You know i've come to realize the guy i keep calling Joe most likely ISN'T Joe but until the real Joe shows up i'll keep pretending that's him because IT LITERALLY LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM. THAT'S MY MAN I KNOW IT'S HIM

The bell shuro gives laios is such an elegant piece of symbolism. Laios immediatly stows it away but it's jingling at the bottom of his bag (and mind) the whole time as the crew enters the most isolated section of the story.

Rescuing Falin was the first thing shuros ever wanted or asked for and Laios return pushes him to be more and more proactive abt his desires. On Shuros side, its constantly ringing, out of his control, and annoying to him and everyone around him. Despite being mortified w intruding on other people, he keeps it on him even when he sleeps. They both almost throw it away several times.

Thru the story its a little ambiguous what shuro feels about laios. IMO the dead giveaway is where he puts that bell:

At his heart!

Um, actually any game can be read as a timeloop if you savescum hard enough 🤓

you’re so real for that actually

also most games (especially rpgs) can be time loops if there’s a grinding element to it. just repeat the same activity over and over and over again until you’re finally strong enough. you can finally leave. but can you? you’ll have to do it again once you find another enemy that’s just a bit too strong for you to beat. then you’ll have to grind again. and again. and again.

We often talk about how romantic the Joy in the Morning garden scene is, with very good reason, but it REALLY jumps out at you if you listen to the audiobooks. Jonathan Cecil’s Jeeves voice is very consistent, so when he reads “The cool air. The scent of growing things. That is tobacco plant which you can smell, sir,” you can HEAR how there’s really no way to deliver that line in a way that isn’t noticeably more expressive than Jeeves’ normal baseline. It’s the punctuation. The full stop between “the cool air” and “the scent of growing things” tells you that a certain amount of inflection is required.

Man is flirting so hard it’s disrupting his normal speech patterns

scribbled clip, fool, and y/n from gitm by @venomous-qwille o7

cough hack wheeze who wants a teeny tiny fantasy au snippet with uhhhh laughingstock Tension. it's like... half a scene! unedited & out of context As Is Tradition

~

“Nothin’ much. I think I’ll poke around nearby towns, shake down some travelers - see what falls into my paws.”

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, Barn,” Howdy says. He sweeps aggressively, spreading dirt more than gathering it into the usual neat piles. “Who knows if those ne'er-do-wells are still roaming around the woods - if you and Ed couldn’t take them, what makes you think you could alone? Or- or! What if you stumble across those cultists? I hate to think of you stuck in an ambush with no help coming, knowing fully well that-”

A large paw slips the broom out of his grip and sets it to the side, and Howdy stammers to a stop as Barnaby crowds him against the bar with a soft, “Howdy.”

Howdy swallows hard, bracketed on each side by strong blue arms. The look Barnaby fixes him with dries up his well of words and bristles his fuzz. Howdy’s heart hammers against his ribs. He can feel Barnaby’s body heat, and it’s lighting his blood on fire. 

“I’m not gonna be reckless, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Barnaby says. He barely needs to speak louder than a whisper for Howdy to hear him loud and clear. He smells like sweet smoke. “The other day was a one time deal, cross my heart. But, if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll take someone with me. I’m sure Jules is itchin’ to get outta town.”

“What would really make me feel better is if you stay,” Howdy blurts, just barely reining in the with me. He tenses, knowing that he’s toeing a dangerous line. One wrong word, and he’ll make the unspoken spoken - but the stress drains out of him as Barn’s eyes go soft. Perhaps that wouldn’t be so bad. Of course there’s no reason to worry, not about this, not with him. There never has been.

“You know I can’t do that,” Barnaby murmurs. “Not yet.”

Howdy doesn’t need to say that he knows. Not for the first time and with any luck, not for the last, it clicks in his mind that they’re on the same page - he doesn’t need to be a telepath to understand the thoughts behind Barnaby’s dark eyes. 

Barnaby says it anyway. “I gotta get him back. I can’t… there’s no room for anythin’ else right now.”

