#I guess tldr is that I enjoy some more than others

[heyclickadee]

My take (that no one asked for) on every single Star Wars show and non-saga movie:

The Clone Wars (movie): It’s…okay it’s rough. This wasn’t supposed to be a movie at all, putting three episodes of the show together and releasing it theatrically was part of the distribution deal with Cartoon Network, as far as I know, and it does show. It’s grown on me, though.

Clone Wars (The Tartakovsky Series): I think I’m probably in the minority here, but I actually don’t love this one. It’s fun, slick, and stylish, like everything Tartakovsky does is, and I don’t dislike it, but it just doesn’t do much for me. It’s cool. Maybe it’s a little too cool. Great art style, though.

The Clone Wars: Very high highs, very low lows. Though to be honest, I actually love a lot of the goofier episodes. They’re fun. It doesn’t have to be all drama all the time. Sometimes you can let Jar Jar be an agent of chaos. Sometimes you can have an episode about interest rates. I don’t have the nostalgia factor going with TCW the way a lot of people do—I didn’t watch it until I was in my twenties—so I do have to admit that it is tied with one other show as my least favorite of the animated shows, but that’s not a bad thing. I still love it.

Ewoks: I’ve only seen about six episodes. It’s veeerry 80’s. I think eight year old me would have gone insane for this show had I seen it. Adult me actually has a bit of a soft spot for it. I’ll watch the rest of it eventually. (Aaaand now I have the theme song stuck in my head. It’s. It’s definitely a theme song.)

Droids: I…haven’t seen it.

Resistance: I finally had a chance to get all the way through this show (I was eyeballs deep in “okay fine we’ll try this college thing AGAIN” when it was airing and just didn’t have time to check it out) and you know what? It’s actually pretty good. It’s definitely skewed even a little younger than Star Wars typically is, but it does what it does really well. Sort of feel like this one is slept on.

The Mandalorian: It’s a fantastic adventure of the week show. I actually don’t dislike the “plot” episodes, but mostly I’m just here to watch what shenanigans Din and his small green force son get into. Season three is weaker than the first two, but I don’t even really think that season is bad. There was some great stuff in it—just uneven and mixed in with some not so great stuff. Overall, good popcorn viewing, as far as I’m concerned.

Andor: Okay, yeah, Andor is fantastic. I do think some of its popularity is that it’s one of two (maybe three) Star Wars shows made for adults more than anyone else, so some people don’t quite have the same “why isn’t this making me feel like Star Wars did when I was a kid?” dissonance watching it, but it is also genuinely amazing. Probably the best thing Star Wars has ever done even if it’s not technically my favorite.

The Book of Boba Fett: Is it a mess? Yes. Do I still enjoy it? Yeah. My main problem with BoBF is that it’s got some serious structural issues. Even besides Din coming in and taking over two whole episodes, I think that the telling the story via flashbacks was a mistake, and that we should have followed Boba through the childhood bits and slowly caught up to him in the present. Maybe revealed it was all a flashback while he was in the bacta tank from there. And I…don’t love Robert Rodriguez’s directorial style all that much, never really have. That said, I do hope we eventually get more of this, though if we do I think it will be folded into something else. Still don’t love the live action pike design. (I actually have a conspiracy theory that BoBF was originally just a few episodes or even a season of The Mandalorian, and that it was made its own thing for marketing purposes.) I want more Boba, more Fennec, and more Sand People, if nothing else.

Solo: One, killing off Val Beckett was a huge mistake. It’s not story breaking or anything like that, but doing so when she’s one of very few black women in Star Wars and half of one of, like, two interracial couples in the entire franchise means that it hits in a way it wouldn’t if she was someone else. So, yeah, don’t like that. Two, the rest of this movie is a blast and audiences just hate fun. I don’t care that no one asked for this movie, it’s fun and campy and there’s a heist and I like it. Three, Enfys Nest has the sickest armor design in the whole franchise and I need more of her.

Kenobi: So…maybe unpopular opinion here, but…I really like Kenobi. Kenobi’s a delight. It’s not perfect, it’s got some problems, but I like that it’s about a guy who’s that depressed and alone slowly regaining his sense of hope, I like that we had something focus on Leia for a while (because Anakin and Padme had two kids and Leia always gets left second string), I like that you’ve got grifters like Haja and former imperials doing what little bits they can to help even though they can’t fight the whole empire. And I know that thoughts are mixed on this, but I actually thought it made a couple bits of A New Hope make more sense where Leia is concerned; kid me could never figure out how she knew who Ben Kenobi was when that was the name he only went by in exile on Tattooine (“Ben Kenobi? Where is he!?”), and it kind of made the switch from the very formal request for aid on behalf of her father to the more personal, “Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi,” a little more poignant, for me, anyway. Reva is an amazing character, she’s a perfect parallel and eventually perfect foil for Anakin, she’s a mess and a he’s in pain and I just. I love her. I have mixed feelings on the live action Grand Inquisitor’s performance (and mixed feelings on the makeup—on the one hand it could be better and on the other hand the other main live action pau’an we’ve got—the actor’s head was just shaped like that). Nevertheless, this show for me was mostly about the big emotional beats, and it hit all of those really well.

The Bad Batch: This is a magnificent show and I adore it apart from That One Thing and the fact that everything was left completely open, even going into the epilogue, apart from Omega’s coming of age and the Hunter’s and Omega’s relationship’s arc. That was resolved very well. I am mildly insane about this show. I love it. Also, it vexes me. Tied with two other shows as my favorite Star Wars show in spite of all that. Amazing soundtrack. Sidebar: If it turns out I’m right and That One Thing is an extended fake out and we’re not quite done with these characters, I’m sorry, but I’m going to be the most insufferable person alive.

The Acolyte: Everyone is very pretty and just a little stupid. Mae is very fun. The good scenes are very, very good. The writing is pretty uneven; judging from interviews I have a completely different view of writing than Leslye Headland and had a hard time picking up why a lot of the characters did anything, but when it hit, it hit. It’s…very CW drama, which isn’t a bad thing—just not always my thing. That said, Sol is a fascinating concept for a character and Lee Jung-jae did an incredible job with what he was given. Same with Qimir and Manny Jacinto. It’s honestly not my favorite Star Wars show, but I’m still disappointed that it looks like it’s not moving forward. The leftover story might end up being folded into the high republic book series, but I still hope we get some kind of on-screen continuation. I think the public needs more of Darth Babe the Jacked.

Rogue One: It’s great. Yes, the entire main cast dies, but the central message was still about hope. Vader gets to pun. I remain somewhat dismayed that the only thing a portion of the audience took away from it was that the Vader hallway scene was cool. He’s a horror movie monster there. Still a great movie. (Also, Saw, why do you have that??)

Young Jedi Adventures: This skews very young; most Star Wars is for kids in the first place apart from Andor, the Acolyte, and mmaaaaaybe the Tales of anthology (the other live action shows are, in my opinion, solidly whole family), but this really is made for very young children. That said, I have watched it, and it’s a very well done show for very young kids. Also I would die and kill for Nubs.

The “Tales Of” anthology series: Yes, I am counting this as one, because even though there’s a shift in focus from the Jedi to the empire between seasons, it all follows the exact same format and structure. I’d argue this series is the one that’s primarily for the adults who either grew up watching Star Wars animation or got into it as adults. It’s good, lots of atmosphere, the episodes do range in quality but I generally like them, and it’s nice they get to play around with different techniques, like making miniatures and incorporating them into the animation. The Dooku and Barriss episodes are probably my favorites.

Ahsoka: I know the fandom is divided on this, like they are on most things, but I love this one, okay? It’s not perfect, but I have a good time watching it. It just happens to be this perfect blend of campy, fun, dramatic, and mystical that really feels like Star Wars for me. I like it when Star Wars gets weird, has silly little guys, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Lucky for me that this series has extragalactic travel via whale, Ahsoka being dragged to Force Therapy by Anakin, and Ezra hanging out with the space fraggles. That, and I love some of the concepts. I like the idea that force sensitivity isn’t the be all end all, that connecting to the force is something you can learn with practice even if you weren’t blessed with the genetic lottery. Peridea and the space it occupies in folklore is neat. And the music is wonderful. It is a little uneven, it’s not Andor or anything quite that amazing, but I’m eager for more.

Visions: This anthology is fantastic and you’re missing out if you haven’t seen it. I don’t love every entry, but even the weaker ones are worth seeing once, and the stronger ones are worth seeing a whole lot more than that. It’s a great blend of styles and takes from people normally not involved in creating Star Wars. This is in a three way tie for my favorite Star Wars show.

Rebels: Again, it’s not perfect, because no show is, but I also think it’s the strongest standalone show Star Wars has besides Andor. Yes, there are weaker episodes, but on the whole it’s remarkably consistent, and the second half of season four might be some of my favorite Star Wars outside of parts of the original trilogy. Also, it has some stunning backgrounds, and while the art style doesn’t always work for every character, the character animation ends up really hitting its stride towards the end of the second season, and just gets better from there. And, as always, the music is fantastic. Rebels rounds out that three way tie for my favorite Star Wars show along with TBB and Visions.

[allegorism]

when are we going to move on from natlan. i'm so tired of this nation, just take us to nod krai.

