#I hate them both FTR

[firefa]

was befallen w/a horrible image in my mind & needed it realized

suffer

[dammit-sammit]

instructions unclear about whether we’re judging their ability to serve cunt or be a cunt here. I love them both very much but they are both pretty insecure and use picking apart other people’s insecurities as a first defence mechanism so I think if you put them in a room together, previously undiscovered heights of MLM hostility would be reached. And then they would both be sad and need a hug.

If we’re talking about *serving* cunt then I’m sorry I think this is a draw.

They are both very loveable little jerks though. OP’s decision to pit two bad bitches against each other was very cruel but very shrewd.

People who only vote for characters they recognize I rebuke thee

[cassandraclare]

*sighs a bit* Okay. Guys. I have been asked this question a lot, and answered it a lot. I don't know how to give a better answer — Dru & Ty&Kit share significance as main characters — so I guess I'll talk a little about comparison and structures.

First, all series have different structures. I don't think it's super useful or predictive to try to map an upcoming, unknown book series onto an existing series. In TLH the main character was Cordelia, everyone else was secondary to her, and people's roles and the significance of them altered from book to book. It was a big ensemble cast and they mostly stayed put in London especially in book 1.

TWP focuses on a smaller group of people. It also has a very different structure. In book one, Dru is not with Kit and Ty. They are in different places, both of which have their own stories that are significant to the plot. There is no way to see Place One without following Dru. There is no way to see Place Two without following Kit and Ty.

I know that TWP is a long way off. I know there are people who are very angry with me that there's such a gap, but there isn't anything currently I can do about that, or about the fact that I don't yet have the schedule for my upcoming books. That rests in the hands of several different publishers who must coordinate the release times and production schedules for four different series. I am not withholding any information about when these books come out. I simply don't know it yet.

I understand that TWP being a long way off makes for anxiety, and that those who are worried Kit and Ty will somehow be secondary are looking for tiny clues in microscopic details — micro-reading the of placement of the word "and" in my newsletter and such — that are meaningless, but I get that it all comes from anxiety. (FTR, those worried Dru will be secondary are equally anxious.)

I think there is only so much I can say. Because there's a big gap between TLH and TWP everything I do say or every image or hint about it is freighted with a weight of assumption it can't really support. Anxiety is always going to trump reassurance. And truly, at the end of the day, if you only care about Kit and Ty and find the idea of a Dru story tiresome, you will feel like they got shafted because when you absolutely hate a plotline, you will always feel like it's taking up way too much space. That's just how our minds work.

I've been doing this long enough that I know no book can survive a hostile reading. I know that Book Three of a trilogy is the one people hate until they don't. (When Clockwork Princess came out people hated it so much I considered quitting writing!) I know that it's wonderful to love a character but can also be a problem for people when I put out books that aren't about that particular character or dynamic. I know that for a lot of people, Sword Catcher and Ragpicker King are just tiresome things that have no business on my schedule because they're not Shadowhunter books. And I get it. But I also have to block it out, because I've been writing a long time, and I've gotten to a point where I know that I have to write the thing I want to be writing, because if I don't, if I sit down and try to force myself to write something I'm not feeling like writing at that time, I'll be making myself physically and mentally sick. And that's no good for anyone, really.

I suppose the positive thing is that, while this would not have been true five years ago, I am at the place where I want very much to be writing Wicked Powers. I missed these characters and am glad to be back with them. I consider this a story in which there are three main characters. And that is all I can say right now because it's all that I know.

(And this was much more of a general response to a lot of things than a specific response to this question, but I did feel like it was stuff that I needed to say. Creators are at the end of the day, just people. Sometimes we are powerless to reassure. Sometimes we are tired. Sometimes we are wrong. Sometimes we try things and they don't work. Sometimes we can't explain to you what our story is going to make you feel, because only reading it is going to tell you that. This may be one of those times.)

[satanfemme]

[ID in alt]

ok meee :-) this is my slasher sona. he's a ~late 70s / early 80s low-budget slasher with slightly gothic vibes, and maybe leaning a little bit giallo in genre?

his name is Mutt and his "gimmick" is that he's a gay dog man (and wears a lot of leather. obviously)

hypothetical horror movie plot for him under the cut (warning for genre typical violence and tropes and such) (also some weird kink stuff cause this is my horror movie fantasy and I get to decide the level of strange eroticism)

I'm gonna summarize the story in chronological order but if it were a real movie there'd be more mystery than this ftr lol.

mutt's backstory is that he was in an intense relationship with a guy who kept him as a human pet. he tortured mutt, kept him in a shock collar, and required him to wear a muzzle most of the time. he also didn't let mutt leave the house ever (which was isolated in the woods). years of this treatment warped mutt's mind until he was both deeply devoted to his lover in a self-destructive loyal dog way, and also "insane" in the stereotypical slasher way.

one day while in a nearby town running errands, mutt's lover is killed in a homophobic hate crime. mutt knows something is wrong when his lover doesn't come home that night, so he leaves the house to investigate, and (from the shadows a distance away) he sees the police cleaning up the crime scene and his lover's body. mutt returns to his house, fashions a leather slasher mask out of his muzzle and his lover's clothes, and decides to get revenge on the people of the town.

he begins to kill a new gay guy every night in very homoerotic ways (since this is really the only way mutt knows how to exist). the homophobic cops don't take any of this seriously ofc, so it's up to a few members of the lgbt community to solve the series of murders and put of a stop to it, before they get killed themselves.

