#so the only person seeing my villagers is me

[hedgehog-moss]

I went to a restaurant with a friend yesterday and upon entering we saw these splendid blueberry tarts under bell jars on the counter and we made jokey small talk with the waitress like oh, people will fight over these if there's not enough for everyone, it'll tear families apart, are you making more later? and she said no, I'm afraid that's our entire stock for today, but there are 18 slices, it should be plenty! It was a small village restaurant with only one menu du jour so there weren't any other dessert options but they don't usually get that many customers—but then a couple of large groups arrived and most people noticed the tarts like we did, and went ohh blueberry tart, it's been a while, I can't wait, and it became clear that when we'd get to the end of our meal there would be winners and losers in the blueberry tart rush

But later as we were about to order dessert I wasn't hungry anymore and I was like well that's too bad but someone else will be glad to get 'my' slice of tart—and my friend said yeah, me :) You should order it anyway, I'll eat both! At first I thought she was joking, but no. I said, there's not enough for everyone, you can't take two, and she said, we were going to order two slices, what difference does it make? and I was baffled that she couldn't see the ethical difference between two people eating one slice of tart each vs. one person eating two, when there's a limited quantity of tart. I felt like we were in a simplistic social justice metaphor it was so obvious, but there was no changing her mind. When I said "it's just... not nice" she said "okay" with a shrug, and what can you say to that. She added, you don't know any of these people and I was like, why are we reverting to tribal dynamics in a non-apocalyptic setting, how would you feel if we'd arrived a bit later and seen others ordering two desserts knowing you'd get zero? And she said, I would think that's their right, and I felt kind of amazed.

I pointed out that if she didn't think it was a wee bit wrong, she wouldn't ask me to order her second piece as if it was for me, and she said yeah maybe we don't need to do that, there's no law preventing me from ordering two desserts. What about Kant's categorical imperative Okay I guess you're not breaking any laws by taking more than your fair share of a thing other people also want, just failing a kindergarten-level morality test. I felt embarrassed for sounding like an annoying preachy rigid person so I dropped the issue, and as she ate her two slices she'd smile at me every time we overheard someone order coffee without dessert—like "See? There'll be enough, no one will be deprived of tart because of me!" as if that cancelled the fact that she didn't care in the first place. I guess it was one of these tiny issues that can still significantly alter the way you perceive a person. I tried to tell myself not to be so bothered about this small thing but I was! so bothered. And I felt like writing a letter to some agony aunt like "should I end a friendship over irreconcilable blueberry tart ethics"

[an0ther1]

Two Is Always Better Than One pt.2

Leah x Alessia

A/N: This is the “2nd” chapter of a 3 part short series I have on AO3. Thanks for all the dog name suggestions.

“LEE! LEAH! Swear I need to put a tracking device on you in this house.” Leah could hear from down the hall.

“In the study, love.” Leah was setting up their football photos throughout the room. They had been in the house for 3 weeks now. They had some custom built-ins made for the study and painted a few rooms before all their furniture and personal items were moved in. They still had a few things to unpack.

“That Martha woman got back to me!” Alessia started before she crossed the threshold. When she entered the room and saw the confusion on Leah’s face she continued. “The lady with the foster puppies the shelter told us about. Remember, the shelter we went to on Tuesday told us about those puppies that had been found by the pond in London Colney, they nicknamed them the Gooners.”

“OH YEAH!”

“Want to go meet them?”

“Right now?” Leah was still on the step ladder trying to hang an enlarged print of Alessia’s back heel goal against Sweden.

“YES! Before someone else takes the puppy that is meant to be with us!” Alessia smacked her hands against her thighs like a child that was utterly frustrated with having to explain themselves. However this was the first time they had talked about this litter of foster puppies aside from the initial mention of them at the shelter. “You promised me I could have a dog.” Alessia whined.

Leah finally got the picture on the hook in the wall and straightened before descending the small ladder. “Of course we can go see them.”

“YEAH?”

“Yes beautiful” Leah walked over and dropped a kiss to the top of Alessia’s head. “Let me just change my shirt.”

Alessia squealed. “I’ll get the keys and meet you in the car!” Then she was off down the hall, leaving Leah just standing there.

“Never again.” Leah muttered to herself.

15 minutes later they were in a village a stones throw from the training center. “These puppies are Gooners born and raised. One of them is definitely ours!” Alessia bounced in the passenger seat as Leah pulled the car over in front of a small white cottage. She had the door open before Leah even got the engine shut off. The defender could only laugh at her girlfriend's excitement. Alessia at least waited for Leah to catch up before she knocked on the door.

A few puppies could be heard yapping behind the door as well as a woman trying to calm them down. “Saka, get off of Declan. Leah! No, stop pushing Kai around. Little, get a handle on your team.”

Leah and Alessia just looked at each other. The door opened a moment later to reveal an older woman with dark hair that was graying around her face. She had her head turned back towards the dogs in the house when she first greeted the couple. “Hello, sorry for all the yapping. But trying to control 10 pups is-” She stopped mid sentence when she finally turned to face the blondes. “Bloody hell, you’re Alessia Russo and Leah Williamson.”

“That’s us!” Alessia said cherrily. “I emailed you about meeting the foster pups.”

“Really?”

Alessia glanced over at Leah for a moment. “Ah, yeah. I mean, are you Martha?”

“I am.”

“Then I do believe you were the one I was emailing with.”

“Oh. Yes, yes. Sorry. I just. You’re Alessia Russo.” The women then turned to Leah. “And your-” The woman shook her head. “Sorry, I just can’t believe that you two are standing at my door. And clearly my manners have completely left me. Come in. Please.” The woman stood back in the entryway to allow the footballers in. “I have 2 real life Gunners here to meet my Gooners.”

Leah laughed. “It would seem that way. And thank you for letting us come meet them.”

“Oh yes, of course. So, umm.” The woman pointed towards a couch in the living room. “Please have a seat there, or on the floor if you like. So yeah, I’m Martha.”

“Hello Martha. So did you say you have 10 puppies right now?” Leah asked.

“Yes. There are the 6 Gooners that were found near the pond. And then I have 4 others from a pregnant foster I took in. They were born about a week before I took the pups. Since no mother was found with the Gooners, Emilia stepped up and took the 6 in with her own. She’s in the garden right now having a bit of a break.” Martha smiled.

“I thought I heard you say a few names as you came to the door?” Alessia lowered herself onto the floor in front of the couch, which got the attention of several puppies who came bounding over to inspect the new person.

“Oh yes.” Martha chuckled. “All of the pups are named after players. So that one there is Kaka, and that’s Kai. The blonde one is Leah.”

Alessia scooped that one up first. “Well don’t you have the perfect name, pretty girl.” She cooed.

“The one with the long skinny legs is Stina. The dark one is Declan. And then,” Martha looked around the room and continued pointing and naming pups as she saw them. “There is Frida, Foxy, and Victoria.”

“I thought I heard you say Little, and that’s only 8.” Leah pointed out just as there was a crashing sound from somewhere in the house.

