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pandoriasbox · 2 years

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Horse Girl “Movement”

I’m just gonna toss my two cents in on this while it’s still a hot topic instead of taking over other people’s posts with my opinions. I think SSE, the company behind the game, made a horrendous mistake in how they’re managing and marketing this “movement” of theirs. I can understand where they’re coming from and I think I understand their general intentions.

Like I get it, “horse girl” especially in North America (though depends on where you’re from) tends to be used negatively and especially for bullying. It wasn’t a huge deal where I’m from since it’s way more rural here so kinda more normal but I’ve always had the impression it kinda implied you were weird or strange bare minimum and I’ve heard some awful stuff from friends about how it’s viewed elsewhere. So I think it’s fair for SSE to think “oh hey we’re a huge horse game that could influence people to look at this more positively and make people feel better about this.”

Problem is, they used probably the worst ever wording for their hashtag and whoever was responsible for replying to concerns on instagram was really ignorant at best and just downright inconsiderate of actual minority groups that face oppression and go through the process of reclaiming slurs. I agree with folks saying “redefining” is a better word to use, it’s at least not feeling like you’re ripping off far more serious and important movements and pretending yours is on the same level as them. Like absolutely bullying sucks but I don’t think any “horse girl” has been explicitly targeted in a systemic way for just liking horses. I have seen other things like people commenting it’s also something that might be related to neurodivergence and I’d agree, I think talking about that would be a really interesting and good topic to discuss. However, the way I think this is coming off from SSE’s side is more of a loosey goosey “uwu we’re gonna post some positive stuff about horsey girls and anti bullying advice that doesn’t do anything.”

And I absolutely hope I’m wrong, I want to be wrong about that but at the end of the day, there’s so little you can do about bullying or supply advice for bullying. You can attempt to ignore bullies, you can talk to someone of authority like a teacher if you’re in school but if you’re an adult or online? You’re kinda screwed, you just block and report if you gotta and try to move on, don’t interact. Honestly, I think the main thing that helps against bullies is just having a support group of some kind and unfortunately if you’re already the odd one out because of something like being a horse girl, you’re just kinda screwed. A lot of times, people won’t do anything about bullying because they either don’t want to get bullied or don’t want to get hurt themselves, or worse, they just don’t care.

So I don’t have any real hope for this “movement” they’re trying to do. I think it’s just going to be a weak attempt to try and uplift their female playerbase, score some brownie points and hand out some likely ineffective anti-bullying advice. Maybe they’ll tell people to be nicer to horse girls too. Again, I hope I’m wrong but SSE hasn’t had the best track record when it comes to making a stand on anything and this comes off as more of a marketing ploy to rope people into the game or just push harder on their female playerbase that they’re hashtag relatable, hashtag we’re with you, hashatag something something girlboss.

So yeah, I’m pretty salty about it and I usually keep rants off my blog but this has affected more than me, it’s hurt my friends, it’s hurt me, and I’m kinda pissed about how inconsiderate it is to minority groups and on top of that, another nail in the coffin showing how little SSE cares about anyone else in their community who isn’t cis female. Like this isn’t a one off thing, these kinds of lack of consideration moments have been sprinkled throughout my time playing and following SSO.

Like I’ve said multiple times, I’m all for SSE being supportive of girls, women, anyone who identifies as female. I want to see them do more positive female orientated things and I think this was an attempt but an incredibly poorly conceived one at best. What I want to see is more showcases of female creators, equestrians, ect. SSE is in a unique situation where they could very easily shine more light on the game design process for young girls and women. They could talk more about behind the scenes, they could showcase more of their female devs, artists and writers (they already do but what about showing them go through their work process if they’re okay with that?) They could even do events around getting girls into game design. But what do they do? Continue to spout about how hashtag feminist they are by marketing towards girls instead of actually producing content that feels like it’s really uplifting female players. It’s not an easy line to distinguish but I gotta say I feel like 8 times out of 10 they’re on the wrong side of it.

And at the end of all of this, it just wraps straight back around to the problem of SSE doesn’t care about players who aren’t cis female. I’m not saying everyone in the company doesn’t but the face of the company and perhaps the marketing and social media teams feel like they don’t. The external elements of this game and franchise don’t care about us, they don’t care about gender queer, trans, nonbinary, gender non-conforming players. They don’t care about actually showing gender equality in their game, about making it so young girls see that they are on equal footing as boys and no better or less. Or about making an actual difference in showcasing how it’s normal to be outside the gender norm even if you identify with your assigned birth gender. And maybe that’s okay if you’re a little company still just trying to make the next Barbie game and fade into the background.

But it’s 2022, gonna be 2023 before we know it and gender diversity is a huge topic now. We are moving faster and faster towards widely recognizing genders other than female and male and if SSE wants to actually be inclusive, they’ll start doing that too. It’s reasonable for them to put more effort into anything female over male or other gender queer content but it’s no excuse to either leave it on the sidelines, limit it to pride month or push it to locked areas the player may never see or only see once and then abandon. And most importantly, there are games with make your own characters or player blank slates that are more gender progressive than SSE is attempting to be right now. I love the look of the new models but I am hating how limiting they are gender wise. I want a nonbinary character, I want to have the option to be a gender nonconforming butch coded woman instead of the only one in the game being A VILLAIN. And maybe I can’t have a character that looks like she’s in her late 20′s like me but I don’t understand why I can’t have a gender neutral one or why I can’t play as a male when even most indie games that don’t have premade characters let me.

SSE needs to grow the hell up and take a long hard look at what’s going on outside their little bubble because even though we’re a minority, a lot of long time queer and male players are getting real sick of this treatment. I don’t enjoy seeing my friends drop like flies off the game that brought us together. I don’t want to drop it myself because continued lack of respect on topics like these. Maybe it feels like an overreaction to people who are part of the target audience but after a while this stuff builds up both in SSO and outside it. I’m just sick of seeing piss poor gender representation and I want to finally say something and try to do something about it.

#rant #vent #this has nothing to do with the essay if you're coming here for that #i'm going to still do the essay the best i can without letting my personal feelings get too involved #the essay will be about both positives and negatives #this is just me getting really frustrated and wanting to talk to people about it #also yeah i do think sso does do a better job than a lot of games especially older ones #you'll see what i mean in the essay #i just need to get this out of my system

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midnights-call · 1 year

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It's wbw so tell me what you typically start with when you worldbuild! Do you start with large-scale things and zoom in? Focus on one aspect and slowly spread out? Talk about your process!

Hi!!! This is a fun question purely because it will show 1) how bad I am at worldbuilding 2) how much I don’t like doing it (even though it’s important and I need to do, and always eventually do)

So essentially, when I first go about any kind of wip or project, I usually have either a character that needs a world or a vague story that needs an anything. The latter usually results in a Pinterest board where I save images related to the idea to help get some inspiration as I solidify whatever the idea actually is, and this is the closest I get to “intentional” worldbuilding. By that, I mean going in and genuinely trying to construct some kind of environment/setting for these nebulous themes/vibes, usually with the end goal of having some kind of plot and an idea of what the characters might be to populate that world.

After that, the process melds with the character first process, which is 99% of the time me just crafting plot and character in a mainly white room until I realize I need to figure out a setting/culture/etc thing to help either of those things, and am forced to spend time on it lol. And usually I spend a lot of time procrastinating that part simply because I find it so tedious, and I’m super averse to any kind of formatted planning or note taking for anything I do. My brain doesn’t like it, which is bad because it often means I get stuck during the writing process which means getting bogged down which leads me to procrastinating by writing so I just live in this ouroboros shaped hell lol.

Usually I do figure it out but it’s always in fragments relating to whatever I need to push the story along. Sometimes it’s researching fashion or architecture in various cultures I might take inspiration from, sometimes it’s reading dense texts about government structures that I literally don’t understand at all because I’m incapable of reading above an 8th grade level anymore. I frequently just don’t spend time on or build anything that isn’t going to be mentioned or connected in some way to things that happen on screen, so any world in my stories is like being on a sound stage. It seems convincing until you go around the corner and see it’s just Masonite and a lot of 2x4s.

And like, that works for the most part, it does, but I know it’s not a good way to do things. There are plot holes and inconsistencies, lots of meandering, white room syndrome, no real reader investment in anything going on outside of a character’s head. But the one nice thing about it is that I can very easily chop or change stuff whenever I want. I never suffer from any kind of issue stemming from pieces in my puzzle not fitting correctly because I never even took my puzzle out of the box. If I need to randomly conjure something because it’s convenient, easy, it’s done. If I need to throw something out because it’s not right, gone, done, barely any edits to do because it was probably only mentioned twice anyway. Obviously when something is huge and tied to the characters and is driving the main plot, it gets a little harder, but the loosey goosey style still puts in work. There are methods to circumvent and adjust so I no longer have a problem, usually resulting in some small shifts in how the plot looks.

