#I won't provide any context either lol

[like-it-or-not-i-am-alive]

Now, I hate to bring political garbage to my page. I do it oh so sparingly, you know? But this warrants the chatter. I just want you to listen to this man speak about voting. Mainly the first minute of audio. This is a clip taken from The Hill's video stream of former president Donald Trump's speech at the 'The Believer's Summit' (https://www.youtube.com/live/EK-2ciNXBMU?si=D3fKwQ_rWxXtFfEw). I do have captions enabled, but be warned they have a lot of random letters due to Trump's 'unique' speech style.

Also, please note the odd cut at the beginning where Trump's head seems to clip is NOT an edit on my part, and I do not believe it is a cut on The Hill's part either. As the words continue in flow and do not appear edited. Also in that this is a streamed video and is unlikely to have tampering. I believe it may just be a glitch in the stream. That or we fell through a mandala universe in direct sight.

Trump talks about the 'cheating left' and the necessity of christians to vote. People have commented on how he says he is not christian (this does reflect on the captions), but I actually don't think that was intentional on his part. It may be word soup in that after an hour long speech, the sentence didn't form correctly (or dementia episode lol). However, my focus is more on his next few sentences/claims about how this election will remove all need for christians to ever vote again.

I question how this can be interpreted in any way other than 'I am the last vote you'll make.' I see a lot of things the candidates say that can be taken out of context. Yet here I have provided a clip with prior and continued context, as well as the entire video, and yet this doesn't seem interpretable. I can't see the angle where this can be taken out of context. I can't see where it's a joke. I can't see where it means something else. How do you interpret: "Get out there and vote. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years. You know what? It'll be fixed. It'll be fine. You won't have to vote anymore, my beautiful christians.... In four years, you won't have to vote again. We'll have it fixed so good you won't have to vote again."?

You can't. He means every word of it. Even if you pull the angle of 'he'll fix the country so well that its christian core beliefs will be in control and no matter who you vote for, it'll be christian.' It's scummy. It implies heavily that in four years, the need to vote will be unnecessary because no matter how you vote, the set 'correct' person will win. That can't be achieved without voting.

You could suggest he means 'this is the only election that matters and when the next candidacy rolls around the effort is unnecessary but that doesn't make a lot of sense either.

The only way to not make this sound predatory is by suggesting he's just hyping the crowd and doesn't actually mean it... but that can't be it. At least, not to the people who follow Trump like he's the next messiah. Since that would imply cognitive decline. After all, saying he means it harmlessly and doesn't mean to sound so manipulative negates the idea that he's a competent ruler leader.

However you interpret it, whatever you take it to mean, you can't ignore the warning signs.

Doesn't it feel dystopian? This is the behaviour they warn us about. Extreme nationalism. Pushing religious ideology as politics. Placing your leadership on the same pedestal as a god. 'Vote with me to be a hero'.

Its cultism.

Scary shit.

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S3 Musings - Louis Going Forward

I've been seeing posts in the tags, and just wanna urge LDPDL fans (esp. show-only fans) who fear that Louis won't have anything to do after S2, not to freak out just yet. No, he doesn't show up in the books as much as Lestat, ofc, but if AMC's smart they'll realize that there's plenty of book!Louis content to keep Jacob around!

We've gotten plenty of assurances from Rolin Jones that they've no intention of sidelining Louis, as Loustat's endgame (a la Blood Communion). (But Rolin's also fanboyed nonstop how much he's been waiting to do TVL and focus on Les's story & adventures. Ofc, intent & execution are 2 different things, so forgive us, Rolin, if the fandom's side-eying y'all.)

Louis taking an active role in Owning the Night and dropping his address so the vamps can take him on is a BOLD move; I love it. Rolin said waaay early in S1 that they made AMC!Louis stronger and with more of a backbone than book!Louis, and he definitely is. Plus, AMC!Lou has the Fire Gift--one of the most powerful attacks in a vampire's arsenal. So I imagine that S3 will be pretty busy for Louis--in contrast to the fandom's hilarious headcanons that Louis'll be minding his business at home crocheting and doing yoga while Lestat's making a fool of himself on tour. 🤣 He' pretty much gearing up to be Louis the Vampire Slayer! Guillermo! Take notes!

While book!Louis isn't in TVL (Lestat's backstory), he comes back in QotD when Loustat get back together again. So we have a lot to look forward to there, as Lestat tries to get all the vamps' attention so they stay AWAY from Louis & fight Lestat instead--culminating in Les' disastrous Death Valley concert when Akasha appears.

Loustat has a lot of romantic scenes together as Les starts courting Lou again, asking him to come his concerts & watch him perform--so I hope AMC gives us some backstage lovin', showing Lou as "Monsieur le Rockstar's" boyfriend, b4 all hell breaks loose & Akasha takes Les away. :(

Book-plot wise though, the elephant in the room is ofc TotBT, and David Talbot. 🤮 We don't know yet how far AMC's going with Raglan James, and if they're incorporating that book into S3, or saving his schemes for the new Talamasca series and holding Raglan's fight with Lestat until S4. 👀

Aside from Les, TotBT is a VERY important moment for Louis' character development, too. I've already explained Louis' HIGHLY significant role in that book, and how Louis' choices impact Lestat going forward with Memnoch. So we'll have to wait and see if Raglan shows up again any time soon.

I PRAY that "others we can't tell you about yet" means Raglan, and NOT that racist pedo David Talbot. Everyone knows David was conjured up as AR's Replacement-Louis when she didn't wanna write anymore sad & depressed mopey vampires anymore. So instead we get that closeted colonizer David, and AR got butthurt when people didn't like him, LOL (esp. not in Merrick, oof!). 😂

But tbf, the QotD majorly improved David's character, removing every bit of his problematic context, to just focus on his role in the Talamasca, tracking down vampires like Marius; which is smart.

So I say AMC could/should either:

do what QotD did: water David down to make him less problematic

give his role as Les' sidekick to Daniel--maybe providing context for how/why Daniel was Turned; if he's still human during Les' tour (in the S3 promo), and gets injured by Raglan, so Armand swoops in & saves him

give his role to as Les' sidekick to Louis, Mr. & Mrs. Smith style, as they fight Raglan together (cuz book!Louis already said he'd kill Raglan if he ever saw him). Does AMC!Lou have beef w/ him for snooping around w/ Daniel in S2? 👀

So yeah, there's a lot of action-packed potential for Louis in S3; that takes him beyond his grief over Claudia (esp. since we won't have Merrick as the following book/season)--unless ghost!Claudia is a thing and she becomes a Problem™️. But that's way too close to the plot of Blackwood Farm, which I'd prefer AMC do instead--esp. since that way we can still get Merrick Mayfair come in as a crossover.

That's so precious! 😍

A cleansing, amen! I can't imagine what Jacob had to go through, playing Louis! Method acting is REALLY hard, esp. with mentally ill & chronically insane characters--we all saw what it did to Heath Ledger! And look at Joaquin Phoenix, out there literally starving himself, jfc.

Nah, we get you, Jacob.

Jacob, I've been saying it since S1: YOU WERE ROBBED OF YOUR EMMYS. I effing hate AMC for not doing you the justice you deserved and making sure S2 could at least qualify for a nomination. I'll never forgive them for it; esp. cuz you can bet your arse they won't fumble the ball in The Vampire Lestat's season; oh nooo~! 🙄😒 White Lestans can gaslight TF out of us all they want, minimizing our trauma & pain & rightful suspicions, but Black actors have been shafted by Hollywood bureaucracy & shenanigans since it's effing inception, and IDGAF what anyone says--once is an accident, twice is a pattern!

