#i mean lots of things should have been added with seasons but anyway it really lokks fun!!!!!!

[nolita-fairytale]

don't want to walk alone | carmen 'carmy' berzatto x fem!reader | chapter one: june/july

summary: you and carmy plan a wedding like it's the opening of a new restaurant.

warnings: swearing, eventual smut, lots of tooth rotting fluff, marriage, no use of y/n, second person pov

wc: 3.4k

listen to: let's get married (bleachers cover) - mitski

a/n: the long awaited wedding FIC!! welcome to part four of the 'make my heart surrender' universe (four part series). this takes place a month after the end of 'still into you' but before the carmy as your baby daddy headcanon series (my carmy masterlist is organized chronologically, if you'd like to read in order). anyways, i truly adore writing for these two and feel it important to note that after watching season 2, i've realized this has just become an animal of its own -- its own universe/timeline/entity which also means there AREN'T any SEASON TWO SPOILERS! this chapter was inspired by a conversation from two months ago between me and @carmensberzattos so courtesy of us, enjoy some healthy relationship-future husband!carmy. also don't worry syd will be starring in the next chapter. i missed her too. lmk if you wanna be added or removed from the taglist.

masterlist | part two

"let's just get married, don't wanna walk alone, so let's get married, 'cause we don't wanna walk alone or runaway." (bleachers, let's get married.)

'I just want to be married to you' are the words uttered (first by you, you think, but maybe he said it first, you really can’t remember) that lead you and Carmy to the decision that you should elope. Sooner rather than later, preferably, is what you both agree on. It’s not like you’re planning on having a big wedding anyways. How much work can a civil ceremony at City Hall and a nice dinner party afterwards be to pull off?

Famous last words. 

You’re not sure how you’ve gotten from there to here, locked in a heated debate over menu edits with your fiance in the middle of your shared apartment when the sun’s just barely come up, but here you are.

“I’m just saying that we should be open minded and leave room for his artistic integrity!” Carmy passionately argues, winding you up as he makes his case. 

“Artistic integrity? Carmy, are you kidding me right now? I-!” you fire back, shaking your head incredulously. “We said we were gonna keep everything chill.”

“It is chill!” he defends, matter-of-factly.

Oh, he’s just looking for a fight.

“There is nothing chill about a parm espuma and it certainly doesn’t belong anywhere near the carbonara!” you scoff, stubbornly. “I mean, the only reason he even brought up the idea of a goddamn espuma in the first place is because he was trying to impress you.”

Carmy’s jaw twitches in response as he grinds his teeth, a display of discomfort at the mere thought.

“He-he was not,” he denies with the kind of conviction of a five year old toddler who's sure as can be.

You shoot him a look. 

“Carmen,” you warn him. 

Sure it’s a silly thing to fight about, but there’s no malice in this argument. It’s all passion, artistry, and for lack of a better term, foreplay. You let out a sigh, softening before you rise out of your chair. 

“Baby, when are you going to admit that you’re kind of a big deal and that people want to impress you?” you level with him, making your way over to your very stubborn and very insistent fiance. You settle down onto his lap, before tucking a stray curl behind his ear as you break, giving the sweetest smile.

He laughs dryly, averting his eyes from you because he’s not sure how much longer he’ll be able to stand his ground (especially when you’re looking at him like that). 

You’re right. And he knows you’re right. 

And Carmy’s never been able to resist you for long anyways. 

A fox-like grin spreads across your lips and you know you’ve won the argument when you feel a pair of hands snake around your waist. 

“Don’t push it,” he warns you, seeing the look on your face as he shakes his head, finally returning his eyes to yours. 

You raise an eyebrow, “You like that I push.” 

He nods slowly in surrender, his face softening as he asks you:

“You really want to fight about this?” 

You shake your head with a laugh. 

“No, of course not! Of course, I don’t want to fight about this!” you exhale, sliding your hands over his shoulders to wrap around his neck. “But I do think that your new buddy is trying to impress us and that it may be wise for us to reign him in – clear the air on what it is we’re looking for.” 

A beat. 

“Don’t get me wrong. Of course, we can leave room for creativity… but I don’t want our wedding party to turn into some pretentious fine dining fancy party.”

“Well, we did meet because of some pretentious fine dining fancy thing,” he points out, giving your hip a squeeze. 

You giggle, “How could I forget?”

You shake your head once more, leaning in to press your lips against his. Carmy inhales deeply, enjoying the feel of your lips on his, your arms wrapped around his neck, the weight of your body on his lap. 

You indulge him for a moment, deepening the kiss as you feel your future husband relax against you, because you really are happy that Carmy’s made a new friend. 

Carmy had met a private chef a few months ago and had been trying to hire him for the restaurant for a while now. Wanting to work for himself, the chef had respectfully declined all advances, but he and Carmy had kept in touch, and it looked as if the relationship could potentially extend outside of the four walls of a kitchen. Since you both agreed that no one from the restaurant should work the party, it had been good timing (making a new friend and the fact that he was a private chef) and the right move for Carmy to ask his new friend to cater the wedding.

“Fine,” you resign yourself, pulling away from the kiss. “Derek can keep the liquid nitrogen but that is as far as it goes.”

Carmy shoots you a look – one that says he’s not quite convinced. 

“And I will be more open minded in the spirit of… artistic integrity. But I’m not changing my mind about courses. Family style or bust, baby,” you negotiate, a serious look in your eyes. 

Carmy thinks it over for a moment before finally coming to a resolution. 

“Deal,” Carmy nods with the same intensity as a ‘yes, chef.’

You nod too, completing the agreement. 

“I want it to be real, Carm. I want it to be us,” you reiterate, your voice soft as you make your condition loud and clear. 

“I know,” he returns, just as determined and committed to the idea as he is to you. 

You’re satisfied with the resolution – even more satisfied with the fact that you’ve come to it together. 

“You know…” he starts, something in his voice that you can’t quite make out, unsure if you’re going to like what’s about to come out of his mouth. “... it could be a perfect menu if you just let me-.”

“Don’t even finish that sentence, Carmen!” you interrupt, knowing exactly what he was going to say. 

You are so not playing this game today.

“You don’t even know what I was-!”

“Yes, I do! You are not catering your own wedding party,” you protest, adamantly.  

You know him too well. 

He laughs, shaking his head as he leans back against his chair, like he’s in high school again, and you’ve just caught him sneaking back into the house. 

“God, I love you! But sometimes you drive me up the wall, Carm,” you groan out of frustration, eliciting another laugh from his chest as you hang your head, resting your forehead against his shoulder this time.

“Such a control freak,” you sigh, against his chest. 

“Thought you like it when I take control,” he murmurs, beginning to leave kisses across your exposed skin. 

You giggle partially because it tickles, and mostly because of what Carmy’s said. 

“Yes. Yes, I do.”

You lift your head and Carmy kisses you again, this time savoring the way your lips feel against his for a little while longer – just long enough to remind himself that he wants to have the option to sneak away in the middle of your wedding party to have sex much more than he wants cater to be in control all the time. 

Sometimes, he thinks to himself, control is overrated anyways. 

Only sometimes.

“Okay, okay,” he mutters, letting go of the idea. “I’ll get back to Derek about final menu edits and make sure he knows that while we want him to be creative, we also want to keep it… you know….”

“Chill?” you emphasize. 

“Chill,” he confirms.

“Okay. Thank you, baby,” you smile softly, trying your best to enjoy the temporary moment of peace between the two of you. Carm squeezes your hip as you roll your eyes with a sigh, muttering an:

“Oh fuck.” 

“What’s up?”

You shake your head again, laughing incredulously before letting out another sigh. 

“Just wait till we go through this again with the cake.”

“Fuck!” Carmy shouts towards the ceiling, throwing his head back as you laugh. “Why did we say we wanted to plan a wedding again?”

“Well baby, I don’t think either of us can pass up on a chance to create a menu,” you giggle, leaving a few kisses along his jawline before you make your way up to his nose. “Can you imagine if we decided to have a full-on wedding? That’d be a freaking mess.”

He chuckles, “It’d be like opening another restaurant.”

“Yeah, pass,” you hum, so glad to have dodged that bullet.

-----------------------------------------

By the time you and Carmy are even ready to focus on the cake portion of said wedding-dinner-party it’s a month later. You’ve been through half of the bakeries in the city, you think, and something’s just felt off. You’re practically eating your words, as it dawns on you that you’re having the exact same thought as Carmy: that it could just be perfect if you were able to make it yourself. 

Then again, you remind yourself that a cake is an entirely different thing versus running a dinner service, so it can’t be that unhinged to have these thoughts, right?

But you and Carmy made an agreement, so in solidarity, you decide it’s only fair for you to make like Tammy Wynette and stand by your man. 

You’re grateful for the half day you have today (“Summer Fridays”, as it’s so fondly referred to around your office) – and the fact that you get to work from home. What it means for you is that today you can clock out early and pick up samples from the tenth bakery (okay, so maybe it’s the eleventh but truthfully, you’ve lost count) in the running for your wedding cake. 

You change out of your pajamas for the first time today, throwing on a slip dress and one of Carmy’s crisp, white Ralph Lauren button downs – worn layered and open like a cardigan – before you head to the bakery, and then eventually, The Bear.

The restaurant is closed for the afternoon, as they do a shift change over: some stay and take a break, others go home, let the dinner crew come in and take over. It’s different these days and while some days you miss it – the hustle and bustle of the kitchen, the sounds of an ‘all day’ shouted by the expeditor, the careful dance that is working in a kitchen – you remind yourself that you’re enjoying a half day, and that when you’d chosen to leave, you were ready for a change. 

After entering The Bear, you make small talk with Gary while he finishes turning over the dining room for dinner, catching up over the flag football league he’s recently joined – one, it seems, to be taken very seriously by all participants. You tell him that you’re here with wedding cake samples, and he’s more than eager to give you some space to set up, because who doesn’t love free cake? Mid-sentence, Gary gestures towards a table for you to set up on, as you begin to unpack your large brown paper bag. 

“Well, well. Look who it is,” Marcus calls out, as soon as he sees you. “Heard a rumor you were out here. You brought cake?”

“I brought cake,” you repeat as confirmation, turning to see your dear friend and mentee. “But don’t worry. I’ll be thinking about yours the whole time.”

He snickers, moving in for a hug. 

