#it very much wasn't it just wasn't a vernacular

[room-surprise]

Dungeon Meshi Anime Review, Season 1, Episode 13 review

This episode has one of me and my spouse's favorite jokes in the manga... And yes, the little sign moves with the hams as they roll away.

This was another great episode!

Thistle!!!!!!! He's perfect. Love that he looks accurate to the manga at this point of the series, and wasn't updated to look more cutesy/younger like he looks in the later manga as Kui's art style evolved to give everyone bigger eyes and cuter faces.

His monarchist speech was chilling and just as good as in the manga. This is a man taht 100% believes in feudalism and the divine right of kings and it's as natural as breathing to him. Love him giving this context for readers and viewers. This is WHAT PEOPLE IN THIS ERA BELIEVE...

Love how we can have Marcille spend an entire episode in just her underwear, fighting for her life, covered in blood, and it's not sexualized. Nothing wrong with sexy things, but very refreshing to see a character able to do that and to feel that the camera isn't focused on objectifying her.

Ok, so time for a pretty big complaint... Leed's voice in the English dub.

As I stated in a previous review, BangZoom entertainment, the English dub company, cast a black actor to play Zon. They have made a pattern of casting real life minorities to play the fictional minorities in Dungeon Meshi, which I think is a noble idea and can certainly bring nuance to the performances! Good for them attempting to do this!

However they rewrote Zon's dialog to have him speak what was either African American Vernacular English (AAVE), or "broken English." In the original Japanese, the orcs do not speak this way, their dialog is more or less the same as everyone else's.

I gave the dub studio a benefit of a doubt because they hired a black actor to play Zon, and I expected that Leed would also be played by an actress of color and that they would rewrite her dialog to match Zon's.

They did not do that.

As far as I can tell, Leed's actress is not black, though she has a Hispanic last name... But much more important than the ethnicity of who they cast, BangZoom did not rewrite Leed's dialog the way they rewrote Zon's dialog.

These characters are siblings, there's no reason Zon and the other orcs would speak a different dialect from Leed.

Did they do this because Leed is pale and pink and they thought that she shouldn't talk in AAVE? They should have known that she was coming later and not done that to Zon then, if they weren't going to continue the trend with Leed.

Very weird, not a fan, makes me question the studio's knowledge and understanding of the source material...

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #dunmeshi #spoilers #review #leed dungeon meshi #zon dungeon meshi

[thenightfolknetwork]

Hi, we are several hundred rats. More accurately, I am a rat, writing on behalf of my several hundred friends, who are also rats.

It's pretty good, being rats, certainly compared to all the nonsense sapios and other bipeds have to deal with. Like knees, and dentist appointments. Recently, though, we've run into a problem. It's very common for sapios to mistake us for a multi-coporeal entity or a collective intelligence or something of that nature. You know, quote-unquote hive minds. Ignoring the fact that most hives don't actually work like that and the way that the common vernacular exposes the inherent sapionormative biases of the modern social system, it usually isn't a problem. One of us corrects them, the human reacts however they react, no big deal. Their reactions are on them, not our problem.

I'm being asked to add that it's a little sad that the humans don't have the close social bonds that could be mistaken for that kind of thing. So now I have. And now they're discussing whether it's sad or just the nature of the human condition. I'm going to keep writing while they're not trying to co-author this letter.

Well, about three years ago, a colony of cerebrachnids moved in next door with their host body. We don't need to tell you, of course, that brain spiders are actually a collective intelligence. Almost all of us have been of great terms with them since day one. It's nice having someone around who can sympathize with how sapios view us. Rats and spiders, right?

Turns out that they've thought we were some sort of multi-coporeal entity this whole time. It came up last week when some of us were visiting for tea. They've thought for years that we were some manner of genus similar to them, and have just been too polite to ask what we are. I, the rat doing the typing, wasn't there, but the ones who were there all agree that our neighbor got a little weird about it, and they're a lot less overtly friendly since then.

We can't agree if they're feeling awkward, or if they're maybe reevaluating the whole friendship in the light of how we have less in common with them than they thought.

Any advice? Do we just pretend it didn't happen and go on like normal?

Thank you for getting touch, reader – or should I say, readers? I'm extremely heartened to hear how healthy your collective attitudes are to the misconceptions people have about multi-corporeal entities and collective intelligences. I'm also pleased that you recognise your own boundaries in managing other people's expectations and reactions to your lived reality.

That said, I don't think there's any risk of your overstepping those boundaries by reaching out to this neighbour and clearing the air about their misconception. I understand you don't want to take on more than your share of the emotional work. But frankly, simply being aware of that as a potential issue is generally enough to stop it from happening.

There might be any number of reasons for your neighbours' sudden standoffishness. They might be embarrassed by their mistake, or feeling foolish for misunderstanding your nature. Or they might be disappointed at the loss of what they assumed was a friendship built on commonality of experience. The fact is, you won't know until you talk to them.

Invite them over for tea and let them know how much you've missed them. Emphasise how much you all value your relationship with them, and that you're keen that this misunderstanding should be set aside.

I would also take the time to stress how much you do have in common, despite these differences. You may not share the same kind of consciousness as them, but there has been enough shared between you to sustain years of friendship – not only shared interests and talking points, but also deeper commonalities around how sapios treat your genuses.

I don't think anything will be gained by making them feel shamed or punished, especially if they were acting out of nothing more malicious than embarrassment. Give them a little grace, and take the time to clear the air between you properly. Then, with any luck, you'll all be able to shrug this moment off as nothing but an awkward bump in the otherwise smooth road of friendship.

#answered #the nightfolk network #monstrous agonies

[sweet-as-an-angel]

AAAAAA THIS FATHER IS AN ASSHOLE WHERE CAN I GET ONE OF HIM??? I'M THE ANON WHO ASKED ABOUT HIS KIDS AND STUFF UWHIS

OKAY SO HE'LL STILL BE NEGLECTFUL, ANOTHER THING TO ADD TO THE RED FLAG PILE.

Coming back to how much his nationality is mentionned in here, would he try to slip in some French assuming we didn't tell him we were from here because it wasn't really useful. Reaction to them having the accent on first meeting? What if we like the fact he's from here? What if we pretend to not understand? Would he detect those types of things, that we're faking? Or would he have already rummaged through our papers and seen the red passport? What if we reply to him just once and then never answer his questions again? That would be funny, playing with him just to get back at him. Wouldn't surprise me if delusional prick was a dark empath (≈.≈)

Just another rouge trophy for Dominic to put on his shelf. Surprised the poor thing hasn't caved beneath the weight of all those flags he's sporting <3

TW: Brief Implied Smut

♡ Dominic won't have access to any personal papers, documents, etc. until he's able to get into and out of your home without suspicion - or, at least, rummage around inside without you feeling suspicious about him taking as long as has to find your bathroom - so he'll go purely off intuition and subtle cues in your demeanour and speech if you don't have an accent. Things like rolling your 'r's, accidentally pronouncing è or é in words that don't possess them, using turns of phrase that don't necessarily make sense in the English vernacular but do in French - things like that.

♡ On the flip-side, if you do have an accent, Dominic is very pleased; especially if he recognises it as southern French. In a way, despite his complete secularity in all but himself, he does hazard a slight belief in the idea that maybe, perhaps, something celestial or metaphysical brought you to him, especially considering how uncommon it is to encounter international neighbours where he lives. He gets excited at the prospect of being able to talk to you - to say things to you - that nobody else can understand.

♡ And yes, this does extend to bedroom talk. Yes, he has had fantasies about telling you despicable things while his wife is in earshot.

♡ Messing with Dominic will never end well for you, btw. He can just about take the idea of a joke being made at his expense in his stride; to actually hear one is enough to incur the wrath of a man who is not restrained by creed, flag, or morals. As much as he loves you, he has very little issue with breaking you down into his perfect specimen. Much like how he did with Marilyn.