they actually wrongfully assume at first that mutt's lover was also part of the same pattern of gay murders, but eventually the homophobe who murdered mutt's lover is identified and (reluctantly) arrested by the police. so, the next time mutt kills someone, it becomes clear that there were two (2) killers on the loose, and the community member protags use that info to finally piece together the various clues they'd gathered, leading them to the correct conclusion that the first murder (of mutt's lover) was a single incident, and the serial murders after the fact are being done by someone motivated by a broken heart (ie. by this point the backstory would be fully revealed).

while all this investigating and shit was going on, mutt learned that the guy who killed his lover was arrested, and plans to go kill him inside his jail cell that night. the protags attempt to stop mutt before he gets there (to end the circle of violence and restore "peace" and all that), but in the process he kills them all one by one until just the token Final Girl is left. he then breaks inside the jail and successfully kills the homophobe, getting closure. the final girl thinks she has him, as he's "cornered" inside the small jail. but when she follows him inside, he's vanished and all that's left is the homophobe's body.

the movie ends all mysteriously like "he's still out there... and he might come back" but he's my character so I can tell u what he does after the movie. and he does NOT come back.

he still has a broken heart, but he's had his revenge and decides to leave town. he travels on his own, living like a stray dog for a long time (he doesn't take off his mask unless he really has to, so it's hard for him to interact with society. that said, when he does take off his mask to go into a town or city for something, he's completely safe from being recognized because no one ever saw his face in the town he killed people in. he's just a bit off-putting to people)

after traveling for a while, he happens upon the haddonfield illinois area, some time after the michael myers' murders took place (original halloween canon, but don't ask me for an exact timeline, I don't know or care)

michael would also be hiding out in the woods (cause it's not halloween yet. it's his off-season :-) ) and the two would run into each other, instantly clicking. two neurodivergent guys... in freaky masks... in the woods... hiding from society because they're wanted for countless murders. a real meet cute <3. they would grow closer over time.... and although michael would originally like mutt for how "empty inside" and inhuman he is (the same canonical motivation as to why he likes corpses), as time goes on and michael really gets to know mutt, their bond would become stronger and more genuine, and michael would love mutt for the person he is too :'-). and then they'd take off their masks and embrace and kiss each other sloppy style and- [comically long bleep sound effect].

and then I think the next halloween, mutt would join michael in the senseless killing :-) and they would live happily ever after and also mutt would take michael to the dang club! the end. that's my story thx for reading.

[mrs-monaghan]

You are so sure and confident about jikook...it makes me have a side eye you👀👀 did you know something which we don't??👀👀some inside secrets??👀👀

That tickled me anon. Ngl. 🤣🤣 I don't need to see their sex tape or the many nude arts JK has drawn of Jimin to believe in them as strongly as I do. 🤭🤭

We have 18+ moments which like I've mentioned before are reason enough. Then listening to Karmys is also key here. Like a major piece of the puzzle. Couple all that with Jikook and their families and that's all she wrote.

Can u imagine the amount of artwork JK's brother was tagged on? Hundreds! Thousands maybe. If you consider the vermin spamming BTS and their friends with disgusting tkk art. Hundreds he got tagged on. And out of all of them he approves only one? A Bamily one no less?

There is plenty of tkk art with bam and yet this is what he chose to accept. Not to mention how he only used to draw Jikook and post only Jikook.

Not Tkk. Not Jinkook. Not hopekook. Not yoonkook or Namkook. Jikook and only Jikook.

----- Again, JK's brother dressing his dogs in Jikook colours. 💛💜

All Jikookers already know those are the Jikook colors. Bonus with JK dressing them 👆🏽 in the outfits Jikook had on during LGO

Anyway, back to family.

----- JK's mom making sea weed for JK because it was Jimin's birthday

According to Karmy this is a testament to how close not only Jikook are but how much JK's family or rather his mom, values Jimin. (Ftr I think this story was embellished and I think Jimin was there but I digress)

Speaking of, more proof of how much JK's mom loves Jimin

That's her son in law right there. 🥺🥺

---- Jimin's dad using JK as the messenger for Jimin's birthday

Why not RM the leader? V the 'soulmate'? Why JK? 🤔🤔

--- Jimin's dad having ONLY Jikook stuff in his cafe. Not Yoonmin, not Minimoni, not Vmin or Jinmin. Just Jikook.

Putting JK's and both their solo songs in his playlist. Just JK. I don't need to remind y'all that other members have solo music too.

Looks like Jimin's dad is really proud of his son in law 🥺🥺🥺

---- Jimin's brother getting upset because Jimin was spending too much time with JK and he thought Jimin was replacing him. That was in the beginning too so for those who say JK hated Jimin u think again....

----- JK knowing Jimin's grandma's birthday. Almost like he was there even, going by how Jimin looked at him for confirmation.

---- Last year. Apart from Jimin of course, the only other member Jimin's dad held an event for at Magnate was.......... you got it! JK 😜😜 (and no he didn't do it for RM. People tried to ot7 this by including RM coz their bdays are close when infact only JK's merch was being handed out to those who attended the event)

----- Bonus! Bam hearing Jimin's name and immediately rushing to the door thinking his other dad is here 🥺🥺

What can I say anon, i'm convinced. JIKOOK IS REAL. 🤷🏽‍♀️

People running around like headless chickens, yapping about how Jkk don't see eo anymore meanwhile these old moments shall never change the fact that Jikook and their families are super tight for some reason 👀 You can't erase facts people. No matter how much you try.