[evelynpr]

For prev's tags, I'm really saying like-

"Izuku is incredibly caring and loving to people even to those who hurt him" and "Izuku is concerningly obsessed and freaky, and quite arrogant/self righteous" and "Izuku is self sacrificial and destructive" and "Izuku feels satisfaction and desire for power and violence" are all statements that can coexist.

Middle school bakudeku was like, Horrible bully x Freaky stalker wasn't it because holy shit Deku really was freaky as hell-

The guy knows his moves, stance, food habits, SHOWER AND SLEEP ROUTINE??? WHAT THE FUCK MAN-

To be clear, the Smash comics aren't Canon canon. This is just another way of understanding bkdk's dynamic and progression.

[olderthannetfic]

Ok. Dumb question incoming, but I'd much have a 'conversation' than try to read fanlore or watch video essays or something because I want to hear individual people's contributions.

Why Star Trek?

Don't get me wrong - I like the franchise! I'm not super duper familiar with it, but I do enjoy the bits and pieces that I do know. But I am wondering why that in particular is hailed as the grandmother of all fandoms? Obviously people were fannish before Trek, but I don't think anyone can deny the impact that OG Trekkies had on fic, zines, and eventually on the internet.

I know that it's always been popular and well-liked, but it's not as if there was NO SUCH THING as popular culture/fan culture before that (I mean, come on, the term "parasocial" predates the first Star Trek episode by 10 years!) . Was it just a perfect mix of timing + popularity + etc? Is there something in particular about ST that "hit different" than other series at the time? Or is the fandom really really just that mighty and it's almost "luck" in a way? I guess I'm wondering what particular dominoes cascaded in a line in order for Star Trek to have the impact on fandom that it does today.

or am I wrong? were there just-as-big fandoms before and I simply overhype Trekkie power in my head / happen to see more talk of that than I do of other fandoms? It could definitely be a social circle bias thing.

Ugh. Asking OTNF why Star Trek is so important to fandom history feels very much like asking a Russian History major why War & Peace is so important to literature - hence why I warned you that it'd be a dumb question! But I am just so damn curious what sort of crack was in early ST fandom that made it SO widespread and SO strong.

Like, I guess the TLDR is: what was particularly 'different' about Star Trek, either as a fandom or as a franchise or both, that made it Theeeeee OG fandom, rather than something, like, i dunno, LOTR or the earliest versions of Marvel/DC comics or General Hospital or something else like that?

--

I await the hordes of angry Man from U.N.C.L.E. fans eager to prove that they were first.

And, no, it wasn't that popular. Hence the aggressive Save Our Show campaign and explosion of fan culture when it ended after three seasons.

Part of the answer to your question is that there were like three things on TV at the time. What big fandoms? 'Parasocial' was about non-subculture people feeling warmly towards news anchors or hosts of variety shows or something, wasn't it?

LOTR got rediscovered in the 60s or 70s from what I hear, but science fiction and fantasy books were for fringe weirdoes. SFF was not mainstream for the most part. There are a bunch of History of Book SF Fandom things on Youtube, and you should consult them on the complex role of LOTR in that space. LOTR wasn't a mainstream thing until there were live action movies a billion years later.

The key about Star Trek is that it was a hit with the pre-existing book SF crowd. They were an organized subculture. Some of their favorite writers wrote episodes. Other shit on TV was for people who did not form subcultures in that way. Other shit for SF fans had an audience 1/10,00th the size.

MFU was insanely popular. Illya Kuryakin was the heartthrob of a certain era of girl and inspired many a Russian major. (Seriously, there are soooo many Russia-boos of a certain age who probably still have a poster of him somewhere.) The actor set a record for fanmail. The show may have more influence on fandom history than we think now, but it also didn't rerun the way Trek did, at least in some eras, and it didn't have sequel series in a franchise. I'm always finding 2015 movie fans shocked that there's a still extant and semi-active fandom—or even shocked that the movie is based on something.

Starsky & Hutch was also hugely important and is the moment slash fandom and "Media Fandom" really split from book SF fandom. As Trek fans moved on to buddy cops, they were into a completely mainstream show but in a non-mainstream way. Trek was an awkward bedfellow at SF cons, but S&H just didn't fit at all.

Of course, while Trek is the grandma of AO3 type fandom, don't forget that a shitton of modern fans who are doing "research" just look at the same few sources. Enterprising Women is great and all, but even other fans of the same stuff are like "Oh, that was just X's friends. Where's [thing] and [thing] and [thing]?" Ditto Textual Poachers and the other scant early sources that people think have academic weight.

While Trek would still be central, the picture of what was going on in the late 60s-early 80s would look a bit different if you just found a bunch of 70-something nerds and asked them than if you regurgitate other people's research, you know?

If you want an idea of what else was going on in SF fandom back in the day, check out Galactic Journey, where they roleplay that it's 55 years ago and review SF things "as they come out".

If you want to understand MFU, here's a vid of Illya:

--

What say you, readers?

What have acafandom and fandom history and meta left out?

[sboochi]

Listen, I like the idea of human!Star as much as the next person, but that's the point. I like the idea in my head.

To be honest, if this was the direction the creative team had gone with, I probably wouldn't enjoy it to this level. So it can stay in my head.

Anyway, I liked the movie! More opinions down below.

People are acting like it's the biggest disgrace ever happened to the animation industry and it feels..... so over-dramatic?? The movie isn't perfect, of course, but chill, have y'all forgotten about the emoji movie???

Also reading some people's comments feels like they don't want anyone to enjoy the movie, which sucks. I mean, I checked the tag here and it was An Experience.

Personally I liked:

Asha's little friend group! "But they don't have a real personality" boohoo the httyd and big hero 6 gangs didn't have more than 1 trait and nobody ever complained this much

The visuals were gorgeous. I guess this is personal taste but I LOVED the watercolor-esque backgrounds

I liked the songs, especially At all costs and This wish. I don't have a problem with the lyrics because I haven't listened to the soundtrack in English, but I've never really cared about lyrics anyway

Magnifico was a delight (evil arc my beloved)

There are a few things I would have handled differently, but again, it's taste:

Please let us have a protagonist with a very different personality from the usual Disney Heroine. Give me shy, give me nerd, give me sassy

I was hoping the queen's decision to side with Asha would be harder to make. I would have showed her struggle with her love for Magnifico and her people, I want the d r a m a

Poor Asha's mom deserved better

I know it's frustrating seeing all this negativity, but I think it'll die down with time. People were shitting on Moana and Zootopia too, at first. Hating this movie with passion is just the latest trendy opinion (you know those. You've probably seen them on tiktok)

(Please note I'm only talking about Wish. The "Disney the company" topic is too big for one post)

TLDR Wish isn't perfect, people just like to be mean. You're allowed to like it, whether others agree or not

[giveafike]

Hiii i love your dominic fike works :,) and i was wondering if you’d write a nsfw alphabet for ben shelton? preferably fem reader but if you think something else would work better then that’s cool too 🤞

TLDR: NSFW alphabet! I borrowed the format from other NSFW alphabets I've seen round here.

Warnings + Content Ahead: fem reader! NSFW, Minors DNI! There's a bit of everything in here, mentions of cum, light bondage, throatplay, fingering, masturbation, oral sex, thighriding, toys, moaning if that's anything to warn about - just read w caution if NSFW is a touchy subject! Nothing too crazy or wild here.

Azzie Notes ✚: !!! Bro, tell me why there’s actually no NSFW Ben content here?? And he’s literally so hot?? I was losing my mind during Laver Cup and now I’m losing it after seeing the sleeve on his left arm at Japan Open.

Anyways, this should go wo saying: all assumptions and guesses, girl idfk anything!!! I’m just daydreaming!! I hope I don’t repeat myself too much throughout this but erm..yeah! Enjoy!

P.S. IJBOL I'm writing this while watching Fils v Shelton rn pls im so unsrs. Do send in requests! I have a couple of ADORABLEEE ANON BEN REQS AND IM SCREAMINGGG send more, im so feral for a cute moment. The support and reception I got on my big old long Ben post has been so sweet, you all are so sweet bless u all 😽

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NSFW Alphabet - B.T.S.

A: aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

I'd like to think Ben is very caring after sex, he acts first before he says anything. Things like asking if you're okay, if he was good for you, fetching some water for you, (carrying you if you can't walk after bc let's be honest here...you prob can’t walk after all that) ahem, ordering food and getting you comfy first - just a bunch of acts of service before he settles down and smothers you in kisses all over your face and shoulders and mumbling i-love-yous. He'd play with your hair with a lazy smile and smitten eyes and tell you that you're amazing and how much he cares for you and how he loves to show you just how much he loves you.

B: body part (their fave body part on their own body + fave body part on your body)

Ben knows he's handsome and he def knows what he's does to us lmao, but I think what he loves most on his own body would be his arms and his abs. Not only is it a testament to his hard work and dedication to tennis and training, but seeing how you'd react when you get a glimpse of his slick, sweaty abs halfway through a game would make him go feral. But what he loves even more is when you hold onto his bicep when you're out together, or how you dig your nails into his shoulders when he's deep in you.

If I'm being fr I think Ben is a "bit of everything" rather than an ass/boobs guy. If you are out in public, he has his arm thrown over your shoulder or tight at your waist, or you're holding onto his arm. In private, I think he loves you siting on his lap for movie nights, holding your hips while you ride him, palming your breasts when you're making out with him, tapping your ass when he walks by you, rubbing his hand over you thighs and planting soft kisses up and down your legs - like, he loves every inch of you all the time and BAD. He shows it so clearly with his deeds, he just can't keep his hands off of you. He sees you as nothing but perfect and worships you with his hands and lips.