“‘S Good to see you, Chef. How ya been?” he asks, enveloping you in his arms for a tight squeeze. 

“Good to see you too, Marcus. I’m good. Had a half day today so… you know, we’ve just been busy with wedding stuff. But what’s going on with you? What’s new?” you answer, turning the focus back onto him. 

“Oh you know. The usual. Though, I’ve been workin’ on some new shit for Syd’s new menu when I’m not here,” he answers, a broad smile spreading across his lips as he talks about. 

“Jeez, Brooks. I know, Carm’s got ya busy. When the hell do you ever sleep?” you ask, as you shake your head. 

“I don’t,” he answers plainly. 

And just as you’re about to remind Marcus to get some rest, Sugar comes bursting through the front doors, her rounded belly full on display now that she’s had a chance to tell almost everyone the news of her pregnancy. 

“Hey! Sorry I’m running late,” Sugar says, announcing her arrival. “Got tied up running an errand and then I had to stop at the store for Tums. This baby is killing me with the heartburn these days. Fucking christ.” 

“Oh, no big deal. I haven’t even seen Carmy yet,” you shrug, as she mutters a surprised ‘oh’ and Marcus mumbles something about going to get Carmy. “It’s good to see you!”

“Yo, Carm!” Marcus shouts, heading back to the kitchen while you and Sugar exchange hellos. 

“Awww, it’s good to see you too, sweetie,” she smiles, pulling you in for your second hug of the day. 

This is something you miss about working in the kitchen: the camaraderie, the found-family, all the love. 

“Wow this is… quite the spread,” Sugar mentions, eyeing the cakes you’ve laid out on the table.

“Yeah… they had a lot of ideas, I guess,” you say with a shrug. 

Sugar shoots you an unconvinced look. 

“Okay, fine.  I had a lot of ideas…” you admit guiltily. 

“...aaaand no one is going to do it the way you want it to be done,” Sugar sighs in the middle of your sentence. 

“And they were more than willing to play. I couldn’t help myself!” you finish, defending yourself. 

“Well, your enthusiasm is one of the many things I love about you, but… yeah, this is a lot,” Sugar grins as she gestures towards the overwhelming amount of cake you’ve just laid out on the table. 

Regardless, Sugar really can’t wait to be your sister-in-law. 

“Speaking of… I thought this was just a small wedding. It looks like you’re preparing to feed the entire French Army during Marie Antoinette’s reign.”

“Oh it still is – small,” you answer, simply. “I went a little overboard, didn’t I?”

“Why go through all this trouble? You might as well have a small ceremony instead of-,”

“No!” you protest, hearing another voice say the same thing. 

“Sugar, we’ve already told you that we don’t want to do anything big!” Carmy adds, as soon as he enters the dining room. 

“Hey, babe,” he says, sending you the softest smile as he looks your way.

“Hey you,” you smile in return as he approaches you, giving him a short ‘hello’ peck on the lips. 

“Fak attack!” Fak cries out, as he enters the dining room. “Ooooh cake tasting!”

“Yeah,” you chuckle, as Fak is quickly followed by some of the line cooks that have just wrapped up lunch service. 

It’s then that you hear Tina’s voice, growling something in Spanish as Richie speaks way too loudly about god knows what, as Ebra follows behind, somehow in the middle of a story that has little to do with whatever Tina and Richie are going on about. 

You smile to yourself, because you really do miss this part. 

“I told everyone we were doing a cake tasting,” Carmy starts, gesturing towards the rest of the staff as they join you. “That cool?”

“Totally. We have more than enough to share,”

“That’s true,” Sugar says. "And I can't complain because the baby is reeeeaaally craving cake these days."

As everyone at The Bear crowd around the circular dining table where you set up the cake tasting, you all enjoy bites here and there, comparing notes, sharing reactions to each flavor combo. 

Earl grey & lemon. A classic red velvet. And of course, you had to get a little weird with the black sesame clementine combination you’d dreamed up with the pastry chef you’d been working with. 

“I think my favorite is the black sesame and clementine but I doubt it’s a cake everyone will like. Doesn’t have the crowd appeal we probably should keep in mind,” you murmur to Carmy as the two of you watch his staff go on about the tiramisu-inspired one. 

“Well, babe, it’s our wedding! We can do whatever we want,” he encourages you. 

“I don’t know,” you sigh, paralyzed with indecision. 

“The tiramisu one is good. I’m leaning towards that,” Carmy shares with you, eager to hear your thoughts. 

“Yeah, I don’t know. Don’t you think it’s a little too on the nose?” you reply, unsettled and unsure that any of these are right. 

“Why don’t you guys just let me make it?” Marcus interjects, asking the question he’s been wondering this entire time. 

“I-,” you start, unable to help the fact that your eyes begin to wet with emotion. “Really?” 

He laughs, glancing sideways at you. 

“Uh yeah. I’m a little offended neither of you did in the first place,” Marcus teases the two of you, though you know there’s some truth to it. 

You and Carmy exchange a look that says something along the lines of: ‘oh shit.’

“Well, we didn’t think you’d-,” you stammer, beginning to explain the why behind you and Carmy’s hesitation in the first place.

“We just thought you’d want to- that you should be able to enjoy the party,” Carmy adds, finishing your sentence, his eyes widening as he realizes that you both kinda fucked up. 

“Chefs,” he says, looking from you to Carmy once more, with a seriousness in his voice as he rises to his feet. “It would be my honor. And just because I’m makin’ the cake doesn’t mean I won’t be able to enjoy the party. I can do it in the days leading up to it.”

“Oh-, okay, yes! Yes!” you cry, leaping to your feet this time, as if you’re accepting Carmy’s proposal again. 

Richie rolls his eyes in response, groaning as he mutters something snarky to Fak, as Marcus pulls you into the biggest bear hug. 

“You all are a bunch of saps,” he scoffs, directing this next comment to Marcus this time. “You big softie!”

“Richie!” Sugar hisses, glaring the sharpest daggers from her eyeballs into Richie’s skull. 

“Oh fuck off, Richie,” you snort, with a laugh. “You’re just salty because… wait. Carm, you haven’t asked him yet?”

“Babe, I-,” Carmy whines, his eyes wide. “You just ruined the surprise!”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah ‘fuck’ is right,” he pouts, though he can never stay upset with you for too long. 

“What the fuck are you guys even talking about?” Richie asks, squinting as he looks between the two of you. 

You and Carmy share a knowing look, deciding that now is a better time as ever. 

“We want you to be our witness, Cousin. At the courthouse,” Carmy says, a soft intensity in his eyes as he answers Richie’s question.

“Jesus Christ,” Sugar snarks, with an eye roll as she realizes she’ll be stuck with him at the damn courthouse as well.

“Wh-?” Richie begins to ask, looking from Carmy to you, then back to Carmy again, tears welling up in his eyes as he realizes what Carmy’s just said. “You-? Really?”

“Yeah, of course,” you reply, in a well-duh kind of tone. “Plus you know I can’t get married without my Ava there.”

“And sign the marriage license and everything?” Richie balks, because he really can’t believe it. 

“Yeah,” you reassure him. 

“Yeah. I mean, fuck yeah! Fuck yeah!” Richie declares, even more sentimental than Marcus this time. “Shit, Cuz… Hell yeah, I’ll sign the fuck out of that marriage license as your witness.”

Tina snickers, exchanging a look with Sugar, and earning a glare from Richie. He lowers his voice, directing the question towards you this time: 

“Oh and uh… cool if Ava still sings “Love Story?” I kinda promised her she could sing a Taylor Swift song as part of my best man speech and she insists that one is about you and Carmy,” Richie asks, looking around suspiciously, afraid of someone else hearing. 

“Awwww, Richie. Of course,” you coo, only melting inside a little at the thought.

“What?” Richie snaps, realizing that he hasn’t been as discreet as he thought he was. 

Sugar snorts in response, earning a laugh from both Tina and Marcus. 

It’s Marcus’ turn to roll his eyes at Richie this time. 

“What?” Richie repeats, this time with a little more annoyance in his voice. 

Sugar smirks, firing back with a:

“Who’s the big softie now, Rick?”

#carmen berzatto x you #carmy berzatto #carmy x oc #the bear hulu #the bear fx #jeremy allen white #carmen 'carmy' berzatto #carmy berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto #carmy berzatto headcanon #the bear headcanon #carmy berzatto imagines #carmy berzatto fluff #comfort and chaos #still into you #make my heart surrender #dont want to walk alone

[rageprufrock]

Hi Pru, this is a career question... I am in my mid-twenties, female, not quite the most junior employee at my organization but treated often as one. The workplace is highly male-dominated, competitive, the older supervisors sometimes hilariously old-boys'-club, and the younger men (my age) mean well (feminist, etc.) but have their own territories to defend. For complicated reasons I cannot leave. I knew some of this coming in but am ashamed to say that

You’ll love this: my response is so late because I too girlbossed too close to the sun and have accidentally reached mid-senior leadership status at my organization and the past month has been the most hilarious cluster of fucks. Insert clown emoji herey.

ANYWAY.

I have a few thoughts on this one, and hopefully one, or some, of these are helpful as you're navigating your early career.

To address your most immediate question: is it meant to be this hard? I think "is it meant" or "is it always" are two different questions, and each with branching answers completely dependent on your field and profession. Some are notorious for early career hazing--banking, medicine, etc--and then the answers are that the suffering is a feature, not a bug, for these industries (this can be debated ad nauseum but you know what I mean), and then for many, many other professions, the answer is that while it's not meant to be this difficult, it still is, and that it's all we can do to survive it.

But setting aside the macro issues, of whether the role itself is objectively hard or if the environment you're in is objectively sub-optimal, the more nebulous and inescapable thing is that each one of us, individually, in our early career are undergoing one of many puberties and all its attendant implied indignities. I find it weird that culturally we don't talk about this much--at least not in Western or the Eastern cultures with which I'm most conversational--but think about it: in the first five to ten years of your working life, you're often simultaneously navigating a staggering number of life-changing systemic shifts that have a tectonic impact on your lived experience. I

For a lot of us, beginning your life as a working adult means you're likely moving out of your parents' home, which adds a huge amount to your mental load and financial burden.

For a lot of us, these early professional jobs are also the first time we're operating in a performance-reward system for which there is no clear rubric or understandable progression monitoring--there aren't any grades, and I can't tell you the number of people who I've spoken to in my career who have been shocked when they're told they're being put on performance improvement plans even though they thought they were doing fine.