Howdy sighs through his nose and slumps against the counter digging into the small of his back. He nods and adjusts the lapels of Barnaby’s vest. His fingers ghost over soft blue, and Barnaby doesn’t flinch at the contact. If anything, he leans the barest millimeter into it. His gaze burns into Howdy’s, even if they aren’t meeting at the moment, but it isn’t a bad feeling. Quite the opposite, actually.

“Well,” Howdy says in a low voice, “if you find a good lead, send for the rest of us. I’ll be there as fast as my four legs can scamper.”

Barnaby smirks. “Even if you need to take a boat?”

“Even so, Barn.”

The smirk slides into something that isn’t a frown, but isn’t a smile. It’s too soft for a grimace, but too intense for simple recognition. Barnaby seems to sway forward, and Howdy is sorely tempted to meet him halfway.  

But Barnaby’s claw taps the counter, and he pulls away before anyone’s mind can be made up. Howdy’s hands slip from his lapels, brushing against fur as they fall and knuckles skimming over the smooth, fresh scar cutting across Barnaby’s belly. 

“I’ll be back before you know it,” Barnaby says, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He squeezes Howdy’s shoulder and then his back is turned, and he’s leaving. All Howdy can do is watch. 

And call out after him, “Your table will be open and waiting for you.”

Barnaby pauses in the doorway and looks over his shoulder at Howdy, and his grin is so full of affection that Howdy may just burst. 

“With a free pint?” he asks.

“Hey now, don’t push your luck pal.”

Barnaby bursts out laughing, and Howdy can hear it even after the door thuds closed.

that specific way that ppl talk abt male celebrities or male charas in fiction that have features deemed ugly that are just. them being fat or them being disabled or them just existing. like nobody says "oh this is ugly" but u can tell they think it is by their tone. the ohrase "hear me out" is really up there w worst phrases for me. like ok i hear you out but very quickly explain to me why you need an explanation for why you find like jack black or peter dinklage hot, for examples that stuck w me

Thinking about IDW Optimus again and the fandom's aversion to even acknowledging he exists bc he's a cop or whatever and like. Most of the time people literally just replace him in fic with some white bread knockoff archivist/librarian, not even bothering to keep in IDW OP's personality (which just bolsters my theory that the problem isn't him being a cop the problem is that he's too multifaceted but I digress).

And it's annoying because you could totally write IDW Optimus as not a cop while still keeping his canon personality. You just have to realize that the reason IDW OP became a cop in the first place is because his formative experiences when he was young shaped him to basically have two priorities: 1. To help people and 2. To do it by being on the ground actively doing something about the bad things happening to people.

IDW OP would not be a fucking librarian or archivist because even though those are noble pursuits that can help people and change the world, and Optimus is educated/smart enough for the profession, he wouldn't be satisfied just teaching people or spreading information about activism or social-historical studies or whatever. He's a mech of action: he needs to be doing things right now, in front of him, to people he sees/interacts with in his own eyes, improving society with concrete actions rather than indirect action or abstract inspiration.

So basically the alternate job ideas I can think of for IDW Optimus are something like being a firefighter (or any first responder really) or even whatever the equivalent would be to international charity organizations, those ones that send volunteers across the world to do stuff like build housing/infrastructure or distribute food or whatnot. I mean I can't imagine that the equivalents to these things would be exactly the same in IDW Cybertron, so you'd have to get a little creative with it, but these are just some ideas of jobs that would fit IDW Optimus' personality while still filling the niche of "not a cop" for people who are just that opposed to it.

Though I think the revulsion against coptimus is annoying in general tbh because IDW is already a continuity that rejects the idea of easily defined good/evil people or groups. It feels like people really want Optimus to be a good person in a very sanitized and academically approved way, so he has to be nice and squeaky clean but also like, a perfect leftist who knows theory and holds the most progressive opinions on every single issue....

