#ALSO FUCK THE FAN SERVICE BULLSHIT

[greensaplinggrace]

sorry but like, as someone who doesn't vibe with fem!sub stuff and always ends up dislking fandom obsession with the man in any relationship being a Dominant Daddy Top containing more macho tendencies than personality . . i do also think that framing people liking violence in their sexual fantasies as worrying is um. worrying in and of itself.

like yeah logan being Like That in 'x reader' Old Man Logan stuff seems very ooc to me, too. but i also like animalism and brutality and violence in sex as well, and these things are not inherently abusive or "near rapist" by themselves in fictional portrayals of kink.

i don't hc logan as the macho dom! a lot of fandom for some reason considers "common consensus fanon" lmfao, but i also think that the fine line of fighting and fucking and violence and animalism is something viscerally satisfying to explore in fiction and especially kink. and characters like logan - who do actually have some solid connections to such themes - are some of the best outlets for that.

[ladyluscinia]

I'm trying to coherently express a bunch of connected fandom observations and the first draft is not working. Trying again.

People are not wrong when they observe that broadly individuals in fandom (especially newer fans) are getting increasingly prone to emotional prioritization (ex: feeling personally attacked when people criticize a character they identify with, or feeling personally betrayed by creators they've parasocialized when reality differs from their view) and also a general lack of boundaries with cast and crew (thanks twitter), and it's leading to bad outcomes - both from a "stifling healthy analytical engagement with the narrative" perspective and a "leading to bad behavior toward creators / other fans" perspective.

I also think that emotionally driven analysis attitudes like "I liked this therefore it was objectively good" are contributing to idolization-cancellation cycles, which is known, but also the resulting polarization (ex: "Since it's objectively good, the only explanation for the people who dislike it is they must wrongly think it's bad and probably harmful") + awareness of the first point might actually be creating the assumption of backlash that isn't there? Like - personal anecdote - despite being in the center of the canon-critical discussions post-OFMD S2 and historically having seen twitter receipts about the fandom's bad behavior, I have yet to see any post, screenshot, or even direct telling of an incident actually @-ing the creators other than circulating posts with effusive praise for the season (which sometimes have an attitude of trying to "drown out" the supposed harassment?). And yet people in both camps re: S2 are seemingly convinced creator harassment is a serious problem that is undoubtedly going on because fans are posting criticism in fandom spaces (some of which does accuse the show of ableism or homophobia due to everything being moralized nowdays - too many people think something needs to be problematic before they can criticize it - but again doesn't actually @ anybody).

And on top of that, both of these views of what is going on when someone posts angry criticism of X - either the concern for the health of their emotional investment in a story that's not being written specifically for them OR the assumption that there's an inherent malice and moral weight in disliking something where critics think the creators must be punished and the show canceled - ignore a pretty big elephant in the room that sometimes people are just venting. Sometimes the salty post about how maybe the main character should have been killed off is literally just sarcasm and bad feelings entirely proportional to watching a tv show and not actually a concerning lack of media literacy. Occasionally the op (myself included) probably is being kind of a dick because they are irritated but tbh it's not any bigger of a deal than that because lots of people are dicks sometimes.

There's a real, complex person behind all those posts, and - especially on tumblr - the fandom engagement / online persona that you see is not actually all of them? A post on their 95% fandom posting blog about eating a showrunner's heart in the marketplace doesn't actually prove that the most serious concerns of their day to day life are showrunner crimes or that they approve of the death penalty for bad writing.

Like in the midst of being concerned about troubling trends we should also maybe remember to watch out for various ways to assume the absolute worst of anyone who disagrees with us, because that in itself is a troubling trend that can easily make fandom worse?

[opens-up-4-nobody]

Boruto things that made me lose my mind (ep 94-119):

I like how none of the kids from the original naruto teams are friends as adults lmao

Chocho: how could my mom love my dad? It has to be his ravenous appetite

Kakashi @ sasuke: lol u r so bad at bonding with ur daughter *proceeds to give him terrible advice*

Kakashi telling sasuke how to interact with his daughter: use a soft and loving voice. When you talk to naruto- (ok stop, let's appreciate your line of throught right there)

Sasuke @ sarada: I wanted to be hokage once (and babygirl that was one of your top 10 most fucking batshit insane moments)

OK the cursed marks apparently use genetic manipulation, which is odd and really interesting. I assume it works like a virus, inserting and expressing foreign... demonic? DNA. Weird.

Why are all anime scientists evil?

Karin: time to torch all these cursed geese 🔥 Sarada: no, stand back, I'll do it myself 😠

The more they say Karin is not sarada's mother, the less I believe it

...a goose they said was genetically incapable of flying flew away... fucking what? Just tying hard in exactly the same way as everyone else is not how you overcome genetic disadvantages like that????

Why all this moralizing abt kindness toward animals? This is a show where kids beat the shit out of eachother and murder ppl. Can we focus on not doing that maybe???

Orochimaru: hm looks like mitsuki is becoming too gay, we may have to delete all his memories 😔

Kakashi: why dont u wanna believe in ghosts? Mirai: if ghosts are real, why hasn't my dad visited me? (Hey kakashi, this would b a good time to tell her abt the time u spent literally dead? No? Ok cool)

THE CULT OF JASHIN?! HAHAHA. Losers.

Why tf do they even hold the chunin exams? Just promote ppl based on merit like they literally just did with shikadai??? (Historically its bc ppl like watching death matches)

The commercialization of the shinobi within the village makes me wanna spit and bite

Houki abt kakashi: the one who nourished lord 7th 😤 (is that really true tho? I mean he did his best but team 7 was a clusterfuck)

Konohamaru: there is no shortcut to becoming hokage! (Yeah sure but there is huge favoritism toward those trained by the previous hokage...)

Boruto: people aren't in love unless they overtly say it (I love to image this is how Boruto sees how ppl feel abt everything and that's y he's so loud and blunt abt things)

Random village: we stave off a demon by joining two bloodlines in an act of incest ✌️

Konohamaru, casually: my grandpa died by entering a deal with an entity beyond human comprehension 🤷‍♂️

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

When you don’t like a book that much, but not enough to abandon, or skim through it, because it’s still mildly interesting; so you binge-read chapter after chapter so you can finish it as quickly as possible without sacrificing your comprehension. But as you’re doing this, the plot thickens, and you actually start enjoying yourself.

[shrimp1y]

"wrio isn't a cop hes a king"

Can someone with brains please please PLEASE talk about the disgusting portrayal of cops, crime, court proceedings, justice system and prison incarceration in genshin impact's fontaine update because I cannot SIT HERE and see people completely destroy their brain cells just so they could play a mediocre game and make some fictional men fuck in their mind

I'm deadass surprised there isn't more people talking about it??? I'm honestly so ??? It's literally presenting prison labour as a good thing. Wriothesley, the prison administrator, got rich off of making his inmates build police robots for the state AND HE'S PRAISED FOR IT. AND THEY'RE PAID IN COUPONS THAT CAN ONLY BE USED IN JAIL. HE WAS REWARDED FOR IT WITH HIS DUKE STATUS.

The fact that the fucking MC's mascot was like "oh the prisoners get one free meal a day? you're making life too good down here what if no one wants to leave :(" what in the bullshit. What in the. There's also a fighting ring in the prison, by the way, and you can bet on it with your coupons you just can't bet on both fighters.

The. This is a scene people think is hot. "But that's a bad guy!" THAT'S HOW THE NARRATIVE IS WRITTEN. THEY ARE ALWAYS THE BAD GUY IN FICTION. THAT'S HOW COPAGANDA WORKS, they make you think people in power can just beat the shit outta anyone and of course the person deserves it because they are clearly always the bad guys! And the people in power are always right! This is sarcasm btw.

Neuvillette and the magic judgement machine are literally seen as undeniable justice ordained by magic and NO ONE KNOWS HOW IT WORKS. NEUVILLETTE HIMSELF HAS NO CLUE WHAT HE'S DOING HE'S ACTIVELY FIGURING SHIT OUT AS WE SPEAK. And yet it's what sends people to The Worst Most Dangerous Super Scary Prison Ever Where There's No Laws [but 1 meal a day's great /s].

"But he feels bad!" Genshin has repeatedly chosen to highlight the pains and troubles of the oppressors [Eula] [Ei/Shogun] and there's literally never any repercussions for them aside from when they portray The Haterz clearly as villains or they turn it around and say "Well it was a misunderstanding all along! No one's to blame here!"

I'm not smart enough to go into details I'm just saying. This. needs to be talked about. I'm not telling you to stop the game bc Hyperfixations not really smth that can be controlled or whatever I get It I Got Back into the game when the first trailer dropped I drew neuvillette fanart and then everything just went downhill since then and I'm like why the fuck did I expect anything better than racist, pro cop dogshit from Mihoyo It needs to be talked about ESPECIALLY by people who still cares about it to critically. assess what the fuck you are absorbing because this shit isn't okay. This is literally paw patrol for weebs they just didn't call anyone a "cop"

PLEASE. TALK ABOUT IT.

[gallusrostromegalus]

So, uhh, genuine question.

Do you recommend getting into Bleach, and if so how? Anime, Manga, a little bit of both, secret other thing? Your posts about it (and especially about AEIWAM) have definitely piqued my Interest, but I have pretty much 0 knowledge about the topic and heard very contradictory takes & reviews before, so I wanted to ask for your advice on the topic.

