#I HOPE THE UPCOMING PLOT CONTINUES TO TREAT YOU WELL LOL YOURE ON YOUR WAY TO ANSWERS THATLL BEGET CONCLUSIONS

[akkivee]

TO THE AUTHOR TELLING THE STORIES THAT NEED TO BE TOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GENTARO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

[neo-shitty]

toffee!

ah yeah i suppose ur right. yeah i think quarentine has had that sort of effect on a lot of people :( sorry to hear abt ur strict parents, hopefully ur friend will be able to come back soon. small outings (even with family) are still good tho, make sure ur taking care of urself toff.

youre totally right! ah yes thats good advice (/gen) ill try and use that when im in a slump ty. any music suggestions?

lol sames. even some of the stuff abt seungmin, innie etc is a little uncomfortable, like theyre grown ass men for sure, but at the same time, theyre still young, still just over being a teenager in the grand scheme of things. (on that note, i do struggle with worrying that im infantalising them, obviously theyre adults but at the same time, theyre still young. i do treat all fictional characters as my children, but i guess its different when its real people. idk. what do you think?) yeah some stans rlly need to take a chill pill, some are rlly walking the wire between 'ah theyre attractive/that look rlly suits them' and making fucking smut fics abt minors, like... they do not see a problem with that?? yeah tbh i feel like unless theyre 18 they shouldnt be put into the spotlight, weve seen what it does to peoples mental health, but modern day kpop industry is a lot like old hollywood with a lot of popular child actors -_- hopefully the big companies will learn but i agree, its unlikely

suuuuure toff haha. ill go searching for them, but idk if ill be able to find the fluff needle in the angst haystack (jkjk) yeah, fair i groan and complain but you do write angst etc rlly well, so if its what ur comfortable with, then pls continue, it is one of your strong suits, well as you write fluff aside

ah okay good! ill continue to send you essays then

THE ALBUM YES. so ive been looking forward to it for literally months, this is actually my first skz album release as a stay (since the last on was 9 months ago) i was sitting there hitting refresh on my spotify the second 6pm kst came around. (speaking of which, how did you do the release? i couldnt decide whether to watch or listen first but i ended up on listening cos there would be more material) okay: so cheese was super cool, very skz ya know? tho i almost wish theyd made domino the title track, tho obv it was a more experimental track and would have been a bit controversial (much like whistle for bp) i looooved domino and thunderous was absolutely impeccable. all the songs were amazing but standouts were- secrets, secrets which lowkey made me tear up idk why, red lights which almost killed me (it did not have to go that hard, but it did) and OT8 WOLFGANG omgggg i wasnt sure if hyunjin was going to be included in it but i was hoping and, ya know people had said hed be in there, but the further i got in, the less i was sure and then BAM hyunjin started what had been jisung's part and i just sat there grinning for about 5 minutes. surfin was absolutely adorable and gone away almost made me cry AGAIN. star lost was so touching, almost a nod to hyunjins little star? silent cry was relatable beyond anything. SSICK was funny? for some reason I was laughing while it was playing, idk the combination of added cheering and minhos aggressiveness and the totall seriousness they sung it. but i rlly enjoyed it. sorry i love you showcased their vocals like nothing else. the view is THE BOP of 2021, absolutely going to be stuck in my head for the next decade, that hook is genius. what did you think?

also did you watch their grow up performance? with all the stays and ALL THE TEARS? ;n; i feel like this is the end of an era of skz and tbh im kinda happy but also sad. super excited for their promotions but super bummed they wont get to tour. ah well

<3 w.a. 🐺

answer under the cut bc i gave an equally long answer to this already long ask HAJSH

oh yeah, abt quarantine having an effect. my friend and i talked about this earlier actually. i didn't realize the world was moving so fast until the pandemic happened. being in quarantine gave me time to think and i got to know myself more. it's just the sole good thing i got out of the isolation lmao. and abt my strict parents, ironically i got to go out today so i got to hang out with a few of my bestfriends. i had fun but my legs are a bit sore from walking. but they're a different set of friends. i'll get to hang out with the others when my getaway driver comes home in december.

hmm music recommendations for writing? depends on the plot you're writing. care to share what story you're working on and i'll try to rake my brain for a song that might match the vibe. i listen to classical / lo-fi if i don't have song inspo for a fic because lyrics sometimes distract me.

i don't think that's infantilizing tho. for me, it has something to do with my environment and the way i was raised. maybe it's the same the other way around? like this certain age (for the ones above 18 but below 20) is thirst-able for them. idk really. it's just not for me ?n? what i do NOT condone is writing smut for minors??? like get checked : D // i agree with everything with the idols being 18+ before they debut simply because it's for the best for their well-being like. how can young idols decide that this shit is the thing they want to do for life? or at least until their contracts last. idk :// it's unfortunate that it's unlikely to happen.