So yeah pure chaos. It’s less of a method and more of random bouts of scrambling, intense research, and extreme avoidance. Also some car ride epiphanies when I run errands. My world building happens out of necessity rather than out of interest most of the time. The few times it doesn’t, I usually still get bored after a while and focus on the plot and characters anyway. I know I need to work on it, especially considering I’m writing mainly in the fantasy genre, but maaaaaaan I wish I could just write characters in white rooms and be done with it sometimes lmao

But all of that is why I like things like this, where people ask me things about my world and suddenly I am forced to come up with some kind of answer that actually makes sense. It’s very helpful and steers me when I’d otherwise go down a rabbit hole or simply avoid it altogether

#long post #my post #ask reply #WBW #yes I’m a mess #I probably will not get better #idk what it is about world building but I just don’t gel with the process #or even formal plotting #I’m just a guy who likes when ocs interact and have feelings #which is an unfortunate breed of writer to be #because no one wants to read hamlet 2: the book where nothing happens

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graysongraysoff · 2 years

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🤡 🛒 🛠 💖 and 🧐 for the ask meme! <3

fanfic writer emoji asks

🤡 what’s a line, scene or exchange you’ve written that made you laugh?

dialogue is my favorite thing on earth to write, especially little interactions like this:

“Damn, you got hot,” Satoru greeted him at the entrance to Jujutsu High’s administrative building, earning the long-suffering glare he’d missed so much.

“You look the same,” Nanami replied dryly. Satoru barked a laugh.

“I’ll send you the skincare routine,” he quipped breezily.

writing banter like this between good friends always makes me smile :)

🛒 what are some common things you incorporate in your fics? themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

it was a joke with my les mis friends for a long time that i had to reference courfeyrac’s “buoyant curls” at least once in every fic i wrote, lol. i will not apologize i love that phrase and the imagery it invokes so fucking much.

but in terms of broader things… well, the biggest commonality in everything i write, fic and not-fic, is the focus on platonic relationships, usually between brothers, male friends or fathers/father figures and sons/son figures. i can’t help it, i love the way men love. maybe someday we’ll unpack why that is, but it is not this day.

i also write primarily angst and hurt/comfort, bc a bitch loves tragedy and catharsis, especially when that tragedy and catharsis involves men being vulnerable with each other in a way that masculinity usually doesn’t let them be.

men crying is what i’m trying to say. i write a lot of men hugging and leaning on each other and crying.

🛠 what tools/programs/apps do you use to write?

google docs baybee, and occasionally a timer if i’m trying to break a block with ten-minute fics. i also write from prompts a lot? especially since i write mostly short fic; i find it helpful a lot of times to have a jumping-off place.

also thesaurus.com, my beloved.

💖 what made you start writing?

god, i don’t even know. i have been writing stories ever since i learned how to write; when i was like six or seven i had a whole notebook dedicated to tales of three best friends and their horses, complete with illustrations. i won first place in the young author’s fair at my school around that same age for a story about two cats encountering a scary bulldog. i don’t think anything made me start writing, i think that’s just how i’m wired, lol.

now, i started writing fic when i was 13 or 14 years old, basically because i learned, from the internet, that it was allowed, lol. before then i thought surely it must be illegal for nebulous copyright reasons, so i would just write things that were Heavily Inspired by the stuff i liked, but then once i discovered that fanfic was a Thing on the internet i started writing more and more of that and less and less original stuff, until now when it’s basically all i write! 😬

🧐 do you spend much time researching your stories?

god, you have no idea.

i generally like to stay as canon compliant as possible; i generally write fic out of appreciation for (and obsession with) the canon as opposed to writing fic to “fix” the canon (though i am not immune to the occasional fix-it), and i have also always really enjoyed the exercise of writing “within constraints.” it feels like a game to me — a set of rules or requirements that i have to work around in order to create something moving. to do that i spend insane amounts of time on wikis and reddits looking up shit like “how many windows does the bebop have,” and sometimes i will find and rewatch/reread a scene in the original work if the internet isn’t giving me what i want.

in terms of research outside of the canon, recently since i’ve started writing a lot of anime fic i’ve been doing a fair amount of research into japanese culture, but i’m a biiiitttt more loosey-goosey with that, because 1.) i am aware of the limits of typing keywords into google and reading three or four blog posts on whatever it is i’m looking up, and i would rather be ambiguous than wrong, and 2.) i think as an american writing in english it’s really easy for that kind of research to, like, take over a fic, if that makes sense?? like, i’ve definitely read fics (especially anime fics) where all the cultural details and references start to feel kind of performative, which not only makes the writer seem pretentious but it also takes away from the story itself. so generally if it’s something that seems easy enough to look up, like popular fast food restaurants or what kind of animals they have at the tokyo zoo, i’ll look that up, but i give myself a bit more wiggle room with things that might be more nuanced than that.

wow anyway sorry for that insane digression, lmao. the short answer is yes. yes i do a lot of research when i write fic. 😂

#thank you sm ah!!!#pyrrhlc

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sodomitecastiel · 3 years

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Hi! I re-read the last (posted) chapter of Fenario this morning, and the scene with the mezuzah made me think.

I have a question, and idk how to get the answers out of Google. If you can't or don't want to answer it yourself, that's okay. If that's the case, then if you could perhaps direct me to a helpful website, or to someone who you think can and will answer it, that would be extremely helpful and very much appreciated 😊

Cas's words from Fenario are "It's meant to remind you of the presence of God, which l choose to interpret as holiness."

I'm not Jewish, nor a follower of any Abrahamic religion, but for some reason that scene and the idea of the mezuzah resonated strongly with me on a spiritual level. Especially Cas interpreting it as "holiness" rather than God.

I know it would be disrespectful to have an actual mezuzah (according to what I found through a Google search), but, I was wondering, do you think it would okay for me, a non-Jewish person, to have something similar in my home? Probably at my bedroom doorway.

To explain a little further: I am an atheist, but I do believe in the divinity of the universe itself, and I think it would be good to have something to remind me of that divinity every day. Similar concept, inspired by the idea of the mezuzah.

Cas's was empty (at least, the fic didn't describe anything inside), but when looking up the mezuzah on Google, I read that they usually have a piece of parchment in them with verses from the Torah. I wouldn't use a religious text for my own, l'd find words elsewhere. Probably the following quote: "The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself." - Carl Sagan

It's important to me to be respectful to other people's religions and cultures, despite not being part of them myself, which is why I want to find an answer to this rather than just assuming it’s okay. If you could give me your thoughts, or direct me to someone or somewhere that I could receive an answer from, I would really appreciate it!

Thank you so much! I hope you have a wonderful day!

-Ender

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

first of all, thank you so much for taking the time to read my story!! it means a lot to me when non-jews get something out of my explicitly jewish writing.

i do think it would be odd to have a mezuzah type thing in your actual doorway, as that's one of the most Very Jewish practices i see in daily life - it's also one of the very visible ways you can spot a jewish home from a distance, and i know that when i walk around the world & see a mezuzah, it's a visual cue that the space i'm entering is a jewish space. i worry that putting a mezuzah up in a non-jewish home would send a confusing and conflicting message. not that your home wouldn't be safe and a place of refuge for jews! but i personally am leaning toward thinking it wouldn't be appropriate. of course other jews might feel more loosey-goosey about it (jewish people are def not a monolith lol, i'm just one guy), but it would make me feel uncomfortable for a practice that IS usually explicitly about the jewish god being co-opted for other worship practices. kissing the mezuzah is one of the MOST jewish everyday practices we have, and it's the same physical action we take when presented with the torah, too - a person reaches out with their tzitzit (fringe of the prayer shawl) and touches it to the torah, then brings it back to their lips as an indirect kiss. the kissing-the-mezuzah action isn't a nondenominational practice, if that makes sense? if i made friends with someone and went over to their place and found something like you described, i wouldn't love it. it would make me feel weird and a little unsafe.

historically, jewish people haven't been allowed to have any visible markers of judaism on their home without opening themselves to threats of violence. the choice to put up a sign like a mezuzah, or a hannukiah in the window, is a blatant display of not being afraid of antisemitic retaliation. it means something more than just the mezuzah itself.

i also didn't intend for cas's mezuzah to read as 'empty'! pretty much every mezuzah has a scroll with a specific prayer inside (it's called the shema & it's the most important jewish prayer), i just didn't think it was necessary to specifically describe the scroll inside in my fic because it's pretty much a given, haha. i Also intended for cas's watering-down of what mezuzot are to be a choice he makes as an angel, and as a jewish person; the fact that it isn't wrapped up in god for cas doesn't make it a less religious or less jewish practice.

i guess the crux of what i'm saying is that i don't feel comfortable with the idea of gentiles using mezuzot for non-jewish worship, and i would highly encourage you to find other ways of reminding yourself about daily holiness. i know that's probably not the answer you were hoping for, and i really hope you take this message in as gentle & warm a way as i intended to write it!!

tl;dr: yeah i still think it's cultural appropriation, even if it isn't a mezuzah you buy from a judaica store.

#nathaniel.txt #answered #jewish

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kichimiangra · 4 years

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So... an imaginary episode of the 1983 D&D cartoon...

It’s a Meta episode.