Cheers and have a nice day!

So a couple people have asked me this and I'm going to be as honest and fair about it as possible:

Bleach itself is mid.

...which is why the fan works KICK SO MUCH ASS.

My theory is that the ideal habitat for transformative fan work creators is mediocre series. It has to be good enough to be worth engaging with in the first place, but it's the plot holes and dropped developments and intriguing characters that don't get enough time and shoddy-to-unexplained worldbuilding that make nice little holes for fic authors and fan artists to crawl into and built a home, like sponges growing on a dilapidated subway car sunk into the Hudson river.

So yes. Bleach is mid. More under the cut:

It's also really two series: the manga and the anime. There's more anime than manga because bleach suffers from the late oughts horror known as "the filler arc" where the studio would make shit up while waiting for the author to catch up. Not ideal, but better than the current state of "cancelling a fully written five-season show after two because it wasn't making enough money for the oligarchy" but I digress.

To grade both the manga and anime on the Weeb-Ass-Shit scale:

Weeb: how familiar do you have to be with the tropes of anime/Japanese culture in general to be able to enjoy the series? This is one of the things Bleach does REALLY, REALLY WELL, in that you can go in knowing fuck-all about anime and have a good time, but the more you know, the more fun it is. My favorite thing Kubo does is that if you look up the meaning of the characters used in everyone's names, there is a TON of jokes, foreshadowing, themes etc. baked into every name. A+ work.

Ass: how much gratuitous fan service is there and how annoying is it? So. It's not the worst. But it's really, really obvious that Bleach is written and illustrated by a straight man who is hella into tiddies. As a bisexual, I can appreciate The Tiddy (and tbh, the men in Bleach have pretty great tits too), but there are a lot of humor bits about Kon being a perv/author stand-in, orihime has medically alarming knockers for a teenager and gets groped kind of a lot. There's also a predatory lesbian stereotype character in the early episodes, and some pretty awful transphobic caricature characters. The amount of horny isn't that much for a shonen, but it's pretty gross IMHO.

Shit: how well- made is this series?

Mixed. Both the manga and the anime (esp the recent Thousand Year Blood War arc) have some absolutely gorgeous art, banger character designs, and deeply entertainingly choreographed fights. It is really nice to look at.

Unfortunately, both also suffer really badly from pacing issues that are pretty much entirely the fault of the insane demands the industry puts on the artists. If you've ever read/seen a shonen manga/anime from the late aughts through early teens, you're familiar with this bullshit- fight scenes drawn out to absurd lengths, filler arcs while the animation studio waits for the author to catch up, repeated plot arcs, minimal focus on characterization, The Friendship Speech (TM) etc.

Pacing and repetitiveness are Bleach's main quality issues, but the art is pretty baller and the Japanese voice cast is pretty fucking great IMHO. (I have APD and have to consume shows by subtitles, so the sun is usually more legible for me than the dub).

If you are coming into Bleach from AEIWAM... You're likely to be a bit disappointed. I put a shitload of work into the worldbuilding because Bleach does not, I write almost exclusively slice-of-life character moments rather than big battles, and I have made some pretty fucking radical changes to some of the characters. An Elephant Is Warm And Mushy is an entirely different genre than Bleach, and that's ok, because fic usually is radically different than it's source material. But also be prepared.

TL;DR: Bleach is mid and that's ok! My fic is different than it and that is also ok! I still recommend it with the reservations of : it's prototypical of its time period and contains many of the gross tropes from that era. It is also very much a horror shonen, just to be clear. Fucked up shit happens on screen, mostly cannibalism! Which is great IMHO, but you should probably take a stroll through DoesTheDogDie.com for more specific trigger warnings before beginning.

[evilminji]

Okay, but... now I'm wondering >.>

@the-witchhunter We talked about Danny being Morningstar's feral, probably engineering oils and ectoplasmic goo covered, mad scientist/himbo hybrid (attack) purse dog. His special lil guy.

But!

I seek your Knowledge(TM).

From second hand accounts? He seems to HATE the hypocrisy. The blaming HIM for humanity's own choices. The rat race and endless song n dance of "Righteous Good VS. Cartoonish Evil". Because it let's humanity paint themselves the helpless victims. Because it's all surface level. Because it is not so easy to escape the ugliness of your Sins, yet they keep trying to scapegoat him.

Fuck um.

He was tired of it.

But? He still has CONSIDERABLE POWER. It's probably written down. And the Ring Of Rage? Is proooobably not the loveliest of artifacts? I imagine, like the Crown, it's NOT leaving Danny alone. One of those "we don't CARE if there is no throne left to sit upon, you WILL wear us, as King" sort of systems.

It genuinely would not and DOES NOT matter, if not a single soul in all the Zone bows to him. Did he defeat the previous holder of their Right To Rulership? Yes or No.

If No, fuck off.

If Yes, new monarch.

Is it hurting him? Not the rings problem. Nor the Crown's. Heavy is the weight, etc etc. But! DANNY would certainly care. He is... is ANGRY all the time now. Has no idea who would even MAKE this bullshit ring. Why JUST Rage? Yeah, it makes ghosts stronger, but at what COST?

He can't even get rid of it!

......by himself.

Luckily, he's still clear headed enough to know that he's NOT in this by himself. And it's amazing what "mom, dad, this ring is trying to drive me insane. Help me" in a terrified and tearful voice, can brush over. No one threatens their baby and all that.

It would honestly be hilarious, seeing the extended Fenton clan decend like LOCUSTS on Pariahs Keep, searching for clues, terrifying the local ghosts, if... if he wasn't so tired.

God he's so tired.

It's Aunt Alecia who... "politely encourages" a passing scholar to lend them the book they need. Took the poor sucker right out of the sky. Guy never stood a chance. RIP.

He learns he has to head..... over? Like... 27 that-ish way, then up. Huh. 27 WHAT?

Realities, apparently. He's in the wrong bundle. Branch? Neighborhood? Eh. Clan Fenton rolls back out, he packs his bags, and hilariously enough? Goes off to the devils night club. Hopes he likes rings. Or hates them.

Thankfully, being "king" means the Zone? Kinda... humors him? Like... it still has RULES(tm). He can... can FEEL that now. But it's willing to bend some for him, if he asks. And anything NOT against the rules? If it's in the right mood? He need only ask. It's weird. Being suddenly so powerful, yet NOT, at the same time.

Cause none of it's his.

All he has is the Zone's attention. The ability to ask pretty please. If you don't mind. And then? The highways between... ALL will just? Shift and change for him. He can see how it went to Pariah's head. The Zone is pretty agreeable. Is by nature Amoral, cause it's not a Being, it's... well, it's the Zone.

And everyone wants him to ask things. Do things. Demand this or that. Use this power.

Maybe he doesn't WANT too! Maybe he didn't WANT to be king! Doesn't he have the right to say NO? To refuse? Why do they think he OWES them service? An eternity of politics and people trying to kill him, for something he never wanted in the FIRST PLACE.

He's so tired.

The nightclub's pretty cool.

So he comes to ask, politely of course, cause the guy's probably busy, if Morningstar could... dunno, fix or destroy it? Want a ring, maybe? Also he heard you MADE the stars. Huge fan of all of that. Can I ask about the process? Or are you in the middle of something?

And? Lucifer? Turns around, from where he's Leaning Seductive Yet Elegantly(tm) to see... scrawny. Tiny corpse child. No... half? Corpse? Alive. Dying. Alive yet dying. Huh. Well, that is different. And here he didn't think he'd get see anything NEW. You, child, are NOT a zombie. What are you?

Halfa.

I have no idea what that is. What do you want?

He gets shown the ugliest, crudest, peice of shit ring imaginable. A genuine foul little curse. Really stinks up the place. He destroys it, obviously. This club has STANDARDS. Hope that wasn't important?

Kid just smiles the biggest fangy lil grin. No. No it was not.

Obvious, lie, but cute lil teeth. He'll allow it.

He gets dragged into talking about the stars. And talking. And talking. Mostly bragging and explaining. Kid hangs off his every word. Follows him around as he makes his rounds. Asks good questions. Completely focused, dispite the booze and barely dressed dancing all around him.

Lucifer can't help notice the crown.

Lovely little thing. Space ice and star dust, glittering like jewels and light catching the mist. If he remembers right... that one iiiiiis..... not Limbo, it's.... Zone! That crown is the Zone, it changes to suit the wearer. He recognizes the vibe. Awfully young, aren't you?

And.... it all burst forth. He didn't even need to press. Use persuasive words and honeyed tones. Like an inflamed, festering wound. The merest brush is enough to spill everything.

Negligence, greed, blood lust. Bigotry and xenophobia. A tyrants endless quest for power. Ah, humans. They truly don't change do they? Realities away, dead or alive. Now they're harrasing a child. He honestly looks miserable. Whereas just a moment before, listening to Lucifer talk about his work on the stars, his soul practically GLOWED with light. A tiny little star unto himself.

.......maybe it's the big ol "I'm you BIGGEST FAN" eyes. The sad wet cat aura. Perhaps the scrawny "could snap you like a twig" teenager, all elbows and knees. The fact he is, in fact, NOT human; for all that he once was. But?? The kid? Is... not terrible company.