He really is. But I get so mad & so offended that Jacob's immense talent and Louis' incredible character arc is shunted to the side by critics & viewers alike. Brad Pitt put literally ZERO effort into Louis and it showed; meanwhile Jacob's out here giving the acting performance of a lifetime. But people won't STFU about Lestat's hair.

EIGHT SEASONS!? Motherfudger, wtf!? XD I'm all for it, but y'all are gonna have to speed up how long it takes to film & air each season--at 2+ years per hiatus, 16 years is way too much, even for the Supernatural fandom. And LBH, Jam Reiderson & Eric are NOT gonna make it 16 years in the face department.

That is so beautifully put, Sam. ISTG, when is he publishing his doctoral dissertation on TVC already!?

FACTS! I have hope for S3. It's perfectly OK to tonally shift and switch MCs! So long as you're not neglecting & disrespecting THE titular vampire--hasn't Louis suffered enough?! 😅 I'm excited for where S3 takes him.

[radfemfox5]

LOL that guy you were arguing with a few days ago changed his entire blog. i think you radicalized him LMFAOOO

here's him still malding about your argument: https://www.tumblr.com/mommabearlaciii/732929534465359873

It's been 3 days, honey. Why are you acting like a martyr? Please move on. Get a job. Or a hobby.

This is doubly hilarious to me because he warns others not to waste their time speaking to radfems while wasting multiple days seething about our conversation, to the point that he changed his whole blog...

Guess I have to address this in its entirety since he won't shut the fuck up about it. Buckle up, gyns.

For some added context as to why I immediately assumed this was a troll when I saw his post, this is what his blog looked like:

Jeez, I thought, what a terrible troll. It was so on the nose as to be comical. I soon realized that he was anything but a troll.

I was incredibly tame in my response to his insanely misogynistic post, to the point where I chided myself afterwards for not going harder on him.

In retrospect, being "civil" with him was the best way to go, as my reblog is simple, concise and clear: woman = female. That's literally it.

In spite of how simple my comment was, he still went on an unhinged rant mere minutes after I pressed reblog. It's honestly not worth reading, but for the sake of transparency I'll include screenshots.

Honestly, I was shocked to see how quickly he typed this whole thing out. Rage must increase your typing speed.

It's pretty funny to me that someone whose blog name used to be "adult human female" got so incredibly mad at me for stating that women are female. Shouldn't you agree with me, if you think trans women are female? Hm.

Following this, I wasn't planning on interacting with him again. I left a one word reply and thought that would be it. He kept replying with questions, which devolved into an extremely long exchange in the replies that had some interesting moments. Like him elaborating on why he believes trans women become female, which boils down to "amalgamation of female-approximate traits = female."

Source for his claim that sex is a bimodal distribution between two poles? No clue.

Basically this:

The graph he provided in lieu of a source:

I'm confused about this graph for multiple reasons, namely, the fact that it conflates sex and gender. Mostly, I'm confused about the extremities. Are the people on the far left of the graph "ultra female", and people on the far right "ultra male"? It's complete nonsense, not to mention that he doesn't provide a link to the source this graph is from, it's a commentated screenshot of a tweet with the graph.

Looking into it, the graph comes from a blog post by a transgender real estate agent. I would not consider this a reliable or credible source whatsoever, especially when the post goes on to say this:

You heard it here first, folks, having a small penis means you're less male, and a larger clitoris means you're less female. That makes total sense. I was half expecting them to include this image:

Back to the post: I attempted to explain to him that being in the female range of a specific trait doesn't mean you're female, without much success.

Speaking with him felt like trying to capture a feral cat. It was like I kept having to appease him with treats to keep him from hissing and scampering off. I've never had this feeling when speaking to any other trans person on this webbed site, they usually either block me immediately or have a conversation and then block me when they realize I actually have valid arguments to make. It was definitely a new experience for me. I have screenshots if anyone cares enough to see the full thing.

He did end up realizing I wasn't as complacent as he thought, and blocked me after leaving another beautiful essay in my DMs. The post that pushed him over the edge? The one where I made fun of the breastfeeding fetishist nominal.naomi. Why? Because I implied that males are ugly slobs that can't take pictures. Lol.

It's funny that this interaction seemingly got him to reconsider his time on Tumblr, to the point that he did a complete 180.

You know what, I'll take it. Some of his posts unintentionally call for gender abolition and acknowledge gendered labour inequalities. Sure, he reinforces gendered stereotypes while doing so, but at least he's saying something.

If I can get a misogynistic lesbian fetishist to change his entire blog to regurgitate basic feminist talking points and think he's owning Le TERFs... That's probably the funniest thing to happen to me here.

To be clear, that doesn't make him any less violent towards women he disagrees with.

To conclude: This entire exchange has made me realize that I don't have that many serious posts on this blog compared to my previous blogs. I'll start working on some more serious posts. If you gyns have any suggestions for subjects I could discuss in more of a serious or analytical tone, feel free to shoot me an ask or a DM.

[my-my-my]

hello! How do you think Aizen would be if he ever went to high school? What subjects would be his favourites, how implicated he'd be? How would he be with his classmates and teachers?

Oh I love these kinds of asks!!

I'll break this down by the questions in your ask. As forewarning, I'm Canadian, worked as a tutor for high school students, and have a very limited understanding of the Japanese school system, so that's the context I'll be working off of.

TW: None!

What subjects would be his favourites?

I think Aizen would be very drawn to History (not just of Japan, but even of other countries) as well as World Issues. But he's also fascinated by the basic sciences (Biology, Chemistry and Physics).

Depending on the literature that's being taught, I can also see him into Language studies (Japanese/English/French etc. whatever is being provided at his school). He's a big reader, but he also has Opinions. Whatever novel/play/poem is being studied, he's either going to dissect it, or pretend to care to get him that 90-95%.

If there's an introductory Computer Science class, Aizen will ace that class - if anything, he's learning how to code in multiple languages in his downtime.

That being said, he doesn't care for math. Like everything he does, he's excellent at it, but it doesn't stimulate him like other subjects (until he gets to university and takes Proofs).

How implicated would he be?

I'm going to take this as if in this high school AU, how corrupt would Aizen be, and I don't think he'd be completely treasonous by this point. BUT his high school years will be formative (as it is with many people!). I think he will learn and begin to understand the larger injustices in the world, and how, as a student and as a teenager, he has very little power, if any, to change. I think it will be the start of his radicalization.

He begins to understand that he fundamentally needs to acquire power, and maybe that starts off small in the form of being a class rep in his student council, and maybe by the end of high school, student council president. He is the person who will plan his life out, and is very strategic about what he does. Everything is calculated.

How would he be with his classmates?

I would like to imagine he's quite polite with them, but he's distant. You know that "student prince" archetype that is shown in shojou works? I can see Aizen getting that on him, but he's quite humble and doesn't like the fawning and flattery that comes with it. It isolates him further.

I think Aizen would rank in the top 5 of having the highest grades in his classes. Personally, I think Aizen is ok with not being the smartest - it bugs him sometimes though if it is Urahara who's beating him (and he always beats him in the sciences).

Like I can see grades for the basic sciences going like: 1. Urahara

2. Aizen

3. Senjumaru

4. Mayuri (for those who don't know, Mayuri LOATHES Senjumaru - in one of the databooks he wants to kill and dissect her. His hatred for her is second to Urahara. And so it pisses Mayuri off that not only is Senjumaru getting a higher grade than him, but Urahara is getting the HIGHEST lmao).