♡ Once is fine, but only if it's the two of you alone. Do something like this in public and Dominic won't be held responsible for all that will ensue.

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#sweet as an angel #yandere #male yandere #yandere male #original yandere #tw yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x you #yandere x y/n #yandere x darling #yandere dilf #yandere dilf x reader #yandere blog #yandere writing #yandere headcanons

[that-ari-blogger]

The Power Of Adora

Episode 4 of She-Ra, Flowers For She-Ra is the first war story in the series. It depicts the cost of war on people and places, and if it wasn't for how obnoxiously lovable the citizens of Plumeria are, it might be genuinely harrowing to watch (Let me know how it went for you if you didn't find the Plumerians endearing)

But I would like to focus on something else. Adora herself. Up until this point, the series has been showing off how powerful She-Ra is and how she is so useful and so strong and bla bla bla. But this episode focuses in on Adora herself, and what she can do.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

"Can Adora do this?"

I would like to examine how Adora reacts to danger. She runs towards it, she is determined to be useful, and she sees She-Ra as her way of helping. What I'd like to focus on is her vernacular. She refers to the form she is not in as a separate person, and how she refers to each facet of herself is pretty obvious. She-Ra can do things, Adora cannot.

So what happens when She-Ra can't fix the problem? That's what this episode explores.

In this episode, we see Adora's experience of the Horde in full effect. Turns out, having someone who understands the enemy on your side is useful. Who knew?

In this episode alone, we see Adora's understanding of the Horde's tactics used to predict the use of the poison and her knowledge of their routines used to effectively infiltrate the base. There isn't much analysis to do here other than to contrast that with how She-Ra is represented in the stories. She-Ra is a warrior where Adora is a tactician.

It's also worth noting that She-Ra's healing would only have been treating the symptoms of the poison, where Adora went to the source of the problem.

Hope. This is an episode about hope.

Adora's defining skillset isn't She-Ra, and it isn't her background, it's her resilience and perseverance. Adora rarely gives up, she instead seeks a new way to fix a problem. And that has an effect on people.

This is a shot from The Batman (2022) and I promise you its relevant. It's important here that Batman isn't carrying people to safety one by one, he's leading them to a better place. He's helping them to help themselves. This is one of the reasons this is the best live action Batman, because it's not about punching the bad guy, it's about saving people. And the way that is done, isn't by solving all of their problems for them, it's by shining a light and inspiring them to do better and to fix their own lives.

This is the effect that Adora has on people. She inspires people to help themselves. What's interesting is that hope is very much associated with the She-Ra personality. She-Ra is a symbol. Maybe there isn't so much of a difference between She-Ra and Adora after all.

Yes, I just linked She-Ra and Batman. No, I am not sorry.

But there is another effect that Adora has on people, and that isn't any effect that she can see. This episode makes a point of showing the effect of Adora's defection on the Horde itself.

"I know you're lying. You have to be lying. What did you do?"

I don't need to explain how bad this is. Not from a writing perspective, but as something for a mother figure to say to her prodigy.

In any case this little scene displays what Adora defecting has cost these two individuals. Shadow Weaver covets power, she seeks to control every piece on the board, and her most influential has just left her side.

Meanwhile Catra gives this line:

"What did I do? She left us, she left me."

Here we see Catra's abandonment issues coming out. She has taken Adora's leaving personally.

There's a neat little trick with her character design that I want to highlight here. Catra is mostly symmetrical, her mask, her hair, her costume (with a couple of flourishes). Even the marks on her arms match each other. The exception to this is her eyes. One blue, one yellow. Eyes that she can't cover up. Everything about Catra is perfectly even, but it's a facade, and the imbalance in her creeps out through the way she sees the world.

In 1810 Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe wrote that yellow and blue are the two primary colours that are in the greatest opposition to each other.

"Yellow is a light which has been dampened by darkness; blue is a darkness weakened by light."

Once again, this is the influence Adora has had on Catra, and the influence the horde has had. Notice how the hoard bears a green that, in this specific shot, is very similar to Catra's yellow eye. The Horde corrupts. And notice how much the blue stands out. Notice how it is the closest to Shadow Weaver, almost protecting Catra from her. Adora weakens the darkness so that in the end, Catra can be free. I'm definitely clutching at straws here, but it's a neat little rabbit hole.

I'd try and summarise my points here, but I think Glimmer says it best.

"Adora, She-Ra isn't the reason we like you. We like you because you're our friend."

She-Ra is a story about purpose, and acceptance. And Adora's journey is about realising that she doesn't need to fit one single purpose for people. She can live her own way.

The two personalities, Adora and She-Ra, represent the sides of Adora as powerful and Adora as herself. In this episode, we learn who exactly that self is, and what effect that has on the world of this story.

Previous - Next

#rants #literary analysis #character analysis #literature analysis #what's so special about...? #she ra adora #she ra perfuma #batman #she ra spop #she ra #she ra and the princesses of power #spop

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

okay legit question. and i'm eager to have this discussion. can you help me understand why you think that izzy scene was comedic? if it's purely based on those pathetic whimpers he made at the end of the scene, i'm honestly not convinced. god knows i've made pathetic noises like that when i've been genuinely upset about something. yeah that shit's awkward but isn't dismissing the noise as comedic sort of relying in the expectation that drama should be pretty?

and this ask wasn't meant to sound dismissive of your opinion btw, or defensive of izzy. (i love that weird and evil little freak for being a weird and evil little freak and thats all.) i'm just confused as to how that scene could be read that way.

Ok so lets start off with that in season 1 Izzy is not granted like even a shred of sympathy in any similar situation. We've seen this man cry before and when it happened Ed and Stede were making sex noises in the background and there was a jaunty little tune over it. Generally when writers and directors want us to be sympathetic to a character they build an emotional connection to that character and they just haven't done that for Izzy.

But moving onto the scene itself: This is the extended joke set up in season one of the disconnect of treating a pirate ship like workplace with HR. They're having like an intervention for Izzy and using the words "unhealthy relationship" and "toxic" to talk about toe chopping, which is excellent. I know the internet vernacular has kind of made these the go to words but you get how "toxic relationship unhealthy boundary setting" is not generally how television characters talk about stuff like this. Jim and Frenchie are out here using modern therapy words.

Then Archie starts talking about how much Rhino Horn Ed does which is incredible. they could have said he's doing weed, they could have said he's doing opium, they could have said he's doing a more modern drug, ofmd doesn't shy away from that, but instead they went with the most esoteric ye olde Viagra pull ever. Ed's doing fucking RHINO HORN???? Superb.

Then there's the the fact that Izzy clearly hates every second of it. Like these teddy bear capybara friend shaped men (Fang and Frenchie) are just like "hey you ok bro?" to a guy who HATES expressing any emotions so much that he spend like a whole season trying to stop Ed from doing it. Like you can feel how bad he wants to throw himself overboard from embarrassment

Then there's Fang. Dionysus an Emmy for that man. He pats Izzy on the shoulder and then Izzy pushes him away with the weakest I'm fine in history and then he goes in and gives him a hug from behind which is very much reminicent of like a hold a medical professional would use to subdue someone who is a danger to themselves or others without harming them. And then he just starts rocking him

And then there's the actual breakdown itself. I want to preface this with that I understand that in real life you might make some weird noises during a breakdown. But this is not real life. Usually when actors have breakdowns on stage or tv they have to decide what choices they're going to make. You can do a pretty cry, you can go overdramatic and comedic, you can make the audience uncomfortable in a veriety of ways. What Con has chosen here is air being let out of a balloon, He snorts like a pig, he whimpers. You know when you blow up a balloon and you pull the valve tight and it makes a screaming sound. His choice to heem heem whimper is histerical. And then he makes the sound and fang gives out a soft "am I crushing you" as if Fang thinks he's making the noise because of physical discomfort.

and then like everyone else's reactions. They're all so uncomfortable. Fang is like It's all right it's all right while Jim looks to Archie like "are you seeing this?" and Archie looks back and forth between them and then Frenchie is doing this with his face

and then there's the music. My god the music is just the sappiest shit ever over this??? like the whole thing is hillarious. Emmys for all of them

Edit: I forgot the funniest part. This whole thing is this Tweet

#ofmd season 2 spoilers

[foryouwereinmysong]

Do you think John and Paul ever saw each other again after ‘76? Or even talked on the phone? I know Paul says they did but every so often doubt creeps in and I start wondering if Paul isn’t just making up stories to convince himself that they were still friends. Your thoughts?

