#this is also a little celebration of the show that came into my life 7 months ago that brought me an insane amount of joy.

[albertasunrise]

Reality Check - Oops Baby

Masterlist

Summary: Being best friends with Frankie meant movie nights, drinks with the guys and a shoulder to cry on when you got your hear broken. He is head over heels for you but you don’t feel the same… yet a drunken mistake will tie your lives together forever!

Relationships: Frankie Morales x Reader

Warnings: Like AO3 I choose to give none. Read at own risk. 18+ (So... I am trying to update my other pics but the reaction I getting from this ones really giving me the motivation to continue it... so thank you and I hope you enjoy this update! ♥️ It's not a super long one but everything gonna become clear I promise!)

Series Masterlist - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

“What do you mean I can’t see him right now?” You demanded, glancing down at Emse as you awaited a response from the doctor. 

“He has been in a natural coma for a month and a half. It's going to take him a while before he’s even a little coherent. We also want to monitor him closely over the next few hours. He might be awake but he’s not out of the woods yet!” The doctor stated plainly “I know you want to see him but overwhelming him this soon after he’s woken up and suffered a cardiac arrest is not going to help with his recovery.” The doctor continued, giving your arm a gentle squeeze “If all goes well, you can see him tomorrow.” 

You nodded to show your understanding and then looked at Ben. He looked as frustrated as you felt but you didn’t want to do anything that could risk his recovery. This was all just so difficult to get your head around. 

Your near-death from Esme’s birth, to waking up to learn Frankie had had another major heart attack and was on life support until a heart came available, had been hard to come to terms with. It had been hard to navigate parenthood without him but then it had probably been the same for him at first. 

But, as hard as this had been for you. How desperate you’d been for him to get better and wake up. It had hit Ben the hardest. 

6 weeks earlier…

Ben opened the front door to Frank’s house and was immediately greeted by Emse’s screams. 

“Fish?” He called out as stepped into the dimly lit house. 

When he had received a text from Frankie earlier to say he’s broken up with Mary, Ben had initially been over the moon. But after he’d finished his celebrations, he thought he should probably check on Frankie. The man had cared for Mary after all. So that’s what led Ben to come over. And after knocking a few times a receiving no answer, he let himself in. Not something that was overly unusual. 

What was unusual was to receive no answer from the pilot and to hear Esme screaming. Fish had been a dedicated father from the moment he had brought her home. Something was wrong. 

“Fish?” He called again as he scaled the stairs, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of his friend. 

He came to a stop outside Frankie’s door, Esme’s screams were the loudest from inside and he didn’t even bother knocking. Either Frank was dead asleep or… 

He didn’t wanna consider the alternative. 

“FISH!!” He yelled upon finding his friend on the floor. 

Frankie was sprawled on the floor, on his front with his head to one side. Eyes barely open. Esmerelda was on the floor beside him however looked to be unharmed. Clearly, Frank had managed to put her down gently as he collapsed. 

Ben felt for a pulse and found one. It was weak but it was there. So, he scooped the baby up and lay her in the Moses basket in the corner before returning his attention to Fish, moving him so that he was laying on his back before pulling out his phone and dialling 911. 

He spoke as calmly to the operator as he could whilst monitoring the pilot’s pulse and breathing. Putting the phone on loudspeaker and starting compressions the moment Frankie stopped breathing. 

“Come on man… don’t do this to me.” Ben sobbed as he worked tirelessly to get his friend breathing again “Don’t leave Titch and Esme man…” Benny begged, “Don’t leave me!” 

Finally, just as the paramedics arrived, Frank took a weak breath and then the rest was a blur. Ben called Will and told him to get to the hospital before attending to the crying baby beside him. He didn’t go in the ambulance. He knew he needed to get Esme fed and changed first. But as soon as that was done he had the baby bag packed and he was gone. Praying he wouldn’t be greeted by the news that he’d lost his best friend. 

Present day… 

Benny chewed nervously at his thumbnail as he waited for his friend to wake up. The doctors had lightly sedated him when he had grown more confused as he'd come to. That had been a little over twelve hours ago. Ben had waited at the hospital, sending you home with Esme and promising to ring you the moment he woke up. 

Then three hours ago he was finally allowed to see Fish. The doctors had decided that it would be good for him to see a friendly face as he came to. So He sat and waited patiently for his best friend to come to. His nails taking a beating from how on end his nerves were. 

A soft whimper grabbed his attention and Ben was on his feet in an instant, clutching Frankie's hand as he smiled sweetly at his waking companion. 

"You with my Fishcake?" He asked softly, grinning like a loon when Frank weakly nodded, his eyes cracking open and revealing slivers of those brown orbs Ben had missed so much "Take it easy buddy. I'm here."

Frankie lugged his way to consciousness. It felt like he was walking through treacle. His limbs were heavy and his head filled with cottonwool yet slowly but surely, things got lighter and clearer. Ben waited patiently at his side. Watching as he grew more and more aware as each minute slugged by. 

"Welcome back brother." He said as Frankie finally cracked his eyes open fully and rolled his head to look at him "You gave us a scare." 

"I..." Frankie trailed off as his brows drew together, the memories of what happened slithering back through. 

You, standing there smiling with your outstretched hand. Pleading for him to return to you. Then the lights. The blinding lights and the pain as the car struck him. He was going to see you again. He was supposed to die. 

The sound of his heart rate increasing made Benny call out for help, tears in his eyes as he feared that his friend might code again. 

"Mr Morales, you need to calm down." Urged the doctor as they noted his vitals "This isn't good for you." 

"Why." Frankie sobbed as he started to thrash in the bed "I should have died." 

"Fish, what do you-" 

"I was going to see her again." He sobbed. 

"Who, Mel?" Benny asked as he stepped to his friend's side and clutched his hand, hoping to ground his friend "Frankie, Mel's gone." 

"I was going to see Titch." He all but whispered "I was going back to her." 

This made Benny pause. His brows pulled together in confusion at what his friend had just said. What did he mean he was 'going back to her'?

"What do you mean Fish?" 

"Sir, I think you need to leave." The doctor urged, a nurse then pulling the man from the room so that the doctors could do their work. But he didn't leave the doorway of Frank's room. 

"Mr Morales, do you know where you are?" The doctor asked but Frankie didn't answer, he just continued to sob and his heart monitor continued to chime "Mr Morales, you're in the hospital." The doctor stated "You suffered a massive heart attack. You had a heart transplant but fell into a coma. You have been out for almost two months." 

"No... No, I was hit by a car." Frankie choked "I should have died... I... I wanted to see her again." 

Benny's heart broke as he listened to his friend. 

"You weren't hit by a car Mr Morales." The doctor urged, his head snapped to the nurse to his left and giving her a nod.

"You're lying." 

The nurse then injected something into Frankie's IV and the man's thrashing grew sluggish. Ben could see from where he was standing that his friend's eyes were starting to grow heavy and in a manner of seconds, the room was all most silent again. Slowly but surely the medical staff started to file out, the doctor stopping beside Ben with an unreadable expression on his face. 

Ben waited patiently for the man to speak, his heart pounding against his ribs as his eyes flitted between Fish and his doctor. 

"What happened Doc?" Ben asked, his voice soft and vulnerable. 

"He appears to be confused.' The doctor started "He... It seems that he experienced some sort of vivid dream when he was in his coma. He is convinced he was hit by a car." 

"What can we do?" 

"I think the best thing to do is keep him mildly sedated for now. Just to keep him calm until he gets his head around what actually happened to him." The man said as he scrapped a large hand over his stubbled jaw "He can't afford to get worked up like that again. His heart is still in a fragile state." 

"Do you think seeing his daughter might help?" Benny asked and the doctor nodded. 

"Sure. Anything positive like that should help him relax." 

Benny nodded, giving the doctor a weak smile as his eyes zoned in on his friend. 

"Thanks, doc."

"He'll be out for a few hours." The man said as he placed a friendly hand on Ben's arm "Get a coffee and something to eat. You're no good to him if you're not taking care of yourself." 

...

Your heart leapt out of your chest as your phone started to ring loudly from the table beside you. Noting Ben's name on the screen, you answered it immediately as your pulsed raced. 

"Ben?" 

"He woke up." 

"He did?" You choked as you covered your mouth with a shaky hand, trying to smother the sob that threatened to escape your lips. 

"He was all confused and shit. Got a bit worked up and they had to sedate him again." Ben said, his voice wobbling as he spoke "They wanna keep him mildly sedated for now. Something about keeping him calm as he comes around. I guess being on pause for nearly two months can screw your brain up a little." 

You chuckled at that. Your coma hasn't quite gone on that long but you had certainly been a little confused when you'd woken up. 

Six weeks earlier... 

Your sensations returned in waves but everything sounded muffled and felt heavy. Your limbs seemed to be made of lead, your fingers were all that seemed to want to obey your commands. The sounds around you were distorted. Almost like you were hearing them from underwater. 

You managed to moan, hoping that it would give you a little more control over your body but alas you remained somewhat pinned in place, so you drifted to sleep again in the hopes that when you woke again things would be a little clearer. 

...

Benny had wanted to shout from the rooftops when you'd started to show signs of waking up. The past few days had been hell for him. He and Will had split their time between your room and Frankie's. Neither of them wanted to leave either party on their own and when you started to twitch and moan, Benny finally started to feel a semblance of hope. So he clung to that, along with your hand as he waited for you to open your eyes. 

That happened three hours later. 

"Ben?" Your question was more of a whisper but he heard it all the same. 

He placed Esme in her Pram and practically sprinted to your side, smiling sweetly at you as you blinked up at him. 

"Hey, you." He said sweetly "Have a nice nap?" 

"What happened?" You asked, your voice getting a little stronger but still scratching from weeks of disuse. 

Benny grabbed the water bottle from the side table and popped in the straw that had been sitting beside it. Then bringing it to you your lips, he cupped your head and helped you lift it so that you could take soothing sips of the tepid liquid. You held your hand up when you'd had your fill and Benny placed the bottle down with one hand as his other gently lay your head back against the pillow. 

"What happened?" You repeated and he sighed, how brow pulling together as he searched for the words.

"You uh... You haemorrhaged." He stated plainly "Pretty bad. It was touch and go for a bit but you fought... Small but mighty." He chuckled as his hand started to stroke your hair "You have been out for a few weeks but you needed the rest."

"Frankie and the baby okay?" This question made Ben's heart shatter. Standing he turned to the pram that was just out of your eye line and scooped up Esme, kissing her little nose when she started to fuss. 

"I got little Esme right here." Ben stated as he brought your daughter into view and you sobbed at the sight of her. A head of brown hair and the cutest little plump cheeks. 

"Oh, my angel." You choked as you press the button on your bed so that you were more upright, accepting your daughter into your waiting arms with a smile "Oh look at you." You cooed, memorising everything about her "You look just like your Papi." You chuckled as you looked at Ben and beamed "Where is Fish?" 

Ben's expression grew solemn again and there was no hiding it from you now. 

"Ben?... Where is Francisco?" You pushed and he sobbed. 

"He's um... He's here." 

"Where?" 

"Titch?" He pleaded but you needed an answer. 

"Benny... Tell me where he is!"

"He uh... He suffered a massive heart attack." Ben started, his eyes settling on Esme as she slept in your arms "They uh... They got him on life support. Waitin' for a heart." 