That being said, he won't tutor any of his classmates UNLESS his teachers "force" him to do so. I also don't see him as the type to ask for extra credit assignments, nor snitch on the class that there was an assignment due that the teacher forgot to collect. I can see people asking him if they can copy his homework, but he politely refuses.

I don't see him joining many clubs, but he would participate in student council and possibly a book club? And if his school has a newspaper, I can see him writing small pieces for that. I can see one of his language teachers asking him to publish some of his poetry though (Aizen refuses).

As for sports? I can see him joining maybe one sports club, but he doesn't really "push" himself on the team. He's just a benchwarmer lol. If they had archery or kendo, I can see him excelling in that, but he purposely sabotages himself so he never reaches nationals in his early years, until his final year.

How would he be with his teachers?

His teachers would think he's incredibly studious, polite and well-mannered. Some of them might wish they had a class filled with students just like him, but others would want him to interact with the class more. He doesn't give them problems, and he does enough to get praised, but he's not out here getting 100% on every assignment/test/project he does. He wants to still remain under the radar after all.

But his teachers will definitely be more than happy to provide reference letters when he applies for university.

Thanks for the ask!! I love this kind of stuff lol.

[sangfielle]

would love your take on the saarebas as a part of DA canon (until recently i guess lmao) because they're a piece of qunari worldbuilding that i am oddly besotted with, but they also feel to me like another one of those details added to make qunari seem more "barbaric", which was then given some cursory nuance to try and make it not look as uniquely bad (for example, you can draw a comparison between the abuses circle mages suffer in kirkwall and the plight of saarebas, but the visual language of one group being confined to barracks and the other being chained and collared like animals is still going to have someone engaging with the work associating some very fraught traits to an arvaarad that they then wouldn't to a templar). i don't really know how to work with them in a fanon context for my own enjoyment that doesn't feel like uncritically leaning into the most racist parts of how the qun is presented, but deleting them the way DATV did feels worse. what do you think?

also you made a post abt them all being Government-Assigned Nonbinary that gelled with my interpretation of them lol

i sat with this for a little while, because i wanted to have something better to say than "i basically agree with you about all of this", but the problem is that i basically just agree with you and there's not that much you can say about saarebas that you can derive from the actual text of the games. they're categorically denied depth and we're refused any insight into qunari society and, like, the non-antaam qunari mind (sten and the da2 arishok, specifically, i guess -- inquisition doesn't want you to consider iron bull qunari so i won't, tallis is semi-useful as an insight into the position viddathari are forced into when speaking to those outside the qun but that's it [just in da2, i thought about revisiting redemption in case it would provide any insight but i feel pretty confident every character in that show is one-note without re-watching it], i guess you can have that one conversation with ketojan before it* kills itself?) (tevinter nights would have been a great place to put a story from the perspective of a saarebas but that didn't happen, so whatever).

i don't know how much help i can be of in terms of "how do i engage with this in a non-racist (etc) fashion", because i think the answer might be that you can't? i think that for basically everything surrounding the qunari, it's very difficult to not play into the bigoted stuff baked into them without doing a ground-up rewrite of the entire society. you're right that totally ignoring the bigoted writing and just hoping that works like vg does isn't really a solution either though. my suggestion would be to just go into whatever you're doing aware of the politics of the depiction of the saarebas and be mindful to not act like their treatment is uniquely barbaric relative to circles. if the thing you're doing isn't solely focused on qunari, spend some time looking at andrastian treatment of mages and make a point of comparison? if you're writing, make an effort to treat any saarebas and arvaarad as, like, people with interiority in the same fashion as you would templars and mages? if you're an artist, uh. it is much harder to get away from the imagery. i don't actually know what to tell you about that.

that's very basic advice but i don't have much specific rewrite advice besides "probably be mindful of and utilize the fact that in-universe it's implied that ketojan's treatment was extreme and not the typical way saarebas are handled (the specific visual language of the stitched lips are supposed to be a second-to-last resort handling method, not typical practice. i will say that i really deeply dislike the stitching scars that people love to put on their tal-vashoth mage ocs. that's probably more personal preference and me being anal about minor lore notes, but it feels to me like it leans into the idea that qunari treatment of mages is worse and more damaging than andrastian methods, especially when people don't really treat tranquility with the same weight despite that being... worse, probably). iirc saarebas (redemption) was treated notably harshly throughout its* life in the qun but didn't bear any specific visual markers besides the collars that would imply that it was held on a particularly tight leash. again, didn't rewatch redemption for this and it's a pretty vauge memory in my head, so i'm less sure about saarebas (da:r) than i am about ketojan and hissera (and i admittedly don't know jack shit about saarath, but there's very little to know, it seems like?). hissera and saarath have the stitches, but i'm pretty sure that's because they wanted to maintain a visual continuity with the saarebas more than anything else, because hissera isn't noted as being a mage that needs to have a close eye kept on it*, on account of... it's allowed to travel around thedas by itself under its own supervision. so i guess that's another thing worth keeping in mind, that a few saarebas are trusted to just be by themselves and do whatever, like wynne is with the circles? actually probably the most straightforward comparison in terms of level of treatment of the typical saarebas would be to fereldan circle mages specifically. if you want something to use as a yardstick for their treatment (similarly to andrastian circle mages, though the chantry will less readily admit it than the qun, is that the primary role of a mage is being a tool of war). also worth being aware of the fact that unlike thedosian cultures, saarebas are specifically noted as being revered in the qun to some extent. people don't... hate them, probably. the qun is too much about anti-individualism and living as a part of a whole for that to be the mindset about people who are occupying a very restrictive role

*i mean, you saw my post about it. i feel like the -bas suffix denotes a set of pronouns and a gendered role.

[egg-emperor]

this might be too,, vague idk,, but a scenario i'm curious about; if someone were to be in emotional distress, would eggman provide any kind of comfort/advice? does it just depend on if it benefits him to do so? and on the person it is? or do they just get laughed at and teased regardless of the situation??

Because of Eggman's narcissism and low empathy, I don't see him genuinely being the most caring and comforting in such situations. He won't be able to relate to or understand other's feelings and he doesn't have the care in him to learn to do so, and he's just not equipped or interested in dealing with it all around. He will have a disconnected silent demeanor towards it that can make him seem quite cold, or an amused cruel rude mocking one, depending on the circumstances.

But yes, like everything else in life, I'd say that it's all dependent on whether it benefits him personally to attempt to do so and the best method with that in mind. This has been the case in the games, such as attempting to motivate Sonic to keep going after Tails was kidnapped in Lost World because he still needed him to help him get past the Zeti so he could betray him. But when Sonic turns around in anguish, he just shrugs, clearly not genuinely empathizing.

With this term in mind, I can see him attempting comfort and advice on those he's partnered up with for any reason, having a truce with because it helps his image and the trust, or his lackeys in the cases it works best- though depending on who it is, he could deliver it in a colder crueler way belittling their feelings which makes them pull themselves together because he's made them feel silly. He prefers this because it's faster and he doesn't have to perform more care lol

But again, it depends on who it is and the circumstances and what works best for the certain person. I feel he has multiple methods. One through belittling their struggle and barking at them to get up and keep going, another through offering some casual advice and knowledge, and another even through performing full on care and softness but that's his most dishonest manipulative method because he doesn't really care and has the most sinister reasonings behind it.

He's not the type to care about what the correct appropriate way to get someone back on their feet is either, it can come off as rude or cold even if he is supposed to be trying to perform it. While his methods can differ, he's absolutely the kind to tell someone to just stop crying, put their chin up, and man up. Because while it was in a slightly different context as it was towards silliness instead of sadness/fear/etc, he has actually said that and that sure is Eggman alright. XD

Yet that's actually what one can consider a "nicer" way that he could react to someone in distress, over how he could just judge and mock someone for being soft because we know that's something we know he sees as a weakness in Battle.