Thank you for the ask! It made me look back at John's last interviews and some of Paul's earliest after the murder. I don't think Paul made up the phone calls, because he has been consistent in talking about them since the early 80s. In his interviews shortly after John's death he talks about it quite detailed and I don't think he would make something like this up. For other speculations about their last meeting I found this great blogspot post: https://mccartnet.blogspot.com/2012/04/when-was-lennon-and-mccartneys-last.html

What I do wonder is, if they maybe saw each other for the last time in 1978. John mentions in 1980 he thinks that the "turning Paul away incident" was like 2 years ago and Geoffrey Giuliano claims that John, Yoko, Paul and Linda went to see the movie "Pretty Baby" together, which was released in April 1978. (The lost Lennon diaries) - but people say he's not a reliable source... But maybe John didn't turn Paul away the day after the SNL evening (24th of April 1976), but after the movie night? But then again Sean was already a toddler in 1978...

WELL if somebody did more research on this, I would love to know, but I'll end it here, because I think in the end there won't be a really satisfying answer. And maybe the important part is that the love they had for each other never went away either way.

(Newsweek, 1982, by Jim Miller)  Q: "Did you see much of him before he died?"

PAUL: "I saw him quite a bit. Always, the problem was talking business. Whenever we got into business, we got into an argument. It wasn't a pleasant framework for a relationship. When Sean (John and Yoko's son) was first born, I visited him a few times at the Dakota (Lennon's apartment house in New York). And then it had gone snotty. I used to turn up without calling him. One time, he got annoyed with me. He said, 'Well, look, man... Why do you just keep turning up here and surprise us? Why don't you just call first?' And I took that the wrong way. After that, I don't think I did see him. I phoned a few times. As long as we were talking about family, about life, it was good. The last time I spoke to him, I got off the phone and it felt like old friends again. I've talked to Yoko since then, and she's said to me, 'You know, he really was quite fond of you.' I think we were pretty close. But, sometimes, with brothers, you argue. They can be the most intense arguments, too."

(Playboy, 1984, by Joan Goodman) PLAYBOY: "Do you remember your last conversation with John?"

PAUL: "Yes. That is a nice thing, a consoling factor for me, because I do feel it was sad that we never actually sat down and straightened our differences out. But fortunately for me, the last phone conversation I ever had with him was really great, and we didn't have any kind of blowup. It could have easily been one of the other phone calls, when we blew up at each other and slammed the phone down."

PLAYBOY: "Do you remember what you talked about?"

PAUL: "It was just a very happy conversation about his family, my family. Enjoying his life very much; Sean was a very big part of it. And thinking about getting on with his career. I remember he said, 'Oh, God, I'm like Aunt Mimi, padding round here in me dressing gown' ...robe, as he called it, cuz he was picking up the American vernacular... 'feeding the cats in me robe and cooking and putting a cup of tea on. This housewife wants a career!' It was that time for him. He was about to launch Double Fantasy."

(Playboy, September 1980, by David Sheff) PLAYBOY: "Aside from the millions you've been offered for a reunion concert, how did you feel about producer Lorne Michaels' generous offer of $3200 for appearing together on 'Saturday Night Live' a few years ago?"

LENNON: "Oh, yeah. Paul and I were together watching that show. He was visiting us at our place in the Dakota. We were watching it and almost went down to the studio, just as a gag. We nearly got into a cab, but we were actually too tired."

PLAYBOY: "How did you and Paul happen to be watching TV together?"

LENNON: "That was a period when Paul just kept turning up at our door with a guitar. I would let him in, but finally I said to him, 'Please call before you come over. It's not 1956 and turning up at the door isn't the same anymore. You know, just give me a ring.' He was upset by that, but I didn't mean it badly. I just meant that I was taking care of a baby all day and some guy turns up at the door... But, anyway, back on that night, he and Linda walked in and he and I were just sitting there, watching the show, and we went, 'Ha-ha, wouldn't it be funny if we went down?' but we didn't."

PLAYBOY: "Was that the last time you saw Paul?"

LENNON: "Yes, but I didn't mean it like that." (Newsweek, 29th of September 1980, by Barbara Graustark) Q: "Paul McCartney's theory is that you became a recluse because you'd done everything - but be yourself."

JOHN: "What the hell does that mean? Paul didn't know what I was doing - he was as curious as everyone else. It's ten years since I really communicated with him. I know as much about him as he does about me, which is zilch. About two years ago, he turned up at the door. I said, 'Look, do you mind ringin' first? I've just had a hard day with the baby. I'm worn out and you're walkin' in with a damn guitar!"

#john and paul #picking interviews apart #last mclennon meeting #dakota that damned place #mclennon #the beatles #john lennon interview #paul mccartney interview

[the-smut-analyst]

Fantasy Rom-Coms

The genre I never knew I needed. Until I found it.

Short 'n' sweet book rec post today (because I know I've been doing a lot of deep-dive analyses of late). I deserve a break. You deserve a break. So let's do it.

Here's my top three fantasy rom-com series at the moment!

Pick them up if you enjoy a bit of smutty fantasy and are in the mood to laugh.

1. Anything by Kimberly Lemming

I do not know if my tits were built for murder. I don't even think they were built with my back in mind.

Lemming is an auto-buy author for me. This woman is bloody hilarious. The humour is farcical and somewhat absurdist, which is my absolute favourite style. I grew up with the likes of Monty Python, The Mighty Boosh, and The Confessions of Georgia Nicholson - so Lemming's work is right up my alley.

Her character Alexis, the dirty-talking sword (yes, you read that correctly) is, in my mind, nothing short of comedic genius.

"Oh my god, chip my steal, you're so annoying," Alexis snapped. "Maybe if you fixed your attitude and took a bath once in a while, women would talk to you. You smell like old cheese and a mother's regret."

I know some reviewers have been thrown off my the modern vernacular in Lemming's work, due to its medieval-like fantasy setting. However, I think that is exactly what makes these books so good (and refreshing).

The love interests speak a bit more "ye oldy", while the female protagonists speak like we do. The result is something akin to what might happen if a modern romance reader were dropped into a smutty fantasy world. It's brilliant. For example:

"Every scratch," he whispered, his tone gentle and comforting. "Every bruise, I will pay back in fire and blood." I blinked. "Um... that is so sweet but so unnecessary."

I'd recommend reading Lemming's work in publication order, which is as follows (links included):

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon

Mistlefoe (novella - available with KU)

That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion at a Werewolf

Two Scoops of Hellfire (novella - standalone - available with KU)

A Bump in Boohail (novella - available with KU)

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human

2. Alphas of Nasila series by V.K. Ludwig

“If you ever see me running in heels, then you better run, too,” she says with a scoff. “What am I supposed to run away from, anyway?” “Me!” “Why? You got a chase kink or something?”

The best way I can think to describe this series is that it is Omegaverse satire. The pairings are alien males and human females, and the smut / romance includes all your fairly standard A/B/O tropes - with the exception of non-con. The consent is refreshingly solid here.

Book one of this series, Heat for Hire, was actually my entry into the Omegaverse. If you're unfamiliar with the genre, then this is a good place to start because the protagonist, Elli, is unfamiliar with how alpha/omega pairings work. So all the... ahem... knotting, heat cycles, etc. are explained via her first experience of them.

My skin prickles at the memory of Rhen’s growl. But only until I remember that I rubbed myself to orgasm on a civil servant.