It's like being sent to college with no class list, textbooks hidden in eight different departments run by varyingly helpful people, while trapped in an inescapable group project run by someone who seems just as frazzled as you are, and told "okay well you should need to bring me your completed degree by EOD Thursday." This doesn't even take into account your genetic assignment to play this entire game on hard mode by failing to be a cisgendered man in the dominant cultural demographic.

People who've had multiple jobs and career changes can attest, every new job, no matter how seasoned you are, is fucking exhausting. It's almost a joke among my friends at this point how often I change jobs, and every single time I do, there's at least a six month run where at the end of every day, I'm fucking spent. I couldn't calculate 1+3 if my life depended on it, because I've spent my working day so furiously trying to read the professional tea leaves and figuring out what the actual fuck I'm supposed to be doing--which, funnily enough, is never as clear as you would think! Even if you are at increasingly senior levels of responsibility! It's really fun and good! Your boss's boss's leadership team meetings? Surprisingly similar to when I used go get coffee during my break working at an ice cream shop to complain about our customers and equipment and boss! It's amazing how no matter how much changes, everything stays the same!

So I think in the end, my answer to your question is this:

Is it meant to be this hard? Depending on what you do, maybe.

But should it be this hard? Of course not. Life is short and lush and wonderful, but already so filled with challenges, and it's a shame that being rooted in capitalism, we're all forced to participate in a system that's so unbending and unforgiving.

But does that mean it's going to be forever? Or that you can't survive and thrive and have fun in the process? Absolutely not.

However awful you feel, however bad the job is, it doesn't have to be forever. This role you're in now may be just what you need to find your next, better, better paid opportunity. And maybe that one won't be the ideal for more than a year, maybe two, but that's why you keep an eye out and a keen focus on what you want, and what's most important, and like a shark, you continue to move and grow as you get clearer on where you want to move and how you want to grow. The person I was at 24 could not have imagined the person I am at 38, and I'm guessing that the woman I am today can't fathom who I'll be in another 10 years. Whoever she is, I hope she's still choosing to do hard things and--to the very best of her ability--having a good time in the process.

It's okay to cry about work. It's okay to cry at work, even though I strongly recommend that you do this huddled in a restroom in privacy because otherwise it gets messy--fairly or otherwise. It's okay and normal to do these things. It's okay and normal to feel like a fucking disaster, to feel--or to in actuality!--be categorically failing. It is okay and normal to hate and love your job, and to love money and hate the work. There is no right way to do this, and the only wrong way is to give up on yourself, or to create a situation where you cannot have the freedom of your choices or your future.

It's also going to get easier with time. Even if you don't feel it, every day you're getting more experienced, more confident, more discerning. Those microscopic, atomic changes in you accrue, and I'm sure if you're honest with yourself you can already identify how even today, you are a stronger, more capable person in your professional context than you may have been just a year or two ago. Even if you don't mean to do it, just the experience, the bruises, the callouses from throwing yourself at the brick wall over time will rewrite the person you are--if you do this with your eyes open and intentionally, all the better.

Five years from now, ten years from now, you might still find yourself crying about work. But hopefully you'll share the good fortune I have been privileged enough to have, and find yourself the type of good friends who say, "don't care during work hours, it's beneath you to give them the satisfaction--cry later," and actually have the wherewithal to follow that extremely correct guidance.

So anyway, it shouldn't be this hard, but it is. The good thing is, you're better and stronger than it is, and you can look forward to the day you get to look over the shoulder at all the worlds you've conquered as you get ready to do it all over again.

💖

#advice #career advice

[theteasetwrites]

The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon | S1E1 Thoughts

Okay I am gonna list all my positive and negative thoughts regarding each episode (I know no one asked but I feel like this is the only thing I am somewhat “qualified” to talk about ad nauseam on here).

⚠️ SPOILERS AHEAD ⚠️ do not read below the cut unless you’re okay with spoilers

Positive Thoughts

Norman’s acting is so good like?? Listen we all know he’s not Laurence Olivier and he doesn’t claim to be but goddamnit he nails the subtleties of Daryl’s expressions and conveys his emotions really well I think! I’m very impressed

Daryl hot

Obviously the cinematography, setting, and aesthetics are really cool. It’s both gritty but pretty!! I love the gothic architecture and how OLD everything looks, which is only exacerbated by the apocalyptic feel

Everyone in the cast is so good in terms of acting (well, I mean… Laurent is certainly there but he’s a child so we’ll be lenient)

Daryl hot

The walkers are great as usual. I love the burners. Really interesting! I’m kind of wondering if the “experiments” the people on the ship refer to relate to the burners? Maybe they’re making them like that idk.

I love the religious imagery. We have had cults and stuff in TWDU before but I don’t think we’ve had this Catholic vibe going on. I’m a sucker for anything nun related because I have a weird infatuation with them, so I’m all for it.

DARYL BATHTUB SCENE??? They put that in for the girls and the gays and we are LIVING for it

Daryl hot

Daryl is so reminiscent of early seasons TWD era with his witty lines and snark remarks. I feel like we don’t get to see this side of Daryl very often anymore, but now that he has his own show and is THE main character, we get to see those sides that have been neglected again. I also love how much he sort of scoffs at the nuns and their religion. Atheist Daryl we love to see it

It’s cool seeing people in France dealing with the same things our characters have dealt with since the beginning. It’s interesting to see these new parts of the world in this universe for sure

Daryl hot

I honestly just love thinking about how when Daryl gets home he is gonna have such a crazy ass story to tell everyone! It’s gonna be so cute to see him telling all the kids about how heroic he is and ugh yessss

Daryl deserves his own show. He deserves to be THE main character. People who said he can’t lead a show? Nah. Reconsider

I also love that Daryl MIGHT potentially save the world. Cool asf. And if anyone from the original series should save the world, I think it’s him.

Daryl hot

Negative Thoughts:

Okay. I have some very petty/subjective critiques. I realize a lot of you guys probably disagree with me but that’s okay! Don’t read my negative thoughts if you aren’t prepared to be annoyed with me lol. Once again, a lot of these are super petty/nitpicky

First thing that bothers me is that Daryl says he is from the Commonwealth. No. He is from Alexandria, thank you very much. Well, at least he should be. He should’ve been living at Alexandria imo but the finale didn’t really make it explicitly clear where he was living in that year time jump. Basically I just hate the Commonwealth because I have zero attachment to it and it’s just a stupid ass place that I wanna forget about

Daryl seeing Carol in his haze 🙄 … just annoys me solely because Carol annoys me. They could’ve just shown Judith because that would’ve made more sense to me. But don’t get me started, I don’t even want Carol in season 2. Anyway.

Laurent isn’t terrible but he’s kind of annoying in that “I’m so smart I know everything” way. Just very annoying smart kid at school who everyone hated vibes. Plus I just don’t think it’s realistic that he would be THAT smart just from being raised in a convent of nuns

I also fail to understand what they’re doing with Laurent. Is he just some kid that the nuns think is the messiah or is he ACTUALLY the messiah? Like are they gonna throw in a whole other supernatural religious element? Because Laurent conveniently knows Judith’s line from the finale “you deserve a happy ending too.” Right down to the letter. I find it cheesy as hell because I’m so tired of these blatant in your face parallels that are trying to be clever, which always involve children too like we get it children are basically the duck tape of TWDU. Don’t know what to do for this plot? Throw some kids in there!

Neither Positive nor Negative Thoughts:

I don’t trust the nuns. I think they’re gonna use Daryl to get what they want and they don’t really care about getting him home. Worse, I think it could be possible that Isabelle won’t let him get home. She already tried to keep him from using the radio. I’m not saying I hate her character or anything (I actually like her so far… as long as she stays friendly and not… overly friendly), I just think she’s way too invested in this “messiah” stuff to actually care about Daryl so I fear she will take advantage of him. We shall see.

Ok, those are pretty much all of my thoughts!

#twd: daryl dixon #the walking dead: daryl dixon #the walking dead

[scoobydoodean]

Adding onto the "John’s emotional outpourings" thought train:

I think it’s so interesting that in his final speech to Dean, not only does he applaud Dean for assuming the parentified and spousified role that he himself forced on him ("You took care of Sammy and you took care of me"), he also specifically praises Dean’s obedience and lack of self-advocacy in the matter ("You did that, and you didn't complain. Not once.")

Hearing John acknowledge everything Dean’s sacrificed for their family no doubt meant a lot to him, but I actually think it was very detrimental to his self-worth in the long run. It further cements the idea that Dean’s value is intrinsically tied to how useful he is to others, to how much shit he’s willing to take from loved ones without a word of protest, and to how much of himself he can give away. By the end of the season se see this idea culminate in him selling his soul ("At least this way, it’s like my life could mean something."), which is really just the natural extension of how his life and his body have always been treated as bargaining chips.

This is an interesting interpretation, Anon—not one I aim to take issue with, but since it's in my inbox, I'll share where my interpretation differs. It might be more in the sense of John's intentions.

I think there's a reason John opens with and mainly gives an apology—for being an empty shell—for Dean having to fill his shoes—and the majority of his speech being an apology and given within the context that John himself failed and that Dean had to fill his shoes biases me against interpreting the closing lines where he praises Dean's actions as him meaning to say that's where Dean's inherent worth lies.

JOHN You know, when you were a kid, I'd come home from a hunt, and after what I'd seen, I'd be, I'd be wrecked. And you, you'd come up to me and you, you'd put your hand on my shoulder and you'd look me in the eye and you'd... You'd say "It's okay, Dad" Dean, I'm sorry. DEAN What? JOHN You shouldn't have had to say that to me, I should have been saying that to you. You know, I put, I put too much on your shoulders, I made you grow up too fast.

To me, John is saying the opposite of that Dean's worth lies in being the eternal care taker. It's him saying that Dean deserved to be protected and cherished and comforted, and John utterly failed, and instead Dean had to pick up his slack—carry his dead weight—and that wasn't fair. He finishes with,

You took care of Sammy, you took care of me. You did that, and you didn't complain, not once. I just want you to know that I am so proud of you.

