#I truly have the perfect job for me because these things are relevant and helpful contributions to the team

[goddamnshinyrock]

We have a new employee at work for the first time in years (small company) and it’s very funny seeing her react to normal levels of Shiny Spouting Animals Facts. All my other coworkers are by now very used to me coming out with these things when the subject arises, but her bafflement is reminding me of when I was first hired and no one yet knew to expect me to explain killdeer nest defense displays off the cuff (today’s example).

#inane personal post #I truly have the perfect job for me because these things are relevant and helpful contributions to the team

[5am-mist]

oh my beautiful favorite bella writer, I have come back for more tee hee. would you possibly be open to write something were reader is an interviewer who is interviewing bella, flirting ensues >:33 (also take ur time bby ur work is the best <33)

Interviews

°pairing°> bella ramsey x reader

°summary°> you finally get the chance to interview the bella ramsey (who you may or may not have a huge crush on) but when they start flirting with you, you can't help but flirt back

°requested?°> yuppp!

°cw°> some small use of y/n just thought i would mention that!

~°A/N°~

OMG IM LITERALLY GIGGLING, BLUSHING AND KICKING MY FEET RN YOU'RE TOO GOOD TO ME <33 Thank you for the request and for being so patient with me i really hope this turned out how you wanted also i used she/her pronouns for bella hope thats ok! And im also just gonna apologize cause i know absolutely nothing about flirting and sorry if this isn't that good i haven't been feeling well at all lmaoo. i also made up a network you interview under so i hope thats ok! love youu <33

You were quite a well known interviewer and had developed quite the following. You'd interviewed countless celebrities at this point in your career, some more famous than others (not that it mattered to you all that much) but most of them very sweet.

The interview game was quite competitive or atleast more competitive than most would think. It was always a race to interview the most relevant celebrities. You had never been all that phased though, you enjoyed your job and yes as much as it was important for you to stay relevant you found that it was just as important that you interviewed celebrities you liked.

So that's what you did, but there was one celebrty on your mental list that you haven't interviewed. Bella Ramsey. Bella was with no doubt the celebrty you wanted to interview most, it wasn't that she didn't want to do the interview or that she was to busy no you just hadn't actually reached out to her manager yet.

You thought it was silly honestly. This was something you had wanted to do for ages but everytime you began typing the email you'd overthink and immediately stop yourself all because of the stupid crush you had on Bella.

It wasn't that stupid of a crush, it was totally justified in your mind because i mean who didn't have a crush on her? It made you so fustrated, you wanted to interview her more than anything in the world, why couldn't you just do it?

Here you were sitting infront of your laptop staring at the email you drafted to send to Bella's manager. You must've read it 1000 times, you checked every word for spelling mistakes and made sure your sentances were structured proffenssionly but it still didn't seem right. You were arguing with yourself, half of you saying this was perfect the other saying that it felt like a stranger wrote it.

You ended up scrapping it but this time you were going to do it properly. It was short and sweet and you made sure that it actually sounded like it came from you, even though you weren't 100% happy with it, you decided to send it.

The next morning when you woke up the first thing you did was check your emails and to your surprise, you already recieved a response. Bella wanted to do the interview with you!From there you and her manager discussed the time and date and you also gave her the studios address.

...

The day had finally arrived and you were ecstatic. You were going to finally get to interview the Bella Ramsey. It truly was a dream come true. The morning dragged on far longer than you'd liked but eventually the time came for you to head to the studio.

You were talking with the camera man making sure all was set and ready to go when Bella and her manager walked in. You stood there for far to long trying process that it was actually happening before snapping back to reality and going over to greet them.

Bella was nicer then you could have ever imagined. She was kind and gentle but most importantly she seemed just as happy to be here as you which gave you a sense of comfort. After telling Bella's manager that she could sit just off camera, you two decided to get started.

You waited for the camera man's signal and then began. "Hello welcome back to Zee Network I'm y/n and today im here with Bella Ramsey." you said with a smile on your face. "Hello!" they gave a quick wave and smile to the camera.

"Thank you for joing us today Bella, may i ask what has your experience been with the media lately? With release of the last of us series, you have gotten alot more recognition what is that like?" you were fiddling with the mic in your hands, another thing that you were known for was not reading from a script which normally was fine but today it really wasn't any help.

"I would say I've had a bit of a mixed experience lately. I have received many new fans and loads of support but i have also recieved a significant amount of hate. I try not to let it affect me but every now and again i will read a comment that really cuts deep. I appreciate the recognition i have gained and sometimes we just have to take the good with the bad." she told you, she seemed torn between loooking at the camera or at you but ended up deciding to look at you.

The interview continued on for a few minutes before Bella finally spoke up, "Do i make you nervous?," she had very clearly seen you fidgeting with the mic, you looked at her extremely confused what to say next. Was Bella Ramsey flirting with you? No, you were sure that you were just jumping to crazy conclusions.

"A little bit, I've wanted to do this interview for a while i guess im just a bit nervous to mess things up," you tried laughing it off. "I've also wanted to do this interview for a while, I've seen your work and you seemed like such a cool person now i know i was right,"

She absolutely was flirting with you. Now the way you saw it was you cluld continue the interview like normal and stay 100% professional or you could flirt back. You chose the latter.

You tried to do be smooth about it (trying to avoid the camera man noticing so that you wouldn't get yelled at) but still obvious enough for Bella to notice.

When the interview was over you walked over to the concessions table to grab some water but were called over by the camera man. He scolded you lightly for your behavior this interview but said he'd let it slide one time.

After being scolded by her manager Bella made her way over to you, she said she wanted to apologize but you told her it really wasn't a big deal.

"I meant what i said though, you seem cool and i'd really like to hang out sometime," now it was her turn to be nervous. "like a date?" it was an incredibly bold move but you were willing to take your chances. " yea, like a date." she flashed you a hopeful smile and of course you said yes.

Bella then handed you a small white paper with their number and a small 'can't wait to talk to you' scribbled on with black ink before scurrying off with her manager to the car that was currently waiting for them.

#bella ramsey x reader #bella ramsey #the last of us #lgbtq #tlou #hbo the last of us #tlou hbo

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo Devlog #5 | 08.31.23

August is OVER and that means a brand-new Lost in Devlog!!! 💜 We are very excited for September to begin because that will definitely mark a new era of Lost in Limbo's production as the whole team will be finally free of the shackles of the spanish education system!

This devlog contains mainly progress in the programming and writing department (yours truly in charge), but we have also made some progress in the art department.

In addition, we will use this devlog to discuss a few changes and decisions we have taken in regards to the course of the demo—so feel free to grab a drink and join us for the ride!

First and foremost...A glimpse of our main menu! 🎉💜 I have been working hard this month to implement the UI as we finally got the files, and I've also animated and programmed the main menu screen, the configuration screen, save/load, etc. The dialogue box and everything else is also implemented and working perfectly, and of course we have a custom cursor thanks to miss Raquel! 🎉

Needless to say, LiL is my first coding adventure, so I'm sure our code isn't perfect or in optimal condition, but hopefully our Kickstarter will allow us to hire a programmer to fix that. I think I've done a pretty good job considering my lack of experience!

Also, special thanks (again) to our dearly beloved @crescencestudio for bearing with me and graciously lending a hand when I struggled the most. They are officially my ren'py mentor and I'd like to take a moment to illustrate our my struggle to y'all with a simple screenshot:

(Also it's kind of funny we both have animal crossing pics in our discord accounts, that was ✨ a coincidence ✨)

<<Inside the holy judgement chamber of the Silver Spire, may your words carry only truth, lest punishment is what you seek.>>

This month our dear Raquel has been working on backgrounds when she's had a moment, and this is one of the pieces she has been rendering and polishing! We'll also take a look at another background (a really important one) to bring it up to our new standards. As I said in another devlog, the master degree we were (and still are, until the 15th) attending has changed our way of seeing and approaching art pieces, so we are looking into improving pieces that are still in the making!

First of all; we are super proud and happy to welcome a new member to the team of Ravenstar Games: Allie! They'll be our editor and proofreader, and I'm sure you know and love some projects she's been on, like Blooming Panic! or our recent and beloved Intertwine. They are a fantastic fantastic writer, an incredible person and a passionate dev that I've had the pleasure to know and work with for a while now, and I would trust no one else with the script of our baby! (and if you are a writer, you know how hard it is to let others read your stuff sometimes. It's like baring your soul to them; it could only be Allie for me!) So please give them a big warm welcome!!

For the writing department, some devlogs ago we talked about the script suffering some changes—well, they have officially solidified now!

We have cut some content that was not exactly relevant for the first experience we want y'all to have with the game. A lot of context and exposition that helps, but is not absolutely necessary to enjoy what is perhaps the most important thing for an indie team and their game; the first demo and the impression it leaves behind. That content has not been scraped and we have decided to save it for an extended demo; the first demo will still be as long as it was in the beginning, as a lot of new content has also been added to prioritize the LIs, which is what you are here for.

We also made this decision because we were once more faced with the reality of: there's only four of us and it's not realistic to do seven LIs + six supporting characters + their expression charts + 13 backgrounds + everything else for a first demo. We are learning as we go, for better or worse, and sometimes you have to sit back and say "right. this is not going to work" so we had to do that. Sadly, we were not realistic with what we wanted to do, but hey, we all get too excited and dream too big sometimes!

This changes will ensure you get the best first experience with LiL without losing important, meaningful content, and hopefully be excited for what will come later. In my humble opinion, the demo script is now in much better shape than it was a month ago. Trust. And just wait for Allie to edit it—that's going to bring it to perfection.

Oh! We'll also be modifying the Masterpost soon as some things are a bit outdated and can be improved, so expect to see some new stuff in there!

It's 1 am here right now as I write this. I'm in bed. Today has been a day. Tomorrow I'll take a look at this and correct a million typos. See? Another reason we need Allie with us. There's screenshots to take, videos to make, and everything is slowly coming together. We are in really good spirits, motivated and hopeful for the near future. This has been long enough as it is, so as always, thank you for being part of Lost in Limbo's journey, and for the love and kindness you give us again and again. We hope you all are doing great, staying hydrated, and taking care of yourself 💜 See you very very soon!!

#lost in limbo #devlog #indiedev #visual novel #otome

[thesherrinfordfacility]

I mean Neil said once that the sequel involved Jesus arriving in America on a plane with secret service agents, and the S2 opening sequence shows a plane, so I'm... fairly confident that he's an adult? Jesus died when he was like 33 right

afternoon anon!!!✨ see i recall this (ask on neil's page?) and remember the response but cannot for the life of me find it anywhere (and im pretty good at Finding Stuff), do you - or anyone else reading for that matter - have a link to this? just so i can save it for future reference.

now, i hope you don't mind if i do this, but i would like to use this opportunity to parse out a more coherent rationale on the second coming, if that's okay? yeah? cool.

(previous incarnation of this theory).

thing is that the premise of the baby swap in s1 is based on the omen, right? takes at least a huge chunk of inspiration from that as the origin of how the antichrist came into the story. but it goes wrong, obviously, and there's a third baby thrown in the mix. makes a cursory wave to the omen, but isn't a carbon copy of it.

now i can't help but feel that narratively it would make sense to bookend this and have the second coming be a bit bollocksed up too. seems to be a theme in GO. and actually, when i thought about it (with extreme bias, granted, because im chomping at the bit on this theory), the second coming was potentially already fucked up anyway.

now, disclaimer time -

i completely get that people will look to the bible in reference to parsing out the second coming (or indeed any other theory). obviously i do too, for references to certain verses etc. in order to draw the relevant parallels. but there are multiple instances in GO where it is based on the bible or other texts, but doesn't follow it exactly; how GO portrayed the book of job, for example. it takes these texts, and distorts or reimagines them slightly or completely.

the way i see it, we are reading/watching GO as if this is in fact the true telling of those texts, as if (and not trying to be diminutive here) the bible is an inaccurate telling of GO, not the other way around - because, of course, we're seeing GO from the angel and demon that were 'actually there', so to speak.

im not saying that this - or any - of my theories are indisputably correct, far from it. but to me, with the information i have from the narrative as first source, and then looking at the referenced texts that inspired it, what i come up with, and write, is what makes sense to me. and it might make sense because it would be poetically apt, is in-keeping with how i interpret the characters, and/or is just plain funny or ironic (GO is after all, a comedy).

so whilst i fully anticipate people to duly correct me on how it all goes down in the bible (as they should, i love being educated!!!), please know that im not trying to deliberately misinterpret anything, but more trying to think outside the box, from the viewpoint of the GO story itself, and what direction would make the most sense in which it will reimagine these texts.