The kids wake up to their average normal everyday lives. Nothing weird or anything. Have breakfast, do a few chores, say good morning to their parents, head out to school, etc. Normal shit.

While at school they kinda bump into each other a lot though and they get a weird vibe off of the others. But... why? I mean, they know of these other kids, some are friends-ish with others but they’re not particularly close? Bobby is Sheila’s kid brother, Diana is that girl who does gymnastics after school, Presto’s that dork who gets picked on for his crappy card tricks, Hank does sports or something, Eric is the haughty son of that CEO they keep seeing on magazines at the grocery store. They’re not really super close friends, they have nothing in common really but... they get a feeling from each other?

On top of that they occasionally get a strange flash memory in their heads.

-Diana is about to do a cool gymnastic demonstration for a new team member at the request of the teacher. Halfway through she bungles it when a memory of being surrounded by monsters flashes in her head. Her coach approaches to see if she’s okay and on instinct kicks the teacher’s feet out from underneath them, easily taking them to the floor without hesitation before realizing what she had done.

-A card trick goes array in the lunchroom causing a bully to be wearing his lunch and turn his sights on Presto. The bullies cap fall onto Prestos head prior and he finds himself impulsively start a rhyme about taking out the ugly fucker, reaching into that hat and pulling out-- nothing? What did he think that was actually going to do? I’m mean... he did insult the bully more so I guess it’s gonna get him punched?

-Eric happens to have lunch period with Presto and sees the whole thing go down as he is walking by to his usual table of more affluent “Friends”. Heh... kid’s gonna get beaten up. That’s what happens when you insult your bullies mom or whatever. Not Erics problem. He doesn’t even know this kid. Does seem Familiar though. The bully swings his fist back to hit that kid with glasses and Eric feels utter terror, like life or death fight or flight terror and before he even realizes he’s moved he finds himself between Presto and the bully, lunch tray blocking the fist and bully now wearing more lunch than before. Crap... what the fuck did he just do?!?! And why?!

(Not gonna come up with one for everyone I’m tired you guys decide what happens to Hank, Sheila and Bobby)

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At this point the audience knows somethings wrong so why hide it from THEM anymore? It turns out through an untold adventure before the episode began some bullshit happened and the kids find themselves trapped in some kind of magic sleep caused by this dream master monster wizard or something I don’t care what he is. I’m vague on this part but He’s either

-gonna sell the kids to Venger so it’s like that time Dungeon Master got captured and took a nap and that very homosexual fairy showed up and helped the kids save him.

-OR He’s already working for Venger and they’re picking the kids brain for something while in the magic dream sleep. Like their Untold quest prior to the ep. involves them hiding their weapons so venger can’t get them and the Dream wizard guy is keeping their brains loosey goosey and complacent while he searches through them for the weapons locations or something like that.

-OR He’s working for Venger and the kids are hostages to convince DM to turn himself over and he’s having his own B plot of the good of the realm vs the good of these kids?

“Ehhhhhh....... Nah! I’m sure they got this... Not the first set of kids I ruined.”

-OR He’s gonna rewrite their brains and turn them evil so they work for Venger and he can sick them on DM AND Tiamat! “If you can’t beat them, take over their brains and recruit them!“ (I like this one but that’s just cuz I like Mind control trope....)

-OR any combination of the above. It really doesn’t matter you know he’s gonna fuck up.

Anyway Mr.Dream over here is having a little trouble because DMs disciples COULD realize they’re dreaming and shock them selves awake and fuck up the Evil Plan (tm) And unfortunately the kids having flashbacks, vibes, and triggers is not on the menu, so he needs to come up with an in-universe explanation for the kids in the dream to be having these funky feels so they don’t question the funkitude going on...

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

Back in dream-school DMs Disciples are a little gonked up over the whole ptsd trigger flashbacks they’re having, some of which involve kids that they have almost no connection to! But before they can ponder further they notice the time, or their watch or alarm or someone mentioning the time alerts them. They have a THING to get to! They pack up their stuff and we follow a POV character (Probably Hank) as he makes his way to a specific classroom, or he leaves the school and heads home or to another house. Matters not. As he arrives he opens up the door and there everybody is!

Oh yeah! That’s how they all know each other! They play a fantasy tabletop rpg board game together! [Good idea Mr.Dream! Now they can explain away Their vibes!] Diana even considers maybe she should quit playing with them if it’s so immersive that it’s effecting her normal everyday life. But it atleast explains where they got these random memories from! It’s just their campaign! They sit down and shoot the shit and start playing.

“What sort of adventure are we doing this time?”

*They begin to play out one of the episodes... Let’s do the Prison without Walls one for example... but things aren’t... right*

*Rolls dice* Presto DMing: “17! Hank lets his arrow fly, piercing through the chest of the shambling monster! It trumpets in pain before laying in silence! The band of adventurers has defeated the monster and the gnome village has been Saved!”

Hank has a flash back... this... isn’t right...

Hank: “No... no I didn’t fire my arrow! That Monster was Lukyan!” Hank explains.

Presto protests. “But Hank... there was no Lukyan in this campaign???”

Eric: “He’s probably just salty over the last time we played when he opened that box and let all the evil out-- wait...” Bobby: “Didn’t YOU open that box Eric?”

Eric: “... The evil box or Zinn’s box?”

Presto: “It was Zandora’s box. Where’d Zinn come from?”

Diana: “Zinn was that Queen Eric Married when that Sorlarz monster poisoned Bobby and we slayed him for the antidote!”

Sheila: “SORLARZ?! No Bobby was Poisoned buy the turtle dragon! Sorlarz was a cursed king!”

Eric: “A WHAT?!”

Their bickering becomes too much for Hank and enough reminders of everything wrong with their adventures triggers his memory and slams his firsts on the table silencing everyone else.

Hank: “ENOUGH!!!!” They stare at him in shock and silence. Hank was never angry like this... not that they knew him well enough... “We-- Guys we... never made it home... We’re still in the realm!”

This triggers the kids memories and they realize just how wrong everything is and that all of these vibes they’ve been having are their REAL memories.

They are commended by Mr.Dream who fucked up because he’s very bad at keeping the continuity of his own story down but chastised because it would have been so much easier for them if they just stayed unaware and complacent. Now the dream world is turning against them and they need to figure out a way to wake up. But where better to hide the end of the dream than at the beginign of the adventure: At the Amusement park.

#dnd cartoon #dndc #Dungeons and Dragons #dungeons and dragons the animated series #dungeons and dragon #hank the ranger #diana the acrobat #sheila the thief #Bobby the Barbarian #eric the cavalier #presto the magician

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corvixa · 4 years

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Death's Merchant - Snippet

Loki discovering that the Avengers Compound has some... Interesting residents and that Tony is kind of crazy 😁 I chuckled to myself writing this little addition to the chapter as several people requested Loki meeting Goose or Loki meeting Eddie. It was smallish, so figured I'd put it here.

"Boss, you need to go to the common room."

Tony jerked out of his doze, having fallen asleep on his sofa whilst reading, he had a feeling it was around 3am. But that was early for being summoned places.

"What's going on FRIDAY, its 3am for fucks sake."

"Mr Liesmith just came across Goose."

Tony froze for a second before swearing profusely in a few different languages. Dammit, how had he forgotten that someone like Loki would obviously be well travelled. He jumped up and firewalked to the common room, not wanting to waste and time and immediately jumped in between Goose and Loki.

Catching the surge of green magic before it got to his Murderfloof.

"Mm, tingly!"

"Do you know what manner of creature is stalking your hallways?!"

"Actually, yes I do. I know Goose is a Flerkin, and she's very nice! Best Flerkin I have ever met!"

Loki just blinked at him with a facial expression he was very familiar with. It was the "Are you out of your damned mind?!" look. He edged closer to Loki, knowing the man was still on edge.

"Look, why don't I introduce the two of you?"

Loki was squinting at him now and Tony wondered how the next meet and greet he had planned would go.

"Hey FRIDAY, is Eddie up? I figure we should get our interesting residents officially introduced to our resident God of Mischief."

"You consider me a resident?"

He took that opening to link arms with the other God and sublty tug him in the direction of Goose.

"Of course I do! Now, Goose will eat anything you put ham on, but if you ask her not to eat anything in your room, she won't. Usually. Isn't that right my Goosey-Loosey Murder-Floofy."

"I'm actually more concerned for your sanity than I am for my safety right now. Bravo."

Tony snickered at that and it worked in loosening the other God up. Goose had been watching them with mild disinterest until Tony opened up his arms, the Flerkin made a graceful leap and he caught her easily. She started purring like a train.

"You like Drest, I'm sure you'll like Goose too."

"Drest is small, and does not have tentacles."

"Well. One of those things are true, don't freak out."

"One saying 'Don't freak out' is usually cause to 'freak out'."

He pointed as the table where Drest coalesced from the shadows in her small, kitten shape. In the several steps towards Loki she shifted, growing larger each time until she was the size of a very large, sleek Panther. Muscles rippling under shining fur as he proceeded to greet Loki in the same manner as she had since they'd been introduced. A head but from a kitten however packed a lot less punch than as she was now. Loki wavered on the spot, his hand automatically going for her ears. Drest trained people very quickly.