I feel most would prefer to hear the former from him if anything XD

The actual "nicest" he could be about it is just giving a few words of advice, mostly based on anecdotes of his experiences if he feels it will help the most on the terms of how it will benefit him as always. It may or may not work because he's self focused about it and uses it as an opportunity to brag about his strength to keep going when things get tough, and they might not be able to relate- but he can relate even less to them with his lack of empathy. And they're not the most conventional words at that but hey.

While not canon and I gotta emphasize since I talk about game Eggman specifically, I think the way he talked to Chris in episode 49 of X was a pretty accurate way for him to go about it, delivering harsh truths with a little anecdote from personal experiences thrown in, but could ultimately be helpful depending on how they take it and what they do with it. But he's not going to sugarcoat it, he keeps it brutally honest in cases he's not lying and manipulating.

Unless he's decided it's a case where high manipulation and deceit is the best method. Which brings us to the worst way he can attempt it- what's actually the sweetest, kindest, most caring he can seem. When he's read into them and realized only this would work and tries to perform it. With gentle seeming gestures of physical comfort and sweet words spoken with a soft voice but they're not real and it has very sinister intentions. This is when he's most dangerous.

He can just be cruel and rude and mocking but that's most often only towards his outright enemies when he's not in a truce with them and doesn't have to perform anything for the benefits. Then he'll look down on and scoff and belittle them as much as he pleases. Or he'll do this with some of his own lackeys and creations, as long as he knows that it will make them feel silly or weak and will lead to them calming down in obedience and fear instead of wanting to betray.

When it comes to my self insert stuff, when I'm down and feeling a need for comfort, I imagine Eggman letting me hug him but not returning it, he just lets it happen but looks detached because he can't be emotionally invested in it but it's just comforting to be in his presence and warmth and he's really cuddly, so it's enough hehe. Then I imagine him just quietly mumbling a few small words of advice and that's it. And it's on the terms of me being a useful servant to him.

It's not much but it can have it's positives if it's something that works for you. It personally would for me because I prefer that people don't make a huge fuss and coddle me but just keep it real and even just be there at all, maybe offering some helpful advice no matter how small, even if it's harsh. And Eggman does it all for disingenuous reasons but hey it can actually work! Plus I accept his narcissism and low empathy so his real terms behind it are fine by me too. XD

I have various scenario ideas for different situations with different people, circumstances, and different methods I listed here, ranging from the kind where he's cruel and mocking, to when he gives attempted advice and anecdotes with harsh truths, to the darkest most manipulative method where he performs much deeper care than he feels with sweet words and gestures. I might share some in time because it's interesting to me to explore his methods and his terms!

[h0ptimists]

TALK ABOUT - Accepting

@xperimentalranger

🗣 Leeta & Lyco, Pomegranate, Mira Nova, Hyzenthlay, Shard, Slinger!

Leeta + Lyco

The twins!

The fact I picked them on a whim (so the whole team would be complete) and they ended up sticking as muses. Despite not appearing much in the comic; I love the dynamic they bring to the team and how they won't take any shit regardless of the person, even if the person is a former prince.

I also love how they use their appearances as an advantage as well since it allow them to discover that Leeta was being cheated on (since the cheater went and dated Lyco) as well confuse Naugus who had one of the twin pin down after catching her but the other appear behind which baffled him.

Pomegranate

Pomegranate is one my fav character that I picked up. (which was a whim + I wanted a villain muse.)

At first, I thought she was a complete bitch who only cared about Dark Enchantress and her vision, however when I got to learn more about her... She's still a bitch but she has certain qualities which doesn't make her 1000% bitch and the fandom really do mishandle her character terribly (which they also do with a few other characters but that's another topic) since she does have some redeeming quality like actually caring for Poison Mushroom Cookie.

As well, that some of the things she does; it was a reaction instead of her starting it in the first place. The biggest example is the scene where she used a spell on Dark Choco as people treated that scene with her doing it for the lols when in reality; Dark Choco started the fight by

Not doing his job properly and screwing Pomegranate's spell up.

Telling her magic is worthless, and she's nothing with it

Threatening to kill her

Like it was wrong for her to use the spell, but she had her reasons which people seems to ignore and just go with "Pomegranate is just being a little bitch and Dark Choco is a 'uwu sweet' character' which is why I don't really trust the fandom.

Either way, I love her alot and can't wait to see more of her in the story.

Mira Nova

I love Mira~ Despite not seeing all the episodes of BLOSC; she's one of the character I fell in love first. As well as, I do like how her power works since I think it's an interesting take on it.

A moment that still stick in my mind is where NOS bite into her suit to use as an assassin + hostage, but she just peace out of it and keep fighting without her suit.

Hyzenthlay

I like Hyzenthlay and how she wanted to improve the others rabbits' condition even if it meant spying.... And how it was when she gave up in the end and willing to be executed... At least she doesn't actually die and was able to get away as well as finally getting the freedom that she and the other rabbits wanted so much.

Of course, I'm wondering how the other adaption handle her character since I have only seen the Netflix version one.

Shard

My god do I love Shard and how his death destroy me..... He's such a really fun character to read, and I just love his ego as well as his backstory.

The fact he originally was a Metal Sonic and grew into his own identity is just *chef's kiss* as I do think it also helps we actually see his story play out. Although I am sad that his story got cut short with Archive having to reset the timeline, thus wiping him out of existence, since I would love to see more of him.

Slinger

It's really hard to talk about Slinger since most of the things I have for him are purely headcanons and what I think he would be like.

Regardless, I like his appearance and the small details provided to him (such as the fact he juggles his wispons which make his teammate nervous) especially the fact his past is well-hidden to a point that even Mimic doesn't know it.

I'm hoping that the way I'm playing him is close to his actual personality with the context provided.

[stelliyue-cafe]

╰┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄╮

꒰🕰꒱ [ 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 ] Let Me Take Care of You

꒰📦꒱ [ 𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬 ] Genshin Men as Things My Guy Friends Have Done For Me

꒰☕️꒱ [ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫/𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 ] Genshin Men x GN! Reader

꒰📔꒱ [ 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 ] lightly proofread ; very dialogue heavy lol ; no plot, just me remembering what was said in those moments

꒰🌟꒱ [ 𝐌𝐞𝐢’𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 ] Modern AU, let’s gooooo. Also, these can be taken with a romantic subtext. (As for me, I don’t see my current guy friends in a romantic light XD) Honestly, any of your faves could these for you. Another note at the bottom for context on the last one.

ALSO!!! Please have your age somewhere visible on your blog, like your bio, description or pinned post or on your "about me" page. If I don't see your age, I'll just assume that you're a minor and WILL block on sight. Thank you!!

Buys You Lunch

It was an exhausting day at work and your boss scheduled you so that you’d be just under the hours required for you to get a lunch break.

“Stupid five and a half hours shift. Just give me a lunch break, damn it.” You grumbled.

“Yeah, the boss really likes to do that type of stuff. You hungry?” He asked. “I’m pretty sure they have good food next door.”

You shook your head. “You don’t have to-”

“And that’s my cue to get you something next door.” He says, starting to take off his apron.

A couple of minutes later, he comes back with a sandwich you could snack on. “You can sit on the side and eat while I watch the front, okay?”

“I-” You sigh in defeat as you feel your stomach rumbling. “Thank you.. I really appreciate it.”

He chuckles, ruffling your hair. “You’re welcome. If I don’t feed you when you’re at work, then who will?”