WELL. i have a list so you won't have to go search for them! in class (minho), in the rain (seungmin), gladius maximus (chan) and you've read five star already. and i just realized that most, if not all, of my upcoming fics are fluffs and i'm fond of all of them :D i used to focus a lot on angst because fluff disgusted the living shit out of me. i think things changed when i wrote champagne problems and hurt myself so bad i wanted to drop angst entirely. i didn't, of course, but i allowed myself to be self-indulgent now.

for the release of the album, i was on twt and watched the vid at 12 views (if i remember correctly, i watched back door at 14 so HASJH) i’m gonna talk by track so it wont be too confusing? bc i wrote this in paragraph format and it just ???? beware im very picky with tracks even if they’re my ults. so no offense if we have opposing opinions and i’m not fond of reading lyrics so these are all music wise.

cheese - oh god i hated cheese at first listen but it grew on me easily. i was singing the yeahyeahyeahyeah bit all day today :D

thunderous - i cant say that it’s my favorite title track. it felt really dry sometimes, both mv and music wise. but at the same time, it’s not that bad. the choreography carried the song tho o.O it’s so fucking cool. but like go live, another track has my heart and it’s

domino - AND YES I AGREE THAT THEY SHOULDVE MADE DOMINO TITLE TRACK UGHHHHH WHAT A WASTED FUCKING OPPORTUNITY. WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS HOW FOND I AM OF THIS SONG. it stands close to the level i love easy.

ssick - was a skip on first listen too because i found the chorus underwhelming but it grew on me? not that much but i can bear listening to it.

the view - it’s something the gen public like, hence its something i dislike. im not fond of songs that are structured like this? it’s not a bad song, just not the type of song i like. but i agree that the hook is very not catchy but it would get stuck in ur head.

sorry, i love you - it’s not as sad as i expected but i actually like it??? i can’t wait to write a fic out of it (1) HAJSHAJ it’s like a 3/5 for me. it’s angsty but chill?

silent cry - i’m pissed at this song bc it hits but sometimes it doesn’t?@?#!? but it’s starting to grow on me but definitely not my fave track.

secret secret - glad i found a secret secret enthusiast because my irls thought it was a skip?$?#@$? it gives me ikon vibes and i’m a huge fan of ikon’s discog so this was a win for me T_T +

STAR LOST - gives me bigbang song vibes and now im very sad :(( in case u didnt know, i’m a hUGE yg fan and 2ne1/bigbang introduced me to kpop so when i heard this track that gave me yg feels i just <3___<3 and it’s one of my favorite tracks anw moving on,

red lights - I WANT TO SKIP THE FIRST TEN SECONDS OF RED LIGHTS EVERY TIME IT PLAYS LIKE IT MAKES ME FEEL AWKWARD KDSJFSK but fine. i’m adding this to props and mayhem’s playlist LMAO it’s more aggressive than sexc tho. more enemies to lovers o. O

surfin’ - this coming right after red lights just wasn’t the best decision arrangement wise because how did we go from ooh sexc to aigh pARTAY. felix saying sheesh T___T it’s such a fun song i want to go to the beach ;n; do you like beaches?

gone away - i have yet to read the lyrics because i’m using this as inspo for a jeongin fic jskjash it’s not the type of ballad i like but it’s so fucking sad to listen to :’ ) the pitch change caught me off guard? still does. it’ll grow on me prolly.

wolfgang - I YELLED WHEN I HEARD HYUNJIN IN WOLFGANG. i didn’t like this song until recently. it gives me the confidence boost i need to pick myself off self-esteem crashes.

and no i haven't watched that performance and i prolly wont because i’ll cry. i’m excited for the promotions too. do you think they’ll still have a repackage?? i cant fucking believe that i just finished waiting for 12am kst for skz teasers and now i have to look forward to 12am for nct 127??@?#? NOT A SINGLE DAY OF REST FOR THIS STAYZEN

[renaroo]

Wednesday Roundup

Wednesday’s come and gone, and I’ve (finally!) finished writing up my first Roundup of my new semester of vet school! Though I must warn that as the semester goes on, I’ll probably have more and more difficulty getting these out on/around Wednesdays since I’ve gotten my surgery schedule for the next five months and low and behold, I’ve been assigned Wednesday duties lol

But how did my first Wednesday of the semester go? Well, it was definitely DC strong!

DC’s Detective Comics (2016- ) #948, DC’s Gotham Academy: Second Semester (2016- ) #5, DC’s Superwoman (2016- ) #6, DC’s Wonder Woman (2016- ) #14

DC’s Detective Comics (2016- ) #948 James Tynion IV, Marguerite Bennett, Steve Epting

As incredibly disappointed as I am to have Cassandra’s story pushed back again in ‘Tec, I really must applaud the marketing choice to utilize a short storyline in ‘Tec as the starting point to amplify the upcoming Batwoman book -- a strategy used in 2000 with a few Gotham books including Batman: Gotham Knights to promote Cassandra’s original Batgirl (2000-2006) book in the months leading up to its own launch. And as a fan of Batwoman who has been very disappointed in her lack of solo titles in the last few years, especially as both a Jewish superhero and a LGBT superhero, I’m happy to see her getting the spotlight. 