"I did not expect that. Do you have any other felines that defy the laws of physics?"

"No, but since you are doing so well with Goosey-Loosey and Drest, I figure you should meet Eddie while we are ahead. Luckily the man's sleeping patterns are worse than my own, is he alright to come down Fry?"

"He's on the way Boss."

Loki was gingerly offering a hand towards Goose, who was purring up a storm.

"Is it normal for people of Midgard to harbour one of the most dangerous species in the known universe and name them after harmless avian creatures or is it just you?"

"Actually, Goose has Carol as her pet human. And harmless? Goosey-Loose is much nicer than actual geese!"

"That ridiculous nickname is causing quite the disconnect in my mind. Right, after this I'm sure nothing could shock me. Why do you wish me to speak to Eddie? I remember him vaugley from when we arrived, he seemed Midgardian in appearance, but everyday I spend around yourself that means less and less. "

"I'm taking that as a compliment, so, funny story. Do you know much about Klyntar? "

Loki seemed to be speechless, something Tony found rather amusing. In his defence, it was 3am.

"You are jesting. Surely."

"What are you after Tony, I was playing Diablo 3, Venom is grumpy at being interrupted as he finds the voices amusing."

Loki was looking at Eddie critically and Tony kept himself not so subtly in the middle again.

"Well, you see, Lokester here just ran into Goosey-Loosey, which made me realise that introductions might be in order."

Eddie was however quite distracted by Drest.

"Tony. Are you quite aware there is a giant fucking Panther head butting you right now?"

"That's Drest."

"No, Drest is a kitten."

"Didn't I mention Drest can change her size to whatever she wants?"

He was sure he'd mentioned that.

"Nope, I would have remembered if you told me the kitten that sleeps on my chest could eat my head in one bite."

"Really Eddie?"

"Okay, fair point. So, what's the deal?"

Tony turned back to Loki, who was still holding himself carefully but had been following the conversation back and forth with amusement.

"Loki, no magicy or throwing sharp pointies, Venom is friendly."

Tony magiced up some chocolate which instantly got Eddie's attention. Tony had become Venom's chocolate dealer pretty early on after Eddie moved into the compound.

"If this is a prank, I commend you on your commitment."

"You get used to weird stuff happening around Tony. I say this as part of the weird, right, Venom, no attacking. No. You can't eat him. He's Tony's friend."

Before anyone could say anything else, Venom decided to become an active participant and Loki proved to be very adept in swearing in several interesting languages.

"Friend of Tony is Friend to Venom?"

Loki nodded minutely before turning to Tony.

"You are actually insane."

Tony opened the huge bar of chocolate before handing it over to Venom who was very happy with the offerings. Giving Loki a huge smile.

"You only just notice that Lokester?"

#avengers #tony stark #loki of asgard #loki odinson #Death's Merchant #easily excitable autistic woman #Goose #Venom

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westcoastprancer · 3 years

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My Auto-Spaz-Ography

***WARNING - WAY TOO MUCH UNNECESSARY PROFANITY***

Getting past the only child bullshit...sue me I guess? Not my fault my parents could only handle one of me. Pretty annoying growing up hearing from morons that I must be a spoiled little shit...

Can’t really argue there. Aside from self-inflicted hunger (you know...that junior high self image bullshit..starve and lose 5 lbs in a weekend), I’ve never gone hungry. I’ve never been cold, without clothes, or a roof over my head. I was taught values. So yeah, I am fucking spoiled rotten. No apologies there.

People who continuously stay “stuck” royally piss me off. These weirdos are toxic. Avoid them at all costs. They will not change. You will thank me for this piece of advice sometime in your life. Everybody’s got a problem. So do I. Set goals for yourself. Get the fuck off your sad ass every couple weeks. Find your best friend (if you don’t have one of those...you should seriously consider working on finding one) get trashed, talk it out and let that shit go for a while. If you’re stuck in a rut for more than 2-3 months, get help. Seriously. It’s not embarrassing. It’s way more shitty in the long run when you turn out to be the aforementioned person who just stays fucking “stuck”. On another note, subject of the week has been middle aged divorced broads with kids and how sly and bitchy they are. If they go ape shit on me before getting their facts straight, imagine what they do to all these poor men? No fucking wonder a good, non hot dog throwing down hallway status, loyal, no bullshit broad like me can’t find a solid dude. The good dudes are out there getting berated by these broads they knocked up and can’t get out of it now because...you know...the kids and stuff. I’m glad I took a different path. Can’t imagine being in that desperate place looking for affection because I am 37-47 year old wrinkly, loosey goosey broad thinking I was tossed aside by a shitty man, when I am the nutbag...just looking for attention. It’s easy to get laid. No strings. No problems. Many people make it way too complicated. My friend’s brother is hilarious. He is kinda a douche and I love his stories about profiling chicks. My favorite was when he told this broad at the bar she looked beautiful and she said how he made her day! (First red flag) They go to exchange numbers and she once again tells him what a nice time she had meeting him ( nothing wrong with that) but then goes on daily wishing him a good day. That’s another desperate sign. Come to find out...middle aged. Divorced. Kids. Lonely in the panties. You know the drill. I used to host this radio show called Cryin’ Lovin’ Laughin’ or Leavin’ so I learned these things sort of young. You remember the patterns of people. You know warning signs of crazy. Here’s the most invaluable lesson, most people are batshit crazy. Keep the wall up a while. Test people. I have caught so many good people (so I thought) in lies through the years. Even little irrelevant lies. It doesn’t matter if it’s a friend, relative, colleague, or significant other. When you catch someone in a lie of even the smallest, you wonder what else they are capable of lying about. It changes everything. Be like me. Don’t lie. Sometimes it’s hard, but then you have nothing to hide and having the truth on your side keeps you out of some really shitty situations.Even if it is so embarrassing and you have to put a towel over your head to face the truth...do it. If you don’t believe a word of anything else I say...believe me when I tell you about people. The good and the bad. Just take the time to get to know a person. You don’t want a lazy middle aged squinty eyed salmoncake real estate selling Mom moving her and her kids asses into your house all of a sudden. You ain’t that desperate. Oh and dudes, I’m coming for you...don’t act desperate either. Just don’t. I tend to take your sides on this shit because dudes on the other sides of things are usually just happy to be free, so their demeanor is totally different. But that doesn’t mean I won’t flip sides on you if you guys start getting weird. Covid seems to have made everyone crazy.

Even in a good mood, there is nothing better than a super depressing 90’s country song...am I right? It’s that sad shit that always gets me in my damn near non-existent soul. Look, I randomly placed 6th out of 20 on a totally impromptu Roast Battle at the Laugh Factory in LA one night. One of the roastmasters told me I did so well for my first time because I have no soul. HA HA HA...that one fucking stuck with me. Back to the point - if you can’t sit down with a couple good homies now and then and blast “Alibis” on 10 while chugging Crown, you should really address some things in your monotonous life. Just sayin for someone who doesn’t do the bar scene much anymore and barely has feelings...I know every color of every neon sign. I’m always hashin out a heartache in the back of my mind. Makes me remember not to go there ever again. People suck. I feel like I have already mentioned this. I’m not a “hard” person. I’m a realist. I don’t want to miss fantastic opportunities with people, but I also know those people are few and far between so I really keep my guard up. The right people always tear it down in time.

People who get offended by profanity seriously piss me off more than a hive of wasps chasing me. Let me be clear...if I wasn’t dropping at least 72 f-bombs a day...I’m not sure where I would be in life. It’s turning all negative events in my life into positivity. I mean when you think about the F word. No matter how you slice or dice it...it does have a positive meaning in any context. “Go fuck yourself.” - Ok! “Fuck that!” - With what?! “Fuck You!” - Time and place please? Etc… Do you know what I am fucking saying?

Seriously asked my father the other day why he didn’t own Hilton chains or something. I’m sick of this fucking sweaty ass work too hard lifestyle with hardly any time to do fun shit. The idea of being some stuck up heiress with holes in my pockets sound fucking fantastic to me sometimes. Maybe just not the stuck up part. Could you imagine me that way? Snap my fingers and a drink comes! First class flights to St. Croix with my inner posse. Living the goddamn dream. Me and my doggies on a private island!

I’ve become a bit dramatic, I think. For an extremely hard headed Portagee, I can still call myself out when needed. It’s kinda weird not living alone anymore. I’ve got a badass homie around now (wish I would have met years ago) who actually gives a shit how my day was. So I kinda get called out now on my bullshit. (Side note: It’s important to keep company around you who doesn’t enable your negative traits. Your best friends will call you on your shit and help you grow.) Sometimes I’ll lay down and pout all day over some shit that is NOTHING. Just get stoned and forget the fuck about it. I’m sure this is something I’ve been doing for years. Never caught it til now. Checklist to work on. No one likes even a small percentage of a drama queen. Yuck.