Kaeya, Thoma, Venti, Arataki Itto, Scaramouche, Gorou, Baizhu

Lend You Their Jacket (that’s technically yours now)

“It’s cold.” You said, rubbing the sides of your arms to provide some sort of warmth.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect it to be this cold either.” He replies, copying your actions.

“Note to self, the next time we go for a night drive, I’m bringing a blanket.”

He stares at you for a moment before shrugging his jacket off. “Here,” He says, helping you put on his jacket. “I’m sure my jacket is made out of thicker material than yours.”

“But won’t you-”

“I always carry a second jacket when I’m with you.”

*At a later date*

“Oh, that’s where my jacket went..”

“Sorry! I mean… it’s technically mine now? Plus it smells like you!”

He sighs in defeat, knowing that the jacket you wore won't be returning to his closet. “You’re adorable.”

Diluc, Zhongli, Thoma, Ayato, Kazuha, Venti, Gorou, Tartaglia

Takes You Out to Dinner After Seeing A Movie

“And I thought, “What a bunch of nerds, hanging out in a lab”. It was adorable!” You said, talking about a scene from a movie that he and you just watched.

“Well, I got to watch those nerds hang out and I got to watch this pretty nerd geek out about those nerds. I say it’s a win for me.” He replied, walking alongside you as you exited the theatre.

“What now?” You asked.

He checks his phone, it’s only 7:45. “Hmm… Want to get dinner?”

“Oh no- It’s okay! I’m really not that hungry.”

‘Lies.’ He thought, already scrolling through Yelp. “Uh-huh. How does that nice barbeque place around the corner sound?”

“That’s expensive! I’m literally okay with any fast food place.”

“It’s not expensive, trust me. It’s the least I can do since you paid for the tickets”

After dinner, he looks at the bill. “See? It was only 400 Mora”

You huffed, crossing your arms over your chest. “400 Mora is expensive.”

“Hey, hey, 400 Mora is nothing if it means that you’re fed. And I don’t mind spending money on you. You’re fun to hang around and I’m not embarrassed to be seen hanging out with you*.” He says, getting a little sentimental for just a simple dinner.

“Okay, okay! You didn’t have to add that last part!”

Tartaglia, Zhongli, Kaeya, Ayato, Baizhu

* I was always embarrassed to eat out with that guy friend because an old guy "friend" of mine would always be ashamed to hang out with me in public. So I just assumed that all guy friends wouldn't want to be seen with me.

stelliyue-cafe © 2022 | all content and its rights belong to me. please do not modify or repost.

[cranky-kyrati]

FUCK

I meant 2 and 79 😭

[ask game]

2. Where do you get your fic ideas?

Oh man. Anywhere, really? My longest fics have started out as "what if kinky smut", lol. Sometimes I think of a specific trope or cliché and either try to come up with a way to write it well or to subvert it in some fun way. Sometimes I get requests. I also get a lot of ideas from other people's stories and art.

79. Do you have any writing advice you want to share?

Oh, tons! Off the top of my head:

Read a lot.

Use Scrivener.

Don't try to write your story from beginning to end - start by writing scenes as they come to you, or even just odd paragraphs or snippets of dialogue.

Have a good idea of where your story is going. Plan out the important story beats and the ending.

It's okay to change your plans.

For most stories, everything you put in should ideally serve some purpose: Drive the plot forwards (if applicable), provide necessary background/context, character development, relationship development, etc.

If a scene just won't seem to come along, consider whether it actually serves an important purpose, and if so, could that purpose be served equally well some other way?

Sometimes a bit of exposition is fine! Just not too much.

Tropes are fine. Clichés are fine. Self-indulgence is fine. It's your story, go nuts!

If you're going to publish, please proofread your story. Or get someone to do it for you. It helps a lot with legibility for us neurodivergents.

[daesungindistress]

Genuine question but why do people (knetz basically) seem to be more ok with gdragon than top I thought they’ve both committed the same “crime” or at least he hasn’t done (to my knowledge) anything worse than drugs

Can't say for sure because I'm not a knetizen lol but my take on it is this... First, GD's weed scandal happened a long time ago (2011) whereas TOP's is more recent (2017) and so is fresher in everyone's memory. I also think he unwittingly revealed a devastating vulnerability (in himself) when he reacted to the onslaught of public/societal pressure by overdosing on anxiety meds just days after the news broke in what he has only just recently confirmed (via his interview with Prestige) was in fact a suicide attempt... and while you might think that would incline people to back off and give him some space, it's really quite the opposite. Knetz are like sharks in the water, attracted to injury, preying on perceived weakness. When they saw him go down they wanted blood. Worse than blood, actually. And they almost got it.

To make matters worse, TOP hasn't been active in art or entertainment since, which has effectively made him the target of an uninterrupted "and stay down" moblike assault any time he does begin to stir -- a bunch of hateful SOBs ganging up on and kicking him while he's still down, thinking they can keep him there. Though it won't be easy for him, once he gets up and going again people will probably start to ease up on him. At least, that is my hope for him. IIRC he was well liked before all that, if regarded as a bit eccentric.

It's also worth noting that GD was not prosecuted (charged) for the vanishingly small trace of marijuana in his sample, therefore not convicted, whereas TOP was charged and pleaded guilty, meaning he now has a drug conviction on his record, to put it bluntly. He is, in fact, the only member of BB with a... dare I say it... criminal record. And I hate that he has to shoulder that, but that should provide some context as to why his own agency has been reluctant to represent him ever since the incident. As well as why he's now, finally, cutting ties with YG and leaving.

Then again, YG wasn’t exactly supportive of his solo ventures before the scandal either, so...

That said, GD does get his fair share of hate for a number of things, including, yes, those tired old accusations of drug use (G-druggin, anyone?). Knetz are not shy about showing themselves to be spiteful, nasty souls all around, especially when it comes to BIGBANG.

[latibulesims]

Hi girl!💖 I just wanted to say you're a huge inspiration to me and wanting to make a series of my own. I have a few questions that hopefully won't be too "personal". When you send your VAs their lines, do you share them around with the other VAs so they know how to respond/act out their voices or do you solely leave it up to them and use whatever material you get? And my last question is do your VAs know each other? Like have they been introduced to one another before working for you?💕

Hellooo! Thank you so much 💕 I'm happy to help out a new director, so please always ask away :)

I'm not sure I understood the first question very well. You either meant: When you send your VAs their script, or you meant: When your VAs send you their lines. Just incase, i'll answer both! LOL

First variation of the question: When you send your VAs their script

If you're asking me if I send my VAs only their lines, as opposed to the entire scene, like such:

VERSION 1: JUST THEIR LINES:

JONAH Hey.

JONAH That's nice.

VERSION 2: THE ENTIRE SCENE:

JONAH Hey.

NOAH F/ck off.

JONAH That's nice.

Then it's definitely Version 2, LOL! It's near impossible for the VAs to guess what tone they need to go with if they're just given their lines. Something I do, though, is: My scripts are super long (usually 70+ pages), so to not burden my VAs with all of that, I usually send them only the scenes that concerns their characters (unless they explicitly ask me for the entire script). This usually means scenes where they have lines, but sometimes I also include scenes they might not have lines in, if they carry context I feel is essential for how they play the scenes they do have lines in.

THE RIVER S1 SPOILERS: For example, even though Benji did not have any lines in the Noah-Raven confession scene in the season finale, I still provided his VA the scene so that he can be in the loop. So, when Benji is warning Faye of what he overheard, his VA understands the gravity of the situation because he got to read what Benji, the character, would have overheard. I hope that makes sense!

Second variation of the question: When your VAs send you their lines, do I share them with others?