The older woman huffed. “That would be McCabe. And I’m sure Little is right behind her trying to get her to stop whatever mischief she has gotten herself into. I’ll be right back.” She headed out of the room.

“She can’t be serious.” Leah said quietly.

“Oh I can’t wait to tell the girls about this.” Alessia said as she rubbed the bellies of 2 of the pups.

A moment later Martha returned with a dog under each arm. A black one who was squirming in an attempt to escape, and a caramel colored one who seemed satisfied the other one had been captured. “These two, are Little and McCabe.”

“Do we need to ask which is which?” Leah chuckled.

“Your guess will be correct, I promise you.” The woman laughed as she set them both down.

McCabe shook like she had just gotten out of a bath before realizing there was someone new sitting on the floor and taking off like a tiny rocket. She barrelled through 2 other puppies before slamming into Alessia at full speed. “You are true to the namesake I see.” Alessia said as she picked the puppy up.

Little sat in the middle of the room for a moment, watching and observing all the other dogs before she seemed to decide everyone was where they should be and wandering over to Leah. She sniffed the defender's outstretched hand before sitting up on her hind legs to be picked up. “Well aren’t you a well mannered little thing.”

“She is definitely the responsible one of the bunch. We think she was the one that kept all the puppies together at the pond as she always seems to be rounding them up and checking on everyone. And then that one.” Martha pointed at McCabe. “Well her and Little are now connected at the hip because she’s always getting into something and Little is always trying to pull her back. Which is funny because McCabe is not one of the 6 Gooners.”

“Yeah, McCabe seems a bit bigger. But she’s younger, yeah?” Alessia asked.

“That’s correct. But, Little is her keeper. So much so that I’m hopeful they’ll find a home together.”

“Awe, aren’t you a sweet one.” Leah had Little on her back in her lap rubbing her chest. “Any idea what they are? Like breeds? They’re all kind of small”

“Well Emilia is part Dachshund. But she is mixed with something a bit heftier too, like a corgi maybe. And then I would guess the Gooners are Dachshund as well, but mixed with something smaller like another terrier. They have rounder snouts too.”

McCabe started getting feisty in Alessia’s lap and immediately Little rolled over from her relaxed position in Leah’s lap and jumped to the floor. She snipped lightly at McCabe’s ear causing the black pup to stop immediately.

“See. Little runs things.”

Alessia was giggling as she picked up McCabe close to her face. “At least you listen to your captain.” The puppy began squireming wildly until the footballer set her down, before taking off across the room full speed, Little hot on her heels. “Those two are adorable.” Alessia began calling over the other puppies who were happy to gain the blonde's attention.

Without a puppy in her own lap Leah pulled out her phone and began taking photos of her girlfriend with several of the pups in her lap, a bright smile on her face. She took several more photos over the next 20 minutes while Alessia rolled around on the floor with the dogs. Every so often you could hear a small bark from across the room and then McCabe would wander back to the middle of the room under Little’s watchful eye. And each time Little seemed satisfied that McCabe was going to stay with the group, the caramel colored pup sat itself at Leah’s feet.

“Kindred spirits it would seem.” Alessia said after the 3rd time.

Leah leaned down and rubbed the dog's ear, causing Little to slump over into her leg. “So it would seem.” She smiled softly.

Slowly one by one the puppies started to lose momentum and began curling up together throughout the room. Little was still settled next to Leah’s feet when McCabe came over and nudged the other dog. When she got no reaction, she crawled up into Alessia’s lap just above Little and plopped down.

Martha smiled at the footballers. “Looks like they’ve taken a liking to you.”

Alessia leaned her head back against the couch looking up at Leah. The look in her eye told Leah everything the younger woman was thinking before she even said anything. “You know, two is always better than one.”

“Is that so?” Leah smirked.

“One is so lonely.” Alessia pouted.

“I spend enough time yelling at McCabe as is.” Leah paused. “We are not keeping that name.”

“REALLY?!” Alessia squealed, waking several of the puppies. All except McCabe it seemed. “Martha, if we wanted to make these 2 ours?” She turned to the older woman.

“I would expect regular Instagram uploads to see how they are doing.” The woman smiled. “This is a private foster situation, so there really isn’t any paperwork or anything to be done if that’s what you’re asking. There are just some questions I like to ask.”

“Fire away!” Alessia hugged a sleeping McCabe to her chest.

“Do you have a fenced yard?”

“Yup! A big one! With lots of things to explore.” Alessia answered.

“Do you have a vet lined up?”

“Beth and Viv said they would give us the information for their vet. Said they highly recommend them. Especially for puppies.” Alessia played with the still sleeping dogs' ears.

“Wonderful. You two do travel. Do you have care lined up for when you are away?”

“We have several people willing to stay at the house with them.” Leah answered.

Martha took a deep breath and exhaled. “Well then. After seeing the four of you together, if you would like to take those babies home with you, I think you would be a great fit for them.”

Alessia spun around on the floor with McCabe in her arms, bright blue eyes looking at Leah. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Leah bent down and picked up the sleeping puppy at her feet. Little only opened her eyes slightly, clearly not caring about being handled. “You want to come with us and keep an eye on that little bugga for good? Hmm?”

Martha stood up. “Well then, let me get their things. They each have a toy and blanket. I’ll also give you a bag of the kibble they currently eat. You can keep them on the same brand or change it. You’ll just want to mix this one with whatever you get to help ease their body into the change. And then I have quick info care sheet.” The woman exited the room.

“Are we really taking them home Lee?”

“Yeah Lessi.”

Alessia rose up from the floor to sit on the couch next to Leah. “Thank you, Leah.” She kissed the other blonde softly. “I love you.”

“And I love you.” Leah smiled as she leaned in for another kiss. “I did promise we would get a dog when we had a home with a garden, and I keep my promises.”

“That you do.”

“Alright. Here we are.” Martha reentered the room. “These belong to Little.” She held up a gray blanket and stuffed rabbit. “And these belong to McCabe.” She held up a red blanket and. . .

“Is that a shin pad?” Leah asked with a twisted face.

“It is. I honestly have no idea where it came from. Might be an old thing that belonged to one of my boys that she pulled from a closet.” She shrugged. “But as you can see from the teeth marks, she loves it.”

“She is going to need a new name before we introduce her to any of the girls.” Leah shook her head.

“Do we? It just seems to fit so well.” Alessia whined.

Leah leveled her with a glare.

“Fine.” Alessia rolled her eyes. “Martha, do you take donations or anything to help take care of these little ones or other fosters.”

“I personally don’t. I’m fortunate enough to be able to have a few fosters at once and manage. But if you would like, please donate to the shelter that sent you my way. They’re the ones that need the most help.”

“I will do that then.” Alessia smiled. “Alright McCabe. Are you ready to go see your new home? How about you, Little?” She scratched behind the ear of the pup in Leah’s lap before standing up with McCabe in her arms. Leah followed suit with Little in her arms.