"No..." You trailed off, tears flowing freely as you looked down you your daughter, envious of how clueless she was to all this. 

"He'll die without one." 

"No." You sobbed harder, your head dropping as you screwed your eyes shut and let yourself fall apart "We were supposed to do this together." You cried "We were supposed to be a family." 

Present day... 

You arrived at the hospital as soon as you could. You'd thrown a bag together for Esme, grabbed her pram and left, desperate to see Frankie awake. 

His room was empty when you arrived. You looked around, trying to catch sight of him but coming up blank. He must've gone to get coffee. You pushed Esme's pram into Franks's room, tucking it in the corner so it didn't get in the way and then you took your place at Frankie's side. You didn't have to wait long for him to wake. 

He was sluggish, his eyes fluttering open and closed for a while. The sedatives were making it hard for him to surface. 

"That's it, Frankie." You said softly as you squeezed his hand and smiled sweetly at him "Come back to me." 

This statement was like a bucket of ice water over Frankie's head. His head snapped towards you and his eyes filled with tears as he seemed to study every inch of your face. 

"Titch." He choked, blinking furiously in an attempt to keep himself awake and you nodded. 

"That's right, just come back to me my Frankie." 

"I tried." He choked and you grew confused "I'm so sorry Titch." He sobbed and you stepped back as a hand pulled you away from him "Why won't you leave me be." 

"Frankie-"

"Just leave me alone." He cried "Please..." 

You turned on your heel and practically sprinted towards the door, colliding with Ben's solid chest. He scooped Esme up with practised ease with one arm and led you out the room with the other, leaving the doctors and nurses to work Franky.

"He... I don't..." You can't find the words, too heartbroken to string a coherent sentence together so Ben just holds you till you calm down. Giving himself a chance to figure out how was going to tell you what he needed to. 

"Titch... There's uh... Well, there's something you should know." He said when your cries finally quietened "Fish he uh... Well, it seems like he experienced a pretty vivid dream in his coma." 

You looked up at him with a bemused expression, head tilting to one side as you waited for him to continue. 

"When he woke up, he was rambling about getting hit by a car." He continued "I guess that's what he'd dreamt just before he woke up." 

"What are you trying to tell me, Ben?" You pushed and Ben let out a long sigh as he looked down at Esme in his arm. 

"Frankie thinks you're uh... Well, he-"

"Spit it out, Ben." You grumbled, unable to take the suspense any longer. 

"He thinks you're dead." 

Next

For updates follow @albertasunrise-ficsblog

#frankie morales × reader #frankie morales × you #frankie 'catfish' morales #frankie morales fanfiction #frankie morales triple frontier #francisco morales triple frontier #francisco morales × you #francisco morales fanfiction #francisco morales #francisco morales × reader #triple frontier x you #triple frontier × reader #triple frontier fanfiction #triple frontier #pedro pascal character fanfiction #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal

[9w1ft]

Re: Carolina Herrera and Karlie. We’ve discussed this before, but a lot of people don’t know that Karlie is not simply the face of a perfume in the same way that Timothee Chalemet is the current face of one of Chanel’s perfumes, or Joe Alwyn did an ad for Tom Ford Beau du Jour one time. Good Girl perfume was created especially in conjunction with Karlie being the face of it. She’s not just the face of it, she is the Good Girl. It’s a whole other level of business partnership and branding. It’s been going strong for 7 years, and Good Girl continues to be one of the best selling perfumes in the world. You can be walking down the street in Slovakia or Shanghai or some place, and there’s Karlie The Good Girl on a billboard. Every airport with a duty free in the world, and most Ulta Beautys and Sophoras in the US have her picture showing. CH also happens to be the first runway she walked at fashion week when she was 15. She absolutely would have influence over what they do and we’ve seen it over and over again, including this year and last (remember Karlie did her pink smoke effect before Taylor filmed hers in the LH MV, and the midnight version of GG was developed and announced well before Taylor announced Midnights, and this stuff goes way back to the first ads which had subtle references to This Is What You Came For, and another one where she said “Don’t call me kid” long before Taylor released Illicit Affairs.) There is absolutely no way anyone will ever convince me these things aren’t pre-referencing Taylor’s work, or Taylor’s work is referencing these ads. And the only way this is possible is if Karlie knows ahead of time what’s coming (usually months ahead) and/or Taylor is referencing Karlie ads later. The only reason the former would happen is if they are on good terms (very good terms and Taylor is ok with it) and the only way the latter happens is if Taylor’s obsessed with Karlie.

thank you for typing this out for me i almost typed it up but was like, i’ve written about this, so i went to find a post and then i couldn’t find it immediately and then i started about my day and such and forgot 😆

i think if you’re new its hard to appreciate or grasp what brands are important to karlie. like i remember distinctly way back when when i first got here in 2018 looking at taymojis and people freaking out about there being a stiletto taymoji and how it was a kaylor reference and the photo people were using to talk about why it was a reference was —to me— just a pic of a carolina herrera ad where karlie was wearing a stiletto and i remember thinking to myself, come on guys it’s a shoe, what’s specific about a shoe?? but i was lacking the context of The Swift Life app being released in late 2017 (meaning it was being built/prepped throughout 2017, likely early 2017 with all the other rep promo) in combination with karlie having been made the face of what was then the new carolina herrera good girl perfume just the year prior (mid 2016), which was a big get for her at the time, and that the perfume bottle is stiletto shaped. now, looking back, i understand what about that taymoji was sus, given all this extra context. karlie now being the face of a perfume was a big achievement for her. and the achievement happened to be shoe shaped. so why not celebrate that? etc.

so anyway, if anon is feeling anything like the way i did, but are somewhat interested in kaylor anyway, i would suggest just sticking a pin in stuff like this and moving on for now and maybe coming back to it a half year or year from now after gaining a little more perspective and seeing if your perspective has changed

[phoebe-delia]

You Could Be the One That I Love

@basicallyahedgehog Rowan, did you think I was done?? With the birthday gifts?? Even though your birthday is over? NONSENSE!!!! YOUR PRESENCE IS A CONSTANT GIFT AND THEREFORE I SHALL CONTINUE TO CELEBRATE YOUR BIRTH AS LOUDLY AND AS OFTEN AS I CAN. I REFUSE TO ALLOW THE CELEBRATIONS TO BE CONTAINED TO A MEASLY 24 HOURS. THERE SHOULD BE FESTIVALS IN YOUR HONOR!!! LAVISH ONES WITH PERFORMANCES AND FOOD AND ART AND DANCING!!! AND ALSO PLUSH BENCHES FOR WHEN WE GET TIRED OF DANCING!!!

Anyway. Since I can't do that, and I can't show up at your doorstep with cupcakes, I shall have to settle for this.

Rowan do you remember how there was a song you prompted me, and then you forgot about it, and then I've teased you about it on and off for like a year and a half saying I was going to write it for you when you least expected it? WELL HERE WE ARE!!! SURPRISE!!! (I truly don't know how long it's been, but this reminder has been in my drafts since like April of 2022. So. *shrugs*

Anyway. Here's a drabble based on "Message In A Bottle" by Taylor Swift. This can be considered a kinda unofficial sequel to my fic Holy Ground, but you don't really have to have read it to get the story.

There's a Harry on Draco's doorstep at 7 a.m.

Draco sputters. "What on earth are you doing here?"

Harry has the temerity to look confused—as if Draco should know what's going on. "What do you mean?"

Draco scrubs a hand over his face, trying to rub away the sleep in his eyes. "I mean—what on earth are you doing here?"

Harry reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a piece of paper. "I got your letter," he says, holding it up.

"What lett—oh," Draco's stomach drops. "I sent that, did I?"

The frown on Harry's face shifts to something close to amusement. "You sure did. Would you like to invite me in so you can know what you said?"

Draco cringes. "Oh, sure." He steps aside, letting Harry stride into his flat.

Harry immediately unfolds the parchment and clears his throat. "Dear Harry—"

"Would you like some tea, or—" Draco starts and then lets himself trail off as Harry continues.

"I might be quite sloshed as I write this, but I'm rather tired of this whole long-distance dating situation. Either you move here, or I move back to London. At this point, I don't much care, but if I don't see your scruffy face in the next 24 hours I will simply lose it. Sincerely, Draco." Harry folds the note back up and puts it in his pocket with a small smirk. "And I'd love some Earl Grey, thanks."

Harry mercifully sits in the living room while Draco makes their tea in the kitchen and wills his cheeks to lose their crimson shade. He calms himself enough by the time he brings two steaming mugs and places them on the coffee table.

"Thanks. So," Harry says while he reaches for his mug and settles back into the sofa. "London or New York?"

Draco sighs. "Harry, I understand if..." Then, comprehension dawns. "Wait, what?"

Harry chuckles. "Draco, I'm asking you to move in with me. You're right. Dating long-distance sucks. And I want to be with you. So after I read your letter I got the first portkey available and came right here to ask you—which city—London or New York?"

Draco carefully takes the mug from Harry's hands and sets it on the table. Then he launches himself across the sofa and into Harry's arms. The kiss is messy and uncoordinated, and it's the best kiss of Draco's life.

"Either. Or neither. We can go anywhere—I just want to be with you," Draco says, just above a whisper.

"Anywhere sounds great," Harry says with a grin. Then he leans in again, and neither of them says anything for a little while.

#drarry #draco malfoy #harry potter #draco and harry #harry and draco #draco x harry #harry x draco #draco/harry #harry/draco #draco malfoy and harry potter #harry potter and draco malfoy #draco malfoy x harry potter #harry potter x draco malfoy #hpdm #drarry squad #drarry fic #drarry fanfic #drarry fanfiction #drarry ficlet #drarry drabble #drarry fandom #hp fic #hp fanfic #hp fanfiction #hp fandom #harry potter fandom #harry potter fic #harry potter fanfic #harry potter fanfiction #phoebe-delia

[i-want-my-iwtv]

How do you interpret the Louis vampire transformation in the book, not the show. It seems very sexual from my understanding although Lestat is a complete a**hole. I'm starting to reread the books again it's been awhile.

…"Are we close to God when we create something out of nothing? When we pretend we are the tiny flame and we make other flames?"

nansorella, this question could be an essay answer 💗! I'm glad to hear you're rereading the books, definitely try to get through TOBT if you can, that's where the above quote came from. There's a lot of layers with Lestat giving the Dark Gift to Louis. But I'll try to keep this as short as I can, and we can always delve further in a follow up ;}

[^X by @xxhellonursexx, read the caption on that bc it's in line with my answer on this ask! Vampiric feeding could be compared to breastfeeding, but specifically their turning is really the most comparable, a child feeding on the nutrition from their parent's own body.]

Focusing on the book, yes, my reading is that it's intentionally very sexual (even complete a**holes can be capable of sex!). Since vampires can't get pregnant, the Dark Gift is their method of sexual reproduction; I would argue that it's the most intimate act they can perform. Yes Lestat is being more than a bit of an a**hole in that moment but I can excuse it partly bc it was AR's first time writing a vampire turning and Lestat was for sure the main antagonist in that story, so he had to be sassy/cruel even in what should have been a loving moment but that's another entire discussion. Ppl can be awful during the act of giving birth, too, so... yeah... I would also argue that the '94 movie softened that scene somewhat, Lestat was positively thrilled about doing it and wasn't awful to Louis (except for when he had to break away from Louis, but that's also comparable to childbirth, which has pain involved for sure, and then you can see how sexually gratified he is laying back and watching Louis transform after they separate so ANYWAY!).