C: cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

I think when you first experiment together, he wouldn't want to cum on your face, but instead would do it on your back after doggy or on your chest or your stomach, or finish off in your mouth - something about seeing you a bit messy and decorated in his cum would turn him on even after he came. But over time and with trust, he'd find himself obsessed with finishing in you. The feeling of you both reaching your climaxes together in full height would drive him crazy - knowing he was the only one able to fill you the way he does and having your mixed arousal pool out of you was just another realm of pleasure.

Ben would be a fan of having you ride his face until you couldn't handle it anymore. Something about his face being soaked with your cum while you moan and grind down on him over and over again, and then seeing you lie down beside him afterwards with half-lidded eyes and shivering after all that would be more than enough to get him off. Same sentiment for fingering too, he'd be so pleased seeing your arousal coating his fingers, like seeing just how worked up you are for him every time would be unbelievable to him each and every time.

D: dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

Ben's into car sex. But especially if you're going somewhere special. Something about dressing up for an event/date and getting his sexy partner into his sexy sports car would drive him wild with the idea of pulling you over to the driver seat and having you ride him right then and there.

I think he's also into you trying to take control or being a brat just so he can flip it around and put you in your place - especially with some spanking or teasing, making you beg for permission to cum - nothing extreme just enough to make you whimper and submit 🙂‍↕️.

E: experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

I don't think Ben has tons of experience imo. He went to college for a bit but he's only 22 with a demanding schedule and doesn't seem to have much dating history either. I feel like he's too focused on himself, his family and friends and his career to be hooking up and going crazy with experimenting. In saying that, he definitely knows what he likes and needs and he can learn quick too.

F: favorite position (this goes without saying)

I think Ben would loveeee holding you in his strong arms as he fucks into you, it'd be so intimate and precious in his eyes, watching your face contort with every thrust and hearing your soft moans roll out right into his ear. He’d want you to keep your eyes locked on his but you’d keep rolling them back in pleasure. He’d love groping your ass or boobs while he held you like that. Ben would also be into doggy, like your face and arms pressed down on the mattress while he holds your hips or grips your hair, bundling it into a very messy ponytail and tugging when he feels himself getting close.

G: goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

We all know Ben's a silly, goofy guy so I believe he wouldn’t be opposed or unlikely to let out a few chuckles with you. It'd be something as silly as him struggling to unclasp your bra or him accidentally slipping out of you that would earn a few small giggles from the both of you. Or maybe you're both drunk and having giggly, sweet sex - just whispering affections, foreheads pressed together, unable to hold in your pure, raw love for each other. It wouldn't ever be out of malice or anything, it would just be how comfortable you two were with each other.

H: hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

I think Ben has it trimmed but not bare. He has a little happy trail down that's dark and curly so I imagine it to be the same below too.

I: intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

I imagine him to be so intimate and loving. He wants to hear how good you feel, he'll make you talk to him, beg for him. He definitely mixes praise with degradation but on top of all, he loves calling you his - "my pretty slut", "my beautiful mess" , "my girl". He loves making you beg and plead for him, holds your chin and makes you look up at him and plead him to touch you over and over again before he finally gives in and gives his all. He definitely loves taking his time when he can, making sure he doesn’t skimp out on anything and make sure you can feel his pure love for you in every action.

He def would love to have a whole ambiance going; candles, fresh flowers, a bubble bath, fresh sheets, a new lingerie set for you, soft music playing, maybe even try to make a meal for you too and it wouldn't be for special days, sometimes it would be "just because". He loves to tell you that he loves you and would try his absolute best to show it too, through kisses and roaming hands all over your body and trying to make you feel like you're the only girl in the world, because to him you really are.

J: jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He loves you, just thinking about you lying in bed waiting for him would help him get off, thinking of your moans, your voice in bed begging and encouraging him, the way you look at him and hold onto him like he’s your rock; he'd be close to cumming off of the idea of you alone.

If you let him, he'd have a private album of photos and videos of you two together that he'd watch while he's on tour to help him get off, and of course he'd text you right after (sometimes with pictures of the mess he made too) telling you how much he loves and misses you, your touch and your body. If you had the time, he'd also call you while on tour and have phone sex, talking dirty to you and guiding you the entire time and watching how your face and breathy moans through the phone. Distance makes the heart grow fonder and masturbating together while away only meant that sex together would be even more intense and intimate when you reunite.

K: kink (one or more of their kinks)

Ben's huge (both height, strength and well ..size..) so seeing how you take him and how soft you look in comparison to him is a massive kink for him. That size kink of his drives him wild.

I can see light bondage or restraints as a kink too, pinning you down with his hands or using soft cloths to tie your hands together, maybe even covering your mouth or holding your throat for light breathplay at times too.

I think he'd lose it over being told how good he feels and being praised in that sense. Like I said before, he'd love mixing praise and degradation and showing you that you’re his girl, no one else's. He'd love getting you off more than anything as well.

L: location (favorite places to do the do)

In no particular order: his car, the bedroom, the living room, kitchen - hell, even the bathroom right by the sink - anywhere where he can have you all to himself for as long as possible.

I don't think he'd try anything super public, like in a changing room, but if you're both desperate and horny, maybe in a personal gym or locker room for a quickie every now and then but there will be a round 2 when you get back to your bedroom for sure.

M: motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Like I said, he loves you more than anything, literally anything you say or do would get him going. Say the word and Ben is yours and at your service.

Seeing you acting coy or feigning innocence when you’re purposefully turning him on (whether that’s by wearing his favourite sundresses or a new pair of lingerie he bought abroad, “accidentally” touching him through his pants, saying/texting something dirty in his ear while he’s supposed to be focused, list goes on) would arouse him too, especially since he gets to teach you a lesson.

N: no (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

I expect him to be the jealous type, he wouldn't want to share you with anyone or have anyone else invited for your intimate time together. He wouldn't want to hurt you or do anything you were uncomfortable with; he'd put you first in everything.

o = oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Loves to recieve, loves to give. When you're giving him head, he holds your hair back and wants to see your pretty eyes so badly, might allow you to play with your clit as you hollow out your cheeks for him. Gently asks you to try to take him all and loves hearing the lewd gagging noises as you try to deepthroat him when you hit the back of your throat. He loves having you suck his balls too or run your tongue over his tip and down the veins of his length. He genuinely sees stars when you're working away on him.

He loves to play with you when he gives you head. Teasing licks or humming as he eats you out just to send shivers down your spine. Uses his fingers and tongue to get you off. Once he's in a rhythm and is actually eating you out, he can't help but keep going which only makes you come undone over and over and over again. He thinks you’re delicious and loves watching you writhe for him and grip his curls.

p = pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

After tour, I think Ben would try to pace himself and make slow, deep love to you, once again trying to show you just how much he missed every single part and inch of you. Obviously, at a certain point, he'd lose his composure and his eagerness would get the better of him as he quickens his pace but he'd shower you with kisses while he does so.

After a frustrating game, he'd be fast and hold you close to him as he works at a relentless pace (nothing you wouldn't be able to handle, ofc). Lots of hair tugging, spanking, positions, marks and hickeys come with that too. He'd thank you and kiss you over your marks and hickeys after, gently massaging the skin he spanked and having lazy makeouts with you before you both find yourself falling asleep after all that.

q = quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Quickies with Ben would be frequent as he just can't help himself! Sometimes in the mornings before practice, you'd have lazy, sloppy, sweet morning sex that always put you to sleep right after.

Maybe even in between practice and his actual games - where he'd bend you over the sofa or the kitchen table, even prop you up against the shower wall when he's supposed to be focusing on the game ahead of him - whatever or wherever it was, those quickies would have you moaning his name in no time, he knew just how to work you right.

r = risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

I didn't want to mention the locker rooms or personal gyms in the quickie section because i was saving it for this hehe 😝. Ben wouldn't risk doing it if it meant someone would actually probably walk in, he'd only want to have sex with you if you were comfortable to and if it meant it would be uninterrupted.

I imagine Ben making you spread in front of him as you sit on a bench while he kneels to eat you out, covering your mouth or making you suck his fingers to stifle your noise, so you don't get caught.

