I want to give a HUGE thank you to my friend @quincepastey and my sibling @orestes-swimming for helping me out, and by helping I do mean they did basically all of the technical stuff for me, because my knowledge of spreadsheets was not up to the task. So thank you to Cupid for organizing all the data from questions 3 and 4 into something comprehensible for me, and thank you to Kal for making the charts! They are absolutely the MVPs and everyone reading this should go check them out. Thank you guys so much <3

Reblogs of this post are very appreciated. It would be awesome if the info about the results could reach everyone who submitted a response, so if you reblogged my first post about this survey, please consider reblogging this one as well!

For your convenience, here’s a link to the results of the first survey I did six months ago. Now - on to the results!

Question 1: What is your age range?

Compared to the results of the first survey, we can see that things have changed a bit! Specifically, the fandom has shifted just a little bit older. The solid majority of the fandom is still in the 15-17 year old range, but it’s gone down from almost half to closer to 40%. Almost a third of the fandom are ages 18-20, up from close to a fifth six months ago. 21-25 year olds have increased from about 10% to about 14%. And the youngest segment, 13-14 year olds, have gone from almost 20% of the fandom down to 12% - the sharpest change of all.

Finally, nearest and dearest to my own heart, there are now 26 whole people in the fandom aged 26-30 and 9 people aged 30+. Old Squad is growing, folks. We are... the 2% 😎 Special shoutout to the person who said their 15 year old kid got them into the fandom. I hope you know just how cool you are.

These results are interesting, but it’s also impossible to say how accurate the data is. This survey and the previous one were only posted on my blog, and they only reached a wider audience through the reblogs of my followers. So do these changes reflect actual changes in the demographics of the fandom as a whole, or is it just that my followers (and the people who follow them) have shifted older? To try to avoid this bias in the future, I may reach out to some well-known younger bloggers and ask them to reblog the next survey I do so that I can reach a more even audience.

Question 2: What is your gender?

Apologies for the small text, but there were so many unique write-in answers that I wanted to include them all. You may want to open the image in a separate tab for better quality.

In contrast to the age question, the gender spread of the fandom has remained pretty much the same. About half the fandom is still female, the nonbinary crowd has increased from 20% to 25%, 7% of us are male, almost 7% are genderfluid, and about 5% are agender. Just like last time, most of the write-in responses fell into the vague categories of either genderqueer or questioning.

No surprises on this one! The fandom continues to be overwhelmingly female and queer. Next time I think I’ll include genderqueer and questioning as options to try to catch some of those people into a formal category. All y’all are so valid, especially the person who wrote in their gender as “soup” <3

The results for questions 3 and 4 will be under a cut, because I don’t want to completely destroy people’s dashes.

Before I get into the last two questions, a couple notes. First, I want to explain how I came up with the list of creators, since a lot of people were either excited or disappointed by the fact that a few different people were on there.

On the last survey, this question was a write-in, and I had to transcribe and collate all the answers by hand to come up with the actual number of people who followed each creator. For this survey, I simply took the list that came out of the previous one and pasted it in! I also added a few people who no one wrote in six months ago but who are much more prominent now (Ranboo being the biggest example). So if you were excited to see your favorite small creator listed as an option, they were there because someone wrote them in last time! And if you wrote in your favorite small creator here, they’ll be an option on the next survey. The list is entirely crowdsourced and it will expand with each survey.

That said, the same also applies for more controversial creators. Specifically, I’m talking about CallMeCarson. Several people questioned my decision to keep him on the list - and to be honest, I considered taking him out. But in the end I decided to leave him in as an option for the sake of completeness and consistency with the previous survey. I want to emphasize that this is not me condoning his actions. But for the sake of the data, I felt that it was best to leave him in.

That said, let’s move on to questions 3 and 4!

Question 3: What creator(s) do you primarily follow?

So, it’s harder to compare with the previous survey on this one, and that’s purely because on the previous survey I didn’t have the help I did here. The chart I was able to make for the results back in October was frankly trash. Also, the fact that I split “followed creators” into two questions - primarily and casually followed - definitely throws things off. However, we can still do a certain amount of comparison!

The most obvious change is Ranboo. He straight up was not on the previous survey at all - I think he’d been streaming for less than a month at the time. Now, about 55% of respondents listed him as someone they primarily follow. The Dream SMP itself has also jumped dramatically. Previously, about 5% of people wrote in Dream SMP. That has increased to over half. Quackity has gone from less than 2% to about 30%. Karl has gone from 4% to 30%. Phil has gone from about 8% to a little under 50%. The SBI have jumped from 11% to over 40%.

Techno has gone from about 50% to over 60%. Tommy has gone from 45% to over 55%. Wilbur has jumped from 43% to 55%. Tubbo has remained steady at about 38%.

Dream has apparently dropped some of his following percentage-wise, falling from 50% to about 35%. However, George, Sapnap, and the Dream Team itself have all jumped from 10-12% to almost 30%.

I’m not going to go over the rest of the list, because that would just get way too long. However, I will drop a link to the spreadsheets of data for this survey and the previous one, so anyone who wants to can do some comparison of their own!

Question 4: What creators do you casually follow?

I won’t do as detailed of a comparison on this question, because there’s nothing to compare it to - this question wasn’t on the previous survey. However, it’s interesting to see how many more people follow Fundy, Nihachu, BadBoyHalo, Captain Puffy, Eret, Awesamdude, and Jack Manifold casually rather than as a primary favorite. Out of the top twelve, Karl, Quackity, Phil, and Tubbo are the only ones who don’t have a major discrepancy between the amount of people who follow them casually versus primarily.

I would be curious to hear people’s thoughts on why that’s the case! Personally, I would guess it’s a combination of each of their approaches to lore on the Dream SMP, the frequency and times of day that they stream, and the people they tend to make content with and be associated with by the fandom. I may go into that more later, but this post is already very long, so I’ll hold off for now. Here’s a link to this question’s spreadsheet for anyone who wants to take a closer look!

...And that’s a wrap! Good grief, this got long. Kudos to anyone who actually read the whole thing because I know my attention span would be challenged. I’m already thinking about the next survey - a couple people suggested that I add in questions about orientation and nationality, and while I want to keep the survey pretty tight in its scope, I am considering it. It would be even more data to process but it would be interesting to know!

I would love to hear people’s thoughts on these results! I’m only one person, so I know there’s interesting stuff I must have missed. Please, please feel free to reblog with your thoughts and observations! A lot of work went into this (both from me and from Cupid and Kal! Thank you guys again!), so I’m really hoping to hear what people think about it :D

I plan to reblog this and reply to some of the things people wrote in at the end, so stay tuned for that. And once again: thank you all for your interest in this project of mine <3 See you with another one in six months!

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izukus-sugar-baby · 3 years

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Checked out!

WARNINGS: fluff-ish, eventually will be smut, mentions of getting sick twice

word count: 2k

Heres my first writing for tumblr! Hope you all like it!

Part Two, Part Three.

"Hey Miss!!" You peered down at the smaller voice, simultaneously feeling a book slip from your hand and onto the ground. The bookshelf was at least 5 rows high, and you had been standing as far as you needed to reach the top. You were dusting off and replacing the books on the shelf, which... hadn’t been so pleasant with children running around before their daily read. Regardless, you had a job to do. It wasn't gonna stop for a ton of kids. You had been rearranging the books in alphabetical order before the kid startled you. Thank god it didn’t fall on their head.

"Are you gonna read to us today? Or is Miss Maggie?" The kid didn't look over six years old, blue eyes and long brown hair with freckles littering her face in a wonderful way. She wore a small dress full of sunflowers with bright pink shoes on her feet. She had been here before... Although, her name wasn’t ringing a bell.

"I wanted to read one of those pigeon stories you read us last time!" You let out a sigh of relief that the book didn't smack the kid on top of her head prior to climbing down to the ground and leaning down be eye-level with her.

"Pigeon stories?" You've read dozens of books about dozens of creatures and characters. What on earth would relate to a.. pigeon? Leaning down a bit farther to snatch up the book you had dropped, she pushed another book into your arms. The title read The Pigeon Needs A Bath!

"This book is pretty thin, You sure you want me to read just this one book, sweetheart?" You stood up straight, handing the girl the book back before cocking your hip to the side and placing your hand onto it.

"Me and Emmie can go find some more!" She hurried off to find her.. friend? Knowing it had been a child, it could be a stuffed animal! But she sure did leave too quickly to ask any questions about it. You sighed, climbing back up to finish your organizing. Thank goodness I’m already close to being done. You thought to yourself, dusting top to bottom and moving onto the 4th row. Their reading wasn't for another.. what? 20 minutes? You had time to knock out another shelf. Time flew by as you finished the 4th row. It was already time to read.

"I have to stop by Goodwill and get some more books. I also gotta stop at the post office and some.. other errands? You got this reading?" The owner of the store, Maggie, looked over to make sure she had gotten your attention before naming off a few things that needed done in the shop before you closed up shop.