He'd even go so far as to say? It's like having a pet intern.

He can sleep on the couch.

Tell you what, you stay here? I'll keep taking about stars and YOU can do the chores I don't feel like doing. I'll take care of you and all that.

And Danny? Honestly was sold at the word "stars" but? This sounds like a phenomenally terrible idea... and he has yet to meet one of THOSE he hasn't made out sloppy still with, so deal! But as a minor, that DOES make you his new gaurdian for the next four-ish years. He's legally obligated to finish schooling.

Ah.

.....well shit.

(Just? Local stressed 14-15 year old Ghost King does RESPONSIBILE thing and finds Adultier Adult. With more qualified Adult powers. Unfortunately for everyone, the adult is Lucifer Morningstar, night club owner. Even MORE Unfortunately, said ghost kind has pack bonded with the Nice Star Man, who saved him from the Bad Ring, and effectively offered to let him crash on his swanky couchs.

Now Morningstar has to? Somewhat VAGUELY pretend he gives a shit local schooling system, as he puts his charge INTO it. Actively giving waking terrors to the magical community. What evil plot is afoot? Where did he get this tiny minor death god? What is his end goal FOR said child?

No one knooooows~

But Lucifer is just doing this cause he's a Being of his word. He hates the tedious minor chores he'll be foisting off onto Danny. And? Most importantly? Look at that face. *shoujo sparkly eyes of Star Sempai Noticed Me!* it's like having a golden retriever puppy. Ffs he has STANDARDS.)

(It'd be hilarious to watch the hostile 5th dimensional chess DC characters have going on in the background, all while? Danny is like? Man! Isn't this universe GREAT? Everyone here is so CHILL! And nice to me! I'm so relaxed now! Finally, I can finish my education in peace.)

@hdgnj @hypewinter @lolottes @babbling-babull @nerdpoe @mutable-manifestation

[storiesforallfandoms]

public service announcement ~ eminem

word count: 2709

request?: yes!

“Could u do a Eminem x reader

Where the reader is asexual (they feel romantic attraction but not sexual attraction) and she’s getting a lot of hate for it and one day she’s back stage while he raps at one of his biggest concerts and he brings reader on stage and confesses his love and basically tells everyone that they need to stfu, and everyone shocked cause he doesn’t show emotions publicly very often. (Fluff) and ALOT of angst at the beginning”

description: during one of the biggest shows of his career, he decides to give his audience a public service announcement about his girlfriend

pairing: eminem x female!reader

warnings: swearing, rpf lil bit of angst, people being shitty about the reader’s sexuality

masterlist (one, two, three)

People not understanding my sexuality was nothing new. I had heard all the comments: “You just haven’t had good sex yet”; “You’ll change your mind when you find the right person”; “You’re making stuff up”. None of that phased me anymore because I understand that most people just don’t understand asexuality.

What did phase me was a new wave of hate that I started to get when Marshall and I started dating.

I don’t keep my sexuality a secret. I was very open about being asexual. It was even in all my social media bios. But I wasn’t super famous. I was an indie artist with a small following, most of which were also queer, so everyone was respectful. But when I started dating Marshall, I started getting more mainstream recognition. It was great for me career wise, but it unfortunately meant I was opened to a wider audience with a smaller mindset.

It started with questions about what asexual meant. Some people were open to the concept, but the louder minority were very not open to it. They made sure I knew with every post I made that they were not open to my sexuality.

“Prude” was a favorite insult. That one just made me laugh because it sounded so juvenile. Some just used the “making stuff up” and “attention seeker” comments. Those ones didn’t phase me anymore either. What got to me was when they started attacking my relationship.

“Why would Em want to date someone like her? He can’t even get any from her.”

“She’s not even attractive enough to make up for her sexless bullshit.”

“How long till Em dumps her ass because she won’t give it up? I say less than a year.”

They were all I ever saw in my comments. I know the only way to deal with shit like this is to ignore it. Once you allow the comments to bother you, then the trolls win. But it was definitely easier said than done. At first, it was easy to roll my eyes and close the comments. But then it became harder when more of my comments were mocking or insulting me. I tried deleting the negative comments one, but I was called out for it, which only fueled the fire when they realized it was getting to me.

I never told Marshall. He was chronically offline enough that he had no idea any of this was happening, and I wanted to keep it that way. I didn’t want him to worry about me, or be mad that his own fans were the ones saying these things to me.

Of course, what I wanted wasn’t what was going to happen, because fuck me I guess.

I had woken up before Marshall and decided to get a cup of coffee. The kettle was heating up as I decided to open social media for a mindless scroll while I waited. If I kept a log of how quickly I could stumble upon hate comments, this would be the record. It was almost instant when I opened Instagram and looked at the reactions on a story I had posted the night before. I hated that Instagram had added a feature to allow “commenting” on stories. It was so much easier to ignore responses to stories when I could just deny the message requests. But now this new commenting feature showed me everything that was being said.

I had posted a picture of me sat on the couch with my feet on Marshall’s lap. You couldn’t see his face or anything, just his hands resting on my legs, and the football game he was watching in the background. I had a filter on it, but no caption and no music. Of course, that’s all it took for the comments to be flooded with hate.

Okay, maybe “flooded” was an over exaggeration, but it felt like that was the truth when all I could focus on was the hate comments. I couldn’t stop myself from scrolling through and reading every single one, even when the kettle finished boiling. I was so deep in my doomscrolling that I didn’t hear Marshall walking up behind me until he said. “What’s wrong?”

I jumped, nearly dropping my phone in the process. “Jesus, I didn’t hear you come up.”

He reached out to brush his thumb over my cheek. “You’re crying.”

I hadn’t noticed I was crying, either. I wiped my other cheek and felt the wetness from tears I hadn’t even known were shed.

“It’s nothing,” I said with a shrug. “Saw something stupid and I guess it got to me.”

“It’s not stupid if it made you that upset,” Marshall said. “You don’t have to tell me, but you know if something is bothering you, you can talk to me about it. Even if you think it’s stupid.”

I was still a little emotional so his support hit me harder than usual. I felt tears welling in my eyes again and I couldn’t stop myself from blurting, “I just wish people would respect my sexuality. They don’t need to understand, but how hard is it just to respect someone?”

He didn’t ask what I meant. He pulled me into his arms and allowed me to cry on his shoulder. We stood like that for a while, Marshall running a hand up and down my back in a soothing way while his other arm was wrapped around me, and me crying into his shoulder.

I finally collected myself and pulled away from Marshall. “Sorry. I needed that.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he said. “Who’s been giving you a hard time now?”

Marshall knew I had had multiple issues with people not respecting my sexuality before. There’s been times where I had complained to him since we started dating. So at least this didn’t come off as if it came out of nowhere. But I wasn’t sure how to tell him it was his fans that were saying these things.

Turns out I didn’t have to say it. My silence and expression was enough to tip him off. His face changed from sympathetic to having a touch of anger. “How long have they been saying shit?”

“A while,” I said with a shrug. Marshall gave me a look that made me sigh and correct, “Shortly after we started dating.”

“What?!”

“I thought I had it handled!” I quickly added. “It’s not like I’ve never heard that shit before. I’ve just...been struggling a bit more with it lately, that’s all.”

Marshall just looked at me for a moment before saying, “Let me see.”

I held my phone to my chest. Marshall raised an eyebrow at me. I sighed and conceded, realizing there was no getting out of this now. If I didn’t show him myself, he’d go looking on his own later. May as well be here to try and talk him down after he saw what people were writing about me.

I unlocked my phone and was immediately brought up the stuff I had been reading before Marshall woke up. I handed him my phone, then leaned back against the counter to watch him read. His ability to keep a straight face was working in his favor. There were no signs of any emotion as he read through the comments, just his eyes moving back and forth as he read.

Finally, he locked my phone and passed it back  to me.

“You should’ve told me before,” he said. He didn’t sound angry. Not with me, anyways.

“I told you, I thought I had it under control,” I said. “It wasn’t even bad at first. It just...progressed over time.”

The look Marshall gave me was finally readable: sympathy. He pulled me into his arms again and sighed. “I do wish you had told me either way. I’m sorry my fans are giving you a hard time.”

I buried my head into the crook of his neck. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. People are just so closeminded, it’s frustrating, and then it’s hard when the closeminded people start attacking your relationship just because they don’t want to try and understand.”