[thenewfuture]

So imo this class trial has two powerful messages behind it. The first one is "Don't torment and bully other people, you never know what their breaking point is." Nico and Ace are the best examples of this. Since the start of the chapter, Ace has tormented Nico non-stop until eventually they couldn't take it anymore and tried to committ murder. Yes they failed but the fact they were pushed to that point should have been a warning on why you shouldn't bully others that harshly.

I'm also so very glad we had a murderer or would-be in this case live past the chapter they tried to do so and deal with the consequences in the next chapter. I wanted this since V3 but the ball keeps being dropped so thank you Despair Time for doing this. Nico has lost a lot of trust with the class for their stunt with Ace and I could see a big theme next chapter being them trying to repair said trust.

And then there's Ace. Nobody respected or cared for him as they all called him stupid, loud, an idiot and saw him as just a angry chihuahua who's all bark and no bite. Well as it turns out, Ace has ears and those words hurt him greatly. He hated being a pushover and was scared of dying like I'm sure most people are. He honestly thought someone was gonna kill him, which is why he had been planning a murder for some time, and when Nico tried to kill them, that was the confirmation they needed to go ahead with the plan.

Think about it. When Nico and Eden got under the hot seat for being the culpirt or their own attempted crimes, there was always someone there to defend them. Who defended Ace? Nobody. Absolutely nobody. Ace's reaction to Levi admitting he didn't care for him was also telling as I think a small part of Ace wanted to believe Levi was looking out for him, only for THAT small bit of hope to be crushed.

But overall the reason both Nico and Ace did what they did this chapter was because they felt backed into a corner and thought nobody was there for them. Humans don't just give up and die, they often fight to the bitter end. And this is why both Nico and Ace sucumbed to the killing game's rules. If the cast was more considerate of others, then this would have never happened.

I don't know who came up with the phrase "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" but they are as much of a liar as David, because words can hurt, and in this case, words can be lethal.

But then there's the other message and its a more meta one. And that is not every chapter has to be 4d chess plotting. This is on us as we have consumed so much fanronpas over the years, we expect that the culprit has to have a very complicated reason for doing what they did. As such when a simple class trial comes along like this, we have a bad habit of not accepting it.

And ftr I'm not singling out Bubbles here on their Switch Theory. Others were also coming up with very complicated big brain guesses on why Arei croaked it and at times we forget that not every murder happens because of some deep complex reason. So when one does come along, we have a bad time accepting it. Mondo didn't kill Chihiro for any deep reason, he lost his temper and killed him. Hiyoko walked in on Mikan and was killed. Angie and Tenko are women with decent qualities. None of these are very complex reasons and rather surface level. As such I think we need to learn to not overthink motives and goals and sometimes what you see is what you get.

That's my takeaway with what this class trial has to offer. Do you agree with me on those two messages? Or do you think unironically I'm thinking too deeply?

Yeah I can agree to that.

Everyone is already under stress from being trapped in a killing game, and relentlessly bullying on people is only adding fuel to the fire and putting a giant target on your back. Bullying is bad, has Hiyoko taught you nothing?

My mom always said she would rather be punched or assaulted than to let someone sling insults at her. Physical wounds heal up quick, mental ones not so much...

And I am glad we are getting the "killer still walks among the cast" type deal with Nico. As stated earlier, I would have liked if it both and Nico were here just to deal with it and see what could become of that, but this is fine too. With this Nico can only become a victim or a survivor, and with the show's theme of trusting others I am hoping for the latter part.

And yeah to the second one too, like I said; death is tragic and unfair. Sometimes there isn't a grand reason as to why someone died, they just...did. And it sucks. Especially coming from a writer. Do you know how many times I've planned to kill off when planning out my fangans that just because I have no further use for them? A lot. It just happens. I don't know what else to tell you. ^^;

-Mod

[mjfass]

As much as I wasn't a fan of them deciding to air footage to slap against someone who's gone and give him attention, between the Bucks and FTR, they played both sides well. Bucks appealed to the people who blame/hate Punk, FTR spoke to the people who just want to move on. Hopefully now we can move on?

Now that we know what actually happened, we can absolutely move on. There’s nothing more to talk about.

[earlyspringtranscendence]

ok i made this post already but tumblr ate it and also it started to get far more in depth than i intended so perhaps it is good i’m redoing it with better formatting. anyway is anyone else deeply unwell about mjf and dax harwood meeting in the ring again for what (iirc, but my brain don’t work too good) is essentially the first time since the pinnacle break up or is it just me. it’s about the devotion. it’s about changing when a beloved can’t change alongside you. and THEN it’s about a whole lot of twitter drama

i think what has always gotten to me about max and dax (and specifically them, though mjftr in general is of course a large part of this and also something i’m crazy about) is how during the pinnacle days dax was part of mjf’s family and max was part of his. ftr stood in a position of higher standing than wardlow, sure, but their relative normalcy in the friendship they had with max is what made him so utterly devoted to them in a way that is truly painful to see especially now when comparing it to the whole mjf + adam cole tag team.