"Yeah! What time will you be back?" You climbed down the last step of the ladder, patting off the dust from the bookcase that had gotten on your apron. It was some cutesy hello kitty apron you wore so the dust wouldn't ruin your clothing but it really just made it look like it was some mini cafe. None the less, you wore it.

"I'll be back in time for that uh, Pro hero guy. I don't know- my wife wrote him in. Ask and she'll tell you!" You weren't too involved with all that hero bullshit, the whole who can save more lives?! You get the most money AND an award. The system in itself was ass and it wouldn't make a difference in your everyday life for one of those snobby people to stop by. You walked around the shelves, watching Maggie leave as you sat down on a small rounded couch. A small chime rang through the shop as it called the children over for their reading, a few already sitting and ready to hear you.

It wasn't a big library, it seemed like a corner store had gotten torn down and then completely renovated into a library for children. The second floor had been where the owner and her wife stayed. It was a cozy little place where about 8-12 kiddos would visit for a read. There were bookshelves in the walls for more book space and 5 separate shelves more towards the middle of the place. They held less books than the ones on the wall. Only two of the five reached over 3ft. Parents would come in just to rent a few books. But more often than not, the owner would go out hunting for new books for everyone to enjoy. Along with cute little toys and those foam floor mats to sit on. All of the children in the shop had sat right in front of you, including the girl from earlier who held 4 books in her hands. A few other kids held thin picture books in their hands as well, but only having 15 minutes to read to them, it might be hard to get around to all of them.

“Alright, Who's first?" You asked, smiling down at them. Every single child raised their hand, some even raising both so your attention was on them. Of course this wasn't going to be easy. You thought to yourself as you put a hand over your eyes, pointing to some random kid. He held a small book, standing up slowly and handing it to you.

"My mom reads me this sometimes.." Poor boy was only about 5, and seemed pretty shy. You gave him a reassuring smile before he went back to his seat. You began to read and in no time at all you finished reading the few books children selected. Thank god it was a Friday, Most children would be picked up right after the reading for afternoon preschool etc. But it seemed like no one wanted to leave. Was it that hero Maggie had mentioned? You sighed, hopping up and heading to the check out desk where you saw a few children wanting to check out their books you previously read to them. You leaned down over the desk to reach for the book, scanning it and doing so for each person. The store bell jingled, as if the creak of the door didn't give away someone walking in.

"Welcome to 'Children's Magical Bookshop,' You paid the person no mind as you spoke, handing the last child their book and letting your gaze fall upon the... very tall man in front of you. Noise filled the small shop, children running up to him screaming-

"Deku!" As loud as their little lungs could. He gave a flashy smile, leaning down to hug the children that ran straight for his legs. He laughed and lifted a few of them in his.. very strong arms. Was it hot in the bookshop? Was the AC fucked up? You force your eyes from the tall man.. Was he looking at you too? Your mind screamed at you to introduce yourself, Quickly walking towards a shelf to do something. Anything bust stand there and gawk at him.

"Are you Maggie?" There were hopping children behind him, playing with his gloves and such as you turned to him.

"No- I'm y/n. Are you that.. pro? She had been talking about.?" You huffed through your nose, turning to him. He extended a hand, nodding with a cheesy grin on his face as soon as you had taken his hand into yours. It wasn’t like you never saw him on the news, but you sure did skip the channel as soon as it was some bullshit hero chart over who had been number one. He was so much hotter in person..

"Yes! I'm sorry I'm a bit early, I finished patrol sooner than I thought! I hope I'm not interrupting anything? The woman on the phone said before six, I told her I was sure I could make it around five!" His eyes traveled to your lips for a moment, listening to you speak back to him.

“You’re fine, There’s plenty of time for you to hang out and sign all of their t-shirts and such. Make yourself at home big man. You can sit in the reading area,” The kids dragged him to where you were just moments ago.. But he couldn't get you to leave his mind. You were beautiful. He needed to make you his.

The poor hero stayed until about six o’clock to talk to you, since all of the kids finally left to go do their summer homework or whatever they had to do. Deku had been leaning over the counter for almost an extra hour to make some conversation with you, he just couldn’t help himself. You cant blame him either! You had this smile that he couldn’t resist. And quite frankly, he wasn’t used to this feeling of butterflies in his stomach. He fought some shit villain every day! What's a few butterflies? Especially as pretty as you. Why wouldn't he want to stick around?

“I really didn’t think it would be so chill this week! It feels like I've done nothing but catch up on papers!” Izuku scratched his neck with his index finger, shaking his head lightly. “I guess I really am doing a good job!- Of course other pros are doing their jobs as well!” He let out a relieved chuckle, looking at you with a big, sincere, smile on his face. “How has work here been? It must be so nice working with so many children!”

You feel your eyes involuntarily roll, shaking your head and leaning against the wall behind you. “It’s nice until some kid gets sick on themselves and their mother isn’t here to help. We have extra clothing in the back because it’s happened more than once.” You groaned as your eyes trailed to the door leading to lost n found, clothes, and other things. You had an unamused look on your face talking about it. He noticed and let his eyes follow yours until feeling your eyes rest upon him once more. Maybe texting would let you come around to him a bit more? Were you bored?

“Yikes- I’ve seen adults get sick after villains show up. But I probably should head back to my agency.” He looked out of the store window before right back to those beautiful e/c eyes of yours. “Do you have a number I can text? I would love to talk to you more y/n..!” He was already prepared for rejection. It was kinda weird to be hitting on you after dealing with kids wasn’t it? Maybe he should take it back. Was he coming off as some sleazy ass hero?

Your eyes widened in the slightest- Enough for him to notice. “Sure, Let me see your phone,” You stepped closer to the counter, seeing him fumble on the pouch of his belt before unlocking and giving you his phone. You went to his contacts, making yourself one of them and handing it right back to him. He had an even bigger, cheesier, grin on his face after he took it back.

“Thank you, y/n!” He bowed his head before quickly leaving out to his agency. Finally, you could go home as well. Not that he was a problem, but that man sure could talk. It was endearing. Maybe I can put enough of those stutters in mind tonight. You joked to yourself, grabbing your keys and walking out to lock up the small bookshop. There was no doubt that you were attracted to him. Every woman in America and Japan was attracted to him in some way.

You let out a small sigh, driving home and turning your radio up until hearing your phone ding. You glanced over at the screen to see an unknown number texting. Assuming it was Deku, you waited until you were home to answer him. By the time you had texted him back, he was quick to reply. You two made plans to hang out soon and have dinner together. You talked for hours until one of you had fallen asleep. He was ecstatic. You really enjoyed his company.

taglist: @tenyaiidasslut @hi-rubi @devilsbooksworld @flamingpastapotatoes @arleneeene @blacklotussai @akam4recs @prinvilmain

a/n: I fucking hate tumblr KWJCHDH ive had to re-write this more than once because they changed the layout if the save and post. Its not my best work and was mostly edited on here instead of Google docs. Learn to edit the first version first i guess 💀 The second part will be much better!

Please Reblog!!!!

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whythinktoomuch · 3 years

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i. apocalypse now & then

Kara touched down, her boots meeting the earth with a metallic clunk that was promptly swallowed up in the dust and utter grayness of her surroundings. The warnings came immediately—insistent beeps, bright red numbers and figures flashing before her eyes.

“How’s it looking?” asked the tinny voice in her helmet, and Kara sighed.

“Yeah, you were right. Place is infested,” she said, studying the mess of debris and desolation that seemed to feed directly into the faint horizon in every direction. “Kryptonite readings are off the charts. There’s either a tower nearby, or mines just planted all over. Maybe even both, if i’m Iucky.”

Alex let out a harsh breath. “Look, I know you’re not going to leave until you find those people, but you better watch your fucking back out there, okay?”

“Hm… don’t I always though?”

“You ask that every single time, and every single goddamn time, I have to re-mind you of all—”

“All right, all right…” Kara said, rolling her eyes. “Just stop worrying so loudly already, jeez. I’ll keep you posted the entire time.”

“Like that was ever an option.”

“Love you too,” Kara said breezily, and she began her search.

She explored the area in proportioned sections, slipping periodically into x-ray vision, keeping her feet drifting an inch off the ground at all times. You just never knew these days. By now, Kara had stepped on enough lead-wrapped kryptonite mines for one lifetime, which coincidentally had been the same number of times it took to gray almost the entirety of Alex’s head. Or so Alex claimed anyway.

Apparently, over two decades of this sort of living could do that to a person: make them older, but also, steal away every last bit of their sense of humor.

Whenever Kara happened upon a particularly extensive blind spot—jagged slabs of lead piled on top of each other—she took her time. Carefully sifted her way through all that rubble, with a spare bit of rebar or her heat vision from a safe distance. Calling out to any potential survivors that could have been trapped underneath. But as she steadily neared hour two of her search, it was starting to look like a lost cause. That whoever had sent that distress signal must have since succumbed to the environment, like so many others already had done before them.