But goddamn, Tynion and the team better deliver on that upcoming Cass story. I have been waiting for a year now for Cass to get her dues. 

Anyway for the issue itself, it’s.... I’m torn, because I adore the original origins for Batwoman as written by Greg Rucka so much -- I have them in hardback copy on my bookshelf as we speak. And her identity as a queer woman was such an instrumental part of that story, as well as her familial relationships. And seeing that get twisted and ... turned, I don’t know what else to call it -- a perversion of that original relationship with her and Jacob to further retcon him to the Worst Ever and having her whole origin be a manipulation just... sits bad with me. 

But at least we’re getting back to establishing what from her previous solo is still considered continuity. So yay that.

The art’s... okay. I think it’s good but the coloring choices are dull and you know me and my pickiness with color. The only real criticism I have is that Kate’s cape seems to conveniently evaporate from the shoulders down whenever the art wants to emphasize her figures. Convenient. Especially since Bruce has no such problem. 

DC’s Gotham Academy (2016- ) #5 Brenden Fletcher, Becky Cloonan, Karl Kerschl, Adam Archer, Sandra Hope, Msassyk, Serge Lapointe

It’s hard to really talk too much about an arc in the midst of its storyline, but I will say that I am very very glad that at the very least, it feels like Gotham Academy has rediscovered its focus and, in that way, is showing its potential and strengths again. The story and characters were so gripping in the initial incarnation of this series that it’s been difficult to deal with its more recent meandering. 

Fortunately, the focus on the kids again proves to be as powerful as ever, and the difficulties that Olive is experiencing being pulled by her loyalties in different directions feels very natural -- her trust has repeatedly been shown as hard earned and, as such, is difficult for her to go against once gained.

I also think I may be in love with Pomeline’s mom. Me thinks someone on the staff has also been a fan of Daria in the past because there’s some real channeling of Helen Morgendorffer in this issue.

I also love how Gotham Academy is able to give us the “lay person’s” perspective on Bruce Wayne that I have always suspected existed -- this wavering between corporate shill and Magical Money Plot Fairy. 

One thing that’s getting hard to ignore, though, is the quality of the art. It’s not terrible, but even the original volume had difficulties with digital translation -- something about the resolution of the lineart has always been off and it’s making the new penciller’s work suffer even more than the old volume experienced, unfortuantely.. Maybe the digital pen they’re using is too soft? Or too hard? It’s hard to tell off the cuff for me. 

Basically every image looks like it was saved in an unfortunate .jpeg conversion. 

DC’s Superwoman (2016- ) #6 Phil Jimenez, Matt Santorelli, Jack Herbert, Hi-Fi

While I’m still very much in the camp of enjoying Superwoman, I feel like the inevitable return of Lois Lane!Prime is being drug out far too long, and I’m beginning to worry my confidence that she’s actually returning might have been slightly misplaced now that I’m catching up in other Superbooks as well. Still, I want to give this story its conclusion before I draw any lines definitively in the sand. 

The art is still wonderful and as a 90s/2000s Superfan, it’s hard for me not to get wrapped up in my elation at seeing so many familiar faces returning and being treated with prominence. But I am getting more concerned about the treatment of disabilities -- the DCU as a whole has sort of lost any acceptable leeway in delivering stories about people overcoming physical disabilities with the refusal to better address the Barbara Gordon situation, and making Lena Luthor’s turn to evil about her own overcoming of paraplegia leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 

I’m also beginning to feel a little... uneasy with how Lana’s PTSD and anxiety disorder are being treated at the moment. I’m really hoping Jimenez will course correct by the end. I still really like this book and think it’s good, but these problems are keeping it from genuine greatness. 

DC’s Wonder Woman (2016- ) #14 Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott, Romulo Fajardo Jr.

Without question, Wonder Woman: Year One is going to go down as one of the greatest Wonder Woman stories ever told, and while everyone possible has called that from the beginning, that this team and this story could not have been beat, the fact that they were able to take Pérez’s origins for Wondy, the original origins from Marston, and still created something so new and so refreshing is a testament to the kind of comic book storytelling I have sorely missed.  

It was fantastic to see Ares back and familiar, but also to see that Wonder Woman’s patrons are going to play a more significant role than we once saw. I’ve enjoyed Rucka’s work with the gods in the past so it’ll be fascinating to see where he’s going with all of this now. 

We’re also finally, finally getting to the connection of Year One and Rucka’s other Wonder story going on presently and it’s a relief to finally truly feel a direction on that front. I’m still wary of the B plot, but for the first time I’m actually somewhat looking forward to it in two weeks. 

This week for me there’s really just no contest for what I think was my most enjoyable comic -- I adored every moment of Wonder Woman #14, and even with a competitive week, there’s just hard to imagine something topping this book when it’s at its best.

But of course that’s just my opinion! I’d love to hear from you all on what comics you’re reading, your thoughts, or your pick for favorite!