I take this not as John necessarily praising that Dean didn't complain? I take it as an acknowledgment that Dean is an actual person. The same way John knew Dean wanted a home despite Dean insisting differently to us and Sam in various season 1 episodes, John understands that what Dean does and what Dean feels are different things. Dean is not the mindless John robot Sam framed Dean as in 1.10. There's a reason Dr. Ellicot wanted to make Dean better in 1.10 and tried to ghost-lobotomize him (because Dean was angry—because he resented his family [1.06]) but there's also a reason Dean was able to resist his ghost-lobotomy long enough to burn Ellicot's bones.

In regards to being proud of Dean—I mentioned that I think John focuses on this because he saw what tipped Dean off that he was possessed by Azazel in 1.22. But supplying further context here—1.21-1.22 are about Sam and John both fighting to be the first one to die for revenge... and being willing to sacrifice each other. In 1.22, as they are about to enter the building where John is located, Sam insists that Dean not bring The Colt with them. He doesn't want to waste a bullet for John. Sam insists this is what John would want, and Dean says he doesn't give a damn what John wants. Dean sneaks the gun in anyway, and kills a demon who's beating Sam to death with it. That's what leads to the conversation about the the wasted bullet with Azazel!John.

Dean: You’re not mad? John: For what? Dean: Using a bullet. John: Mad? I’m proud of you. You know, Sam and I, we can get pretty obsessed. But you – you watch out for this family. You always have.

It's chilling that Azazel is the one to praise Dean, isn't it? And it's further chilling that that's what tips Dean off that this is not his dad.

Dean knows this isn't John specifically because John would not appreciate what Dean did for their family this whole episode—what Dean has always done in fact: keep their family afloat and keep them all alive while John was busy being stuck in his own head, burning with rage and vengeance... and even throwing blame at Dean. Dean got yelled at by Sam before he brought the gun in for wanting to prioritize John's safety over revenge, and Dean was ready to get yelled at by John too for prioritizing Sam over revenge. John would be too blinded by vengeance to notice or even give a damn that Dean saved Sam's life. John would tear Dean a new one for being the only rational person in the room—the only person who hasn't been swallowed whole by bloodlust to the point of not giving a damn about the rest of the family... and in a less extreme sense, this is how it has always been. Dean has always been unappreciated. So John shows a little goddamn appreciation for the fact that Dean kept them afloat— for the first time ever. Then pointedly—John's last act is to finally prioritize Dean's safety specifically over his revenge. He abandons the revenge quest that just one episode meant more than Dean or Sam's lives, and hands The Colt over to his mortal enemy to save his son. He chooses love for Dean over vengeance.

What sullies John's speech—what poisons it for Dean—is what John does right after. And this is what I meant about John "poisoning the well". John apologizes for putting everything on Dean's shoulders right before... leaving Dean with the bag for the rest of eternity. It isn't like John's going on vacation—he's going to Hell. But he still permanently makes Sam Dean's responsibility. He doesn't even tell Sam what's going on—he treats Sam like a child and makes Dean his permanent guardian, permanently foisting his parental obligations on his parentified son right after apologizing for allowing him to become parentified, and that ruins John's speech.

I think Dean selling his soul has several interconnected motivations, and absolutely—a gigantic one is Dean's parentification and the belief that he is disposable. Dean feeling disposable and like sacrificing for his family is all he's good for was never going to be solved by one conversation, but John's one conversation is also ruined, and arguably just makes Dean more resentful because John pushes at this scabbed over wound for Dean, making it raw, and instead of wrapping a bandage around it, he ultimately pushes his thumb in. However, also leading into Dean's demon deal is 1) Dean loves his brother. 2) Dean being made to feel responsible for Sam specifically for his entire life 3) Dean's believes he came back wrong and him being alive is unnatural (it's left a hole in his chest—he feels unbalanced—angry—off—almost monstrous) and sacrificing himself will restore the natural order and help him escape this looming monstrosity. 4) Dean is trying to escape John and Sam's expectations and demands—that he fulfill John's dying wish and make himself responsible for Sam by saving or killing him. In a disturbing way, it's how Dean is liberated.

By making the demon deal, Dean has fulfilled "saving Sam" through an very unintended loophole, and avoided "kill Sam"—a mandate Dean was perpetually haunted by all of season 2—that Sam was determined to enforce at every opportunity while knowing it was what made Dean want to die! Being responsible for the whole rest of Sam's life makes Dean tired—it's why he says he can't handle the weight on his shoulders—he can't handle the pressure and the expectations that he chain himself to Sam's destiny for eternity. He's tired. He just wants to escape... and he initially sees his demon deal as a light at the end of the tunnel—as a way to get away. It makes him feel good for the first time in a long time (3.01)... because he is freed of the burden of his family's expectations and demands. When Dean starts to explore why he doesn't care that he's dying... that's where he confronts his parentification and objectification.

#mail #season 2 #2.01 #1.22 #3.01 #john #i dont deserve what he put on me #parentification #dont objectify me!

[universitysunflowers]

So how are we feeling right now? (TBB Spoilers)

Episodes 10 & 11 may be some of the darkest we've seen this season. We all knew the storm was coming but wow that was such a dramatic shift. I definitely had some thoughts and realizations after watching the latest release.

Okay first off lets talk about the elephant in the room: Tech. A lot of people thought that Identity Crisis would be about Tech and his struggle with having been made into the shadow clone CX-2, but it was actually about Emerie (I'll get back to her in a bit). Even though we don't know exactly who that shadow clone is yet, I do think it could still be Tech. In episode 11 (plus 6 and 7) we saw a lot of hints towards Tech as we knew him in seasons 1 and 2; things like the way he spoke, his leg getting crushed, his flying, and his use of Cid and Phee to get to the others on Pabu. One thing that really stood out to me when he was on Phee's ship is the way he put his hands on the flight controls while downloading her data, almost like it was second nature to him, something familiar he did without thinking (I know this is a stretch but it really jumped out at me as a parallel to the countless scenes of Tech flying the Marauder, it just felt like him again). However there is a dark side to all of this. If CX-2 is Tech that means that:

Tech destroyed the Marauder; the ship that was a home and refuge for CF 99, both during the war and after the Empire took over. It was the one real constant they had in their lives and he would be the reason it's gone.

Tech destroyed peace on Pabu; a place where he and the others felt safe and grounded for the first time since Kamino. It also means he would be at least partly responsible for destroying the lives of everyone who helped and supported them in season 2 (CX-2 was ruthless in ep 11, they made that very clear).

Tech used Phee to accomplish all of this; a friend who trusted and cared about him and rest of the batch.

Tech would be the one who hunted down and eventually captured Omega, whatever that may mean in the future.

There are a lot of people who think that bringing Tech back would make his death meaningless, which I completely understand. Some characters should die and stay dead as a way of furthering the story and development of other characters. However, in this case I do think that revealing CX-2 to be a brainwashed Tech would have huge implications for the narrative. It would mean that one of their own was responsible for so much of the destruction we have seen this season, and that just because Crosshair resisted imperial experiments, does not mean that the others have similar abilities/plot protection. It would also bring immense emotional conflict into the rest of the season (however they might do it) and could be a deciding factor in the rest of the batch's fate; would they realize what he's done and treat him as the enemy, or would they see him and hesitate, possibly losing even more than they already have. Revealing Tech as the shadow clone would be incredibly dark, especially after all of the cruel and deliberate things he has done this season that contrast to the mild tempered and caring persona we previously knew (even if he didn't always show his feelings outright). While I do think there is a possibility that he is dead and not coming back, I definitely would not put it past the writers to do something so drastic as a way of adding to the season's narrative value with a conflicting and completely jarring revelation that would have so many significant implications for so many main characters. I did not mean for this post to be so long but let's keep going anyway.

Some other more general realizations I had:

As of right now, Hunter and Wrecker don't know that Omega was taken again. That said, we might not see them finding out and the next episode could definitely jump ahead like they have done with other significant moments like Crosshair's return.

Crosshair could be blamed for letting Omega give herself up and missing the shot to put a tracker on the ship, especially if they never see her again (but I'm choosing to believe that won't happen). There is no way Hunter wouldn't have something to say about that, even after they have mostly patched things up over the last few episodes. This also contributed to the tone of the episode 11 ending; he missed the shot, meaning they have no way of tracking her and are no closer to finding Tantiss. It was a very bleak note to end on in general, not at all like some hopeful purpose driven endings we have seen previously.

Just because Omega gave herself up does not mean that the Empire is going to leave Pabu intact. She distracted CX-2 by letting him take her back to Tantiss but the other troopers were still there, and I doubt they will just pack up and leave without a fight now that Omega is back in their control.

There are only 4 episodes left; what if they don't reveal CX-2's identity at all, and just leave us guessing (I still think there could be merit to the possibility of it being Cody or a Crosshair clone but that gets less likely every time we see him). Or worse, what if they keep hinting at it to make sure we know who he is, but never give us proof; instead just leaving us with the knowledge of what happened to Tech, and what he has done, without any other closure.

Ok let's talk about Emerie. I was definitely not expecting her to be the focus of Identity Crisis, but I thought that was a really interesting twist. We haven't seen her in a while so it was nice to get her perspective, and to get a better idea of what project Necromancer is all about (though I am still not totally sure where they are going with that so I'm reserving my judgments until later). As the title implies, she is definitely starting to question her place with Hemlock and the Empire, and I am also wondering how she is going to react to Omega being captured again, especially knowing what she knows now. I definitely think Emerie will be more sympathetic towards Omega's independence and desire to help the other clones. We might even see the two of them working together on a future escape attempt? Overall I enjoyed episode 10 and I am glad Emerie is finally getting her moment to contribute to the plot, especially after her importance was so obiously revealed in Crosshair's escape attempt during season 2.

I'm sorry this got so depressing but unfortunately I think that is what we can expect for the rest of the season unless something really unexpected happens. Also if you read that entire novel then thank you I swear I didn't think this post would be so long when I was writing down my thoughts earlier but here we are.

#the bad batch #star wars #tbb spoilers #the bad batch season 3 #tbb #clone force 99 #tbb tech #tbb emerie #tbb omega #star wars the bad batch

[zalrb]

Halllo Zal!

I don't know if you finished Derry Girls (if you haven't seen 3×04 stop reading) or if you already answered this question (in which case could link it to me, I couldn't find it). If the answe to the first thing is yes and to the second is no:

What do you think of James and Erin?