- exit disclaimer.

anyway! theory time!

so we have the imagery from the s2 sequence of the "thy kingdom come" plane, and this is obviously a reference to the resurrection as you've said, anon: that jesus arrives by plane. i truly love this imagery because if we take matthew 24:36 (KJV): "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.", the concept that in the great plan the date and time might finally be revealed in the form of a flight number, airport, and ETA is frankly hilarious to me. furthermore, "cometh with clouds" (revelation, 1:7 KJV) being reimagined as a literal plane landing again sets up the comedic backdrop so well.

now wherever the plane lands, whether from the US or to the US (again, don't have the original neil answer to refer to, but going based on your ask, anon, it's the latter), it regardless involves americans. this is where i feel it would be a perfect narrative symmetry opportunity to refer back to s1/the book, and reintroduce the dowlings.

and you might be wondering, "well no because GO set up the dowlings to be involved only insomuch that they were meant to be custodians of the antichrist - why would they also be involved in the second coming?" well, i wondered this too. the only conclusion i can come to, frankly, is GO!god having a very warped, twisted and ineffable sense of humour. they saw what satan had planned for the dowlings in inadvertently raising the antichrist, possibly did a bit of shifting around in the mystical threads, and decided that actually - just to throw in the wildcard of chaos - they should instead be the bearers of the second coming. this degree of mind-boggling ineffability, to me, would be comedically on-brand.

regardless; whilst just a theory, the whole thing makes sense to me - that in any case, the dowlings are going to make a reappearance. and with them, or on his own (if we follow the biblical telling that jesus was resurrected as he was from the crucifixion, at age 33yo, and therefore would suggest a timeskip from s2, but this isn't necessarily guaranteed - ie: might not be how GO chooses to portray it!), comes warlock. now we know that warlock was meant to be the antichrist, before crowley and the nuns managed to bugger it all up.

but heaven wouldn't necessarily know that its the dowlings arriving, right? presumably they'd just all gather on the tarmac awaiting the arrival, and lmao SIKE, it's bloody warlock. heaven hasn't met warlock, and therefore still think he's in fact jesus resurrected... but aziraphale has met him. he helped bloody raise him. and he knows now that he is essentially a normal kid/adult (albeit a very stuck-up one) and definitely not the second coming.

well then, if jesus was meant to be on that plane, according to the great plan, a plane being used by the dowlings... then why isn't it warlock? well, because the dowlings' actual baby isn't warlock. lets go back to the baby swap in the book/s1:

*apols, editing to correct this somewhat because it isn't quite right and lateral thinking is not my strong suit*

ANTICHRIST was meant to go to: the DOWLINGS. instead, went to: the YOUNGS. this is Adam.

YOUNG BABY was meant to go to: stay with the YOUNGS, but got mixed up. instead, went to: the DOWLINGS. this is Warlock.

DOWLING BABY was meant to go to: adoption/something nefarious instead, and indeed did. this is... Greasy Johnson.

and i love this for all sorts of reasons. now im lifting this next bit, essentially, from another ask of mine, but to keep things all in one place:

"greasy is posed as the antithesis of adam/antichrist, has a gang surrounding him that you could infer are loyal disciples, and is a mirror to adam in that adam on the whole seems to be a well-adjusted and morally-upstanding young boy.

i further think the fact that adam is the antichrist put against greasy being the second coming is a well positioned reflection on the nature vs nurture argument. ultimately adam grew up in a largely loving and supportive environment, and as the literal son of satan, you'd expect his nature, the circumstances of his birth, to rule out every other influence.

ultimately it does for a short time, but adams narrative iirc is that it is reflective of his desire to save the world... he wanted to get rid of things that were Wrong, and naively (he is still an 11-year old boy after all) thought that destroying the world and restarting it would do just that. his friends however reinforce in him that destruction and reparation are not the same thing, and so his upbringing, the nurture, wins.

greasy? we don't know a lot about him, only that he is a bully and represents the opposite of adam and the them... [and there exists] the whole [sic] analogy that greasy and the johnsonites vs adam and the them are meant to represent the hell vs heaven war..."

and then we have this small, relatively innocuous detail from the book:

as i said, possibly something of nothing. but the deliberate wording of 'breeding the fish', which is left out of s1, is - i like to think - a bit of a clue.

and before anyone comes for me on this, i am aware that this is based practically on fuck all of jack shit; im painfully aware of that. im aware that it deliberately misinterprets certain passages (not going to do the soapbox speech again, promise), but i just like to have fun. i honestly do not care if this is wrong; whatever happens in s3 should and will be better than anything i can come up with. yes, it's fun to get a prediction or speculation correct, of course it is, but it's not the endgame here. i get that others will have conflicting schools of thought, see things differently, or just plain think it's crap - that's okay! but, if that's the case, just move on from this post with a shake of your head. im not here to do anything other than have a good time, lads (gn)✨💓

edit 21/08: additional reading because now i feel vindicated: here from amuseoffyre, and my tags on this post too.

#im sorry i get a bit ranty in this anon none of that is directed at you at all im sorry it ended up on your ask #but we just need to let everyone have the space to come up with whatever batshit theories they like and have fun with it #this is such a lovely warm fandom and id love to see it remain that way!!! #good omens #not a shitpost but its good omens babyyyy #ask #also i havent proof read this so if there are any errors just pretend you didnt see them #s3 narrative spec #second coming/last judgement theory

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

I know you (and Yves himself lol) likes to keep alot of his EARLY past (like childhood) vague or perhaps that’s just not something that we’ve really explored as apart of his character but even though it’s been implied that he was raised impoverished, I get the vibe that he was actually born into wealth.

Like I remember you talking about how one or perhaps one of his parents shares some of the same traits as him in terms of child rearing so there’s a chance that through a series of unfortunate events, he was probably thrown into poverty instead of always existing in such a state. Possibly as punishment or perhaps his parent(s) just didn’t want him around and literally threw him to the streets to fend for himself. I find that this would add onto the “fall from Grace” flop era humiliation factor of his past.

Also it’s shown that he has this very convincing and natural old money essence and air around him, to the way he speaks, moves, and even eats his food. I notice that a lot of people who weren’t raised in such environments but eventually gain wealth, never seem to truly fit into old money circles and often times are socially ostracized because it’s painfully obvious that they aren’t as blue-blooded as them.

But at the same time, he did have literal DECADES to perfect himself so him being born into poverty could be plausible (just not as plausible to me, imo) but I’m just zhe reader, what do I know lol.

Anyways I’d love to hear your thoughts on this! Love your work

AOugh SHIT ANON BIG BRAIN IDEA 💡

YES omg u helped me connect the dots, yes its like the best explanation as to how Yves got his child abuse ideas from, and his experience with literal conversion camps.

Like he gained sentience after being out of that family, unclear whether he escaped or was exiled because i love to keep stuff a mystery, and found out he easily falls for tricks and was pretty dumb and have no idea what to do.

Literally decades of flopping so hard trained his slay muscle till he's buff and gets out of his hellhole, hence although he reeks of old money, he could naturally and fluidly adapt to impoverished lifestyles. He may dislike certain things, but NOTHING makes him squeamish

Like he fr dealt with the most disgusting things on earth and its just another tuesday for him to be covered in shit, piss, puke, blood, cum, rot, guts, decomposing materials, dick cheese, worms, maggots etc

Either thru one of his barbie jobs or like thru his flop era

But yet he still acts like an aristocrat cause he cant fully get rid of his roots, and it gives him comfort to know his flop days are behind him, like this is the type of essence where you JUST gotta be born with

So yeah these r my thoughts , thank you sm for the connection ily anon it really helps to better Yves's lore

Other relevant links

Do NOT meet him when he young he will shank you frfr

Is yves mentally okay

His flop era

Eating disorder galore

#yandere #yandere x reader #yandere oc #yandere male #yandere concept #oc yves #tw yandere #yandere x you #yandere oc x reader #male yandere oc x reader

[iliketoydinosaurs]

Essay on 05x18 of Supernatural

Word count: 2245

Estimated reading time: 17 minutes

Season five episode eighteen is one of the best episodes of Supernatural because it explores the themes, aesthetics, and characters of the show in a skilled way, as well as furthering the character arcs of season five. I will be going through the episode sequentially and explaining the relevance of certain scenes.

Even the very first scene of Point of No Return (05x18) is significant to the overall feel of the show. It starts with Zachariah drinking in a bar because he’s mad at heaven. He thinks that because he’s failed to get Dean to say yes, the angels will send him to hell. He complains to another man about his “job” which really puts into perspective what the environment of heaven is like. Then when another angel begins speaking to Zachariah, the man he was complaining to and the bartender are both killed in a screaming burst of light. This scene is reminiscent of the true horror of seasons one and two, something the show loses more and more throughout, much to its detriment.

Then, of course, there’s the obligatory Sam and Dean drama. Started in 99 Problems(05x17) when Dean took off in the Impala without Sam. Sam, naturally, finds where Dean is hiding out. He compares saying yes to Michael to suicide. This scene is a great example of how well Sam knows Dean as well as Dean’s suicidal ideation and self-sacrificial nature. While Dean might not be planning to kill himself in a traditional sense, saying yes to Michael is most certainly a death sentence. Dean was told this directly by Cas in Free To Be You and Me(05x03). He knows the damage that will be done to him, and he plans to do it anyway.

The conversation really picks up after these lines,

SAM. How could you?

DEAN. How could I? All you’ve ever done is run away.

SAM. And I was wrong every time I did!

This is the angst I watch Supernatural for. This line points out Sam’s character progression, not only when it comes to running off with Ruby, but also running off to Stanford. At this point in the show it’s clear that Sam regrets this. He now views his leaving for Stanford as a betrayal against Dean; and he blames himself simply being there for Jess’s death; and he thinks it was futile because he was always going to hunt somehow. All of these things expertly tie into Sam’s character arc throughout season five. Blaming himself for Jess’s death as well as what he sees as the inevitability of his “freakhood” are both shown in the opening scene of Free To Be You and Me. And his leaving for Stanford (as well as running away for two weeks as a teen) are sources of conflict in Dark Side of the Moon(05x16). These lines also show Dean’s abandonment issues. Issues that were greatly exacerbated after Sam ran off with Ruby. These abandonment issues worsened significantly after the events of Dark Side of the Moon. Dean’s newfound mistrust of Sam is a consistent argument between the two throughout season five. These simple lines show the brothers’ character development throughout the season as well as being perfect, compact characterization.

After Cas helps Sam drag Dean back to Bobby’s, Dean starts to truly reveal his reasoning. He sees saying yes to Michael as the best possible option. Which, given Sam and Bobby don’t have a plan, isn’t an entirely unfounded thought process. However, Bobby argues, saying yes to Michael will not save everyone, so they need to find a new way. Much like the episode before it, this episode touches on Dean’s faith, not in God, but in everything. Himself, Sam, the universe. Bobby attempts to restore Dean’s hope.

BOBBY. You can’t give up, son.

DEAN. You’re not my father. And you ain’t in my shoes.

Dean is very obviously trying to push everyone away in this episode so they’ll let him say yes to Michael. He obviously does view Bobby as his father/father figure as he’s stated that multiple times, but his angry mind knows that’s a sensitive subject for Bobby so he uses the opportunity to try to make him angry enough to kick Dean out. Dean feels like if he doesn’t say yes to Michael and people die, then their deaths will be his fault. In this sense, he’s right that Bobby has never been in that position. However, Bobby uses his personal experience with suicidal thoughts to show that he has been in similar situations. He pulls out a bullet and gun from the drawer and tells Dean how he looks at it every morning and wonders if he’ll kill himself that day. This sort of physical, in-your-face, almost aggressive explanation is a wonderful characterization of the type of person Bobby is. Then Bobby says, “But I don’t do it. I never do it. You know why? Cause I promised you I wouldn’t give up!” This is in reference to The Curious Case of Dean Winchester (05x07) when Bobby revealed to Sam and Dean that he wanted to kill himself because he felt useless. Dean had assured him that he was still useful and that Sam and Dean needed him. Once again this episode touches on every plot point and character arc, even for more minor characters.

Also Cas has so many fight scenes in this episode and he’s so pretty and cool and yes that does improve my opinion of this episode even more.

And, finally, for the very first time we see the real Adam Milligan alive. The angels had revived him for Michael (much like the writers did. I actually think Adam as a concept was a cheap plot device but I won’t go into that here). Sam tries the “we’re family” argument on Adam while trying to convince him to not say yes to the angels just yet. Adam proceeds to say, “We may be blood, but we are not family.” Adam is the antithesis of the show’s theme of family and that is perfect. Complex narratives should take into account other perspectives in order to be properly explored. While, in my opinion, Supernatural’s theme of family would ultimately fail due to poor writing, this was a step in the right direction. The show also attempted the found family trope (again, a colossal failure as they cared too much about blood) and this is pivotal to the idea of found family. Found family says, “We may not be blood, but we are family,” which cannot exist without, “We may be blood, but we are not family.”