Martha handed the items for each puppy to the footballer that was holding them. She leaned in and placed a kiss on top of each dog's head. “You behave.” She said to McCabe. “And keep her out of trouble.” She said to Little. “Right. I’ll get the door.”

Leah and Alessia followed Martha to the door. “Thank you so much Martha. It was a pleasure meeting you. And we’ll be sure to post plenty of pictures to keep you updated.” Alessia started.

“Yes, thank you very much.” Leah echoed.

“I can’t wait to see the official announcement with the names you pick.” Martha opened the door. “It was lovely meeting you both. Take care.” She remained on the porch and waved as the couple drove away.

On the way home, they made a stop at the pet shop for essential supplies. Mostly. They got a playpen to help contain the pups in the kitchen, or outside until they were a bit bigger, pee pads, puppy training treats, collars, harnesses and leads, and half the toy aisle. Alessia wanted to let the dogs have anything they picked. So every single toy that McCabe picked up and thrashed about went into the trolly. Little had picked up a single toy and carried it throughout the entire shop and car park as she sat in the trolly.

“We should have got that carrier that holds the dog to your chest like a baby.” Leah said as she held tightly to a wiggling puppy. “McCabe, seriously.”

“Here.” Alessia grabbed one of the toys they had purchased and handed it to Leah, which was swiftly snatched by the black pup who began thrashing in the defender's arms. “Calm down Stitch.”

Leah stopped walking. Alessia stopped the trolly a few steps later, turning back to her girlfriend. “What?” The striker asked over her shoulder.

“McCabe is Stitch. And Little is Lilo.” Leah looked at each pup as she said the names.

Alessia looked between the dogs and Leah. “Oh my gawd, Le! They are!” She scooped the caramel colored puppy out of the trolly. “What do you think Little? Hmm? I think Lilo would be a perfect name for you. And she.” She turned towards Leah and the other pup. “Is definitely Stitch.” Alessia took a few steps to Leah. “Lilo and Stitch, yeah?”

“Lilo and Stitch.”

Alessia gave Leah a quick kiss. “Come on. Let’s get the car loaded.”

The couple continued through the car park and loaded their items into the boot. Each pup still holding on to a toy. When they were settled into their seats, Alessia pulled out her phone. “Hold Stitch for a sec, Le. I want to send a pic to the girls.”

StarGirl23: jpeg.

StarGirl23: Anyone want to come over and meet Lilo and Stitch?

#woso community #woso fanfics #woso soccer #leah williamson #alessia russo #arsenal women #arsenal wfc

[deliciousdefendorinternet]

in Defence of Creek ( warning if your an Avid Creek Hater you may not want to read this 😂😂 )

ps. Branch will Hair strangle some guy he Barely knew who he didn't even care about for betraying them but doesn't do the same to his Jerkass Brothers who let him down his whole life 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️.

anyway onto the topic at hand 😂😂😂😂

Creek gets an unfair Rap in my opinion sure he technically betrayed the village but when you examine the story of the first film he literally had no other choice.

as there's no other scenario that didn't end with him being Horribly Eaten as soon as he was picked by Chef for Gristle Jr to eat and taken out of the cage his fate was sealed.

unlike the rest of the snack pack he didn't have the option of sitting around waiting on the off chance Poppy would Rescue them.

we see in the Betrayal scene he was literally in Gristle's mouth before he finally played the only card he could and said he'd do what ever they wanted him to do.

and from then on he was kept in Gristle's locket around his neck which I have to say was Horrible poor guy was stuffed in their with no space or light or even air given how tight it was.

and he was kept there until eventually being moved out of the locket and put into Chef's waist bag just before the snack pack got the Locket from Gristle and were then captured by Chef.

and from that point like Creek himself said there was literally nothing else he could do that wouldn't result in him being killed straight away by Chef.

this is what rubs me the wrong way about the movie trying to make him into a villain he has no real agency in the betrayal it'd be a little easier for me to Judge him.

if he was kept in the cage with the Rest of the Snack Pack so he had the option of just having faith in Poppy someone he claimed to care about.

coming to save them but instead he took the more cowardly action and offered to sell everyone out early on in order to save himself then I feel it'd work a little better.

but having him be plucked from the cage early on and literally only betray everyone when he was on the verge of being eaten just makes him a victim in my eyes.

like I'm sorry but he can't be blamed too much for anything he does at that point he's just a normal civilian who's life was put in danger by negligent leaders ( cough Peppy cough ).

he technically wasn't obligated to die then and there and the whole situation with him selling out the Village is a classic Trolley Problem sure its easy to Judge.

from the outside but when we're on the verge of being gruesomely murdered who's to say what each of us would do in the moment to stay alive.

basically its Chef's actions and she's the one to blame not Creek dude was a literal Hostage who had been kidnaped Humiliated by being shoved in a taco and sprinkled with spicy stuff.

and then nearly eaten and then crammed into a tiny locket for presumably Hours and then crammed into a waist bag like how is this guy not the victim here?

and some people do like to point to how he behaved about the whole thing telling Poppy he's doing it for her but I'm sorry that doesn't change anything in my eyes.

sure its an unusual reaction but its also an unusual situation and I see it more as him weakly attempting to justify it to himself since he does admit he wishes there was another way but is promptly reminded by Chef that there isn't.

his Reaction isn't Great but it doesn't change the situation and make him some pure evil person.

a little autistic maybe? given the weird response to an emotional situation he has but yeah it doesn't make him worse in my eyes.

basically to end things the film as well as the fandom that villainise him seem to basically be saying that he should have just laid down and accepted his gruesome fate the first time.

and the movie even ends on a cruel irony of still being eaten along with Chef.

which for Chef is ironic in a karmic way but for Creek its just kinda sad tbh so the film's saying his death was decided at the start and he's a villain for not accepting it the first time.

and as punishment he meets the same fate in the end anyway.

I thought this was a Trolls film not a Final Destination film lol.

anyway even tho its separate cannon I was Happy when he was Revealed to still be alive in TBGO sure I feel his Return could have been written way better.

but Regardless I'm Glad he's still alive he didn't deserve to die and also the movie cannon never contradicts the tv show cannon in Terms of Creek's survival.

so yeah he could very well still be alive in the movies as well sorry Haters 😅😅😅😅.

#Youtube #trolls #trolls creek #dreamworks trolls #trolls the beat goes on #trolls tbgo #trolls dreamworks #Trolls #Trolls Creek #Trolls The Beat Goes On #Trolls TBGO #trolls creek defence #sorry not sorry haters 😂😂😂😂

[satureja13]

Jack's Therapy Game (From the beginning: -> here)

After Jack cared for the horses and Lou prepared the room for Jack, they went over to the Pub. Jack didn't get kicked out like Vlad and no one asked about his 'status'.

Jack: "About the money for the room and stuff... I'll get a job right tomorrow morning. I heard the sculptor is hiring." Lou: "Oh no, no one works for the sculptor." Jack: "I don't have problems to take my shirt off." Lou: "It's not this. We don't talk about it. Don't you worry, you can help me at the shop."