Amazing the shit I think of while stoned. What’s the point of dating? Attach yourself to another person for life? Is that even natural? Attach yourself to yourself...not American Pie style you pervert. Attach yourself to doggies. I cannot stress enough how fulfilling life is raising pups. Watching them grow and learn. I’m not even talking about the ones you raise from babies. Even at an older age, your dog will still learn and grow with mental stimulation and affection. It’s so amazing to watch the new things they learn and pick up on. If you treat your dogs well, they will treat you double as well until death do you part. Sure, it’s shitty you get so attached and they don’t live very long, but it teaches you perseverance. True value of cherishing your pals and moving on in your life always keeping a piece of them with you. Sounds fucking gut wrenching sad. It is, but I promise you the time you spend with your pups outweighs the sadness in the end.( If you’re planning on spending zero time with your animal, leave your pet in constant confined spaces, starve or beat it...don’t fucking get one. Don’t even get close to one. They are better off in the wild than with your crazy ass. You ain’t right.)

You can’t be a lying dickface all the time and expect everyone to be nice to you. Saw a good one on Family Guy that touched my sweet heart a little. Stewie to Brian: “You’re not my friend. Friends come and go. You’re family. That’s for life.” Sounds so sweet. In fact I wanted to call my bestie and tell him that. Then I snapped out and realized “family” can be a super toxic F word. Sad thing is I have a pretty big “family” on each side, yet the older I get, I have realized my only family is my parents. In fact, I have created my own family full of non-blood relatives. Life is wonderful in the positive environment I have created for myself through the years. It’s amazing to form bonds with amazing people who have no ulterior motives like wills and money. Fucking money brings out the true colors in people. It’s sad. People spend their whole lives trippin balls over money. That must suck.

Those dorks at Central Catholic. Even at 15 made me laugh like hell. They’d interview the football “stars” getting full rides to Notre Dame and shit. My favorite was when asked about their favorite band... “Creed man. Such great “hard rock” with such powerful, positive messages.” Those dudes are probably miserable in their physical therapists jobs with their cheating whore wives who come home smelling like ratty vaginas. Someone had to fucking say it. Embarrassing confession: “My Sacrifice” is a FANFUCKINGTASTIC song!

I have a hard time with people. I try my best. I always learn and continue to grow. I got that goin for myself. People suck. People are cruel. (3rd time I’ve said this today?) People take no time to disappoint me for the most part. If you’re kind to me, I will be twice as kind to you. If you’re a fuckface to me, expect me to be an extra double fuck with a cherry on top. Add some nuts too and suck on that shit. I’m a badass person to have in your life and on your team. If you’re lucky enough to make it into my inner circle, I’ll probably be one of the best friend’s you’ve ever made. If you can’t look at yourself in the mirror and see the person that you would like to be friends with, you need to make some changes. It took me a long time to become my own best friend. If you can’t be solid with spending time with yourself, you can’t be solid with anyone and you’ll eventually become a dead weight. Take the time to get to know yourself and work on it...for me it’s constant. I know there is other people with my qualities in the world. If you find one, take the time to learn about them and ease your way into friendship slowly. Actions speak louder than words. Prove yourself to be a good human. Be patient. The best relationship of any type comes with time and work.

Let’s see…

Don’t be a fucking retail investor.

Don’t be a fucking commie.

Don’t be a fucking douchebag.

Don’t fucking settle.

Don't stop bettering yourself for you and those you care for.

Don’t stop fucking being YOU!

#westcoastprancer spaztime mybio wildchild speakyourmind

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writingwithadinosaur · 7 years

Text

“Intervention” - Part 1

“Intervention” - Requested Oneshot (Part 1)

My Masterlist - Here

Father!Tony Stark x Reader

Word Count: 1,771

Key: Y/N = Your Name, H/C = Your Hair Color, E/C = Your Eye Color

Warnings: PLEASE READ THESE! THIS SMALL SERIES IS SUPER HEAVY AND TRIGGER HEAVY! Self Harm, Anxiety, Self Hatred, Intense Drinking, Mental Issues, Blood. If I missed any, please let me know.

Summary:

Author’s Note: So I modified it a little bit in the age department. I saw the reader as a 18 or 19 year old when I started writing. I hope everything else is okay. Also, I apologize to everyone who has requested prompts to me. Things have been more difficult than I thought recently and caused me to have a delay in all of my writing.

If you would like to be tagged in any of my future pieces (All Works, Specific Fandoms, or Specific Multi-Parts), please let me know! And as always, feedback is greatly appreciated!

Let me also add that I hope you all are okay. If you ever need a friendly conversation or need someone, please talk to me. I would hate to know that something bad is going on in your life and I can’t do anything to help. If you can’t confide in me, please reach out to someone. There are people to help you through any situation. You are not alone. You are loved.

- DreaSaurusREX

Being Tony Stark’s daughter was no fun and carefree life. There was the constant fear of him coming back injured or dead from a mission. But even through the missions and all of the Avengers stuff, there was nothing like having to be compared to him. He was Tony Stark: Billionaire, Philanthropist, Genius, Iron Man. And then there was you. You were nothing special. You weren’t the top in your class or very social. You were more introverted and couldn’t even really be compared to your father. But that didn’t stop everyone else.

You had been in enough interviews and read enough online to know what people thought of you. It ranged from “Next Iron Man is Possibly Iron Woman?” to “Who Really is (Y/N) Stark?” and everything in between. Most people wanted you to follow in your father’s footsteps and become exactly like him. But you didn’t think you could even if you wanted to.

Yes you wanted to train and be a part of the team, but you also knew you wouldn’t be good at engineering or working in the lab. So what could you really do that would be beneficial? You would just be more of a burden than you thought you were to the team. You tried to stay healthy, and your body was physically good. Your head? Not so much.

After years and years of being compared to the Tony Stark and having all of these expectations thrust upon you, things got overwhelming and you began to question if you were good enough to do anything right. This started the bad thoughts, which led to self harming, which led to adding alcohol into the mix.

There were times when everything got too much and you began to lose your grip on yourself. These were the nights that you would break out your blade that you kept hidden in a band aid container in the back of your bathroom drawer and draw lines over yourself. It started with a few small cuts on your ribs or upper arms or thighs. You could easily hide those. But then you couldn’t resist moving to your lower arms. It felt more lucrative for you. Self harm helped your ground yourself, and you saw it as a form of punishment for not being good enough.

Tonight was one of those nights.

You had gotten too deep into your head again and couldn’t stop the thoughts from racing at you at a 1000 miles per hour. You needed them to stop or at least slow down. To do so, you snuck out to the bar in the living room and snagged a bottle of Jack Daniels. It was 11:30PM, so you didn’t really have to sneak, considering everyone was either asleep, on a mission, or doing work elsewhere. What you didn’t know, was that Friday took stock of what was in the bar. So Tony knew that 7, now 8, bottles of his alcohol were missing. He just didn’t know it was you.

You went back to your room and flipped on the bathroom light. Opening your drawer, you found your blade. You slowly slid down the wall, blade in one hand and the now open bottle of Jack in the other. Taking a very large swig, you felt the liquor burn your throat on the way down. Sighing, you take the blade and drag it across your arm, letting the blood slowly rise up and out.

This went on for another 30 minutes or so. Drink, cut, drink, drink, cut, cut and so on. You were about a ⅓ of the way through the bottle of Jack Daniels and finally felt yourself getting numb. Numbness felt like asylum for you. Your cuts stung a little bit, but for the most part, you felt numb and slower. You could breathe. You were still crying a bit, but it wasn’t hyperventilating, anxiety induced crying. Just a few slow tears taking their time crawling down your cheeks.

You were so out of it and focused on your breathing that you didn’t hear your door open or your dad whisper out to you. He had been working late in the lab and decided to check on you before he went to bed. He saw that you were more tired than usual lately, so he wanted to make sure you were actually sleeping okay. When he didn’t see you in bed, he saw the bathroom light on and gently walked towards the door. He didn’t hear any noise, so he decided to knock.

“You okay in there, sweetheart?” He heard you kind of fumbling around in there after he spoke.

“Jesus, dad! You gave me a fuckin heart attack! Yes, I’m fine, just... please go.” He knew you weren’t fine. He could tell when you were lying, even without looking at you. There was a few seconds of silence. He couldn’t let this slide, something wasn’t right. He had an awful feeling in his gut.

“Are you decent?”

“What do you mean?” You were confused. Your brain wasn’t really all there. You weren’t shitfaced drunk, but you were pretty loosey-goosey.

“Are you dressed?” You looked down at your arm and thighs where you had at least a dozen or more small lines scattered around your skin. You didn’t really think clearly before responding.

“I mean, yeah. But I don’t want you to come in.” You slurred your words a little bit, but you thought it would go unnoticed by your dad. Unfortunately for you, he heard.

“Too bad. I’m coming in.” You shot up in panic.

Quickly capping the bottle of Jack, you tried to get up and hold the bathroom door closed, but Tony was quicker and stronger. It also didn’t help that you were not only unstable from the alcohol, but you always were a little light headed after self harming. So when you stood up to get the door, you ended up having to lean on the sink for support until Tony came in.

What he saw when he opened the door shattered his heart more than he thought possible.