Adam brings a more nuanced look at the theme and characters. In particular when he and Sam disagree over whether it was worse to never see John or to see John everyday. Neither is necessarily wrong that their situation was terrible, but they can’t see that because the situations were so different. Neither of them can truly understand the other’s perspective, to no fault of their own. Nobody was right in this “I had it worse” debate. The main takeaway is that John Winchester is the worst.

Sam, unfortunately, can never catch a break. So the next scene is him somewhat-arguing with his other brother. Dean speaks about how he thinks he’s simply destined to be Michael.

DEAN. I don’t believe.

SAM. In what?

DEAN. In you. . . . I do know they’re gonna find a way to turn you.

SAM. So you’re saying I’m not strong enough.

DEAN. You’re angry. You’re self-righteous. Lucifer is gonna wear you to the prom, man. It’s just a matter of time.

SAM. Don’t say that to me. Not you of all people.

This scene starts off strong with Dean’s lack of faith, a theme of his character as far back as season one. But now it’s a lack of faith in Sam, rather than lack of faith in God or good. This is something that has been building since the season four finale. Throughout season five Dean has tried and failed to trust Sam again, and once again he’s saying he simply can’t. Sam’s language of being “strong enough” is also of note as becoming stronger was his justification for drinking demon blood. He feels weak and powerless without it, something he is still working through at this point. Dean is also finally revealing more of his thought process on saying yes to Michael. He sees it as an inevitability that Sam will say yes, so figures he should do it first. This is in strict contrast to seasons two and three when Dean adamantly defended Sam from the likes of Gordon. It shows the effect Sam leaving with Ruby had on Dean, as Dean saw Sam as the one person he could trust. Then there’s that last line from Sam. This line is extremely similar to one in When The Levee Breaks(04x21), “Don’t say that to me. Don’t you say that to me.” In that episode “Dean” (actually a hallucination) was telling Sam that he meant nothing to Dean. Sam gets extra hurt when Dean in particular lacks faith in Sam. This is partially because of what was at one point Dean’s intense loyalty to Sam, as well as Dean’s parental role in Sam’s life.

But of course, no good Supernatural episode is complete without Cas. Dean uses angel warding to send Cas away and escape Bobby’s house. This is futile as Cas finds him almost immediately. Then there is the iconic scene of Cas beating the shit out of Dean. “I rebelled for this?” he asks. “I gave everything for you. And this is what you give to me?” I’m not going to go too into the gay subtext of Cas rebelling for Dean (and the other gay subtext in this episode), as that’s been stated many times, but this is my acknowledgement of it. Season five is when Cas starts to truly develop his own moral compass, and even though he rebelled for Dean, he doesn’t always agree with Dean. He feels particularly betrayed that he worked with Dean to stop the apocalypse, risking his life and family, just for Dean to try to say yes to Michael. He truly did give everything, his livelihood and family and life, for Dean. I’ll elaborate on this more later.

Moving sequentially throughout the episode, Zachariah then reveals to Adam that the angels simply used him to get Dean to come to them. Adam is such a tragic character who had the misfortune of being related to Sam and Dean. He was dead before he was even on screen. Now he’s simply being used, once again, just to get to Winchesters.

Sam decides to fall right into the angels’ trap, and take Dean to where they have Adam. Despite Dean telling Sam that he will say yes to Michael if given the chance, Sam, ever the optimist, simply says he won’t. Sam is the only one who thinks this is a good idea. They get to the trap and Cas explains his plan to go take down the numerous angels inside. Dean asks,

DEAN. Isn’t that suicide?

CAS. Maybe it is. But then I won’t have to watch you fail. Sorry, Dean. I don’t have the same faith in you that Sam does.

This episode shows how the entire main cast has some level of suicidal ideation and self-sacrificing tendencies. In fact, this episode is about as close as we get to real acknowledgement of Dean’s suicidal thoughts. Back to Cas, his faith in everything is wavering currently. Of course, he lost faith in the angels long ago, but at the end of Dark Side of the Moon, he loses faith in God as well. Now Dean has gone back on his morals that Cas left heaven for, and he’s lost. This no doubt is a factor in his recklessness. Cas, while harsh, is telling this to Dean because he truly can’t take another loss. Yet even as he says this, he apologizes to Dean. Sam is the only one with any hope in team free will at this point.

Dean angers Zachariah by fake saying yes to Michael under the condition that Michael kills Zachariah. He uses this to lure Zachariah near him and kill him. There is still the issue of Michael coming down into the barn. Dean grabs Sam to help him evacuate, but when he tries to go back for Adam he can’t get in. Obviously this was meant to show how Dean will always save Sam before anyone else in the room. Once again, Adam is let down by the Winchesters. Adam then gets taken.

And what would Supernatural be without the obligatory ‘driving at night in the Impala and talking about our feelings’ final scene. The final scene is pretty simple. Dean explains that he said no to Michael because of Sam’s faith in him. Dean says, “Screw destiny,” which obviously contrasts his earlier conflict with Sam. It puts a decent ribbon on Sam and Dean’s conflict of the episode while leaving the rest of the plot to later episodes.

And that concludes my essay on Point of No Return. Supernatural is a bad show that turned its back on most of the themes and characters I praise here, but sometimes while rewatching I like to be reminded why I love the show. I think this episode is one of the best.

#went insane and wrote this in one sitting at 3am #spn #supernatural #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #destiel #essay #personal essay #infodump #infodumping #special interest #actually autistic #autism #hyperfixation #05x18 #05x16 #point of no return #spn season 5 #season 5 #s5e18

[rei-caldombra]

Spy x Family Season 2 Review - Fall 2023 Anime

So, we got the next section of Spy X Family this season. I watched it and enjoyed it. But I want more from this series. I really want more changes to the status quo. 36 is a lot of episodes. And there has been little major development that has happened in that time. I feel there is a lot of potential that is not being got at. A lot of it is genuinely funny and sweet. But there is a lot of is that is extremely forgettable. One thing that I want to make very clear is that I don't think anything in Spy x Fam is bad in any way. It is all at least good. I just want more from it. I like the fun antics and slice of life elements as well as the spy/assassin elements. But I don't like how most of the time the spy/assassin stuff is played for jokes for the majority of it. Yor's arc in this season is one of the best parts of the series so far. We got to see Yor's job taken mostly seriously and have it actually resonate with her emotions. I love this. She finally got proper focus and good characterization, though it should not have taken this long. But it still irks at me a little because it ends with the status quo of Yor being an assassin and hiding it staying the same. In the last episode we get another episode of Loid and Bond bonding. Which I liked. It was fun and had a cool situation. But again, it too kept the status quo of Loid not knowing Bond can read minds. There are moments where I feel it has the perfect chance to shake things up, but those chances are never taken.

I still quite like Spy X Family but I can't say my passion for it has not waned over time. Yor's arc did help with my main issue of her being largely unexplored despite being one of the three main characters. There is great value in this season from that. But outside of that this season is mostly the same Spy x Fam it always has been. At the end of this season, we are still in the same place we ended last season. And while that is not bad, it's not exciting. I think this show has so much potential to be exciting and dramatic. I understand that this is meant to be largely a fluffy show. And that's fine. But I really feel like this series can hit that perfect sweet spot and truly do everything if it didn't stick itself in a box. Maybe it will happen down the line, but how much longer do we need to wait for that? I am worried about other people, and I will get bored of it before it finally decides to go all in on these things. On this note, I would like to point at the My Anime List scores this time, as I happened to look at them both while preparing for this and would like to discuss it. It can be debated how valid MAL's scores are as a metric for quality, but that is not relevant here. I am simply looking at the scoring trend for Spy X Family on the website. Season 1 has an 8.56, Season 1 Part 2 has an 8.28, and Season 2 has an 8.09. There is a consistent decrease in score over each subsequent part. In my opinion, the general quality of Spy x Family has not decreased and can be considered very consistent. And to my knowledge a lot of people think this way too. To me the most likely conclusion is that people think it's getting stale. Even something good can lose its luster if you get too much of it. It definitely seems like I'm not the only one that the status quo is getting stale.

Maybe we will get the story beats I want eventually, but unless the story goes on for ridiculously long, a bunch of them may have to come at once for that to come to fruition. Which I definitely don't want. I like the focus on the family dynamic and want to see that organically evolve as everyone learns more about each other over time. For example- I want at least Loid to find out Bond is psychic. Then life continues with that change, Loid using that information to his benefit. Then later I want one of Loid or Yor to find out the other's identity before the other. Then life continues with that change shaking up their dynamic. Then something else happens and so on. I do want fun slice of life moments and goofy antics, but I want them in between dramatic moments so that we can see this family grow and react. I don't want all of this to just come at the end so they can stop a big baddie, or them to not happen at all.

I can greatly enjoy series that go all on particular aspects like comedy, drama wholesomeness etc. rather than being well rounded. But for me the perfect series is one that excels at all of those (example being March Comes in like a Lion). I really feel Spy X Family is capable of being one of my absolute favorites. But it’s meandering. That is not fundamentally bad. I like what the show is doing most of the time. I enjoy the comedy, action and sweet moments. I also really like the crumbs of more serious story and drama we get. But this far in I don’t want crumbs anymore, I want a full piece. What I am trying to express is that there is so much potential here that I am excited to see. But the series is not as interested in that as I am. This time they didn’t even end with a dramatic hook that attempts to get you excited for what is coming next. It ended with a good but normal beat for Spy X Family, then said “see you next time”. To me this makes the intention of the anime as of now very clear. I think more of the same is what we can expect coming next, which is disappointing. If this is not the case, then I don’t get why they would end the season on such a nonchalant note. 

Final note is to say that the OP and ED are both absolute bangers.

As of now I do plan to continue watching it. I still get some satisfaction from its silly antics and wholesome moments, though that enjoyment is waning. And I truly am invested in seeing where this story can go, but I keep getting disappointed at it passing up great opportunities. I hope that I don’t have to wait another 36 episodes of same old same old to get to the interesting bits that I would love to see. Thank you for reading!

#spy x family #anime #review #season 2 #fall 2023 #blog

[drivingmissloki]

Just throwing this into the world

It's not happy.

I have reached a point in like my life where I am just wondering. Where do I go from here. I am disabled nearly forty year old adult. My issues are mental health related and only get worse not better. Manageable with medication to prevent me from extreme highs or lows but as a whole. It’s worse. 

Most of my family (Father, Stepmother, Aunt, Grandmother, and even my mother (to a smaller degree)) operate under this idea that if I just take my meds and get over it. I’ll be fine. I’ll be able to get a normal job. Be able to get my head on straight and be ‘normal’. The specifics of my issues aren’t super relevant at this point and even then this is only a small portion of the whole current issue that doesn’t just involve me, but involves my entire household. Though I will say that if it was as simple as getting over it and moving on. I probably would have by now. I am just saying. Of course, they like to say I am just lazy and THAT’S why. Which you know easy to lay blame in certain areas I guess and I do understand why it would seem that way. 

I’ve lived in Texas my entire life. I was not born here but I would have been if my dad (who was in the Navy) wasn’t stationed in San Diego when I was born. Which honestly, at this point I wish I had grown up in California. It’s not perfect but there are definitely appealing aspects to being at that way (health care?) or any democratic state really. But no. I am in texas. A state that’s so republican racists sit in their houses stewing over the fact that people from mexico (and south america) want to get into texas (which ironically used to be a part of mexico - Louisiana purchase anyone) 

When I was a kid I was adamantly against politics because I was a kid and that kind of things was boring. I’d like to say my childhood was idyllic but it was definitely far from it. I grew up in the houston metro area (which is any of a billion smaller towns surrounding houston). I’d like to say I didn’t go through some shit, but I did. 

The first time I dealt with a man touching me I was probably 4 or 5. He was the boyfriend of my mom who decided I wanted to be in on the action (I was not in the bed with them or anything. I was in another room those were just his actual words. Cause he’s gross). I told my mom what happened and I would like to say that she left him but she didnt right away. I was never around him again though and the relationship did not last long at all. Obviously, that reaction wasn’t ideal. I don’t hate my mom for any of that. I do remember it though. 

Sadly, this was not the only time. People who pray on children (women are predators too) are too damn good at spotting people that are vulnerable. They’re good at manipulating us and sadly this one was a bit closer to home. My grandmother’s husband. His name was Herbert (Ironic if you’re a family guy fan) Starting at the age of probably 5 until I was 18 years old I dealt with his bullshit. It didn’t stop at just touching and no I won’t go into details. I don’t think I have to. 