Then Kara heard it.

Whipping her head around, Kara strained her ears to their very limit, all the while silently cursing how muffled everything sounded in this godforsaken suit of hers. It took a minute or so to hone in on it, but she finally made out the distant voice.

Help us. Save us. We’re down here.

Kara snapped into action, already hurtling full-speed toward the source of the cry. “Alex, I found them.”

“About fuckin’ time,” Alex said, but the note of relief carried through the speakers loud and clear. It always did, of course, given the scarcity of such a feeling as of late. “All right, get them out of there, and hurry your ass up. You’ve already been out there for too long.”

The voice grew louder and more distinct as Kara approached it, and eventually, she could even distinguish other people in the mix—their whispers, the muted beats of their heart seemingly punctuating every word, and all the shallow breaths of air in between. She counted at least five separate individuals, five more lives that she could potentially save from this impossible landscape.

But by the time Kara reached the point where the voice was sounding from below rather than from the distance, her excitement had all but waned, receded back into the ever present anxiety hanging in the air.

“… Fuck,” she huffed out, staring at the large swathe of broken rock and dirt and twisted metal beneath her, the letter K spray-painted all over the surface in a faded green. “Alex. They’re in a mine-rigged shelter.”

“Forget it then. Just get out of there,” Alex said, all rather predictably. “We can send an extraction team with defusers in the morning.”

“But that’ll take too long,” Kara protested. “It would take days, just for a task force to cover all that distance, and these people need help now.”

“No. I want you to put down a marker and come right the fuck back home,” Alex said. “That’s your last kryptonite filtration suit! If anything happens, if you sustain even the slightest bit of damage out there, you could—”

Kara cut the feed and swiftly locked her comms from all available channels, employing one of the few tips Winn had passed onto her before he died. Because Alex didn’t understand. How could she, when she wasn’t the one who had to listen to these desperate cries for help from people just barely out of reach.

She floated outside the presumed blast radius, planted her feet firmly to the ground, and went to work. Uncovering the buried shelter bit by bit, one sizable mass of charred rubble dug up after the other. It wasn’t easy. The kryptonite in the area, though not exposed, was much too close for comfort even through her suit. And it made the sun hotter, everything heavier, and Kara’s progress as slow as it could possibly be.

But all that—the sweat gathering on her brow, the soreness burning up her lower back—was a very small price to pay when weighed against the lives of at least five people in need. So, Kara kept going. She kept burrowing deeper into the earth with her bare hands, until the sun was but a small twinkle above her head and her fingertips were brushing against a patch of warmed metal.

And she could hear them better now. They were so close.

Kara pressed her palm against what had to be the outer wall of their shelter. “Hey, can you hear me in there?”

“Please help us!” came the frantic response, only somewhat muffled now. “Please get us out! We can’t breathe in here!”

“Okay! Okay… I’m gonna get you out, okay?” Kara shouted back, heart thumping hard in her ears. “Just… hang on.”

A quick once-over was all it took to determine that the wall before her—like most other surfaces nowadays—was naught but a few inches of commercial steel, coated in a thin layer of lead. And as such, all it would to take, of course, to break into such a structure was—THUNK!—a single punch from the Girl of Steel herself.

Kara ripped a hole in the wall, using her heat vision to melt down the edges as she tugged the entire thing apart. Eventually satisfied with her efforts, she was just about to crawl through her rather crude but functional doorway when the speakers in her helmet abruptly flipped back on.

“—him back to life, and just… throttle him for showing you that trick!” Alex was practically hollering in her ear. “Why would you ever need to do that anyway? The whole frickin’ point of the—”

“Whoa, Alex, Alex, it’s fine! I’m fine! Just shh!” Kara hastily cut her off. “I’ve pretty much got my foot in the door already, okay? So, I’m helping these people whether you like it or not.”

“Yeah, you fucking better,” Alex said with a scoff. “I want to look these people in the eye while you explain to me what was so goddamn special about them that you had to…”

And Kara barked out a laugh, shaking her head in wonder as Alex continued to chew her out in a way that only sisters could, apparently. “Hey, you can do whatever you want, okay? Just let me bring them home first.”

“Fine. Just don’t kill the comms this time.”

“Oh, I would never.”

“Kara, I fucking swear to—”

But the rest of all that swearing quickly faded into the backdrop, as Kara finally poked her head into what should have been just another underground refuge from everything their world now had to offer. Because ten feet below from where she had burrowed her way in, was not a handful of dehydrated people waiting to be rescued—only masses upon masses of thick coils and plates of smooth black metal shifting about.

That’s when Kara realized that it’d been quite some time since she’d heard a cry for help. And soon after that was when a muted click! sounded, then somewhere down there in the midst of all that darkness and mechanical movement, came another loop of voices calling out to her.

“Oh shit…” Kara whispered, and at least ten sets of glassy eyes flicked up to stare at her. The pre-recorded voices immediately cut out, and the entire room lit up in a vibrant green as the machines all powered up with a collective hum. “Shit, shit, shit, you were right!”

“Right about what?” Alex demanded, but Kara was too busy heeding her long overdue advice of getting the fuck out there to respond.

Kara burst from the ground in a flurry of dust and clattering scrap metal, already heading for the horizon at full-speed. She needed to put as much distance as possible between her and the decoy shelter. It was nothing short of an honest-to-Rao miracle that her sudden escape hadn’t tripped any of the mines on-site, but now, it was only a matter of time.

Still hurtling away, Kara threw a glance over her shoulder just in time to see the first three drones break through the surface, already mindlessly chasing after her. Then the third and the fourth crashed right on through after them, which abruptly led to a series of rapid beeping, which abruptly led to a violent disturbance in the air that stole away all the sound from the world and knocked Kara right out of the sky.

(next part here)

#sometimes it takes me 2 years to write one sentence #other times i bang out 3k words in one sitting #so here's the first half. the second half will be pt. ii... and will there be a third part? who's to say #my words.

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babyboy-cody · 3 years

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Hi I’ve recently stumbled across your new Dolan twin stuff and the way you write is amazing!! Are your requests open? If so can you do something w gray where he’s all soft and needy and cuddly and she needs to get school work done so she just sits in between his legs doing work and he plays w her hair etc etc.??

thank you!! and yes, requests are always open! ^.^

Finals week was possibly the hardest and most stressful thing you’ve ever done in your entire life on Earth. Studying for midterms during your junior year of high school, applying for colleges, applying for jobs, studying for your driver’s test - all of that was a piece of cake. You checked it off as though it was a grocery list, moving on to the next thing in order to finish your day. But finals week for your final year of college was a mix of Adderall, panic attacks, no sleep, and bitten nails and nail beds. You’ve never experienced such stress, and it worried not only you, but Grayson as well. You rarely ate, barely showered - he even had to buy you blue-light glasses because you complained about your vision being blurry and getting intense migraines.

He deeply and terribly missed you. He understands how difficult finals can be, and he supports you till the end. But what you’ve been doing is unhealthy. You don’t have a steady schedule to separate your academic life from your personal life, and it’s been causing lots of issues. You’ve been unintentionally snapping at Grayson, especially over the littlest things. For example, Grayson was incredibly sweet enough to clean up your desk area. He stacked your books in chronological order, neatened up your notes, wiped away dust that caused his allergies to spike. Accidentally, he misplaced your glasses. And you had a fit and nervously paced back and forth while biting your already bitten nails.

“Baby…” he softly spoke. “They’re over here.” And he had pointed to your side of the bed where he had put them. You didn’t mean to raise your voice, and you had broken down to tears, to which Grayson quickly pull you into his arms and hushed you quietly while giving you kisses. He understood and he never once held that against you.

Today, you had finished one of three finals. You had one thesis paper you had to research for and a chart project for your liberal arts class. So far so good, you mentally told yourself. Your laptop was open to numerous tabs as you had your books open in front of you. Highlighters, pens, and pencils were spread around the bed. Your back ached and you repetitively cracked and stretched your muscles. You desperately needed a massage, specifically from Grayson because he is the king of back massages. Just thinking about his large, warm hands kneading into your skin while whispered praise in your ears had you sighing softly and closing your eyes.

“What’re you thinking about?” You heard Grayson’s voice as he enters the room, holding a plate of vegan sausages, cauliflower nuggets, roasted potatoes that are seasoned so well that you can smell it from your spot on the bed. He holds a glass of cold green tea in the other and motions for you to scoot over. “You gotta eat, babe.”

Your mouth instantly waters as you take the plate and thanks him with a tired smile and a gentle nudge on his shoulder. Grayson observes you silently as you dig into the delicious vegan dinner he cooked. The small moan you let out as you continue eating. He almost wanted to do a happy wiggle because you were eating without telling him “one more minute” or “i’ll eat later.”