Since Lestat has so many fledglings, it was kind of a fandom joke that every time X sound occurs, Lestat makes another fledgling... maybe it's because he gets so much pleasure out of performing the act itself, and, transforming someone into a vampire, he gains a kind of parental and creative ownership of that person. It's his blood in them, after all!

Louis describes the act of killing as being a celebration of his making, (my bold & italics emphasis added):

"Killing is no ordinary act," said the vampire. "One doesn't simply glut oneself on blood." He shook his head. "It is the experience of another's life for certain, and often the experience of the loss of that life through the blood, slowly. It is again and again the experience of that loss of my own life, which I experienced when I sucked the blood from Lestat's wrist and felt his heart pound with my heart. It is again and again a celebration of that experience; because for vampires that is the ultimate experience."

[X for a great gifset of this quote by @fetch-me-a-block]

And then in Tale of the Body Thief, Lestat's reflecting on the creation of Claudia in a similar way to how ppl talk about the creation of their children:

[^X St. Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC, 11/7/15.]

“I lifted the long wax wick, dipped it into an old flame, and carried the fire to a fresh candle, watched the little tongue grow orange and bright. What a miracle, I thought. One tiny flame could make so many other flames; one tiny flame could set afire a whole world. Why, I had, with this simple gesture, actually increased the sum total of light in the universe, had I not? …«But why, Lestat?» Because she was beautiful, because she was dying, because I wanted to see if it would work. Because nobody wanted her and she was there, and I picked her up and held her in my arms. Because it was something I could accomplish, like the little candle flame in the church making another flame and still retaining its own light - my way of creating, my only way, don’t you see? One moment there were two of us, and then we were three. …«Are we close to God when we create something out of nothing? When we pretend we are the tiny flame and we make other flames?»

That book has an undercurrent of Claudia haunting Lestat (possibly as a ghost, but possibly as just his own imaginary manifestation of her) and pestering him about why he created her, maybe trying to provoke him into an apology, and I feel like he's able to make peace with her in his ruminations about her in that book. This is why I encourage ppl to read the canon books, even on beyond the first 3, because there are gems like this that add a richness to the characters, we can explore them along with Anne Rice 💗💗💗

#vampire chronicles #lestat #lestat de lioncourt #the vampire lestat #louis de pointe du lac #iwantmyiwtv has opinions #quote #actual quote #tale of the body thief #the dark gift #memeything #textmeme #prolific #fanart #xxhellonursexx #long post #well not TOO long but still #candle #flame #nansorella #thank u for the ask! #ask

[englishstrawbie]

I've been thinking about Station 19 since the news broke yesterday that the show has been cancelled and season 7 will be its last. I said the other day that I feel disconnected from the ship and the fandom, so I haven't been overwhelmed with sadness. I wonder if that will come once the show comes back and I remember how much I love these characters, like I did in season 6?

But I am bummed and I am disappointed that the show has been cancelled because it's a show that means a lot to me. Marina came along just at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. During that first lockdown, we got to watch them fall in love; and all throughout the ups and downs of the pandemic, they were there. It's a show and a ship that made me fall in love with writing fanfic again, that has brought some wonderful people into my life, that has brought us hours of fun and conversation and creativity. I'm grateful to the show for all that.

Maya and Carina are also one of the few wlw couples on television and it sucks that we're losing yet another one. I know the news is still breaking, but I hope when all those initial feelings pass and the show returns in March, we can come together as a fandom to celebrate the characters and the actors, to celebrate the show, and enjoy these last 10 episodes. Let it go out with an almighty bang!

I do wish it was more than 10 episodes. There are a lot of stories that we will miss out on because of the short season - but I'm grateful that the decision has been made in time for the writers to incorporate the end of the show into how they write the story arcs this season. We have a good chance of Maya and Carina having a happy ending, and that is going to mean a lot.

Finally (because I'm a little hungover and in no mood for fuckwittery), if you're the kind of person who intentionally tags your posts either here or on twitter to gloat about the show being cancelled, knowing that people are sad and knowing that the characters, the stories and the representation mean a lot to people... kindly fuck off.

#station 19 #my rambles

[brunosaderogatory]

Show me your headcannos about luca and alberto's relationship, please :D

To start it off, let me just say: you should not have asked me this. You opened the biggest can of worms in my tackle box, cause these boys have been marinating in my head for nearly 2 years. This post is gonna be a long one. That being said,

Physical Properties

Their height distance remains relatively the same, with Luca at 5’8 and Alberto at 5’11

Luca’s favorite feature on Alberto is his eyebrows. His freckles take second place (obviously), but he thinks that they compliment his facial structure really well.

Alberto’s favorite feature on Luca is his eyes. He likes how big and round they are, and he can tell when Luca is spacing out, because they drift just a hair apart. No one else notices this detail

I think they would have a size difference too, like, after years of fishing (and living with Massimo), Alberto grows up to be a Bear of a man. Like super strong,  Luca loves this, and has absolutely 0 complaints.

Skills/Jobs

Alberto pays for Luca’s tuition through odd jobs in his teens

Luca grows up to be a teacher in Portorosso and talks about Alberto often to his students, and Alberto grows up to be a fisherman with painting as a side hobby/gig, Luca as his #1 muse. Luca will come to him, describing a recent daydream, and Alberto will make it real.

Luca is interested in things like mythology, astronomy, science, etc. and while Alberto barely ever understands it, he always brings/sends newspaper or magazine clippings of these topics like a cat bringing its owner a leaf

Luca and Alberto are both neurodivergent (Luca w the ASD and Alberto w the ADHD) and they are constantly infodumping to eachother (alberto about vespas and basically any automobiles, Luca about the sciences and mythology)

Luca also becomes an author in his later years, writing (usually short) memoirs and each and every. Single. One. is dedicated to Alberto

Alberto plays the mandolin (not the best, but pretty decent) and will rewrite songs to fit him & Luca, and then serenade him later on <3

On that topic, Luca favors the pop genre, while Alberto favors Opera, but they both lose their fucking minds when “50 Special” by Lunapop or “Citta Vuota” by Mina comes on

They also had citta vuota play at their wedding and you cant convince me otherwise

They have godly amounts of communication skills and it makes every one around them jealous

Alberto’s love language is touch and cannot go 15 fucking minutes without laying a hand or brushing against Luca when they’re together. Likewise, Luca’s love language is words of affirmation and will not *stand* for alberto talking bad about himself, which he has a habit of doing, and will crowd him with thoughtful compliments

Luca (teacher) brings up Alberto plenty in his lessons, and his students. fucking. love him. He’s like a celebrity to them

They protect & look after eachother. If someone is going after Alberto with words, Luca steps in. If someone is going after Luca with strength, Alberto steps in. 

Timeline/Moments

They met on the 18th of June (the day Luca 2021 came out)

They got married as soon as they could. Like the day it was made legal, Luca was filing a request

They hold true to their promise of exploring the world together, visiting a new country every other year for usually weeks at a time. They’re just out there trying their damnedest to live life to the fullest and experience everything there is to offer

At some point, Alberto realizes he needs glasses 24/7 and Luca forces him to get them, but he refuses to use them because he thinks it ruins his style. Still, to this day, Luca, Giulia, and Massimo are the only ones to see him wear them

Going off of the last one, Luca wears readers. It took a little while for Alberto to get used to, but then they started growing on him 

When on dates, Alberto is usually handed the bill, but Luca always pays. he does not understand why they keep on handing Alberto the bill when he has a greater salary, but Alberto does. He does understand

They never adopt kids because it was illegal (and it still is, btw. L Italy) But! They do always have a dog (usually a pit, because they have an affinity for beings that society gives a bad name) and 2 cats.

Luca was originally a dog person and takes forever to warm up to the possibility of having a cat, but Alberto manages to convince him and after a month it’s like. His child. 

They basically become the adoptive-grandfathers of the queer teens in Portorosso. just adopting the weirdos and misfits, freaks and geeks left and right.

They get a house together and walking into it is like walking into a museum exhibit. Alberto has a hoarding problem and Luca cannot resist the urge to bring home cool rocks. It’s littered with trinkets from wood carvings to miniature Vespas. The walls are covered in photographs and art. Thanks to Luca’s organization skills, though, it’s actually very well put-together and designed instead of messy. You can also tell a lot about them from their decor, too - everything tells the story

At old age, Luca develops Arthritis (like his grandmother) and becomes a bit dependent, but Alberto never complains about having to help him with even the most simple, mundane tasks

Alberto gets Luca a bright red Vespa as a graduation present (Luca loses his mind, but that should already be understood), and then teaches him how to drive + helps him get his license

Luca is on social media a lot more than Alberto, and lost his fucking mind when he came across the MLM pride flag. Old man ran to Alberto to show him, who had the same exact reaction, cheering like it was the Super Bowl (because it’s Their!!! Colors!!!!)

They never grow up. they stay playful, silly kids together as they age, and even when they’re relationship gets serious, they’re barely rarely serious with each other (if that makes sense)

Before they officially met, Alberto scoped him out. That trail of fallen junk was *planted* I swear. And that scuba suit?? That was planned

Miscellaneous 

They never get rid of their clothes from the first summer, even after years of unused and lint collection.

Alberto cooks, Luca tries (and fails. and lies, claiming he *loves* the taste of burnt food and Alberto should suck it up and try it)

Daniela and Alberto start out having a bitter/rocky relationship, but grow to genuinely like each other over time (their shared affection for Luca *definitely* helps this)

Alberto does dumb stuff throughout his youth, like piercing his right ear or getting a permanent tattoo of an upside-down, bright pink triangle, that makes Luca question if he has a death wish, but it grows to be more of a sweet thing over time that they look back on with nostalgia

They go hard with the PDA, but don’t even notice it. Giulia will be begging them to stop and they’ll both be confused like ??? Stop what

I know this is gonna sound insane, but hear me out: Luca, albeit in his old age, as a tumblrina. he’d force Alberto to get it too, and Alberto wouldn’t exactly understand and just treat it like instagram/facebook, posting the “catch of the day” or what recent painting he’s finished. Course, Luca reblogs all his posts and tags it like “husband posting!!! ❤️” 

Alberto uses several nicknames for Luca (sweetheart/tesoro, spacey/spaziale, love/amore, dear/caro, etc.), Luca doesnt. Luca tried to, once, but Alberto shut it down, because he loves the way Luca says his name and doesn’t want it replaced with anything else

Alberto has mild dyslexia & severe dysgraphia (formed by trauma. Thanks, dad), and Luca will often read to him, help him write, etc.

Alberto is a hopeless romantic and absolutely spoils Luca rotten for any other man.

They go on dates. Like a lot. Especially ones at night, out to sea.

They were each others firsts, for everything. First friend, first lover, first kiss, etc.

Luca likes to jokingly call Alberto “Giralamo” just to keep him on his toes, until Alberto took the joke too far and legally changed his name to have it be is middle name

Ok that note, “What’s wrong with you, stupido?” And “Piacere, Giralamo Trombetta” become less personal/emotional phrases, and then into jokes that they use to embarrass eachother, before circling back to being really personal + emotional again

(Context: Italians have a tradition of embarrassing the hell out of your friends/family members at graduation) Alberto showed up to Luca (and Giulia’s!) graduation event in full drag + kissed him in front of. very. *very* many people.