However, book two, Knot for Nest is by far the best of the series, in my opinion. The chemistry between the two protagonists, Lucy and Tjor, is brilliant - and it's just a genuinely hilarious read. Lucy is a snarky, independent omega who absolutely knows how to play the big, bad alphas to her advantage.

Book three, Purr for Purchase, is a lot higher angst (and less comedic) than its predecessors. It wasn't really my cup of tea, but that's just because I'm not a huge fan of pregnancy in romance.

If you've tried the Omegaverse before but not enjoyed it because of the power imbalances or dub/non-con, then I'd still recommend this series. The Omega / Alpha dynamic is very much reserved for the bedroom and does not reflect how the couple interacts outside of it. This is particularly true of Lucy and Tjor. She might enjoy being "dominated" during sex, but she genuinely holds all the power in the relationship.

“Big, bad alpha, all calm and well-behaved between my thighs.”

The characters in each Alphas of Nasila book are interconnected and the events chronological. However, you do not necessarily have to read these books in order. If you're sceptical of the Omegaverse in general, start with book two. All these novels are available with KU.

3. Claws & Cubicles Series by Kate Prior

Some people really haven’t adjusted to life under the Dark Reign of Terror yet. Some things are different, but honestly it’s all cosmetic. Things aren’t that different from when we had a normal, living CEO.

This series is like The Office, but with monsters (and smut). The dry, relatable humour of a boring corporate job - but with non-human co-workers like orcs, the undead, etc - is genius.

The comedy definitely leans into that classic British deadpan / understatement style. Think IT Crowd, Faulty Towers, and After Life. I think anyone who's ever worked in an office will definitely be smirking and chuckling their way through this series.

“You could have just called me in. I’ve got skin.” I wonder if that last remark is rude or something. After all, he doesn’t really have skin, to my knowledge. I hope I don’t have to take an undead sensitivity training class now.

Book one, Live Laugh Lich, gets pretty kinky (the MMC has three... er... yes). The smut here isn't going to be for everyone. But I liked the humour so much that I didn't really mind if the intimate scenes weren't my cup of tea.

However book two, The Orc From the Office, holds a much broader appeal, I think. I adored this installment. I'd recommend pushing through and reading this, even if you had mixed feelings on book one. The orc MMC is a socially awkward cinnamon roll and I love him.

I wonder distantly if my health insurance covers being eviscerated by Orc cock.

Book three, The Gargoyle from General Management, left me a bit wanting in terms of the character development. However, the setting of everyone being away together on a company retreat was comedy gold.

All of the Claws & Cubicles books are available on KU.

That's all! I hope you enjoy the smutty rom-com fantasy recs!

This post includes affiliate links to help me create content. No pressure to use them! But if you do, I'll be very grateful :)

#book recs #fantasy romance #romance #smut #book recommendations #sci fi romance #romantasy #omegaverse #kimberly lemming #vk ludwig #kate prior #alphas of nasila #mead mishaps #claws and cubicles #monster romance

[greypetrel]

I was gleefully telling my friend about you and showing her your art (she's super into LOTR so I was trying to find those, but got in the wrong tag🤣) and found/shared your Vespa comic. We had a good laugh and she said: "Wait till someone tells them about ROLLER COASTER" and I immediately came over here. WHAT IF someone tells Dorian and Aisling about ROLLER COASTER?? 🤣🤣🤣

Forgive me if it took too long, but this made me laugh so much that I HAD TO draw something.

Also: I'm leaving you the correct tag down here, but the Dark Lady one is "aisling the dark lady AU". You can find all my aus and tags in the character masterpost!

They'd LOVE the idea, of course. A little too much. They. Not most people around them.

They'll ignore Josephine begging them to please, PLEASE reconsider, think of your reputation, and rush to the Undercroft. Dagna will be over the moon with the plan, of course. Here's the blueprint, and under the cut some other details:

They found plenty of materials to build it in the Exalted Planes. Someone will have to dispose of all that rubbish after the war ended, right?

"Can't you build it in the Exalted Planes?" "But Josie, if we build it there, how would we experiment on gravity? We'll need to travel there and you see, that would be a great bother and will hinder our research. Also if we have it here, it would improve the moral of the troops greatly! :D"

Dorian's calculations were right. Solas discovered it with the first trial run. Not that any of the -very elated- science bros knew, but he actually started to think that maybe the Veil wasn't that bad of an idea, right there and then. Because can you imagine them WITHOUT THE VEIL? CAN YOU? Thedas wouldn't survive.

In order to make Josie happy, they'll come up with other rides to install around Skyhold:

Teacups will be installed in the upper courtyard. Except they're still a scientific experiment on Centrifugal Force, so they're fast. So fast that the game promises a free foal to everyone who manages not to puke on them. Since the foal is one of Little Brother's, Aisling horse (he made a name for himself in the Western Approach, biting on Venatori's butts, and is generally a prick), the excessive speed is actually considered a good thing. So nobody will win a foal of that horse or will have to tell Aisling that her beloved horse is an asshole.

Cullen's tower will be turned into a haunted house (thanks @ndostairlyrium for the idea). He'll actually contribute in painting the place, and will say that it's very useful to dissuade people to come looking for him if the report isn't REALLY important. "Aren't you scared, tho?" "Please, I was a commanding officer in Kirkwall."

Whack-a-mole in the Tavern's courtyard. The Iron Bull and Cassandra monopolize it and they're so-called nemeses. One day, then, the TRAGEDY: a mysterious person beat their record. No one knows who they are, there's a whole weekend of them playing Sherlock Holmes interrogating everyone around the Keep. (it's Krem.)

Josephine needed one joy, or ONE THING that she can use to sell the Inquisitor to the aristocracy. So Aisling organised something cute and nice for nobles to see and participate in. With horses! She named one of the horses Josephine! Josephine is moved, and from how Aisling describes it, calling it "giostra" because she heard the term from Dorian in vernacular Tevene and can't remember it in Trade for the sake of her, Josie thinks it's a carousel.

It's actually something better, and Josie loves it. (In Italian, "giostra" means a carousel, and also what happens in the video)

(Aisling is the unbeated championess. It's not that people let her win, is that she just can't be beated.)

One day, Dorian will eventually use all the data to calculate how much force they will need on the roller coaster to send a cart into orbit. Aisling will read his notes and find a way to propel the cart strong enough to actually do it.

Sera greatly approves.

#petrel replies #science bros #skyhold luna park #aisling the dark lady au #in the first drawing aisling's too tall oopsie #she is on tiptoes from excitement she'd do the rollercoaster thrice in a row and see what she ate last week #it will be counted as a positive experience by her and she'll LOVE IT #Solas in the corner thinking that you know maybe his plan shouldn't be brought forth #those two really benefit from the Veil #Dread Wolf Redemption plan: TIRE HIM OUT

[promptling]

STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS ( 2011 ) change pronouns as needed.

that was our ride!

what the hell did you take?

we have to do this now.

if we're doing this, we've got to do it now.

you sure you don't want me to go instead?

i was kidding.

they're trying to kill us!

i can't hold this position.

i am, surprisingly, alive.

i can save her.

what did you say?

who are you?

you're not actually going to answer that, are you?

you filed a report?

are you giving me attitude?

i am expressing multiple attitudes simultaneously.

you have any idea what a pain in the ass you are?

what's the lesson to be learned here?

you think the rules don't apply to you because you disagree with them.

what was i supposed to do, let them die?

you think you're infallible.

it's a pattern with you.

why should i listen?

you don't listen to anybody but yourself.

you got your ass handed to you.

i don't know what to say.

it's fortunate that the consequences were not more severe.

do you understand why i went back for you?

the truth is, i'm going to miss you.

tomorrow's too late.

spit it out, don't be shy.

there is no regulation that condemns a man to die without a trial.

i'm not going to take ethics lessons from a robot!

this action is morally wrong.

i wasn't asking for your opinion.

i don't have time for a lecture.