Lou noticed Jack's rash. Lou: "Isn't this painful? I've heard about this. Did your Alpha die? If you don't get this treated you might die too, you know that, don't you?" Jack: "No, he didn't die - it's uhm... complicated and yes..." Now that he thinks about it, it doesn't hurt! He didn't even pay attention since he was so stressed about being locked up. But as far as he remembers, it didn't hurt since he entered the game!

Jack: "I'm fine :3 So, are these your horses?" Lou: "No, Lunatic belongs to no one but he kind of lives here and Val is the horse of a friend from the neighboring village. But he's here all the time because they are deeply in love." Jack: "Is that so." Does that mean this friend is NPC Jeb? Well, since Ji Ho and some of their other friends are also here as NPCs, it would make sense. Jack hopes he can talk to one of them soon to see how 'real' their NPC versions are. Tiny Can maybe does this so they feel comfortable in their therapy.

Even the Queen and the Prince Caleb are here tonight. And he's seen NPC Leander, Barfolomew and: Greg -.- But the Queen and Greg don't sit together. Like at the Arena. That's good news! Jack: "Is the Queen married?" Lou: "No. And she's only the Queen here until the Prince gets married to Princess Jihovere." Princess Jihovere? Caleb and Ji Ho will get married here? OMG! And the Queen will not stay the Queen here so his chances to hit on her just increased! (Omg Jack!) ('Jihovere' refers to 'Guinevere', the beloved wife of King Arthur.)

Jack and Lou had a good time at the pub and Jack has a good feeling about this therapy. For once he can try to act like a 'more normal' person in this world and see what he could achieve. No one here knows about his disorders and hardships. And here he can experience what his life could be if he overcame/worked on some of them. He's fully aware that he can't be 'healed' and he knows that his friends love him and worry about him and try to protect him. But he also gets the feeling that this keeps him from prospering. He'll talk about this with the others when he's back. But he's going to stay a little longer because he really likes Lou and they have so much fun together. And the pain is gone. Jack hadn't felt this good for a very long time.

'Everybody here is out of sight They don't bark, and they don't bite They keep things loose, they keep 'em tight Everybody was dancin' in the moonlight

Dancin' in the moonlight Everybody's feelin' warm and bright It's such a fine and natural sight Everybody's dancin' in the moonlight

We like our fun and we never fight You can't dance and stay uptight It's a supernatural delight Everybody was dancin' in the moonlight'

Dancing in the Moonlight - Thin Lizzy

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest Current Chapter: 🕹️ 'The One' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

#The One Game #underwater love #The Game #jack callahan #the one #barfolomew #Jack's Therapy Game #noxeema jackson #caleb vatore #lou howell #leander belgraves #sims 4 story #simlit #simblr #ts4 #sims 4 #sims 4 vanilla #sims storytelling #the sims #sims #tell us your stories #henford on bagley #old new henford #greg lunvik

[front-facing-pokemon]

#spinda #AAAHHHH YES!!! our belovèd spinda. from their café!!! probably one of my favorite minor characters from pmd sky #whom i don't even think was in the original explorers games. i think spinda's café was exclusive to sky. if i'm remembering correct #ly. or maybe that was shaymin village. i know shaymin village was for sure but maybe it was just that and not both of them. either way #have a delicious drink and allow the flower of conversation to bloom! i could quote spinda all day. he had “hopes and dreams” before toby #ever did. THAT'S ALSO like i had no idea what spinda's pronouns were. i kept trying to figure it out because i talked about him quite a lot‚ #but no one in game ever talked about him. to mention his pronouns? turns out. there's ONE line of dialogue where the post office fucker in #shaymin village mentions him and calls him a he. i think that's the only time spinda is referred to in the third person with a pronoun #i believe it's when they're talking about like. how you can send gifts or whatever and pick up the characters' responses at spinda's café #which is still a really fucking good feature. of any video game. SEE WHAT I MEAN spinda and their café is just an incredibly good Thing #it's to the point where my home wifi network is named “Spinda's Café Wi-Fi” because i love it so much. so if you're ever runnin around #and you see a wifi network by that name… it might be me! you never know! or… it could be the real deal. the real spinda's café is somewhere #nearby…! ugh. i wish. i would go there immediately #not even to mention all the other shit about this pokémon that's really good. like that they never walk in straight lines or whatever #their little dance. it's just. huUGHKLJKAHJVDHJHDAJSVGD i love spinda. a nice pick-me-up after the underwhelmingness that was grumpig #shake it this way… shake it that way… and stir it all around… and it's done!

[j-ellyfish]

I know it's probably an unpopular opinion, but I don't mind that Hima keeps introducing new micronations (like Aerican Empire in the last chapters), it's interesting to discover nations you've never heard of and to discover their super small dimensions of place and population.

I too would love Hima to introduce nations from Africa or South America, but I think it takes a long time for that, to create a good representation that makes more or less everyone satisfied, especially with the design

It probably is, but I don't mind it either! Micronations are a fun concept to explore and I mean, how many of us even knew what they were before Hetalia? They're not my favorite characters (although I'm quite fond of Sealand), but they're cool.

Himaruya making Micronations doesn't take away from any other Country "needing" a character, I do appreciate that Himaruya doesn't feel compelled to create characters for the audience like a printing machine but does what he feels like doing, when he feels confident and knowledgeable enough to do it.

And honestly, if he doesn't find himself interested enough in the history of certain areas of the world (which might also be more sensitive subjects than like, Western Europe), it's also fine, it means he learned from his mistakes with South Korea.

Learning from mistakes doesn't necessarily mean having to work your butt off to study stuff you aren't interested in to please an audience, sometimes learning from mistakes simply means admitting that you don't currently feel ready (if ever) to do certain things and focusing on stuff you are actually passionate about instead.

Himaruya doesn't really owe anyone any new character, I know it's probably frustrating to not have a canon character for your Country or focus on the parts of history you like the most, but Himaruya should do what he feels like doing, not what he thinks he owes to an audience.

I do believe that creativity kind of dies when you start to think about what the fans (or the editors//) want more than listening to your own feelings and drive as a creator (and of course, by this I do not mean you shouldn't listen to criticism, which Himaruya does listen to, or hide behind this statement to feel free to be offensive - it simply means that creators shouldn't kneel down to their audience and make anything exactly how they want it even if it goes beyond creator's skills, experience or comfort zone - otherwise what they make is no longer art with a soul, but a mere product of marketing and capitalism, not wanting to tell a story but wanting to sell an object).

So I think it's always unfair to expect creators to feed us exactly what we want and how we want it, whether it's Himaruya/Hetalia or anyone/anything else.