“I missed you,” he quietly told you, pushing you hair away from your face as it gets to close to your chewing mouth. He tucks it behind your ear with his thumb. He strokes the back of your head, smiling you when you nudge your head back further against his hand. “When you’re done eating, we’re gonna set a healthy schedule together, okay? And then you spend time with me for a little bit.”

You sigh quietly and hand him your empty plate. “Gray, baby, I’d love to… but I have so much work to do and have zero time to relax for even two minutes,” you told him in a quiet apologetic tone.

“Okay, it’s okay,” he quickly reassured you when he saw the panic in your eyes. He gave your cheek a few small kisses and put your plate and cup on the table. “I just… missed you, ya know.”

“And I missed you more.” You felt him sit behind you, legs on either side of your crossed arms. His arms wrapped around your stomach, immediately pulling you into his hard chest hidden underneath his Dolan Twins merch sweatshirt. “Gray..”

He whined deep in your shoulder as his arms tightened when you tried to move away. You stifled a laugh by biting your lip and looking up at the ceiling. He always got so needy when you didn’t give him enough attention. If you two are in the same room and sitting too far from each other, he’ll send you a text and look at you over the top of his phone, feeling giddy when you roll your eyes jokingly and get up from your seat to go to him.

“Just a few minutes,” his voice muffled behind your shoulder. You laughed at his childish antics and brought your laptop closer to you. Grayson was happy that you didn’t shrug him off. You allowed him to do as he pleased while you finished your small project. “So pretty..”

“Thank you, baby,” you laughed quietly when he pulled your hair behind your shoulders to braid it. You remember him telling you a while ago that he learned how to braid from Cameron. He was always a curious kid growing up and wanted to learn something new everyday.

Grayson hummed in content as he finished the braid and tied it with the small hair tie he kept around his wrist for his own hair, which is getting a bit long, but he knows you’ll throw a huge fit if he gets a haircut. He wrapped his arms back around you and laid his head against your back, eyes shutting and body slouching. The weight of him got more and more heavy, slowly pushing you forward. You tried sneaking a look over your shoulder, pausing your typing for a second. The movement made Grayson let out a sluggish hum.

“Baby, come lay down on my lap,” you told him, stacking up the books you didn’t need and putting your writing utensils into your case.

Grayson lets out a small “yay!” and quickly moves down next to your lap. When he lays his head down, he gives your thigh a kiss and wiggles his shoulders. You shake your head down at him and use one hand to slowly type while the other makes its way into his thick hair. The slow clicks of your keyboard mixed with the feeling of your fingers massaging his scalp and playing with his hair has him lulling to sleep. When you hear small snores, you look down and felt your heart melt. You quietly grabbed your phone and took a picture, his cheek smushed against your thigh and his lips parted.

When you posted it to Instagram, the caption was:

thank you for always supporting me and making sure i’m mentally here. i don’t know what i’d do without you. 💜 @/graysondolan

#this was really soft #im soft #grayson’s soft #we’re all soft #grayson dolan x reader #grayson dolan #this one is for bubba because she deserves soft grayson 🥺#grayson dolan fluff

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flickeringart · 3 years

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The conflict between Leo and Scorpio

I have written before about the signs that square each other in astrology and their conflicting energies. In this post I’m honing in on the Leo-Scorpio square. This conflict can play itself out within your own natal chart if you have planets in both Leo and Scorpio or between you and someone else. For example, if you have a Leo Sun and a Scorpio Moon you’ll experience this archetypal friction within yourself. Or, say that you are a Leo Sun in a relationship with a Scorpio Sun - then you’ll experience friction between yourself and the other person. I’m going go over hypothetical scenarios inspired by everyday life and my own personal experiences with this square. Needless to say, no one is only Leo and only Scorpio and people are more complex than these scenarios reflect. But it’s sometimes useful to simplify and generalize.

Scenario 1 (Leo Sun – Scorpio Sun)

Leo: Hello! Nice to meet you!

Scorpio: Hello. Yes, very nice.

Leo: I’ve met you before, although I forget where. Do you remember me? We must’ve met in school.

Scorpio: We sure did.

Leo: Yes, I remember now. Wow, so much time has passed, can you believe it? I was once a little kid dreaming about the day that I would go out and become something great. The big dreams one had, right? I wanted to be a dancer, do you remember? Well, I ended up pursuing acting… it was a long road, tough and tiring but so beautiful. I always tell people to pursue their dreams no matter what. Life has your back if you stay true to yourself. What about you, what have you been up to?

Scorpio: A little bit of this and that. I’ve worked in many different jobs and I’ve met a lot of… interesting people. I don’t stay too long in one place. I keep moving around. By always being the unknown figure it’s easy to stay out of trouble. People know that I'm just passing through.

Leo: Oh, yes, you always were a bit of a loner. I don’t see why though, I mean, why wouldn’t you take on the world, you’re very smart if I remember correctly.

Scorpio: Oh I have. Some people are just too stupid to see.

Leo: What do you mean?

Scorpio: My point exactly.

This is scenario illustrates the stereotypical Leo-Scorpio conflict. Leo is the king of the zodiac – it lives life as if it was an epic journey from start to finish. There’s a lot of romance to the fire signs and they want to experience the greatness of life – Leo in particular has a lot to do with trusting in one’s own birthright and personal path. Scorpio on the other hand is a sign that is secretive and much more suspicious than Leo. It’s not after attention or proof of specialness - it doesn’t necessarily have big dreams. The prime motive of Scorpio is to be in control of the process of destruction (which sometimes implies healing). In order to be the agents of irrevocable separation these people usually play their cards close to their chests. It’s always interesting to take note of Scorpios because they might not seem like much in a crowd, they stick to themselves and even if they’re outgoing they won’t reveal a lot about themselves. They always play by their own rules. Leos are similar in the sense that they “go their own way” but it’s done with the added flair of openly displayed pride and conviction. Scorpio goes about things quietly and strategically because they are extremely sensitive to the subtle undercurrents to the point of becoming uncomfortable staying in one place for too long. They want to be able to leave if a situation becomes too “threatening”. It’s not that Scorpios can’t handle intensity; they just want to know that they're choosing it.

Scenario 2 (Leo Sun – Scorpio Moon combo)

Leo-Scorpio: If you want we can spend some time together this weekend. I heard that you were free.

Friend: I would love to. It’s just that I’ve already made plans.

Leo-Scorpio: That’s fine, we’ll catch up next time… what are you up to?

Friend: Oh, nothing much. I’m just hanging out with some friends.

Leo-Scorpio: I see. (deadly silence and intensity building)

Friend: Next weekend should be fine.

Leo-Scorpio: Why don’t I just tag along? It should be fun, right?

Friend: Sure, you can come, if you want to.

Leo-Scorpio: You don’t want me there… (strategic concealment of feelings and sharpening the tone); You know what, I’ve better things to do! Have a nice time, no hard feelings. (how dare you reject me, I’ll make you pay for this)

Friend: Sure I do! Don’t be silly! Now you have to come along or else I’ll feel bad!

Leo-Scorpio: I didn’t want you to feel bad (yes I did), I just wanted to spend some time with you. You don’t have to make up for anything – I get it, though I’m sure you’d have a lot more fun including me.

This combo is a strange mix – both Leo and Scorpio are very prideful signs that don’t bow to anyone, but they are proud in different ways. The Leo Sun likes to express in a way that is generous and openhearted – it doesn’t want to react in a way that isn’t worthy of a king/queen and generally keeps its head held high even through rejection. In a sense, the Leo Sun has an attitude of “if they don’t want me, too bad for them”. The Scorpio Moon picks up on rejection on an emotional level and latches on to the pain of it. More often than not, the hurt is concealed or used to subtly undermine and attack the other person. Emotional attack is serious business for a Scorpio Moon - the person that ignorantly performed the rejection won’t get away without having to face some kind of retribution, however minor.

Scenario 3 (Leo Venus – Scorpio Venus interaction)

Leo: Come here - give me a big hug!

Scorpio: Why would I do that?

Leo: I just want to give you some love.

Scorpio: I don’t really want it like that. Maybe if you paid more attention I wouldn’t have to manipulate you into giving me the things I want.

Leo: Well, tell me then.

Scorpio: It’s of no use, if I have to tell you, you’re not tuned into my desires and that’s the biggest turn off of all.

Leo: If you’re not happy with the way I show my love I don’t know what to do. I can’t change the way I am for you – I’ll just have to find someone who appreciates my gifts.

Scorpio: Haha! Your gifts… What makes you think that anyone would want you? You’re so demonstrative and big in your gestures I don’t see how that’s supposed to be attractive.