During their teen years, Alberto would send Luca relatively-saucy photos of himself (like flexing + kissing his biceps. or shirtless mirror pics. that kind of stuff). worst part is, it would work + Luca would be flustered/enamored for the next week

Alberto tries out pickup lines & hits on Luca a *lot* and they’re mostly horrifically cringy, but Luca loves his dork boyfriend and blushes at them anyway

Luca writes love notes to Alberto, leaving them around in places he know’s he’ll find, and Alberto does the same, but with doodles and pictures

Luca repeats “Piacere, Giralamo Trombetta” to himself in Genova, along with the hand motions, as a stim. you cannot convince me otherwise

Alberto & Lorenzo formed a nephew-uncle relationship, and then Alberto started dating Luca. So that worked out 

They cut and do each other’s hair instead of going to the barber because they’re both picky about their style and the hair-turning-into-fins thing just makes it a hassle

THEY ARE MASC 4 MASC. neither one is hypermasc, BUT THEY ARE STILL MASC NONETHELESS

This shouldn’t need to be said, but they help each other out with mental problems. Luca helps by loving Alberto through each and every one of his mistakes, by being patient & caring & giving constant praise & fighting back when he starts to get self deprecative. Luca helps Alberto build back his self esteem & will to self-preserve. Alberto helps Luca by supporting him when he gets paranoid about current events, or what might happen in the future, or what has happened in the past. Alberto helps calm him down and think rationally (surprising, for a guy like him), instead of fueling his anxieties

They are only “out” to a certain few, and a good number of those few don’t even live in Portorosso as adults. The rest just have to figure it out, and you think it would be easy, seeing two men living together with 3 pets, not a woman in sight, spotting the eccentricities beaming at you from miles away, but it’s not (until they get married, obv, but that’s much later on)

They both get SUUPER giddy over letters. Luca does a little hop-dance that’d make way more sense underwater, and Alberto kicks his legs so hard Massimo can hear it from 2 stories down

Fish-related ones

Luca (and his family) teaches Alberto seafolk culture (it doesn’t always work out, by he tries his best to get along & integrate)

Luca will 100% pull Alberto out of bed at 1 in the morning to swim far out to sea, past the island where Portorosso is just a line on the horizon, and look at the night sky without any light pollution affecting it. Sometimes Alberto complains, but most times he doesn’t because he sees how happy/awestruck Luca is and gets soft

Their favorite date spot is the Island, especially in that seaside cave that’s partially filled with water.

Last thing:

Both of their queer journeys fucking sucked. They were both difficult as shit. If you think being gay in 1900’s Italy was easy, you’re wrong. If you think realizing you’re in love with your best friend, who lives almost a hundred kilometers away, in a society without texting, or inexpensive out-of-town calls, with 75% of the population being Catholic, is easy? You’re wrong. (Not to mention the whole sea monster barricade & Alberto’s People-Pleaser issues!) Those boys would go through a lot just to come to terms with it, and then to confess, not only their sexuality but also their attraction? Bro. be real. It would be a goddamn miracle they got together in the first place, and then to stay that way for the rest of their lives? god

There are certainly more headcanons and ideas in my brain, but I still want *some* material for the queue, so this’ll be it. for now

#you should NOT have asked me this #asks #do i tag this? #i dont know #luberto #long post #inbox

[kvhasproblems]

The Boy Next Door Part 1

Series Masterlist, Main Masterlist, Part 2

Summery: My whole life seemed to be perfectly planned out for me, the perfect family, the perfect house with a white picket fence, the perfect boy next door… the only problem is I can’t seem to take my mind off my best friend…

Warnings: Severe homophobia, reader has comphet, like hella slurs, a super shity mom, an attempted forced kiss.

A/N: This is my love letter to girls who had way too strong of a comphet phase and were always at war with their mothers. This fic also got so out of control it was supposed to be a oneshot but ended up being way too long so multi chapters it is lmao. I also love how when I started this I had an 1000 word essay due the next day and I couldn’t even get 500 words down but I sat and wrote the first 3000 of this so easily words so easily.

Word Count: 2,512

Very subtle background Nat/Lottie and Jackie/Shauna

It was like someone had carved out a path for my life. Perfectly sculpted, all pre-planned. Moving into the medium-sized blue/grey house with the stark white picket fence and large tree complete with a tire swing. It is the perfect neighbourhood for the perfect little family. My father, my mother pregnant at the time, my younger brother 4 and 7 year old me. Each house was similar, sculpted to fit a family just like ours. The house next door was no exception; it was about the same size and was a tan colour surrounded by the same white fence and even a similar tree. Later that first afternoon, after the movers had left and Mother had started to sort through the boxes of pots and pans, there was a knock at our door. My mother scurries from the kitchen, smoothing her hair and skirt. At the door was a young boy who seemed to be my age and a woman who I assume is his mother standing beside him; the boy held a casserole dish, and his mom had an extreme smile.

"Welcome to the neighbourhood! We live next door!!!" The boy's mother singsonged as my mother invited them in. Shyness overcomes me as I hide behind my mother's knee-length, perfectly ironed skirt. I try not to wrinkle it as I know I would hear about it later if I did.

The moms talk for a bit before my mother grabs my hand to pull me out from behind her.

"This is Y/n; she's never been this shy before." My mother lets out a strained giggle. "Why don't you show…" My mother faltered, gesturing to the boy.

"Steven," his mother filled in.

"Steven, where to put the casserole?" My mother phrases it like a question, but I know better than to disobey.

I give the boy a tight-lipped smile as I lead him to our new kitchen.

Growing up in small town Wiskayok, New Jersey, was exactly how you'd expect. There was absolutely nothing to do, and your business was everyone's business. Ever since I moved, it's been Steven and Y/n. One is never really seen without the other. Forever the funny boy next door and the sweet girl who moved there. When we were young, I never had a problem with it. Steven was funny and nice and my best friend in the whole world. Sure, when we'd play together at the street barbecues, everyone would make odd comments I didn't fully understand, but I didn't pay much attention.

Steven was the one who taught me to play soccer. His dad had enrolled him in the YMCA's soccer league for our age. Steven didn't care for it much, but he'd do anything his parents said, just like me. My mother just about had a heart attack when I came in from an afternoon with Steven with mud all over my face and her favourite dress of mine tattered and stained beyond repair.

She had been beyond herself at the sight and even more distraught when I told her I was playing sports. It took a lot of convincing before my mother agreed to enrol me on the same team as Steven, as soccer at that age is CO-ED. Mother had only truly agreed because Stevens's mom said something about us spending more time together and that I'd grow out of it. I didn't pay much attention; I was too busy celebrating.

At the age of 12 is when it first truly hit me that people expected me to like Steven. My parents, his parents, and the whole town seemed to "know" that we were gonna "grow up and get married." When my mother had sat me down and told me not to kiss any boy, even Steven, until I was older, I got upset.

"that is gross; why on earth would I want to kiss boys? They all have coodies!" It was one of the first times I raised my voice at my mother, which shocked me just as much as it did her.

I went over to Steven's that night to practice soccer with him. I was taking my frustrations out of the ball. Steven was getting more and more annoyed as I continued to dance around him and score easily. I was good at soccer. Like really good, the best on every team I play with. Steven's attitude only got worse when his father staggered out the back door to watch us practice; when he started drunkenly yelling for Steven to man up and to not be beaten by a girl, I knew it was time for me to go home. At 12, I really started to notice how awful Stevens's dad is.

At 14, I started to think something was wrong with me.

Girls started talking about boys, like really talking about them, and Jackie was no exception.

During the sleepovers (I was only allowed to go to if my mother approved of the family), Jackie would rave about how jealous she was about how I had Steven and how she wishes she had a Steven. And how she was jealous that he only had eyes for me and that I had such a handsome boyfriend. Shauna seemed to get as annoyed as I did when she brought it up, and no matter how many times I told her or anyone that we were just friends, no one seemed to care.

At 14, I started to realize I didn't like the people my mother said I could be friends with. I hated the way they talked about other girls or each other and how every day became a competition between us. The saying keep your friends close and your enemies closer seemed to dance around the forefront of my mind as I sat with them at lunch or at a sleepover. Shauna was probably the nicest out of everyone, probably because she didn't talk much, especially not about other people. She wasn't one to gossip, and she was the only person who ever told me it was ok if I didn't want to kiss Steven.

Speaking of Steven, he had given up on soccer and switched to baseball, which, luckily, he seemed to be much better at. My mother made me go to all his games, not that I minded, but what truly annoyed me was that he never really came to mine, and when he did, he spent the whole time goofing off with his friends…

The only good thing about being 14 is High School soccer. I could be on the team, and there was nothing my mother could do or say to change that. I was a star player right up there with Taissa, who had just moved here and Lottie, who, despite the people she hung out with, was also growing on me. The JV team became my closest friends even though not everyone got along. Tai and Jackie were constantly at each other's throats, and Mari seemed to manage to piss off everyone at least once a month. But when we put everything aside and got out on the field, we worked like a well-oiled machine. Sometimes, it feels like I've never been so happy in my whole life. Out here in the field with people who didn't care if I was proper, ladylike, or in love with Steven James Fraser, they just cared about fast footwork and winning, and she seemed to care about me.

It was at tryouts that September that I first noticed her. I've seen her around before, but she was on my mother's DO NOT ASSOCIATE list, so I had never really tried to talk to her much. She had grown taller over the break, and her freckles stood out more from the summer sun. She had the deepest, most beautiful blue eyes I'd ever seen, but the thing that stood out most was that she stopped my shot. My quote on quote unbeatable shot. In front of Coach, his first impression of me… Even Jackie seemed to stare in shock as Van reached the ball just in time.

When she called out to me, my cheeks flushed a scarlet colour, and I told myself it was because I was angry, not because her voice seemed to dance around every corner of my brain like a symphony.

"Ooooo so close… yet so far. Nice shot though lady, I like a good challenge." Van grinned from ear to ear as I moved to the back of the line. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I had trouble convincing myself it was because I was working that hard for this tryout; the redhead goalie had absolutely nothing to do with it. She also had absolutely nothing to do with the few times I fumbled the ball, either.

At 14, I knew that I would do absolutely anything to become friends with the one and only Van Palmer.

At 15, I knew I was broken, and I was terrified that I could never be fixed.

Steven had tried to kiss me at a party my mother didn't know I was at.

Lottie had somehow convinced the whole team (except for Laura Lee) to go. But as soon as we entered the mass of people, I was whisked away. He had his arm around me all night, keeping me with his friends and the few girls who stayed to try their best attempt at flirting. All I wanted to do was to go find Van or Shauna or even Jackie, for Christ's sake.

Steven had been drinking, and he pulled me to a corner of the house where no one else was around. He lightly pushed me against the wall, caging me in, and then he tried to kiss me. I don't know what I was expecting when he led me away, but it wasn't that. I push him back while yanking my head to the side, making some frantic excuse about my mother; I'm not entirely sure what I said because blood was rushing in my ears so loud that I couldn't even hear my own voice. I had fled from the house to the backyard, which was supposed to be off-limits. Tears held firm in my eyes as I tried to calm down.

"Y/n?"

I pulled in a deep breath, which sounded more like a sniffle, as I made the most normal face I could manage. I turn to see Nat, who is sitting on the steps of the porch with a cigarette in her hand.