I do not! VAs are usually given a certain amount of time to deliver lines (I give 4-6 weeks). If you're going to wait for one VA to deliver their lines before sending it to the other VA so they know how to react to it, then it's going to be near impossible to receive all the lines on time. Most VAs who voice act in the sims community for free do it as a hobby (bless them), so a lot of times they take up the 4 weeks + the extension, especially if things are hectic in their personal/work/school life. Waiting for one VA to send in their lines, to then send that to the other VA and wait again for them to send in their lines? And then to do that with a possible third, fourth, five person (depending on how many characters there are in that particular scene)...That sounds like a never ending nightmare to me, LOL.

An alternative to this is holding a sort of table read when you first share the episode. Some directors have been doing this recently: The VAs of a project and its director get together on a call and read the script out loud, and the director can sort of explain to each VA what exactly they want and how they should react to one another.

I've personally never held one of these because I don't think it's really necessary. Letting my VAs wing it and working with the material I get has worked for me so far, and i've been doing this for six years now! I don't think it's necessary to overcomplicate things with stuff like that, especially when the machinima making process is already so hectic in the first place

As for the second question:

My VAs do know each other! Most of them have been working together for six years now, and they've become really close friends. The sims community is a very tight-knit community, so all the VAs usually know each other, but some VAs of The Rivers did meet through The Rivers and are now close friends <3 Which makes me super happy.

With The Rivers, I didn't introduce the VAs to each other (they all just befriended each other over time), but I did make a discord for the VAs of my other project, The Foundlings, so they can get acquainted before we started working on the series.

So, as someone who has done both (not introducing vs. introducing the VAs before a project starts), I can tell you that...... It doesn't really make a difference, LOL. Of course, it's so nice seeing your VAs become friends, but if we're talking about its effect on the series itself, or the quality of the voice acting, it doesn't really change anything. At least, not with me.

You need to keep in mind that the voice actors are voice acting from the comfort of their homes, and not together in a studio booth, like with a real-life voice over project. So the VAs being acquainted isn't going to do anything for the characters' chemistry, for example, when they're not voice acting off each other's energies to begin with. I hope that makes sense!

Hope I answered your questions!! Please feel free to ask anything else, i'm here to help 💕

[kanmom51]

Okay, so I am gonna rant and I want you to add your two cents, if you don't mind. Correct me if I am wrong in any way.

Recently, I saw something on the flaming pile of shit that is Twitter and it made me think for a bit. It was about skinship in Kpop, in general. And how BTS aren't really that big in it. And because that is what fans use to determine how close members are that is why JK and JM are considered to not be close or that JK is uncomfortable with JM. Because they use skinship to determine how close the members are. Nothing else. And because other companies are big in showing off skinship/fanservice of their members, that KM aren't that special because they don't show a lot of skinship. Apparently, closeness is determined by skinship. And skinship does matter because the fans use it to determine who is closest. Sorry, hope that summary made sense. Now begins the rant.

I just really can't anymore. People blow my mind. If ALL you can see of KM is their apparent lack of skinship compared to other groups and the other ships in BTS, then why are you here? You say skinship matters, then why and how does it matter when all the boys do it? We say skinship doesn't matter for that EXACT reason. Yes, it may matter to the other companies because it sells, but I don't think BH as a company focuses on that skinship/fanservice to provide a lot of profit. It's a nice side thing to see when watching the boys accomplish their dreams. And these boys have a LOT more freedom when doing things at BH compared to these other groups. Their companies profit off of/depend on the skinship moments between their members. Do we need skinship to determine how close the boys all are and how KM have grown closer over time? HELL NO!

I didn't say it before, but the Twitter post went further to state that ARMYs think that another ship is closer because the amount of skinship moments. Great for them! But did they ever think to wonder how suspicious it is that JK is ever so cautious when interacting with JM? He does not EVER do that with the other members, in my opinion. He looks like he is controlling what he is doing and for what reason?! Furthermore, when we do take a skinship moment into consideration, we take context, tension, and consistency into consideration, as well. Not everything means something, but I can list one that stood out to me. Rosebowl. I have never seen JK suck another members ear into his mouth to do whatever he wanted to do to JM. I don't think we will ever see him do it with another member in that context with that tension. If that doesn't scream closeness, then I don't know what does. I wouldn't put another member's sweaty ear in my mouth, especially if I was a very clean person. Unless, I was extremely close to them and I needed to prove/do something.

So, yeah, we don't use skinship that much or consider it a big deal because other people use it to determine closeness.

However, what we do use is other moments that are not related in any way to skinship.

How about spending so much time together that staff rarely saw them apart when passing by? Oh, I guess that doesn't shout closeness to you. It depends on skinship, doesn't it?

How about taking time to fly from Paris to Korea to spend a birthday and give gifts to someone? Taking time to get a cake and making a video telling them they would get drinks later, just to show up? Only one other member showed up and the other members were doing other things. Oh, but I guess that doesn't count again. Darn it!

Oh! How about being together at 4 AM on another birthday? And how big of a deal it was to them to share it with us? When it literally was not needed information at the time? JK grinning at JM when he finally spilled the beans was very sweet. But, oh gosh darn it! That won't work either, will it?

Ah! What about how consistent JK is with dropping honorifics with JM and speaking informally with JM (I can't really remember, but I think it is a mix between informal and formal speech? Correct me if I am wrong.)? He did a lot of this before he did it with the others. Of course, since they are all close, he does it now. But I do remember him saying that he wasn't comfortable with doing that before somewhere? So, why did he feel and why does he feel comfortable enough to do it with JM? And why did and why does JM let him get away with it? But I guess that was another flop since skinship was not a part of it. Sigh.

How about the GCFs? Tokyo was basically a love letter if you were willing to listen. JM seems to be his main muse if you look at all of them. But, ah! I guess everyone goes on trips with one person they aren't that close with or uncomfortable with. So, that's another bust, huh!

How about having inside jokes that the other members aren't privy to? The volleyball RUN episode and that recent behind the scene where KM were signing a song some online gamer sung (I think it was PUBG, but I don't know. I do know the person was streaming during it though.). That shows that they have there own jokes and that should show some closeness, right? Still, it doesn't have skinship, so I guess that is another one down the drain.

Ooo! How about JK's tattoo? This one is kinda obvious if you are just looking at it from an unbiased point of view! That one does it right? Ah, but I am wrong again, aren't I?

I could go on and on about the things that KM have done and will do that aren't related at all to skinship. Skinship doesn't show closeness. Never will. So, why shouldn't we make these moments bigger in our community and not consider a lot of skinship moments or the apparent lack of them? Why should we take into consideration that others think that another duo is closer due to skinship and that skinship matters more than anything? Why do these moments never get taken into consideration?

Maybe they are blind or just plain willfully ignorant of BTS, KM, and the relationships in it (and to be frank. I really don't take other kpop groups into consideration. I feel as if BTS are another level in how they show themselves, how they interact, and how much freedom they have. No other group I have seen has that much freedom. Tell me if I am wrong please.) I am not and never will be. I will not let others try to stomp on my opinions and these moments because they feel as if it doesn't show closeness due to their apparent lack of skinship. Sure. See it that way. I don't.

Rant over.

Have a nice day everyone and I feel loads better with that off my chest! Additionally, I apologize if everything is all over the place. I am so tired that I am tasting colors and this made me frustrated.

Quite an angry frustrated rant anon. Lol.

Love your nickname for Twitter. Lmao.

What utter bullshit. Unbelievable bullshit.

I agree with almost everything you write.

Skinship not big in BTS? Are they f**king blind?

I think they are a bit muddled up between skinship and fanservice. Two totally different though intertwined subjects.