There is no room for the idea that good people join bad institutions, there's no room for the idea that the reason people think cops are good guys who help people is bc of the government propaganda everything is saturated with. Hell there's even later issues of the Optimus Prime series by John Barber where Optimus like, MULTIPLE FUCKING TIMES, is shown in flashbacks grappling with the fact that he as a cop/Zeta's regime that he works for might not actually be improving society like they say they are, and dealing with the fact that he feels more like a lesser evil compared to the Decepticons (perhaps not "lesser" at all).

It's like there's this idea in fandom of like, fictional media and opinions on media having to strictly adhere to progressive ideals at all times. So people just go "cops bad, this character is a cop, therefore they suck" without being willing to engage with the idea of like. IDW OP is born wanting to fight injustice and protect people -> a good way to protect people is to fight the people who are hurting them and committing crimes -> surely following the law is a reliable moral code to guide him in this -> becomes a cop because he's been indoctrinated into a society (much like our own) where he was told that the state/the law exist to protect the people and being a cop means you get to fight bad guys that hurt people. There's really so many interesting concepts there that could be (and CANONICALLY IS) explored about how good, well-intentioned people can be led to harmful actions simply because they have been fed the idea that the things they're doing are good/helpful/noble. Which is especially important for a character like Optimus, I think, who has a cultural icon status as The Irrefutable and Perfect Good, so it's really important actually to use IDW Optimus as an example of how even the most noble people you know have held problematic beliefs or done bad things at some point in their life. You know, because no one is born perfect and ideologically pure, and in fact society is constructed in exactly a manner to make people drink the kool-aid and believe that the systems designed to hurt them/others are just a normal, if flawed, society.

I mean the writing in IDW literally has Optimus deal directly and indirectly with the harm he's done as a cop and how people don't/didn't trust him because of that. I don't know what the fuck else this fandom wants if the source material literally saying "OP realizes that cops suck and he hurt people and earned their disdain by doing the things he did" doesn't stop them from going EW cop bastard sucks and is the worst Optimus. Like the narrative barely stops short of outright saying ACAB and Optimus himself would agree with this sentiment.

At that point, the collective fandom beef with IDW OP isn't because he's a cop and the narrative didn't do enough to condemn that. The problem is literally just that people don't read and don't care

TLDR: Consider the fact that good people can do bad things sometimes especially when living from birth in a corrupt society that thoroughly disguises its vices/oppressive structures as completely normal parts of existence

I can’t remember the name of the Xena musical episode but do remember watching it the first time on TV and thinking: this is the best possible way they could have resolved all those horrific complex emotional issues that the season built up to that point and I am unexpectedly moved and invigorated by this episode. Vaguely, I think I remember that Xena and Gabrielle had murdered each others children by that point or something similar and full of hate and betrayal. And the writers went, ok somehow we have to get them back journeying together again but we need something to resolve the impossible and we only have one episode of space. And they decided that something was a musical.

The reason why it was so perfect? I mean, a traditional episode would have been all clunky dialogue and exposition and matters would be glossed over and it would just feel fake, you know? So they leaned right into ‘fake and clunky’ and went let’s just stylise the fuck out of this into a symbolic dream and set it to music, this is perfect.

expect tangos to come a little slower until hc10 starts by the way. i’ll probably get around to posting one from jimmy’s video from the other day eventually but other than that it might be a bit thin on the ground.

you’re free to send in submissions, or if you have any suggestions for like… funny edits? i can do that. i’m not sure how i feel about reblogging fanart becoming a thing, that being a once in a blue moon thing seems best imo but sound off if you think otherwise. i’m just chilling here basically. vibing. open to suggestions always.

will probably also start cooking up a new layout for the new year/season

i’m gonna guestimate it’ll be about a month break so go wild with suggestions we’ve got time

Fic I just read: Mori is overworking Chuuya!!!!! Because he’s evil!!!!!!!!

My brain: No no no, wrong! Chuuya is overworking himself and Mori is begging him to take a break. Mori is trying to trick Chuuya into taking it easy and Chuuya is ready to bite him for it

Mori is very laissez-faire in his leading role, sure he got his own agenda and plots stuff still and all that but most of the time when something happens we learn it was someone else's own doing and he just, did nothing to stop or punish it.