Marshall was quiet. He didn’t really have to say anything. It was nice just to talk to him about what was bothering me finally. As much as I didn’t want him to know, it was good to get it off my chest and to have someone know what was going on. And I definitely needed the prolonged hug that followed.

~~~~~~

A few weeks later, I found myself standing backstage as I watched Marshall perform. It was a huge night for him as he was getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This was probably one of, if not the biggest night of his career, and I was glad that I could be there to celebrate with him.

Although, I was a little confused as to why I was celebrating backstage instead of being in the audience with Hailie, which was the original plan when Marshall got the news. But when we were getting ready for the ceremony, he asked me to instead be backstage while he performed and for his acceptance speech. When I asked why, he just told me he wanted me backstage for when he walked off. I tried to push for more of an answer, but he wouldn’t say anything else.

So, there I was, stood backstage next to Dre as we watched Marshall’s performance. At some point I realized I was smiling so wide that my cheeks were hurting, but I couldn’t help myself. I was so proud of him. He definitely deserved this after all his years in the industry.

When the performance ended, Dre walked back to the podium to give Marshall an official introduction before his speech. I had watched him write and re-write his speech many times because he kept feeling like what he had written wasn’t good enough (which I constantly found ironic given he was probably the best lyricist of this generation, but I guess that’s different than writing a speech). The final speech had come out great in the end though, in my opinion.

When he finished his list of rappers he looked up to, I expected it to be the end. That was, once again, the original plan anyways. He’d list all the rappers who raised him, he’d thank the audience and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame one more time, then he’d exit the stage.

Instead, I was taken by surprise when he said, “And I do have one more thing to say here before I go. I’d like to bring someone very special to me out on stage.”

Then his blue eyes found me backstage and I felt like I was going to pass out.

I walked out on shaky legs, willing myself not to collapse in front of this room full of people, plus the people watching at home on livestreams or the videos that would go up after the ceremony. I stood next to Marshall at the podium, unsure what I was doing there. He reached out to me and I took his hand in mine.

“A lot of you probably know my girlfriend,” he said. “She’s also a musician, and we’ve been together for a while now. I already thanked her in my speech because she has been a huge support for me since we got together. But I’m not bringing her on stage tonight to thank her for that. I’m bringing her up here because there are enough eyes on me tonight that I wanted to address something important.”

My mouth suddenly felt very dry. I tried not to face the audience cause I knew I looked like a deer in headlights.

“See, my girlfriend openly identifies as asexual. That means she doesn’t feel sexual attraction, just romantic attraction. She speaks very openly on it because not many people know or understand what asexuality means. I didn’t really know until I met her and educated myself. It’s not hard to just open Google and look do some reading on what asexual means, and to properly educate yourself on not only asexual, but the LGBTQ community as a whole.”

He paused for a second to look over at me. I wasn’t sure what exactly I was feeling in that moment, but I managed to smile at him.

“I’m saying all of this here now because it recently came to my attention that a lot of people who claim to be my fans have been attacking this woman that I love online because of her sexuality. It goes far beyond not understanding what asexual means, and has turned into personally attacking her and our relationship. With all eyes on me here tonight, I wanted to say that anyone who would say these awful things about her, about us, are not real fans of mine. Any fan of mine would respect the people I love, and would respect my relationships. You don’t need to completely understand what being asexual means, but not understanding doesn’t mean you get to be disrespectful to anyone who identifies as asexual. And if you want to open your mouth to insult this amazing woman stood next to me, then you can just shut the fuck up and stop pretending to be my fan.”

I finally dared to look at the audience. I was mostly blinded by the stage lights, but I could pick out a variety of emotions throughout the room; interest, shock, some nodding in agreement. I was certainly shocked. Marshall was a very private person. I don’t think he had ever spoken publicly about our relationship before. I would post the odd photo of us every now and then, or I’d share on my Instagram story whenever he made new music or had something coming up. But neither of us had ever spoken this candidly about our relationship before. Especially not at such a widely watched event.

Marshall thanked everyone and the audience applauded. It was a bit tentative at first, but eventually the applause was grew as he put his arm around me and walked of the stage. Dre was still waiting in the sidelines, looking just as shocked as I felt but still took a moment to congratulate Marshall.

“I can’t believe that did that,” I finally said once it was just the two of us.

“Are you mad that I did?” he asked.

I shook my head, but then paused. “I mean, I don’t think so. I’m kind of feeling a lot of emotions.”

He took my hands in his and pulled me towards him. “I’m sorry I surprised you like that, but I knew if I talked to you about it first you would’ve told me not to do it.”

“Of course I would’ve! Marshall, this is your big night. I wouldn’t have wanted you to take away from your own success just because some internet trolls were getting to me.”

“Nothing was taken away from me. Not to me, anyways. I still put on a hell of a show, I still got inducted into the Hall of Fame. I just decided to use this platform to address what was happening with you as well, because you don’t deserve the bullshit you’ve been going through. I’m not naïve enough to think that it’ll stop completely now that I’ve spoken on it, because I know that’s just not how the internet works. But I wasn’t going to stand by and let you be hurt without saying anything. You don’t deserve that.”

I felt some tears pricking my eyes. I tried to blink them away, but it was no use. So, I leaned in quickly and pressed a kiss against Marshall’s lips.

“I guess you’re not mad then,” he teased when I pulled away

“I’m not mad,” I confirmed. “Actually, I am a little. You could’ve given me a heads up that you wanted me to be on stage with you. I’m going to look so stupid in all the videos because I look terrified to be stood there.”

He laughed and pulled me into a hug. “You’ll get over it eventually. Let’s go back to our table before the next inductee is on.”

[tugoslovenka]

i love baldur's gate 3, truly i do. i find it one of the most wonderful games in recent times and the work that larian has done in trying to emulate a dnd-like video game is commendable bc they have done some good work with the lore and mechanics. but i really, really would like it if larian would for once in their goddamned fucking existence released a full game on launch day. i know games will always need patches to address some issues, but releasing info abt the upper city as a hub area weeks before release only to completely scrap the idea altogether? having NO ending, literally no actual epilogue or anything that adds to the story after the fight, just this random black screen and no proper epilogue? the half-baked encounters against orin and gortash after making them out to be on the same level ketheric's fight which actually felt like a boss? making dark urge this entire ~special origin story without actually allowing a player to do a true evil run without losing out on like 2/3 content? there is no punishment or reward for not taking/taking the tadpoles, it literally means nothing in the grand scheme of things. also for a multiplayer game, there's a resounding lack of actual story progression if you have all four slots covered, like it straight up locks you out of a lot of companions' stories bc you can never take them with you. this isn't even getting into the horrendous bugs and performance issues that straight up fry PCs by the end of the game. also adding fan service without any actual plot like - halsin's completely useless existence in act 3? also nonsense like gortash being lorded in the middle of wyrm's rock, the literal first fortress to the city that would not house the new lord of baldur's gate under any circumstance? gale starts the game with a TRUE RESURRECTION scroll that can be used to solve a myriad of problems, including, i dont know, curing karlach entirely by killing her then reviving her? having to go to cazador's palace through a random tower in the middle of the city? the emperor just deciding to abandon you and join the elder brain after spending years fighting its influence if you decide to go against him? like these are all unfinished parts to a "full" game. i still have nightmares from DOS2 and what a fucking mess that was and the fact that you need the "definitive edition" to make the final act work is straight up predatory... honestly fuck y'all for making ppl pay twice for the product they should have gotten the first time. anyway the game is great but larian needs a kick up the ass for some obvious bullshit that would not be tolerated if it were any other studio!

[cassiebones]

Please Chill

Please, I am begging you all to chill out. I'm speaking specifically to my wlw Agatha fans right now. Even more specifically to the ones who are angry that the last episode revolved around Teen/Billy.

He is a main fucking character. His backstory is important to the plot. We only get nine episodes in this series and the plot needs to move forward. We cannot do that without revealing who he is and what his motivations are, from a storytelling standpoint.

I studied creative writing in college. I worked really fucking hard to get into my program, too. I took classes on novel writing, mainly, but also in screenwriting and playwriting. I took classes on TV writing in the mid 2010's at a time where the trend was shifting to streaming services putting out entire fucking seasons at a time.

But I remember having to wait a week for an episode of a show I loved. I remember what happened to my favorite wlw characters. I remember being absolutely devastated by Lexa's death in The 100. I know you're scared of it happening again, but there is so much evidence on the contrary to prove that it's not going to happen here.

Firstly, I don't think for a second that some of the actresses who signed up for this would have done so if they thought they were going to pull the same shit. I don't think Jac or Kathryn or fucking Aubrey, who legit said that she signed up because it's a queer show, would do that.

But i don't know. Because the show isn't over. We have three episodes left over the next two weeks. I, like you all, am praying that they're not about to pull some bullshit, especially considering the majority of their current fanbase is comprised of queer people.