You were in one of your favorite thinner sweaters and shorts, but you were bleeding. He saw all of the lines and the streaks of blood that came from a few of them, some of them already coagulated. You were leaning against the sink because you couldn’t stand easily. There were bloody tissues on the floor next to one of his bottles of Jack Daniels and a blade. He quickly put all of this together.

“Sweetheart…” He said. You felt more tears coming, but you didn’t want him to see you so weak.

You tried to take a couple steps forward and push him out of your bathroom, but pushing him was like pushing a brick wall. Nothing happened. It didn’t help that your legs were insanely wobbly. As soon as you touched your dad, your legs started to give out.

“Woah! Hey! I gotcha. Let’s just sit you down here.”

Thank god for Tony’s quick reflexes. He caught you and sat you on your bathroom counter while he inspected the cuts.

They varied from thin and not deeper than a paper cut, to two very nasty looking ones on your right thigh. They weren’t gushing blood or anything, but they were big and deep. He was just thankful they weren’t near a vein or else this could have ended deadly. He grabbed one of your washcloths and dampened it.

“This is gonna sting, but I-- we need to put pressure on this until I can get you to Banner.” He warned. Before you could complain in response, he put the washcloth on the bad cuts on your leg. You had to grab his arm because it stung so bad. You kind of liked the pain, but not the circumstance.

“I need you to hold that there, okay honey?” You felt faint. You were overwhelmed, in pain, and really didn’t want to be in this situation right now. But you nodded your head anyways. Tony took one of your hands and put it on the washcloth, pushing down a bit to try to stop the bleeding from getting worse.

“Friday!” Tony yelled, surely waking up some of the team.

“Yes, Mr.Stark?”

“Wake up Banner and tell him to meet me in the lab with his med kit. It’s an emergency.”

“Absolutely, Mr.Stark.”

Before you could fully understand what was going on, Tony gently grabbed the hand that wasn’t holding the washcloth down and wrapped it around his neck while he lifted you up bridal style. As quickly and gingerly as possible, he made his way out of your room and towards the elevator.

When the two of you got out in the hallway, there were a few others gathered around wondering what was going on. They didn’t really understand what was happening until they saw the bloody rag on your leg and how scared Tony looked. Tony didn’t pay attention to them until Steve starts to walk alongside Tony.

“What the heck happened? We just heard you yell for Friday and (Y/N) crying a bit.”

“Later, Rogers. She needs stitches, now. I’m on my way to meet Banner in the lab. I’ll fill everyone in when she is safe.” Steve knew to back off then. Tony was never this freaked out, so that was one indicator. But the he also never used Steve’s name unless it was serious.

Steve helped Tony in the elevator by pressing the button for the floor that the lab was on, and then left, so you two had some privacy. You couldn’t help the tears that were trickling down your face. You felt so stupid and like a huge disappointment. You had your face in your dad’s neck while you tried to get your breathing back to normal.

“I-- I’m sorry, dad. I just… I--” You couldn’t get out much more than that. Even if you could, you had no idea what to say to him. How to explain to him that his daughter is a mess.

“Shh. It’s okay, baby. Bruce is going to fix you up and then we are both going to get some much needed sleep. Alright? Just stay awake with me for a bit longer. Okay?” You knew he was trying to be strong for you, but you could hear a little waiver in his voice as if he was trying to hold back tears. You nod, he leans down and kisses your forehead, and then you dig your face back into his neck.

He just sighs and tries to calm himself. You are going to be okay. You are going to be safe. He loves you too damn much to see this get any worse.

Tags: @goodnightwife @marvelous-imagining @avengersimaginings

#avengers fandom #avengers fanfiction #avengers imagine #Father!Tony Stark x Reader #Tony Stark x Reader #Tony x Reader #WritingWithADino #WritingWithADinosaur

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awesomegirlystuff · 7 years

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Rating Every Rick and Morty Season 3 Episode

Episode 1 - The Rickshank Rickdemption - Written by Mike McMahan - 9/10

This episode had to be epic. Everyone had waited over a year to find out how or if Rick would get out of jail. Everyone had all kinds of theories. It was one of the most talked about season finales in my entire fandom lifetime. I think this episode did a great job showing a really fun and exciting way for Rick to escape. Morty’s line; “If you think my Rick’s dead, he’s alive, and if you think your safe he’s coming for you!” was just, for lack of a better term, epic. Even with all the twists and turns, some of which were genuinely unpredictable, my favourite part still has to be Lawyer Morty. “No, I don’t wanna see your pog collection....”

Episode 2 - Rickmancing the Stone - Written by Jane Becker - 3/10

Okay, I’m sorry, but this episode was boring. Maybe I just find dessert environments boring because as a kid Where the Buggalo Roam was always my least favourite Futurama episode. Then again, Road the Dendron is one of the best Duckman episodes.... ANYWAYS, this episode was kind of lame. I wasn’t crazy about Summer’s storyline, nor Morty’s or Rick’s. It was just meh.

Episode 3 - Pickle Rick - Written by Jessica Gao - 4/10

“Pickle Rick” is by far a low point of the season. Not necessarily the whole episode, but just that one moment. Shouting “Pickle Rick!” is not funny. Now, Morty pointing out the syringe on the string with the scissors and all that, that was funny. It had context. The therapist storyline was much better, in my opinion. Rick constructing his new body was very gross, and I’m not really a big fan of grossout humour. Though, it was creative and not really “bad”, just something I personally didn’t enjoy. The whole storyline felt like fluff hinged on a joke that wasn’t very funny to begin with. It wasn’t even Family Guy level, it was more like ThatGuyWithTheGlasses level unfunny gag. And now the phrase “Pickle Rick” will always be synonyms in peoples minds with a particular type of Reddit fan who embarrasses themselves in public.

Episode 4 - Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender - Written by Sarah Carbiener and Erica Rosbe - 7/10

I really enjoyed this episode. It was some really classic Rick character based stuff. Seeing the vindicators all slowly break down was a lot of fun, and the episode had enough twists and turns to be very engaging. That dramatic scene where the Vindicators are fighting over a supernova woman fucking a sentient colony of ants was hilarious. I think writing ridiculous stuff so sincerely is one of Rick and Morty’s best strengths, and they use it effectively for both comedy and drama at different points.

Episode 5 - the Whirly Dirly Conspiracy - Written by Ryan Ridley - 7/10

This episode was a ton of fun. Once again, really character based basic humour, at it’s very best. Throwing Jerry into a situation he’s so unfamiliar with, and teaming him up with Rick proved to be highly entertaining. The B-plot was a little strange, though. A lot of people pointed out it seemed like fetish art you’d see on DeviantArt and I feel like that joke has a lot of truth to it tbh. Wouldn’t be the first time a writer has inserted their kink into a show’s plot (Dan Schneider, Bella and the Bulldogs etc.) The whole concept was weird and not that funny and Summer and Morty both came off as really petty which I don’t think was intended. The scene where Beth calls tech support for the enlarger was comedy gold, however.

Episode 6 - Rest and Ricklaxation - Written by Tom Kauffman - 6/10

I really loved the concept of this episode. It was interesting to see which parts of their personalities Rick and Morty consider to be good and bad. The only thing I didn’t like was having healthy Morty as this Wolf of Wallstreet parody. Didn’t find that overly funny or creative. Also, what was up with Morty’s adult girlfriends in this one? She literally says “Oh, I knew you were a 14 year old boy”, okay you realize that makes you a terrible person right??? Like, I feel like when you do this you have to kind of acknowledge it? It doesn’t have to be a full on F is for Family style statutory rape plot, but you kind of need a lampshade on it. At least in Family Guy when Peter is molesting Connie D’Mico, they have him turn to the camera and say “calm down, it’s a cartoon.” Or in American Dad when Roger was fucking Snot, at least Steve was constantly saying throughout the episode “Roger, that’s totally fucked up.” (I hate that episode a lot btw lol) But you need something to let your audience know, yes, we know what we are showing is wrong. Otherwise, it just comes off really weird. It didn’t even feel like a Lil’ Bush kinda thing, where it’s like “ooh, isn’t it fucked up we’re showing this?”, it just kinda seemed tone deaf.

Sorry, that was a ramble.... Anyways, I liked a lot about this episode, though I think it could have used another punch up or re-write to get it perfect.

Episode 7 - the Ricklantis Mixup - Written by Dan Guterman and Ryan Ridley 10/10

By far the best episode of the entire season. Hands down. I would argue it’s the best episode of the entire show. And of course, it was built up to and earned. Not just a standalone great episode among a bunch of meh. It was totally earned and stands alongside other great episodes, including it’s sister episode which was previously my favourite of the series.

Everything felt so epic and huge. All the new Rick’s and Morty’s were so well written. Still clearly Rick’s and Morty’s, but with different personality traits and usually, good reasons for why they developed them. Even though these are Rick’s and Morty’s, it’s still an episode with all new characters and that can be hard to pull off. They need to submit this one as their Emmy nomination next year, and if it doesn’t win something is wrong. This episode seriously blew me away. From the writing, the gorgeous art direction. Every second of this one was great. I’m am so fucking glad they are taking the Evil Morty plot slow and not rushing it, because they are doing amazing with it.