For me it came out of nowhere (and I'm someone that ships easily, all it takes is a look), nothing could have made me guess that it was gonna happen between them. I think they have NO romantic chemistry whatsoever. And it kinda of ruined the vibe of the whole group for me.

What do you think on the matter?

Oh, I liked Jerin since the season 2 finale.

It’s also funny that the season 2 finale is what got you to ship Orla and James because it was the season 2 finale that got me to ship him with Erin, it wasn’t prom, it was Erin’s reaction to James’ news

I was like, oh I think I ship it.

And there are quite a few posts in the fandom that talk about how them getting together is symbolic of something much larger, i.e. they're two teens from two countries that have a tumultuous relationship with each other and they come together and it's a symbol of hope and a new beginning etc.

I also think their coming together is rooted a lot in character and the relationship dynamic is secondary. What I mean is, Erin is a character who has grand ideas of how her ordinary life will transform, whether it's fantasizing about being on a talk show/radio show

or having the goal of being the first person in their family to go to university or wanting/believing that the young English teacher sees her creativity and they have a special bond, or finally, finally getting with the cool musician and every time the reality is different and James is the much better reality, perhaps not what she fantasized about,

but the extraordinary in the ordinary.

For James' part, he came to Derry an outcast, not understanding how things worked, painfully uncomfortable and his arc in the first two seasons is realizing he belongs with his family (Michelle) and found family with Orla, Clare and Erin but then there's added layer of him falling for someone from the place he once looked at with utter confusion and bewilderment

so rather than hyper-focusing on James and Erin together, I think it's led by their characters' journeys. That being said, I think they had their moments, I think 1x04 (one of my favourite episodes) is really telling

she's been into David since the first episode but instead of trying to get closer to him at the party, she's obsessed with Katya and James

in fact she actually has her in with him, he approaches her, he offers to sneak her a beer, it's the moment she; been waiting for, but what matters more is James and it's significant that she's the only one who cares about this, Orla, Claire and Michelle think he should probably have sex

I just don't think they had as many moments as I would've liked that were coded as specifically romantic before the confession and the kiss but I went along with it anyway.

And I don't think it did anything to disturb the friendship dynamics.

#jerin #derry girls #james x erin #erin x james #erin quinn #james maguire

[snarkylinda]

I’m very glad you’re talking about spencer being parentified because it feels like people sometimes gloss over it a bit? or maybe I’m just looking in the wrong places. if this isn’t something you do in you’re blog feel free to just. not respond but do you have any more thoughts or. idk headcanons on how that might have affected him as an adult?

Hi anon! To be honest I have no idea what is essentially discussed alot on the fandom other that a tiny fraction of it I expose myself to because 1#I am too tired and old to deal with fandom discourse about my blorbo, and based on my previous experience with fandoms I KNOW that the most popular the character, the bigger the discourse so haha no- 2# I joined in late lmao literally a couple of months ago, so I am super out of the loop just screaming to the void in desperate needs for someone to scream back 🤲🏼 do this kind of asks actually made me so happy agahagaha 🥰🥰 Buckle up bois this is LONG-

Ok now to those that might come across this and ask themselves what the hell does being parentified means, it's a broad term used for the phenomenon of (at best) a child sharing parental responsibilities due to x circumstance, or (at worst) downright having the parent/child dynamic completely swapped, with the child being the caretaker for the parent and household. You don't have to know deep CM lore knowledge to realize the latter is Spencer Reid to a T. Hell, they aren't even subtle about it lmao:

Btw parentification is often mixed in with abandonment and while they share the "child being forced to grown up" too quickly, the former is often distinguished by the fact that, more often that not as is this case, the parent still cares for them but are unable to do so how it should be (tho there are several cases where parentefication is an part of willing neglect, sadly) and added to the fact that they have to look after themselves- they have to look after another.

This is a really complicated, broad topic and I just mentioned this to go full disclaimer and that I don't blame Diana at all for how messed her son ended up since she can't help it- and to make a joke about how Spencer was abandoned and parentified. Also harassed. Guys he wasn't even 18-

Anyways but back to your question, how do I think that affected Spencer growing up....well in everything basically lmao

But I will take on two instances that had stood up to me the most: emotional management and hiding secrets.

The second one is easier: you would catch this man dead before he vents to you over something other than his shitty dad (that I find very funny tbh) and when he does is because he is at his limit and about to fucking cry.

Now don't get me wrong: we all are entiltde to our privacy. These are grown ass adults and they have lives outside of their working circle....

Right?

Haha we have an problem-

So yeah, Spencer kind of actually needs to rely on his co-workers because he has literally nobody else to rely on-

And yet

Oh here is the thing- Spencer is one polite boi but he is also blunt, if he doesn't want someone on his business he says so (look back when Alex discovered him and Maeve) this is literally "I wanted to tell you but I feel like I shouldn't"- this is not season 1 mind you, this is season 11, and yet here he was one of his oldest friends literally grabbing him by the arm and having to tell him it's never a bother- I am the only one fucking crying at this?

Excuses seems to come to Spencer like it's second nature- "sorry a tube on my apparment broke" "Oh I....I tripped!" "There was a lot of traffic so..." "I was watching an movie" and I am not am expert on USA's history or some shit, but Child Protection Services had been a thing since at least the 60s, so I don't think that a 10yo living alone with his mentally ill mother would have flown well- you get the idea.

I think this scene summarizes the whole thing perfectly

Get it? it's irony. (I love how Spencer is about to say something like dismissive "thank you" but because this shit hit too close to home to comfort he just gave a polite smile and walked away. That silence was LOUD) Because Spencer had always had done the former but the latter er.... :D

And it's not only when it concern Diane btw, any problem whatsoever Spencer would rather lock himself up (literally lmao) that sit down and talk about it- it's only when his bs is exposed and he can't refutage (like that little scene after Gideon's death when Rossi asks him if he had been there all night- he points out the fact he is wearing the same cardigan as the day before) that he opens up....or he runs away, which leads me to the second big point that I think shows how much Parentification fucked him up:

Spencer has the emotional maturity of a teenager.

I talk about this literally all the time so I'll be shorter lmao basically Spencer... has an issue- ok he has lot of issues- and that is the way he dislikes direct confrontation, so whenever he is hurt or angry he would rather be dismissive and passive-agressive that talk it out with the person- even going as far as turning away and storming out of the room.

(Here is the part where I put the screencaps but him storming off would be out of focus so lmao er.... Elephant Memory, Memoriam, Proof, a little part in 15x2 and The Gathering)

Now... I do think that a grown-ass man doing this shit is hilarious, like I love Spencer's bratty side so much lmao but it's an clear sign of someone that never learned how to deal with his emotions on a healthy way, someone that 6 out of 7 days of the week had to interiorize everything in and because of that holds on so much....resement, so much repressed anger but also without an stable force on his life to help him manage that- so we are left with an teenager trapped in an adult's body, loss at how to handle shit like he always did.

....And want to know the worst part about an Parentified boy onto adulthood?

That they don't know better.

#criminal minds #spencer reid

[simslegacy5083]

Say Goodbye to Bad Townie Fashion With MCCC/MC Dresser!

One of the biggest game changers for me playing Sims 4 was learning how to use MC Command Center Dresser to auto generate pre-selected outfits on the townie sims.  

There are a bunch of sites out there that go over the process, but I wanted to try and make a basic “one stop shop” of all the things I have learned and do to make my game the best it’s ever been!

First some notes so you aren’t disappointed:

Pre-Seasons Townies and the Seasons Expansion Pack: MC Command Center fixes outfits when an NPC is generated or ages up.  In a new save that means the fix will NOT be applied to the hot and cold weather outfits of NPCs like Don Lothario or The Pancakes, who are already in the new world when it loads.  

To fix this you can create a template save of your own and fix it permanently yourself (highly recommended) or run the dresser cleaner cheat in Step 3 of this article every time you start a new save.  

Career, Situation, and Create-A-Sim Outfits: This process will not alter the outfits generated for careers, situations, or when generating a band new sim in CAS.  

Turning off situation outfits will be covered.

I haven’t found a permanent way to alter career or create-a-sim outfits but career outfits in my experience are mostly OK and when creating a sim, I think most of us are taking the time to change all their clothes anyway.  

Be mindful when you download sims off the gallery, if the user didn’t have Seasons you might end up with some funky hot and cold weather looks!  I always recommend a quick check.

OK – now onto the good stuff!

Step 1: Watch This Video

I learned about this magic from this 7-minute video.  It’s still the best one I have found to cover the basics of what we’re trying to accomplish.

Don’t worry too much right now about adding your own saved outfits.  That’s a nice extra but its not the main way you’ll want to begin this process. More on that below.

This video also covers getting rid of the situation outfits I mentioned above.

Step 2: Create/Download Your MC_Dresser.cfg File

In order for MC Dresser to work it needs saved outfits to pull from.  These comes from your mc_dresser.cfg file.  You don’t have to try and create your own from scratch, other wonderful simmers have already done that for you!  

Below are links to 4 sites that have shared their dresser files. To make it easy I have combined all the basegame items into 1 file for you (all credit to the original creators!).  My all in file includes outfits for all life stages, including infants.

HardTurtlePirate NPC Fashion

Lover’s Lab Fashion Police

Just Eva Bad Townie Outfit Fix

EG Warhammer MCCC Dresser Tips (1) Basics

My All in One file

You can add onto your existing dresser file at any time (that’s were the save new outfit option from the video comes in handy).  You can also easily delete a saved outfit you no longer want.

Put the .cfg file in your mods folder, wherever you keep your MC Command Center files.

Step 3: Run the Dresser Cleaner!

This is covered at the end of the video in Step 1.  If you don’t do this, you will not see your new outfits. You can do this at any time, as often as you’d like.

Step 4: Don’t Lose Your .cfg File!

MC Command Center needs updated on a regular basis and the last thing you want to do is accidently toss your precious dresser .cfg file out when updating.  The mc_dresser.cfg file should be copied and added back to your mods folder each time you update the mod.

That’s it!  It may sound like a lot but its actually really easy to do and if you’re like me you’ll thank yourself a thousand times over for taking the time to do it.

Happy Simming!