During those years I had a lot of behavioral issues. It was chalked up to ADHD (which I do actually have) but no one looked any deeper. At 14. I told my Aunt what was happening. Despite the threats I’d been feed my entire childhood by him I finally oufnd the courage to open my mouth and talk. I got told not to tell my grandmother. To not tell anyone and it continued for 4 more years. This is a truth my aunt adamantly denies ever happening. She has a really bad habit of just pretending shit she doesn’t want to deal with never even happened. Or maybe she does truly erase it. Maybe that’s how she deals with her own trauma. Acts as if it never existed. It’s also easy for her to gloss over it because for her. It wasn’t a core memory. For me it was. I remember exactly where we were. What I was looking at when the worlds tumbled from my mouth and what I continued to stare at when I realized there was no help. My mother’s husband was also abusive in a different way. A strict disciplinarian kind of way. I’ve made my peace with him as best I can. I think he’s realized some things. 

When I was 25 I finally did tell my grandmother. I got accused of only doing it for various reasons none of which were good enough, but it still boiled down to I should have kept my mouth shut. Right?

I disappeared to DC for a while lived homeless made friends came back home. I’ve still got people telling me I just need to get over things and move on. Get over it. Worker harder. Be better. Stop being so lazy. Etc etc etc. 

Now to now and while I feel like I have no where to proceed. 

I live with my mom. I am disabled as is my younger brother who has schizophrenia 

(I personally have Anxiety, Depression, bi-polar disorder, a (un)healthy dose of PTSD from childhood sexual trauma AND ADHD, but it’s fine I’ll get over it.) My mom is not disabled but she has a whole litany of health issues that makes it hard for her to work consistently (I,E. she really is unhealthy and should be receiving help but the govt basically told her that 20 years spent as a stay at home mother means nothing (even though that’s where they want us) and she gets to suffer without insulin or high blood pressure meds and have neuropathy in her feet legs hads etc) because women don’t mean shit in this country as proven with the overturn of ROE. We are expendable. 

We live essentially paycheck to paycheck. Often having to choose between food or a bill. Existing in a space where we are still paying on a car that we had to replace the engine in once (we replaced the whole engine a month and half into getting it) and are already looking at it breaking down again. Because we can barely afford food or bills my mom owes a ton of taxes on her house that we cannot afford to pay. We are having our water shut off on the 16th due to an inability to pay water tax or whatever the fuck it is. So where do we go from here? No running water (next week) 

What are some other things that broke and can’t afford to fix: Dishwasher. Kitchen Sink. Bathroom toilet leaksx2. Shower won’t drain properly. We have NO Central AC for 5 years (which also means no heater during that really bad freeze). We were able to get a window unit last year (we can only have it in one room because if we put it in any rooms not facing the back yard we will get reported to the HOA. When our AC initially broke they basically told us we were SOL and could not switch to a window unit full time. In fucking Texas. Where it often gets into the triple digits. 

We live in a world where the suffering of other humans is ignored. Out of sight. Out of mind. This isn’t a purely republican issues. Establishment StatusQuo democrats much to often bend the knee to maintain their space in whatever place they want to be elected to. They will nod and smile and do what these old men ask them to. 

So where do we go from here. In a household where we have no option but to hang on until they rip the house out from under us. Where do we go? What do we do. Even homeless shelters around here operate on a “Well you need to try and get a job” Ma’am I am disabled (I do have one I’ve just been fighting with ADA accommodations for 2 months anyway) I tried to apply for food stamps to lessen some of our financial burden. Qualified for 15 dollars. Every person charity. Organization I’ve called just sends us to the next person. NO one has any answers. The sad thing is. This kind of thing isn’t unique to my family. So many people in this country (and the world, but we’re talking about the US rn. I can’t speak for everywhere else) are suffering too. 

I’ve been homeless. It’s not fun. As many jokes I make about literally everything. I don’t know if I can personally handle it again. Where does that leave me. Or anyone who has zero options. 

I’d love to leave this fucking country but even then. I have nothing to offer anywhere we go. I am disabled. My brother is disabled. My mom needs medications we literally cannot afford. I am so fucking exhausted and any time I try to talk to or vent frustrations to my family. I just get told it will get better. Or that I just need to try harder. Worker harder. Get over it. Move on. Be better. You can do it ok. No No I can’t. I know I can’t. I know my limits. It’s not a lack of desire that’s preventing me from wanting to DO better. You think I want to live like this? You think i want to not even be able to just go to a movie every now and again and just ENJOY myself?

A fucking night at the movies shouldn’t be that hard and yet. It is. 

You think I want to be this person. My grandfather (Paternal) helped put men on the moon and I am sitting here. Accomplishing fuck all because I can’t be around most men without having a panic attack and disassociating. God if I could get over it. I definitely would have. 

Hell. Members of my family (my aunt) still commemorate my rapist every year on his birthday. On father’s day. Post his photo with a heart and say “I miss you.” Next to a picture of her ACTUAL father. 

I will say that watching him die was more than a little cathartic. I got to watch the light fade from his eyes and watch him disappear from this world, but at the same time. He remains here. Like a fucking spectre. 

It hasn’t gotten any better though. He’s dead. Good. He won’t hurt anyone else, but my life didn’t improve in any way. I stand on the brink of losing what little I do have. I don’t even know where I am sending this. I don’t even know if I should send this anywhere. I want help, but WHO do I reach out to. How do I FIND help? Does anyone even care? Is just gonna be more “Oh that sucks but it will get better” even if I do talk to someone. 

And I am so damn tired. I am so terrified. I just want to FOR ONCE have peace. 

#help #us politics #conservatives suck

[candletocandle]

Thanksgiving with John the Baptist

Opening verse

Matthew 11:5-6 - The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.

Prelude

There are many stories in the Bible that exemplify the theme of Thanksgiving

Stories of redemption, miracles, people receiving blessings

Stories where people got on their knees and thanked God

I wondered what story should I choose 

What would be a perfect Thanksgiving story to share today?

Something relevant, something poignant, something hopeful

Then inspiration hit me

Today let’s visit the story of John the Baptist...just before he was executed

Introduction

Annual tradition during Thanksgiving service to invite people to share how they have been blessed in the past year

Not to discount those individuals who have been truly blessed by God, but oftentimes people talk for far too long and sound almost boastful about their blessings

What about those people sitting in the pews who have no such blessings to share?

Holidays like Thanksgiving may be a blessing for some, but a stark reminder of pain and loss for others

Not everyone experiences stories of redemption, miracles, and blessings

So, what does John the Baptist have to do any of this?

The story of John the Baptist 

Miraculous circumstances with regards to his birth

Chosen by God to be a messenger to proclaim the arrival of the Messiah 

Became a prophet, living a life of an ascetic in the wilderness

Boldly proclaimed a message of repentance and the coming of the Messiah

Incidentally, the Messiah was his cousin Jesus

Acknowledged by Jesus as the greatest of the prophets

John the Baptist lived a life completely devoted to God 

He was a Christian in the truest sense of the word

He lived a life of integrity and fidelity

He was not afraid to call out sin by its name whether committed by the Pharisees, soldiers, or even Herod

John did not succumb to the temptation of pride when he was losing his followers to Jesus

John 3:30 - He must increase, but I must decrease

Where did his faith lead him?

John was thrown into prison because of his faith

Mark 6:17-18 - For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her. Because John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

John did everything right, as far as I can tell from the Bible, yet this was his reward

If I told you about someone who lived their life faithfully to God like John the Baptist, you would expect them to be one of the people standing to tell everyone at church how much God as blessed them

What do you think went through John’s mind while he was in prison?

At first - “Oh well, this is a minor setback”

After a few days - “Jesus will save me and set me free”

After a long time - “Why isn’t Jesus coming?”

John began to doubt Jesus

Matthew 11:2-3 - And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”

Have you ever felt like John the Baptist?

You’ve been faithful to God, you’ve prayed to God, you’ve done your best

Yet, prayers go unanswered: you didn’t get that job, you didn’t get into that school, that relationship failed, that loved one died

You are asking God, “What is going on?”

Was it wrong for John to question God?

I don’t think so

All relationships have their ups and downs - even your relationship with God

This story reminds us even “super Christians” are subject to the same problems and doubts we have in our lives

Faith and doubt aren’t always opposites - sometimes they exist side by side

Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”  Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

How did Jesus respond to John’s question?

Interestingly, Jesus did not directly respond to John’s question

Luke 7:20-23 - When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’ ”  And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight.  Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

Jesus asked John’s disciples to spend the day with him and observe what He did

And what did Jesus do?  He performed many miracles and preached the Gospel to many people

Jesus gave John a gentle rebuke

It was almost as if He was saying, “Hey cuz.  You know me, man.  We’ve been through a lot together, yo.  You know who I am.  Why are you doubting me now?”

How did John respond?

The Bible does not explicitly say

Shortly after John’s disciples report back to him, John is executed by Herod

Matthew 14:6-10 - But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.  Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.  So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”  And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. So he sent and had John beheaded in prison.

Jesus could have done something to save John

In the book of Acts chapter 12, an angel freed Peter from prison

Read a little further and you’ll find another miracle in Acts chapter 12, where the chains fell off all the prisoners and all the prison doors were opened

Yet, Jesus didn’t do anything for John

Jesus didn’t even visit His own cousin in prison

What kind of Thanksgiving story is this?!

I believe John the Baptist experienced thanksgiving when his two disciples reported to him

I imagine John gladly received that gentle rebuke

John’s faith was restored at that moment

His life’s work was not in vain

Although John died a martyr’s death, he died with peace in his heart

Why do I believe this?

Matthew 11:7-11 - As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?  But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.  For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.’  “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 

Have you ever wondered why Jesus called John the greatest of the prophets?

John never performed any miracles like Elijah

He never uttered any time prophecies like Daniel or Isaiah

John never even got a chance to witness the miracles Jesus performed

I believe Jesus called John the greatest of the prophets, because John believed in Him completely on faith, even unto death

Jesus believed in John and entrusted him with one final duty

John’s story, including his death, will become known as a story of hope

Why hope?  Think of all the martyrs throughout the ages, taking solace in this story.  They are encouraged they can die in faith, just as John did

Psalm 136:1 - Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 - in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

We often equate thanksgiving with blessings, but the Bible says we should give thanks because God is good

While our circumstances in life may change, God never changes

While our faith may falter and we entertain thoughts of doubt, God will always remain faithful

While we seemingly suffer with no answer from heaven, God loves us and intends a good end for us, even if we cannot see from our vantage point

If you truly believe in God, you will learn to completely trust in God and give Him thanks, regardless of what is happening in your life

We may live in a time of uncertainty right now in these end times

People are arguing with each other over politics, vaccine mandates, personal freedom versus public health

Instead we need to be thankful to God right now

We still have opportunities to share the Gospel, to teach others about true thankfulness

Closing

Jethro’s story

Jethro was born with a rare, life-threatening disease

Chronic high airway obstructive syndrome (CHAOS)

Jethro spent the first three years of his life breathing through a trach

When Jethro had major reconstructive throat surgery

Things you take for granted are a miracle in my eyes

Hearing Jethro say “mommy” for the first time

Giving him a bath and letting him play with water without fear of drowning

Seeing him play the beach

There were times during this ordeal I was faced with the following questions: 

Would I still be thankful to God if Jethro did not survive?

What if he died in the womb?  What if he died during delivery?  What if Jennifer died from bleeding out?

I come into the hospital expecting to be a father, but I come out a widower having to bury my wife and child

To be honest, I struggled greatly with these questions

Then I remembered the story of John the Baptist

For the first time in my life, I had a glimpse of what he went through

I understood him better than ever before

Thanksgiving with John

Now is the time to learn the lesson John learned two thousand years ago in a dark and cold prison

Whether good or bad things happen, God is still good

Whether He delivers me from the lion’s den or allows me to die a martyr’s death, God is still good

If you truly believe in Jesus, this life is not the only life to be had

If my story ends in sorrow today, I can be confident Jesus will raise me to glory and reunite me with my family

Now is the time to overcome the doubts in your life, the negativity, the anxiety, the bitterness, the pride, the arrogance, the jealousy, the lack of faith

The story of John the Baptist’s last days is a lesson of hope and of thanksgiving.