#ask #one thing is complaining half-playfully that you want some stuff because you're starving for content about blorbo and stuff like that #but there are way too many people in this fandom nowadays who seem to literally hate Himaruya for what he does and how he does it #and I don't understand how they are still here #if you think creator is an idiot maybe you should just ditch the series he created instead of leeching off it and being offensive #towards him simply for being a different person than you are and thus clearly doing things differently than you would #and yes I also have my pet peeves about canon like I think most people who know me at this point are aware of me not being very happy with #HWS in general despite liking some parts of it #but I would never feel entitled to call Himaruya stupid for taking choices I wouldn't have taken or do things in a way I personally wouldn' #do #because I AM NOT HIMARUYA I CANNOT EXPECT HIMARUYA TO DO WHAT I WOULD DO #I absolutely respect him as a creator and I believe he should be the first person satisfied with what he does because a happy creator makes #good art - a frustrated and unhappy creator ends up feeling like art has become a homework and quality tends to drop #do I think Himaruya is being put a bit on a leash with HWS? Yes but if anything I feel bad for him bc I suspect this #I would absolutely never insult him for it because as fans we only know a small part of his process and all the behind-the-scenes decisions #creative thinking workflow and Hima's private life stay behind the scenes where I rightfully can't see them #so I have no right to treat him like the village clown - NO ONE DOES

[minglana]

also my friend (from the village) (a different friend) and i have been texting a lot this year

#it all started when we were at the village and it was just the two of us (weirdly enough. its usually the three of us) #and we somehow got to the convo that it would be cool if she came to visit me. i think bc we were talking abt how we only see each other #in the village and not in our like. respective 'homes' (the village is also my home ofc but its different) #and somehow the plan for her to come visit me pulled through and she spent a weekend here #and now im due for a visit to her house soon hopefully. so we kinda check in w each other? idk its kinda weird #we used to not contact each other for an entire yr. then spend 1-3 months together (the 3 of us) during the summer #and rinse and repeat. idk kinda crazy if u ask me. idk if this is a teenager thing or what. now since im here (aka not in the US) #i do see the other friend more often since shes actually from the village. so like 2 times a yr when i go visit #oh and these two friends were together and broke up so there was a very weird vibe w each other for like 3 years #coincidentally the three or so years we didnt see each other (bc of the stupid pandemic). i cant believe i had to go 3 yrs without seeing t #them. but godddd its so crazy. im glad were texting more and stuff but. idk it still feels kinda weird. its the only friend i do it with #like. texting just bc. if i text other friends its usually to meet up in person or arranging something. #i dont even know where i was going w this actually #z xarre

[bangcakes]

.

#proud to report that im in the 400s of nrto shpdn !!!!@@@@ #im in the filler tho. the one where like narts parents and sauces clan is still alive #like id skip it but idk i like it but also JDJXJJXJX I DONT WANT IT TO END. LIKE HHHHHHHHHH me getting to this point is like #10 years in the making NDJNDMDMDMD #i only meant to watch from where i left off (ep 380) but then i was like #what if i just rewatched until after the bell test... #AHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHA SO FUNNY. I REWATCHED THE WHOLE THING #GOD IM SO OBSESSED AGAIN. THIS IS SO #BUT AH. its been fun... like my dad has been watching with me and its been good to like. have something we can do together #i forgot we always used to watch shows together so its been nice..... #i think once we finish it.... we MAY go to boruto (im reluctant tho JDJDJDJDJ. like sauce looks so spicy n cute in it so im TEMPTED. HOWEVE #im in denial over him leaving his daughter that long. like HHHH. ik it was to save the village but GOD. my heart just breaks for him n sock #n srda....... GOD.... #n e way. if we dont go that route.. think i might do inuyasha next #only seen a few eps but i can see my dad liking it idk #personal #bye i went thru all that effort to not end up in the tags. only to write out brto and inysha straight up. pls ignore me 😭😭😭

[moe-broey]

Playing Awakening as a guy (ESPPP a transguy) is so funny like. Immune to the universal experience of Chrom marriage jumpscare. Falling in love with Chrom anyway because his supports with m!Robin are SO GOOD. Mentally in my head in my heart I'm co-parenting Lucina she is also my daughter. Bonus points if you get extra funky in your head where you ship Maribelle/Lissa and Chrom/Gaius, marry Maribelle because you love her and have Lissa marry Gaius because they're pretty cute but also have it all be like. We're all bearding for each other. Olivia is there too bc she is the funniest option and adds to Chrom's disaster bisexual vibes.

And then you decide "Well next run I'm romancing Chrom because I love him I am making A Point to romance him" either make an OC or play as default Robin and. Get HORRIFICALLY MORTIFYINGLY jumpscared by Chrom's supports with f!Robin SO BAD YOU'RE GONNA THROW UP ABOUT IT (ESP AS A TRANSGUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

And to this day you have NOT married Chrom and the only way you could ever feel comfortable marrying Chrom is to hack your 3DS

#fire emblem #fe:a #like i've played w the idea of doing a default f robin run and intentionally triggering the jumpscare #to just skip over all that. #but honestly personally it makes me SO uncomfortable like SO VIOLENTLY uncomfortable i. i can't. #also it's. incredibly difficult to pick a wife for chrom. like. we've got two women i cannot see as anything but lesbians #another woman who i see as wlw but also has. THE WORST HETERONORMATIVE SUPPORTS OF ALL TIME #like it makes my skin CRAWL #and then. we have. a girl he just met but she's so cute and if she lap dances enough to get C support #AND if you put chrom in the chamber with no women in it. that's it that's his wife now #OH AND. AND. THE SECRET EVIL OPTION. VILLAGE GIRL WITH A STEEL CHAIR #also yeah when i marry maribelle it's like. queerplatonic. in my head. #i love my wife so much she can do whatever she wants (be with lissa) #not in a cuck way but like i am shaking her hand deeply in love with her and both of us are victims of the time #and also i'm in love with chrom. so. it all works out. #anyways i don't think fire emblem was made with people like me in mind LMFAOOOOOOOOOOO #AND YET. HERE I AM. IT HAS BEEN MY PRIMARY FIXATION FOR YEARS NOW. #also the only reason i haven't hacked my 3ds is bc i'm lazy. lmfao. distracted as well. #i have done it once (my old one and for acnl) and i WILL do it again (when. i feel like it.) #chrom

[hahahax30]

I never thought I'd live to see Catholicism be accused of 'infiltrating christianity' but here I am

#listen I was searching under the tag of pope benedict xvi to see that in fact he looks worse than queen Elizabeth the day before her death #when suddenly I saw someone saying that the catholic church was just roman paganism infiltrating Christianity #like #my dude #not only are catholics the original christians but the romans PROSECUTED them #an argument can be made about christianity being influenced by paganism in some catholic countries #spain is a prime example of it because we have 372919172 virgin maries and 27382010182 jesuses and don't even get me started on the saints #literally villages have patron virgins/saints/etc #like my town's virgin was a girl who gauged her eyes off because her father fell in love with her and that was a sin #she even has a mosaic where she's holding a wreath of flowers only instead of flowers there are eyes #anyways #my point still stands #also this person was antisemitic so puaj

[tariah23]

Whenever I go into and tag for a naruto character I like/ care about even if they’re shit, I will see ppl defend them while completely excusing their crimes and I’d just be like “Uh... Yes, they are sexy but you sound crazy rn. You know they are fucked up you know this-“ in my head.