"Hey Nat…" I moved to sit beside her.

She looked at me, concern only seen deep in her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to say something before deciding against it and instead reaching into her pocket.

"Wanna cig?"

Any other night, I would have said no. Mother's perfect girl would have said no. But mother's perfect girl would want to kiss Steven, and mother's perfect girl would like sewing and cooking instead of soccer.

"Sure."

Nat seemed slightly surprised by my response but passed me the cigarette regardless. She lit it for me, and it was kinda awful, especially at the start, but it was a whole lot better than going back in there and having to face my "best friend," who seemed more and more interested in becoming my boyfriend. We sat in comfortable silence for a while, and I kept waiting for her to ask me why I was out back here with her at a party I didn't even want to go to. The longer I sat with my thoughts, the more I felt them bubble up, and before I even realized I was saying it out loud, the words tumbled from my lips.

"I don't like Steven." It came out rushed so fast the words seemed to blend together.

"That's ok," Nat said quietly before taking a long drag.

There was a small pause before I spoke again.

"I don't think I'll ever like Steven." This confession was more of a whisper, like saying it loudly would seal my fate.

"That's ok, too." Nat didn't need to say more than that. I took in a shaky breath before opting for a drag of my cigarette instead, the harshness becoming grounding.

Say what you will about Lottie's absent parents; it's nice to have a butler to drive you anywhere no questions asked. I climbed in the car with Lot, whose bones seemed to be liquid and Nat, who, despite the amount she drunk, seemed oddly sober. My vision was slightly fuzzy, and my cheeks felt warm; the street lights strobed impossibly fast for the speed the car was moving as we drove back to Lottie's house.

We got back, and Lottie's maid, Ms. Abby, had left a note on Lot's nightstand with 3 bottles of water and a little container with what looked like ibuprofen. Lottie started to drunkenly cry as she read the message, and I realized that this was the first time I'd seen her cry.

"You'd think because my parents are this fucking rich that they would be able to spend time with me." Lottie choked out, mixed in her sobs. "The worst part is they could, they could be home with me, but they're not. Instead, they pay someone to be a better parent than they could ever be." She spoke the next part quietly. "Do they hate me?" Lot's big, tear-filled eyes started up at me and Nat from where she was sitting on the bed.

I was quick to try to comfort her, but Nat swooped in uncharacteristically graceful like she'd done this a million times. Putting her hand on her shoulder and looking deep into her eyes.

"Hey, Lot, come on. You know that they are just shity people and shity parents; it doesn't mean they don't love you." Despite Nat's words being short and sweet, they seemed to resonate with Lottie as her sobs slowed, and she nodded her head. "Let's get ready for bed." Nat pulled Lottie up before helping her stagger to her drawers so she could change into a pair of Pjs. Nat grabbed a pair for herself.

My bag sat in the corner of Lot's room as I planned to stay the night. As I changed, I wondered if my life would be better if my parents were never around; I immediately felt selfish and tried to banish the thoughts from my head instead of joining in on the conversation on whether or not Randy Walsh blacked out this time.

By the time we actually settled down to go to bed, my vision had mostly returned to normal, and I suddenly realized I hadn't seen Van the whole night. My anger at Steven only seemed to grow as I realized that not only did his kiss ruin my night, but I spent the whole beginning of the party with him and his stupid friends, who I could barely stand, instead of the amber-haired goalie who seemed to occupy my thoughts for most of the day.

#fanfics #van palmer x reader #yellowjackets #yellowjackets fanfic #vanessa palmer x reader #van palmer x reader angst #van palmer x reader fluff #vanessa palmer #van palmer #van palmer/reader #lesbian

[space-kittie]

It's a very weird feeling to be on my way to work after my vacation, knowing it is the last day of working in that small store, since it's gonna be closed for good after today.

The very last time I'm working with my current colleagues.

The very last time I'll work in the store I've been working at for 7 and a half years.

The very last time I'll be at the store in which I've grown so tremendously. Where I healed from previous abuse, I learned my worth.

Yes, I also went through some of the worst times of my life there, but I came out on top. I came back stronger and more aware of who I am and what defines me.

I was 19 when I came there, now I'm 26. And after today, it will be gone forever.

So, I'm screaming into the void, thanking this mostly sleepy little store for being the place I grew so much in. In my mind, I'm thanking my colleagues, those that I can thank today in person, and those who are no longer at the same store or even the same company anymore. And I'm thanking the regulars. The customers who witnessed me grow over the years. The ones that showed concern for my wellbeing and celebrated with me when I finally got my foothold on my path of healing. Those who always greeted me with a smile, telling me that seeing me made their day better. And I'm thanking those regulars, that told me that they would come visit the store I'll be working at starting next week, just to see me.

Of course, none of them will read this. None of them are here, or know about my presence in this little corner of the web, of this site heralded as dead. But I hope that they can feel my heart going out to them.

#rambling #more or less #today is gonna be very strange #it feels. very final #lol at me repeating myself in the last paragraphs #just goes to show how jumbled my mind is rn #deleted that last paragraph #lmaooo

[livixbobbiex]

Stone tablets translated to regular English

CONTAINS STORY SPOILERS FOR ZELDA TEARS OF THE KINGDOM YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

So Wortsworth gives you his interpretation of the text, but he leaves out a lot. I tried my best to rewrite the tablets in understandable English. In some cases I had to change the grammar to make sense, and I had to guess a lot of words (they also arent consitent in the game), but I think this is decent enough. Thought I'd share because it took me a while to figure it out.

Tablet #1 - Account of a celebration

So sweet the song of King Rauru, and so great the beauty of his sister's dance, that my eyes and ears were held captive.

And so when queen Sonia gazed upon us all, I felt that her heart also fall captive.

Servant's life, though much laboursome, has much joy as well. Long be the life of the royal family that I love so.

Tablet #2 - The strong queen and the receptive king

Sonia, queen to Hyrule's king, by birth a Hylian priestess, herself born of land, not of the sky above.

She speaks with an open heart, honest to all, even to the Zonai's king.

This king thinks it's a good advantage to learn of the land folk. To see his head bent to listen is such pleasure.

Tablet #3 - The harmonious couple

Often was Rauru, king of keen blades, away from his real work in favour of the hunt.

And often queen Sonia, queen of keen insight, would seek him out and repair this king to kingly business.

In her sapience she seems divine, that she can always find him and for his folly he seems the more human.

And the king? Oh, he laughed. He is not her equal for her wit, he knew. And the queen, she laughed too, as she scolded him .

Tablet #4 - A pilgrimage of light

The king was late to come this evening, so the queen shared tales of her land, of shrines of green glow.

Of early days since Hyrule's founding have diverse monsters besieged and assaulted her realm.

Unstopping in strife, they brought despair to folks' lives. King and Queen beset themselves to bring the scrouge to and end.

With might of light and power, they had been driven aback, and the royal couple made these shrines to seal them away.

These holy seals are called shrines of light.

Great king, great queen, I thank you. You fought when I was a maiden child, so that tomorrow could pass.

Tablet #5 - The researcher Mineru

Queen Mineru, the King's older sister, falls so deep in her books that she often forgets to eat or sleep.

In my worried way I have done what much I can, but I fear that it has been to little avail.

Of late she talks about 'constructs' things that she made with her hands as a vessel for her spirit when her body falls.

So, said she might she live longer, in spirit housed within this 'construct'.

Though, Mineru never seems to hold any deciept, by my faith, I cannot truly believe these words.

Tablet #6 - The foreign princess

The weather is very fine this morning, and I have an audience with the princess said to be kin by a few distant years to queen Sonia.

By grace she has been given a name most sweet, of Zelda she has been called.

Certain folk stirred suspicion, for strange were her garments and so was her appearance.

Yet would her countenance and bearing made proof of her right blood and bond to Queen Sonia.

Also Zelda will remain with us for a while, I will myself as handmaiden offer her kind services.

Tablet #7 - The free spirited Zelda

Princess Zelda recently comes to see Mineru, the King's older sister. I come with her to serve her.

Today came it came to pass that Mineru showed to Zelda the construct I had seen all together.

Zelda, she much desired to ride on it, and and nothing I could could warn could stop her. Though I did protest. Loudly.

Never the less she made to sit high upon the constructs shoulders and to ride it like a horse, all full of grace.

My impression, so great already, did grow all the more.

Tablet #8 - The latest trend

New fashion favourite garments adournened with mushroom patterns, and for one would be this worn.

This taste for mushroom come of the castle's seamstress, who sought to sew clothes to please princess Zelda.

This fashion, Zelda told to the seamstress, was in her true home well lived.

In her time everyone wore patterns of bright hues in the shape of mushrooms.

And now our hand seamstress set heart on copying these patterns, which she sold to many happy persons.

I searched for some of my own but I could not find any.

Tablet #9 - An ancient ghost story

Of late I have heard it told a strange lady walks around in the castle in dark of night.

She and Princess Zelda seem also twins two, but this one had no light in her eyes, more as a dead thing than not.

When she is asked about these walks, Princess Zelda then remembers nothing of that.

What monster, or spirit of darkness, be this vision? So afraid I am of my imagination that I cannot sleep.

Tablet #10 - For the hero's sake

Since her founding has Hyrule seen such hardships, but that is only a small moment of time.

Mineru, the kings older sister, says of this kingdom that it not mote than aware be ycaccht(no idea), not even for the future.

Princess Zelda tells her that this future be already, that a champion born from the sky will come.

Between the two they embarked to find a way to help this champion in that distant time.

Her min treuthe (no idea), sought they to rise the Temple of a time, into the sky to ward it against evil.

All done so in a far distant day, our kingdom might be saved.

In my heart and will go help the most, and I asked of Mineru, can you devise the means to uprise in the sky these stones.

My words I see not now, but these memories are safe, of the royal family, high in the sky for that future time.

Tablet #11 - The day the land rose

Such wondrous sight I have beholden that it cannot justly be described.

The temple of time I saw, and all the land that held it, risen to the sky, both fearful and majestic.

As princess Zelda told me, in her distant future comes a champion to that place, the hope that saves Hyrule.

For that champion be it that I inscribe this great stone.

The king's older sister, Mineru, sends now these stones to the sky, that the champion might read them.

Tablet #12 - A parting resolve

Rauru, Hyrule's king. Sonia, their queen. His elder sister, Mineru. And eek (no idea) Princess Zelda.

All whom I served, and loved. All whom are gone. Alone I carve these words upon this stone.

This stone, and all thirteen, serve as royal family records, my final work, throughout for all age.

Many the mark made by these much beloved peoples - some seen, some unseen.

When I make remembrance of their marks, I feel the flame of hope, though very small within me.

It be also though that these marks describe some grand design.

I can never meet princess Zelda for her love for her land. What more then, ask I, can I do for Hyrules peoples.

Let my life lead me from hence forth fully worthy to answer this question.

#tears of the kingdom #totk #the legend of zelda #tloz #zelda

[mariacallous]

‘How can I make sure my child survives this?’

It’s estimated that LGBTQ+ people make up between 5 to 10 percent of any given society. This means that in Russia, there are at least 7 to 15 million LGBTQ+ individuals and up to 14 to 30 million parents of LGBTQ+ people.