this is clearly a military operation.

is that what we are now?

i'd rather not talk about it.

your ears burning?

let's go get this son of a bitch.

i was simply attempting to use your vernacular to convey an idea.

you don't rob a bank when the getaway car has a flat tire.

enough with the metaphors.

remind me never to piss you off.

i would prefer to discuss this in private.

are you really gonna do this right now?

i'm not the only one who's upset with you.

don't drag me into this.

you mistake my choice not to feel as a reflection of my not caring.

the truth is precisely the opposite.

i am here to help you.

you and your people are in danger.

how the hell do you know that?

i will consider that an apology. and i will consider that apology.

the nerve of that guy!

i am not doing that man any favors.

are you out of your corn-fed mind?

you're actually going to listen this guy?

don't agree with me, it makes me very uncomfortable.

when were you going to tell me that?

you're much cleverer than your reputation suggests.

may i remind you, you are not there to flirt.

you're going to want to see this.

you are a murderer!

my crew is my family.

you already knew that, didn't you?

i don't take your meaning.

i'll do anything you want. just let them live.

we cannot fire and we cannot flee.

the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

i have no idea what i'm supposed to do.

you coming with me or not?

just give me two seconds!

try not to get shot.

your path is yours to walk, and yours alone.

did you defeat him?

i got you, i got you.

you'd better get down here.

that's a nice move.

i'm scared, _______.

how do you choose not to feel?

there's too much damage.

go get him.

you saved my life.

it's nice to have a family.

i defer to your good judgement.

#i did add the colon even tho that is not technically the movie's title. we will all survive #star trek sentence meme #star trek rp prompts #star trek rp meme #rp sentence memes #rp sentence prompts #rp prompts #rp ask memes

[greenerteacups]

Merry Swiftmas! I saw your note at the end of the most recent chapter. What are you Tortured Poet Department thoughts and feelings?

Literally just got back from a listening party so this is all coming in VERY fresh and unprocessed but first reactions:

The unfortunate exigencies of Industry Shit have kind of hurt Swift creatively because (1) she's been taught she can have her cake and eat it too with the Grammy-winning 15-track sonically cohesive tone album if she just drops it separately as the first act of a 30-song behemoth deluxe edition/multiverse of bonus tracks, and (2) the Vault Tracks have taught her that fans actually do want to hear every single thing she writes, even if she (rightly) might have thought it wasn't release-quality 5-10 years ago. Long story short there is a good album in here but it needs to be TIGHTLY pruned out because a lot of these songs are either underwritten or underdeveloped or both. She should've focused her energy on improving a smaller set (i.e. cleaning out some of the clunker lines, tightening melodies, giving each song its own identity) and cutting like, more or less the last third of the tracks. That being said! I did like a lot of it.

I also think some people fail to understand Swift is a pop artist making pop music. When we say she's a good lyricist, we don't mean she's fucking Samuel Coleridge, it means she uses the medium of a pop song successfully to communicate a mood or an emotional experience. Pop is vernacular; it's supposed to evoke the kind of language you hear every day. Not surprisingly, I find her at her best when she's not trying to affect some kind of heightened poetic mood. Songs like "Would've, Could've, Should've" straddle this line pretty well for me, because it's not affected, it's just... intelligently thought-through. It's a single metaphor, taken from multiple angles, explained well, and set to a great melody. It's not trying to impress you, but it still does. Anyway.

Miscellaneous/specific thoughts:

"Guilty as Sin?" is my favorite, it's going to be one of my most played songs of the year, both for reasons of Oh Shit It Me and because I'm just straight up in love with the sound of this motherfucker. No analysis it makes the happy juices in the brain go

Other favorites: So Long London, Fresh Out The Slammer, The Bolter, Daddy I Love Him

"thank you aimee" is a reprise of "Mean" addressed semi-obviously to Kim K/the Collective Nation of Haters of Taylor Swift, which was a weak diss track when it was a teenager singing it and has not improved in the mouth of a 30-something artist

"But Daddy I Love Him" is conversely a very successful ironic reprise of "Love Story," and I'm fond of it because it reads like a love letter to the girls who grew up on that song

Interesting strains of Reputation on "Little Old Me," I feel like there was an earlier draft of this song that went harder on the Bad Blood/Don't Blame Me vibe, but she's still scarred from the critical reaction to reputation and hasn't fully gone there since. Which is why someday I will throttle the Pitchfork editor with my bare hands

Florida!!! feels like it needed some more production besides Jack Antonoff sitting on the synths with a jackhammer but I do like it. The bridge/second half sounds a lot like a Bleachers song (compliment)

"So High School" was sweet and I was surprised by how much I liked that and "The Alchemy," both of which are fun but ultimately simple and sentimental — which is GOOD to be clear I don't go looking for Proust in my pop music, and simplicity can be a virtue

However, I scream-laughed in a full room when I heard the line "you can ball and I know Aristotle," and I look forward to thinking about it once a day for the next forever. Insane. So good. Also, like — Taylor, have you read the Politics? You are legally obligated to tell us now if you have read the Politics.

#greenteacup asks

[grim-echoes]

Hey do you have any more information on Karl Jobst being a cryptofascist? I’ve heard less than great things about him before, but I’d rather have my facts straight.

i can, unfortunately there's a lot less information than i'd like to present because the way that a lot of this came to light was when rwhitegoose was outed as a nazi in a discord server (which has an imgur album of over 130 screenshots dedicated solely to his exchanges--i wouldn't recommend scrolling this unless you're in a good headspace, the shit he's said is fucking horrifying but important to contextualize that this is the kind of person karl jobst was associating with and still considered to be a good friend even after his outing; be warned for EXTREME racism, antisemitism, transphobia, and much, much more); karl was part of the same server and only a few scattered screenshots exist of his exchanges in there and on twitter and he allegedly nuked every last trace he could of his previous online interactions when this all came to light so what i'm going to post isn't comprehensive, but it's more than enough.

tw for racism (including several depictions of anti-black/japanese slurs), homophobia, misogyny, asian fetishization under the cut:

when karl was first accused of racism, fellow speedrunner tomatoanus made a public statement on twitter that he'd cut ties with jobst for "things he (karl) had said/done in the past that conflict(ed) with my (tomatoanus) morals". the catalyst for this, as mentioned, is this screenshot that emerged from what i believe is rwhitegoose's personal discord of an interaction between the two of them:

he went on record defending this interaction by claiming that the n word "wasn't offensive" in australia (where he is from) and that "it isn't part of our vernacular" with an accompanying screenshot in the reddit thread i was able to find a lot of this in of multiple locations in queensland alone named for the slur, some of which had since been renamed:

jobst had also been active in the political channels of the goldeneye 007 and perfect dark discords, and made claims that his interaction with goose was "likely from the goldeneye server", as he was either rarely in goose's personal discord, or "left months and months" prior to when this all came to light depending on what version of his story he's telling.

another instance of him making the "i'm not racist because racial slurs don't exist in australia" defense is that time he got his followers to attack a smaller streamer for criticizing his use of the word "jap":

i like that he constantly asserts that "x word isn't offensive" in famously non-racist predominantly white utopia australia, because overt racism is a centuries-old issue that has manifested in not just general xenophobia (including anti-blackness and antisemitism, who'd have fucking thought), but the continued displacement, genocide, and assimilation of its aboriginal populations so i think what he actually means to say is "i've surrounded myself with dozens of people who are right-leaning and don't consider the weight of their words and i shouldn't have to either".

speaking of which, here's another screenshot where he defends his stance on the n word and also throws out the casual misogyny and asian fetishization:

yeah, he was a pickup artist by the way. here's a video of him in action. don't watch it it's painfully fucking cringe

here's a few long since deleted posts he'd made on his twitter involving homophobic "jokes":

aside from this, there's very likely more i'm just not aware of--apparently he'd deleted around 15 years' worth of posts on the speedrunning forum the-elite and from his social media, but i know he's also taken donations from notch before who had been visibly and demonstrably alt-right for several years by that point. if there's anything more than this that anyone else has i'd also like to see it.

as an aside, he regularly gets hundreds of thousands, often over a million views on his videos and retains over 900k subscribers. what makes him and others like him crypto isn't just that publically observable evidence of him voicing alt-right ideas and behaviors is incredibly restrained, actually finding information beyond surface level is difficult to begin with. he's still well respected in the community and collaborates with people who are otherwise much more provably reputable, so sometimes even picking someone out by association isn't accurate. the average person has no idea what a dogwhistle even is, so trying to clock a potential fash by the things they don't say is a skill you need to hone by becoming uncomfortably, miserably intimate with them as people and as communities before you can ever even think of picking one out of a crowd.