But you can't just call them lesbophobic because they focused on a canonically gay character rather than your favorite lesbian ship for one(1) episode. They have confirmed that Rio and Agatha are estranged exes. They showed us so much flirting and yearning and longing. From a storytelling standpoint, they are building that tension for a great payoff. Its's gonna happen. Please, just be patient.

I was upset, too. I did not want them to shift focus to Billy. When I saw that that was going to be the majority of the episode, I was upset. I made a couple posts about it. But I still watched and it was honestly a pretty good, important episode. And fucking funny as all hell. We truly saw the aftermath of Wanda's actions. Wanda, who wasn't trying to be malicious or harmful, but she still caused so much harm.

As much as I would have loved to see Rio, I understand why she wasn't in this episode just yet, but she'll likely be in the next one. It was probably only like 2 minutes after he threw them into the mud that Agatha crawled out. Also we see Lilia and Jen in future promos, so they'll be fine.

I predict that the next three episodes are going to be longer and more plot heavy moving forward. I really hope we see more of Agatha's delusions from the POV of Rio, because Kathryn Hahn and Aubrey are fucking hilarious and I know it's going to be just as funny as last night's Teen POV.

I want to see people theorizing about the next three episodes and what's going to happen and how they're going to rectify anything, but I'm seeing so many negative posts about why your favorite lesbians didn't kiss or fuck yet on this Disney show. Please, just be fucking patient. It's coming.

That being said, if I am wrong, I will be the first to admit it and be super salty about it. I hope I'm not, but who knows? I'm not going to make a snap decision either way. You shouldn't either.

[theyaremycrocsyoudonut]

I was rewatching Gallavich scenes, as one does at 3 am, and I just noticed a detail so wholesome that it would be a crime not to share it. In season 4 episode 7, aka the episode where Mandy gets Mickey to go look for Ian, there is this scene in which Kev wants a gun and he goes to the Milkoviches to get it. There he asks Mickey if he is wearing cologne and Mickey says that it's just Kenyatta's perfumed soap.

BULLSHIT.

Mickey obviously didn't admit it but he was wearing cologne because he intended to see Ian for the first in a while and he wanted to smell good. That's the obvious wholesome detail about this scene. But wait. There's something more that I just noticed.

MICKEY WAS TRYING TO PICK A NICE OUTFIT TO GO MEET IAN AND HE HAD LAID OUT ALL OF HIS GOOD SHIRTS KSHDKSKSHDHS. THE FAN SERVICE GOES FUCKING CRAZY WITH THIS ONE.

NOT ONLY DID MICKEY MILKOVICH WEAR FUCKING COLOGNE, HE ALSO CHOSE TO LOOK HIS FUCKING BEST TO SEE IAN. I CAN'T THIS IS TOO FUCKING MUCH.

[giggle-guru]

A Helping Hand

Word Count: 3457

This took way longer to edit than I anticipated LOL. There’s probably still some mistakes here and there, but I hope you like the read! The world needs more Lee!Husk in my opinion hehe

I should also specify that because this one caters more towards Husker and Angel, there’s a bit more canon friendly wording if anyone isn’t a fan of swearing :)

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Husk was working his regular bartending shift at the Hazbin Hotel. Well, it should have been a normal shift. Word had spread around the Pride Ring about the possibility of redemption…or, in most cases, the supposibly safer housing within the hotel. Thanks to the increase in guests, it was getting busier on weekends. He attempted to tell Alastor that it was getting out of hand and he couldn’t keep up, but unsurprisingly his pleas fell on deaf ears. After all, it ‘wasn’t his problem he couldn’t keep up with the demands. Perhaps if he spent more time working he’d accomplish something’. Prick.

He rolls his eyes as another patron begins complaining about some nonsense before taking their drink with a smartass comment. He could barely stand it, sick and tired of the constant ringing of the service bell despite him obviously standing right there. Or sinners ordering the most complex bullshit they can think of just to be a pain. Hell, he hadn’t even had time to drink yet tonight. With all the stress and irritation building to a breaking point, he barely registered Angel waltzing up to the bar and leaning on the counter. “Heya kitty!” Angel speaks in that same flirarious and flamboyant voice.

Husk glances over and immediately feels a tad less annoyed upon spotting his boyfriend. Though, he quickly covers it and puts on his regular persona as he rolls his eyes and groans quietly. “What do you want? I’m busy and not in the mood.” He grumbles.

Angel isn’t fazed in the slightest, however, a flash of concern crosses his features when he sees the state that his boyfriend is in. He is used to Husk being a grumpy old cat. Hell, his ‘no fucks given’ attitude was what drew him to him in the first place. But he could tell there was more going on in his head right now. The bags under his eyes were darker than usual, and he looked more disheveled and irritable. “What’s wrong, Husky?” Angel tilts his head.

Instantly, Husk groaned internally. He shouldn’t be surprised that Angel could tell something was off with him. He was normally good at hiding how he felt, but he was beyond stressed out right now and had nothing in him to help him cope. Not even a single drop of booze. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. Just the usual annoying bullshit. Don’t worry about it. It’s my problem to deal with.” He grumbles, dismissing Angel’s concerns as if it wasn’t a big deal. A quiet sigh escapes his lips as he turns to deal with another patron who came up to the bar intoxicated beyond belief, yelling at him far louder than necessary, attempting to ignore the concern growing in his boyfriend’s eyes.

Angel does not falter, waiting slightly impatiently for him to deal with the asshole. His eyes narrow slightly at the customer’s attitude and he starts to gather what is likely bothering his lover the more he looks around the bar. Once the sinner is gone, he locks his eyes with Husk’s. “Nothin’s wrong and you’re totally fine, eh? Sure ya are toots. You’re sober on the job, what, ya tryna quit drinkin’?”

Husk feels his body tense up as soon as Angel brings up the fact that he is clearly sober. He stares at the glass he was cleaning earlier and is quiet for a moment before taking a deep breath. He exhales heavily, trying to ignore the growing exhaustion. “No. I just haven’t had the chance to drink anything tonight, alright? I’ve been busy. The hotel is fucking overcrowded, it's been like this for days now and Alastor keeps ignoring my ass. On top of that everyone is bothering me and-” he cuts himself off. “You get my point. Just…I’m fine, Angel. Go to bed or something.” He mutters defensively, moving back to continue wiping the glasses for only a moment before another patron approaches the bar.

Of course Angel knew Husk hated admitting aloud when he wasn’t doing okay, so by no means did he expect him to tell him exactly how he was feeling. Shit, Husk was so good at calling Angel’s bluffs whenever he lied about his feelings because of how much he did it himself. There was no way Angel was going to stand around and let his boyfriend suffer thanks to how busy the bar is. “Let me help make some drinks, Husky.” He pushes himself off of the bartop and walks behind the bar.

Husk pauses, slightly surprised that Angel even offered to do such a thing. He stares at him bewildered for a second before speaking. “You don’t have to do that. Do you even know how to make a damn drink?” He grumbles, arguing weakly. He hates the idea of needing help, let alone from his boyfriend, even though he was in dire need of some right now.

Angel shoots him a deadpan look. “That a real question, Husky?” He knows it is a weak attempt at a deflection so he would bug off, but it was almost laughable. He obviously knew how to mix a drink. “I’m helpin’ ya out, and you ain’t going to say no to me.” He pokes his side to emphasize a point. It just so happens that he pokes right where his lower ribs meet the cat demon’s furry side, a known sensitive spot.

Husk tenses up when Angel touches that spot. Almost instantly, his face flushes and he lets out a short surprised laugh and his shoulders twitch upwards as he covers his mouth with his hand to try to stifle the sound before it could get out. His other tries to swat Angel away, but it was a weak shove that would certainly not stop him. “Don’t-! Don’t do that. And Hell no, I’m not letting you work with me.”

Now that reaction piqued Angel’s interest. He knew Husker was ticklish, despite the cat’s attempts to hide it from him when they first got together. It was honestly one of Angel’s favorite ways to tease him, where he usually would utilize his extra limbs to torture him to get him laughing for fun or to get him out of whatever mood he was in. It always worked and got Husk to relax, and something in his gut told him he could definitely use it to his advantage. “I told you I ain’t taking no for an answer. I’m helping ya out tonight so get used to my sexy ass servin’ drinks.” He acts oblivious to the earlier reaction…for now.

Husk bites his tongue, feeling a mix of frustration and an undeniable flutter of embarrassment whenever Angel teased or tickled him like that. It always threw him off guard, but he was a prideful demon and would never admit just how much he liked getting tickled by Angel. He puts on a frown, narrowing his eyes slightly in an attempt to seem more stern, but it looked fairly pathetic considering his fur was starting to get a pink tinge to it. He knew what his boyfriend was doing too, if that devilish smirk creeping onto his face was anything to go by. “Fine. Fine. Sure. But you listen to me, alright? I’m not explaining to these idiots why their drinks are shit because you fucked up.”

Angel grins victoriously, storing the information away to be used later. “Yeah, yeah. You be careful Whiskers. I might be takin’ ya job cause them customers are gonna love my booze.” He shoots him a flirtatious wink before going about his night behind the counter and serving the new group of customers that approached the bar.

Husk sighs, rolling his eyes as his fur bristles. He couldn’t be more annoyed at himself for his lack of ability to stay mad at Angel. Sure, he was a natural grouch to the others but he could never maintain his irritation when Angel was around. Especially not when he flirts with him. So, begrudgingly he moves to assist with the patrons while keeping an eye on Angel in case he tries to do something stupid. The help would be beneficial if Angel kept out of trouble, but it doesn’t change the fact that he is sober, irritated, and exhausted.

The next few minutes go by with little conversation between them as they work to fulfill the needs of the patrons. Angel was trying to be as casual as possible, serving drinks with his signature flirtatious smile and wink in an attempt to get Husk to lower his guard. He knew Husk was still overwhelmed, and it was time to put his plan in action to get some serotonin running through him again. As another group approaches the bar, he moves past Husk to grab one of the bottles they requested, and in the process ‘accidentally’ runs his fingers along Husk’s side.