something that stuck out to me in that bit where they’re playing video games is when max says he’s never played multiplayer cause he’s never had friends, but the pinnacle was like... beyond anything he’s been a part of since. i think what has come closest before adam was the specific twitter relationship btwn mjf and bestsmileinthebusiness lee moriarty (remember when they were firmly flirting with each other on twit? god those were the days) but then i’m also sensitive about the pinnacle so this is like besides the point

anyway, there wasn’t dead much going on with ftr in the pinnacle and part of that is of course their recent arrival to aew and them coming into their own as wrestlers with more creative freedom than they had been afforded before. they were cast as heels because that’s what they had always been and as such is what the audience expected and what made the transition go along smoothly, but as always with wrestling you gotta pick and choose where the line btwn kayfabe and reality lies and for now i’m gonna focus all my attention on the fictional because while all that is interesting from an irl perspective, it’s got fuck all to do with the emotions i’m feeling towards these crazy kids

regardless, when max has a new friend he will do anything to keep that friend. the only line he has never crossed in friendship is the one where he trusts the other person. an interesting dichotomy in the character of mjf to me has always been how easily he subjugates himself and humiliates himself (in the eyes of toxic masculinity, ykwim) to please one of his baser instincts (winning, saving face, love) and it’s something he did with ftr a lot by the end

i’ve been thinking about that one interview he did with barstool where ftr come in at the end and it’s awkward because it’s in the stage of separation before the eventual breakup. cash is all smiles and happy to be there, max is praising them both like nothing else and dax is... starting to get a little bit annoyed. he’s bothered. something’s rubbing him just a little bit wrong.

(this already is like sending me into a spiral but thats neither here nor there)

(cash is pointing at max here btw, i couldn’t get the screenie quite right)

this subtle thing is so important to me. cash’s persona during this period (and for the most part it still is) is so like laid back. he follows whatever dax wants to do but only because he’s sort of just good with whatever. even in this video there’s an element of refereeing or messenger boy-ing he’s doing between his friend and his other half that’s so dynamic to watch. (also it doesn’t hurt that the angle of the camera cuts off dax’s eyes so you only see his slightly defensive seeming posture towards max. it’s something i’m reading too deeply into by far but it’s something that does, like, enhance this experience for me)

(yt subtitles are wrong, he said heat not hate but like. whatevs) in this bit dax thinks brandon’s talking abt dax towards himself and he’s quick to interject, but when it’s clarified he’s talking about mjf there’s a considering look and a bit of a grimace. anyone else going crazy or is it just me

DAX SAYS THIS SO QUICKLY. HE SNAPS TO THIS SO QUICKLY. I’M CRAZY ABOUT THIS DYNAMIC

ok we have to move on from this because i still have so much to cover

i wanna talk about the second part of my motivation for caring so deeply about these two and that’s the ‘changing and being spitting mad a beloved isn’t changing alongside you’. beloved may have been a big word, i’ll allow for that, but please do recall that ftr are the ones who loudly proclaims that mjf is their family in pinnacle promos

thank you cash for making me absolutely insane i appreciate it now onto dax

i refuse to be normal about them.

anyway this disgust that ftr started showing once the pinnacle fell apart (and, crucially, punk became their bezzie) because they started turning face (due in part to the wardlow sitch, the other part, you guessed it, punk) and max couldn’t follow them there is in such dire opposition to this that it feels real. like i’m a mark and all but like it feels really genuine. the (learned) masculine inclination to turn to anger rather than sadness when someone disappoints you.

then max, you know, left us hanging for a veritable fucking age and in the meantime this all happened (bear in mind that more than this happened this was just what i could bear to actually reblog bc i’m not joking i’m like genuinely very unwell about this group it made me feel like so upset when it happened so you know. this isn’t the absolute worst of the worst it’s just what i could bear):

(ngl i thought i had a little more than just this post saved but they were talking supreme shit and i guess my fragile self wasn’t having it. good on me for knowing boundaries. anyway you get the idea tho, this was all happening and there was general mjf smacktalk all while mjf couldn’t respond to it because he was on his little getaway getting built as fuck)

and this:

(post found here, idk what this is from originally) you see what i mean too though about cash being this benevolent, laid back bystander and dax being angry. what’s that sentiment about being angry because you care?

what this all boils down to at long last after many paragraphs of me making very little points is this: next saturday at collision mjf is going to be doing his shit with adam cole and ftr is going to be husbands as all get, but i don’t care about any of that in the face of this final showdown between dax and max, even if i know, in my brain and my heart, that none of this will even be all that relevant to the story anymore. pour one out.

(and also final disclaimer i’ve never actually heard of any like shoot nonsense btwn these two and i’m Preddy sure this is all just part of the narrative, but i could be wrong. if anything btwn them is real well that’s none of my business and they shouldn’t have put it on the internet then. i mean im mostly kidding but if it’s real obviously disregard this reading of that situation)

[basil-the-scorned]

Show Me How

AN: This was a year long work that I was very stuck on for no other reason than my own head.

Also Italics are flashbacks.

To say that Cash had a rough couple of weeks would be an understatement.

 He didn't really go into much detail about what's been happening, but Dax noticed the circles under his eyes getting a bit darker, and how his hands were going everywhere when he talked instead of by his side, or his feet tapping to an anxious song that Dax unfortunately knows all too well.  The wrestling didn’t slow down any, but after all these years it’s almost muscle memory to them both. It’s only noticeable in the small pauses between moves, when Cash shakes his head and blinks a bit too fast or he leans against the ropes a second longer. 

Now he was still, save for the sounds of sleep. Honestly, it was far better than what he walked on just a few hours ago.

Dax twisted the door handle the best he could with a plateful of peanut butter brownies in his hands. Kenny wasn't there for Collision yet, so the sweets were safe in FTR's hands for now. Plus, Cash would appreciate them a bit more than Dax, since he seems to love anything peanut butter related.

As much as he hates to admit it, he was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and when it did, he was going to be there for his friend.  Until then, he will be there with all the sweets known to man.