Here is where I don't agree with something you said anon, because Skinship is about showing affection. BTS practice skinship showing their affection to each other. With Jikook, being as close as they are (time spent together, them literally telling us in not so many words what they mean to each other) the sus part is how careful they are when it comes to skinship. I, like you, feel it's more about JK's fear to lose control of the situation. Skinship when there is friendship and affection is not the same when there is sexual tension in the mix (re BV4 and JK's need to cover up after just a little of footsies with JM). Not every touch causes a reaction. But when you are in love with someone, when you are attracted to someone, their touch can reek havoc.

That was skinship - an acceptable way to show affection within SK culture.

Fanservice is about selling a product to the fans.

Is skinship utilized by other companies to sell their products? Oh yes it is. Does BH utilize skinship to sell BTS? Not as such, in my opinion. It’s not that BH hasn’t used fanservice over the years (JM or JK lifting their shirts during songs, kissing games – in the past) but they never had the members touch each other or pretend to show affection towards each other to sell the band. When members do skinship, it’s them doing their own thing, them showing affection and closeness with each other.

BTS are the epitome of skinship. They take it even farther than other k-pop bands. What BTS are not big at is fanservice. Yes, they do it at times, but it’s not on the level we see in other K-pop bands. Just lately I have started to see a bit of other K-pop bands, the things they go through on stage or in gameshows, the things they do as fanservice. BTS are not there at all.

Yes, they do engage in fanservice, but it’s usually them at a heightened state of excitement doing their thing but knowing just how much the fans love it. Jikook interactions on stage, Taejin interactions, at times could be considered fanservice although it’s not fake interaction. It’s them enjoying themselves and each other in front of their fans.

As for your description what makes Jikook, you are 100% right anon. Take the skinship out of the equation all together. We don't need skinship to see just how close Jikook are.

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Ep 22

It feels so good to see these two together, talking about old times, and most importantly, not arguing. It's as if this was the conversation that was meant to happen back in Yiling, but it didn't because emotions were too high. I guess it's true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Wei Wuxian has time to think about and come to the understanding that Lan Wangji isn't fighting him, but instead showing concern. And Lan Wangji gets to hear Wei Wuxian's side of the story, about what he did those three months in the Burial Grounds. It's so refreshing to have this release after so much tension had built up, where the two of them are just open and honest with each other. And you can see how Wei Wuxian's relationship with Lan Wangji is different from his relationship to everyone else. While we get to see him being vulnerable with Jiang Yanli, he won't tell her everything; we see him connecting with Jiang Cheng again, but as is his temperament, Jiang Cheng is often flippant and dismissive, and only really cares that Wei Wuxian is back within the Jiang Clan fold. Lan Wangji really cannot be satisfied until he knows what's been going on; he wants to be reassured that Wei Wuxian is okay in both mind and body, he wants to know that he's not gone to the dark side per se.

And this moment is so pivotal here. Now that they've finally talked and gotten everything out that they've both been ruminating on over the past however long (idk timelines lol), Wei Wuxian is in a place where he can say he'll accept Lan Wangji's help. Wei Wuxian doesn't agree to it begrudgingly, but I think it's a hopeless agreement. Unless you know about his lack of a Golden Core, his response seems odd--maybe you think he's tired, maybe you think he's just doing it to appease Lan Wangji, but is being dishonest. With the knowledge of the transfer, you can see that he is agreeing to appease Lan Wangji, but not in a lazy or dishonest way: he knows that he can never learn the sword again, but he allows Lan Wangji to at least help him with his temperament. I don't think it's him agreeing to get Lan Wangji off his back, I think instead he's letting Lan Wangji know how important he is to Wei Wuxian--he's special.

After Wei Wuxian agrees to letting Lan Wangji help, he walks away smiling. He doesn't let Lan Wangji see it either. I feel that he's indescribably happy that with so many changes in his life, he has his relationship with Lan Wangji back--he has his best friend, he has someone who he can trust. And remember, he's not concerned about his temperament being overwhelmed--Wei Wuxian has always considered himself a prodigy, so while this is challenging, he believes that what he learned from the Gusu Lan Clan is enough. Lan Wangji, on the other hand, is still very concerned, and he devotes all of his free time to figuring out ways to help Wei Wuxian, to steady his mind and temperament.

So, while I'm watching this filler, I'm imagining a terrible scenario they could have done. When you're adapting a book or a play or really anything, it's not uncommon to add scenes, right? CQL has plenty of added scenes for context and padding, plus shit they just made up. Okay, so this would fall into the latter category. Imagine if they had had Lan Wangji get turned into a puppet/Urukai, and then there's some big, dramatic way that Wei Wuxian has to save him and turn him back, and it only brings them closer together as brothers in arms/whatever bs they were trying to sell us without making it romantic. Sounds like a terrible idea, right? Aren't you glad the writers had enough integrity and respect for the novel that they didn't do that? I complain about things that were added or changed as well, but if they had given me an actual explicit acknowledgment of wangxian love, I would have been happy. Of course, censorship is a bitch, so that's a no go. The point of this is that it could have been a lot worse.

Oh, god. Soup drama. Thank you to that person who posted the soup drama in Lan Wangji's POV. You are amazing, and that post always makes me cackle.

Ah, but this is canon to the novel if I remember correctly. It's totally valid and is actually kind of sad for Yanli, but I still think it's hilarious the way Wei Wuxian just takes off like a shot without knowing what's going on. The thing is, Jiang Yanli is just embarrassed about the whole thing and wants to leave, but of course Wei Wuxian wants revenge. He still harbors no love for Jin Zixuan, and any chance he gets to put the peacock in his place, he'll take.

Yanli is tugging on him with both hands, and Wei Wuxian doesn't move. He is just standing there, glaring at Jin Zixuan. There are two people in the world who Wei Wuxian will defend forever: Jiang Yanli and Lan Wangji--and Jin Zixuan has just offended one of them. Wei Wuxian is beyond pissed. And now couple that with how he was trapped in a sunless graveyard for three months, has been doing nothing but fighting since he's been out, and is using his spiritual power in a dangerous and unstable method. His mood, my friends, is not great right now.

I love how Lan Wangji looks inside the tent, and then proceeds to immediately nope out of there. I blame that soup drama post for everything that I see now, because it really does look like he's just thinking, "Ugh, soup drama again." But in all seriousness, I think this is just Lan Wangji feeling awkward again. I think he came out of genuine concern for Jiang Yanli, because remember Wei Wuxian took off without even hearing what was going on, but when he sees that it's clearly a matter between her and Jin Zixuan, he leaves. This isn't his business, and it also involves romance, because of course he remembers how they were betrothed until the fight broke out in Cloud Recesses. Regardless of how Lan Wangji carries himself and how he's so respected as a cultivator, he's still a young man, who still feels awkward about the idea of love and doesn't really want to be around any of it--lovers' quarrels and whatnot.

The other thing is, they don't pan over to Lan Wangji for no reason. Perhaps he's still remembering the conversation he had with Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng back in Yiling: this is a Jiang Clan affair. And this time, he's choosing to bow out when he realizes it isn't his business. However, he doesn't want to go far, because he knows how dangerous Wei Wuxian really is, especially if he loses his cool.

Honestly, Jin Zixuan is such a dick here. Every time I think he's made progress, he takes a step backward. Jiang Yanli is the sweetest person, and is just giving him soup every day to provide him with some comfort. We're to understand that she is a good cook and her soup is The Best, so she wants to do something nice for him, perhaps bring him the comfort of home in the place that is farthest from home, and he practically throws it back in her face. It's a total misunderstanding, but my heart breaks for her. And after this moment, Jin Zixuan starts to try harder. I think he finally sees who she is, what kind of person she is, and understands how genuine and loving she has always been. He finally opens his eyes and gets to know her as a person, not as the girl he's engaged to, not as the girl he was engaged to, not as the girl his parents want him to marry--but as the girl who he's interested in.