I think if he was really into it, Ben might even go as far as to buying those remote control vibrators that he can control, just to watch you squirm for him in the stands during his matches or while you were out together for some errands. He'd only take it as far as you wanted to go, though ofc.

s= stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

Well, I just watched Ben battle Fils for 3 hours straight at the Japan Open while getting his leg hurt - I think he's got plenty of stamina so long as you can take it. He'd always ask for "one more?" in the sweetest softest voice, especially after you spent time away from each other.

t= toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

He'd love seeing how you squirm with vibrators and try buy cutesy toys like fluffy cuffs or a small pink handheld vibrator for you to use while on tour (and to use while on video call with him). I don't think Ben would know much about toys for himself, but if you brought the idea up, he'd try anything for you.

u = unfair (how much they like to tease)

LOVES to make you beg for just how much you want him. "Say please", "what do you want exactly? Use your words baby, I know you can", "You want more? beg for it", "look at me with those pretty eyes and ask. me. again". And he'd work you up so much, just to say no and watch you pout and beg even more. Ben loves to be in charge and on top, knowing you were in the palm of his hand (when really, he was wrapped around your finger).

v = volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Not too loud, he groans and grunts in your ear and lets out a few gasps and curse words out alongside his mix of praise and degradation and i-love-yous. He's vocal with telling you what he wants or needs more of, what feels good and how you feel.

w = wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Loves, loves, LOVES you riding his thigh. He'll casually ask you to sit on his lap and watch a movie and both of you knew full well what was going to go down. Loves feeling you grinding desperately against his thigh and seeing you become a mess for a bit of friction. (I'm in the midst of writing smth about thigh riding just u wait 🤭)

x = x-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

If a picture paints a thousand words, look at the pics I've attached and look REAL close. He's called Big Ben for a reason babe.

y = yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

His sex drive is only on full blast for you. He's constantly hungry for more of you, can't get enough. Like I said, he's whipped for you.

z = zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He would hold you tight, make sure you're not hungry or thirsty or uncomfortable before you went to sleep. If something upset you, he'd make sure he understood and talked it out so he wouldn't ever do it again, you're his main priority in everything. If you were sore after, he'd apologise smiling (his ego and pride obv through the roof) and gently massage your thighs and hips, planting soft kisses on your forehead.

He'd hold you til you fell asleep and then he'd fall asleep almost immediately after, knowing you were happy and loved in his arms.

and now we go and pray after all this 🧎‍♀️😽

[meiguicha]

AITA for complimenting my colleague - Final Update

Blade x Fem!Reader- Reddit exists AU

lol would love to do a tifu with someone else after this

Original Post - Update 1

r/AmItheAsshole ~ 3 system hr. ago

easternskiesonamoonlitnight

Great news, I'm not dead. Dao did not in fact take me to some secluded star system to put me down.

Bad news, I am very, very sore.

Tldr for those with ass reading ; my colleague and I guess now partner, was somehow under the impression that the both of us have been in a relationship since the day I kissed him. Apparently none of my other colleagues except for Franz were aware of this and just thought I was being shy about our new relationship.

The really cryptic note and telling me to get ready was apparently everyone's combined attempt to get the both of us to go on a proper date. At the time, I yapped Dao's ears off out of anxiety and maybe in hopes that he'd change his mind about killing me. I remember eventually shutting up when I realised he was staring at me. And I guess he didn't really like the lack of yapping so he just asked why I wasn't talking and then everything just kind of happened...?

Yeah, uhm. Not great telling a person you're both afraid of and attracted to that you're about 90% sure he's going to turn you into a human hedgehog. Also maybe not great accidentally mentioning your sexual awakening in that alley.

Basically, Dao thought that the both of us were already in a relationship and that everything leading up to that day was just some cat-and-mouse that was confirmed with my kiss. And since Franz was too amused to say otherwise and the other two were equally in the dark, the whole charade just played on.

And to the person who asked about our boss, he does not care what kind of drama happens so. He's just here to enjoy the show.

Anyways, alls well ends well. I'm currently in the middle of another task and it's definitely way less stressful than that one. We're resting and just about done with the icky grimey physically painful bits, so we're just taking it easy now. Dao is finally knocked out next to me after maybe 6 days (???) of no sleep so that's great. The only problem is that I think he's crushing my lungs so note to self, go to the gym because wow is he heavy.

On the bright side, we're saving way more money now since we only have to get one room, and one bed.

Also Grey Dog has found my posts, so if you see this, please tell Glow worm that I'll handle our laundry when we return so don't worry about it. Or you can just send this post to her, I don't care.

SnowyRaven__ ~ 1 system hr. ago ~ Got my hopes up with that second paragraph, I thought op was going to tell us she got her guts rearranged by dao user0763013 ~ 1 system hr. ago ~ HELLO??????????

Theyearspasson ~ 3 system hr. ago ~ can someone tag quietondeck, i need to see their reaction to this neow

TileGamer4ever ~ 2 system hr. ago ~ OP, you should've listened to me smh. easternskiesonamoonlitnight OP ~ 9 system hr.ago ~ You're right but to be fair, I'm stupid

GalacticBaseballer069 ~ 3 system hr. ago ~ OP IM BEGGING ILL LICK THE TOILETS CLEAN ILL TAKE OUT THE TRASH PLEASE TAKE ME IN

[heartbeat-eras]

Just a little exercise.. right?

TLDR - I’m newly on meds and my heart. Well she doesn’t seem to like them. I did three rounds of 20 squats. After trying to get her to calm down (spoliers she didn’t) I laid down. This caused an immediate extreme drop. I then did a push which brought her into the 60s. I don’t think she threw any pvcs but you be the judge.

————————

If you saw my intro post you would know that I’ve recently been prescribed dexadrine. Dexadrine is an amphetamine that can raise blood pressure and heart rate. In my other post I thought it was high time I tested my Heart’s response to these meds. I know she’s been a lot more poundy and faster than normal but.. I thought I would do some of my own tests.

Firstly was tracking her all night with a chest strap monitor. I followed this up with taking my meds before getting out of bed and waiting for them to kick in. The result was exactly in the small range they said it should be. So my faster rate is clearly the meds and my heart working against gravity.

I’ve been looking into if exercising on meds is safe. There are split opinions if you should do it after / before or if you can do it while medication is in your system. I decided to try a small run. Let me preface this with a couple of years ago I was a runner. My heart always was reactive and fast to exercise but not like what happened here.

So imagine. I’ve put on my workout gear. Taped my Stemoscope to the loudest part of chest and go into the room with the treadmill. I set up my chest strap monitor with the treadmill. Perfect.. she’s beating at 142 and I haven’t done anything. I start the Stemoscope recording. 2 mins standing with her pounding away - not yet exercising. Ok this is gonna be fun. At 2 mins jump on at a brisk walk. She immediately drops to 113 - no there’s not wrong with the monitor. I can hear her. Then she slowly climbs. 117, 124, 131 and back to 142 and beyond. Within 1 1/2 mins we’re at 156. I’m not tired or out of breath but I also know I probably shouldn’t do this for long so I think- ok let’s try max her out. I break into a jog. Nothing like I used to, but a slow recovery run. She’s climbing and fast. Within a short space of time she’s now in the beating at 182 - I usually couldn’t feel beats like this before but I can feel her rocking my chest. I’m oddly out of breath for something I used to be able to sustain for over an hour. I jump off and bend over, trying to catch my breath. My heart thrashing in both my chest and my ears. My head spinning as I try to get her oxygen. I’m watching the number on the treadmill with the little heart next it. It’s not going down. It’s going up. At 187 she peaks and is pounding away. This is 2 mins after ceasing activity. She drop quite quickly.. not this time I guess.

I grab my gear and go back to my room. She’s settled a little bit. She keeps calming down then speeding back up. Down to 151 then up to 176. She’s all over the place like she doesn’t know what she’s meant to do.

Well that’s enough. I need to take some stress off her. I lay down, resulting in an immediate drastic drop to around 100. Finally. The break she needed. I go back to the recording… and we’ll I deleted in my zoned out state.

So this time I’ve recorded some squats. I was only able to get her into the 170s but you can hear just how unconditioned she sounds. This was not what she like pre meds and I will be asking my doctor about this when I see him next (well maybe leave out the constant stething). A part of me is slightly worried about this, whereas another part of me is like…. Oooo well. That’s a fun sound . Damn cardiophile thoughts right?

I hope you enjoy her first try (tech second) at exercise. She would love to hear your thoughts and support. She’s literally pounding in my ears as I share her with you.

[budbuddnbuddy]

𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠

Pt2

A/n: I thought of this while rotting away in bed like the loser I am, enjoy. Also tell me if yall want a pt2.

TLDR: Someone tried to kill you and your main hoes are not happy 💀

It’s stupidly funny when you think about it. Someone actually being dumb enough to try to kill you, at RAD of all places.

Though….maybe you were the dumb one, to think that you would be safe after your pact with Mammon. Sure he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed but he’s still one of the strongest demons in the Devildom, one of the strongest demons that was under your control.

That was only really made clear to you after demons, not only at RAD, stopped imitating you and talking openly about how they wanted to eat you and how Mammon started sticking by your side way more than usual. He played it off as Demon pact etiquette which was probably true now that you thought about it.

Sooner or later with each pact you made with the brothers the less Demons were actually trying or suggesting to kill you. In fact you were gaining some respect with each pact you made.

Guess when it was announced that you finally made a pact with Lucifer, you thought you had made it clear that you were of important status and finally cleared off the demons who wanted your neck slit.

Turns out they never left, they just hid and waited for the right moment.

It happened at a party at RAD, a good chunk of RAD’s students were there along with some of the friends you had made, along with the brothers, Lord Diavolo and Barbatos, and the other exchange students that were at RAD. It almost felt like a prom night.

Then gunshots were fired.

You fell onto the table of food spilled everything onto the floor, drinks, sweets, plates, bowls. Everything crumbled and broke around your limp body and everyone around you scattered.

You were out of it for a second but when your eyes finally allowed you to see, everything was shaking and blurry. It was so hard to breathe and- was that….blood?

Lights were broken and flashing on and off, people were running around and ducking under tables, you looked around to do the same and then heard a voice of a angel.

“….C! ….MC! MC!”