#I just call it #konoha brainrot #rambling #itachi lol #I don’t think I’ve ever defended his ass he’s my bitch but why would I defend him he’s so fucked up 🗣 #I only have Itachi bias because of being into naruto since I was like 10 or whatever but it’s always crazy to see ppl say that what he did #was right and stuff like even little me was like ‘…goddamn nigga-‘ #and the whole thing with the will of fire or whatever tf #it sucks so bad that he was groomed and traumatized by the war by why did Kishimoto use the only person who’d sasuke had ever felt such a #huge connection with (before naruto) to do so much damage to him like I get that it was supposed to be so shocking and fucked up but it #makes me feel so sad whenever I think back on how loving he was to sasuke and how much sasuke adored him when they were younger…. #Kishimoto’s so stupid lol #I don’t think I’ve ever defended Konoha in my whole life like i actually remember orochimaru fucking up the village the first time and #going ‘anyway. I want to see some ninjutsu 🤷🏾‍♀️! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT-!’ #and it’s not because I didn’t get the gravity of the situation #I just don’t remember feeling connected to the village I just liked the cool headbands story and characters #I can’t even defend kakashi like that but he isn’t the worst #it’s just that sm fans act like he’s so wise and has all the answers when he really doesn’t #like he’s smart and reliable but when it comes to actually dealing with things on a more mental level #he definitely isn’t the one to console anyone because it’s hard #like grooming kids and having them grow up into the system to become killers and spares for their villages was just so normal #and it’s not like these same kids who grow up into adults will be simply normal either like theyre all fucked up #that’s why you got prodigies becoming Anbu and jounin at baby ages already entering the adult world like it’s crazy to me #sorry for talking about naruto #omg that was my other naruto tag lmfm

[beaversatemygrandma]

I’m watching an informative thing on the No Child Left Behind Act and whatnot, and I’m now suddenly aware of what exactly those teachers meant when they said that I skewed their test results just enough to save the school from shutting down.

Like, when i was in 3rd grade, i moved from a city with proper school funding to a small farm town in the middle of nowhere with Very Little funding. Like a school with 35 or so kids per grade, and maybe 120 total. Small enough that one kid Could Indeed alter the averages. I passed their standardized tests with flying colors bc most of that 3rd grade stuff was stuff i learned in previous years just now with the addition of multiplication and such. And well, due to the laws related to the No Child Left Behind Act, if the school wasn’t preforming well enough, its funding gets cut and slowly but surely gets to the point where it may have to shut down. (Yes, this is half the reason why schools in the US are awful.) As it turns out, that school was on its last legs and it was getting ready to shut down and transfer all of its kids to the city twenty miles away. Me and two other kids aced the test which skewed the average enough to leave them safe for the next two years. (I got them competitive bc I threatened their top student role tbh, the weird part is I was at most a B-average student when put into a proper school.) 

Anywho. That’s how I kept a town with a population of 800 keep its only elementary school because of an act from the government that was only put in place because America was too low in education averages in comparison to the rest of the world. (It got worse, btw. Shocking I know. /s)

#taks speaks #i also learned how the military recruiters got my personal info in high school #this act apparently had a thing in it that required schools to literally give that out #which turns into a metaphorical dodging of bullets in high school #now if thats not fucked up idk what is #but now i know the reality of some things that happened over 15 years ago #but good news about that school i managed to somehow save. the fave math teacher everyone had is now the principal #so good for him. he was a great teacher #its also still open to this day and im proud of that little village #they got everything together despite the gov literally trying to kill them and they did GREAT #it was also the first school that decided that there was something off about me and brought in a therapist #good on them. that's how my mom learned i have adhd. and then proceeded to hide it from me til i was 17 #it was a good school. it didn't deserve all that stuff #its odd seeing the different types of education between cities vs villages vs towns #and the difference between states #what i was doing in that city in 2nd grade was equal to like middle school in the town #im talking literary analysis that literally made me cry after reading a question #only the town and village were normal when it came to elementary school stuff #and THEN when i moved to FL history wasn't even part of the curriculum til middle school #i can't remember the city history stuff but according to my sister its there and well #but in the village. i got the best history classes. the village used to be a booming city after the civil war and well: history. #in FL you could assume that bc it was a history based town they assumed the kids would learn about it just from being there #but thats very much wrong. the history stuff out there was a tourist trap #the history stuff in the village was civil war cemeteries fifty feet from the school #like just a normal part of every day. early america was literally that area #these comparisons still baffle me tbh #like why doesnt FL teach kids history? and why was it so strong in VA? and why was NC so focused on critical thinking? #tho critical thinking is the most useful. even if it was given at a young enough age that it was incapable of being learned #and then critical thinking in FL only being introduced to honors students in middle school? and ONLY HONORS.

[jewishvitya]

A pro-Palestine Jew on tiktok asked those of us who were raised pro-Israel, what got us to change our minds on Palestine. I made a video to answer (with my voice, not my face), and a few people watched it and found some value in it. I'm putting this here too. I communicate through text better than voice.

So I feel repetitive for saying this at this point, but I grew up in the West Bank settlements. I wrote this post to give an example of the extent to which Palestinians are dehumanized there.

Where I live now, I meet Palestinians in day to day life. Israeli Arab citizens living their lives. In the West Bank, it was nothing like that. Over there, I only saw them through the electric fence, and the hostility between us and Palestinians was tangible.

When you're a child being brought into the situation, you don't experience the context, you don't experience the history, you don't know why they're hostile to you. You just feel "these people hate me, they don't want me to exist." And that bubble was my reality. So when I was taught in school that everything we did was in self defense, that our military is special and uniquely ethical because it's the only defensive military in the world - that made sense to me. It slotted neatly into the reality I knew.

One of the first things to burst the bubble for me was when I spoke to an old Israeli man and he was talking about his trauma from battle. I don't remember what he said, but it hit me wrong. It conflicted with the history as I understood it. So I was a bit desperate to make it make sense again, and I said, "But everything we did was in self defense, right?"

He kinda looked at me, couldn't understand at all why I was upset, and he went, "We destroyed whole villages. Of course we did. It was war, that's what you do."

And that casual "of course" stuck with me. I had to look into it more.

I couldn't look at more accurate history, and not at accounts by Palestinians, I was too primed against these sources to trust them. The community I grew up in had an anti-intellectual element to it where scholars weren't trusted about things like this.

So what really solidified this for me, was seeing Palestinian culture.

Because part of the story that Israel tells us to justify everything, is that Palestinians are not a distinct group of people, they're just Arabs. They belong to the nations around us. They insist on being here because they want to deny us a homeland. The Palestinian identity exists to hurt us. This, because the idea of displacing them and taking over their lands doesn't sound like stealing, if this was never theirs and they're only pretending because they want to deprive us.