#the sims 4 #sims 4 mods #sims 4 dresser #sims 4 mccc

[hopetorun]

Weird writer ask game - 🐺💣👑🔔🏛️

🐺 Build a NHL starting line up (3F, 2D, 1G) based on a really weird criteria for comedic effect (e.g. guys with names that sound like Dylan).

please be glad i didn't choose a starting lineup of guys with names that could or do lead to sex-related nicknames. anyway here's guys with two first names.

nick paul - robert thomas - jack quinn

matt roy - dennis gilbert

devon levi

💣 Blow it up: pick one NHL team. Change its name, mascot, logo/colors. Tell me why you chose the new elements.

okay chicago is the obvious choice here but i don't feel like being obvious. the chicago nhl team should rebrand in real life. actually they should probably be folded in real life. but that's not a fun meme answer. my second thought was the flames, because they didn't rebrand when they relocated and now have a team name that has nothing to do with their location, but it's been decades and has led to local and affiliated spinoff names (the heat, the inferno, rip to them both).

all this to say: im rebranding the jets. i don't like the military so they get a new theme. i think they could really lean into the north thing, since they do it in a lot of their marketing anyway. i know fuckall about winnipeg but idc. i think a cool tundra animal would be the move here. it's a bummer the moose are already their ahl team or obviously i'd pick that but maybe the grizzlies. yes that's already an nba team but it's fine, the jets are also an nfl team so it's a wash. mascot is a grizzly bear obviously. named northy or something to lean into the far north of it all. they can call the arena the den.

colorswise ... ooh the jets colors suck. imho. they're way too muted! brighten up that maroon, maybe go all the way into purple. a kind of reddish purple maybe, and then brighten up the blue. yellow as an accent? i am NOT a color theory gal, we're hoping this is something. please do not tell me if it isn't

👑 If you could add an award to the NHL awards, what would it be and who would be its inaugural recipient?

there are lots of good and serious awards that should be added but EYE think that we should add another really arbitrary poorly defined one like the lady byng. what does it mean to be gentlemanly? we won't be defining that.

so in that vein: i think there should be a reverse lady byng. a grittiness award. a sandpaper award. i think the arguments about it would be really funny. brady tkachuk is a strong contender, sure, but maybe he takes too many penalties. sandpaper, yes, but is he leaving his team shorthanded too much? can you be gritty without getting penalized? who's a good example of that? i am simply here for the endless trivial discourse. anyway i think brady is the inaugural recipient despite the objections. i am taking name suggestions for this award.

🔔 Who is an NHL player you are convinced you can best in a physical altercation?

i think i could take johnny gaudreau. i'm taller than him and i weigh more than him and he gives me more would not hit a girl vibes than some of the other little guys. and i do think i would need the edge of him being reluctant to hit a girl because they are all extremely fit.

🏛️ Here, have a soap box. What is one thing you feel really strongly about that you think everyone should know?

ooh i've got awards on the mind so! i think people should be more thoughtful about the distinctions between most valuable player and most outstanding player! if you don't have both awards then sure i can understand the conflation but the nhl does have separate awards for those things and i think letting them be meaningfully different would be a lot of fun. give the ted lindsay to cmcd every year except for like once every four years when auston matthews or nikita kucherov gets it, but an actual debate every year about which player was the biggest individual difference maker on their team would be compelling. setting my own biases about last season's awards aside, i think that opens the door for more acknowledgement of season-changing goaltending performances (shesterkin in 21-22 perhaps). the hart and the lindsay don't need to be so closely tied! let them be different things!

oh also while we're on the topic it is beyond stupid that it's basically impossible to win the hart unless your team makes the playoffs. "oh the team didn't make the playoffs how valuable can that player really be" idk chucklehead, there are math people who can approximate a player's value in standings points, probably. do i trust their math? not entirely. but i trust it enough to know that argument is bunkum.

#sorry for having real sports thoughts on my sports fanfiction blog #my toxic trait is i actually have real sports opinions that i feel serious about #ask meme

[ophexis]

Yesterday I cooked hot dog burritos from The Neopets Cookbook! I didn't make the post yesterday because I got very sleepy after eating 3 hot dogs. Anyway-

I made 3 versions of it, one exactly like the book (minus mustard cuz I don't like yellow mustard), one with relish (cuz i like my hot dogs with relish) and one more fajita-style with lettuce, salsa, and some tomatoes cuz i felt like eating tomatoes. Alas I did not have sour cream to complete.

The recipe is very, very simple. The only cooking you'll be doing is caramelizing onions. I also got a bit too into caramelizing the onions and forgot you're supposed to salt and season them at the beginning lmao but that's ok.

The recipe only uses a bit of oil but i wanted these onions to pop off so I added a chunk of butter lmao

Some of mine did end up burning a little because I got distracted making a huge mess with my lettuce on the side. u-u I just removed the burnt onions and moved on.

The recipe honestly also doesn't caramelise them for that long but was I gonna let that stop me? No. (Anyway be patient and don't use super high heat with your onions!)

"Well I wouldn't have burnt them."

Then you only have to simmer 4 hot dogs or substitute of choice (or grill them, if you have a grill or a grill pan!), heat up your tortillas, and prepare for assembly. That's it!

Honestly I kind of expected the default version to be a bit boring, but it ended up being the better of the 3 I think. The ketchup was just better with a hot dog (relish too!). The lettuce/tomato/salsa was good but the flavors just didn't marry that well with the hot dog lmao. With chicken it would've been great. But this is what science is for! I also found that the pre-made fajita seasoning (or the amount they ask for) didn't really do a whole lot, flavor-wise, but idk if its bc I put it in too late or if I should just make the mix myself next time. And also the fully loaded one was difficult to close and made a huge mess while eating.

There was something comical about these hot dogs man.

The tortilla isn't anything special with the hot dog, its flavor got kinda lost, but it was a fun thing to eat (enrichment!) and would make a great party food I think. If I make this again I'd probably half it because that made a lot for one mortal woman. And also if you're alone the assembly takes some times and everything gets cold. welp!

SO final word is that this is nothing special, but it's fun to eat, tastes good, and is incredibly customisable. I mean you can put whatever sausage you want in there. Whatever topping. Go wild! This is what Hubert would want.

#neopets #Phex cooking adventures

[nhasablogg]

Learning Curve

Fandom: Stranger Things (season 4 but no volume 2 spoilers)

Characters: Wayne, Eddie/Steve (kind of)

Summary: Wayne has to learn how to communicate with Eddie, but it doesn’t always involve words.

A/N: Idk I just got this idea to write about Eddie’s uncle.

Words: 1.2k

Read it on AO3

Wayne had always been more of a listener than a talker, but Eddie had forced him to adapt after he came to live with him at age 14; troubled and angry and in serious need of talking. Even though Wayne’s listening and patient ear was very handy when it came to raising a teenager whose father had fucked him up beyond comprehension, Wayne found he needed to be able to talk back too. It had been a learning curve, steep and dizzying, but Wayne had never had any trouble with vertigo.

As Eddie got older, just about reaching his late teens, Wayne realized he’d gone more quiet. It had been alarming at first. Eddie was known for having periods of shutting people out, but he was never quiet. Wayne could always gauge his mood based on the sounds he made. The way he played his music, loud and deafening throughout the whole trailer, or softly in the background as he lay in bed. They never talked about it, but Wayne knew they’d moved beyond the need for words as their only means of communication.

When Eddie first grew quiet, Wayne found he needed to learn to speak again.

That was the first time he saw Eddie cry.

He was watching him now, a year or so later, and he realized they didn’t just need sounds to communicate as Eddie’s smile spoke volumes as it was. Wayne wondered if he should ask, gently prod, maybe tease, because he knew it was about a boy just as well as he’d known it had been about Eddie’s general feelings about boys a year or so ago.

But Wayne was only a talker when Eddie needed him to be, and Eddie didn’t need him to talk now. Turns out Eddie could talk a lot on his own if the mood was right.

Eddie in love turned into the biggest talker of them all.

“Do you think my hair looks okay today?”

Wayne glanced at him over the newspaper, a cloud of hairspray behind him as Eddie emerged from the bathroom. “It looks the same as always.”

“Is that your way of saying I need to switch things up?”

“It’s my way of saying there’s no need to get so caught up on it. It looks good,” he added when Eddie flopped down across from him, reaching for his coffee cup to steal three precious sips like he always did. “Did you get a haircut or somethin’?”

“No.” Eddie took a bite out of his toast, knees bouncing beneath the table and making his chair rock ever so slightly. Wayne had never gotten around to fixing the dodgy leg.

“So why do you ask?” It was as close as Wayne got to acknowledging it all, and he caught sight of Eddie’s slight embarrassment before he decided to grant him some mercy and put the newspaper between them again.

“People already think I’m a freak,” came Eddie’s reply, slightly delayed. “Might as well look good while they point.”

Wayne had never been violent until it had come to people’s treatment of Eddie. He’d nearly knocked his estranged brother’s teeth out that one single time he’d tried to take Eddie back, three months into him living with him. Not being able to punch high schoolers, he had to find satisfaction in cursing them out at home, sometimes with Eddie and sometimes without. It wasn’t really enough, but Wayne wasn’t an impulsive man.

He also wasn’t an oblivious man, and upon meeting Eddie’s new friends, some younger, some around his age, he could immediately tell that he’d finally found his people. That Steve Harrington ended up being one of them was the one surprise that Eddie had sprung upon him.

He knew of Steve, but only vaguely. The king of Hawkins High for most of his school years, but high school was only just that and people usually didn’t know much of what was going on in there, especially since the kids kept being replaced every four years anyway. But Wayne had seen Steve work at the video store, and that hair was hard to forget. Once he’d learnt his name it seemed he couldn’t fully escape him, and the image he’d formed of this stranger was thoroughly destroyed the moment Eddie brought him, Robin and Dustin to the trailer one day.

Steve greeted him formally, a hand shake and a smile that reached his eyes, but he seemed reserved, nearly shy around him, but maybe that was the effect of Robin and Dustin talking more than Wayne had his entire life. It was only later, after Wayne had gone outside to smoke, that he heard Steve’s more natural replies, the four of them all sassy and chaotic and absolutely perfect for each other.

“Your friends,” Wayne said later as he and Eddie sat outside to the sound of the cicadas. “They’re nice. Fun. I liked them.”

Eddie tried to seem casual about it as he nodded, but Wayne could tell from the way his hands finally relaxed in his lap that he’d been waiting for the verdict, although Wayne didn’t see why his opinion on this would matter.

“Good,” he said. “I like them too. And you’ve not met all of them.”