Dax finally felt the door give enough underlockage for him to kick it  before the plate really digs into his hands. He exclaims "Jackpot!" with a gleam of excitement on his face as the door swung open, and too late it revealed Cash slouched on the couch when it hit the brick wall behind it with a hard thud.

It was in slow motion how Cash's body went from totally relaxed to shooting straight up, with a wild look of terror in his eyes and a choked gasp that made Dax lose a bit of his grip on the plate. He heard some of the brownies hit the floor, but his focus was now on Cash, who was still obviously out of it.  Dax set whatever remaining brownies that survived somewhere behind him, carefully striding towards where his partner was until he was near the couch. He didn’t know what exactly to do, but he knew just standing there with a plate wasn’t going to do anything.

“Wheels?” Dax softly asked, as he now looked over the way Cash’s hand was slowly flexing in and out. It was like Cash was in another world, and in a way he was. Whatever he was dreaming about still has a bit of a hold on him, and Dax was racking his brain on what to do next. Shaking him would definitely do him no good, but maybe…

Something is pulling at him to at least be some kind of physical anchor for him, as Dax gently sat down next to him. Pushing past the alarms in the back of his head, Dax placed his hand on his shoulder and began rubbing up and down. Something soothing, something that he’s noticed Cash doing sometimes to himself before a huge match. He could feel how tense the other man was, his shoulders almost firm to the touch.

He also decides to just let his mouth run. 

Dax honestly doesn't remember half of what he said after he explained how he got the brownies and the stuff at catering. He was just filling up space and trying to bring his friend back to him as many words as it took. It reminded him of when Cash called him at his lowest point, not knowing about the future of his career, and was giving him his flowers early as he broke down about hanging up his boots for good. It gave him the same fierce feeling of wanting to run over to wherever his partner was and do whatever it took to get him out of his head, instead of being on the phone with only words to offer as both of them shed tears. 

Cash blinked a couple of times, his chest still rising and falling a bit too quickly for Dax's liking, but he could see his partner’s eyes were losing that edge that he woke up with. He felt Cash’s body slowly leaning over until his head and shoulder hit his chest. Slowly, Dax tampered off words as he saw his tag partner slowly reacting to what he was saying. Honestly, he doesn’t remember exactly what he was saying last, but he knew he was doing something right when he got a small chuckle out of him. 

Thank God and the universe it worked. He squeezed a bit at his arm, and got a groan in return. “Hey.” Dax gently said. 

“Mmm, hey yourself.” It came out gruff but there was no heat behind Cash’s words, just a sense of tiredness that hasn't come off after a few cups of coffee. 

“You good?”

Cash kind of starts and then sighs. “I..I guess.” He lets the answer sit for a bit and Dax follows along with it, letting him keep his body near him. “Just some nightmares.”

“About?”

Cash gives a laugh, no ounce of humor in it. “That’s the thing, I don’t know. It’s just one minute I’m sleeping somewhat, the next…” He sighs, deep from his chest. “All this stuff rushes at me and I wake up like this.”

 Like he’s seen a ghost of something that shouldn’t be there. At least, that’s what Dax could best describe the look he saw his friend having on his face. Now Cash just looks like he’s seconds away from falling right back to sleep, even after everything. 

Except the first couple of times he closed his eyes with Dax in the room, he shot back up just like the first time. It was easier to calm him down, but it was harder to get him to go back to sleep. The yell he let out around the fifth time was out of exhausted frustration. His breath was back to shaky, and Cash’s eyes were bloodshot. Dax was rubbing his back, and that made him release a quieter noise.

“Dax, I can’t…” Cash said, his breath trying to get those hitches you get before tears start coming in. “This is the third week, I can’t keep doing this.”  He roughly dragged his hands across his face before putting them on his legs, both of them now tightly curled into fists.    

If Cash started crying right then, then Dax was going to be crying with him because there was nothing he hated more than the people he loves being upset.  And what was Dax to do? Let his partner go another week of barely any sleep, almost similar to how he almost was just a few years ago? To hell with that.

So he grabs Cash’s shirt and just tugs, not hard but enough for Cash to go back with the pull. His red eyes were scrunched in confusion, but he went with the pull of whatever Dax was doing. “Dax? What-”

“Trying something.” That was the best way to describe what he was attempting, something that he did, and still does at times when he heard scared little feet running towards his room at night. Only Cash was a lot taller and had a bigger possibility of getting some kind of crook in his neck and muscle cramps everywhere a few hours in, but he kept pulling up and Cash for some reason pushed himself along with him, going and trusting in whatever Dax had in mind.

It was only when Cash realized he was nearly being cradled that he then started protesting. 

But it seemed to be working because his partner was still on him an hour later. Every once in a while, he would move a bit more with a groan and Dax ends up holding his breath a bit, to see if it ends up turning into something he might have to calm him out of. So far though, it ends up being for a few moments before Cash would settle and doze right back off.

Dax Harwood was used to having a protective streak over those he cared about. That was something that followed him his whole life. But it never really flared up as much as now, currently keeping an eye on the door as his partner Cash was on the couch next to him, dead to the sounds of the arena. Some kind of guard dog he was trying to be, his ears a lot more sensitive to every footstep that passed by the door, still cracked open enough for people to see inside but didn’t dare come in. 

If only he could let out more of a warning without his throat getting sore.