#sermon #matthew 11:5-6 #thanksgiving #john the baptist

[robininthelabyrinth]

Prompt: JZX is more politically aware, but mostly lonely. When he learns that JGY is his younger brother he's determined to be a good dage. His only examples however, are LXC, who hes not sure is human, WWX who- just- NO, and NMJ, who despite being his sworn brother seems to HATE JGY? So hes on his own. It can't be that hard right? Getting his mom to stop beating JGY is a good start, maybe helping catch up in training? (JGY is about to get so much awkward affection, it mightsave everything.)

ao3

When Jin Zixuan heard for the first time that his father was acknowledging one of his (many) bastards, bringing him home to be recognized as the Jin-er-gongzi, his first reaction was not, as his mother expected, overwhelming rage and disappointment, the way it was for her.

In fact, it was mostly delight – delight, and fear.

He’d known from a young age that he was never going to get any siblings from his mother, and while he’d known in a vague sort of way that his father as a notorious philanderer with bastards aplenty, it hadn’t ever been relevant to his life on account of the fact that none of them were ever acknowledged. He’d assumed that it would always be that way, and for the first twenty years of his life, it was.

Until now.

He was going to have a brother – no, worse. He was going to bea brother, a big brother; that was a position that came with responsibilities. He had to be a good role model, a teacher of all things good and righteous and proper, but also needed to care for them and take care of them – it was, to be perfectly honest, a brand new experience. Through some trick of fate, Jin Zixuan was among the youngest of his cousins and cohorts of his peers; there was something of an age gap between him and the next set of shidi in his sect, and anyway he’d never been expected to care for his shidi in a parental sort of manner – the Jin sect was too concerned with class to allow such closeness without a blood tie to excuse it.

So he was starting, essentially, from scratch.

It might’ve been smoother and more straightforward if he’d met his brother immediately, fresh from the battlefield where all such divisions were blurred and vague; they could have been shield-brothers, that way, and Jin Zixuan might not know much about brothers, but he had fought in a war and knew that much. But his father had whisked Jin Guangyao (and why was it ‘Guangyao’ instead of ‘Ziyao’?) away immediately, insisting that he needed his help with setting up the Phoenix Mountain hunt, so they hadn’t had a chance to meet at that stage. Jin Zixuan realized, of course, that organizing the Phoenix Mountain hunt was a big deal and, probably, a way for his father to show that he trusted his newest son, so he stepped back and kept to himself…well, mostly.

There was that incident with Jiang Yanli.

Either way, though, he didn’t have a chance to get to know Jin Guangyao until they were both back at Jinlin Tower, where the strict rules of etiquette and formality reigned supreme, and when they did Jin Guangyao was perfectly polite and gracious and incredibly fake. It was then that Jin Zixuan realized that he really, truly had no idea how to connect with another person if they weren’t making just about all the effort, and furthermore started to worry that he was being a bad big brother.

Naturally, this called for research.

“Yes, dear,” A-Li said, hiccupping with laughter. She’d agreed to walk in the gardens with him again, and since they were engaged now they could even be left alone – in fact, they were left alone a bit more often than they probably ought to be, which was likely his mother’s hint that children would be better obtained sooner rather than later and little things like marriage dates oughtn’t get in the way of that. “That makes perfect sense. Lots of research. Studious, serious research. What else could you possibly do?”

“You’re laughing at me,” Jin Zixuan said suspiciously. “Definitely at and not with. Have I done something wrong?”

“Not at all! I think it’s quite charming that you think this is the most straightforward way to bond with someone, instead of, say, just going and talking to the person directly – really charming. Delightful. Really! Don’t mind me one bit.” She wiped her eyes. “Now, tell me, who are you planning on talking with first for your ‘research’? Chifeng-zun?”

“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Jin Zixuan said. “I mean, I also thought about him first, since his younger brother is a half-brother as well, but they’ve known each other for ages and ages, haven’t they? Chifeng-zun all but raised his younger brother – he’s more of a parent than a brother! And, well, you know, A-Yao and him…”

“They don’t really get along,” Jiang Yanli agreed. “You’re right, he’s probably not the best person to ask. Who else, then? Zewu-jun?”

“I don’t think I could live up to his example even if he sat down and advised me on how to do it,” Jin Zixuan said sincerely. “I mean, he’s just – you know? He’s perfect.”

“Too perfect,” Jiang Yanli agreed, and that was why he loved her quite so desperately. “Almost like a painting – nice to admire from afar, but a little lifeless up close…anyway, you wouldn’t want Jin-er-gongzi to end up like Hanguang-jun, would you?”

Jin Zixuan most certainly did not want an overly rule-abiding, stiff-faced disciplinarian as a younger brother. No thanks!

“So he’s out,” Jiang Yanli mused. “Who else is left?”

Jin Zixuan coughed. “Meaning no offense,” he said. “But, uh…I don’t think it’d be appropriate…”

“Oh, no, definitely don’t use A-Xian as a role model!” Jiang Yanli appeared mildly alarmed at the thought. “He and A-Cheng love each other, but things were always a little complicated – no, definitely don’t do that.”

Jin Zixuan exhaled in relief: crisis averted.

“Is there anyone else you might ask? I don’t think I know any others of your peers that are older siblings.”

“Not in the Great Sects, no. But anyway, I was thinking…well, I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not –” He wasn’t exactly a strategic genius. “But I was thinking of approaching it from the other direction.”

“Oh?”

“A good older brother is judged primarily by the younger brother, right? If you’re a good older brother on paper but your younger brother hates you, there’s no point. So I was going to ask the younger brothers and see what it was about their older brothers that they liked.”

“An interesting strategy,” Jiang Yanli said.

Jin Zixuan frowned. ‘Interesting’ might be the word most often used when he proposed plans, but it usually didn’t actually mean that the other side agreed with the plan. Certainly Chifeng-zun had said several times that several of his proposed battle tactics were ‘interesting’ and he’d never even once used a single one of them. “What’s wrong with the idea?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing…it’s only…”

“Only what?”

“Think about who you’d be asking,” Jiang Yanli said. “What would Nie-gongzi be likely to say?”

“…probably that a good older brother is one that indulges all his whims, never makes him do anything, and buys him stuff.” Jin Zixuan grimaced. “A-Yao is far too talented for such treatment; he’d think I was being condescending and treating him like a child.”

“Mm, likely yes, I’m afraid. And A-Cheng would probably clam up immediately, refuse to answer, and then, if you did manage to get it out of him, say that a good older brother would be one that was there all the time doing his job.”

“But A-Yao already does his job! If anything, he’s overlyconscientious about it!”

“Exactly.”

“And the only other one to ask is Lan Wangji,” Jin Zixuan realized. “And he won’t say anything at all, because he’s a lump of rock that doesn’t speak!”

Jiang Yanli snorted. It sounded involuntary, distinctly resembled the sound of a pig, and she looked momentarily shocked that the sound had come from her, so he pretended not to notice.

“I’m doomed,” he moaned. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this…A-Li, you must have some other suggestion!”

“Well, I might have one,” she said, and he looked eagerly at her. “It involves you actually having a conversation with A-Yao, though.”

“Oh, well, that’s sure to fail,” Jin Zixuan said, and now she was laughing again. “I mean it!”

“We’ll think of something, I’m sure,” she said, giggling. “Don’t worry. With both of us on the task, I’m sure we’ll get things in proper shape!”

#mdzs #jin zixuan #jiang yanli #my fic #my fics

[dusuessekartoffel]

Some thoughts on season 7

I think my biggest feeling about this season is disappointment (although I kind of feel like I’ve been past that a while, this season really helped with not being that emotionally invested in Druck anymore). Obviously, it already started out with disappointment because it wasn’t Ava’s season, but an Isi season still had so much potential that just wasn’t fulfilled. There were so many good ideas behind the season and then none of them were actually followed up on and it just makes for a really unsatisfying season. 

Anyway, here’s some chaotic thoughts about the season (took some inspiration from it in terms of messiness). 

The good parts (shoutout to my friends for helping me with this part):

Eren’s acting. I think despite not always having great material to work with, they did a really good job with Isi and you could really see how the acting improved compared to the start of s5 and that they got more comfortable with the character. 

The first clip. I really liked how it showed us Isi on their own, the instas from the inside and also the contrast between the friendship with Sascha and the friendships with the instas. It was a good opening for the season and I enjoyed that it felt different from the previous seasons since we were with a different circle of characters. 

The pronoun clip. I have complicated feelings about the fact that it ended with the Saschisi kiss, so by pronoun clip I’m mostly referring to the first part of it, but that was probably the best clip of the season and one of the only clips this season that truly felt like Druck to me. Isi meeting Billie was so cute, the conversation with David was really good and important (I really loved that David told Isi that there’s no right or wrong and they can just try out what they want and see how it feels) and it was just a very nice clip overall. 

Isi’s earrings. I love how they changed with Isi’s mood/whatever they were going through. 

Generally the wardrobe this season was really well done, I loved that clip with Lou and Isi trying on different clothes but also Isi trying to dress differently/less noticeably when they were feeling down. Overall this just felt like something that stayed consistent throughout the season and there were lots of really nice little moments with regards to the outfits. 

The gay plant parent representation. I’m just sad we didn’t get to see more of the plants, would have loved an entire season about them tbh.

Lou and Isi’s kiss and talk afterwards. I think this was one of my top clips of the season, it felt like it finally made sense what the show was trying to do with Lou. I really like that Lou and Isi were both drawn to each other but couldn’t quite place how and then decided they worked best as friends in the end, I feel like that was just such a nice storyline (and a really unusual depiction of friendship for Druck/teen shows in general, even though it’s such a big part of teenage life to try out things, especially when it comes to romance). I think the idea of Lou sparking something in Isi and making them realise some things about themselves because Lou is a really different person to all their other friends was really brilliant, it’s just the execution of it that was lacking overall, but they really nailed it in this clip for me. I also mostly liked their friendship after this clip, though it could have definitely been more explicitly relevant to the gender storyline. 

Isi’s parents being so supportive. I’m sad we didn’t see more of them but I really liked the Christmas clip and the clip of Isi’s father talking to them and Umut, it was a really nice depiction of parents being supportive while not making them perfect or giving them too much significance. 

The little sibling rep with Umut. This was also a bit lacking to me in parts but overall, I thought it was super cute and I really loved all the clips with Umut in them. 

David’s cameos. I did not expect to put this on the list of positive things because I think cameos by older characters tend to be really forced, but I did really like how they did it with David. I will say though, in the pronoun clip I think more than the fact that it was David who talked to Isi and told them that they can just try out stuff, I really loved that it was one of the writers saying that. (But I think it’s also the fact that the old gen feels so far away that Lukas’ appearance felt less like David and more like a fun cameo like Julia Penner as Mrs Steinberg, etc.) 

The clip at the cemevi. I really wish we’d gotten more clips dealing with Isi’s Turkish/Alevi identity but this clip was really beautiful in itself. It was also really nice to see Isi outside of their usual surrounding characters, especially because one of my issues with the season is the fact that Isi was almost never alone.

The contrast between the characters’ insta posts and their reality. This wasn’t always as strong but there were moments where it was really well done and it was exactly what I expected from a season about the instas, so I’m glad they used that potential. They also did a good job of making use of the platform itself and the way people use it, for example with various characters putting their pronouns in their bio after Isi came out to them, which was nice. 

The car crash, need to keep Skam traditions alive and well and it was a beautiful car crash. (Also, in all seriousness, I really liked this clip!)

The dance credits!!

The parts I’m conflicted about:

The music. I’m still not a fan of Druck’s tendency to only use super new music but out of all the new gen seasons, I think this was my favourite in terms of music. There were some silent moments when they needed to be, they did interesting things with music (the Cure for Me thing was cute and, which made me really happy, consistent!) and most of the time, the music wasn’t too annoying. 

The dance crew. There were some really nice aspects to this and I like that it was a constant throughout the season and worked to signify different things at different points in the season. But overall, it still felt like a really lackluster storyline and so much more could have been done with it, plus there were some really weird aspects to it and the dance at the end was just a weird conclusion to the storyline. 

The trip with Josh and Finn. Parts of it were really fun and I always enjoy when there’s just a few nonsense clips in a season (though ideally, I think they should be like the camping trip in s5, fun and silly but also relevant to the story) but again, there was so much potential that just wasn’t fulfilled. The trip would have been a great opportunity to talk about masculinity or (toxic) friendships or touch on any of the various topics the season introduced beyond Isi/Sascha and the fact that it didn’t was really sad. 

The Zoe/Finn breakup. I don’t dislike it because one thing I always really liked about Druck was how many different relationships it portrayed and how well it used its side couples to do that. And I think them breaking up, even if it was really sad, is a nice thing to include in the season, especially because there was so much room given to why it didn’t work and why this is better for them. But also if they did this to get one of them with someone else, I’ll be really angry. (Although I’m blissfully delusional about next season being Ava’s, it’s great here.) 