Literally.

You looked over to the side and saw Luke with tears in his eyes, his head peaked from under the table cloth and he waved at you to hide with him.

You didn’t want to put him in danger but that was really your only option at the moment however as soon and you lifted yourself up to crawl over, second bullet was shoot into your back.

Don’t you just have the best of luck?

You screamed in agony and people ran around more, you almost passed out again from the pain that was at the back of your head and your back itself. Muffled yells of Diavolo and Lucifer flowed into your ears and heavy stomps and running were heard from upstairs.

You settled for shuffling against the floor with the little strength you had, to get under the table with Luke, it was still hard to see but you could still tell that he had been crying, hard.

You coughed a little bit of blood, only making more tears roll down Luke’s cheeks. Everything was getting harder to see, you could hear Luke screaming at you to not die and the last thing you thought before you passed out?

‘I knew this was gonna happen.’

Lucifer

He was standing by Diavolo and Barbatos on the second floor when it happened, glancing back and forth at you every now and then.

You were only with Luke and some of your friends. None of his brothers were near you, Beel was looking for Belphie, Asmo and Satan were on the dance floor, Mammon was just finishing up a game of cards against some other demons and Leviathan was on his D.D.D in the corner.

Just as he was finishing up his conversation with Diavolo a loud gunshot was fired followed by crashing of multiple plates and bowls against the floor, his head shot back to look at where the bullet was fired at but everyone was running around and causing havoc.

When he finally looked down his face twisted into horror as his eyes laid upon you with the back of your head blown out, slumped over a bunch foods and liquids from the food table.

He screamed your name and directed Diavolos and Barbatos attention towards your unconscious body.

He searched in desperation for your attacker but was only met with screams of demons and crowds of people pushing each other for safety.

He did some pushing himself until he finally witnessed the man responsible for lodging a bullet in your head put another one in your back.

Lucifer shouted at him in rage and sprinted toward him Diavolo followed and the man made a break for it.

They followed him through crowds of demons however as soon as they saw who they were chasing the ran in the opposite direction giving them more space to run freely at the man.

He was getting faster and Diavolo and Lucifer had to go into their demonic forms to catch up with him but just as they did Beel stepped out of the room in confusion and Lucifer yelled at him.

“Beel! Stop him!!! Put him to the ground!”

He almost didn’t have to say anything because as soon as Beel laid eyes on him, he already had him in a armlock onto the floor.

With your attacker restrained by Beel, Lucifer sped downstairs to look for you, he cried out for you twice before he was waved over by mammon from under a table.

He threw the table out of the way and there he was met with the sight of your unconscious body laid over Mammon and Luke who were both crying over you.

He was about to scream at someone to call a ambulance but when the sirens were heard from outside he picked you up and rushed you out with Mammon and Luke following behind him.

When you woke up in the hospital he was already shushing you back to sleep, it had taken 4 days but you were back and that’s all he need to know for now.

Only the best Doctors and nurses in the Devildom would be at your aid, only the very best for his human.

Mammon

He was just about to go talk to you, he was almost done with this game, just one last move and he’ll collect all the money he won, show off to you, impress you, then marry you-

His a opponent just placed down a card when the first bullet ran through the back of your head. He turned over to make sure you were okay but be screamed as soon as he witnessed you tumble over the buffet table and bring everything on it crashing onto the floor.

He dashed towards you, just in time before demons started running around in fear. He pulled you out of the mess you were in and teared up at the sight of you.

He attempted to shake you wake but eventually the crowd of demons swam through the two of you and pulled mammon far away enough from you to the point where he couldn’t even remember were you were at.

He ducked from under table after table attempting to make his way back to you. Then the second shot came and he flinched causing him to be swept away by the crowd of running demons a second time however he was lucky enough for it to be brought right towards you and Luke.

He found you passed out with your head in Luke’s lap, he was hugging your head tightly and crying over you. He looked at Mammon in desperation and begged for him to help you.

“Pluh-Please! *Hic*Don’t let them die! Help them, Mammon! Please don’t let them die! Please!!”

He tore up his jacket to use as a make shift badge for the wound on your head, he was just about to destroy the rest of it up, but he heard Lucifer shouting your name and peaked from underneath the table to call him over.

He ran after Lucifer to bring you over to the ambulance and took Luke with him, probably what you would’ve wanted anyway, and rode with him all the way to the hospital.

He was there for the surgery they did, stayed there from the beginning until the end. When you were in your short coma he stayed at the hospital, even slept there right beside you.

He did everything he could to help you get better, only time he was away from you was when he took a shower.

Leviathan brought extra clothes for him and stayed along with him towards the end of your stay at the hospital, something he’s extremely grateful for.

He was right there when you opened your eyes, he was staring down at you when it happened and he became teary eyed when you looked up at him.

“You’re…..alive. Oh fuck you’re alive..!”

He slammed down onto the call button for the nurse and pressed a long kiss against your lips.

Mammon became your personal nurse at home and helped you get back on your feet when you were discharged. He’s so bbg

Leviathan

Now y’all already know that parties were never Levi’s thing.

However this particular event required him to be there plus you were gonna be there too so he really didn’t have a choice in the matter.

He couldn’t dance nor could he just walk up and start a conversation with people so he just settled on gaming on his D.D.D until you were available to drag away for an hour or two.

He was starting to get needy for your attention, when he looked up the only person that was by you was Luke.

Then the back of your head was blown out.

He froze in shock and fear as he watched as people scramble away from you when you fell onto the buffet table.

Guns in the Devildom were extremely dangerous, the soul purpose of them was to kill and if you had one, you were definitely trying to kill someone.

The bullet was lodged in the back of your head and knocked you out instantly meaning only two things 1. You were already dead 2. There was a limited amount of time before you would die.

Soon as that information registered into his brain and he saw that Mammon gotten to you, he dashed into the bathroom and called for ambulance, he told them all about the situation how you had been shot in the back of the head and you needed help immediately.

*BANG*

He flinched as he headed a second gunshot and his eyes widened when he heard your scream of agony.

This time he didn’t hesitate to tell the operator that you were shot once again.

He was still in the bathroom when Lucifer was yelling downstairs for you but he stayed just in case to be safe.

After about 5 minutes he left to go outside and was met with Lucifer and Mammon in the ambulance closing the doors and driving off.

He got the news that you were in the hospital and you were in a coma a day after your surgery. You were stable thankfully.

He just stayed in your room for most of the time, cleaning and setting up your room with Satan, going grocery shopping to make sure you had all your favorite foods and snacks at home, he even did your laundry!

Mammon was still at the hospital with you so he brought some clothes and some food for him over to the hospital and stayed there for the rest of the time.

When you finally woke up, he was just walking back from the bathroom and Mammon yelled for him to get over there.

“They’re awake! Levi, they’re back and they’re alive!”

He hugged your stomach and cried into your chest for a long long time.

When you were finally discharged he and Satan presented you with your favorite meal in bed then gamed and read to you to keep you company. bbg #2

[neverpathia]

how do you feel about wraith x opportunist?

okay I've been ignoring the shit outta my inbox for like a decade or something (not actually that long, obviously, but still pretty dang long) so I better reply for once.

and let me just say! fucking hilarious.

now we all know that smitten and opportunist is my otp and it's been like that for quite some time but I need to give this one a special mention. just watched a wraith route playthrough today and I gotta say:

1. I love my wife number two. Paranoid. Wife. I love you.

2. OPPORTUNIST SHE'S NOT GONNA BE A GOOD EMPLOYER.

okay but on a serious note? when we see them interact for a few moments it's kinda just funny and lighthearted. seeing oppy being oppy and wraith just enjoying the show because it makes everyone else suffer. but in the long term, it's not gonna be pretty great.

just a bootlicker and someone who doesn't even care if her boots are getting licked, so long as she can chuck those boots at someone.

opportunist's priorities don't actually align with wraith's. actually, they don't align with anyone but his own's. his craving for power and control here comes in the form of trying to please her; from feeble attempts to persuade her into sparing him. I guess in that aspect, it's a little reminiscent of the broken.

but what prevents it from becoming too much like tower and broken's dynamic is simply the fact that opportunist isn't actually resigned to his fate. he just acts like he is so he can have a chance to turn the tables against her later on. and the wraith, like tower, still ignores him. she only keeps him around if it benefits her to some extent.

it might traumatize opportunist, or it might not. he's gonna pull out as soon as the implied drawbacks outweigh the implied benefits. but the thing is, the biggest implied benefit from working with the wraith in general is not being subjected to suffering at her hands, so it might take some time before he gives it up.

and I don't think oppy would have it in him to address the root cause of her sadism. she's lonely. perhaps after some time, he would genuinely do something about that loneliness. perhaps she could recover.

but for the most part I can still see oppy leaving once it gets old and he finds a better position. because the wraith would probably tire of him eventually. and then it's not gonna end well.

I don't know if a real emotional connection could actually form there, but I'm kinda digging the idea of this dynamic in general. oppy being the same scheming snake as ever, and wraith just giving a grand total of zero shits.

huh. most ships involving oppy happen to involve a relationship built on falsehood and scheming. I'm starting to see a pattern here.

tldr: I do kinda like it, in all honesty. it's like towerbroken, but oppy has a lot more agency and is a lot less resigned than broken. plus, wraith would get bored.

unless...? that's for the other fanfic writers who like this pairing to do something about, because personally I don't give enough of a crap.