Leo’s way of loving is very big and generous. Leo loves to be in love – even when a Leo Venus isn’t in a relationship or partnership it likes to make romance happen. It wants to sweep and be swept off its feet. Leo isn’t a sign that likes things humble – the grand spectacle must happen one way or another even if it has to wait for “the one” forever. Of course, Leo Venus can shower anyone with love but ideally it would be on someone that has a certain glow or radiance that sets them apart from “the rest” (in other words they should be relatively good looking). Scorpio’s way of loving is different. Because Scorpio is a water sign it wants to be intimately known and merged – theatric displays of affection don’t fly with this sign. Love should be passionate and a little bit agonizing for Scorpio – it doesn’t want light-hearted and “fun” love, it wants something much deeper and complex.

Subscribe to my Patreon to read the whole post and get access to more astrological content!

Posts about the conflicts between the signs:

Libra-Cancer

Libra-Capricorn

Aquarius-Scorpio

Aquarius-Taurus

Aries-Capricorn

Aries-Cancer

Leo-Taurus (available on Patreon)

Gemini-Virgo (available on Patreon)

#scorpio sun #leo sun #leo venus #scorpio moon #squares #fixed squares #fixed signs #scorpio #leo #water signs #fire signs #squaring signs #squares in astrology #astrology #tumblr astrology #zodiac signs #planets in astrology

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peachyqueenly · 2 years

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PLEASE elaborate on sea n pom parallels I'm so curious

OKAY SO

Quick shout out to this post and @pomegranatecookiez cause he put it so eloquently. I'll try not to repeat what he said too much but lknelksnfkl we'll see--

Also, putting this under a cut cause whoo boy did this get long--

To focus less on their relationships, Sea Fairy's relationship chart with Pomegranate was always fascinating to me and by god one day I'm writing a fic of these two interacting. But the gist of things is Sea Fairy seems to see her relationship to fate in Pom.

Sea Fairy and her powers threatened to plunge the seas into darkness or result in her becoming nothing but sea foam (which I could also go into the Little Mermaid parallels with Sea Fairy but that is for another post--), and yet someone such as she was still able to fight such a fate. Also, I have my own thoughts on why SF is the way she is but that's HC territory. So, she truly believe in her deepest of hearts Pom can change, and... that is because she sees herself in the priestess.

Basically, Sea Fairy is the legend most likely to give Pom the time of day and a second chance. Wind Archer would, let's be honest, shoot her on sighteth after the CotMT incident. Fire Spirit probably doesn't give too much of a shit, and I see Moonlight kinda be defensive for Sea Fairy since Sea Fairy is so forgiving. It'd take a while for Moonlight to warm up to Pom, is what I'm saying.

Their attachments to fate can also be read more generally as a metaphor for their WlW identities (again, will try not to focus too much on their relationships, that post put it great already). As their ties to fate, both good and bad, relate in some way back to how they love and attach themselves to others.

Pom's unhealthy devotion and '''love''' of DE can be read as her actually trying to define her own fate, despite it amounting to little more than unhealthy devotion. Something many WlW go through while trying to find a solid footing within their identity, albeit sometimes it goes wrong and leads to unhealthy habits. As is the case with Pom. She was convinced her previous life was merely holding her and others back and so rejected it in favor of a far more insidious methodology. I also have a lot of thoughts on Pomegranate society and the inherent WlW reading of it, but I will one day lay out my and my partner's thoughts on them in a separate post.

Sea Fairy meanwhile values the love she has for others, and particularly the first romantic love she ever had, above all else. Believing it to be something beautiful and worth sacrificing everything for. The belief in the right to love and the right to choose your own fate is a very loaded story arc that echoes many of the struggles gay people went through in achieving things like decriminalization and marriage equality.

This was unintentional, I should stress that I'm not giving devsis credit for this. But nevertheless it's something at least I've noticed as a lesbian myself.

Basically, their inherent parallels are directly related to their readings as WlW characters and again something I would love to see explored.

#cookie run #crk #cookie run kingdom #sea fairy cookie #pomegranate cookie #hoo boy this got long

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lesbianrobin · 3 years

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What do you think are the good and bad aspects of each season of ST?

ok 1. thank u for this question omg and 2. this answer may or may not be a mess, but either way it’s long (almost 7k words lmao) bc i’m insane, which is why it’s under a cut. it’s still by no means an exhaustive list but these are the things that just kinda came to mind.

also i realize you asked “good and bad” and i wrote this whole post as “strengths and weaknesses” which um. is not Exactly what you asked. but close enough <3 i also ended up including a lot of au ideas ksjdckmn bc like i personally hate when people say a certain plot or whatever was bad without suggesting anything that could have improved it yknow so whenever possible i tried to provide Some idea for fixing the issues i had with the show!!

season 1

strengths (this is probably gonna be the longest section but that’s because a lot of these strengths also apply to s2/s3 by default)

nostalgia and authenticity

this one’s pretty simple, but i think that season one did a good job of blending classic eighties media homages (such as the many many e.t./el parallels) with explicit pop culture references (such as mike’s yoda impression, mentions of the x-men, etc) to create a show that’s essentially dripping in early eighties nostalgia without it feeling too forced. before st, i think the most popular depiction of the eighties in mainstream media was that overly exaggerated neon scrunchie aesthetic from the mid to late eighties, and it was usually done in a comedic sense first and foremost. st took a different approach, instead focusing on the early eighties, a time that’s often ignored in favor of going either Full Seventies or Full Eighties, and i think that this choice likely resonated with adults who lived through the eighties and hadn’t yet seen something that felt quite so accurate to their own adolescence. a lot of young people who watched st were totally unfamiliar with this period of time, unfamiliar with books/movies like “stand by me” that st borrows from heavily, and i think st lent more seriousness to the eighties than most young people had experienced so far, and this was refreshing and interesting!

the use of dnd in the show is also quite genius in a way i’m not sure i can articulate?? it isn’t something Everyone would have played at the time, but it’s something that existed within a different context back in the eighties than it does today, and it really lent a sort of authenticity to the naming of the show’s sci-fi elements. like, of course these kids would name parallel dimensions and monsters and superpowers after these similar things in their favorite game! it just feels so real and it grounds st in our reality moreso than you might expect from the typical sci-fi or horror universe.

utilization of existing tropes

almost every single character in st clearly originates from some popular trope. the plot itself is riddled with classic eighties movie tropes. almost every single element of stranger things can be clearly traced back to some iconic eighties film or just to, like, overused horror/sci-fi/mystery/coming-of-age movie tropes in general. this might sound like a bad thing, but it really works in st’s favor! starting off with familiar tropes gives st the ability to easily create a lot of complexity and make a big impact by selectively deviating from those familiar, comfortable tropes!! while el’s whole plot, hopper’s character, etc, are all examples of this in action, i think the steve/nancy/jonathan plot is the greatest example. even from the start, the fact that good girl barb dies while nancy is off having sex with her asshole boyfriend is an incredibly thorough inversion of the most well-known horror movie trope in the book. how often do girls in horror movies have sex for the first time, walk home alone in the dark of night, and live to tell the tale? nancy and jonathan’s dynamic at first glance is a sort of classic “good girl meets boy from the wrong side of the tracks, discovers he’s actually got a heart of gold” thing, but instead of following this well-trodden path, st diverged. nancy is brash, impulsive, and at times downright insensitive. jonathan is angry, bitter, and actually a bit of a creep at first. while they have the capacity to emotionally connect and support one another, they can also bring out each other’s darker side, which is not what we’ve come to expect from that initial tropey dynamic.

in addition, steve, the popular rich asshole boyfriend, is actually... a human being! unlike the cartoonishly evil jocks that we’ve come to expect (especially from eighties movies), steve has complexity. despite his initial immaturity and selfishness, he’s also kind to barb, he backs off when nancy says no, he’s gentle and sweet when they sleep together, his first big Dick Move of the season is in defense of nancy, he realizes the error of his ways after the fight and does what he can to fix it, he’s worried about nancy when he sees that she’s hurt at jonathan’s house, and to top it all off, he ends up saving both nancy and jonathan’s lives when he could have just walked away, and the three of them all work together to fight the demogorgon. like... steve began as the most stereotypical character of all time, and by the end of the season, he had one of the most compelling and unique arcs among the whole cast!

finally, at the very end of the season, instead of dumping steve for jonathan as expected, nancy ends up getting back together with steve, and they’re both on friendly terms with jonathan. i realize that i just kinda. summarized s1. but my POINT is that i don’t think the dynamics between the monster hunting trio would be nearly as fun and interesting had the characters of nancy, steve, and jonathan not been set up to follow certain paths that we already had charted in our own heads. like, within the first couple episodes of s1, it’s pretty obvious that nancy and steve are gonna break up, nancy will get with jonathan, and steve will either die or go full evil or just never be seen again. like, duh! you’ve seen this story a million times! you know that’s how it’s gonna go! so, when the story DOESN’T go that way, the impact of each character’s arc and the relationship dynamics become stronger due to their unexpected complexity and authenticity.

