the whole point of public holidays is to spend them in front of a computer all day to get some writing done, right?

this fic is drowning out every other thought in my head. kinda hoping if I get the rough draft done today I'll be able to think about something else again tomorrow lol.

do you ever just get so caught up in a theme or imagery you start seeing it everywhere in real life or end up reading up on everything remotely adjacent to it? I honestly kind of love it when that happens. unfortunately it also means wandering thoughts when something unexpectedly reminds you of it.

The thing about TMA is that if I think about Sasha James too much I will cry and if I think about Michael Shelley too much I will cry and if I think about Agnes Montegue too much I will cry and if I think about Jonathan Sims too much I will cry and if I think about Naomi Herne too much I will cry and if I think about Gerry Keay too much I will cry and if I think about Tim Stoker too much I will cry and if I think about Jane Prentiss too much I will cry and if I think about Martin Blackwood too much I will cry and—

i've already made posts about this so many times but every time the raven queen's ascension gets brought up and its talked about like she did it for immortality or purely for power it makes me go a little insane because the story of her being a follower of the god of death before her and taking his place specifically because he didn't respect death is one of the best things about her lore in my opinion. that one of the biggest differences between her and those who failed attempts at ascension is that she did because of faith and not to spite it.

Oda: Here’s my new character! He’s a cyborg (but only on the front) who is fueled by cola that he stores in a fridge in his stomach!

Also Oda: Indiscriminate violence against a population for the actions of a few is not justice, no matter what the actions of the few entail. A ruling government built on colonialism and violence has a vested interest in rewriting the historical narrative and will do anything to protect their own version of events. This includes atrocities against citizens, including their own, if it furthers their narrative. They will demonize the survivors and victims to make them seem like villains and terrorists, and lie to the world at large. It is our job to listen to the survivors, and make sure their stories are not forgotten or distorted.

Continuing my incredibly sporadic and incredibly all over the place Adventure Time watch, it's really hitting me how Finn and Jake really are at completely different stages in life.

Jake had this whole other life going on before Finn became aware. Dogs in this world mature faster, age faster and don't live as long as humans. Jake went through multiple different phases, phases where he was cruel and reckless and even criminal. I had gotten used to Jake being this calm and wise center of the series that it has been eye opening to see that it was a multiyear long struggle to get to that point. And then Finn began coming into his own and wanted to be a hero and Jake changed again for him.

People have commented on the nature of Finn and Jake's relationship and it really does feel like a sibling pair in which there's a sizable gap between the elder and the younger. Jake does at times take on an almost parental role in guiding Finn. As Finn is growing up and really figuring out who he is, Jake is solidly in doggie middle age. While Finn is roaring with restless, reckless energy and trying to figure out who he is, Jake has mostly settled himself and is now making peace with his past and his future.

Jake's death is made out to be tragic but I bet he passed nice and easily of old age without want or regret. A peaceful death. But I believe the real tragedy was not in how Jake died but the fact that he didn't adequately prepare Finn for it. Jake had been the main pillar over the course of Finn's entire life. He has lost people and suffered a lot as teen/young adult, he couldn't imagine a life without Jake even though Finn would live long after Jake had met his natural end. I wonder if the two of them even realized how incongruous their lifespans were. Surely Simon or even the Islanders could have explained it to them. I wonder if it would have even mattered.

Finn did everything with his entire body and being, including love. He had decided early on that Jake was going to be his partner, best friend, brother forever and maybe nothing Jake or anyone said could have convinced him to move on.

Not to be That Guy but like.

Am I the only one that can't stop thinking about how Tianlang-Jun says about Luo Binghe that he pretends to be cold-hearted like his mother. The hint of fondness there, the heartache in that utterance.

Like it drives me absolutely insane. Imagining her putting on a front of strength, cold and driven and unrelenting. Why does TLJ say that about her. Did she secretly look for solutions that meant reconciling with demons instead of hurting them when her sect wasn't looking? (I wonder this because I feel like his weird fondness for SQQ would lowkey track if it's connected to the woman he once loved.) Did he mean that she was tasked with basically assassinating him and she fell in love with him instead (re: failed step one)? Did he mean that she was fond and doting in her own way (e.g. conceding he was attractive, paying for his exploits and humoring him)? Did he mean that, like LBH, she thought that power would be the thing to protect her--and that it was disguising a person who was deeply and privately wounded? All four????? I don't need sleep I need a n s w e r s

Did she know about the Huanhua Palace Master's skeevy ass intentions before she met TLJ? Or did those only come to significant light after she fell in love with TLJ? Is that why she never anticipated that level of betrayal, because initially she had no intention of being with anyone romantically? And HHPM just assumed she would be under his thumb forever?? Was she furious at her own indiscretion or did she try to use the pregnancy as a bargaining chip, a way to try to stop the immortals of Cang Qiong Mountain from attacking TLJ (plus the bonus of marriage entrapment no takesies backsies this is where LBH gets it from)? Did she try to use that claim on her to dissuade HHPM from his covetous advances, framing herself as tainted so that she could finally escape? Did she dream of a life by TLJ's side, far away from Cang Qiong Mountain?