But then foods, dances, clothing, embroidery, the Palestinian dialect. These things are history. They don't pop into existence just because you hate Jews and they're trying to move here. How gorgeous is the Palestinian thobe? How stunning is tatreez in general? And when I saw specific patterns belonging to different regions of Palestine?

All of these painted for me a rich shared life of a group of people, and countered the narrative that the Palestininian identity was fabricated to hurt us. It taught me that, whatever we call them, whatever they call themselves, they have a history in this land, they have a right to it, they have a connection to it that we can't override with our own.

I started having conversations with leftist friends. Confronting the fact that the borders of the occupied territories are arbitrary and every Israeli city was taken from them. In one of those conversations, I was encouraged to rethink how I imagine peace.

This also goes back to schooling. Because they drilled into us, we're the ones who want peace, they're the ones who keep fighting, they're just so dedicated to death and killing and they won't leave us alone.

In high school, we had a stadium event with a speaker who was telling us about a person who defected from Hamas, converted to Christianity and became a Shin Bet agent. Pretty sure you can read this in the book "Son of Hamas." A lot of my friends read the book, I didn't read it, I only know what I was told in that lecture. I guess they couldn't risk us missing out on the indoctrination if we chose not to read it.

One of the things they told us was how he thought, we've been fighting with them for so long, Israelis must have a culture around the glorification of violence. And he looked for that in music. He looked for songs about war. And for a while he just couldn't find any, but when he did, he translated it more fully, and he found out the song was about an end to wars. And this, according to the story as I was told it, was one of the things that convinced him. If you know know the current trending Israeli "war anthem," you know this flimsy reasoning doesn't work.

Back then, my friend encouraged me to think more critically about how we as Israelis envision peace, as the absence of resistance. And how self-centered it is. They can be suffering under our occupation, but as long as it doesn't reach us, that's called peace. So of course we want it and they don't.

Unless we're willing to work to change the situation entirely, our calls for peace are just "please stop fighting back against the harm we cause you."

In this video, Shlomo Yitzchak shares how he changed his mind. His story is much more interesting than mine, and he's much more eloquent telling it. He mentions how he was taught to fear Palestinians. An automatic thought, "If I go with you, you'll kill me." I was taught this too. I was taught that, if I'm in a taxi, I should be looking at the driver's name. And if that name is Arab, I should watch the road and the route he's taking, to be prepared in case he wants to take me somewhere to kill me. Just a random person trying to work. For years it stayed a habit, I'd automatically look at the driver's name. Even after knowing that I want to align myself with liberation, justice, and equality. It was a process of unlearning.

On October, not long after the current escalation of violence, I had to take a taxi again. A Jewish driver stopped and told me he'll take me, "so an Arab doesn't get you." Israeli Jews are so comfortable saying things like this to each other. My neighbors discussed a Palestinian employee, with one saying "We should tell him not to come anymore, that we want to hire a Jew." The second answered, "No, he'll say it's discrimination," like it would be so ridiculous of him. And the first just shrugged, "So we don't have to tell him why." They didn't go through with it, but they were so casual about this conversation.

In the Torah, we're told to treat those who are foreign to us well, because we know what it's like to be the foreigner. Fighting back against oppression is the natural human thing to do. We know it because we lived it. And as soon as I looked at things from this angle, it wasn't really a choice of what to support.

#riki babbles #I had this in my drafts for ages and I was like 'not the time' but a friend encouraged me to share so here it is #palestine

[snoopyearss]

When jjk characters call you ‘clingy’

Feat. crybaby-ish!reader

Gojo, geto, toji

Cw: hurt, guilt, angst (if you squint)

This is inspiration from a mini series i read a few days ago by user @fumekara. It was so good, I love me some angst to hurt/comfort.

But i also wrote this from personal experience too, my bad yall i treat this like my own personal diary

Anyway, enjoy!

Satoru Gojo

He was pissed. He doesn’t typically show it much, but when he does, he gets kind of scary. He’s more quiet, his voice gets deeper, and his whole body language just shifts. So when the higher-ups piss him off after a very long meeting, the last thing he needs is someone to pounce on him. He usually loves it when you greet him at the door when you’re home for work. But today, he just wanted to strip off his clothes and hop into bed.

Gojo huffs as he leaves the elevator of your shared apartment and grabs his keys from his pocket to unlock the door. As he opens the door, he sees you in the kitchen grabbing ingredients for dinner. “Hi baby,” You softly greeted him. “Hey.” was all he said back. It confused you for a second because he’s never greeted you like that before.

“Is everything okay?” You walk up to him to try to kiss him on his cheek. “God- Y/n, please.” He grumbled, walking right past you and placing his briefcase on the table. “I’m just trying to help,” you defended, walking up to take his coat off for him. “At least let me take your coat-” That’s when he snapped. Something he’s never done to you before. “Y/n, I fuckin’ got it! Geez, you’re so fucking clingy!” He aggressively shrugged your hands off his shoulder. It scared you a bit, to see him so angry at you. You were confused, all you wanted to do was make him feel better. Were you really that clingy?

“I-I’m sorry.” your voice came out shaky and defeated. Hearing how small your voice sounded in response to him lashing out made Satoru’s heart shatter into thousands of pieces. He wanted to turn around and apologize, but the words weren’t coming out. By the time he turned to face you, Your back was already facing him, preparing dinner for the both of you as tears rolled down your face.

Suguru Geto

It was 2 weeks after Suguru deflected. 2 weeks since he committed mass murder in that village. 2 weeks since he left Satoru, Shoko, and the others. It was weighing on him and you could tell. Nothing but him, his two adopted girls, a few people who believed in his cause, and you.

You promised him you would go wherever he would go, and he was so grateful for it. He loves you deeply and would do anything for you. But some days just threw everything on him at one time, today was one of those days. Monkeys non-sorcerers begging him to exercise curses left and right, Nanako and Mimiko begging him to take them shopping, missing payments from those begging for his service. It was all too much. And the guilt was eating away at him.

He genuinely wasn’t paying attention to what you were saying and it annoyed him how much talking you were doing in his ear at that moment. You were both sitting outside watching the two girls play in the yard. “Y/n,” He interrupted you. “Don’t you have something better to do than to just bother me?” He sighed sounding so condescending. “What do you mean?”

“Must you always cling to me? Isn’t there something else you can do besides following me everywhere I go, at all times of the day?!” His voice raised a bit as if he was talking to a non-sorcerer. “I didn’t realize I was. I was only trying to tell you about what me and the girls did today,” You defended. “You’re always so busy, I rarely get to see you anymore.”

“Yeah, because you’re always underneath me. Sometimes-” He stopped mid-sentence because of the saddened look on your face. His eyes softened a bit. “Sometimes I just need my space.” He sighed. You only nodded and started to walk back inside. “Ok, I understand.” Your voice cracked. Leaving Suguru alone to think about what he had just said to you. As if he didn’t feel guilt then, he definitely feels guilt now.