Even though Husk knows he should stay cautious and watch Angel, he lets himself be momentarily distracted by other guests. So, when Angel ran his fingers along his side - the bastard - Husk had to quickly bring a hand to cover his mouth to stifle the high-pitch, yet fairly quiet, laugh that almost escapes him. He shoots Angel a glare as soon as he recovers from the initial surprise, though doesn’t comment further as he masks his reaction by handling the guest's drink request. He unfortunately cannot hide how his face is tinged pink out of embarrassment.

Angel plays the innocent card, grabbing the bottle he needs and continuing to chat up the patron without even acknowledging Husk. He tries to act casual like he wasn’t trying to do it on purpose, but Husk sees right through it. As if he would fall for that obvious act, it was clear it was on purpose. Despite his annoyance, he can’t help the small flicker of excitement. He tries to focus on his bartending as the guests come and go.

This happens a few more times, each with the same reaction. As the minutes tick by, Angel realizes he wants to get him to break just a little more. So, he waits for there to be a quick break from the hustle before walking beside him and asking a random question. “Hey Husky, what’s that bottle over there for?” He squeezes his side as if it was an attempt to get his attention.

Husk is cleaning a glass when Angel asks. However, he has no time to respond before he feels fingers squeezing his side rapidly. Another surprised squeak escapes him and a laugh tries to follow but he quickly covers his mouth with his paw, tail swaying. He grumbles and lowers his hand, eyes narrowing with a hint of begrudging playfulness. “What the fu-! Oh…the bottle? That’s whiskey, dumbass. Read the damn label.”

Angel nods, acting as if this was a shocking revelation. “Oooh! Okay.” He walks in front of Husk as if he was going to go grab it to look at it, purposely trailing his fingers along the cat’s stomach in the process.

The moment Angel’s fingers trail along his stomach, Husk jolts, unable to stop the way his lower body twitches and scrunches in an attempt to escape the ticklish sensation. He grits his teeth and instinctively covers his mouth again, biting his tongue to avoid letting out the giggle bubbling in his throat. His fur bristles. “Stop doing that, you jackass.” He mumbles, shooting a half-assed glare in Angel’s direction.

“Stop what?” Comes the innocent reply, though the tone of voice in no way matches the shit-eating grin plastered on Angel’s face. He plays with the whiskey bottle in hand, twirling it around.

Husk stares at him for a moment with tinged cheeks. Of course. Of course, Angel is oh so innocent, with not a clue that he has been tickling him all night. He rolls his eyes and desperately tries to maintain his grumpy and irritated expression. “You know exactly what you’re doing. Knock it off,” he mumbles under his breath, doing his best to keep the annoyance in his voice despite the urge to let a small smile grace his features. Honestly, the customers were the last thing on his mind right now.

“Sorry, Husky, I ain’t got a clue whatcha talkin’ about.” He giggles, putting down the whisky bottle and moving to once again serve another group of guests. It could never be as simple as that though, and Angel moves past him, squeezing one of his hips.

Husk nearly lost it. He didn’t think Angel would target his hips when it came to this game he was playing. A sharp, surprised squeak escapes him that could truthfully be classified more as a yelp than anything, almost embarrassingly loud enough to get the random sinners' attention. He covers his mouth once again in a flash, trying desperately to contain his reaction but he is starting to lose the battle. His lower half tries to jerk away from the contact once more. This time, though, he can’t get that small grin off of his face as he lowers his hand and shoots Angel a look. He can see the amusement gleaming in Angel’s eyes as he whips up the drinks the patrons ask for. Husk moves to help him, and upon them successfully getting the group's drinks, he crosses his arms and looks at Angel with the faintest smile. “I thought you were helping me, not bothering me.” He attempts a grumbling voice, trying to play off his clear enjoyment and flustered look.

“I am helpin’. Look at ya. You’re smilin’!” He looks extremely smug right now, clearly feeling a sense of accomplishment.

Husk felt his heart race in his chest now. If Angel teases him like this for any longer, in public no less, he will certainly break. He knows Angel is right, his smile was impossible to hide now. He hates and loves the fact that his boyfriend knows just how to push his buttons to get him smiling. “So what? It’s a smile…big deal.” He speaks sarcastically, his tail swaying softly behind him.

“Is that you askin’ for more?” Angel’s grin widens far more as he takes a glance at the sinners within the bar. No one looks like they’re on their way over to get another drink just yet.

Husk bites his tongue. He wants to tell Angel to fuck off and stop, but he knows a part of him doesn't want it to stop. If anything, he does want more. It feels nice, especially given his earlier stress. The feeling of being flustered and almost giddy, something other than annoyance and exhaustion is a pleasant reprieve. “That isn’t a fair question, jackass.” He mutters, knowing the implication that Angel is making. He is playing a dangerous game right now.

That is exactly the response Angel is looking for. In a flash, he is standing behind Husker, his lower arms holding his hips in place while his upper arms begin to squeeze up and down his sides. He leans in close to Husker’s ear and mumbles in a quiet and teasing voice. “Better stay quiet Husky, you don’t want anyone lookin’ over at ya.”

That asshole. The fact that no one was around meant that things could get just a little bit more playful, and Husk certainly wasn’t expecting Angel to pounce on him like this. He barely contains a squeal, soft giggles slipping past his lips as his body squirms back into Angel’s stomach as he fights half-heartedly to escape. He doesn’t try to muffle his laughter with his hand this time around, instead pushing at Angel’s wrists.

“Relax, Husky. Ain’t no one ‘round but us. Let loose a little bit. I’ll stop if someone comes over, promise. Ya look so tense.” Angel keeps that flirty and teasing tone, moving his upper arms instead to his boyfriend's ribs.

Husk feels an unfamiliar, fluttery feeling in his stomach as Angel speaks softly into his ear and holds him close to his chest. He shivers at the feeling of his fingers wiggling between his ribs. He knows no one would see, and if they did they would be too drunk to even recall this in the morning. He holds back only for a few seconds before realizing he doesn’t have the energy to fight back, so he lets himself laugh and giggle freely. His giggling grows louder the faster Angel moves his fingers, but not loud enough to be heard by anyone other than his Angel. “S-Shit! Angie!” He giggles hysterically.

“There we go. You’re just my little ticklish kitty, ain’tcha?” He teases, purposely exploiting the moment as he keeps an eye out for any drunks looking like they are on their way to the bar.

Husker only squirms more intensely at the tease. His mind was so muddled from the stress earlier, that now, with the sensations on his sides and ribs, he can’t even form a reply or protest. He shakes his head instead in a half-assed effort to deny the accusation as he giggles and squirms, his hands holding onto Angel’s arms as his tail now wraps around one of Angel’s legs.

A few minutes go by with Angel alternating his tickle attacks, ranging from his sides to his underarms, even sneaking in a devious squeeze of his hips now and then. But of course, all good things must come to an end and Angel spots a patron turning towards the bar. He quickly lets Husk go and moves to wait and deal with the customer, but not before whispering “Ya feelin’ any better?”

Husk is a giggling mess as Angel lets him go. He stands there, leaning onto the bartop for support with his arms crossed and his tail flicking, trying to catch his breath and calm himself down. He brushes his fur to soothe it, but he can’t help the huge smile that remains on his face, a light blush gracing his cheeks. He’s on cloud nine right now, all that attention and love easing away his earlier troubles. He’d never admit just how much he likes it though. “...A bit. But you pushed your limits there you bastard.” He glances at Angel, his eyes filled with adoration. Yeah, the stress and irritation was definitely long gone.

Angel hums, proud of himself for making his boyfriend a literal mess. He gets the customer his drink before looking back at Husk. “I didn’t go too far did I?” He moves to press a quick kiss on Husk’s forehead. “I hope I didn’t go overboard or anything. I just wanted to make ya laugh.”

Husk feels a flutter in his chest when he spots that proud expression on his boyfriend’s face. He feels much better than before, everything being replaced by that light and airy feeling. He flushes at the sudden public display of affection. He shakes his head, that smile still on his face. “Nah, you didn’t go too far. Just…a lot has been happening the past few days with work. It was nice to have something else on my mind.” He admits, looking away with slight embarrassment at the admission that he enjoyed being tickled.

“Good. I’ll help ya out for the next hour or so and then we can head off to bed since the bar will be closed. I’ll run ya a bath if ya want. Or we can cuddle. You always take care of me, let me return the favor.” He looks down at Husk with a look of genuine care and adoration.

Husk’s heart races when he hears Angel's tone of voice. He appreciates it far more than he lets on, so to hear him say that? Butterflies are in his stomach for the first time in who knows how long. “Sure. Just help me get through this last bit and then we’ll just head to bed after. A bath sounds like a hell of a lot of work right now. I’ll take the cuddles though.” He speaks back as his usual gruff voice returns, though it has a tinge of softness.

Angel simply nods, and the two of them go back to serving the customers that approach the bar. Together they make small talk and joke around, and Angel can’t stop himself from sneaking in a few more tickles when he can. Husk can’t deny the fact that he feels lucky to have someone like Angel, someone that makes him smile and laugh so genuinely. Something he thought he lost the ability to do long ago. He sneaks a final glance at Angel, his heart beating faster as he cleans a glass while Angel serves the last customer of the night. He’s going to have to convince Angel to work the bar with him more often.

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Might take me a day or two to pump out the next fic. Not entirely sure how long it’ll be either, but I’d love to hear your ideas and feedback! Thank you for reading :)

[thedreammweaver]

People comparing watcher to dropout is pissing me off

Collegehumor was still releasing videos after dropout was made they didn’t go we have a streaming service now okay bye bye fuck you all who can’t pay to see us anymore.

To my knowledge dropout had mostly new content on it and wasn’t just shows people already had for free suddenly being behind a paywall