Like. Literally every single permutation of what this could mean guts me to hell. Do you ever just cry about tianxi because I--[loud bawling noises]

drives me insane that kabru has met laios like. twice. and has professed to hate him and not trust him more than once. and then also. he believes so truly and without hesitation that laios will be the one to conquer the dungeon that he is prepared on multiple occasions to put his own life on the line in order to further laios' chances at reaching the depths of the dungeons.

Happy Holidays to Tom Cruise’s Uggs in Eyes Wide Shut (1999, dir. Stanley Kubrick)

Ellen McLain’s commentary from my trivia playthrough

not to be a hater but certain medias should simply never be found by the actor x reader crowd and saltburn is a perfect example

because with that array of fascinating characters and insane displays of queer psychosexual depravity? imagine being like yeah actually the most interesting part is the math nerd with 5 minutes of screentime

One of the funniest disconnects with actual play to me is how much the viewers/fandoms have a much broader awareness of everyone’s mechanics than the players themselves - and often assume for some reason that all the players have that same total awareness.

Funniest examples I can think of off the top of my head are when Laura was convinced Caleb (AC 11 wizard) had a higher AC than Yasha (AC 15 Barbarian) - likely influenced by fear for Yasha in Ashley’s absence and Yasha’s position in melee meaning she was hit more by default. Another was when the entire CR crew aside from Laura revealed in the campaign wrap-up that they seem to have spent the entirety of C2 under the impression Jester had a very high Charisma score (her CHA was 12).

cannot believe that 'yelling at your boss when he repeatedly almost gets you and your crew killed and lies to manipulate you into staying when you try to leave, is not emotional abuse, actually' and 'there is such a thing as a mutually toxic and unhealthy relationship where both parties are incredibly shitty to each other - and this is obviously where Ed and Izzy stand until S2, when it becomes blatantly abusive' is a controversial take. But as this is Abuse Apologism And Ableism, The FandomTM, I really should not be surprised

Just.

I was deep in physically and mentally abusive relationships in my teens/twenties - including relationships that started out with mutual toxicity and bad decisions on all sides, but which became outright physical & mental & other sorts of abuse with myself as the victim. I know my shit.

I suppose I can see where 'Izzy emotionally abused Ed' comes from IF people give literally the most uncharitable interpretation to Every Single Scene, and assume Izzy shouts angrily at Ed and negs him all the time rather than this being how he acts when he's incredibly stressed by circumstance caused directly by Ed and at the end of his fucking rope? Which, as we see in S2... Is not the case.

It's not freaking emotional abuse when you're shouting at your boss who keeps almost getting you and your crew killed. Even if this is NOT a kind or productive way to help Ed deal with his mental health, considering that Ed's actions have consequences that he repeatedly and blithely ignores, it's pretty fucking justified!

It's not freaking emotional abuse if your boss OPENLY LOVES MAIMING PEOPLE AND IS MORE THAN HAPPY TO BURN THEM ALIVE and you encourage that, while upholding his right to not kill with his own hands. Even if he has private breakdowns after the fact because he suffers from black-and-white thinking, dissociates himself from any wrongdoing, and is afraid of his potential to become 'a monster'.

Are these choices helpful? No. Are they kind? No. Is Izzy demonstrating Model Citizen Behaviour? Definitely not.

But it's sure as hell not emotional abuse. And it doesn't justify the physical and emotional abuse Ed puts Izzy through in S2.

Nothing you say can 'make' him hit you. If he chooses to hit you (or... choke you out then repeatedly mutilate you and pressure you to commit suicide and makes you constantly live in fear for your life and the lives of people you care about) he makes that decision himself. Yes, even if you shouted at him first. Yes, even if you were arguing. Yes, even if you were in the wrong in that argument. Yes, even if he has a Tragic BackstoryTM and mental health issues. This shit shouldn't be controversial.

Signed: one of those actual abuse survivors.

I have had Pepperoni for a while now and I have NEVER seen him ACTUALLY shed his skin until tonight! I'd see him go blue, and then blue fades, and then boom, a few mornings later, shed skin in the tank cause he always does it overnight. BUT I JUST GOT TO SEE IT AND IT IS SO COOL, AND FASCINATING, AND SATISFYING LIKE WHEN YOU PULLED DRIED GLUE OFF YOUR HANDS AS A KID. Also like, I've never seen up close how they do it, but once it started holy SHIT, and I have VIDEO UP CLOSE!

I'll post the vid tomorrow just for whoever wants to see (I gotta edit it cause in one part I slip and say something about the dryness of the air in my specific city and I don't need folks knowing where I live) but in the meantime enjoy this wild gif from one of the best parts of the vid:

Language mistakes that reveal how someone's native language works are really cute but it's even cuter when it's a mistake that's mirrored in both languages tbh

What are you thinking about?

Ilkka Villi for Behind the Voice: Zane is just free, he can do anything, he can love anyone and he can be just out there and do whatever. He's a dangerous character at the same time 'cause you never know what's he gonna do next.

Matthew Porretta for TvPulseMagazine: There was something very human about him, very sophisticated, very playful - like a cat with a ball of yarn - (AWAN) Scratch is like: "Am I gonna hit you, or am I gonna kiss you?" You didn't really know where he was going and that's kind of what made him incredibly dangerous. There's kind of a seductive quality about him.

Caught on camera! The face of a man who knows he's about to make both "ScratchWake" shippers and "Zane is AWAN Scratch" theorists go insane.