According to kris pokrytan, a psychologist with the Plus Golos project (which mainly supports Russian-speaking families), parents of LGBTQ+ children often go through an acceptance process that isn’t linear or logical. Sometimes, there’s a “mourning period” before they come to terms with their child’s identity. But pokrytan stresses that there’s no one way to process things and not all parents grieve: “For a number of parents, [their child’s] coming out isn’t associated with a feeling of loss. Instead, there can be increased anxiety — where the parent is ready to accept [their child’s identity] but realizes there might be problems at school.”

Psychologists try to support the whole family: a child might feel relief after coming out, whereas a parent might sink into worry about how difficult life may now be — a fear only exacerbated by Russia’s latest anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. What’s dangerous is when parents show their child rejection as they navigate their own feelings. “It’s very difficult when a parent becomes unhappy with who you are,” says pokrytan. It’s possible to help work through stereotypes parents might have, but if they believe they can change who their child is, there’s very little psychologists can do.

Fathers in Russia are far less likely to accept their LGBTQ+ children than mothers, according to pokrytan. When a child comes out, their mom or dad also gets a new identity: the parent of an LGBTQ+ child. Everyone copes with this differently, but Russian fathers often don’t cope at all. The exceptions are few and far between.

After the Russian Supreme Court declared the so-called “international LGBT movement” an extremist organization, fewer people started reaching out to pokrytan. When they do, their questions are filled with a new urgency and fear: “How can I make sure my child survives this? How do we stay out of trouble with the authorities and take care of our mental health?”

‘May your love be infinite’

Fyodor and Alexey come home carrying a New Year’s tree, interrupting the interview. “What if we hadn’t welcomed them?” Tamara reflects. How would our traditions have continued? I think our son would be with us, certainly, but his beloved person, whom he’s been with for many years, wouldn’t be here. That’s a pretty strange thought.”

Tamara’s family puts on a play every New Year’s. “Alexey was very shy the first time, but now he’s gotten the hang of it,” Tamara says. “He called yesterday and said he’d invited his cousin and cousin’s girlfriend to the gathering, and also his friend and her two children. Of course, my older son and his wife and kid will be there too, as well as my husband’s sister. I’ve already assigned the roles.”

The family also organizes pride celebrations at home. At one, they held a symbolic wedding ceremony for Fyodor and Alexey. “Back then, I didn’t realize how serious it was for them. Alexey even cried, and they still wear the rings.” The speech Tamara gave at the ceremony ends with the following words: 

Fate has awarded you its greatest gift — the kind of love that all seek, but only the chosen find. Its tremendous strength gives meaning to life and helps overcome difficulties and conquer any mountains. May your love be infinite. And as for whom and how to love, that’s a personal matter.

After the Supreme Court’s ruling, Alexey’s mom thought her son and Fyodor should leave the country. However, they’ve decided to stay for now. Reflecting on the court’s decision, Tamara says it’s “convenient for propaganda to use LGBTQ+ people as a tool to distract society from real problems.”

Both Svetlana and Tamara say they’re afraid for LGBTQ+ people, not for themselves. Since the new law came into effect, Svetlana says, everyone’s become occupied with figuring out how to survive, whether or not they should leave, and the feeling of community has been somewhat lost. She worries for the young activists: “You feel like you can’t help in any way.”

Tamara says it’s painful to see the situation in Russia growing worse and worse: “I think, why don’t people come to their senses? These are absurd decisions. For what? What are we suffering for? I say ‘we’ because we suffer too. I suffer along with my children. I’m not afraid for myself — nothing will happen to me. I’m only afraid for my children.”

[sato-sakai]

This February 16 is very special for me, because I am celebrating 20 years since I came into the world and less than a month before the premiere of Kung Fu Panda 4. This is why I wanted to make a blog about Kung Fu Panda, like this great saga. He has been present in my life and how did I meet the TYPE.

To begin with, when the first movie was released I remember being 4 years old.  They bought me a Tigress figure (at that time I didn't know she was a woman xd), a McDonald's figure and a special thermos.  A film that marked my childhood without a doubt, endearing characters, a villain that you come to empathize with, and of course an epic soundtrack.  I never got to see the Furious 5 and Christmas shorts until I was a little older.

For the second one I was already 7 years old, on the birthday of who was my best friend at that time we went to see her.  Like every child that year, she was scared when they showed the images of the panda genocide, but from then on she was enjoyable.  To this day, the scene in which Po seeks inner peace with his past and remembers how his mother sacrificed herself so that he could live continues to give me feelings.  Also, giving us who for me is the best villain of the saga, Lord Shen.  He had the movie in pirated mode and I remember that he played it almost always.  I saw the short film Secrets of the Masters a few years later, an interesting story and it retains the voice actors from the films.

From 2011-2016 I lost interest in the saga.  The Nickeledeon series never hooked me, I saw the shorts a long time after their premiere.  But around 2014 or 2015 was where I met the GUY.  Honestly, at that moment it was something very strange for me that duo, but after several videos and having read a few fanfics, I came to like them a lot.  I had an Xbox 360 Kinect, where we bought the official video game.  However, I never got around to playing it because it was too difficult for me.

Already in the third one, when I was 12 years old, I went to see it with my brother on a classmate's birthday.  Although she wasn't bad, it wasn't what I expected, I feel like they could have improved a lot.  Kai was a decent villain on par with Tai Lung and Shen, but the rhythm and essence of this one felt very childish compared to its predecessors, a point to highlight in this one was the concept of Chi which at that time was new to my.  From this point was where my interest in TYPE began to grow more and became one of my biggest obsessions to this day XD.

At that time I explored and saw many artists who drew this ship.  If I remember correctly, one of the first was from Tigress and Po's children who were a panda and a white tiger named Hana or something like that, back in 2016 it was where I saw @ani-dragmire's drawings for the first time, @masterlan12 and @7oy7iger (although at that time Lan made another ship).  Without a doubt three great cartoonists with whom I have been able to talk on a couple of occasions.

When the Paws of Destiny series came out I had very high expectations (although I didn't have prime video at that time) but I ended up somewhat disappointed by the final result and the absence of the Furious 5.  Although, it has redeeming things such as the 4 constellations (I had already heard of these mythological creatures but in Japanese folklore) and Po's perception of Tigress as a friend and great warrior.  2022 was a heavy year, my entry into university and the news that an upcoming movie about our beloved panda was very close and that it would bring back the 3 previous villains of the saga, I was more than excited.

However, that same year, what for me and a large part of the fandom was released was a great lack of respect for Kung Fu Panda.  The Netflix series, my first mistake was thinking about the return of Jack Black as Po.  I remember that that year was one of the lowest in terms of quality of movies, series, video games and so on.  The idea of ​​getting to know the rest of the world outside of China in the lore of Kung Fu Panda was what blinded me from the nonsense I would see.  Po being clumsy and crouching in front of a hateful and empowered bear.  The worst of all was that I watched all three seasons on Netflix.

By December of last year I saw the first trailer for Kung Fu Panda 4, although it was exciting to see Tai Lung back (probably in a redemption arc) I must say that it was somewhat disappointing not to see the Furious 5.  At the time of writing this I am hoping to see Shen and Kai in a future trailer.

For me, Kung Fu Panda is not a simple saga of movies made for children, it is a saga that shows the evolution of a martial arts fan on the path to being the most legendary warrior in China.  Although it is not the best like the Shrek or How to Train Your Dragon sagas, it is one of the most beloved.  If there is something I admire about Po, it is how despite having a painful past, being rejected at the beginning, perhaps not being what Shifu expects of him.  Po never gives up and always maintains a warm smile and an optimistic attitude, kind of like Peter Parker.  And well, this is all for now, I say goodbye to you.

Note: No spoilers from March onwards.

#kung fu panda #dreamworks #lord shen #tai lung #kung fu panda 4 #kai the collector #po #po and tigress #furious five

[blazescompendium]

Shin Megami Tensei is 31 years old today.

image provided by Vesk Scans. Please follow her archiving work!

Yeah, Shin Megami Tensei for the Super Famicom is now 31 years old. It is surprising for me how a game that came out full 6 years before i even give my first breath on this Earth, would be so important for me and my life. But here we are.

Even after playing the entirety of the mainline franchise, and a lot of spin offs, this game still holds its position very well in my heart because it is such a unique game. First, i always loved mythology and religion, so much so that i pursued it as a career. It started when i was little, with the influence of my father who was a scholar (albeit amateur) of those fields. Religion always played a major role in my life, both for the good and the bad, and although i don't actually align with any religion at the moment, i was studying the bible in a religious school since a very early age.

So, when i found out about Shin Megami Tensei, it clicked really, really well with me. I know that it is just a game, and even if it tries a lot to be faithful, as a researcher and scholar of Mythology and Religion we got to say it not always gets it right. But it tries! And when it tries, it can achieve very good results, and that's why i love it so much.

And that was when i was a teen/young adult. Now i grew up a lot, and even started my career in those fields, and still regard this game very high.

The characters are great for me, because i love how this game can be incredibly inclusive. Your main character is not a destined hero, or magical being. It is just an average guy, going to the groceries when the world start to end. He lives with his mom, have its problematic friends, and lives an average life. He always acts like any other person would act, and even his looks are just average.

Now, the thing is that this game did not aged well, but its absolutely playable and very fun to play. The old SMT titles have this ''survival horror'' energy, where you have to take care of resources while advancing in the game. ''Should you use your complete party in this dungeon, since its dangerous, but risk to deplete your MAG stock?'' Stuff like that got me.

And this brings me to how much i hate Atlus as a capitalist company. They made this effort to show us they care about the anniversary of the franchise that kick-started their business, but did not do anything about it. Just shoved merch to the US audience, that is not available anywhere else. Us, from outside, just did not got anything from this ''anniversary''. And i thought the Persona 25th was bad enough lol. But i guess merch hoarders are happy?

And that was a big fucking lie

I honestly don't want anything out of the ordinary. If they could at least port the SNES titles to the Switch Online at the west, because its already available in Japan, i beleive we would be very grateful already. Playing and presenting this games for a new generation is a pain. And i believe Shin Megami Tensei deserves it as a series, not only for its uniqueness but also for everything this IP did to Atlus.

But hey, i guess we are getting something, right? We have a whole new Persona 5 spin off coming next week! I am so hyped to see the same characters, exactly as they were 7 years ago, in another story about teen rebellion or whatever.

Im sorry, SMT. We failed with you. But your legacy will never be gone. I beleive SMT message keeps relevant to this day, and even more so as the time passes by. The world is a very different place then it was in 199X, but still a very divided and extremist place. SMT was the only game of its time to tackle this issues.

Happy anniversary to Shin Megami Tense, as a great game as one of my favorite games of all time. I wish more people could play it at least once!

And yeah, to celebrate i think i will be beating SMT 2 tonight, after lectures!

#shin megami tensei #anniversary #shin megami tensei anniversary #atlus #megaten #venting #blazescompendium

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Okay, quick Taskmaster liveblogging this week. I’m fucking exhausted after a long and shitty week at work, I got home from work just after 7 PM, made myself some food, and I am now very pleased to get to sit down with a meal and the new Taskmaster episode. I do not have the energy to do what I sometimes do with these, which is take notes constantly through the whole episode. But I know I’ll want to say some things about it. So I will use this document as a thing to write down quick little things when they occur to me occasionally, rather than trying to cover the whole episode. It’s nice to have this back in my life for nine more weeks (well, eight more now, I guess).