distinct plotlines separated by age group

this one’s rather obvious, but the way that the adults in s1 were essentially in a conspiracy thriller while the teens were in a horror flick and the kids were in a sci fi power-of-friendship story and all three converged at the end... wow. brilliant showstopping etc. not only was it just really well done and unique, it also gave stranger things near-universal appeal. like, there’s genuinely something for pretty much everyone in season one!

casting

obviously this applies to every season sorta by default, but when i think about what made season one So successful, i always think about the cast, and not just winona ryder. yes, she’s absolutely amazing in the show and it’s very doubtful that st would be as big as it is today without her name being attached to it from the start!! however, i think the greatest determining factor in st’s success is the casting of the kids, particularly millie bobby brown. like... el is just absolutely incredible. she’s amazing. this has all been said many times before so i won’t harp on it, but millie and the other kids are all So talented and charismatic and i think their casting has been instrumental to the show’s success.

strong visuals

the way that multicolored christmas lights which have been around for decades are now kinda like. a Stranger Things thing. jesus christ. those lights are probably the biggest stroke of stylistic genius on the show.

atmosphere and setting

this is probably like. the least important one here for me sdjncdsc because i think s2 and s3 both had like Even Better atmospheres and shit but s1 was good too and it laid the groundwork!! i know a lot of people would have preferred st be set somewhere more Spooky with lots of fog or giant forests or whatnot, and while i do enjoy thinking about alternate st settings and how they might alter the vibe, i think hawkins indiana was a good choice. as the duffers have said, placing stranger things in a fictional town allows them more flexibility than if they’d gone with their original plan of using montauk, new york. besides that, i think the plainness and like... flatness... of small-town indiana just Works. like, the fact that hawkins is never really scary on the surface is a big part of the horror in the lab’s actions and their impact. hawkins isn’t somewhere that people just disappear all the time. it isn’t somewhere known for strange occurrences (prior to s1, that is). it isn’t somewhere shrouded in mist and secrecy. hawkins on its surface seems like the sort of place with no secrets and nothing to fear, and that’s the point! the lab is out in the open! it’s right there! everything is so close to the surface, yet so far out of the public eye, and i think that really works.

the byers family’s whole deal (specifically the joyce/jonathan dynamic)

this is going here bc i miss it so bad in s2 and s3. i’m not one of those people who believe The Byers Are The Whole Point of the show, because st is and always has been an ensemble, and el, hopper, and the wheelers are just as instrumental to the plot as the byers, but ANYWAY, i do think the byers were one of the most interesting aspects of s1. joyce’s difficulties with supporting her sons as a poor and (implied mentally ill) single mother, jonathan’s stress as a result of having to earn money, care for his brother, and keep the house in order when his mother is unable to do so, and the resulting tension between them when will’s disappearance and supposed “death” brings the situation to a tipping point? holy shit! it’s so good! that argument after they see will’s “body” is just incredible and gut-wrenching. their relationship feels so real and messy and i think it’s just... good. also winona ryder REALLY acted her heart out and she carried a lot of s1 which i think people often forget to mention so i’m saying it here.

weaknesses

pacing/timing

ok so pacing is probably going to go in each season’s weaknesses, to be honest, because i think they all had a blend of some good and some bad pacing. good pacing is invisible pacing, though, so i probably won’t be putting it in any of the strengths sections and will only be focusing on it in the weaknesses. i’m also probably not going to talk about weird day/night cycle things, just because i don’t want to get nitpicky on timelines because that would require going back and rewatching things to double check timing which i don’t wanna do at the moment lmao. anyway, when i think of bad pacing in season one, i primarily think of two things: nancy’s little trip into the upside down and subsequent sleepover with jonathan, and the sort of staggered nature of the climax in the final episode. the latter is simple so i’ll explain it first: while i understand that each group’s respective climax is like part of a chain reaction and that’s why each big moment happens separately and at different times, i think that st is strongest when the whole group is together, and i think that makes the stakes feel higher too, so i’m not In Love with the way s1 separated everyone and gave each group their own climax.

okay, now on to the nancy/upside down thing! idk if i’ve ever talked about it before, but i think the worst decision made in s1 by far is the inclusion of nancy’s brief trip into the upside down, wherein she dives headfirst into another dimension with absolutely no backup, watches the demogorgon chow down, freaks out and runs around for a minute, and then leaves. like... what the fuck? even putting aside what an idiotic decision this was (because i do think nancy’s tendency to rush into things headfirst is an intentional and consistent character trait), it just kind of destroys any remaining suspense surrounding the demogorgon and the upside down, and it accomplishes basically nothing besides scaring nancy enough to have jonathan sleep over, which is lame. i will break it down.

like, first of all, nancy just getting to waltz in and out of the upside down and get a good, long look at the demogorgon makes the entire thing far less mysterious, and by extension far less scary. like... before this scene, we the audience haven’t got a good look at the demogorgon. we’ve seen its silhouette briefly and we’ve seen a blurry picture of it, but nothing more, and i think that is far more effective at building fear than this jaunt nancy goes on which gives us a full view of the thing and makes it into less of a horrifying nightmare and into more of a humanoid animal. like, maybe this is just me, but i found the demogorgon far less intimidating after that scene than before. it also lets nancy and jonathan know For Sure that they’re right without providing any crucial information that they need to fight the demogorgon (aka it’s unnecessary to the plot), which removes a very compelling story element (the faith nancy and jonathan need to have in order to keep going against a vague and poorly understood enemy, the doubt they might have about each other and their own sanity, the possibility that they might be wrong, the trust they need to have in each other) a bit earlier in the plot than i believe is ideal. at the end of episode 5, nancy goes into the upside down and jonathan doesn’t know where she is and it’s intense!!! you’re thinking like, oh fuck, not only is nancy missing and fighting for her life now too, jonathan might be implicated in her disappearance!! some people already think he’s the one who killed will and people know that he took creepy pictures of barb and nancy before they both disappeared, maybe this is gonna cause some serious problems for him!! maybe nancy will find will in the upside down and she’ll help him survive!! fuck, maybe she’ll actually die!! this is huge!! and then episode 6 starts and they’re immediately like oh nevermind jonathan found the tree and got nancy out and she’s fine. my point with all of this is that nancy entering the upside down could have done A Lot in the grand scheme of the plot, but all it did was just... get jonathan to sleep over so he and nancy could have some awkward romance moments and steve could see them together and pick a fight. which could have honestly happened at Any point while nancy and jonathan were working together to hunt down the demogorgon, without ruining the demogorgon’s and the upside down’s mystique. so yeah <3

weird behavior and dumbass decisions that make no sense (aka the whole camera thing)

gonna go off about the teen plot again sorry but: why was nancy so unbothered and quick to forgive jonathan for taking those pictures? girl what the fuck are you doing? why wasn’t that a bigger deal? why was jonathan’s motivation for doing it so weak and why did they just kind of forget about the whole thing? why did nancy TRACK HIM DOWN AT THE FUNERAL HOME while he was PICKING OUT HIS BABY BROTHER’S CASKET to be like hey can you tell me what’s in this creepshot you took? it’s insane. it’s so insane. i mean i think the funeral home thing is hilarious and i don’t mind it being in the show necessarily but like my point here is that i think a lot of character decisions in s1 just kind of.. happened because they Needed to happen for the plot. like, they wrote this plot that required jonathan to be secretly taking pictures of the party and required him and nancy to work together after seeing something odd in the pictures, but they didn’t like... really consider what that event would mean for their characterization and relationship. the whole thing was sort of just dropped with minimal discussion and i think it did both nancy and jonathan’s characters a disservice and was really mishandled.

lighting and saturation/color grading

i am literally begging horror/sci-fi shows to let me see shit. i GET IT okay i understand that when you’re doing cgi effects it helps to keep the lights down and i’m not mad at any of the lighting in the demogorgon/upside down scenes!! i’m really not i think the demogorgon scenes in s1 all look sick!! but like... dude. the colors. where are they. why does everyone look like a vampire. i know blah blah this was probably an intentional stylistic choice intended to mimic film at the time blah blah but dude a lot of old movies are very colorful!! please just let people have color in their faces so everyone doesn’t look like a sheet of paper!!! also i’m white and not a professional lighting designer so yknow grain of salt but i think lucas was kinda poorly served by the lighting sometimes in s1. not Hugely so, not to the degree that i’ve seen poc be poorly served by lighting in other shows, but there were some times where it felt kinda like the lighting setup was just not designed with darker skin in mind.

horror

i just personally don’t find s1 very scary like... ever. i don’t think they were really Trying to be extremely scary yknow so i’m not counting this as a big deal, but i do think that each season has improved on the horror aspects. i think s1′s horror lies more in the mystery and the unknown than in what’s seen onscreen, and as i’ve said already, i think s1 kind of fumbled that suspense ball.

season 2

strengths

the possession plot

i’ll warn u rn this whole s2 strengths section is probably gonna be really short bc idk like. how much there is to really say i feel like it’s all so self-explanatory skjncmn. anyway yeah the possession plot!! eerie as fuck, and noah OWNED. so did winona tbh and finn and sean etc but like. noah. wow! i think the possession plot helped the show maintain a good amount of tension and suspense throughout the season, and a lot of scenes with possessed!will are flatout disturbing to watch. in a good way. i think the mindflayer and will’s possession were far more genuinely frightening than s1′s demogorgon, and it provided a new layer of depth and intrigue to the antagonist besides just “bad monster want eat people.”

tone and aesthetics

halloween season... literally halloween season. halloween season. that is all.

actually i will elaborate a bit and just say that i think s2 did a good job of having the sort of foreboding vibe that s1 was often going for, but without the annoying darkness and desaturation. so points for that.

also st2 is like one of the best Autumn pieces of media ever like it just. like steve and dustin on those train tracks with the fallen leaves all around them.... god. god the vibes are unparalleled. all of the halloween stuff also really contributes to the nostalgia st runs on yknow it makes you think about childhood and trick-or-treating and you kind of get transported like damn... i remember going to the rich neighborhoods to score the good candy..... idk i just think the whole thing is incredibly effective.