[kenjiyabuki]

DMD FTR: finale thoughts

i forgot to put this out because i've been in the process of being an employed adult human person these days, unfortunately (no one who saw my previous DMD FTR posts is surprised that i was unemployed). now i wont even get to have my weekly crisply shot and edited hang outs w Gen 3 besties while this new job is sucking my soul... but this was a pleasant finale to this sweet and chill and incredibly unsurprising show!

here's the thing: i dont even know who Domundi is trying to fool w this double win stuff cause they did literally announce the new gen would be acting in TWO (2) new series during their 2023 Line Up event???????

so the double win wasn't a surprise AT ALL but it's okay, it didnt really diminish my enjoyment out of the show at all. i wanted both couples to have series anyway!

as i've said in my first post about this show, it has been very obvious that this shows' intention isn't to be a competition, it's more of a new gen "inauguration". they could've just put the boys through bunch of workshops and let them choose partners off camera too but they chose to put money and time in to make it a whole show, so people could witness their journey and premature fan clubs would form and develop. i think its fun and clever marketing but did it work???

well, the boys def have more fans now BUT on the same day this episode was premiering, some ZNN fans were crying about their faves (who just had a movie come out, also filming a show rn AND scheduled to film another one after) being slighted by the company and they didn't need to "add more". like i said, i don't really follow Domundi closely, if the fans are right about artist management i might not know... but their Gen 2 was extremely successful after all and people are BEGGING for more series, so it's not a bad move for a company to want to grow. i wish fans would be more mature and learn more the industry the person they "stan" works in! why would a growing company would just make shows w 2 actors over and over man, cmon 😭

okay now that i got that out of me, back to the finale. some notes about the general:

the group performance of the theme song was a bit cringe to me bc i just hate that kind of music. but everyone's ending fairies were really cuteeeee so i forgive them

real winners of the episode is the background dancers because they literally did all the performances and acted too, very well!!

Domundi members and variety of industry people in the audience was sweet to see and added valuable comments/advice for the boys. i was especially happy to see Jimmy and Tommy, whom i ADORE!!!!

i was laughing at that LOUD ASS clapping and hollering track they kept playing to add some more noise to the audience's. like i know why they did it but how much that big sound didn't match w that small crowd just tickled me..

well, yeah, i cant get into idol-ing stuff personally so i was kind of bored during the solo performances. i dont really have comments that hasn't already been said by the judges. i thought all the boys did what they were supposed to do and showcased their talents, EXCEPT Latte........ my dude, what happened? i think he could've lip sync to the song, which IS a skill (Rupaul's Drag Race battles and just drag performances in general as evidence...) that would add a lot to his performance.

Firstone leaving the competition w Best Friendship & Best Performance Awards in his pocket and two guys wanting to be his partner. What a little star... Deserved and love his cocky attitude.

about couple jukebox musicals:

in my last episode commentary, i joked about Mandee getting inspired from my ideas but then they actually kinda happened lol🧐🧐🧐🧐 ThomasKong's performance was a coming of age, young love story while KengNamping's story was more complex romance w an angsty core, almost exactly like i wished for.

all in all, KengNamping's performance grabbed my attention the most. mostly because their acting & chemistry seemed improved to me (that kiss fake out at the end, what the hell??? you guys couldn't hold an eye contact couple eps ago...) AND their storyline just ATEEEE. i dont know who came up w the forbidden romance between kinda out of touch but well meaning rich boy & his "i suffer through love quietly" village boy bodyguard, w humour sprinkled in, but they need to get their ass eaten regularly...

ThomasKong don't even need to try that hard, they are just natural born charmers!!!! i liked their friends to lovers, nerdy guy cant believe popular one' love bc he doesnt see his value storyline (Thomas could've busted out One Direction's "What Makes You Beautiful"). With the romantic prom climax, it reminded me of American high school movies and fit their vibes perfectly. i wish it was more humorous, because i think comedy is one of their strong suits. like how did it ended up that shy kings KengNamping got more laughs than ThomasKong, the goofballs themselves??? whoever is writing their series, please take notes, now that i know you are reading these...

after the glorious double win and the cute four-way hug, Aof said that two shows would be announced this year which clearly meant that most we are getting this year are pilot trailers. which is fine. not easy to be patient but i get that they are a smaller company w lots on their plates already. i hope they will use that time to work and work and work on the shows!!!!

i honestly want Domundi to kind of change up things in their filmmaking/producing styles, maybe switch directors sometimes and try diffferent styles idk... this show and Gen 3 in general felt very refreshing and i hope they keep that vibe going! and maybe i will finally watch a Domundi show till the last episode.

P.S.: Extra clips were released this week and KengNamping's was sweet. i was kinda laughing at how much of a set up it was like, them conveniently sharing a blanket, all mic'd up, getting filmed w lights on etc. but their conversation and mood in the moment seemed sincere, which is enough. it was nice to see the context for ep 5, when they found each other at the other end of the red ribbon and said that so much happened on that bridge. what a perfect circle moment, from comforting each other about not winning a challenge to winning the show!