[storkmuffin]

reading some f your kpop analysis makes me think about how you feel knowing how much this is a manufactured experience as opposed to, i guess, art derived from a singular mind? if that makes any sense.

i was never into boy bands, so i have no frame for enjoying this at all, and i wonder how you enjoy them? which you clearly do?

i guess what i mean, if everything is perfectly catered to make as much money as possible for the longest possible time, do you not feel like you are simply part of a machine instead of enjoying a bit of pop music?

I have tried to give this due consideration, and I have to say I find both things you say a bit confusing.

I like Ateez because the music feels and sounds fun to me, and many songs reverberate in my mind's ear making me want to hear it repeatedly, and the dances and the performances are delightful to my eye. We live in a world of money, so being catered to, to be provided with a thing that delights me, in exchange for money, strikes me as very fair. Artists have a right to make a profit, and companies that invest in making performing art possible also deserve to make a profit, in the same way I think my hairstylist and dentist also deserve to make profits for the valuable service they give me.

Major chunk of writing below, which you are not obligated to read at all. TLDR: All pop culture from every country is manufactured with the purpose of making as much money as possible for the longest possible time, so if someone can't like kpop for that reason they shouldn't be able to stand any other popular art form either, for the principle to hold.

About the manufactured music part/ art derived from a singular mind: No music is organic (as opposed to manufactured). All music, to sound musical, requires unnatural action or polishing of the natural. I'm also not sure how purist you're going with this singular mind definition. A folk singer performing solo with her guitar, singing songs she wrote, by herself about her own life that can be backed up with documentary evidence, live - is this the most authentic form of music? Maybe?? But is authentic in this way of being authentic necessarily the best? I would say absolutely not. This kind of singer would be trying to express her point of view. And if one isn't interested in or aliented from her particular point of view, she's irrelevant in the extreme. I also would hate to live in a world where I have to listen to only people singing alone while accompanying themselves on one instrument. What a thin soundscape that would be.

The goal of kpop on the other hand is to create music that literally everyone on the planet can get into, jump around about, and sing /shout portions of, in one way or the other. Mass appeal is the goal of this music. In order to create mass cross-national appeal, you need inputs from lots of people. It requires collaboration. There's a formula for the genre, sure, but there's a formula for rock, punk, soul, EDM, and solo pop acts, too. My point is - all of recorded music is manufactured. Kpop does not seem more manufactured to me than the Rolling Stones, and the Beatles don't seem any more authentic to me than any kpop group.

The marketing approach is what's different - western bands sell the lie of musical authenticity. Kpop doesn't market that particular lie. What kpop markets is intimacy. But in the end, same-same.

I'd go even further, and say that in some ways, the more ambitious an art form is, the more manufactured it's going to be. Kpop contains within it contemporary R&B, hip hop, Western pop music traditions and so on, but it's also musical theater, it's also vaudeville, and it has gradually built itself, over time, into full blown 'complete' entertainment. You can just listen to the music. I did this for a long time without knowing wtf any of the bands were, or if I knew the bands, I didn't care who the members were. Still don't, for most part. You can also just like it for the music videos and visual aesthetic, using the music as backdrop. OR you can go fully into the fandom experience, of understanding the 'characters' the Idols are trying to be, and now, with technology, communicating with them directly, as well as with the rest of fandom to feel like you're on the same 'team.' It can become a way to engage with the world, and allow you to meet and socialize with people you would otherwise never meet. Kpop can make itself part of your lifestyle if you want it to be.

As for money, isn't every art form is always trying to maximize its earnings in order to keep creating itself?? The performing arts require money in order to have an audience. You need a venue, to do performing arts. Money sustains performing arts. The huge funding and donation drives done by opera and ballet companies, as well as orchestras, choirs, quartets, etc, non-stop, all year round, in every possible way, is evidence of this. Catering to the paying audience in order to sustain fandom loyalty is something all pop stars the world over do, as well. Name me any popular pop artist, and I am confident I wouldn't have to do that much digging to find evidence for how hard they're working in order to make as much money as possible for as long as possible, not necessarily for greed, but so they can keep doing the thing they're doing. I think what kpop has done is just be better at marketing and mass appeal than everyone else, for this particular time in globalized culture.

The more I get to know kpop, the more thrilled I get about how by making their creation process - from selecting who will be the featured players to how they put the sounds and visuals together using various songwriters and producers- very transparent, they're puncturing the lie of 'singular' creator. To me, what western pop presents as being authentic is just as deliberately, carefully manufactured for the purposes of maximizing profit and longevity as what kpop does, but it gives itself airs that it has no right to.

[greenerteacups]

forever grateful to you for sharing your musings, as if the book writing weren't great enough and hard work enough, you truly spoil us and i love you.

I'm popping in here to ask if you would like to talk about how you see Dumbledore. Sometimes I feel his manipulative side is abused in fanfiction, depicting little more than a heartless chess master.

And well, I guess I'm curious to find out if Lionheart Albus has a heart and will we get to see it. Maybe the more generous glimpses you give us of Snape and his interactions with him will shed some light on his hidden depths? Or will his appearances remain fleeting and enigmatic, always far and above all the little people we do know and adore?

Sorry, I know you can't possibly be completely balanced in your portraying of the whole cast, or they would spread too thin. I am here for the plot, for the Dramione and the Blacks, but I deeply enjoy all the character building (I truly live for all of them, not only our loved ones, I even cherish Warrington with sincere hate and am waiting for his comeuppance ) so I thought I would ask if you wouldn't mind a few comments on our opaque headmaster.

Thank you, friend! You're really kind.

Dumbledore has a relatively minor role in Lionheart for a few reasons — chief among which is, as you point out, that we just don't have time for everybody to get the same level of characterization the mains do. I have plot justifications for that, but it'd be disingenuous to suggest otherwise: Dumbledore's minor because I'm less interested in him than I am in Snape and Narcissa, and Lionheart is much more about Draco's sphere of the world than Harry's. That being said, I think some people forget how small Dumbledore's role is in the original books. He pretty much exists to deliver exposition and tell Harry how to beat the final boss; dude doesn't even get a gesture at a backstory until he's already dead. In fact, it's kinda weird to me that everyone (including a lot of people in the series) treats Dumbledore like he's some kind of guardian for Harry, especially with respect to the decision to keep him at the Dursleys. I know it's set up in the prologue, but if I'm Dumbledore, and I'm catching strays for Vernon Dursley being a piece of shit, I'm gonna be like:

The TLDR on Dumbledore is he's blamed way too much for stuff he doesn't do instead of the stuff he does. People seem to blame him for everything bad that happens to Harry because he's a competent adult in the general vicinity of the kid. But with the possible exception of hiring Lockhart — a bad decision I attribute to Early Installment Weirdness and, just maybe, a certain scarcity of applicants for a position where the last dude Literally Fucking Died — there's not a whole lot of shit that happens to Harry in the first few books Dumbledore could've prevented. Plus, he does in fact have Other Shit to be Doing. Is he a really powerful wizard who probably could've saved Harry's ass in a lot of the fights he gets into? Yes. Does he also have a whole school to run, a secret guerrilla group to direct, a Ministry full of political enemies to placate, and — oh yeah — a snake-faced immortal evil sorcerer he's playing 4D chess with at all times? Yes!

The whole lamb-to-slaughter thing with Harry is admittedly quite dark, but I don't read it as machiavellian. For one, Dumbledore obviously comes to this conclusion after a lot of deliberation, and to his death, he refuses to tell Harry about it, because (one assumes) he never intends to kill Harry himself. He's willing to hinge the fate of the free world on his respect for Harry's autonomy and/or his faith that Harry will make the "right" choice. That's pretty humane, given the circumstances. And he holds off on telling Harry about the horcruxes because... he doesn't want to inform a literal child that he'll eventually have to kill himself for the war effort. Oh, GOD, what a SCHEMING MONSTER. Surely this is motivated by menace, and not the grieving reluctance of a seasoned veteran who wants to preserve whatever few years of happiness this kid can eke out of life.

The areas where Dumbledore is morally shady come out most in his interactions with other adults. His conversation with Severus in 1981, for instance, is the one time in the books where I was legitimately frightened of him, because it's a rare time he's completely without mercy or grace. "What will you give me in return, Severus?" is a character-defining line, because Snape has just told him that two twenty-somethings and their infant child are about to be murdered, and Dumbledore's hit back with the subtextual equivalent of: "Tough shit. Why is it my problem?" Which is COLD AS FUCK! And we can kind of infer that he's not in earnest here, that he's manipulating Severus by making him think Dumbledore won't protect the Potters (even though they're Order members, which this theory requires us to assume Severus doesn't know) so that he can get him to work as a spy — but we don't know that for certain, right? It's all inference. We hope that his implicit threat isn't genuine, but what would happen if Severus said no, and walked away? How much did Albus understand about Snape's feelings for Lily, and what kind of person does it take to bluff like that in front of a known Legilimens? That line is intimidating as fuck whether or not Albus means it.

It's bits like these, where he's talking to people that he actually dislikes, where we get hints of the real Machiavellian Albus Dumbledore, and it's absolutely fascinating. He's the veteran of two wars, going on three when he dies, and you can tell in how he conducts himself. That includes, by the way, his gentility with children and his respect for innocence. But he's not just Good Funny Grandfather Dude or Crafty Mastermind. He's a general. He's been waging wars from the back lines since his twenties. That does something to your brain, and it doesn't leave a lot of you left over for anything else.