“babysitter” steve

by sending nancy and jonathan off together, the show created a problem: what to do with steve? this problem pushed them to create the unconventional and unexpected duo of steve and dustin, and the world is so much brighter for it. seriously though we all know steve and dustin are great i don’t need to argue that point. all i’ll add is that i think allowing steve to grow in this way, serving as a mentor figure and becoming genuine friends with someone so unexpected, really took the originality of his character to the next level. no longer content just to defy his archetype, in s2 steve begins branching out in ways that never would have been considered in s1, creating an incredibly complex and interesting person from the sort of character that most shows would have simply written out or killed off for convenience’s sake. and it works and steve and dustin are such a joy to watch and i love them. <3

the lucas/max plot

so first of all max mayfield is the most perfect baby girl on god’s green earth and idk what i would do without her but anyway. i think lumax is the best romantic relationship in the show and not just because they’re the only ones with like an age-appropriate approach to the whole thing. it’s also because their relationship accomplishes more than just putting the two of them in a relationship!! lucas and max spending time together motivates billy to do his evil shit, providing more conflict in the narrative, and it also helps establish max as part of the group in a relatively natural way while giving both her and lucas a great subplot. lucas (and dustin) has a crush on the new girl, they start spending some time together, and lucas ends up needing to decide whether he’ll keep the secret of the upside down and lose her, or risk both of their lives by telling her the truth. that’s a pretty big, character-defining decision that he gets to make!! max has to choose whether to trust this boy she barely knows and endanger herself, or to walk away and stay safe, yet another great character-defining choice that also contributes to the sense we get as an audience of max as somebody who’s incredibly lonely and desperate for love and connection. this post is way too long already and i have a ton more to say so i’ll stop now but yeah i think lumax really Works in the show without ever distracting or detracting from the overall plot and narrative in the way that some other ships (coughjancycough) often do.

balance between the normal and abnormal

s2 i think did a pretty solid job of melding daily life with more fantastical sci-fi horror elements. i enjoyed seeing so much of the kids at school in the first few episodes!! you really get a strong sense of where they’re at in life, what their daily lives are like, and you get a sort of gradual shift into madness that makes everything feel more grounded than i think it would if they had just leapt straight into the horror shit, yknow?

the el and hopper dynamic

go back and rewatch s2 and tell me that’s not one of the most moving portrayals of parenthood and trauma and growing up that you’ve ever seen. you can’t. or well you can but i won’t listen. i really can’t imagine stranger things without el and hopper’s relationship, and it’s my absolute favorite part of s2. their whole dynamic is so beautiful and complex, and gives them each amazing personal arcs in addition! the black hole scene is literally one of the show’s greatest moments of all time. any given scene between the two of them in s2 is just guaranteed to be heartwarming as well as heartbreaking, and i think that makes for an incredible show.

weaknesses

flashbacks

okay this applies to Every season they All have too many flashbacks but in s2 specifically... please stop showing me shit from season one. i watched it. i know what happened. you don’t need to spoon feed everything to me!! flashbacks can be a really helpful way of delivering information to an audience, but st has a bad habit of not only being kinda demeaning in how often they flash back to shit that the audience already knows, but they also have a bad habit of using flashbacks almost as a crutch to avoid having to deliver information subtly and naturally.

you know i gotta say it... the lost sister

this is so sad. the lost sister really is like a great concept for an st episode, and i’m not mad about the idea of st taking a break from the normal action to focus on one story for a full episode, but the execution of it was just dreadful. kali and her crew feel very over-the-top and stereotypical, and its placement in the season totally kills the tension and excitement that was built in “the spy.”

i think the lost sister honestly could have gone over far better, even with the stereotypical fake-feeling gang kali has, if they had just swapped it with “the spy” like... ok, the end of episode five has el setting off to find kali and will collapsing on the ground seizing. right? imagine if, instead of immediately following will to the lab, we’d followed el. we don’t know what’s happening with will, but it’s a very simple cliffhanger that leaves us on edge without making us feel cheated by the show cutting away. we follow el on her little journey, everything happens much the same as canon, and then at the end, el sees hopper in scrubs. she sees mike, screaming, sees that they’re both in danger. holy shit!!! what the fuck!!! what’s happened since we left will seizing on the ground??? we feel el’s fear and confusion. she decides to go home. and then... boom. “the lost sister” is over. now, we rewind, right back to will seizing on the ground, and “the spy” commences. we learn how they got into the danger that el saw in the end of “the lost sister,” and we sit on the edge of our seats all through “the spy” and “the mind flayer,” KNOWING that el is on her way back to save them but not knowing when she’ll arrive!! idk i don’t think that would have necessarily saved lost sister but i think it may have alleviated some of the issues that i and many others have with it, timing-wise.

the nancy/jonathan sidequest

once again, the idea of nancy going off on her own little mission to find justice for barb after s1 is like. amazing. genuinely i love that plot for her and i can’t imagine anything better for her to have focused on in s2. unfortunately though i think her and jonathan’s little trip to see murray was just kind of... lame. the whole thing just felt like an excuse to get the two of them alone together, yknow? which is fine i guess people contrive all sorts of situations to get characters alone together for romance reasons but in this case i think it just really doesn’t work for me because of what it’s juxtaposed with. like, will is POSSESSED, and jonathan is just off on a mini road trip and sleeping with his bestie, and jonathan never seems to communicate to joyce/will that he left town, and joyce never like... thinks to tell him that will is like sick and fucked up and they’re looking at him in the lab??? like it’s so weird i know joyce always forgets about jonathan when shit’s happening with will but jfc you’d think at some point in that like... 72-ish-hour period where jonathan was out of town she would have thought about him. like at least once. maybe i’m forgetting something and she mentioned him sometime and i missed it but even still, i hate the juxtaposition of nancy and jonathan just like cheers-ing at murray’s place and sleeping together and whatnot while everyone else is dealing with possession or trying to hunt down dart yknow? it feels really boring in comparison and i think it could have been done far better. like it was SO insanely easy for them to get into the lab and get an admission of guilt and escape with it!! i think it might have been a lot more engaging if maybe someone from the lab tailed them to murray’s place and they had to like lose the tail and race to get the recording out to as many news outlets as possible before they got caught, or something like that. the tension in their plotline is completely resolved in episode four!! episodes five and six are just them screwing around and addressing envelopes. while there were a lot of strong ideas in this plotline (i really enjoy nancy going out of her way to get justice, and the fact that they have to water down the story to make it believable), i just think the focus on nancy and jonathan getting together hindered it a lot without adding a ton to the plot or their individual characters.

season 3

strengths

starcourt mall as a setting

while i don’t think the mall was utilized quite to its full potential (something i could make a separate post about if anyone’s interested), i do think that starcourt was a genius addition to the series. i’ve said this before, but building a new mall is a literal Perfect in-universe justification for a significant leap forward in fashion and aesthetics, and it provides a great location for characters to just... be characters. idk how else to articulate this i just think that the mall is a great setting to let people interact with each other and to bring people together who may not have been otherwise (i.e. scoops troop). not to mention how sick it was to see the mall get wrecked toward the end kdjncdkm like they were able to do so much more with the mall in terms of like The Finale than they could with just the byers house or the cabin or the school or even the lab. i love all the back tunnels they run through it’s such a fun like acknowledgement of how this glitzy eighties mall is just a real place where employees get shipments and take out the trash and shit idk it’s all about the perfect facade and what’s hidden what’s underneath what’s hiding in plain sight etc etc i’m just saying words now. anyway.