Akutagawa infiltrated the Mobi Dick, against orders, and Mori just shrugged it off because it worked out in the end. Ace captured Fyodor on his own and loudly announced he wanted to talk to him himself, Kouyou got instantly suspicious and Mori just let him be to see if Ace was any good. Kouyou tried to get Kyouka back on her own and ended up getting captured, conspiring with Dazai, and only coming back much later, but Mori shrugged it off too. We also have many instances of Dazai going off to do his own plan (against Verlaine, during the Dragon's Head Conflict, in Dead Apple) and Mori just following along like it's nothing. And just look at Verlaine being sad in his basement still being promoted to executive for, what, being a good teacher?

He is simply not that controlling. He probably just lists what needs done in meetings and lets his people pick their own assignments and lets them delegate those tasks (VERY important when in a leading position btw) too. He wants results and doesn't care much how it happens, or what his people do on their own time. He takes recommendations, he lets people do their own thing. This is what we were shown of their meetings!!

Anyway. Mori overworking anyone would be a sign that everyone is in big trouble and overworked. Gotta be efficient and optimal! Executives alert and healthy much more optimal.

Did your school ever do class inspection where the principal would sit in one of the teacher's classes for like half of it to make sure they're doing their job and the kids are learning? Well I think Clavell would do this and things would go smoothly, things are going great. The inspections arent a suprise at all, the teachers and students have time to prepare. Except Jacq. Because he fucking forgot. So Clavell walks in on them watching Brainbop or Magic School Bus or maybe they're playing Kahoot where a kid snuck an inappropriate name in when Jacq wasnt looking and they are the top player every single game and at this point Jacq thinks everyone else is losing on purpose. Anyway, Clavell isn't surprised but wtf Jacq they're supposed to be learning according to the school's curriculum skshjsjs

Hey! Just dropping in to say i love your yuu! She kinda inspired me to revive my own tiana yuu.

Also, I was curious, does your yuu have her own Charlotte? Or is she in twst alone?

Thank yooou 😭💕 AND NOW A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY HFGFGD. SHORT ANSWER: Yes, there is a Lottie equivalent, and her name is Lisette! She is Tia’s oldest childhood friend. BUT, she’s back in Tia’s homeworld, so Tia no longer has contact with her or any of her other friends— which, is not great. Part of Tias whole “pre-life in twst” ordeal involved her incidentally distancing herself from her friends and not ever spending time with them anymore after a very personal event that led her to engross herself completely in her work, so she has a lot of regrets now. Especially, since there is no guarantee she’d ever get to see them again. (All of this is paraphrased hhhhhh, but yeah Tia herself is alone in twst.)

SPEAKING OF WHICH HERE THEY ARE because long ago I made reference material for myself (so its not exactly fully rendered)

i love them a lot, even if they are just people who are from her homeworld.

Is rei queer?

It doesn't really pop up in the story, but I'd say all the main cast are, including Rei

I'm a psych survivor & want to find community in general or join conversations on here but it seems like no one really cares what I have to say & a lot of the conversations on here about mad liberation etc. are so academic that I feel alienated & shut out by them, and afraid of being talked down to & made fun of, even though I was (barely) able to master's degree and thought I was fairly intelligent. it seems like the academics mainly want to talk amongst themselves. idk. it's like the more I try to connect the worse I feel. I guess you probably don't have an answer to this but I appreciate your blog & how accessible your writing is

💜💜💜anon i think you have SUCH an important point. for me, the most meaningful mad community that i've found has always been when I've been institutionalized and just talking with other mad people, where most of them don't have any experience with mad liberation politics or antipsychiatry or any of that vocabulary. But like--time and time again those are the people who just get it the most, and are some of the most insightful people I've met. And I know that if some of my psych survivor friends came on tumblr, I think they would be judged for not having the "right" language or not communicating clearly enough or whatever. Which makes me so fucking mad, especially considering how many of us are disabled in ways that impact our communication, processing, and language. and how to me, it feels like such an important value of mad liberation to celebrate different styles of communication and all the different ways we're going to show up and exist as mad people! I'm sorry that you haven't been able to find a lot of welcoming community on tumblr--I know how exhausting and isolating it feels to not be able to connect with the people that are Supposed to actually understand and support you.