Also collegehumor/dropout had a bunch of layoffs happen in 2020 and it’s a much bigger operation. To my knowledge Watcher isn’t in danger of going under.

They have a ton of unique content with dozens of talented people, they’re releasing new projects all the time that are heightened from a bigger budget and don’t just feel like youtube videos you have to pay for.

Like to me it’s very different. Just compare Dropout’s 5th anniversary video (edit: actually compare it to the dropout announcement video) to the melodramatic goodbye youtube video. Dropout feels way more in touch with the people who enjoy the content.

To me dropout is way more justified in being a streaming service and feels worth $6 a month and plus like actually respects it’s fans and didnt say bullshit like “oh everyone can afford the subscription price”

A lot of watcher content is just the guys talking about things so what does a higher budget add besides fancy visuals or sets??

[cryptidsmagick]

If you have the energy to answer, what's your opinion on Natlan? I'd imagine the feelings are complex

Oh dear victim, you have made some mistakes.

Where should I even fucking start.

Full Disclosure: I have kintypes consisting of yumkasaur and a natlan mythic, and after a very long internal debate that multiple people can confirm I shred myself over, choose to work with Wayob. This will be elaborated with the rest of the rant.

Why are they white?

I'm sure you know this has become Quite A Tag relating to Natlan, mainly because we have white passing Hispanics claiming that players of other ethnicities are over exaggerating the white washing.

And this isn't an over generalisation, people keep outright saying "I'm Hispanic and feel represented because [...]" or something similar, to which I respond: We Hispanics are racist shits.

I'm putting up no defense for my people—my mother actively tried to erase my black and indigenous heritage, despite the fact my (father's side) grandfather is literally visibly black and the stories & traditions of the taino people have been passed down on my mother's side.

Why? Because we're the exact same people who throw racial slurs at each other every other day and constantly try to justify it as "tradition" or "culture" or "harmless slang."

Look, between you and me, they really just want to see Americans be so naïve when they get called a gringo and follow up with the most vulgar phrases they can think of as..."compliments." I've seen it happen so many times it's just disgusting.

Cubans, Dominicans, Purto Ricans...I've seen so many Hispanics do it including my own parents. They would genuinely start calling people mulattos in disgust and still justify it as a "racial identifier" when it's the same racist bullshit of forcing people to put down exactly how black they are during Jim Crow laws in the US.

Anyhow, point being, I'm disgusted by how little my own people are putting an effort into defending the culture of the ancestors—the Inca, Aztecs, Taino, and other indigenous of South America/Carribean.

Just because modern day Hispanics have forgotten their culture, or are so Spanish they aren't even related to these tribes, doesn't mean we should replace them all with white-passing individuals. Modern day Hispanics are a diverse people with a wide range of skin tones, and characters based on our tribes should not be fucking white majority.

I'm not just "some mestizo," soy taino, and even if I'm on the cafe con leche end, I still want to see people properly represented.

On the non-hispanic indigenous side of thing, can we talk about the white washing of a Jamaican God? Some people have tried to defend Hoyo over the whole Ororon thing but not only is he one of the weakest characters in lore/meta, but he's paler than my very European friends. (In fact, most Genshin Characters are.) He's a complete disrespect to the deity he's named after.

It's not just white passing indigenous culture being used, but defined black heritage from Jamaica, Africa, Haiti, etc. No individual culture should have the right to say Hoyo isn't appropriating as they're taking from the peoples, not a people.

The darkest character we're going to get from Natlan is Iansan, to which we were expecting some darker characters but Hoyo proceeded to white wash their own characters. Xbalanque is black in all the in-game murals depicting him, but the only interaction we'll ever have of him is possessing a white child as filler text for Mavuika's fan service. Kinich is a light shade of tan in his art, then glows like the surface of the sun in-game.

They've tossed a few black NPCs our way, but there are more black enemies in game (inflated by Natlan) than black, interactable NPCs. A lot of them are vision bearers too.

Varka, for example, is a character from Mondstadt people hoped to be playable, who's been leaked to have a vision and dark shade of tan. But he's also been leaked to use the generic NPC model and will most likely never be playable.

Refusing to represent POCs, for the second time (Sumeru), was something that firmly put me against Natlan when it released.

TL;DR: Natlan whitewashed minority groups by choosing to actively integrate their language and cultures, but making minimal effort to include diverse characters. As of currently, 5 characters are white, 1 is so pale of a tan they're nearly white, 1 is the bare minimum of black and still unreleased.

What is going on with the tribes?

When it was mentioned that the Children of Echoes had dancing as a central part of it, I expected to see traditional dances with cultural meaning. Instead, I hear fucking hip hop. And what are they doing on the stage? Breakdancing.

A lot of people with indigenous ancestry found Hilichurls fascinating due to their obviously tribal dancing and wondered if they had defined social structure back in 2020-2021. Now, we know they're from Khenr'iah and their dances are related to abyss rituals.

These Hilichurls, a human-related enemy with a "true death" animation (instead of disappearing into sand/smoke), are given arguably more accurate tribal dynamics than the "proper tribes" of Natlan.

And I just don't have words for how outright disappointing every other attempt of cultural integration was. The People of Springs (pacific islanders) having surfing but the "they're not lazy" thing being overemphasised to make them look lazy. The Scions of the Canopy and their...biblical references brings out some lovely generational trauma (can we talk about how the seelies went from fairies to fallen angels?). The Masters of Night Wind being a purely shaman/priest/spiritual tribe—that's not how it works, individuals worked as a community with multiple roles. The Flower-Feather Clan being so exaggeratedly warrior based that people are essentially useless as Wingless.

What I'm getting at here is that Hoyo failed to make them actual tribes, and their attempts at traditions were soulless. We partake in Turnfire Night, only for us to have to practice until the actual thing was soulless, and there was no real challenge (despite them repetitively stating there was). We're selected by Elder Tlapo (Claw) to help with weaving scrolls, but not only were half the voicelines barely audible, Hoyo skipped out on opportunities to explain the culture of the Masters of Night Wind, and literally cuts TWO people short as they try to tell us the different versions of the story. We partake in the flight test for the Flower-Feather clan, but the nature of the test itself has no real meaning. In fact, we're given the opportunity to advocate for abolishing it.

These soulless, unresearched attempts at culture incorporation wind up being more appropriation than anything, harming these minority groups the tribes are based on with misrepresentation.

Ancient names are also treated with less value than they're worth, with the Traveler being guaranteed the name before they have noteworthy accomplishments and being granted a high honor despite not earning it in the way dictated by tradition. They could've earned the honor themselves by partaking in the tournament, but were instead handed it. These obsidian slips are a critical part of their culture, and although IRL tribes might gift someone a tribal name, I did not enjoy how it was executed in-game, as the Traveler was only gifted the name for plot armor.

TL;DR: Natlan failed to properly incorporate tribal culture and wound up mostly appropriating it.

Sexualisation of tribal wear?

South American, Caribbean, and Pacific tribes all have minimal traditional wear due to the available materials and climate. So, something like what Mualani wears would be standard. However, proceeding to give every female enemy from every tribe a fucking cowboy hat, boots, and short-shorts is just out right sexualisation. Every's tribe clothing would and should be unique, not a copy/pasted wild west.

Chasca, isn't even an enemy and she's been subject to the same minimalistic cowboy outfit.

Mavuika is wearing a body suit, not tribal wear. To which, is incredibly sexualised for fan service, which they leant on like a crutch. (That bodysuit looks so uncomfortable.)

Male and child-like characters are covered, despite the fact if they were using minimal wear to be accurate, males would also use minimal wear. They're not using this clothing style to be accurate, they're using a "cultural thing" to excuse sexualisation.

They did the same thing with other nations, including those based on Asian culture. Most female Liyue characters wear incredibly sexualised Chinese wear, and in Inazuma, Raiden's kimono was so sexualised they actually had to lengthen her skirt in the cutscene to avoid her bare bottom being distracting to the player.

This has been a long standing problem in Genshin Impact, and after a (mostly) break from it in Fountaine, it's being thrown at players in full force in Natlan.

TL;DR: Hoyo keeps using cultural wear to excuse character sexualisation, and does so exaggeratedly in Natlan by taking advantage of southern indigenous' minimal wear.

The Wayob?

Honestly, the Wayob is perhaps the only thing they might've nailed. The integration of spirits of individual lands, existing as a grand deity, the Great Spirit of This Land. Their portrayal and integration into Natlan's culture was incredibly well done until...

...the Lord of the Night came into the picture. After being colonised and losing most of their culture, what an indigenous person DOES NOT want to hear in reference to their representation is: "joke's on you, angels created the entirety of your culture and the colonists were right."

It was completely unnecessary and, frankly, most lore videos out there fail to acknowledge the confusion of this sudden change of what Seelies are. In Mondstadt, the Seelies are mentioned in their books to be fairies (as their name literally means) who ruled over Teyvat since before Celestia. Then Celestia strode in as the tyrants they are and forced these god-like beings to submit to their authority (and were punished with their memory-less selves when they failed to follow Celestia's rules).

This was a progressive change of the lore, honestly, as in Sumeru, Fountaine, etc the dragon sovereign was introduced as the "true rulers," then we have this colonisation shit being introduced in Natlan (which honestly, Celestia was from the start but they're also canonly evil-ish so...?).