willingness to experiment and go against expectations

gay robin. neon aesthetics. giant fucking meat monster. i know some people hate both the neon and the meat monster but i personally think they were kind of amazing and like. yknow regardless of personal tastes i think it’s impossible to deny that s3 had a lot of incredible visuals, and they’re all visuals that just wouldn’t have been possible if the show were too afraid to stray from its s1 aesthetic. robin being canonically gay (and her resulting friendship with steve) and the season’s striking visuals are two things that most everyone (besides like homophobes skjncdknm) can agree were great, right? and they were both departures from where the show began and what we all expected!! so yeah i think while some of the experimentation in s3 wasn’t ideal it was also that experimentation that allowed for some of the season’s strongest elements to come about.

the hospital sequence (and the season’s action/horror scenes in general)

this one is fairly self-explanatory. while they may have underutilized the “body snatching” element of the season, the hospital sequence with nancy and jonathan fighting off their possessed bosses did an amazing job of building tension and creating a genuine sense of really intense and personal danger.

in general i think that s3 melded action and horror rather well, particularly in the sauna test, the hospital, and when the mindflayer busts through the roof of hop’s cabin. horror can come from many things, and in this case, st elicited horror largely from the feeling of helplessness, and it was really effective for me personally. i think it worked better for me than s1′s brand of horror because it doesn’t rely so much on a lack of knowledge or a sense of suspense that inevitable disappears upon a second viewing.

the body horror we got in s3 was also really fun! that’s it i just think all the blood and guts and slime were fun and i would like more of them. once again, the impacts of body horror are less dependent upon the viewer being in the dark or unsure as to what’s happening, and as such i think it tends to be a little more effective at eliciting reaction in the long term.

timing and mechanics of the battle of starcourt/finale

i think the battle of starcourt is just fucking awesome, and beyond that personal opinion, i think it’s the most high-stakes and intense finale of all three seasons, and this is for two main reasons! 1. el is out of commission, and 2. (almost) everyone is in the same cental location. this means that (almost) everyone is in danger all at once, and they are all working together at the same time to fight the same threat. s1/s2 have their groups more fragmented for the finales, and while i understand why in each case and i wouldn’t call either season’s finale necessarily weak, i do think the centralized nature of the s3 finale just Works on another level. in s1 and s2, large segments of the cast are already perfectly safe by the time el dispatches the primary threat. in s3, however, everybody save for dustin and erica is still in danger up until the last moment, and el is seemingly (you can def debate how much power she still had in her when she peeked into billy’s mind and whether the memory broke the mindflayer’s hold on him or if she was actually controlling him to some degree) completely vulnerable. this increases the tension and raises the stakes, making the finale a real crescendo to fortissimo as opposed to a series of little mezzo forte moments. i hope everyone reading this knows music idk how else to phrase that my brain is stupid.

emphasis on friendship and adolescence (but in a different way than s1/2)

this is definitely a controversial one but i think that s3 really did like... show a side of friendship that had been more or less unexplored thus far in the show. el and max were amazing, and i think it’s really nice that we got an opportunity to see the kids have some growing pains as well as see them support each other through Normal Adolescent Stuff like boyfriends and breakups instead of just like. death and trauma. this is maybe just a personal preference, but i think it can be really enlightening and provide a lot of depth when you get to see how characters respond to normal everyday conflict and not just how they respond to giant world-ending conflict!! letting el use her powers for goofy teenage shit like spying on boys and messing with mean girls at the mall is not only fun for her and the audience, but it also really emphasizes just how much those powers are a part of el, making it that much more devastating when she loses them at the end of the season.

weaknesses

tonal dissonance

so this is like. obvious. but it must still be said! i won’t go on and on about it since we all know this so i’ll try to like talk about it from an angle people don’t usually? anyway. it seems to me like they were maybe a little worried about s3 being too dark. while the choice to really lean into humor was definitely driven by the sorts of eighties teen films from which s3 drew inspiration (like fast times at ridgemont high), i think it was also done in an attempt to alleviate the more troubling implications of some events in the season, particularly the russian bunker plot. like, yeah, st can be incredibly dark, but if they’d played the whole “children being stuck inside of a foreign military base, tied up, tortured, and drugged” thing completely straight without the humorous elements that exist in canon, it had the potential to be like... disturbing on a new level. steve and robin don’t have powers like el yknow their kidnapping/torture doesn’t have any sci-fi elements to sorta soften the blow. they’re just innocent teenagers being brutalized and traumatized by grown men. so anyway yeah i think maybe the writers were concerned about this storyline coming off as too dark and they wanted it to be a little more whimsical but they ended up pushing way too hard in that direction and creating extreme dissonance at times. this goes for joyce/hopper/murray/alexei too, but to a lesser extent. i think the ridiculousness in that group felt a lot more like... realistic. but still.

newspaper plot

once again i feel like i don’t even need to say this skjdncmn we all know it was insane how the show basically ended up delivering the message “while misogyny is a serious problem poverty and classism are not” and i’ve said it on this blog a million times so i don’t need to repeat myself. i’ll focus on another weak point of this plot: the fact that it completely separates nancy and jonathan from everyone else. once again, the show’s preoccupation with j/ancy held them back! like... can you imagine a version of s3 where nancy and jonathan both worked in the mall? i have a lot of ideas about this possible au and like how the plot could play out differently if they worked in the mall but first of all it’s just more realistic, second of all it further utilizes the mall as a central setting, and third of all, it would bring everyone together. as it is in canon, nancy and jonathan were unnecessarily isolated from the rest of the group, and this isolation was detrimental to both of their characters. like, they only ever get to interact with each other! if they’d gotten summer jobs in the mall, they could have had more interactions with the kids/steve/robin, and they absolutely still could have had a similar argument! maybe in this case, nancy notices the rat thing (or something else odd) herself when taking out the trash behind the mall, and she wants jonathan to ditch work with her to check it out bc she thinks it may be related to the lab. jonathan doesn’t want to ditch work because he needs his job, nancy argues that they’re working shitty mall jobs anyway and who cares if they get fired, and we get more or less the same thing as s3 without the cartoonishly over-the-top misogyny. i mean honestly i think the rat shit could have been cut entirely it didn’t rly... accomplish much of anything. in my opinion. like imagine s3 without the rat plot you literally would not be missing anything except it would be more surprising when the dudes melted into goo at the hospital. so yeah i think it would have been better if nancy and jonathan had jobs at the mall, weren’t isolated from everybody else, and were maybe absorbed into the party’s plot or the scoops troop’s plot from very early on, allowing them to interact with more characters and have a less... dumb.... plot. like god splitting up nancy and jonathan between the party/scoops troop would have been So Much better i just. sdkjcnksdmn anyway yeah.

briefness of group reunion/separation of groups

remember in s2 at the beginning of “the gate,” where mike and hopper had a confrontation and max and el met for the first time and el hugged everyone and steve and nancy had their sad little moment together outside... where’s that energy? obviously the s2 reunion wasn’t that long either, but it made space for some significant emotional moments to take place. s3′s reunion had some hopper/el/mike resolution, but besides that... there was nothing, really. i just think that the whole group getting together in s3 was SO exciting and powerful the way they did it (with both the scoops troop and the adults having their own Big Moment reconnecting with team griswold family), but the emotional potential was more or less squandered.

i also think in s3 at times they were really stretching to keep everybody separated even though it made no sense. and like... in s1 the separation worked bc nobody else knew that (x group) was experiencing weird shit too, and beyond that, each group (as i mentioned in the s1 section) was sort of operating within their own genre and bringing something unique to the season. they’ve stopped doing that though! now, the groups aren’t separate bc each plot is tonally/structurally different, the groups are just separate bc... they need to be, because it’s a big ensemble cast and you can’t just have them all be together for a whole season or it would be way too difficult to coordinate things and keep the show dynamic. all this is to say that i’m excited for s4 because the location differences make it so there’s a Reason for each plot to be separate at the beginning, and i think that’ll work better.

general ridiculousness

i dont mean like i think it’s bad that they made jokes this is just me lumping in all the dumb shit like hopper not worrying about el and not wanting to check on the kids, him and joyce bickering long after they both know they and their children are in danger, max seemingly forgetting that billy is a racist abuser, etc etc. i think many of these are just a symptom of the show 1. trying desperately to keep the groups split up a certain way even though it may not make any sense, and 2. trying to fit into a certain genre/trope mold when their actual characters are more complex than the tropes they’re imitating. this is so fucking long already i am not gonna elaborate further rn but i trust u all know what i mean.

soooo... yeah, that’s about all! i mean it’s not all there are definitely many more things i could talk about and i know i focused sorta disproportionately on the teens which is my bad :/ but i’m done for now. thank you for asking, and apologies for the delay in responding!! i’m sure some people reading (if anyone read this far) will disagree with some of what i’ve said and that’s alright like i’m not The Authority on st or anything i’m just trying to talk about like my own thoughts yknow? so yeah luv u all i hope someone enjoyed reading this!!

#asks #em talks #lesbianrobin.canon #stranger things #if u actually read all this i love u and im sorry #these r just my opinions!! and im sure i misremembered some shit my brain is swiss cheese #i did my best tho

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