Episode 8 - Morty’s Mind Blowers - Written by Mike McMahan, James Siciliano, Ryan Ridley, Dan Guterman, Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon - 4/10

So, this is what took the place of the Interdemensional Cable episodes (which I was never a huge fan of to begin with, but they did have some memorable bits like Gazzorpazorpfeild and such). They were a bunch of dumb gags, but they were contained. This time however, the gags are all things that have happened to the characters. Some of them were funny, but that’s not my point. I think being so loosey goosey with canon is not the best thing to do. But more importantly, this makes Rick almost irredeemable in my opinion. That he would erase memories of Morty’s simply because he wanted to, is really fucked up. Like, erasing a memory of beating Rick at checkers may seem like nothing, but how much do you think he’s actually contributing to Morty’s low self esteem with shit like this? It’s one thing to be mean and nasty to someone, but to manipulate their mind. That’s fucked. And nobody seemed to point this out? I don’t know. That’s why I think gag episodes work best as either non-canon, or removed from the characters in some way. Kind of like how American Dad’s christmas specials exist on their own continuity, or the Simpson’s Treehouse of Horrors series. That way you have more freedom. And those shows don’t even have nearly as much continuity as Rick and Morty so I think making this episode canon was a bad move. I get that you aren’t supposed to think about in that way, but I can’t help it because I have in fact seen the rest of the series, so it just takes away from the enjoyment of the gags in my opinion.

Episode 9 - the ABC’s Of Beth - Written by Mike McMahan - 7/10

I liked this episode. It was nice to see Beth get some backstory. It was a solid episode. Not amazing, but not terrible. Only thing I didn’t like was the whole thing with Prince Tommy fucking all the imaginary creatures. I’m just not a fan of gross out humour personally, so I realize that’s a personal thing and not a flaw of the show. I also have a hang up when it comes to portraying kids and sexuality and I think it has to be done by people who really know what their doing and something about this whole thing just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I suppose it’s supposed to make you uncomfortable... Anyways, these are personal complaints and I realize that. Otherwise, good episode. Some people found the line “Am I a terrible person?” “Worse, you’re smart” to be cringey. I think it was a good line within the context of the characters and what is going on atm. I guess some people could take it out of context and use it to justify...Whatever, but that isn’t the shows fault.

Episode 10 - the Rickchurian Mortydate - Written by Dan Harmon - 3/10

I just found this one kind of boring to be honest. I don’t care about the president character, I already know going in Rick’s obviously gonna win. Just not a lot of investment from me. Maybe making Beth and Jerry getting back together being the main plot, and the president thing more of a little side runner would have been better. I just flat out didn’t care about this episode and it felt like a weak finale, especially compared to season 2. Not saying everything needs to be a big cliff hanger, but it should feel like something more than an ordinary episode with a little bit of continutiy tacked on to the end. They could have switched this idea with the Vindicators, and it would have been better. They’re both pretty much stand-alone’s, but Vindicators was stronger so it probably would have made a better finale.

#rick and morty #review

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hi, i don't want to be a bother but i just found out i got into law school (somehow) and i don't really know what to do?? so if you have any tips or something i would be really grateful tbh

OMG friend that’s so great! Congratulations and no worries, I love answering questions about this!

Okay first off enjoy your summer because it’s probably the last free(ish) one you’re going to have for a while – hang out with your friends, go out, relax, get into a headspace where you’re sure you want to do this and you’re sure what your giving up time wise for the next couple of years (potentially). Also, try and come up with a good elevator pitch (like, one or two sentences) answer for “why did you decide to come to law school?” Because ISTG you will be answering that question for the rest of your life: I’m two years out and my dentist literally asked me it last Friday. It’s also going to be the primary ice breaker for any like seminar/legal writing class you’re mandated to take (like, “Say your name, where you’re from, and why you decided to come to law school” round robin stuff), so it’s good to have at least An Answer beyond ‘idk I’m an English major but I couldn’t get work just with that degree’, even if it’s not the answer you stick with the rest of your law school career.

The culture of all law schools is different (mine was super liberal loosey-goosey without class ranking and minimal competition) but it’s good to get a sense of it before you even start, just so you’re prepared: if you can get in contact with a student who’s already been through a few years (I’d suggest a 2 or 3L over someone who’s just completed one year, b/c they’ll have a little more perspective at that point) and ask just like…how competitive are people with each other? are there class rankings? are grades curved? (this can be positive or negative depending on where you fall on the curve lmao).

Older students are also really good at giving you the dish on professors (but always take stuff with a grain of salt: I had professors that I just personally didn’t click with that everyone else loved and vice versa. Like everything else sometimes it is genuinely down to chemistry (also some professors are GREAT in small 20 people seminars but if you get them for a big foundational class like Contracts they are….less so.) But at least you’ll get a sense of what expectations are and what Hot Tips people might have (like, whether they’re particular sticklers for attendance or whatever – some law school professors dgaf because they assume you’re adults and if you’re missing class that’s your problem, but since it is your problem they’re not going to be super helpful later on if you have like questions for the exam that would’ve been answered if you’d gone to class).

Get to know your Student Affairs Office: they have a vested interest in helping you out and they’re never as busy as they want to be. Like it’s not out of the goodness of their hearts (well, sometimes), they want you to get through law school and graduate and get a good job, because that helps with rankings and looks good on brochures and stuff. Use the fact that law school applications are down right now: people in the administration want the school to look good and the classes to look good, they don’t want crazy attrition rates, they want to help you out as much as they can. Different schools provide different levels of support but use as much as you can: get the email address for Student Affairs and ask them to put you in contact with older students, if there’s some sort of mentorship program at least try it out once and see how you feel about it, if there’s a writing center try to take at least one paper to them to see if you get anything out of it. It’s never too soon to start thinking about your summer internships so go in to the Career Service Center and see what they suggest.

A major law school downside for me was that, no matter what people told you about how you could do ~almost anything~ with a law degree, and that you can figure things out as you go along, for most career paths you really have to get a super early start and practically certain of what you want to do right away. Or at least, it’s a lot easier if you do: I didn’t. I came in with the vague idea of I Want To Help People (And This Seems The Way To Do It) but I had no idea what path to take and it took some floundering and a lot of classes that ended up being not super helpful to my future plans to at least get a real sense of my strengths, and after that I just kind of bumbled into things. Eventually I was lucky enough to get a job, but it took almost two years from graduating, and my friends who came in knowing and who started building their skill set for that specific goal from year one were way more successful right away. So if you know you want to be a certain type of lawyer – like, you KNOW you want to do family law, or corporate law, or whatever – then start planing both your electives (this won’t really be a thing till 2L but at least have them in mind) and, in some ways more importantly, your summer internships. That’s where stuff really happens: law school teaches you a lot of things but an internship helps you make professional and personal connections in the job market that are invaluable once you graduate, and it’s best to start that early.

The usual format for law school classes (in the first year anyway) is: you do a ton of reading, you take a lot of notes, you go to class and get called on and have to answer questions with at least some indication you did the reading, and then what you’re mostly graded on is two exams: the midterm and the final. There’s almost no other assignments, so you really have to be prepared for the midterms and the finals. Some professors care more about participation than others and give you a few points on that – I know the temptation to just shut up & not participate until they call on you is significant (because what if you get something wrong! everyone will hear and mock you!) but for the most part if you answer a question earnestly and honestly wrong (as opposed to, because you didn’t bother to do the reading) you won’t get yelled at. They might be a little condescending about why you’re wrong but – you’re in the legal profession now, you’ve basically signed up to be condescended to (sometimes more kindly than others) for the rest of your life. It’s one of those things you’ve got to get used to.

There’s this weird culture in law school that kind of shames people for answering questions voluntarily and like, going up to the professor after class to ask questions? People get called gunners or podium rushers like – how dare they try hard? Anyway, it’s bullshit: you’re not showing people up, you’re doing the work and learning the way you learn. Don’t let people shame your process, whatever it is. And professors like it when people answer and ask questions – it shows you’re engaged with the material. Like, in my 2L year I raised my hand to answer a question on the first day of a huge (like, 100+ person) lecture hall class and the next class the professor came up to me to ask my name and I became like the go-to person to answer questions in that class. And like two years, I got the job I got (the amazing, perfect job I love and which fills my actual skill set and interests to a t) because that professor took an interest in me. You never know when things are going to pan out but it’s better to have a professor in your corner than be in the ~cool group~ in law school. Like dudes, its law school, you’re all fucking dorks, get over yourselves.

In general law students (and from my limited experience, lawyers) can be really cliquey and catty: partly it’s just stress (we’re all there all the time and personalities are amplified and everyone’s mad or anxious or both) but for whatever reason: there can be a lot of interpersonal drama. It’s easy to say ‘just rise above it’ and obviously a lot harder to do but: just don’t take it too seriously. You’re there to learn & make connections. Try to be friendly with everyone but if there’s people you don’t like or who are always starting shit for no reason, it makes sense to avoid them.