Sascha. I like what they were trying to do with Sascha and I think it could have worked really well under different circumstances. While I do think it’s really sad that the established characters didn’t get bigger roles in this season, I also never minded that the show introduced two new characters because I think as a concept it works really well as a contrast to Isi’s friendship with Consti and the instas to introduce a friend completely independent of them. But, apart from the fact that Sascha, I’m sorry to say it, is a pretty boring character, it also just wasn’t followed through very well. 

The bad parts:

The decision to move from Telegram to Instagram. I will never understand what led to that decision?? It’s such a disadvantageous move in terms of the content they post, plus I just hated all the insta posts after the clips. And the fact that there’s no communication between the fans and the team behind the show anymore just makes me sad :(

It feels like there were so many good ideas behind the season and not a single one was well executed and that’s just really sad

The pacing felt so off at so many different points in the story. A few times it was good but for the most part, things came out of nowhere or went nowhere or happened too fast or were forgotten for weeks only to then be taken up again way too late and it was just so messy overall. (Though I think at least this is one of the very few Druck seasons that didn’t have super off pacing at the end all of a sudden, the last few episodes actually improved in terms of pacing in my opinion.) 

The dialogue was super weird at times, it felt really stiff and forced (or maybe I’m just out of touch with the youth, who knows) 

The way the Ava storyline was handled. Obviously one of the major issues with the season and one that couldn’t really have been avoided because the root of the problem lies in giving Isi a season before Ava. But it still could have been done miles better than it was in the end, especially because Ava suddenly was so amicable towards Isi after one really halfhearted apology. (And it’s not even just that the storyline did Ava a disfavour but also Isi, because there would have been a really good opportunity for some proper character development here and it just didn’t happen.) 

The Consti storyline. I was really curious about what they were going to do with this and I do think it was interesting in parts (I liked the conversation between Isi and Consti where Isi broke off their friendship, mostly because it involved actual talking, even if the character development on Isi’s side was undeserved and Consti’s tragic backstory falls into a really overdone trope) but overall it just didn’t work. I think this is maybe partially because we already knew Isi was struggling with the friendship months before the season started and the long wait date (which I’m sure isn’t the team’s fault) didn’t do the story any favours but it was also just messily done and had a really abrupt ending. 

All the potential Lou had as a character that went completely wasted. This one just makes me sad because Lou had the potential to be such an interesting character and she could have been so relevant to the whole gender storyline and instead, she was mostly involved in an unnecessary love triangle and the writers tried way too much to make her a really ~badass character. 

Speaking of, the love triangle(s). Don’t even know which one I’m referring to here, it was just all a big mess and really unnecessary for the most part (and they didn’t even follow through on the Werther symbolism!!)

There were so few clips or even just moments of Isi alone. With a character like Isi I see why you wouldn’t do that many alone clips to a certain degree, because they do seem like someone who likes surrounding themselves with other people, but what bothered me was that that didn’t go anywhere. If there had been lots of clips with other people and then a clip of Isi on their own where the fact that they were alone now would have had any significance, I would have loved it, but instead it just felt like there was so much crammed into the season that there was no space (made) for any alone clips and that made Isi feel a lot less fleshed-out as a character to me than they could have been. 

The lack of a distinct pov in so many clips. It feels like I still don’t really know Isi or how the world looks from their pov, I think this was by far the worst Druck season in terms of pov so far (I mean, they even managed to do great pov in their worst episodes aka the last two episodes of Amira’s season, even if it was the wrong pov), it just didn’t feel distinct at all. I think this is also one of the main reasons why the season overall felt really different to the other seasons (at least for me) and just didn’t really feel like Druck.

Also the care for the storyline and characters that is usually so distinct about Druck seemed really absent here. Both when it comes to the side characters (Zoe drinking alcohol again without it having any significance, Nora and Ava being weirdly close with Isi all of a sudden, Kieu My wanting Isi to dance “like those guys at the club” when she talked about not wanting to be objectified just last season, etc.) and also when it comes to Isi’s story (so much of the dialogue felt forced, there was one clip of Isi alone in the entire season, no proper character development, no consistency of pretty much anything). Isi really would have deserved a better season than this. 

The lack of build-up for more or less any major thing that happened. The whole season just feels really disjointed, all these big things happened out of nowhere and then they didn’t even make much of a difference because there was also a lack of follow-up for more or less any major thing that happened (the car crash, Lou and Isi stealing the tampons, Isi fighting with their friends, that weird threesome thing???, even the Isi/Sascha conflict that arguably took up the most space out of all the “bad” things that happened didn’t really go anywhere beyond Isi suddenly realising they were in love with Sascha all along). 

The complete lack of consequences for any of the shit Isi did with Lou and Consti or before the season. Every time they did something new, I really thought there’d be consequences this time and then there never were. And here, again, there was so much potential and it could have been connected to the Umut storyline so nicely and instead it just didn’t go anywhere. It’s like the people behind the season didn’t even want their main character to have proper character development? 

Specifically the complete lack of consequences for and/or critical discussion of the Robin of the Hoods thing, that was just stupid. 

Consti kissing Isi?? And the fact that this was the lowest point for Isi and then it wasn’t even properly followed up on (I mean, there was the conversation between Consti and Isi about it and that was good but then it was just suddenly forgotten again when it was a huge deal before, and even though it was a weird route to take from the beginning, it could have led to really interesting conversations about consent and, again, toxic friendships, and it just didn’t. Ugh, this season.) 

Sascha’s role in the storyline. I don’t think Sascha as a character is bad, the actor did a really good job and if he’d been written differently, I think Sascha could have been a nice love interest for Isi. I think the two things that bother me the most is that a) it feels like after 10 weeks I know barely anything about Sascha and I don’t have the urge to get to know him either because somehow his only distinct personality traits this season seem to have been being nice and being in love with Isi. And b), every time Sascha was in a clip with Isi, the focus was on him so much and that’s just not how a show that’s so pov-focused should work. Seeing the childhood best friend pine for their friend is really cute but it’s not how a childhood friends to lovers storyline should be told when it’s a show that’s all about taking one character’s pov.

Sascha/Isi. I think with different writing their romance could have worked really well and been very cute (although I personally would have liked a storyline that focused on friendship more, I think the fact that Sascha functioned as both a foil to the toxic friendship with Consti and a love interest kind of undermined both of these storylines) but the feelings on Isi’s side came out of nowhere in the middle of the season, the fact that Isi seriously hurt Sascha was never properly addressed and also, I just hate the way their romantic scenes were filmed/edited, I get what they were trying to do but it just didn’t work for me (also because it felt like most of the build-up was in the editing rather than the writing and that really ruined it for me). 

Isi never hitting rock bottom. I’m not a big fan of the idea of a “hell week” or the fact that usually Druck seasons are structured in this specific way, but it feels like there was never a moment were Isi was truly done and then had to learn something from that and so it feels like all character development was really lacking. 

There weren’t as many small, funny moments as usual. Those moments are so important because they make the characters three-dimensional and even if they don’t add anything to the story, they always make a season more fun to watch. There were some cute small moments in this season but not enough to make it really enjoyable sadly.  

The fact that Aurora didn’t die :( I mean, good for her, but I think a general issue with the season was that there was so much potential for great symbolism (Aurora being Isi’s life plant, the Werther parallels, etc.) and most of it was never followed through properly. 

If you do a bad season, at least make it properly bad so it’s enjoyable to watch. 

I do actually feel sorry about having such a long list of bad things about the season and not that many good ones (and if you enjoyed the season, I’m really happy for you!), but it was just a frustrating and not very satisfying season overall. I think what makes it most frustrating is that all the groundwork for a good season is there, it’s just the execution of most things that makes the season feel really weak. There were enjoyable moments and good clips and the actors all did a really good job (and also writing is hard, so I don’t want to blame this on the writers), but it just didn’t feel like Druck seasons usually feel and that makes me sad because I do still love this show. On the upside, at least this season is really great material for a fix-it fanfic! 

#wrote this instead of my paper today #yes the fix-it fanfic part is for you michi 😘 #this is the first druck season since the third one that made me really want to write something on it so i guess there's that #druck #druck negativity

[castlesbyrs]

OKAY HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS I KNOW IM BIASED AND IM NOT LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE BUT BEAR WITH ME (heads up for spoilers obviously):

-I expected for one hour and forty five minutes to get one Cali gang scene at ep7. What a wasted opportunity aldjajdksjdudsjfhsj they could have done so many more things that were relevant to the plot I just really hope will fucking byers gets what he deserves in vol 2 because he literally knows the upside down and survived to it? Everybody names him all the time and yet he’s been reduced to a lovesick baby boy and that is not even well developed alcjakfkjsjdksbd I’m angry

-For me the season was VERY good tho, glad to see they’re back in shape after the disaster that was s3, but also as a byers family fan ofc I’m not fucking happy.

-Clearly as a Jancy shipper I’m not either akdjskfksj this was so FORCED I hated it so much it didn’t make sense at all and I don’t think people are truly going to enjoy it because it truly feels like the writers needed a last minute resort to add adolescent drama and they found no one else and were like HEY let’s bring stancy back that clearly makes sense doesn’t it? I’m scared af for Jancy tho and honestly to me it doesn’t look good for vol 2 because how are they even going to meet again if Jonathan is still like on the other side of the country, help

-BUT I do have to say this and perhaps I’m crazy but I don’t care: I actually loved every single scene Jonathan had. I KNOW it could have been a hundred more scenes instead of wasting time on the fucking basketball players and their stupid plot???? But I think Charlie did a wonderful job with every scene he got and I actually felt incredibly relieved in the sense that Jonathan’s worries about his family and university and his relationship were actually addressed and he openly confronted them (yeah his conversation with Argyle was by far my favorite scene in the season, sue me) I loved that we got once again to see his personal struggles and god we hadn’t gotten that since s1 so I have to say i enjoyed it very much.

-I wish I could say the same thing about Will. I can’t even begin to unwrap everything that’s wrong and all the wasted opportunities about the way this perfect and beautiful character is treated but… yeah, I’m angry about that.

-I very much ship byler lol and I fucking need one honest scene where I can have Jonathan and will talking about it.

-um excuse me? That dinner scene and the next day Joyce is just gone???????????????????? Are you fucking kidding me? We didn’t even get the goodbye???????????????? I’m so angry aldjdjskfjsfjiscjjdkx FUCK

-I don’t think Jonathan only got the role of comedy relief and I’m incredibly relieved about that.

-I don’t GIVE A SHIT about Stancy kajfakcjsj that will not end well just stop it I’m begging you it was weird

-I LOVE the fact Nancy will play a major role in vol 2. I need it and hopefully that will clear her brain and we’ll get some very desired Jancy angst???? Give it to me now

-Argyle was another wasted opportunity Jesus I’m so angry akgjsjfks

-I won’t talk about Russia but I did cry a lot when Hop and Joyce reunited ❤️ at least there’s hope somewhere. Also that scene of hop in prison? His monologue? I loved it and I’m so glad they learned from that awful treatment of his character in s3

-I literally don’t care about anything else I just need the byers and mike of course to play an important role in vol 2 but there’s only two episodes left so I think it won’t happen and I’m like so tired???????

-anyway aside from that I TRULY enjoyed this season and I think it was a huge leap forward from s3. I enjoyed the overall plot, I think it was better thought out for certain that s3, it will never top the iconicness of s2 and s1 for me but it comes close in a sense.

-i truly don’t have predictions nor theories for vol 2 and honestly I’m done predicting because I’m always wrong. I just expect something… anything… for the Byers.

Anyway… had to put my thoughts somewhere.

#i will gif my ass off tomorrow so anything you want me to gif lmk #stranger things #stranger things 4 #stranger things spoilers #st4 spoilers #will byers #Jonathan byers #Jancy

[what---i-dated-a]

Okay so I didn’t wanna derail this post because I think it’s a really good analysis of Parker’s character and her development into the Mastermind but it DID make me think of something and y’all know how I love to analyze and to go on my Nate Is Such A Dad rants so here we are

So the thing is, all three of the younger members of the team showcase different aspects of the Mastermind skillset.

Eliot is an observer, he is constantly absorbing information, analyzing it, filing it away in case it could be useful later. The repetition of ”What? It’s a very distinctive (blank)” and “What? I dated a (profession)” or similar lines are consistent evidence of this skill. He remembers things that the average person doesn’t even notice in the moment. He is constantly aware of what is going on around him, constantly watching. He knows how to insert himself into a situation as needed, knows how to adapt to unexpected circumstances. His vigilance and ability to think on his feet mirror Nate.