[waywardmillennial]

Oooh can you please go on PH crew tangent because I don't think I realized why that's the most expensive show they make. Like I believe them and I guess the lore scenes take a lot of work but other than that idk why it takes them a year to produce 6 episodes.

Hey nonnie! Thanks for the message (based on my prev ask). I've been rotating it in my head to figure out how best to respond - sorry if this is a longer tangent than you were looking for!

To clarify: PH is probably the 2nd most expensive show that Watcher produces. The most expensive would be GF, and that's because they have to cover travel expenses for a whole crew for multiple nights at each haunted location (also GF has the most related "spin-off" shows with Debrief, Road Files, & Evidence Room making it, in Lizzie's words "a big unbankable bitch" of a show)

There are several reasons why it takes so long to produce six episodes of PH. Part of it is Shane's time being spent on nearly every other Watcher show in some capacity, so he has less time to spend on PH. It's also probably why PH has added so many more crew members - to give Shane more time to work on everything, which in turn makes it more expensive to produce

Also, each season of PH the average runtime has gotten longer. Season Six was the longest so far at about 4 1/2 hours overall, with each episode being about 44 mins - putting it on par with many network and streaming runtimes when you think about it!

I checked the credits for PH 6x06 and there are 22 crew members listed. For example, the episode was Written by Garret Werner, Researched by R.J. Blake and has three people working on the graphics (Mike Fox, Mattea Guldy, & Crystal Cheng). And this count of 22 people doesn't include the guests or voice talent for the episode, the puppet makers (Madison Girifalco and DLUX Puppets), or any of the above-the-line producers or show elements that have been locked in for years now, like the logos or stock sound effects!

And Season Six barely had any Lore!

Special Watcher Crew Shout-Out: Charlie Clay, Editing Wizard! She worked on almost every episode of Season Six, and when I checked 6x06 only one other editor (Frank Parker) is listed. I don't know if you've ever tried to edit video, but there are so many elements that go into it and she makes it look so good!

I also don't know if you're on WTV but we're getting basically a short film's worth of Lore at the end of each Season Seven episode (the two episodes we've gotten have both been closer to the 50 min mark) so of course that's more filming time and editing in post

TLDR; Each season of PH has increased in quality and runtime, adding more crew, because Shane is working on many of Watcher's other shows, but they're still producing a full season with a crew of about two dozen people!

Note: I did want to shout-out this comment from Shane in Pod Watcher #055, when he pointed out that PH and GF are both more expensive to produce than TS. I was a little surprised to hear this, since PH doesn't have the travel expenses of the other two shows. But PH has the largest crew out of the three shows (mainly in post-production) so that must be where the difference goes

Good for Watcher for hiring and paying artists and creators!

[okay some PH quality talking points because I couldn't resist]

DISCLAIMER: I love PH and Shane! He's so creative and what he made with the early seasons is very entertaining, so these aren't meant to be critiques. But if you look an early episode (I picked 1x02 because I enjoy it so much) you can see how the show has increased in quality as the years have passed

For example, The Professor's glasses had to be held on with gaffer tape, the theatre didn't have the Watcher logo on top yet (maybe it hadn't been finalized yet? not sure) and the Pile of Diamonds was a literal sock puppet

I love the Diamond puppet! and I would die for him and his crush on the God puppet!

But when you compare these Season One puppets to ones that Madison Girifalco made in later seasons, like Asmodeous or the Hippo, the increase in quality is obvious - and it should be! Because they chose to hire a professional who specializes in making puppets instead of Shane making them on top of all his other jobs at Watcher

The early seasons was when Watcher was just starting out as a company so Shane had to do most of the jobs himself. He's credited as Creator, Writer, and Editor of 1x02, but we know he also built the early puppets and theater himself, was writing and recording the music (with help from Patrick Volker) and so much more! (remember how he had to trigger the question lights himself and pull the curtain up and down on the rope he built in?)

And I support all versions of the show because it's what Shane wanted to make with the resources he had at the time!

I don't think I've seen anyone point it out but in Season Seven it looks like the whole theater got a facelift. It looks scaled up a little to fit the larger Professor and the constellations light up now! And the curtain rolling up is much smoother too

I don't know if this build was done by Shane or with help from other crew members, but it demonstrates that Watcher is continually re-investing into their shows to add to the production quality and I respect that so much!

Edit: Also good to note that Season One was only four episodes

/end rant

[jojo-schmo]

what are your personal favorite headcanons for meta knight?

Boy, oh BOY am I glad you asked!! You have unleashed me!!

First of all, I am very much Team White-Eyed Meta!!! (And his pretty pink cheeks!!!!!) -slams my drawing from last year on the table as exhibit A-

I respect everyone on Team Yellow-Eyed Meta since that's what is technically canon. But I just think drawing white eyes is so fun and pretty to look at... My first Kirby game was Squeak Squad and I was so mesmerized by his pretty white eyes when they were revealed for that split second! I'd replay that boss fight a bunch as a kid just to see them.

So yeah, I have the power to be in denial about a few facts for my own amusement and that's one of them. Draw and consume the content that makes you happiest, friends!! :P

About his backstory and origins, I don't have any solid headcanons of my own since I really like seeing other people's takes on it! Being Dark Matter-born, made by Nightmare, blending anime and game lore together, etc. There's so much I enjoy! His mysterious past can be frustratingly open-ended but at least it's given a lot of people the opportunity to be super creative!

I do like to think he gets more enjoyment out of a good, honest battle than he likes to let on. I mean, it's what he's best at! He fights for fun! An entire arena was built for him in Waddle Dee Town!

...So speaking of fighting, I've been doing some thinking about his powers... Like a lot of thinking. This is what I really wanna talk about!!

He's got some good old-fashioned, hard-earned skill with a sword. Probably from years of training. But his more powerful attacks use a lot of wind and electricity. That's why I think Meta Knight has the power of Storms.

Some examples of his use of wind:

One of his signature moves is Mach Tornado, after all!

Now, the bat effect to his spin in RtDL Deluxe kinda puzzles me. It just looks cooler I guess. This is a dude who put his face on his airship so why not have tiny bat particles come from your signature moves? Could just be a natural evolution of his power growing stronger, teehee.

Anyway, here are some examples of his use of electricity: (This man has a LOT of electric effects in his attacks!)

So much electricity!! Zappo! Bzzzzt!

And as a bonus, when Meta unsheathes Galaxia in the anime it materializes from lightning. THAT IS DOPE AS HELL. I don't personally subscribe to much of the anime lore, but I eat this detail UP.

Next, I used to think Meta had telekinesis because of Star Allies. All that purple aura when he lifts the rocks seems like solid evidence.

But then he does the same move in Forgotten Land and he's actually lifting the rocks with wind!! And a lot of it!! So his mastery of wind is significant to me! Probably helps him fly better too! I think his use of wind could certainly give his opponents the impression that he has telekinesis and psych them out a bit!

Finally, I used to think his duplication move was because of the Jamba Heart in Star Allies but I realized he does this in the Kirby Mass Attack mini game (whose canonicity is probably up for debate, but hey.) I'm willing to hear someone else out for an explanation because I'm stumped! Lol :P

....So yeah!! TLDR I think he is a swordsman with the power of Storms!

I'm interested to see other people's takes on him, this is just what I've made up for myself, haha! Either way, I love Meta Knight and he is super cool!! Thanks for reading!!

[pepsiiwho]

The Hulkenberg Problem

Hi metaphor refantazio fans. It's me, your favorite contrarian eyesore. (Advertisers have made me change this opening greeting)

As I've played this game I've found myself enjoying every character, flaws in all (the more flaws the better truthfully) but theres one that for the life of me I just can't get behind. Somehow in a game with characters with single portraits, a few voice lines and little to no significant plot relevance, one of the first confidants you make does nothing for me. I guess I just wanted to air my grievances a bit here and offer hypothetical writing solutions as I see fit. This is an open discussion, somewhat, so feel free to respond to the points shared here, but I'll warn you I don't respond to name calling lmao

Spoilers for end game kinda <3

So, mmm. Where to start.

Blanket statement for this post; TLDR: Hulkenberg feels like the physical manifestation of every problem I have with the game on a thematic and structural level and I think in a tighter story that's more willing to interact with it's chosen subject matter, could make her to be a standout character above the rest.

As I see it, Hulkenberg's (Hulk) story is on its head, really interesting. She was the personal guard of the, at this point in the story, ever elusive and mysterious Prince figure cursed to wither away. We know nothing about the prince save for 3 things:

MC (Will) adores him, for some fucking reason. We're talking a loyalty so strong that he's willing to go on a, self proclaimed, suicide mission to reinstate him.

He's cursed and left in a comatose state that, seemingly, has no real cure and leaves him catatonic

The world thinks he's dead.

Now, obviously, once we've gotten to the end of the game we know that the points above are all defunct. But, in the beginning of the game that's all we know.

I can't speak for you, reader, but I had wondered: "why is he at the sanctuary? just for safety?" "Is his father not at all curious about his body and where it was?" "what happened the night of the curse exactly?" and this just floated around my head until we meet Hulk— the personal knight to the prince and, presumably, his closest aid just based on proximity.