“I can’t wait until I do.”

Steve came over on his own sometimes, but then again, so did Dustin. Wayne wasn’t stupid enough to think his nephew was crushing on a child, and so he tried to find reasons to leave whenever Steve came around. A grocery run. Grabbing the mail. A sudden need to go on a walk. He was sure Eddie had caught on, but neither had said anything about it.

It was on one of the days he’d decided to stay that he heard it first; Eddie’s hysterical, high pitched, beautiful laughter coming from the bedroom, and while a part of him wanted to leave, a bigger part wanted to stay.

He’d not heard that laugh in years.

Eddie laughed. Of course he did. He was quick to giggle and quick to howl, but this type of laughter had grown rare with time. It was raw and pure and uncontrollable, and while Wayne realized that his nephew was most likely not laughing because something was funny he could also tell there was nothing reluctant about it.

Eddie burst out of the room eventually, acting like a teenager should. His hair was a mess, his smile so big it nearly split his face in half, and he was running away from an approaching Steve so halfheartedly Wayne nearly felt embarrassed for him.

But the way Steve also smiled told him he had nothing to worry about.

“Uncle Wayne,” he cried, rounding the couch and coming to a stop before him. “Help.”

Wayne leaned back, crossing his arms. “With?”

Eddie pointed at Steve. “He’s cruel.”

Steve from behind him. “I am not-”

“You sounded like you were having fun.” Eddie’s eyes snapped to Wayne and Wayne grinned, feeling it apt to finally tease, just a little. “Steve, son.” He turned to look at him. “Did you find that spot on his lower back?”

Wayne had time to catch Eddie’s betrayed look before he sprinted off, Steve calling out a thanks! before following, and soon the trailer was filled with Eddie’s ticklish laughter again.

Wayne leaned back again. He was more of a listener, after all.

#tickling #ticklish!eddie munson #steddie #stranger things fic #stranger things #stranger things s4 #mine #n writes #learning curve

[mayahawkeswife]

u should rant a little abt the 'will has powers thing' bc im a little confused LMAO

of course i will :)) anything to info dump lmao

okay so this might be a lot but- stay with me here please— (and ofc ask questions or add on to anything 😭😭)

one of the main things pointing to will having powers is basically a lot of the shit that he did in season one, more specifically how he was able to do it.

some things he was able to do includes: controlling individual lights, speaking to joyce through the phone + walls (?? ig idk how else to word it), appear in joyce’s dreams/a sort of apparition of him appears (this one is def more theoretical, i’ll get to it in a minute), and the reason why he was even taken in the first place (or at least my theory as to why).

first off: while, yes, in season 4 vol. 1 when the teens are stuck in the upside down, they found a way to talk to people in the (for better lack of words) right side up through the lights, it doesn’t completely translate to what will had done so previously. as we know, the upside down is stuck on the day that will went missing, so everything is how it was on that day in the upside down (except well— more decayed and covered in vibes but- whatever yk). so, this would mean no alphabet wall. there would be no way for will to know that was there. and let’s say that will managed to figure out what his mom was trying to do somehow, the christmas lights were never turned on in the first place. the majority of them were never turned on. in vol. 1 we see how the lights need to be turned on and source in the right place in order to communicate through them. this… doesn’t really make sense in terms of will talking to joyce through the lights. there was also this post i made that touched on the scene with the lights in wills room flashing in a circle that directly parallels the scene in s4.

another thing with the communication between worlds that doesn’t add up comparing the teens to will in s1 is how joyce was able to actually hear will. somehow he had called her, and joyce was able to hear him breathing through the phone until (supposedly) the demagorgan came and.. something happened to will. (i’m not sure if i’m just not remembering correctly or if it was never clarified what happened then, so.. yeah). anyways, the teens were not able to vocally speak to the kids in the right side up, and seemed to not be able to use any electronic things while in the upside down.

something else i find interesting and hope is touched on in vol. 2 is joyce literally ripping the wall down and seeing will in the upside down (before he ran away and she broke the wall down with an axe). like— how the fuck? was will making a gate somehow? or was it the demogorgan?? either way, it wouldn’t make sense (unless… a certain boy had certain abilities 🤔). adding on, there is a scene where will seems to appear in joyce’s dream/vision, before it’s shown to actually be johnathan. this is just a small detail, but it sort of reminds me of whenever people are able to see el when she’s in the black room/using her powers. so… hm…

finally, there’s the biggest question about will: why was he taken in the first place?

there is a big theory going around (that i believe in) that it was vecna, rather than the demogorgan, that took will back in season 1. this could explain why he wasn’t killed right away like barb, and why he was targeted even though he wasn’t bleeding. the figure also stalked him down, all the way from the wheeler’s house to his shed. that’s not normal behavior for a demogorgan.

so… why did he target will? of course my theory is: will has powers. but rather than be made to be born with powers, like el and the others, he was born like henry creel.

there are many parallels between henry and will. they’ve both been described as being “sensitive kids,” they both have an interest in drawing, they both don’t fit in the ‘societal norm,’ etc etc. we don’t know how henry (aka 001) has his powers, but i theorize that he was somehow born with them. and however he was somehow born with them is the same way will ‘acquired his.’

a foreshadowing of this lowkey comes from season 1 when dustin is talking about how el has powers.

“So, do you think Eleven was born with her powers like the X-Men or do you think she acquired them, like Green Lantern?”

now, eleven was technically born with powers, but they were ‘acquired’ by experiments trying to replicate henry’s, not naturally born.

so, why did vecna take will? it could be something similar to him trying to make eleven join him (before she.. yk.. sent him to the upside down). or it could be something else entirely. but i do believe it does have something to do with will having powers (and also his trauma and personality could play a factor into it too).

so.. yeah, that’s why i’m a will byers has powers truther. again, most of this is theoretical, so probs take everything (especially stuff towards the end) with a grain of salt. hopefully we get answers during s4 vol.2!!! i dont know which interview this was said, but there has been talk that why will was taken first being address in vol.2 so fingers crossed iggg 🤞🤞🤞

#will byers #stranger things #stranger things 4 #stranger things s4 #will byers has powers #real #stranger things 4 spoilers #byler #henry creel #stranger things theory

[msfbgraves]

Thrifting: a way to help yourself and others when disabled

My mother grew up in a family that was constantly penny pinching and she hated it. My father was so cheap other people made fun of him or complained bitterly (my parents made an interesting couple). My ass is disabled so "just getting a job" was never on the table. Employment has always been an unreliable option - not impossible, but tumultuous. So saving money has always been a keen interest. But doing it right, like. I feel that people use it as an option to shaft someone, even themselves, and I do not hold to that. Also, you cannot thrift yourself out of insufficient funds. You need mo money, you need mo money. But we also know that society loves an excuse to underpay people, deny promotions and fuck you over in a million different ways no matter how hard you work.

Thrifting is work that will always yield results, no matter who you are, and a good skill to have when mf's keep finding excuses to not pay you, or even employ you. It's even better when you're in a position to say, hm, more would be nice, but I'm staying afloat. Again, this is no feckin bootstrap talk. This is getting more bang for your buck.

And especially during Disability Pride this actually makes me proud to be able to do. Without hurting anyone, for one, and actually helping those without the time for it. I can find The Thing for less for them very often.

OK, first things first.

This is not self-denial 101. Fuck off with that. We want more joy maximisers, not fewer.

The Vimes boots theory is 100% correct. But there are plenty of places where $50 boots are sold for $25 or even $20. Yes, in Ankh Mopork too.

Skills are cash money. I should know, I barely have any.

Many people think that thrifty means "cheap" and "no fun". And that's what people do. "Whelp, I have to economise, so I can't have any treats and can only shop at Primark. Bummer! I hate life."

No, you're going to have to put some more time in preparation, and you need to figure out where to look.

It's an activity.

The first thing I would advise people to do is clean their stuff up. Told you this was work. And that may feel terrifying but if you know what you have you find things you thought you needed to buy. That's an immediate savings without pain. C'mon, do you really think you'd get a high from buying oregano? Of course not, and now you don't have to. You've probably slashed off 25% off your grocery bill for the week without going without anything you look forward to buying. King shit.

You probably have a keen sense of what you need to replace and since you're already going to Goodwill, look there. A lot of second hand is higher quality, and even if it's not, it can still be 25 to 80% below dollar store.

All that extra space will come in handy for buying things and storing them until gift giving season arrives, or birthdays and the like.

Gifts are insanely important. Don't skimp on the quality of something you buy for others. Find the place that stunts with that item. Here, time is your friend, too. If you can wait three weeks for it to ship, you can take advantage of a lower price nearly always.

Ask people what you're looking for and spruce the thing up when they offer it to you. Again, here the skills are a lifesaver.

Personalise. Any small thing that actually fits a recipient will be much appreciated. Gift wrap with care, write a kind message. But only do this when you can't find a "normal" gift for a better price. If you can find a steal, still gift wrap with care.

Do treat yourself! But treat it as anything else you want: best quality for the best price. This can also mean adding a top up. For instance: I generally know what the best bang for your buck is when it comes to theatrical shows: the last preview. Saw a show during the last try out, but spent $30 extra on seats. More expensive than just regular seats, vastly better experience. I did find a discount on parking too - who tf likes to pay for parking anyway?

Buy clothing that fits your body shape. That's what makes you look good. Vintage is fine, who cares if you wear something high quality that looks gorgeous?

Learn what stuff is made of. I bought a stick of foot balm that is supposed to prevent blisters. Felt suspiciously like vaseline. Next time I succesfully used vaseline.

Something I never hear but I find very useful: go on and try the hideously expensive option if possible. See what the fuss is about. Incorporate the thing you like most about it in your routine, don't bother with the rest. Other end of the spectrum: do a taste test with store brand. If it's bad, now you know. If it's good, no one will notice.

Loyalty programmes can be your friend, if you don't look at them as the default option. Do sign up, don't get mad if they keep taking away your credit. Every time they give you something for what you would have done anyway is a win.

Shop around for better banking fees. Who the hell wants to pay those anyway.

Try to pay for what you want and only what you want. Review any package deal; they're rarely worth it.

Try something a little bit different, if you have the skill to back it up. Go do things "people like you don't do". Slovenian wine, people.

Be consistently nice, and people will gladly help you with things. Can be a huge savings. Give where and what you can.