Point and case is, Natlan's separation from Celestia (aside from the Archons, who which, don't follow Celestia's traditions for it) was a distinct feature of it, and suddenly, these angels who predeceased Celestia are, plot twist, suddenly created by Celestia and integrated themselves in Natlan.

So what if they're "fallen angels"? That objectively makes it worse.

When I first interacted with the Wayob I felt connected to my ancestors in a way I hadn't before as I hadn't been lucky enough to be taught my cultural traditions by my mother. I was unfamiliar with most of Dominican traditions, nevertheless Taino ones. It had been incredibly difficult to get a grasp of the Zemi'no especially seeing how my people was nearly driven out of existence, and ironically, the Wayob, a figure from pop culture, was what finally made things click.

The Wayob was the only thing that was right in Natlan and Hoyo ruined it for us.

TL;DR: The complete disregard of the Great Spirit through the integration of christian references (i.e. a supreme god and their angels) takes away from the distinct, unrelated force.

So...

In general, Natlan's just a hot mess. And unfortunately, it's not Hoyo's first, and it won't be the last.

China has incredibly absurd beauty standards that require multiple surgeries and treatments due to how extreme it is to achieve and maintain, and this shows in the game's characters—whiter than white skin, thin waist, small shape for most female characters (the tall ones all wear heels).

These beauty standards don't translate well when portraying other ethnicities as Hoyo applies them to them—resulting in the white washing and colorism. And honestly, I would more accurately describe it as racism as there are multiple characters canonly discriminated by race, and the Traveler themselves does it at times (approaching individuals from Snezhnaya and Khenr'iah with hostility, to which they eventually stop doing with the latter...mostly).

They have made a couple of changes (making it so the eremites disappear into sand rather than having the true death animation) but we are mostly going unheard in our feedback, as we're not their target audience. And to be frank, there are Chinese games with diverse skin tones that are just as successful as Genshin, so they have no real reason besides internalised racism/colourist (which isn't a valid reason).

[thatfilthyanimal]

tw: stalking, grooming, pedophilia, sexual abuse, past suicidal thoughts

I've recently been made aware that Dupsy is still talking about me and is now going to random Megamind fans that don't know me and telling them to avoid me. I'm also aware that they're doing this in the Ruby Gillman fandom. I have no words to really describe the level of discomfort this brings me, but I will attempt.

First of all, all the "grooming" allegations were thoroughly debunked and proven to be bullshit. I can't believe I have to even say this. I'm a victim of grooming and sexual abuse myself. It's extremely traumatic and life-altering shit, and never something I would want to inflict on someone else. I feel like it should be obvious, with the measures I took in the server to ensure no child is exposed to such things. I was recently diagnosed with PTSD due to the shit that happened to me when I was growing up, and between processing that in therapy sessions and stomaching transitioning in a near-constant hostile-to-trans-people online social media hellscape, I am tired.

I love Megamind, more than anything, and this is known and obvious to anyone who's met me. This movie saved my life when I was extremely suicidal and planning to end my life back in 2010. Watching the movie when I did gave me something to focus on, a distraction, and a responsibility as a fandom member that helped distract me long enough to get out of the planning mindset I was in. Had I not seen the movie, I do not think I would have stuck around. I will leave it at that.

And moderating fandom spaces for Megamind has been lovely! I adore this fandom. The people in it are extremely talented and sweet, and just so damn nice, like by default. I say this all the time but I've never experienced another fandom space quite like it. There are usually bad eggs in fandoms, and perhaps -I- am said "bad egg" to some, but genuinely this one is special. I have always felt that way, even when the bad eggs show up and make a stink. It has always felt worth being here for, to me.

And while I hate to give Dupsy the satisfaction of knowing they hurt me, I need to be honest-- it's been rough. I stopped talking in my server, I locked up on most of my friends and stopped talking even in DMs. I still struggle with severe anxiety in the server and have talked to Dal on various occasions about transferring the server ownership to him. He's been very patient with my freakouts and super understanding, but it's still hard. This WAS a place I felt safe, for over ten years! And now it feels like any minor can just say I'm a groomer or a pedo or whatever with ZERO consequences, just because they're mad, just because these are words that make people go "oh shit" and listen, and man! It's not ok! And this coupled with the fact that trans people are often called groomers just for existing, just… man! I'm tired. I'm so tired.

There are real, severe, damaging effects to these claims being thrown around so casually. It's hurtful to me, as a victim of sexual abuse, because when I came forward to people about what happened when -I- was a minor, I was told I "wanted it" and "asked for it". It was made to be my fault that I was abused, and I internalized it for years. It nearly killed me. I cannot stress enough how important it is to not use claims like pedophilia and grooming so lightly-- these are VERY damning terms to use on people and should be reserved for people ACTUALLY HARMING OTHERS. Being mad I banned you from the server is not "abuse" and using my Customer Service Voice to be nice to you and then being obviously tired of you when you were banned is not "emotional grooming". What the actual fuck. ALSO. This was well over a year ago! Why am I still having to post about this? Why are you still TALKING about me? And yet again I ask, where the HELL are your parents?

Anyway, if you've been wondering why I've been so quiet these days and struggling to socialize… honestly? It's this. I hate that this is what did it. I know people trust and believe me, I know the fandom backs me up regularly and I appreciate them all so much for it. I see it, but I never know how to respond. You guys continue to make this fandom feel safe for me even when my entire brain is screaming to run, and I appreciate you so much for it.

Kids deserve to be trusted when they tell people they've been hurt and I hate that the recent proshipping discourse or whatever you want to call it, this culty all-or-nothing shit, has a bunch of minors growing up feeling like EVERYTHING is something to call rapey or predatory, with apparently little room to distinguish when REAL abuse is happening to them. I don't blame anyone for believing Dupsy, and it's honestly better they DO believe all unproven claims of abuse by default, just to stay safe-- but man, it has consequences that follow people, and really should not be a thing to just throw around because you're mad at someone. I just can't believe they're STILL going around and reaching out to strangers telling them to avoid me… like, what the fuck.

I will be ok, I always am eventually, but I needed to say something, because it's honestly been a while since I've said much of anything.

Keep being kind. <3

[neko-loogi]

So I just watched the new Helluva Boss episode and honestly it's not the worst thing I've seen but eh I do have some complaints.

For starters I am not a huge fan of Queen Bee herself, as in her design I mean. Like, her design overall isn't bad, (although a bit cluttered with too much detail), it just doesn't suit the character she's supposed to represent. I mean, she's literally Beelzebub! But they didn't even bother to make her an actual bee, she's just a furry with bee attributes- (I believe she's a Fennec fox).

It's not a bad design to look at I guess? But I dunno, I was expecting a legit bee with a curvy body or something (not trying to be stereotypical-). *I also wanted to point out that her design feels like straight up fan service, that I'm sure Viv will make sexy merch of her soon. Just you wait.

Another thing I found weird about the episode was that she's dating Vortex. Like, it seems a bit off in my opinion especially since she's a literal sin, just like Ozzie and somehow it's okay for her to be dating this random ass hellhound (which according to Viv, they are a lower class than Imps). They make the whole Stolas and Blitzo be this 'forbidden love' bullshit, but suddenly it's okay with some characters? I dunno that just doesn't make sense really.

I would've much preferred if Vortex was just dating a normal hellhound that likes to host parties and stuff and that Queen Bee was just a good friend of his or something. Because honestly, I legit thought that she wasn't into him and she was just using him or something.

Anyway, Blitzo was still annoying as ever (seriously I absolutely hate him as a character and his voice is just unbearable and a pain to listen to), and his relationship with Loona felt shallow, so yeah there's that. I kinda liked how Loona wasn't a total edgy bitch in this episode, except that she still is and well there's nothing I can do about it.

I honestly didn't feel anything when she was upset in the episode, plus I thought it was weird that she calls Blitzo to pick her up because she wanted to go home and then suddenly she decides to stay at the party again. Then Blitzo gets drunk in a really stupid way and yeah it's not funny at all.

Overall the episode was okay, I mean the song was decent (even though Viv doesn't have to add a damn song to every episode but oh well-), and the animation was much much better than the previous episode.

*Edit: I've seen people complain about the animation not being consistent (but honestly Helluva Boss is always like that so I'm used to it basically-), however the last episode, Western Energy was god awful to look at, this one was more tolerable.

*Edit again: I'm noticing a lot of hardcore fans talking about how Queen Bee's design is really good and complain that 'pEoPLe sHoULd sToP wHiNiNg aBoUt HoW sHe DoEsN't LoOk LiKe a bEe'. Honestly in my opinion, fuck you. If I don't like the design then that's my problem, you don't have to agree with me and that's fine, but don't go out of your way to talk shit about others just because they don't like something. Man, Viv's fans are such bootlickers istg..

I'm still surprised they hired Kesha to voice Queen Bee, (no wonder the budget keeps getting worse, especially since Viv thinks she can just hire whoever she wants for her crappy little series about demons having sex and killing people-). I also find it stupid how she only voices the character but doesn't actually sing the song. She wrote the song, but didn't actually sing it. So what's the point?? What was the purpose of Viv hiring a literal fucking famous singer to voice a crappy character from her crappy little series when she doesn't even sing!

And don't get me wrong, I like Kesha, she's got cool songs and whatever but she cannot voice act at all. Her lines felt kinda flat and awkward whenever she spoke, and she also sounded off whenever she said any curse words.

But yeah, that's all I have to say.