I think a natural question, when you first hear Hulk's story and then compare it to your mission and Will's truth in this world is— why weren't you invited onto this mission?

You're telling me the prince's personal tutor and sword teacher got to know his location and status before his knight did ? That doesn't make sense at all.

Okay so now more questions pop up from this silent implication: "was Hulk just incredibly inept?" Well, maybe. But when she reunites with the other members of the princes's team they assure her she was a wonderful aid. so, probably not?

"Had she shown herself to be too incapable of protecting the prince to join?" well if that's true Grius shouldn't have made the cut either. He failed to protect the prince just as surely as Hulk did.

"it was a quick thing, they couldn't bring everyone or it would raise suspicion" sure, this is the most reasonable option, I guess, but again— how did gruis make the cut then if it was only a few people allowed? I can't imagine he was a more useful team member than Hulk. She was his assigned knight! Ordained and everything! Would Hulk have raised too many flags? If so why not recruit her once everything had died down a bit. Hell, she goes off and throws herself into finding the prince and/or his killers for years apparently and no one batted an eye. They couldn't have reached out in that time?

But this is good! this is great actually. Already, without saying a word we the audience are told 'She wasn't picked.' And we're left to sit on that.

Where I think the game stumbles after this is shooting their resident elf girl in the back by giving her 'anime woe' disease, as I've coined, which is the disorder when you have (1) thing that's happened to you and you harp on it— tirelessly.

You've probably seen this a lot, it's everywhere in Japanese fiction (or at least the contemporary stuff that blows up into an international and online audience).

In Hulk, it shows itself through every other word being about her grief and failure, failure to the prince and the crown and the people for letting things get this bad. She isn't special here, Strohl and Heismay have the same problem (parents dead and son dead respectively) and its... grating, in them too, but I can't fully articulate why Hulk feels so offensively boring in comparison. If I were to try, I think compared to the grief of loosing someone irreversibly whom you loved (a parent or child), Hulk only loses her charge. Which she thought to be her duty of course, but this listlessness does nothing for her character.

Heismay, in his grief, becomes a recluse and racist who wants nothing to do with he world that scorned him, stole his son and tramples on the effort he did for the crown and common folk alike. He's aged with this grief and it's soured him even though he seems, generally, affable. Strohl is harder to place just because he was so young when it happened, so his grief has just fundamentally formed him as a person, but you see his behavior is shaped around this grief inside him. It's the core. He's impulsive and unable to sit aside for second chances, instead preferring to, say, run into the fire and do what he can. These two have been changed by their pain, irreversibly.

In comparison... Hulk is just... moping. She has, seemingly, changed very little since her time working for the prince. She's still happy and loves food, still serious but has a goofy side around those she respects and still speaks highly of the crown. Sure she could have changed from before, maybe she's less serious now but that doesn't make sense. It feels very one note. you complain endlessly about this failure, this loss that changed you and left you adrift, but really how lost are you? You're horribly casual during this journey. You, who wants the prince alive more then anyone on this damn ship— save will— are gallivanting around and partaking in local delicacies long enough to be distracted. It sends mixed messages.

Not to play trauma Olympics, but if you told Heismay that waiting at the end of this journey is his son, alive and well, I can't imagine he'd be enjoying any moment of leisure. Same of Strohl.

Right okay so what the fuck ever she's an inconsistent character. so what? that's why you hate her?

Well, kinda? More then anything I hate her eyes, but that's neither here nor there— 

but lets get into the fix. So on my YT channel I've talked about my problems with the game and fixes I wanna make, and here's another:

We need to rework her. Here's my pitch.

Hulkenberg is the oldest daughter of some dukedom, somewhere, and in the kingdom's employ as the prince's aid and personal knight. Though she is strong, she is haughty and sees the work to be her destiny and as such grows lax and unappreciative of what she's doing. She's a bold foodie who enjoys music and dancing more than weaponry and the job is a bit tiresome. But she is devout to the crown and her family are sanctists to their core. So her allegiance, at least outwardly, is less for the prince, and more for the institution itself.

fight happens, its a shit show. The prince is cursed and 'dies' on her watch. Because of this she is ousted from the royal guard and stripped of her titles, seen as a failure for her inability to save the prince. Wanting to prove herself, she goes on this journey to find the prince and fix her mistake, to repent for her failure that has haunted her since it happened.

What this new backstory does is:

1) explains why she wasn't taken along. This version of hulk is too tied to the church and powers that be to just disappear and never seemed to have much affection for the prince past pleasantries. It's too big a gamble to let her in the sanctuary, so less capable parties have to follow in her stead.

2) This would explain why she's left to her own devices. She's too important to her family to just be murdered outright and too strong to be assonated either, so covert options are out. Stripping her of her importance and ostracizing her from the life she knew keeps her quiet. this hulk is seen as a loose thread that needs to be cut, lest she grow discontent and cause fuss.

3) It allows for her to change from the more care-free version we'd learn she was. This failure stripped her of everything and now she's a husk of herself. But she can get it all back if she can get the prince back. Make up for her failure.

In this version of the story you'd get glimpses of who she used to be, brief flashes of the cute young woman who was left behind with the prince's corpse. Maybe not great waifu bait, but it's more fun so sue me.

I also need her to be a racist.

But, that's for the next post. This ones already way too long. If u want more my ask box is always open. mwah

Hope you enjoyed <3

[ryuichirou]

Hello Ryu! How are you doing? In regards of your reply saying that you do art for a living and draw daily: how do you manage to have energy to draw for an entire day? Aren't there days when you feel tired or don't want to do anything? and most importantly, how do you handle hand pain? Keep up the amazing work!

Sorry for the late reply, Anon! I wanted to write a reply the same day we got your ask, but unfortunately things started happening exactly during that time… so I had to postpone it until my head clears up a bit.

I’ll start with your last question. For now I’ve been very lucky when it comes to hand pain, but it also probably due to the fact that I stop immediately if I feel even slight discomfort in my wrist. Listening to your body is important, and if you do end up feeling a bit of pain in your wrist, keeping it warm usually helps me; and of course there are other remedies and/or products that could help with that as well and be more effective, but I don’t really know much about those… yet. I have a feeling I’m going to become an expert at some point lol

I also stop sometimes to do some basic quick exercises for my wrist. Anything that comes in google images if you look up carpal tunnel syndrome exercises – and it’s probably a good idea do to it after every hour or two of work, even if you don’t feel any pain. Just to relax your muscles a bit. It’s a good idea to take breaks to stretch as well, but I won’t act like I do that – I should and I want to incorporate it into my process, but for now it doesn’t really work because I am too deep in the zone when I draw… When it comes to that, I am a very bad example in general – I wouldn’t take breaks during my 6 hour art classes as well (that was many years ago, just in case) and my teacher got very upset at me because of that. 😔 I’m trying to get better, I swear.

Another important thing is to take a note on how you use a pen. You should prioritise moving your entire arm from the shoulder, not your wrist when you draw. Practice drawing with wider strokes, moving your elbow, put as little strain on your wrist as possible. When you’re working on smaller details, you’d have to use your wrist, and that’s okay; the point is not to put stress on your wrist it all the time.

So yeah, TLDR; I don’t really suffer from pain in my wrist, which might be because I am cautious about how I hold my pen and move my arm, do hand exercises and stop whenever I start feeling discomfort. And have good stamina, I guess.

This is actually a reply to the first question; I just think I have good stamina because I’ve been drawing all the time for pretty much my entire life. I don’t really remember a lot of days in my life when I wouldn’t draw anything at all; apparently, even when I was very young I would spend hours drawing. So my body and my mind both are just used to it. I do think it’s a trainable thing, but also depends on a person: some people would love to be able to draw at least one hour a day, but anything more than that would feel too excessive. To someone, even my routine wouldn’t feel excessive.

I am also extremely lucky to not have a lot of time-consuming chores to do for now. There are some people that I know that would love to spend days drawing, but they have kids, typical jobs, have to cook for a family and do a lot of stuff that takes up too much energy and time. I’d say my circumstances aren’t super unique, but it’s important to note them as well because it’s a contributing factor.

There are moments when I don’t really feel like drawing anything, but that doesn’t happen very often. What I get more often is the feeling like everything I draw that day feels off or wrong, and when it happens I kind of just go and study something completely unrelated, like draw a pistol or a shoe or a scenery from a photo… something that would change up how gears in my head work. I don’t know, this is just the way I enjoy spending time the most, so I kind of default to it all the time. So to me even the question of boredom fixes itself by me just changing what and how I draw at that exact moment.

In a way, I guess it’s safe to say that I’m a special case? But I also don’t think that it’s entirely true; I hope some things from everything that I’ve yapped about just now could be applicable to other as well. I love drawing because this is a way for me to entertain myself and this is my most favourite activity. I am used to always thinking about what to draw, how to draw, what joke to make, what story to tell. This is why even though we post all the time and I draw all the time, I always feel like I’ll never do everything I want to do. It sounds obnoxious lol But I do think that by drawing self-indulgent things you teach yourself to be as obnoxious little by little. “You can do anything” is one hell of a drug, it seems.

I really just love drawing… so much so that I spent my hour dedicated to replies on this reply, even though I wanted to be brief noooo-

Sorry for the long text! And for making you wait.

Thank you for this question <3