Take the bus, geezus. All that nonsense about it being a poor people thing or dangerous when travelling. How do you think locals get home?

Again I am aware this is work and of course, nobody can do all of it all the time. But I know a lot of people who start by slashing the joy, but why would you? Have your latte! Take your trip! Have your avocado and triple organic eggs. Think about where and when you buy things instead, and be a little adventurous.

If you're disabled with limited energy, this is a way you can help out those around you. Maybe you can do it for them. I am proud of all the ways I have saved my friends and family money without compromising on quality at all. I promise you: loyalty discounted organic chicken thighs with store brand cream cheese blanched in leftover white wine sauce with $0.40 worth of pasta are really damn yummy. And those $40 dollars saved on a taxi because I found the right bus on a trip are welcome too.

People mostly don't want to do this work. But if you can, and know how, you can be a great help to those you love.

#thrifting #disability

[blues-valentine]

Agree with all ur shadow and bone thoughts, im honestly so disappointed.. they just forgot to add the sankta alina followers in the show which was always so interesting and important to me, like wth was the mal reveal it was terrible, like wheres the angst? Wheres alinas hunger for power that starts to scare her? Like it all felt so hollow.

Yeah, honestly the Sankta Alina plot was always interesting to me and I think it not only added so many layers to Alina’s character but it also provided a change of dynamic instead of the same Alina’s powers vs Darkling situation that was frankly a bit repetitive. The Apparant if done right could’ve been an great antagonist and they literally introduced him on Season 1 and planted the seeds for this plot only to just blatantly ignore it because they desperately wanted the spin off which I get but I still believe is a disregard to Alina Starkov and a disrespect to Jessie and everyone from the S&B cast.

This religious symbol that Alina represents beyond the Sun Summoner plus her big following was another aspect to Alina’s conflict that gave her layers they just didn’t want to explore. It was truly disappointing and as you just mentioned, hollow. Tolya and Tamar had a really particular devotion and loyalty to Alina, similar to Inej’s because of what she represents in their belief and this was not added on. The twins were basically more involved for Nikolai and the crows’s plot than what they were supposed to mean for Alina’s story line, which was allowing her to understand that side of her and give us a different perspective of her role not just as a savior or queen, but as a whole. Also, the whole Apparat plot gave us really cool moments with all the characters that we’ll probably never going to get such as them in the church ruins. Mal training the Grisha for the upcoming war and all of those cool scenes. It would’ve made sense why they would want Mal as leader of the guards too because he basically takes that role throughout the books. Like, all of these issues is what convinced Alina that she needed to become a queen. Something she did not want. Mal being a great military strategist was never mentioned or brought into the show. Alina didn’t want to be a queen, she wasn’t compelled by the “glamorous” vibe of it all and that’s precisely what they made her up to be.

The thing about Alina’s power is that she’s slowly losing it to the point it scares her and everyone around her. Mal was starting to be afraid too of her hurting herself. It’s what pull him on high alert throughout the whole thing. It’s why Darkling’s visitations become more present, because she’s battling into letting herself be consumed by power. The mental tool it took taking the second amplifier was not explored as it should have been because that changed Alina in a lot of ways. The moment I got into episode 4 and saw that they were already doing the R&R plot I was like, uhm, anyways. It was just so anticlimactic and it sadly was because there was not build up to it.

Like, I am glad I have the books but yeah, it would’ve been great to watch it display on the show correctly because I believe Jessie really stepped up this season in terms of delivery. But I believe maybe this is why they changed that Season 2 ending, like they are clearly going for Alina being corrupted by power — which might simulate Siege and Storm but there was not need to change it this much and it was clear that their priority wasn’t on Alina which is why many other characters ended up having more screen time than the female heroine of color they’ve spent season 1 patting themselves on the back for and the one female they’ve build the whole grishaverse upon – and it’s truly sad.

#shadow and bone season 2 #shadow and bone #shadow and bone netflix #grishaverse #the grisha trilogy #tolya yul bataar #tamar kir bataar #alina starkov #mal oretsev #asks #malina

[somuchfuckingsalt]

One thing I think the Duffers dropped the ball on is not using Steve in a leadership role within the group dynamic because he 100% has the skillset for it and it would also round out his character arc very nicely without diminishing the roles any other characters play.

And when I say Steve has the skillset I mean he played team sports and was in a leadership role on those teams. As someone who has played team sports before, the best captains are the ones who are not just physically good at playing the game, but also the ones who are able to coach others into improvement without making them feel like idiots, participate in strategizing and communicating those strategies effectively to the team, leading the team in the absence of the coaches, having good sportsmanship, being able to work with opposing teams without causing problems, etcetera.

Which is my long winded way of saying the best leaders are those who are good with people. Of the many characters on the show - particularly the teens/kids - Steve is arguably the most emotionally intelligent and he is genuinely the best with people. I don’t think we see as many examples of it in the show as we could because 1) I think the Duffers don’t see Steve as any form of intelligent because the Everything about how they write their jock and jock-adjacent characters displays a lot of prejudices and biases about the “dumb jock” stereotype and 2) the Duffers have definitely dumbed Steve down even more throughout the seasons to the point where he is The Protector and the Joey Tribbiani, so dumb he’s become comic relief. 

(playing sports also would give Steve a lot of experience with strategy, both preplanning and in making split-second decisions in the moment but being a good leader isn’t contigant on being good at strategy, I just wanted to point out he could and should be good at it)

Narratively, season 2 would have been an excellent starting point for building Steve’s leadership role since he spends the back half of the season in charge of the Party and, essentially, leading them. That would build through season 3, settle in season 4 as this is the role he has (especially since they were operating without Joyce or Hopper), and then be able to expand on his capabilities in season 5.

In season 4 specifically, Steve insisting Nancy not go alone should’ve been taken as him taking charge in that situation because he was correct, they should not be doing anything alone. I also think doing something small like just inserting a line where he’s asking for ideas on the plan instead of straight jump cut to them going planning how to get supplies would’ve been great.

I also think moments like having Steve’s voice be the voice over leading up to them executing their plan and Steve being the one to be Vecna’d instead of Nancy (which would show that Vecna viewed Steve as integral enough that fucking with his head wold affect the group) would have put an importance to Steve and put him more into that leadership role in to the audience without needing overt displays and adding to run time (since the Duffers tend to cut out a lot of moments where leadership would’ve been evident to save time). By using these 'important’ moments though would’ve been great ways to set up Steve in a genuine, established leadership role in season 5, especially since there’s going to be a time skip. 

I also don’t think that making Steve the leader would be taking anything away from the other characters - at least not the other teens/kids. For starters, Dustin, Lucas, and Max have never been the ‘leaders’ - that’s Mike. Furthermore, the only other person really sitting in that leadership position among the teens is Nancy but she is already academically gifted, the journalist, the detective, etcetera. She also is not the best people person (competent, but it’s not her strongest feature) and she has the tendency to get fixated on things, which isn’t the greatest trait to have as a leader. 

Anyway, I think the Duffer Brothers Joey Tribbiani’d Steve’s charcater and they 100% could have been doing a lot more with him than they are if they weren’t looking at him through biased “dumb jock” glasses. 

#the duffers have definitely fallen off when it comes to ensuring every character gets properly developed every season #they also have a very blatant bias towards 'jocks' and jock-adjacent people #otherwise steve would be more than the tank and dumb comic relief at this point #steve harrington #stranger things

[xshimaeraxx]

Chapter One of my fic, feelings, is posted on AO3 now!

so, i haven’t much talked ab my fanfics on here, but uh, yeah! i write fanfic, read it, too, and i recently posted my - well, not my first fic i’ve ever written, but it’s the first one i’ve posted.

it’s a fanfic of one of my favourite fanfictions, the fic my fic is a fic of being Whispers in Corners by esama on AO3. it’s linked as the inspiration/fanfic of on my fic, so make sure to go read it, ye?

but anyways. figured i should prolly link it here, bc, well… why not? so uh, here ya’ll go :D

title: feeling what you feel (always, always, ye shall be mine)

archive warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

category: M/M

rating: Not Rated

fandoms: Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling (ew), Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle

relationships: Mycroft Holmes/Harry Potter, Harry Potter & John Watson, Harry Potter & Molly Hooper

characters: Harry Potter, Mycroft Holmes, John Watson, Molly Hooper, Greg Lestrade, Sherlock Holmes

additional tags: Empath Harry Potter, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fanfiction of Fanfiction, Not Season/Series 02 Compliant, Not Season/Series 03 Compliant, The Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Master of Death Harry Potter, no beta we die like the dead, Apathetic Harry Potter, Hurt/Comfort, Traumatized Harry Potter, Hurt Harry Potter, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Spiritual Medium Harry Potter, Heavy Angst, Demisexual Harry Potter, Additional Warnings in Author's Notes, Harry Potter is Bad at Feelings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

language: English

summary: In this universe, Harry still stumbles; he still makes that mistake (if a bit differently); and the Bastard still gets curious, and he still asks Harry to work for him because of his abilities as a medium – and, quite honestly on Mycroft’s part, because of Mycroft’s own curiosity.

But what if, in this universe, the same but also not as the first, Harry isn’t just a medium? What if he is, at the same time, also… something else? What if there’s a reason for Harry’s oh-so-very apathetic attitude to, well… everything?

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OR: That one Whispers in Corners AU™ in which Harry’s an empath, and has been since having died and come back when he was seventeen, and how that changes thing – even if by just a little. (Or, well, a lot, really. Quite a lot, in fact.)

link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54874399

the first chapter has been posted now, and the second one is currently a quarter of the way done/in the process of being written :D it’s a Sherlock BBC/TV crossover with Harry Potter, like the og fic by esama is, and the ship is Mycroft Holmes/Harry Potter - as well as hints of QPR poly!Golden Trio planned for later on, hehe >:]

basically the premise is the same as esama’s fic, except for one thing: Harry’s an empath (he can feel other people’s emotions, basically, if you don’t know what that means), as well as a medium. this, as said in the summary, changes… things. wink wink ;)

#ao3 #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 fanfic #fanfic of fanfic #fanfic of a fanfic #ao3 writer #archive of our own #harry potter #bbc sherlock #crossover fanfiction #mycroft holmes #mycroft holmes/harry potter #mycroft holmes x harry potter #mycroft/harry #mycroft x harry #fanfic rec #self promo #whispers in corners fanfiction