People not in law school don’t know shit about law school. Your non-law school friends & family will ask you dumb questions (‘what are you majoring in??’ is the most common) and won’t 100% understand the time constraints & pressure you’re under. It’s best to accept that early and not expect them to get it – accept also that you will be kind of insufferable about ALL the WORK you’re doing and HOW much STRESS you’re under – like, it’ll be true, but that’s also not super interesting to your friends, who haven’t seen you in weeks, and just want to talk to you about stuff you have in common.

This is why, btw, you make friends in law school with people you would otherwise have nothing in common with: you suddenly DO have something in common, and it’s all the work you’re doing and how tired you are and how you don’t even know if you want to be a lawyer anymore. Everyone feels that in law school at some point – it passes and it’s good to have comrades in arms to talk to about it & feel it with. Making friends is hard for me (I’m not very open) but I’ve never made friends more easily than in law school. So it’s important, even despite all the work you’re doing, to take the time and do social events – at my school the law review had a happy hour every start of the semester, other clubs did fundraisers and stuff. With the time constraints it can be tough but it’s important to at least consider joining those things – not because it’ll look good on your resume (though it will) but also they’re good places to find like-minded people to build connections with.

Okay, the time constraints: yeah, law school is hard. It’s a lot of work. The adage goes something like, in 1L they scare you to death, 2L the work you to death, 3L they bore you to death. But I promise you, you will have time for a life: I read all of Les Mis and Lord of the Rings my 1L year. I participated in fandom. I spent too much time on tumblr. I went out to bars with friends (drinking culture is strong among the legal profession & addiction rates are high so be careful, but you can definitely still enjoy yourself if you do drink – and if you don’t people DO tend to accept that. Like, it’s law school – we’re adults, we know people can have problems with drinking, it’s fine). It’s important to live and build connections and friendships in spite of the course load – it makes the course load bearable. Law school is tough and you don’t want to do it alone.

1L is basic law stuff that’s foundational for everything else: Contracts (usually two semesters), Criminal, Torts, Constitutional, and Civil Procedure. 2L you have a little more freedom and can pick a few more electives; 3L you basically pick up what you want/think will help with your career path, and you can do a clinic. YOU SHOULD DO A CLINIC. Both for the experience (getting used to helping clients one on one but in a controlled environment and usually only one or two per semester) and to be able to ~give back. Law school is a privilege not everyone is afforded and I don’t believe every lawyer who doesn’t go into public interest is a dick it anything, but if you don’t at least try and give a little back while you can, then I am a little judgey. Also during 3L, you’ve got the joy of bar prep, where my advice is: START EARLY. Do as many practice questions as you can. Do as many practice essays as you can. The Bar Exam is terrifying and exhausting (I failed it the first time) but it’s doable. Even if you do fail the first time it’ll be okay -- you can take it again, you can still get a job after, people won’t care.

They tell you not to work in 1L year and I am going to say that’s accurate: i had a friend who did work part time and managed it, and I know financial constraints are an issue. But if you can get away with not working (student loans, etc) then do it. I know it’s stressful to incur that debt but you want to give yourself your best chance since you’re paying the money anyway and that is the best chance: give yourself the time to work and concentrate and learn. 2L and 3L year you can maybe give a part time job a try, though ideally you can find a paying internship and go from there.

A general note on studying: learn how to do it right. There’s people who get into law school because they’re hard workers and did All The Right Things in undergrad and they already know what works best for them when they need to study. And then there’s the people who are smart enough to have managed to BS their way through undergrad and still do well enough on LSATs and other tests because of innate ability. It’s a lot harder to BS your way through law school – not going to say impossible because some people are that smart but GENERALLY: you need to know to best retain information for your own use later, you need to learn to take notes, you need to learn how to read case law. They’ll usually do some sort of seminar first year to help you out on stuff like legal writing and research and how to ~brief a case~ (like, knowing the participants, the holding, the facts of the case, etc, etc). Those seminars feel like a joke and sometimes they can be but try and get the most out of them: everyone learns differently but usually you get some good pointers on how to do law school that are specific to the school and the classes you’re taking and that can help a lot. Other tips that I think are universally applicable:

PRACTICE EXAMS. If the professor is giving you old exam questions to study from, do them. If the professor isn’t giving you old exam questions, ask for them. The more practice on the format you’re actually going to be presented with you can do, the better. It took me SO LONG to learn how valuable that was but the truth is there’s only so many ways you can be tested on certain topics, and there’s no better feeling than walking into an exam and being like ‘oh yeah! That’s just like that question I did a week ago while studying!’

READING. Do it. I know it’s a lot. At one point you’ll learn to skim and keep an eye out for the Important Stuff. And there’s always websites that’ll summarize the holdings for you. But remember: your professors know that too. They want you to do the reading for a reason and it’s not just so you can read the headnotes. Professors also love asking things about footnotes, especially on exams -- sometimes they’re just more citations to other cases but SOMETIMES they’re like interesting historical or policy notes that are actually important to better understanding of the law, so. DO THE READING.

WRITING. If you were a liberal arts major, you’re at a disadvantage when it comes to law school writing -- it’s an entirely different skill. English majors are supposed to have opinions on things and bring their own take to a text: in law school, it’s not about you or your #HotTake. It’s about what’s in the law and what you can do with it based on 200+ years of precedent. But at least at first you’re stealing borrowing theories and analysis from other legal scholars or established attorneys -- no one wants to hear your opinion unless you can back it up with three sources. So, it’s hard to adjust but the quicker you learn to stop fighting it the better. There’ll be time to be creative later in your career: 1L year is not the time nor the place.

OUTLINES are a classic Law School Thing: condensing a semester’s worth of doctrine into one or two pages is difficult and they sell ones for major topics like Contracts, but honestly the best ones are ones you make yourself. Some people like to do study groups -- I didn’t trust other people enough to make it worth it for me (I mean, I believe in being part of the social circles for emotional support but academically I’m still and always going to be loner) but if you do work well with groups, try that as well: you can divide up sections of the course to outline just like they do in Legally Blonde! It’s very cool stuff.

FLASHCARDS don’t work for everyone intuitively but so much bar prep material comes in that format that I think it makes sense to at least give them a try for basic doctrinal stuff. I used this app called Studyblue during bar prep, which I wish I’d discovered sooner: it’s all digital, you can cut and paste parts of your outline/notes, you can sort them by classes and topics, you can download them to your phone and practice on the subway or whatever, it creates multiple choice quizzes for you. AND what’s super cool (for me) is that if you put in your school name, you can see previous flashcards from other students who’ve used the app and sometimes you can use their cards too (and vice versa obviously).

GO OVER YOUR EXAMS. This was especially brutal for me because I hate acknowledging my mistakes (as we all do) BUT I swear to god this is one of the most useful tools for law school success. Once you take a test (quiz, exam, whatever) go over the professor’s comments on it -- even if it’s a final, email your professor and ask to come in and go over it with them. Figure out what you did wrong and why -- did you not understand the doctrine, did you run out of time, did you freak out because of the pressure, whatever. It makes it easier to prepare against those problems in the future. Also professors love it when you do this crap: like they write stuff on all exams and most students never bother to find out what they got wrong, so I think a lot of them feel it was a waste of time. SHOW THEM THEY’RE NOT WASTING THEIR TIME.

Law school isn’t for everybody. I know this is a dumb thing to throw out at the very end of ALL THIS STUFF I wrote but -- it really isn’t. This is why I discourage people who aren’t at least 95% sure they want to go to law school from going: there were times in school where I was utterly miserable and sick of it and I wanted to be there, like really really wanted to. Being a lawyer can be a great thing but even if you finish law school, it might not be for you. But there’s no, like, point of no return: if you get through the year and you decide you don’t like it, you can leave. If you fail out the first year, it probably wasn’t meant to be. There is absolutely no shame in that. It can be a terrible, stressful, competitive atmosphere but you can learn a lot and meet great people and you come out of it with a post grad degree and an amazing set of skills.

Like, I know this is a lot, but I had a really hard time in law school and I don’t want other people to have to go through that. I’m one of those people who mostly BS’d my way through undergrad on charm and certain innate abilities. I have an anxiety disorder -- I had to leave school for a couple of weeks because of severe panic attacks. I failed the bar the first time I took it, I didn’t make like amazing grades, I thought for the longest time that I wouldn’t be able to do anything as a lawyer if I couldn’t even take care of myself in law school without having a breakdown. But with the help of professors and friends and family and my own certainty that I wanted to do this and be there, I got through it. And honestly, I swear to god, If i can, anyone can. And if you have any questions once you start, let me know! I’ll try to keep it down to five points at most next time, lmao.

Oh also people suggested I read One L when I was starting out so I supposed I should pass that recommendation on to you, if for nothing else than to see how much has changed about being a law student (and how much hasn’t).

#anonymous #lawyered #anon i'm sorry this was so much! I don't want to stress you out!#it'll be fine! you'll have fun and be tired and grow as a person and learn so much!#congratulations and good luck!#let me know if you need any other advice more specifically!#longpost

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