I’ve said it before, Hardison is the heart of the crew. He’s the one who cares. They all care, of course, but Hardison wears that on his sleeve. He’s invested. He digs deep into every case that they come across, dives into every job, does the research, forms the profiles, gets hands-on and involved even from behind his computer screen. (As an aside, I think it’s an interesting choice to take the character who has the least reason to be in the field, and make him the most visibly emotional person on the crew, rather than playing the ‘cold detached tech guy’ card.) Because he cares so much (and a little because of his ego, let’s be honest), Hardison doesn’t quit. He sees things through. Just like Nate.

Parker, meanwhile, is analytical. She’s a planner. She spends her free time plotting how to break into high security facilities for fun. Like the post I linked says, she’s the one who thinks of the details the others don’t remember to worry about. She’s (usually) able to set her emotions aside and look at things from an objective perspective. She sees the obstacles in front of her, and figures out if she needs to go over, under, through, etc. She is constantly treating the world around her as a puzzle she needs to solve. Again, a trait she shares with Nate.

And Nate is, yes. A dad. More to the point, he’s a dad with no child, a parent who lost his son, and he has no one to pass his knowledge and wisdom on to. That was taken from him. So what does he do? He finds surrogate children in his crew, and he teaches the three of them as best he can. He offers them advice, tries to help them improve and be the best they can be. Gives them little lessons and nudges them along, sets puzzles in front of them and helps them solve them. Because that’s what good dads do, and Nate is a good dad.

So then, what makes Parker the heir? It’s not that she was inherently more suited for the position than the others; they all had different traits that made them capable of ascending to that particular throne.

The difference is that Eliot and Hardison, for the most part, feel like Complete People. (I mean in their own perception, mind, not the perception of the audience, all the characters are beautifully well-rounded from a writing perspective, and no character is every really truly Complete.) They have their area of expertise, and while they dabble in other areas, they aren’t bothered by the role they play. Both of them are confident in who they are as a person, if not always happy with it (both have their fair share of anxiety and neither thinks that they’re perfect, far from it).

Hardison makes a couple of forays into stretching beyond his current abilities, but he gets in over his head and it sort of bites him in the ass. Considering how smart he is, I have to wonder if he has some of that Gifted Kid Syndrome, where if he’s not instantly perfect at something, he doesn’t want to do it. Because he tries at running things and seems to more or less decide he’s happy doing what he does.

Eliot, meanwhile, is too protective of the others to worry about being in charge. He doesn’t want to lead; if he’s in the lead, he can’t watch their backs. He teaches them a lot so that they can hopefully defend themselves if he’s not there, but at the end of the day, there’s no one he trusts more to protect them than himself. He’ll take charge when he needs to, but he’s more than happy to hand it back as soon as possible.

Parker, though? Parker doesn’t think she’s a Complete Person. She’s confident in her skills, but not much else. She’s uncomfortable with people and constantly being made aware of the fact that she’s Not Quite Normal. There’s nothing wrong with the person she is, of course, but try telling that to the people who keep giving her weird looks (including Eliot, he’s not getting off the hook for that one). She knows she’s different, and while she’s okay with who she is on a certain level, she also feels like she’s missing out on things, some of which she decides that she does, in fact, want.

So when Nate goes to teach, Eliot and Hardison learn what they need to, file that information away to pull out when it’s relevant, and more or less carry on with their business. But Parker absorbs it and makes it a part of herself. You can see, as the show progresses, how she goes from asking Nate questions just because she’s trying to solve The Puzzle That Is Nate, to asking him questions because she wants to solve the same puzzle he’s solving. Eliot and Hardison view Nate as an ally, a teammate. They don’t learn from him anymore than they do each other, or Parker and Sophie. Parker, on the other hand, very much views him as a mentor. More than the others, she sees him as what he’s trying to be to them, however subconsciously: a dad.

#leverage #excuse my rambling #I just have a lot of feelings about the dynamic between these characters #Nate Is Such A Dad #nathan ford #alec hardison #eliot spencer #parker (leverage)

[miraculous-sunflower]

science teachers ARE cool

Mrs. Mendeleiev’s POV

Beatrice Mendeleiev sighed. She did not like the fact that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was expelled without proof, and that Lila’s parents did not come when she was supposedly pushed down the stairs. She tried to get Mr. Damocles, another fool, to look at the security cameras during Miss Dupain-Cheng’s expulsion, but he denied, saying that if she wouldn’t stop badgering him, he would fire her. She reluctantly obliged, though secretly thinking that the school didn’t even have cameras, because of course the principal used the funds from the mayor to buy his foolish “hero costume”. Ms. Mendeleiev kinda liked Marinette Dupain-Cheng, even if she came into science class late every time. She was a good student, getting straight A’s, and her family made the best pastries in Paris, though she knew pastries weren’t even relevant in this incident. She knew she had to help out Miss Dupain-Cheng. Even if she got fired from her job, it was okay. She didn’t like her job very much, as everyone here was a fool, and she could find another job somewhere else, but it was her job, as a teacher, to protect her students. _______________________________________________________________________

Ms. Mendeleiev scoured the internet, trying to find the Italian Embassy’s number. She heard Lie-la -oops i mean Lila- talking about how her mother was a diplomat, so she had to get in contact with her to tell her all about her daughter’s antics - if she knew. She finally found the number, and dialed.

“Hello, what can I help you with?” the person on the other line asked. “Hello, I’m Beactrice Mendeleiev, and I’m trying to get in touch with Lucia Rossi?” Ms. Mendeleiev questioned.

“Actually, I’m Lucia Rossi. I’m the secretary of the Italian Embassy. What do you need?” Heh, another thing Lila was lying about. Her mother was the secretary. Still must be hard work.

“I’m actually your daughter Lila’s science teacher, and I was wondering about all of Lila’s absences and missing assignments. I questioned her about it, and she said she couldn’t do her assignments because of her arthritis and many other disabilities she has.” Ms. Mendeleiev stayed up all night, trying to come up with the perfect story to seem like she was calling for something besides exposing Lila.

“Arthritis? Disabilities? Lila doesn’t have any disabilities? And absences? Are you sure she said that?” Mrs. Rossi was very surprised. Perfect. Ms. Mendeleiev grinned.

Lucia Rossi’s POV

The other woman on the other line was too surprised. Disabilities? Lila didn't have any disabilities. She was a healthy little girl, her little bambina. Was her baby spouting lies? She doubted it. Perhaps this teacher didn’t properly hear her.

“Yes, I’m sure, and on top of all her disabilities, she said that she has a lying disease which causes her to lie, by accident. She said this one a fellow classmate of hers, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, apparently pushed her down the stairs. Marinette did no such thing, and the expulsion was reversed. If you don’t believe me, take a look on the LadyBlog. It was a blog dedicated to the Heroes of Paris, but now your daughter’s face is plastered on it. If I had a daughter, I’d never want her to be bragging about her accomplishments!”

Mrs. Rossi was shocked when she said lying disease. She looked at the “World’s Best Mom” cup on her desk. Lila gave it to her when the school apparently “shut down”. Was her little bambina lying this whole time? And blog?

“LYING DISEASE?!?! I have to call the school. What has this girl been doing? Also, I want to hear more about her absences.”

“I can help you set up an appointment with Mr. Damocles. As for her absences, Lila has been claiming that the Prince of Achu, Prince Ali, has invited you and Lila personally to visit the kingdom for 2 months. Were you not there?” Ms. Mendeleiev sounded confused. Oh dear, it sounded like she also fell for her daughter’s lies.

“ACHU? 2 MONTHS? Lila told me that the school was closed for 2 months because Ladybug and Chat Noir were too incompetent to defeat the akumas!” Mrs. Rossi exclaimed. Now here, she understood. Her daughter told her that the school was closed down, and her teachers that she was traveling, to get out of going to school! She could get in trouble for truancy for that!

“I assure you, Ladybug and Chat Noir are not incopetent. They usually take care of an akuma in less than 3 hours. “Oh, this is a lot to take in right now. I’m sorry, but Lila lied about everything. Thank you for calling me, I really appreciate it. I’ll come by the school this week.” Mrs. Rossi finally breathed out.

“I’m glad I did. Clearly, you were not informed of this, and Lila was lying about everything this whole time!” Mrs. Rossi showed a little smile, but it quickly went away. Before she hung up, she had to ask-

“Before I go, was there anything else Lila said?”

“She said that she saved Jagged Stone’s kitten off an airplane tarmac, and that she knows Clara Nightingale. She also said she’s best friends with Ladybug. Now that I think about it, she probably framed Marinette to get her expelled, now that I know she lied about having a lying disease.”

Saving kittens? Being best friends with pop stars? Best friends with a superhero? She could get sued for all the stories she’s spouted! And if these stories were heard at the embassy, she could get fired! Oh that girl...

“Oh my goodness, I will have to apologize to Miss Dupain-Cheng on behalf of my daughter. Thank you again, Ms. Mendeleiev.”

Sure enough, later that day, the mother searched up the LadyBlog, and of course, her daughter’s face was there, next to the headline, “I’m BFF’s with Ladybug’s BFF!”. She sighed. She was going to expose her daughter for the liar she is, because her daughter fooled the whole school, not to mention hurt one of her other classmates!

Mrs. Mendeleiev’s POV

After the call ended, Ms. Mendeleiev smirked. Lie-la will have no idea what’s coming to her now. __________________________________________________________________________________

Marinette’s POV

“Me and Clara Nightingale are sooo close, that we’re practically sisters! I helped her with most of her dance moves for her newest music video!” Lila bragged.

“OMG girl! That’s amazing!” Alya exclaimed.

“Wow, Lila, you have a heart of gold!” Rose and Mylene gushed.

“So awesome.” Juleka mumbled.

Marinette rolled her eyes. They were talking about Lila as if she was a saint, though they probably did. She was sketching out a new design, and it was Rena Rouge inspired. Alya, Marinette thought. Her and Alya were still friends, but they were a lot more distant. All of her friends were like that. She thought about Adrien for a second, and then quickly dismissed the thought. Adrien was irrelevant, at this point. He gave her that stupid piece of advice, take the high road, and basically got mad if she did anything to prove Lila wrote if the witch spouted another lie. Her crush on him was long gone, which gave her more time to focus on her guardian work.

Marinette continued sketching her design, but then suddenly, she heard a faint but sharp, “Miss Dupain-Cheng?” She looked over to where the voice came from. Ms. Mendeleiev was signaling her to come outside. This is it, she metally scolded herself. You came to class late too many times. She’s gonna call Maman and Papa, and tell them you’re late every day, and they will try to find out what’s up, and then they’ll figure out you're Ladybug, and then they’ll forbid you from fighting akumas, and then Hawkmoth will win, AND PARIS WILL BE DOOMED! She silently walked out of the classroom.

“Hello, Miss Dupain-Cheng. You’re probably wondering why I called you outside, but don’t worry, you are not in trouble. This is regarding Miss Lila Rossi.” Ms. Mendeleiev said.

Marinette was shocked at first, then nervous. “Ms. Mendeleiev, I can assure you, whatever Lila said isn’t true! She lies with-”

“Every breath she takes. I know.” The science teacher cut in. “I called her mother recently, and she too had no idea about Lila’s antics. She will be coming in today to discuss with Ms. Bustier and Mr. Damocles, and I can assure you, she will be exposed for who she truly is.”

Marinette was stunned. Her science teacher knew that Lila was lying? She was sure that she was in trouble. Marinette blinked, “Wow, that’s a lot to take in, but thank you. This means a lot to me, Ms. Mendeleiev.” She was grateful for her teacher.

Mrs. Mendeleiev smiled. “I truly do not like liars either, so it was very tempting. I see that none of your other classmates or teacher has figured out she was spinning a tale this whole time, have they?”

Marinette thought for a second, and said, “There is one who knows. It’s Adrien, Adrien Agreste. He knew, but he thinks avoiding conflict makes it go away. He told me to take the high road.”

“Really? That certainly wasn’t good advice. Avoiding conflict isn’t going to make it go away. It will only cause more chaos. Anyways, I have to go, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Have a good day.” Ms. Mendeleiev concluded.

“Have a good day as well!” Marinette said. “Wait,” she started. Ms. Mendeleiev turned around and looked at her. “Ms. Mendeleiev, is there any way I can be moved into your class?”

“I’m not sure, but after this, I’m hoping that the leadership and staff at this school will improve after this incident. Now, run along, or you will be late for class.” Ms. Mendeleiev waved.