#not sure if this needs tws even with the read more and warnings but let me know if it does

[callsign-relic]

Human can understand the pet even though it's very limited thanks to DJD fucking over Dominus. But yeah Koan, and Vos are concerned. Though Vos, scientist that he is, wants to test his human's ability understand and translate. The RTUT. Tarn walks into the comon room to see Vos' human siting cross-legged on Helix's end table to be face to face with Vos.

"Sure thing boss but science isn't science without a control set, right?" The human answered easily. "Technically since it's just me and my TRUT it's a case study but we might as well do things the right way."

Tarn's Primal vernacular wasn't up to Vos's answer. Most of the DJD could understand some of the language but Koan was the most fluent. Tarn had spent enough time around Shockwave how to guess in which direction the convversation was headed, though. Particularly since he was the only on mech on the team with the human language pack downloaded..

Vos looked up to see Tarn before the tank could beat a hasty retreat. Vos's whole EM feild brightened. Tarn was heartened to see that Vos's Pet seemed to reach the same conclusion and was alarmed and dismayed. Vos crackled animatedly at Tarn. When the human paused Vos shot the human a dangerous look.

"Um, Sir," the human began, looking at Tarn uneasily. "Vos has an idea on how to test the TRUT and he thinks you'll be able to help him."

Tarn kept his gaze on Vos "How so," Tarn replied cautiously. It wouldn't do to undo all his careful work at building team morale. He'd hear Vos out at least.

"I'm assessing the limit's of my squishy's translator." The human slotted into their role as Vos's tranlator. "Earlier today Koan and I found it conversing with the Pet."

"What?!" Tarn snaped incerdiously. No need for the human to repeat that back.

"They were conversing with the Pet. Admittedly the Pet wasn't a great conversatinvalist." Vos paused to snicker. "It reported he mostly comunicated at the level of a bairly verbal sparkling. Immediately needs only and little to no higher cognitive abilities."

"I see," Tarn mused. That was consistent with the effects of the domestification process. Fascinating but he didn't wish to be dragged into this. "And this pertains to me how?" Tarn apreciated how well the human convayed his repressive tone. The little thing certainly performed it's task as translator well, he give the organic that much.

"Tarn," Vos's tone and EM Feild held a touch of reproach just shy of insubordination. "You're the only one of us who has the Earth Language Pack. You're the only one capable of carying a baseline assessment in their native language."

"What are you going, have Tarn give it a copy of a chapter of Towards Peace it it's little squishy glyphs, give it a quiz, and discuss it after?" Helix asked with a snort. As the human dutifully translated Helix caught sight of it. "Fragg it Vos, get your human off my end table!" The human less willing to antagonize Helix than Vos sprung from the table at Vos. It magnatized to Vos's chest plate to stop it's fall. Vos lifted it to his shoulder. Once safely ensconced the human Translated Vos' reply.

"Actually Helix that would be an excellent baseline assessment" Vos replied brightly. "And if you damage my things I will shoot your aft in so hard you'll need to have your oil changed through your spike." The human's optics went wide at the threat but they repeated it presumably faithfully. Helix just rolled his optics and sauntered to the energon dispenser. "If its translation abilities are as universal as the RTUT's name seguests it could be a useful aid to the Cause."

Tarn paused. Vos wasn't wrong persay. Discussing his Lord's writing was never a hardship. But with an organic? "I will... consider your request. This of course presumes that this experiment takes place in your off time only."

"Of course, Tarn," Vos agreed with enthusiasm.

"And Vos," Tarn added before changing the subject completely, "please your human pet a designation. Calling it your human pet is conusing the Pet."

This was so good HAHAHA it’s interesting to see how the human slots in with the rest of the DJD! LOL him having to translate Vos’ threats HAHAH

Love this little mini fic HAHA thank you!!!

#relic answers #tasty au

[horizon-verizon]

I despise the fact that they made Rhaenyra Viserys's cupbearer before she became his official heir. And that she served the other council members.

This is more than a matter of "it wasn't in the book", where Rhaenyra became Viserys' cupbearer when she was 8 and while before Aemma died and she became heir:

At eight, the princess was placed into service as a cupbearer…but for her own father, the king. At table, at tourney, and at court, King Viserys thereafter was seldom seen without his daughter by his side.

("A Question of Succession")

And of course we see both book!her and show!her sit at the council more after she's heir and Viserys marries Alicent. But we don't see Viserys really let her down easy or encourage her right her as much as he could (considering he named her heir!) when they hear of Daemon getting the egg. Second episode, where Rhaenyra speaks of using her, Rhaenys, or Laenor -- most likely Rhaenys or her -- to meet with Daemon and take back the egg. And the too-loud silence that followed

So Rhaenyra serving the council members doesn't even make any cultural/contextual sense!

To be someone's cupbearer is to serve them. It was an honorable thing to do, but looking back princesses and princes don't serve anyone except the ruler/their other parent (the royal consort) except in special circumstances. And only their king/ruling father's/Queen/ruling mother could ever put them in a position of becoming a cupbearer for anyone.

If a princess would ever be told to serve random ass men (even noble) in her ruling parent's council or elsewise, it would be some form of punishment (if told by the ruler, and even then that parent must be big mad to do that, or not like their kid very much, and canonically Viserys always adored Rhaneyra...as the quote above suggests), it is because (like Daeron) she is told to be a fostered child of another lord for an alliance (and this mostly happened to boys, not girls ), OR she is a hostage, implying a dangerous situation where the parent is being held in check.

Of course, I think that the line blurs when we're talking children being sent away for safety and them serving their hosts, but I also believe that is still a special circumstance as the context is still war/danger and making sure to maintain that bond with said host while under their roof AND if it is made clear that such services/actions would be performed, so as to not invite degradation for the royal.

So with all of that in mind...why does this girl stand around like a servant serving these people, and not just her ruling father? Why does Viserys compel her to do this and not even perform that adoration I mention above, even when he was just as concerned with having a male heir as he was in the book?

Because the writers wanted to readapt and transform this story into one where

Rhaenyra is in a more strange, lower, maybe even debased position

the father is even more dismissive of his daughter

to illustrate that element of male emotional degradation against their own female relatives. Problem is that they also set up a new sort of relationship than what was told, even in the show. Rhaenyra feels much more like an afterthought than she was, too much so. And Rhaenyra became more '90s Punk-Rocky sort of rebellious (rhaenyragendereuphoria' post), this sort of confrontation much more like the anachronistic, consumerist-twisted, appropriated mainstream product of the origins of "girl power" (Black hip hop vernacular).

So we purposefully thinned and reduced this father-daughter bond for the sake of making Rhaenyra his pseudo-lackey passed about for lower-ranked men, and for no deeper reason at all but to create a "mood" of shame or abasement.

Wonderful. Really feeling the feminism here.

#hotd writing #rhaenyra targaryen #viserys i #viserys i targaryen #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #hotd comment #hotd critical #HotD #house of the dragon #hotd characterization #characterization #asoiaf cupbearers #rhaenyra and viserys #hotd episode 1 #rhaenyra's characterization #viserys i's characterization #hotd episode 2

[catherine-bisset]

Kissing Booth

ft: @fleetsummers | In which two philosophers discuss the arts. A hug goes wrong.