Thoughts on Taskmaster s16e02, written as I watch it:

- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the funniest introductions are the ones where Greg pretends that Alex is right-wing for no reason.

- “Best sign” – I’m amazed that wasn’t taken already. You’d think Taskmaster would be out of the one-word ones, which is why they have to use “most < adjective > < noun >”, instead of just “most < adjective >” thing or “best < noun >”. But there’s still more stuff to do. I like that one, open-ended enough to leave room for interpretation, but still some solid boundaries they’ll have to stay within.

- It feels a bit like cheating for Sue Perkins to use her celebrity stories to garner points against people who just can’t compete with a story of the time Claudia Winkleman helped her steal a sign from the BBC. But I did enjoy that one.

- God, do I ever want to go to the British Library with Sam Campbell and steal shit. I think he wins in terms of aspirational stories, I’d rather rob the British Library with Sam Campbell than rob the BBC studios with Claudia Winkleman.

- I have seen the first three seasons of Meet the Richardsons (did not watch season 4 this year and I think I’ll probably leave it there, but I’m not sorry I watched it), and it’s definitely not the best show in the world, but one of my favourite parts was how cool that pub looked. That’s aspirational, it’s exactly the sort of thing I’d do if I had the money that they have. Make a full pub in your backyard where you can get the nice feeling of a pub but without the drawbacks, such as people you don’t know being in it and having to commute there and back (particularly bad, after drinking). Fucking lovely. The Jon Richardson I got attached to from radio 8 Out of 10 Cats/early Catsdown hasn’t existed for a long time, and that’s probably for the best and I’m glad he’s gone off to be happy even if I don’t find him as entertaining anymore, but I did enjoy seeing that pub in Meet the Richardsons like an example of success. Good for him. Nice prize, Lucy. You’re right, there is a warm feeling to it.

- Sammy C bringing his own equipment to the tasks. Following on from a couple of things he did last week, establishing a pattern of him doing things as a bit, because they are comedic, but also they happen to possibly give him an advantage in points. As someone who is backing him like he’s a sports team to win this season, I approve of this pattern.

- Listen, strange women standing around in Chiswick pulling on facsimile swords is no basis for a system of government. But I don’t know, maybe we should let Lucy Beaumont try running the UK for a year and see where they end up.

- I thought I wasn't going to do screenshots in this episodes, because these posts take so much longer when I stop to copy screenshots. But I have to say, the first proper laugh came from Sue throwing away the comment "I mean I want to go Widdicombe", then stopping, realizing what she'd just said, and you can watch the answer hit her:

Aw, I've just remembered the existence of that panel show hosted by Sue Perkins with Josh Widdicombe and Richard Osman as team captains, Insert Name Here. Slightly flimsy premise, uneven guests and execution, but three people who are so good at being on panel shows that it entertained me all the way through anyway.

I watched that show about 2 years ago when I was mainly into panel shows and thought Josh Widdicombe was a brilliant TV comedian who just happened to make not-great stand-up - now that I'm more into stand-up than panel shows, that flaw seems more significant than it used to. Also, I've given up on The Last Leg because they've gone all pro-monarchy but also if I'm honest they've been leaning toward the bland centre for a while (though I maintain that it had some years of being much better than that). But there was a time when Josh Widdicombe was one of my favourites of all these comedians, I still think he's very good on panel shows, so I'm enjoying his little cameo here (I did guess that Widdicombe was the answer as soon as Sue said "Devon", because what the hell else is from Devon?). Nice to honour both the first Taskmaster champion, and the first two-time champion.

On the subject of Sue Perkins and Josh Widdicombe existing in the same universe, aside from their endearing panel show Insert Name Here, remember that time when Sue Perkins went on The Last Leg wearing a Patti Smith shirt and one time she messed up her hair for no reason and I had to save that as a gif because I think it might be the cure for female heterosexuality?

- Watching this task for the second time, now that I know the answer. Obviously the foot that says “Greg” is a reference to Josh getting Greg’s name tattooed on his foot during season 1. “Devon” is where he’s from, as he talks about every time he’s on TV. But how does he make his hair smart? Is it just a reference to the fact that for a long time he was known for a particular haircut? Am I forgetting about something in the Josh Widdicombe canon (I say “forgetting” rather than “not knowing” because I have seen a hell of a lot of the things he’s done, including hundreds of hours of The Last Leg, arguably too many hours of The Last Leg…)? You’d think it would just be a reference to something he did on Taskmaster, like the tattoo. The main things Josh Widdicombe did on Taskmaster besides get a tattoo, I think, was count beans and fail to guess the rules of Alex Squash.

With Diamonds Come Bears was such an opaque club that they had to put it on the screen for us to understand it even once we did know the answer, but apparently the letters kind of line up. Then there’s that family tree showing how he’s descended from royalty, which he worked out from Who Do You Think You Are, and now talks about it every time he’s on TV.

- Interrupting my list of Widdicombe clues to say, why did Sam Campbell say Katherine Ryan has nothing to do with hair but “Bob Mortimer, that’s hair!” One of those people has objectively more hair than the other, and it’s not the one he described as “that’s hair!”.

- Did no one think before setting this task to check that Julian Clary has heard of Josh Widdicombe? That was pretty funny, watching Julian Clary walk around being unable to finish a task because he doesn't know Josh Widdicombe's name. Come on, Taskmaster, the small and nasally man with the short hair got a tattoo for this show. He does not deserve to have an entire task set up to emphasize the fact that Julian Clary doesn't know his name (he does, it was quite funny).

- Alex Horne, before this season started (paraphrased because I cannot be bothered to look up the actual quote): One contestant in particular put me in my place.

Julian Clary: "What sorts of people enjoy this show? Is it students?" "You're interesting, aren't you? Would you call yourself a charismatic man?"

- Susan Wokoma declaring that sexy dog subverts stereotypes made me laugh, Julian Clary referencing his dead art teacher very much added to that. I've watched most of the second task by now without stopping to write much because it's getting late and I'm tired, but that was fun.

- Lovely titled drop from Susan Wokoma. Very well delivered "Hell is here." She was kind of the quiet one last episode, is definitely making more of a mark this time.

-

- Look, if I wanted to be pedantic, I could make the argument that Sam Campbell's picture was much better than everyone else's and showed off artistic skill that clearly the others do not have, even though Sue Perkins' drawing was quite amusing, and therefore Sam deserved the five points alone. I mean, technically it was the best cheeky picture, not the cheekiest picture, and no matter how cheeky Sue's picture was, it wasn't as good a picture as Sam's. And if Sam Campbell loses this whole season to Sue Perkins by one point, I will absolutely be repeatedly making that argument that he was robbed in this task. But okay, fine, the idea of Sue Perkins making a dick joke is amusing. And yes, I'm aware that I'm watching Taskmaster wrong.

- Secret task gets mentioned again. I think the funniest option would be if it does exist, but it's useless. Like if there's a secret task somewhere telling them to do something huge and difficult and time-consuming and they have several months to do it and they have to bring it to the studio to complete it, and someone does do that, and then it's worth like half a point. Yeah it's a joke they've done before, but not for a while. They've used the idea sparingly enough in recent seasons so I think they could bring it back.

- Lucy Beaumont doing mischief by being an unethical fake psychic pretending to communicate with the dead to swindle people is a bit of a weird light given that I now know she does genuinely, literally believe in ghosts.

- Hang on. Hang on. Are they allowed to do that? They can set tasks for each other? A genuine first in a Taskmaster history, I'm almost sure. Susan Wokoma is out here re-inventing the game. I kind of want to know if anyone else in Taskmaster history has tried to affect one of their competitors' games and been told they're not allowed to, because if so, that's not fair to them that Susan could. But if she was the first person to think of it, then fair play to her.

To stop watching Taskmaster wrong (like a sports fan) for a moment and start watching it right (like a comedy fan), God that was funny. Watching Sam Campbell stand up and sit down and be so earnest about it and genuinely engaged and find a workaround to draw extra mice for extra points, while knowing it was all for nothing, was very funny. It's Widdicombe counting beans again. It's the thing I think they should do with the secret task. It's really funny to watch someone try hard when we know something they don't.

- After pretending to smash up Alex Horne's phone, I waited for what Sam Campbell would say, as he's had great lines throughout this show so far. But actually, I think leaving the room after saying nothing was the funniest thing he could have done. Solid instincts there.

- Sam Campbell threatens to make a prank phone call. Julian Clary writes prank longhand letters. The generational divide, everyone.

- Well, normally in my posts, I start out writing relatively little about things, and write more and more as the post goes along, so the things I write about later in the post get expanded on way more than the earlier things. This one is the opposite, because as I said, it's late and I've gotten more tired as it's gone along.

So I've finished the episode. I enjoyed the live task. I do always like the "do something while keeping eye contact with Greg" tasks. The main thing I have to say about that live task is... I don't know if this is quite the hardest I've laughed at season 16 so far. But it's definitely the longest. As in, I'm exhausted right now, I worked long hours today and long hours yesterday and it a few really stressful days and a long week and it's fairly late and I feel like my brain is fried, and for reasons I definitely cannot fully explain (if pressed, I could explain maybe about 20% of why this happened, at the most), this exact frame made me laugh uncontrollably for several minutes:

I just paused the video, stared at the screen, and could not stop laughing. There's a cat my lap the looked annoyed about it. Every time I tried to play the video again and move on with my life, I'd look at some new part of it and keep laughing. I took a screenshot so I can have it forever. The 20% that I can explain about why that happened does, again, involve using the word "earnest" to describe Sam Campbell's expression.

I also enjoyed Sue and Julian drawing the same thing (people who are older than the other contestants and also more famous than the other contestants and also gay are on the same wavelength as each other, apparently). And I liked Lucy Beaumont's peas.

I also enjoyed them bringing in another NZ task as the tiebreaker. Well done to Sue. I always like watching the rote memorization tasks, mainly because that's a skill I enjoy practising myself and I like to see if I can beat the contestants at it. I used to know pi to lots of places, back in high school, but I couldn't do that now. Could I memorize more digits than Sue did in the same number of seconds? Don't know, and am not awake enough to try it right now. Some other time.

I'm now going to sleep for a number of hours with two digits in it. Maybe three.

[fallingsunflower]

My thoughts on Harry's break part 2/2

I want to share some of my thoughts that I've kept bottled up over the past couple of years but it seems pertinent to share them now.

For those who don't know - hi, I'm Sunny. I run this blog but I also have a background in psychology. I have 2 degrees, have worked in several schools and a psychiatric hospital, and have done extensive research in multiple areas of psychology that overlap with what I'm about to outline.

Celebrities aren't my area of expertise. This is just an educated opinion.

You can read my opinion on what Harry's been up to here. I outlined it like that because I wanted to show that Harry's been on the move for a reallllly long time. He keeps busy and busy and while although I think a break is necessary, I don't think it's as simple as that.

Love On Tour consisted of 2 eras - Fine Line and Harry's House - mashed into about 5 years. I think the emotional ending to Love On Tour was partially due to Harry finally saying goodbye to these eras. It was probably mentally exhausting for him to cope with that. In my opinion, the song he composed for the last show wasn't a goodbye song but rather a thank you song to express what words cannot (I often say Harry isn't very good at words). So I think he wanted to express himself via song to end a very good and emotional time in his life.