[himbos-hotline]

You right about Hangman. Like, who wouldn’t be a little unhinged after all that! Also, I hope you’re having a good night, friend. 🖤

I'm okay, its been a day tbh. But eh thats neither here nor there. I think so many people right now seem to forget that anxiety isnt something that just, disappers. Its a continous thing and even with meds it isnt magically fixed. You cant removed the anxious out of hangman. Which tbh is one of my main "arguments" for lack of a better word why 95% of this fued with swerve isnt romantic, its literally swerve being controlling over hangman [which he has had before during the tag fued with kenny and FTR- the whole reason hanger betrayed the bucks was FTR got into his head and manipulated him, manipulation isnt always "youre friends hate you, *we're* your true friends" one of the main like manipulation techniques is "if you leave/stop paying attention to me/ect I will hurt someone you love] which is exactly what swerve did and is still doing to Hangman and instead of falling back into the habit of nervousness and control, hes recognising the signs and becoming the very thing he swore to kill, the very person who he loved more than anything and then imo never stopped. Hangman is becoming Kenny Omega, the same way we saw Kenny taking Hangmans place in th elite during the Jericho Bucks fued. The only ones who have stayed stedfast and settled are the young bucks, theyre still lashing out. All of them are anxious and hurting and theyre all showing it in different ways! the elite stories will always be interlinked and tangled together even if theyre not directly telling a story together and people seem to forgot how important they all are in each others lives?? But anway! The cowboy is still anxious and is lashing out and reacting in an "ugly" way and I need something to snap him out of it like, when kenny is **rightfully** healed and healthy enough too, another match. Because think about how the two of them have morphed into one another? Hangman is the angry, jealous, "dont forget I exist" loudmouth with black leather and dark wild eyes. Kenny is the shyer, quieter, "I need this. I need you", one whose kinda accepted that hes no longer living in someone elses shadow, but is now, merging together with another.

Kenny is the ghost that haunts hangman page, Kota ibushi is the ghost of haunts the corners of Kennys mind, the bucks haunt them both. From them throwing hangman out the elite to matty looking in the mirror, that same look of "who am I now?" thing.

I have a lotta thoughts can you see, considering its 1am rn

[yourleftpinkytoe-blog]

thea is hated mostly because it’s most likely she met kevin as an adult (18) whilst he was still a child (13) and for them to start dating when he turned 18 & her 23 is actually pretty fucking weird!! (thea is 5 years older than him and they would’ve met when she started at EA as we know he and riko lived there before). That’s not much different from Aaron Taylor Johnston dating granny when he turned 18, it begs the question, what the fuck were y’all doing before he was 18 then, huh? waiting? It literally has nothing to do with her race I didn’t even know what fucking race she was before this weird “y’all are racist towards Thea” discourse you are trying to create despite the fact people hate on her for literally being an implied pedo

They don’t even really know each other on anything but a superficial level till after he was eighteen…

No, she is in fact not an “implied pedo” you my friend are just incapable of understanding that two adults being in a relationship is not pedophilic.

And yes in some situations an 18 and 23 year old being together is a little weird but you are taking it out of the context it’s in. They were in a fucking cult… a four year age gap is the least of their problems. (The issue with age gap relationships when both parties are adults is the power dynamics but there are no weird power dynamics between them)

Calling out fucking racism is not “creating discourse” and I’m gonna need you to do some self fucking reflection

(also she’s described with dark skin in the books how did you not know that? )

[sheinthatfandom]

Ftr gun ….. shouldn’t you be in cuffs lmaooo

I’m sorry I hate them both fuck’em both of

[omegawhiskers]

Collison 4/11/23

Happy 69

Collison opens with a montage of promos. When it came to Swerve Strickland, he cut off by AR Fox who attacked him. The brawl spilled out to the arena during the opening pyro. Swerve got the win, thus carrying his momentum heading into his match with Adam Page. The post-match had all the main event players coming out for a brawl.

This would be one of tree singles matches as the rest featured multi-man competition, which was not a bad thing in hindsight as it opened up the spotlight to showcase wrestlers that have fallen into the abyss.

The Kingdom won a squash match against James McGregor and Brixton Nash. I don’t recall seeing Matt Taven or Mike Bennett being featured outside ROH, so this was good to see. I was kind of hoping that Taven would incorporate the giraffe into his gear because I think it would be hilarious. Roderick Strong did a post-match knee and imminently milked his neck again. It’s good to see this team do something rather then just be relegated to promos.

Lance Archer returned with Jake ''The Snake'' Roberts to take on Darby Allin. Allin was ragged dolled a lot. He took a choke slam followed by another choke slam on the outside edge of the ring. Allin prevailed with a Destroyer off the top rope to win. Jake Robert’s announces that he has brought in The Righteous. This looks like set up for Darby, String and Adam Copeland vs. Lance and The Righteous. Archer will fit in nicely with The Righteous, but I'm not sure if it's long term.

Skye Blue and Kris Statlander still have friction between them as Blue explains to Statlander she misted Julia Hart only for Willow because they're friends. This looks to be leading to Blue vs. Statlander with Willow stuck in the middle (maybe a triple threat?). Willow also picked up a win over Emi Sakura in a decent match up. Willow needed this victory as she hasn't picked up a win in quite a while.

We got a surprise appearance from Kip Sabian who teamed with The Workhorsemen to face off against Mark Briscoe/Dusty Rhodes/Keith Lee. This was a short but fun match. I’m glad that Kip and Lee got TV time. Kip is so good and deserves more time on Collison going forward. Lee will also get a match on Dynamite against Samoa Joe with Briscoe challenging Jay White for his spot at Full Gear. I'm glad to see the gears turning in the right direction here.

The Acclaimed celebrated 69 days as AEW Trios Champions. The chemistry between all three were on display and it was an amusing segment until Dalton Castle and The Boys came to the ring. I often chastise WWE for doing this, so I’m going to chastise AEW here. I hate it when wrestlers make the matches on the spot. Doing so in kayfabe makes the company look unprofessional and lazy for not planning out TV time. The match wasn’t half bad though. The segment also featured MJF admitting that he liked The Acclaimed and sees Max Caster as a friend, so expect more team ups.