Marinette walked back to Mrs. Bustier’s room, feeling much more optimistic than she had 10 minutes ago. _______________________________________________________________________

In Ms. Bustier’s classroom, they were learning about authors of the world, and were taking turns saying who their-

“LILA ALEXANDRIA ROSSI! WHAT ARE THESE STORIES YOU’VE BEEN SPOUTING?!” A woman who looked like a much older Lila burst into the room. Marinette straight out smirked.

“Mama! It’s not what you-” Lila started.

“Not what I think? You know what I think? I think you’ve been lying to me this entire time! You’ve misplaced my trust, taking me for a fool! Saying that the schools were closed because Ladybug and Chat Noir were too incompetent to take care of them! Saying that you took a 2 month vacation at the Kingdom of Achu! Saying that you know all these pop stars! You realise I can lose my job if your stories wound up at the embassy! Non cercare di scappare via.” Her mother yelled.

Alya became mad. “What do you mean, she said Ladybug and Chat Noir are incompetent? Ladybug is Lila’s best friend!”

Lila’s face was panicked. She knew that if she spun the right tale she could weasel out...

Lucia Rossi took a breath and said, “I’m afraid my daughter has been lying to you all. Everything she said was fake. I’m sorry on her behalf. Also, may I speak to Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” A girl with dark blue pigtails and bright bluebell eyes raised her hand. “I’m so sorry, Miss Dupain Cheng. I wasn’t aware that my daughter framed you to get you expelled. I hope you are doing well.”

Marinette looked at her kindly. “Thank you for the apology, Mrs. Rossi, but please don’t feel bad. You weren’t the cause of this, and you certainly didn’t know.” Lila’s look she aimed at Marinette was murderous.

“Thank you, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Lila, come on. You should be happy you aren’t sued for slander and use of name.” The mother barked out at Lila.

“No, mama! They are under a spell! They are lying! DOn’t listen to them! I never said anything about traveling to Achu, or being best friends with Ladybug!” Lila knew she could get out, of course she could.

“NO LILA! YOU ARE LYING. YOUR SCIENCE TEACHER SHOWED ME THIS BLOG, AND IT HAS ALL OF YOUR FALSE CLAIMS ON IT! DON’T EVEN TRY TO WIGGLE OUT IF THIS MESS YOU CAUSED!’ An akuma showed up, and was heading toward Mrs. Rossi.

“CoMe HeRe, little akuma!” Lila sung. She deliberately tried to grab for the akuma, only to be stopped by a particular bluenette. Marinette pushed Lila over and trapped the akuma in a jar, and placed it on a desk.

“Why am I not surprised? Of course you are working with a well-known terrorist. LILA! HOW STUPID ARE YOU?!” Her mother screamed at her.

Lila was so mad, and wanted to rip that goody-two shoes apart.”YOU!” she began at the bluenette, “You ruined everything! Everything was going so well, all these sheep believed me, and Adrien was so close to being mine! You went and ruined it!” She stomped over to Marinette, and was about to slap her, until…

Alya’s hand gripped Lila’s arm so tight, there were marks. “Because of you, my blog is ruined. What’s even worse, is that you ruined my friendship with my best friend.”

“Well, it’s not my fault you didn’t fact check. You ARE a terrible reporter.” Lila smirked, but was pulled by the arm of her mother.

They left, and Marinette’s classmates immediately surrounded her, begging her, yelling out apologies, and saying how sorry they were for not believing her. “While none of you directly hurt me, it really did hurt that none of my friends had my back,” she looked at Adrien, who looked guilty, “or even believed me! You believed a girl with crazy stories over me, your friend. It’s going to take time for me to trust you all again, but I’d like to build up our friendship again.” She finished.

“We understand, Marinette. We are so sorry!” Rose cried. “Not cool what she did…” Juleka mumbled. “Girl, I’m so sorry. I should’ve researched her claims, I’m a horrible friend and reporter,” Alya concluded sadly.

“While you didn’t research her claims, the snake is very convincing,” Marinette said. “Just remember in the future, take the word of the friend you trust the most.”

Ms. Mendeleiev smiled at the scene. She was secretly watching after she came from the principal’s office. Mr. Damocles and Ms. Bustier were fired by the school board because of their incapability to control a lying student. Mr. Damocles was also charged with a fine for using school funds for personal gain, and Ms. Bustier was lectured because of her insisting that “bullies will become better people if you let them get away with everything”. Ms. Mendeleiev was now Principal Mendeleiev, as she was promoted.

Beatrice Mendeleiev chuckled to herself. “Well, Lie-la Rossi. You didn’t get away with your tricks. No matter what, I will always protect my students. And possibly get promoted while at it.”

#lila exposed #lila salt #ms. mendeleiev #class salt #adrien salt #but very little

[exigencelost]

Okay also @prettyboysdontlookatexplosions responding to this as a separate post because the other one is like, no longer earthquake-safe. You wrote in this post:

(i do think tobias would have thrown the war away to save rachel’s life, but i don’t think he would have forcibly interceded in her decision-making the way cassie does to jake.) (i honestly don’t know if jake and rachel would let cassie and tobias respectively die. interesting bummer thought experiment!)

I agree 100% that Tobias might have thrown away the war to save Rachel’s life but would not have sabotaged her to do it. At some point on mobile I incoherently typed something that was supposed to communicate this but: I can see Tobias consenting a priori to Rachel’s death, but only if she was the one who brought the plan to him, and told him that it was what she wanted and was super stubborn about it, but that even then he would try to insist on going with her. I am basing this largely on vibes but also on #27 (squid book), when they have more or less exactly that exchange, except it’s not Rachel getting definitely killed it’s just her taking a typical insane risk. 

(Your point that Tobias basically reaches self-acceptance and a functional life philosophy but he loses it the second he loses Rachel is also exquisite.)

Meanwhile, final-battle Jake would absolutely have thrown Cassie’s life away. He sent her down to the Yeerk pool in #51, or whichever the pool bomb book was, the endgame books all blur together for me, and that was almost as much of a suicide mission as Rachel’s last stand, it just happened to turn out differently. And he said in that meeting that Cassie, specifically, had to go, because he considered her moral compass essential to the mission. Which is not that different from sending Rachel to the Blade ship because her aggression and determination are essential to that mission.  

Also, Jake loves Rachel. I wouldn’t assume that he loves Cassie more than he loves Rachel. If the symbolic dead Animorph was going to be Jake sacrificing the person he can personally afford to lose, it would probably have been Ax or Tobias. He sent Rachel because Rachel was the woman for the job. I think it’s also relevant that at that point his parents have been taken and he’s already had, and brusquely compartmentalized, a nervous breakdown about losing the ability to protect his family. He sends Rachel to die killing Tom pretty shortly after he gives up on saving his parents, and it is a brilliant conclusion to both Rachel’s arc and Jake’s. Rachel’s for all the reason I’ve already yammered about, and Jake’s because it drives home that Jake’s no longer in a space where he’s making any effort to protect his family. He’s ready to win at any cost. He gives a speech to James to exactly that effect. And I think that includes any of the Animorphs, and Cassie’s not an exception. 

(Hm. Arguably Jake demonstrated his willingness to write off Marco, Cassie, and Ax with the pool bomb mission, and his willingness write off Rachel and Tobias in the final battle, because to kill Rachel at that point is to destroy Tobias, or at least to discard his needs completely. He’s making good on his promise to James: “at the end of this the casualties will be piled high and some of you standing here will be dead and I don’t care because we’re going to win.”)

Tobias’s anger at Jake for Rachel’s death is really interesting because I actually think killing Rachel and leaving Tobias alive (and unable to fight with her in her last moments) is the only way Jake could have gotten an Animorph to really truly not forgive him for the sacrifices of the final fight. Any of the Animorphs would have given their own life without argument at the end, and everyone was more willing to accept sacrifices of other team members’ safety or well-being than Tobias (throughout the series), and honestly, I don’t know that anyone of the Animorphs loved each other with quite the same force of loyalty as Tobias and Rachel. 

Whether Rachel would have accepted Tobias’s death as a necessary sacrifice, I don’t know. I do think she wouldn’t have blamed Jake for it the way Tobias did. Jake sacrificing Rachel culminates an, oh, 40-book arc of Jake betraying or throwing away things that Tobias thinks are important in service to a fight Tobias doesn’t always agree should be fought this way. Tobias hates it when Jake plays chessmaster; Rachel more or less doesn’t mind. But it’s hard for me to really imagine what she would have done if her and Tobias’s roles were reversed because that final scene was such a perfect tragic microcosm of their roles all through the series: that Rachel went down outnumbered and outgunned in a brilliantly violent blaze of glory while Tobias was forced to give her battle surveillance tips from a bird’s eye view on a camera. Tobias pulled it together long enough to give Rachel that final round of advice because that was what he knew how to do, and it was what she knew to ask him for. If their roles were reversed, I don’t know what Rachel would have done. Probably nothing as poignant or productive. 

Like! Okay! How fucked up is it that Tobias spends 52ish books watching Rachel’s back, seeing the full perspective of a fight she’s in the middle of and finding ways for her to escape the fight intact, and the last thing she ever says to him is to ask him for help, and he says “I can’t” because he can see the whole fight and there is no way out, but what she means is “help me do as much damage as I can,” and he has to pull himself together enough to do that instead.

#animorphs #animorphs 53 #animorphs 54 #tobias animorphs #rachel animorphs #jake animorphs #cassie animorphs

[kyojuuros]

Why is rengoku your favorite

he is perfect husband material

idk man he's just such a unique and fun character! his design is so wild and cool and such a good testament to the kind of person that he is - full of light and life and love. like he has every reason to feel beaten down and bitter because of his circumstances and yet he pushes through that and chooses to keep a positive outlook on life and to do his best!

he's such a good older brother and mentor figure. he's takes on so much responsibility for senjuro and is so eagerly willing to take tanjiro and the others under his wing to help cultivate them into better swordsman. and i love that he's also the one who did this for mitsuri, and how much he tries to help her with her self confidence in his spinoff gaiden.

i also love that layer of complexity in that, despite his father’s coldness toward him and senjuro, he still wishes to have his approval and to understand him. how he can get wrapped up in his troubled thoughts about his father and then chooses to shake himself out of it so it doesn’t tear him down too much.

and then there’s just everything that he stands for. i love how it’s the words of his mother that planted a seed deep within him that blossomed into such wonderful motivation and for such a good cause. he chooses to use his strength to live honorably and protect others. he believes that it is his duty to help the weak and he never once wavers on that. and i love that his last thoughts are to his mother, asking her if he did a good job carrying out his duty. how he smiles so sweetly when she says that he made her proud. 

he’s also just really entertaining. i think it’s funny and cute that he talks so loudly and enthusiastically. like he gives everything in himself to every little action that he does. and he’s just got these little unique mannerisms like how he doesn’t always make eye contact when speaking, or his shouts of “umai!” every time he takes a bite of food. It’s just really funny and entertaining and endearing.

and he’s just plain cool! i love that he’s basically a self-taught swordsman with so much talent. he learned his breathing technique just through reading and study and practice and he got so amazingly good at it! seeing him in combat is an absolutely exhilarating experience! he puts his all into every little movement he makes. and i think it’s so wonderful how enthusiastic he is about teaching what he knows and what he’s good at to other people. 

also there’s the fact that his last name literally means purgatory and i think that’s metal af! and his ultimate move is a fire dragon!! 

i love his parting words to tanjiro, and how they spark so much inspiration not just in the protagonists of the story, but in a real life aspect as well. “set your heart ablaze”, “live with your head held high”, “grit your teeth and move ahead... the time won’t wait for you or snuggle you and grieve along with you.” like there’s just so much raw realness and wisdom in the things that he says in his final moments that can be applied to real life circumstances and i don’t doubt there will be a day when these words come to my mind in a moment of weakness. 

i just find him to be really inspiring and motivating in general! like if he were a real person in my life, how he would always push me to become the best version of myself that i can possibly be! and how encouraging and kind he would be if i was ever feeling down on myself. there’s just so much warmth that comes from him and i feel like if he were a real person in my life i would always want to have him around. 

there’s more that i could say but i don’t wanna delve into manga spoiler territory. but there are certain implications about his strength that i really love, and i appreciate the way that he continuously stays relevant and thematically important in the story, even well after the events of mugen train.  

also!!! i'm just plain wildly attracted to this man LMAO he’s got that “masculine man with feminine traits” thing going on and i absolutely dig it.

he’s just such a huge comfort character for me and i’m extremely grateful to gotouge for creating him and breathing life into him. as well as ufotable (and hirano - the author of his spinoff gaiden) for expanding on his characterization and really turning him into someone who’s truly so unforgettable and impactful. i feel like there’s so much more that i could say and just can’t find the words for it. i’m just so attached to him and i love him so dearly.

#reply #anon #kyojuro rengoku