This was also only Harry's SECOND world tour. I know it felt like a lifetime but he only did Love On Tour and Live On Tour. So when he says it was the time of his life and he'll never forget it, that's because it was LITERALLY HIS SECOND SOLO TOUR. Both his tours were great but I'm sure this one was probably more enjoyable for him. He seemed to fall into a groove and grew in popularity and success. He was selling out stadiums and I think he realized he was creating something incredibly good - such as the good part of the fandom that came together like a family. I think he felt loved and appreciated.

Piggy-backing off of that into more of a psychological route, there's a lot that happens when an artist is on tour. They're surrounded by people 24/7. They have people telling them every day how much they love them. They are also doing something that they love to do. Harry specifically said performing is his favorite thing in the world to do.

So when the lights go down and the tour ends and the artist goes home, it's probably quiet. It's something we struggle to relate to. There are no more people around. There's no more of that extreme love. There's a pause in doing something really enjoyable.

I suspect it's depressing and maybe even a little bit scary. I don't think Harry likes being alone. I think he likes to be busy, even though I think a break will do him good. I just hope he has a good support system. A lot of artists struggle with the in-between time. I won't go into details but I've always worried a little bit about it.

With all that being said, I think it was just plain old emotionally hard for Harry to leave that stage. I think he longs to go back even though it was tiring because sometimes staying busy is better than being left alone to your own thoughts. So I think we're seeing a lot of that aftermath.

Now idk if Harry is going to be taking an extended break. He COULD be but I really just think it was an emotional end for him. I don't think he's retiring or will be gone for a suuuuper long time. I'm also not sure what his Marvel plans look like but I just can't see him putting music on the back burner. He said over and over on LOT that music is his favorite part of his job. Rumors of his retirement have been circulating for months.

This was a pretty long post to explain something but I think it's a complicated subject and people are taking it in multiple extremes. It's also hard to have a convo on Tumblr lmao I prefer in-person but obviously that's not possible (how fun would that be though LMAO)

#Youtube

[popculturelib]

Fanzine Friday #6: Deafula nos. 1-2, 4-5 (2010-2013) by Kerri Radley

Deafula is about Kerri's experience as a Deaf person in a hearing world, focusing on education and resources for both hearing and Deaf individuals. We have four issues of Deafula, covering topics:

Introduction to Kerri and Deafness

Insurance coverage (or the lack therof)

Employment issues

An interview with Kerri's mother

Featured here are select pages from issue no. 1 that discuss deafness and Deaf culture. Transcripts are below the read more.

The Browne Popular Culture Library (BPCL), founded in 1969, is the most comprehensive archive of its kind in the United States.  Our focus and mission is to acquire and preserve research materials on American Popular Culture (post 1876) for curricular and research use. Visit our website at https://www.bgsu.edu/library/pcl.html.

Transcript for pages 1-2:

I'm a twenty eight year old lady who lives in philly with a dog and a cat and I like to do fun stuff like read and go to shows and back and ride bikes and paint and I go to grad school at penn.

And, I'm deaf.

I was born with some minimal hearing loss, and no one knows where it came from. Probably not my genes, as everyone in my family is hearing, except my older brother also had a little bit of hearing loss at birth. He wore hearing aids for a short while but hated them, and now he doesn't and he is pretty normal and talks on the phone and whispers and does normal hearing people type things.

But me, when I was five years old, I contracted scarlet fever. And now I'm deaf.

[next page]

Hearing loss can occur in your outer, middle, or inner ear, for a large variety of reasons at any stage in life. Sensorineural hearing loss occurs in the middle ear, and can be due to exposure to toxic chemicals in the womb, structural abnormalities, certain antibiotics, or infections life the mumps, meningitis or my most beloved, scarlet fever. This is what I have. There is no "cure." Some people with this loss benefit from hearing aids or cochlear implants, some don't. How much hearing loss occurs is specific to each case.

Sensorineural hearing loss from an infection can occur at pretty much any stage of life, though it occurs mostly in childhood. Still, exactly when in a child's life the damage occurs can have huge ramifications. I was luck (and lucky feels like a weird way to put it, even) to contract scarlet fever when I did, because by then I had already acquired my first language, English.

Transcript for pages 7-8:

Not only is deafness a spectrum in the "medical" aspect, or level / type of loss, and in the communication aspect -- it's also a spectrum culturally. Deafness is a free standing and respected culture. This might seem weird to hearing people who think of being deaf as nothing more than a disability, but it truly exists as a community with a cultural identity. The Deaf culture has its own language (ASL), its own norms and values, its own idioms and jokes, and within it deafness is not seen as a "disability," but rather as a common attribute shared by its members to be celebrated and nurtured. Culturally deaf people don't see deafness as a detriment -- why would they when there is a large, rich, vibrant culture with an accepting community surrounding it?

Of course, where culture and identity concerned, the [next page] dividing lines get a little blurry and debatable. I can't

even speak from a position

of authority about this, as I

grew up a lone deaf girl in a hearing

world, only to be

immersed in the Deaf community later in life. In an

attempt to explain cultural deafness, though, I'll try to define the difference between little d-deaf, and capital-D Deaf. Most deaf people differentiate between the two: deaf people regard themselves as people with disabilities, and do not identify with deaf culture. They may or may not use ASL, they might not think deafness has cultural validity, they might be strongly immersed in hearing culture. Deaf people (capital D) regard themselves as members of the deaf culture and take pride in their Deaf identity. They probably use ASL as their main form of communication, are informed about their culture, and don't regard themselves as being disabled. Some people who are even hearing, but CODA (children of deaf adults) consider themselves culturally Deaf -- they can hear and speak, but they are fluent in ASL and strongly immersed and active in deaf culture.

Transcript for page 14:

What do to if you encounter a deafie in the wild!

Okay, so you're at a party or at someone's house or something, and you realize there's a deaf person there. Don't panic! As long as you remember some basic guidelines for communicating with her, you'll be on your way to having a deaf friend in no time.

Don't make assumptions about how they can communicate!

Transcript for page 18:

3. Do your part to include them

in the conversation!

This means the world to deaf people in social situations, really. If you have to keep asking people to

repeat what they said, or clue you in on what's going on, you can start to feel like an annoying pest and it's crummy. It helps a lot to have the people around you be conscious of your presence and do what they can to include you. Make sure your face is visible. If you say something hilarious and everyone is cracking up, but the deaf person has a wft look on her face, be nice and repeat the joke without having to be prompted. The normal flow of hearing conversation is also a really tricky beast for a deaf person. It's hard for us to make sense of the natural breaks and flows from

one person to the next. Therefore, it can be pretty hard to find the right moment to interject and can be embarrassing if you cut someone off without knowing [page ends]

Transcripts for pages 21-22:

5. Above all,

treat them like

normal people!

Because they are!

Hey, you can contact me! That would be rad.

thecityonfire @ gmail . com

[next page]

Decibel chart

Hearing loss can be measured in decibel levels. My decibel thresholds are the "softest" sounds i can hear unaided!

#bgsu #disability pride month #deafness #zines #fanzine friday

[krawlernyannyan]

The fun part about theorycrafting is that every one in a while you get an absurd thought in your head that you know, instinctively, isn't correct, but you start connecting dots anyway because bad theories can still lead to greater truths, and once you start connecting dots you have the moment of "Wait this might actually explain a lot?"

My crack theory for the night is this: Something Unto Death didn't actually kill Robin. Robin's killer...was herself.

Points of analysis to explain myself:

If we assume Firefly and Robin were both killed by SUD, there's a key difference between how we see Firefly die and how we see Robin's body - that is, we see Robin's body. She left a corpse. Firefly exploded into dream bubble paste instantly before she even had time to hit the ground, yet Robin's body was evidently lying around long enough for Aventurine to find it and show it to two other people at different times before it finally evaporated. This theory provides a pretty straightforward answer to this question - the bodies are in different conditions because there were two different causes of death.

The location of the body is also suspect. Both times we see SUD, it's in wide open spaces, which is intuitive because it's a massive monster and it needs room to maneuver. Why, then, is Robin's body lying in the middle of a hotel room? Would SUD really cram itself into that small of a space just to kill someone? Now, there are some possible mundane answers here - SUD could've possibly just teleported a part of itself in, or Aventurine could've just moved the body from somewhere else, but neither of those really cleanly answer this question. By this theory's line of thought, where Robin died wouldn't matter, even if SUD has to find you and kill you itself, because she could theoretically take her own life in any location she saw fit.

What exactly was Robin - interastral pop superstar Robin, pride of The Family - doing alone in the middle of the primal dreamscape? Given how important she is to the optics to the Charmony Festival, you'd think she'd have a 24/7 security detail or, barring that, someone with authority like Sunday keeping an eye on her, yet she managed to sneak off into an area that is largely outside of The Family's control? What if the reason she was there was because she was deliberately trying to get out of The Family's sight so they couldn't stop her?

It's stated multiple times that death shouldn't be possible in Penacony; in the game's own terms, "It's the promise of The Family and the blessing of The Harmony." Even a Memokeeper can't circumvent that...but what about a member of The Family? What about a tuner who can channel The Harmony, and demonstrated that ability earlier in the story?

While Sunday's lines in the epilogue would point to "death" being the culprit in both cases, I'd like to raise the following counterarguments: [A] It's possible he just got bad information and naturally came to the same conclusion we did about how Robin died; [B] Likewise taking the information he's been given and mentally blocking out the possibility his own sister chose death for herself because who would ever choose to believe that if they didn't have to; [C] He knows for a fact he's talking to Sparkle from the start of that scene since he already knows Robin is dead, and could be deliberately skewing his words to keep the truth of the situation from getting out into the public.

This isn't a complete theory - I'll admit as much. If you're looking for an idea of what she did to inflict spiritual death on herself, or why she would want to do something drastic like this: I'm sorry, I don't have them. Maybe the combined stressors of celebrity life and the threat of The Family re-establishing control over her after she'd left them drove her over the edge. We are only a third of the way into the Penacony story and there is very little we can dig into about Robin, before or after her death.

However, if you think this idea is "too dark", that it's "too depressing" and they'd never actually do it: I get it. I came up with this idea and, frankly, I still don't think it's what the real answers are going to amount to. But I think it's a possibility worth some consideration, and I'd like to present one more piece of evidence to my case. This is the one that got me on this train of thought in the first place:

On Penacony, the theme of suicide and self-annihilation are pervasive and constant. You can't go two sidequests without seeing it in some shape or form: Lew Archer, throwing herself off buildings; IV, threatening to do the same; Leslie Dean, an imaginary being, ending his own existence for the betterment of the people who created him; Sparkle, symbolically killing herself over and over by making herself the victim in murder mysteries she creates; even Tizocic II, who erased her life once by wiping her own memories, then, when she got them back, chose to return to her homeworld for what could only be her own execution. There's even more examples I could list, but you get the gist. An entire planet of people, destroying themselves and the lives they've built up, all in the hopes there's something better on the other side.

I would be incredibly surprised if that theme doesn't translate itself into the main story sometime in the next two updates. Maybe it's not via Robin specifically, and there's something much worse lying under the surface in Penacony. Right now, though? We've been given a murder mystery, and murder mysteries are never straightforward when it comes to their victims. It would be very on-genre to make us think a certain Memory Zone Meme did it, right after we saw it kill someone else, only for them to pull the rug out under us.

#HSR Specposting #HSR #Honkai Star Rail #HSR Robin #tw suicide #just throwing that one in there for safety #HSR Spoilers