The main event was FTR/LFI (Preston Vance & Rush with Jose the Assistant & Dralistico) vs. Big Bill & Ricky Starks and Gates of Agony (Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona). I just don't care for Kaun and Liona because I don't know anything about them. Who are they? What are they fighting for? I would have preferred Dralistico over Vance in this match. Post match had The House of Black attacked FTR, with Claudio and Yuta making the save.

This Collision featured talent we haven't seen in a while. And I'm glad the fall out is spilling into Dynamite. I hope this is not a case of showing certain talent, then tossing them away for months. This seems to be a problem with AEW. Look at the Miro/CJ Perry storyline. One moment they are both featured heavily, and now they just Perry only gets a mention and Miro gets a quick cameo. I hope Dynamite delivers with story progression.

[majorbaby]

Ok, same anon, but seriously re: how to make an anti-war movie/series. I think there's a lot of tid bits in MASH regarding the characters that should have been emphasized that I think would have driven home how absurd and disgusting war is and just how obscene war is. It would of course required making Hawkeye, BJ, Trapper, MUCH more unlikeable but these are (misogyny, molesting the nurses, righteousness, getting away with everything, so and and so forth) all traits they already have but just emphasized and shown front and center. They wouldn't have to tack on a pointed message or anything the horror of the characters actions would speak for themselves. Just imagine war show that unabashedly shows soldiers (drafted or not) acting out the worst of humanity and leaving the audience to decide the fates of the characters.

Yeah I think that's one way to do it, MASH 1970 leaned into that pretty hard. Hawkeye and Trapper are the heroes of the movie but they're definitely not heroes in general. I think early MASH does a pretty good job making you watch an anti-war show without hating every second of it and without feeling the messaging is tacked-on. Half the time you are laughing so hard you're not even realizing that there's an agenda here. Yankee Doodle Doctor even acknowledges "... but then, no war is a movie." But then we wouldn't have a show. Larry Gelbart's answer to this paradox was to never give us an inch. We got a sixteenth of an inch at the most: Frank never redeems himself. Henry doesn't make it home. Trapper makes it home but his exit is bitten-off and he doesn't get to adopt Kim. Frequent mood-whiplashes. Undermining "found family". A constant doubling-down on "nothing good from war". Much later admitting that in order for the show to remain true to its anti-war messaging, it could not, or rather should not, drag out.

Episodes like For the Good of the Outfit (with its sarcastic title), Yankee Doodle Doctor (an in-universe sarcastic title), Doctor Pierce and Mr. Hyde, Officer of the Day, The General Flipped at Dawn, Big Mac, White Gold all do a pretty good job imo at delivering the message via satire. And I guess you could argue that some of the things Hawkeye and Trapper do are morally wrong, Trapper cheating on his wife, Hawkeye two-timing women, taking out a colonel's appendix and feeling nothing but giddy about it (RIP BJ)... but all these things are framed as "indecencies in the middle of one giant indecency." MASH 1970 and MASH the tv show do these things to make the point that "it's nowhere near as terrible as war". And I think that's a good point to make, there's a difference between violence and state violence, why should the state have a monopoly on horror while everyone else gets judged by their peers? Trapper seriously considers murdering a patient in cold blood, a sign that the propaganda is working on him - I think that goes directly to what you're suggesting. It's less of a character flaw and more a show of the machine having its intended affect on a mostly otherwise good person.

ftr there are episodes in the later years that try to deliver this messaging, but nowhere near as consistently as the early years, the episodes aren't written around that messaging anymore and it's usually shown as a character individually wrestling with some reaction to something terrible that the war has brought them. Letters is one, Depressing News another, Peace on Us a third... note however that in all of these episodes the heavy lifting falls to Hawkeye. From BJ and Charles I get more of a sense that they are both generally opposed to human pain/suffering, and they are both incensed to have had their lives disrupted by the draft (which is fair) - but it's less of an ideological opposition.

I'm not shooting down your idea as to how to create an anti-war show, I think it's a good suggestion, I just also think that MASH did do a halfway decent job some of the time at being anti-war.

[thatswhatsushesaid]

i think the main reason i keep starting and stopping and then going “hrmmm 🧐” at my most recent attempts to dig down into why i personally don’t believe jgy hated nmj is probably because (imo) there are very few (named) characters in the text that jgy does hate. so that makes it a bit more difficult to draw distinctions between his behaviour and actions wrt other characters, and compare/contrast them against his actions with nmj.

however!! i think one character we can all agree that jgy comes to regard with intense contempt and loathing is jgs, and that comes across both in jgy’s brutal means of killing him and in how he talks about his father with lxc during the guanyin temple confrontation. he loses control of his emotions and his cherished composure (in part of course because he’s not! at his best! in this moment), and compares his own father to a stallion gone into rut. like it’s very apparent that jgy has no respect left for his dead father, forget filial piety at this stage, and he demonstrates zero remorse for choosing to kill him the way he did.

contrast this against the way jgy still calls even nmj’s fierce corpse “da-ge” up until the final fraught seconds of his life—which ftr i don’t think should be viewed as some deeply revealing moment about jgy’s character except to highlight how so often his words and his actions are at crossed purposes. he shouts at lxc with fury, but ultimately saves his life; he curses at mingjue as he’s about to be killed and defies that he’s afraid, but, well. 🥺

anyway, these are just some Morning Thoughts, i don’t have the book in front of me to dig further down into jgy’s feelings on nmj pre-the jinlintai steps vs post but /sticks a pin in this, i’ll come back to it.