Flawed, But Working to Fix Myself

Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortensen all taking the piss out of Orlando Bloom for going on about a cracked rib too much, while Orlando Bloom desperately tries to wriggle out of talking about it (special mention to Elijah Wood’s “oh it hurts, babes, and I can’t ride the horse, babes” and Viggo Mortensen’s “they can be very fragile, elves, especially the…Mirkwood strain…”)

Ian McKellen commenting that “they never did find any suitable underwear for Gandalf…”

Dominic Monaghan going on and on about how Viggo Mortensen apparently had a crush on one of the Rohirrim extras (who like a lot of the Rohirrim extras was a woman in a fake beard) while Vigoo Mortensen just mutters “one could perhaps say something about Mr. Monaghan’s…proclivities…”

Dominic Monaghan’s imitation of John Rhys-Davies ordering food at a restaurant for the whole cast. “You have partridge? BRING THE PARTRIDGE!”

John Rhys-Davies talking about an incident with the Lothlorian boats and saying “if an elf and a dwarf are in a boat…and…the boat goes under…let us say that the blame was not placed on the elf” while Orlando Bloom splutters “he’s a big guy, man!” 

Elijah Wood talking about how the hobbit actors shared a trailer with Ian McKellen and sometimes they would hear inarticulate bellows of protest from his side when they played loud music in the mornings

Viggo Mortensen talking about how, while filming with those same boats, Kirin Shaw (Elijah Wood’s scale double) started telling him “if the boat tips over…save yourself…I can’t swim.” 

Elijah Wood describing how Sean Astin would try to direct the helicopters to land while they were on location, while the other three hobbits were screwing around and throwing pinecones at each other

Christopher Lee recounting how he had so much trouble going up some steps in Orthanc with his long robe that he stopped in the middle of the scene and said, “I cannot get up these goddamn steps, Peter.” 

I am making a little Bionicle rewrite where everything is a bit more edgy, just how I like it! Maybe the events don't change much. I like to focuse on the innerworkings of the characters and motivations.

You can hear this Matoran approach. Kongu is the largest and heaviest of all Le-Matoran. And also, the most serious of them all. Even more serious than the one and only Turaga Matau... but he wasn't very serious to begin with. Clumsy around the top of the trees and always struggling with things other Le-Matoran find second nature.

Regarded as the right hand of the Turaga, she (I change the gender of many characters. Working with mostly men is a bit boring. Specially character-design wise) has been by his side since the very begging of their lifes in Mata-Nui. Turaga Matau had seen her aptitud, her spirit, her unyielding compromise, and took her right away, right when her first tattoos were being carved into her armor.

Turaga Matau is a very colorful individual. Painted from mask to feet in markings of all kind, so it was normal to get condecorated with them instead of badges like in Ta-Koro. Something permanent, something that jumped to you the moment you saw them, no matter the circumstances. Kongu ofter refused many of them, since she never think she did a job good enough to earn them. A perfectionist. An addict to her Duty, just like a good Po-Matoran.

She was the first to ride Gukko. Trained the others to do as well. Always blaming herself of the losses of those days because she didn't think of one crucial detail: They weren't the only ones in the sky, and they weren't the ones on the top of the food chain. The predators of the Gukko began a hunting game. Take the colorful rider away instead of the Gukko bird. If one Matoran was taken, surely more would come, ending in a massacre of one side or another.

This event inspired her to create the capes. The other Le-Matoran of the Gukko Force had them implemented in their seats meanwhile Kongu has it on her at all times. Sometimes she uses it for gliding and help her close gaps between jumps.

She formed the Gukko Force, and trained the army of Le-Koro. Kongu always says that Turaga Matau ordered her to do so, but that is a lie. She likes to use that as an excuse in recent years, seen how the other Le-Matoran only see her as a general, someone who barks orders and puts you to work even when it's your resting days, to try and get some criticism off her back... it's not working at all. Feeling more isolated.

That also made her stand out. Her posture, heaviness, and ruthless attitude was made a mockery between the Le-Matoran, who are more... laid back. Taking it specially from Turaga Matau. And when Toa Lewa came along and had the same laid back attitude, it made her feel even more self councious about her body and aptitudes, sometimes forcing herself (and other) to be even more exceptional. To "make it up for being made wrong by Mata-Nui" she sometimes thinks at her lowest.

Maybe she won't get too much character development in the island,(a butterfly-shape on her clothes to signify she wants to bloom more than anything and change into a flying creature) maybe even less back at Metru-Nui. But I'm sure Kongu would feel very very strongly about being denied the Kanohi Kadin.

He did a wonderful job, but as he was returning my plant to my custody, he explained "I watered her every other day, I gave her new dirt, moved her into the sunshine, prayed the rosary-"

"What?"

He looked at me, confused. "Isn't she a plant you pray with?"

"No," I said slowly. "She's a prayer plant. That's the... colloquial name of the plant."

Upon seeing his stricken face, I realized something went wrong. Turns out, this entire time, he's been including my plant in on his prayers and leaving her near icons.

Please respect my boundaries and assume that I am Not mad.

You try to pull the blanket off of yourself, and you realize that, it too, is made of chocolate. You try to shake it off, and step out of bed. Your carpet feels strangely spongy. You look down, only to realize it’s actually cake. Lovingly baked, and smelling of sweet fruit. You grab a piece, and cautiously take a bite. It is one of the most delicious cakes you have ever eaten.

You get up, confused, and exit your room to see if the rest of your house is like this. The door handle melts in your hand as you hold onto it, and covers it with dark chocolate carefully painted gold. The rest of the carpet on the floor is still cake, the guardrails on the stairs leading down are tempered chocolate, the tiles on the floor are the same, the windows are sugar glass, everything is edible.

You run outside, knocking over the lovingly crafted chocolate front door in a panic.

You realize, in horror, that your house was not an exception. The bushes, the grass, the asphalt on the road, the trees, birds, the world itself, is chocolate.

That’s because that picture was taken at what is known in its native language as Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, it is the place where the first trans healthcare was developed, where the term transsexual was coined.

Do you want to know what happened to the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft?

It was the victim of the very first Nazi book burning. Their teachings were outlawed and their books destroyed. Their leaders - such as Magnus Hirschfeld - were criminalized and exiled, if not outright murdered.

The fascists exterminated not just a generation of trans people, but they erased our history from the books almost entirely. It took us almost a century to get back to where we are now.

People don't care as much about being called Lazy. But calling them Rude? That gets to more folks. It's rude that they didn't bother to put effort into whatever it was they used chatgpt for. It's rude that they thought they could advertise to you with cheap slop, thinking that would get your attention. It's rude that they didn't care enough to actually write that email.

You gotta emulate the tired energy of a single mom whose child has disappointed her one too many times.