Cat | She slunk up near the end of the day. Fleet was the only familiar person, and so it was Fleet Cat selected to inquire with. "Is this event commonplace?"

Fleet | "Not at all. The town's been through so much lately, and March is always such a dreary month, we just thought it would be something to lift our spirits, y'know?" Fleet smiled at her, the air of this interaction much different than the pondside one. "Honestly, I think kissing booths fell out of fashion decades ago. But we all know each other here."

Cat | Absorbing the information, she took a hesitant step closer. "Okay."

Fingertips grazed the edges of the little window. "This kindness... the familiarity helps?"

Fleet | "For most people, I think so. I was on a movie once called Sparrow's Flight and there was a kissing booth scene and even though the extras who I kissed were very nice, it still felt pretty weird by the end of a day of shooting." Fleet crinkled his nose at the memory. "So much jaw strain!"

Cat | Idle chatter froze Cat. His familiarity shifted, a younger version superimposed. "You were the love interest." How had she not noticed?

Fleet | The comment, more than the way it was delivered, made Fleet perk up immediately, his vanity stoked: "You know it? You've seen it? I was starting to think my filmography hadn't entered the pop culture vernacular like I thought it had!"

Cat | She nodded, suppressing reaction. It had paid well, that movie. Kept her afloat a good while. It wasn't Fleet's fault society required such sacrifice.

Her hands flexed open and shut against her thighs. "I've seen it. Did you feel it was accurate to the true story?"

Fleet | It was a more serious question than he expected, but Fleet dropped -- immediately, comfortably -- into interview mode, thinking on it. "I don't think any sort of fictionalization can be accurate to that degree," he said. "After all, it's meant to be watchable and to get people's interest. I did make sure to read what I could about the actual story, to try and be respectful and all, but the director wouldn't let us watch interviews and things like that. We had to make our own performances."

Cat | Heat was creeping up Cat's skin. He didn't know. Not his fault. "The real story didn't have a kissing booth," was all she managed, and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her hooded sweatshirt. Safer there.

"I was going to ask for a hug." It was blurted, stilted and without adu. "I thought you might want one, for you."

Fleet | Fleet's forehead creased slightly at that comment, and he sat up straighter. "You're familiar with the Sparrow story?" he asked. "You seem sort of young for it. Although I shouldn't say that, for all I know you're just older and prettier than I am." He was on the verge of a light laugh to accompany the comment, but Cat suggesting a hug knocked it flat. "I would love one," Fleet said instead, and came around to the front, slipping his arms around Cat's waist and leaning the side of his head against hers.

Cat | Compliments on her appearance made Cat's spine itch, so she pretended he simply hadn't spoken them. Instead, she held still until he'd settled himself against her.

Like anyone unfamiliar with casual affection, the effort was awkward. Her arms settled around Fleet's body, careful of his wounds. Butterfly touch. Her voice was low, but never whispered. "You deserved better."

Fleet | Cat's unease in a hug seemed par the course, Fleet had gleaned that much out by the pond, but he startled when she said what she said. Not out of the hug, entirely, but he did go quite still instead of his habitual constant tiny shifts in movement to meld against the other person. "What? Why would you say that? What do you mean?"

Cat | She didn't cling or grasp, entirely used to people pulling away. "Than your father," she explained simply, glancing at his eyes for the first time in minutes. "Than your uncle. Than what happened."

It seemed an obvious thing. Had he forgotten their conversation? Or had Cat stumbled into a social trap she was not aware existed?

Fleet | She had the most extraordinary eyes; dark and searching, but giving away nothing, like staring into the night sky so long it stared back. "I wonder, sometimes," Fleet said. "What exactly I deserved."

Cat | She frowned. "A real chance - the same as every infant." Except Cat, who was the shape her family made her. The great void, wretched and rotten.

Fleet | Fleet wasn't certain he wanted to commit to that, not just yet. He wasn't prone to morbidity, but here was a chance for it, with somebody who seemed so inclined, and so he said, "You don't believe in fate, then? Predestination? That maybe we're -- mostly -- living the lives that we were always meant to have, with just the slightest little bit of chance to customize things?"

Cat | His answer unexpected, Cat had no answer prepared. "Fate implies some greater intelligence, yes? A will powerful enough to shape us all." No, Cat thought. She didn't care for that at all.

"That would mean what we suffer is by design. We struggle in near futility against what cannot be escaped." It choked her, to think that killing one god was not enough.

Fleet | "So the alternative, then." Fleet subsided into glumness. "That everything happens because of free will and people exercising their free will irresponsibly, and cruelly, and without foresight. I don't know if that's much more comforting than being set on a cosmic track of destiny in the design of some higher power."

Cat | "I have met many monsters, Fleet. All were human." Cat was far from the idea comforter, if that was what Fleet sought. "Someone fated to be monstrous is pitiable - Judas never had a chance. But choice? Choice means a chance to change. To grasp your destiny and shape it."

Fleet | "Judas," Fleet repeated. He wouldn't have figured Cat for the religious sort, so that was a new thing to factor in. "He had some killer songs, though." That was a silly thing to say, and Fleet shook his head, saying, "--sorry. I resort to musical theatre references in times of stress. In the end it doesn't matter much, does it? Whether people were fated to hurt you or if they made that choice all on their own."

Cat | "I haven't seen any." The statement was dry, unapologetic in its explanation. "I didn't intend to provoke stress." This, at least, held the scent of regret.

"Wounds hurt no less if inflicted of free will or the blueprint of a greater force. Pity Judas, but it does not negate his betrayal."

Fleet | "Do you like music? If you do, I can introduce you to some. Musicals, I mean." Another reflexive response, offering music when he was trying and failing to figure out something more momentous. But it wasn't such a bad thing, Fleet didn't think, and Cat might end up discovering something she enjoyed. "Cat," he said, "there's no thirty pieces of silver, but. Would you like a kiss?"

Cat | She didn't remember how she felt about music. "Okay," was all she gave Fleet in response to the answer, rather than expose her lack of opinion.

Her eyes widened, and Cat froze again. "I don't do that." This was not Isaac - with his unshakable guarantee of chastity. Fleet contained danger she'd been foolish to forget. "I understand," she whispered, hands mindfully still, "but please don't."

Fleet | "It's fine. You're the visitor, Cat. It's about whatever you'd like." Fleet hugged her, the embrace careful and measured, his hands nowhere that she couldn't move out of easily. "I think you'd like them," he said. "Musicals. Big questions about life but set to music, with dancing, and costumes sometimes."

Cat | Breathe caught in her throat, Cat was a statue for Fleet's safety. She could understand on the surface that he wasn't truly threatening, but everything else was Fight instinct. Control was held one moment at a time, little half-moons in her palm digging deeper. "Okay," she exhaled the word, wishing she could explain to him. Knowing she should.

Instead, Cat took a step back out of his polite and respectful embrace. "Tell me more another day." Her voice was thick, one of the weaknesses she still struggled with. "You did a good job in the movie," the compliment was offered in her stilted way, an attempt to give him something positive to remember.

Fleet | "Thank you," Fleet said with reflexive politeness, though it was still puzzling, the way Cat talked about Sparrow's Flight. "It was such a sad story. Everyone kept saying how brave she was but ... I don't know. Being brave doesn't make anything feel less ruined. At least not in my experience."

Cat | Her laugh barked out, a cracked sound. "They never call the lucky ones brave, do they?"

Another step back and Cat shrugged a narrow shoulder under the sweatshirt. "Free will or destiny, Fleet. Ruined is still ruined."

#thread #re: fleet #discord thread #I am B A D at picking gifs for these 🤪🤪🤪

[acacia-may]

🌲My "Little Trees" Appreciation Post🌲

Was your favorite character barely in the story but still made a lasting impact on you? Do you feel your favorite character is underrated and/or forgotten and deserves more love, recognition, and attention? Then, they might just be a "Little Tree!" 🌳

🌲What is a "Little Tree"?