Toji Fushiguro

Toji was a bit frustrated today. He was cheated out of his money after doing a side job, the bet he placed on the race he kept constantly telling you about fell through, leaving him with zero, and to top it all off, the child support payment was coming up. You being an empath and knowing your boyfriend so well, you wanted to help him any way you could.

He was sitting in the chair by the island in the kitchen with his fingers combing through his hair. He was on the phone with multiple people at once, trying to solve his money issues. “Shiu, you guaranteed me way more money than this! How am I supposed to cover this months child support with this amount?!” You walked up to where he was, wondering what all the commotion was about. “Baby?” You softly called out. You could hear Shiu on the other line trying to calm him down and explain the situation.

“That sounds like a bunch of bull and you know it Shiu, you better have my money by next week thursday or else I’m taking it myself.” He grumbled and hung up the phone. “Baby,” You gently placed a hand on his broad shoulder.

“What, Y/n.” He sternly said. You merely blinked a few times. “I was just checking to see if you were okay. What’s with the attitude?”

“I’m fuckin’ frustrated okay? Please leave. You aren’t helping right now.” He waved you off.

“I barely did anything, I just wanted to know if you needed help with anything-”

“Jesus, I said enough! I don’t need your help. Fuck, you’re so clingy.” His voice booming caused you to remove your hand from his shoulder in fear. Seeing your reaction caused him to think about what he said and how he said it. The last think he wanted to do was scare you. He wanted you to feel safe around him. But with the way you jumped at how he raised his voice, it saddened him a bit.

“Y/n, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-” He was cut off by the sound of his child wailing in the background. “I’ll take care of it.” You said in the smallest voice, not even leaving him time to protest against it and apologize.

“Fuck.”

Part 2

#jjk #jjk x reader #jjk smut #jujutsu kaisen #jjk gojo #jjk geto #jjk toji #jjk angst #snoopyearss

[hedgehog-moss]

Things I have said to my friends who were driving from their big cities to visit me in the middle of nowhere

Maybe make a détour so as not to drive through [village], they’re holding their onion festival this weekend, the main street will be blocked. And probably all the other streets too, so visitors can park their cars. (“All the streets? Will there be that many visitors to the onion festival?” “um yeah???”)

Don’t take that road, it’s blocked by a rockfall. It’s been a while and the mayor promised he’d send someone to clear it but there are like 2 of us using that road so he keeps forgetting. Maybe once you’re here you can go to the town hall pretending to be an angry Dutch tourist who was very inconvenienced by the rocks, that’ll put some pressure on him!

if you see a cow loitering on that road, her name is Sarriette and you can’t shoo her away by waving your arm or a stick or anything. You need to open the car windows and put the radio on very loudly. Make sure it’s people talking, not music, she doesn’t mind loud music

If the cow has small horns, that’s not Sarriette but her new apprentice

Oh and speaking of music, it’s too bad you’re not crossing that village two weeks from now, that’s when they hold their musical boots concert! (my confused friend asked, “as in, hay?” because we use the same word, botte, for boots and for bales of hay) (I said no, bottes as in shoes, they use boots like percussion instruments. You’re right though, it would make more sense if the concert involved hay) (“I mean, not really”)

You’ll want to wear a bra for that portion of your trip because the forester is cutting some large trees and dragging them over the dirt road so right now it’s very very bumpy. Trust me. (She didn’t trust me) (she said “i’m not wearing a bra to visit you in the woods I’m a feminist” and then told me she had to drive one-handed and hold her boobs with her other hand the whole time, which. I told you)

You can stop to visit that village’s museum if you want, it only has 1 room and the theme is old-timey dolls. You’ll be the only person in there and the room is very dark and the dolls look very interested in you, just a warning

There’s a barn on that road that looks like it’s saying “oh!!” because of its big round door and wide-eyed windows <3

200 metres after the surprised barn you’ll see a dirt road on your left with a sign that advertises homemade soaps and cough syrups. There’s a spelling mistake on the sign and the lady who wrote it is MORTIFIED about it, she told me at the market that it really bothers her but if she tries to correct it she worries it’ll draw more attention to it. I told her she could draw little petals around that extra letter to make it look like a flower and last I heard she was considering it

#crawling along

[psychronia]

I've been rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender because why not and I'm losing my mind at Zuko's proper introduction. I don't know if it's hindsight, shifting characterizations, or just me not watching this in a long time, but this was amazing.

We start off showing he's an impatient and very angry kid. Reasonable, and the sort of flaw we might expect to see in a villain. Kinda funny that he expects to go up against an adult and fully 4-Element realized Avatar, but the kid is desperate and Iroh clearly expects his nephew to get the banishment-denial kicked out of him.

What's important here, though, is Zuko's introduction to the Southern Water Tribe.

Here, we have a very intimidating entrance where his entire ship just sails through the ice right up to the village's front door. It's quite ominous and this is our first proper introduction to how the Fire Nation interacts with a foreign people.

Sokka charges, I'm assuming fully prepared to die, and Zuko casually knocks him out of the way. Okay, so clearly the Water Tribe are entirely outgunned.

He asks "Where are you hiding him?" and the people of the Water Tribe go silent. I assume they're either just too scared to talk or actually protecting Aang.

Whatever the case, it's important to note that the Southern Water Tribe know the terror the Fire Nation can inflict. We have a whole episode dedicated to tracking down a division of raiders. Sokka was able to not only identify the ash-mixed snow as signs of an incoming attack, but estimate how many ships the amount of ash measures to. These are a people who have experience being terrorized and are probably expecting something terrible to happen.

And then, after they don't answer, Zuko grabs Gran-Gran. There was a horror sting to it, and everything the tribe knows about the Fire Nation suggests that Zuko is about to threaten or straight up hurt her to get answers. Classic "terrorize the elderly" bad guy stuff.

And then...

He goes "He's (the Avatar) be about this age and is a master of all four elements!?" and lets her go.

And all of a sudden, the tension that was built up is shattered as Zuko went "I know, I'll give them a reference for the person I'm looking for because clearly they're confused and I wasn't specific enough."

This went from a show of villainy to a show of Zuko being totally socially awkward and misreading the situation entirely. Not helping is that when he does try to menace them a moment later, his fire is slow and angled quite safely.

It still worked on the Water Tribe because they're understandably scared, but all I could think of is that this was the equivalent of a playground bully trying to make someone flinch with that fake-out lunge thing.

Because the fact-and something we'll come to learn-is that Zuko is TERRIBLE at being a Fire Nation oppressor. He's capable of doing morally dubious things and is a competent fighter. But he's lousy at terrorizing people and cruelty-that's kind of the point of his banishment.

And while we can see the story paint this picture of Zuko's true character as the story goes on with hints of good and conflicting loyalties, here we get to see just how bad he is at being "the bad guys".

#avatar the last airbender #atla #you're not an imperialistic conqueror you're a BABY #a BABY BEAN #diffused tension #bad at being bad #can you imagine how horrible this would have played out if Azula was the one that came? #psychronia