and it's not that I hate academic stuff about madness--I'm currently at university studying disability studies and really appreciate disability scholars. I think it's super fucking important + there's a lot of really talented people doing cool work. But I think that especially in disability studies, there needs to be a LOT more of an effort put in to actually make research + writing accessible. If half our community can't access any of the writing about our community, that's fucked up, you know? I'm always getting into arguments at university lmao when I talk about how we should do more to translate academic work into plain language. especially since i think it's a form of injustice when we are kept away from resources and knowledge that would let us build a political understanding of our experiences. it just feels super important to me to think about accessibility and what that means in mad spaces and psych survivor spaces, and who feels welcome to participate in our spaces and who feels left out of them.

and i also don't really have answers or solutions for How to Make That Happen on Tumblr--if you or any followers have any suggestions i would def love to hear them. i know that a lot of people are going to come on tumblr to do a lot of different things and that some people see this mostly as an academic space for them, where some people just come on here to talk or create art or a million different things.

For me, I use tumblr as a space where I want to talk and connect with a lot of people about all kinds of topics and hear psych survivors opinions on a ton of stuff. a lot of my posts are pretty casual, but when i make longer educational and political posts i spend a lot of time thinking about the best ways to translate really academic concepts to a wider audience. when i sit down to write out a long post i try to incorporate as many accessibility features as possible like using bullet points, putting in summaries/ Tl;DR sections at ends of posts, adding in real life examples when I'm defining complicated technical concepts, adding content notes, and more. Before I post, I read through my posts and highlight every time I use a more academic or technical term. Then, I think through whether that vocab is necessary for people to understand the post, or if there's better language I could replace it with. A lot of times I do end up keeping in some technical terms in my posts because it is honestly the most direct way to explain some of the stuff I want to talk about, but it's been super valuable for me to go through and really think about it, even when some terms stay in my writing. that's just my process and what works for me and I really don't think that other people need to write the same way I do lmao, but if anyone ever wants to talk about writing in plain language & easy read PLEASE come into my inbox bc i love talking about this and want to chat about it with more people.

other things i'll say is that i've found that virtual/in person psych survivor/antipsych support groups are often times a lot more welcoming and accessible and are just like, people talking about things and hanging out together. I've heard really good things about Wildflower Alliance's support groups, and also recommend the Hearing Voices Network. Project LETS has been running an exceptional psychiatric survivor support group for almost a year that is more casual and is a really great community, I'm hoping that they're going to open up availability again in the spring so that might also be worth checking out in the next couple months. Campaign for Psych Abolition in the UK runs a mad art space that seems super fun. i wish there were a lot more existing groups cause it sucks how few things there are tbh.

anyway, know that you + anyone else are always welcome to chat in my inbox or on any of my posts and you will not face any judgement from me. i genuinely love talking to other psych survivors so much and want to hear what people have to say. the only people i get annoyed at on my posts are psych students and other mental health professionals who leave really bullshit stuff on there lmfao.

sending you all the solidarity, anon <3

bc of how everythings going in dndads atm i kept forgetting that fake-earth is actually falling apart in some kind of apocalypse too- or at least fake san demas is,

and like..thats just getting to me, because in s1 we at least had the knowledge that when everything was said and done, the dads and their families all had a place to go back to, to call home, that earth was doing fine

now, the teens dont have anywhere to go back to, everything is in ruin, even when dood gets back to their dimension, they're going to have to pick up the shattered pieces of not one but two worlds theyve practically completely destroyed

(and with everything going on w/ the fbi, hell will most likely be in disarray as well,)

its sad to know that the teens we meet in episode one? their simple lives? going to school dances and getting food afterwards? having sleepovers at eachothers houses and hanging out together? nothing will ever be the same, they won't ever be able to be kids again