A "Little Tree" is not a main character, not a main supporting character, and, in most cases, not even a supporting character but rather a tiny side character who was barely there--like a little tree in the background of the main, overarching storyline--but who still made an impression and is important to you.

🌲What's so special about "Little Trees"?

Though seemingly unimportant in the grand scheme of the main character's overarching storyline, "Little Trees" are often unique and dynamic characters who left an impression great enough to be remembered despite their lack of "screentime"

"Little Trees" are often forgotten or overlooked for the Forest (overarching plot) or the Big Trees (main and main supporting characters), but they deserve love and attention too!

🌲Why the term "Little Tree"?

I have always gotten attached to small side characters, and “My Little Trees" is the term that my friends, sisters, and I use to refer to them in real life. (A/N: It's a long running joke and my friends seem to really like it. I've been gifted grow your own tiny bonsai tree kits and a "I just really love trees" shirt with small trees on it from them 😂). It has long been a part of my vernacular, and I realized recently I've been using it on my blog with no explanation so consider this an explanation post.

🌲How can I tell if my favorite character is a "Little Tree"?

The definition "Little Tree" is fairly broad and very relative so there are many characters who can fit in that category. You can have a little tree who is unimportant in the main character's arc or in the grand scheme of the overarching plot of a story but who is important in a particular storyline whether that be a plot arc or character arc (i.e. Finesse Calmreich is integral to Finral and Langris' arcs in Black Clover, but they are themselves side characters which makes Finesse a side, side character and not important to Asta's arc as the protagonist. Meredy was relatively important in the Tenrou Island/Grimoire Heart arc and showed up a couple more times in other important story arcs in Fairy Tail, but she wasn't that important to the overarching plot of the series as a whole).

Other good ways to figure out whether a character is a "Little Tree" are to count either:

How many pages, chapters, episodes or arcs that character appears in (i.e. Solidad (Saori) appears in just 4 episodes of Pokémon. One of which is just a cameo, but she is still my favorite Pokémon character of all time [A/N: I actually cosplayed her at a convention once. No one knew who I was though])

OR

The degrees of separation from the protagonist (i.e. in Black Clover, David Swallow is on the same squad as Yuno who is best friends/rivals with Asta)

Note: ocassionally, a character who should likely fit the definition of a "Little Tree" is so beloved by the fandom that you don't feel as personally compelled to show or garner appreciation for that character. That character can still be your "Little Tree" if you want. 🌳

What is most important is your own personal feelings surrounding this character. Only you can decide how much of a "side character" a character must be in order to be one of your "Little Trees." It's very intuitive.

🌲Which characters are examples of "Little Trees"?

I have included several of my own "Little Trees" on the banner for this appreciation post, but I have many more and there are even more than that in every fandom!

Some examples I've included are:

(A/N: organized by fandom and not an exhaustive list by any means)

Black Clover: David Swallow, Dominante Code, Fanzell Kruger, Finesse Calmreich, & Letoile Becquerel

Danganronpa: Leon Kuwata

Demon Slayer: Koyuki, Makomo, Sabito, Senjuro Rengoku, & Shoiichi

Fairy Tail: Blue Pegasus [Hibiki Lates, Ren Akatsuki, Eve Tearm, Jenny Realight, & Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki], Meredy, Milliana, Minerva Orland, Sho, Wally Buchanan, & Yuri Dreyar

Fullmetal Alchemist: Denny Brosh, Major Miles, Maria Ross, & Rebecca Catalina

My Hero Academia: Emi Fukukado (Ms. Joke)

Pokémon: Solidad (Saori), Nicholai (Kiyo), & Christopher (Yusaku)

🌲What can I do to champion my "Little Trees"?

Spread awareness and appreciation for your favorite "Little Trees," especially the ones you feel could use more love. Sometimes it is up to you to make sure your "Little Trees" get the appreciation and attention they deserve. Create posts or content about them, request that content be made about them, tell your friends about them, scream into the void about them if necessary or just love them enough for an entire fandom in your heart. 💚

I try to use this blog and my writing to champion the "Little Trees" everywhere so please feel free to drop by any time to talk about your favorite "Little Trees." If you don't have any, I'm happy to share some of mine with you! 🌲 All posts about "Little Trees" will be tagged accordingly using the “My Little Trees” and/or “Little Tree Appreciation” Tag. If requests for "Little Tree" content come in, they will also be tagged as "Little Tree Champion” in your honor. Thank you!

🌳Cheers, Little Tree Champions! 🌳

#my little trees 🌲🌲🌲 #little tree appreciation 🌲🌲 #little trees appreciation post 🌳 #little tree information post 🌳 #little tree champion 🌳 #acacia's ramblings

[psychotrenny]

Hi! May I share your thread on TikTok? The one on how Israel isn't egalitarian in its "safe haven" for Jewish folk. It was so well written and informed. I wanted to make a similar video about how it indirectly Stokes antisemitism, but it'd would be better to highlight Jewish voices as I'm a black muslim

Feel free to if you want but to be absolutely clear that I myself am not Jewish. I just made that post to share some oft he things I've learned in response recent tide of zionist propaganda that's been all over the western media.

If your interested in a Jewish perspective then many Jewish tumblr users have made a lot of very good posts and additions that covers a lot of similar matters. Just of the top of my head there's lesbianchemicalplant (with posts like this, this and this ) and determinate-negation (i.e. this one and this one ) There's many others of course but between tumblr's awful search function and my own inconsistent tagging habits its hard to keep track of what I've read and no doubt there's many that I just haven't seen

Several of the articles I linked are also written by Jewish people or centered on a Jewish Perspective. This theme is likely most prominent in this article, which is focuses on an interview with the scholar Benjamin Balthaser about Jewish Leftist anti-Zionism in the 20s and 30s

Also looking back on that thread and its responses I've realised a number of errors, or at least points where I employed poorly chosen language. I've conflated the Shepardic and Ashkenazis Old Yishuv in ways that I don't think are helpful; as the term is one coined by Zionist settlers to describe the various Jewish people already present in Palestine at the start of the settlement process and thus includes a number of different groups with differing histories and relationships to the land. I also used the term "indigenous" to describe them. This was in an attempt to outline how Jewish presence in Palestine isn't synonymous with Zionism (i.e. the creation of an ethno-state supposedly for all Jewish peoples everywhere) but it also had the effect of implying that they are exempt from participation n the Zionist colonial project which thy are very much not. My point was that there have been Jewish people in Palestine far before the era of Zionist colonialism but in the political sense referring to them as "indigenous", especially in implied reference to the contemporary political situation, was a poor use of the word . Additionally, while my readings on the early development of modern vernacular Hebrew reminded me very much of self-indigenization in terms of how it often evoked an ancestral connection to the ancient Kingdom of Israel (thinking of quotes from Eleizer Ben-Yehuda like "The Hebrew language can live only if we revive the nation and return it to the fatherland" ) it has been pointed out that this was very likely not the primary intention considering that Zionism originated at the very height of European settler-colonialism when such downplaying rhetoric wasn't really necessary. The (frequently forced) use of Hebrew as the spoken language likely had had far more to do with creating a new common culture and stripping Jewish migrants of their own so they could be more easily integrated into the state. While it seems to me that appeals to an ancestral land connection still featured far more in even early Zionism that in any other strain of European Settler-Colonialism (which indeed often made the "newness" of the conquered land a rhetorical point of pride, disregarding indigenous claims to the land without insisting that the settlers had any more rights than was granted with their force and diligence), I suppose that the term "self-indigenisation" may not be the most appropriate in this context and would be best restricted to the more modern faux-progressive forms of Zionist apologia. I'm sure there are many other mistakes I've made in that post or things I've overlooked, but these currently appear to me to be the most important once. Overall I'm honoured that you'd consider my writing worthy of such attention but would urge caution and insist that you seek out other sources in addition to it. Thank you for your time and good luck with the video