Not a lot to talk about this episode. I swear, half of it is just fighting. But let's take a moment to appreciate Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji fighting together. I am a sucker for this sort of thing, so I love seeing Lan Wangji swoop in and knock a baddie's sword out of the way to protect Wei Wuxian. It feels good seeing that and seeing them on the same side, fighting together.

Wei Wuxian tried it their way. He tried to fight without using Chenqing, but the fight was impossible. As stated before, the puppets are unkillable, so there was no way to win just by fighting them, and obviously what Nie Mingjue was doing wasn't helping. The only way to survive at this point was to try and control the puppets into working against Wen Ruohan. There's a shot of Lan Wangji before this, where he looks concerned, but I think he even knows that they had no other choice.

This was a short one, sorry! But really, I'm not going to babble about nothing. So much fighting and not a lot of dialogue or other things really happened. We're just getting through major plot points right now to be honest.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Or just check out the #CQL Rewatch hashtag

[vrnicky]

Ok then...here we go! (I copied the suff from my matchup from ratsoh, I hope thats ok! didn't have the energy to write this all out lol)

Your basic personality traits: ex: laid back, bubbly, playful, organized, stable…

I'm a bit high strung, bubbly, and I like to joke around a lot. My sense of humor is literally everywhere- dark humor, memes, chaotic shenanigans, you name it I'll probably laugh at it, though I'm most prone to making really really dark jokes out of no where. I am prone to being pessimistic and though I love the idea of being organized and productive, I always end up displaying an alarming lack of discipline. I admit I'm not that stable.. I'm a little reckless. I'm passionate about the things I care about. I use pet names with everyone. Friends. Family. If I know you I'm calling you hon or dear or love or darling, deal with it.

Some of your strengths:

I'm easygoing and forgiving, and I believe that anyone can be their best if they try. I'm very perseverant- once I set my mind to something, I'll stick to it and work hard and consistently. I do my best to be kind and understanding, and I have a lot of patience emotionally.

Some of your weaknesses:

I am a little bit cowardly and can let my fear paralyze me at times. I run my mouth without thinking sometimes so I can say things I don't mean. I overthink a lot and can get really anxious if things aren't clear, and I'm not very good at understanding social signals. Clarity is key- though I'm always up for teasing. I'm a little secretive and prone to hiding away from things that bother me, so I just need a little bit of pressure sometimes.

Likes and dislikes/hobbies:

I love making art, writing fiction and poetry, and learning/researching the sciences. I embroider ocassionaly. I practice tae kwon do. Medical, biological, astronomy, engineering... I love understanding the world. I read A LOT. If I had the money I'd turn my home into a library.

Any deal breakers in a relationship?

I don't mind secrets, as long as communication is clear. If you tell me your not ready, I won't push, but if you refuse to speak at all and provide no reasoning, I'll work myself up and get really really anxious. I also don't like people who are unnecessarily cruel, selfish, or harsh- the world is mean enough, why add to it? I need a lot physical affection too, I'm a hugger but only with people I know.

Physical description:

I have mid length black hair, brown eyes, olive skin, average build and am 5'1. If you didn't catch it, my soul trait (after like 100 undertale quizzes) is perseverance.

-wisteria

I dont mind you copied this tbh! I changed some stuff with the final boy because of the new things i know about you! But its finally here, your matchup!!

I match you with... Allen! (Storyshift Sans)

Okay, to put you in context right now, Allen is that dad friend basically, he's all soft and patience around everyone. He's an Asgore after all.

Even tho it would be a small chance when you enter his flower shop, he's friends with almost everyone so you could have meet him through them too! He is a sweetheart, dont worry!

He loves how bubbly you can get, literally, he wants to pinch your cheeks lol. Just be patience with him when he doesn't get a meme, he's an old man...

You would end up using a lot of pet names, he calls you cute human and when you started using dear or that, he changed it to sunshine, if you ever got together he will call you cutiepie or sweetheart, no take backs.

He's in love with how perseverant you can be! Even tho he lose some of it when he got to the surface, he is really good motivating you! Either with cute cheek kisses, cookies, tea, anything he can do, he will do it to be a little helpful!

Please, talk to him about what you dont like or when you want him to stop, he doesn't know everything and he has his own stuff going too and if you dont want to listen, he will start to close a lot :(...

Your dates would be either a picnic outside or in his garden, he enjoys the calm places so either outside or inside but just if its calm enough, you can bloom some flowers if you like it too! He loves it, no matter how many times you do it, he's looking at you all lovey dovey.

So... many... cuddles...

He's also a hugger, he cant help it, getting out of bed living with him is hard, only if its his day off tho. Thats when you have to beg him to let you go lol.

Thank you and hope you enjoy who you got!! <3

And if you were curious, the other close option was Garo! The follow one was Carrot!!

[serendipitybutterfly]

Jeon Jungkook in Love and Relationships:

*These general readings are meant to be just that, very general. How a person acts in a relationship will be dependent on many factors and most people are likely to act differently depending on who they're with to some degree or another in any kind of relationship, romantic or not. This is just a light, general overview with a focus on the members core personality traits / tendencies when it comes to romance.

So... Similarly to Tae's reading, I get the feeling that Jungkook is not very experienced in actual relationships... Not necessarily saying he's never had a romantic relationship or had romantic feelings for someone at all, but the cards that emerged are definitely indicating a more passive, inexperienced energy and pointing more towards his future in romance rather than him at present. Just like Tae's reading, I had to clarify and reshuffle that I'm asking about Jungkook in general throughout his life rather than just at present cause... Initially the cards were not giving me much about him in terms of romance at all... They were giving me a lot about independence and freedom and solo growth! Lol

OK so what do I see him being like in general? If we look first at the archetype cards that came through, I'm actually seeing more about what kind of people or energy he's attracted to than about him himself (which again I think says a lot about where he's at right now in the relationship department tbh). Once again (considering my marriage reading on him), it becomes apparent that Jungkook is attracted to mature, maternal feminine energy with the Mother card. He likes nurturing energy... He likes to be looked after and, yes, babied a little lol.

The teacher card backs up the aspect of maturity even more. He'll be attracted to someone he can learn from. Intelligence, wisdom, and skill are all very charismatic and attractive to him... And I do think this holds true not just for romance, but I think it's true in general in his life he will always seek to be around people he can learn a lot from so that he himself can grow and mature through association... It's just that he definitely carries this trait into what he finds sexy and attractive in a romantic sense too.

The Artist card not only speaks to the fact that, yes, he's attracted to artists (of all kinds I think) but also that he's also likely to fall in love with a muse... Someone he finds inspirational to his own art. This ties in well with the other two cards. Essentially, he wants someone he respects and admires highly. Someone he looks up to artistically and who inspires him as an artist in turn.

If we look at the tarot, you can see why I think we're looking more towards future Jungkook. The knight of swords reversed paired with the Page of cups speaks to me of a novice when it comes to love. He's still a student and he's neither ready nor willing to rush himself when it comes to love either. For the time being, he's happy to learn slowly... Even if it's sometimes in a more theoretical sense (like from observing or hearing about other people's relationships or even books, dramas and films).

The eight of wands reversed together with the star reversed... Ok so the 'Calling in Your Soulmate' oracle card also came up in this reading and my future marriage reading on Jungkook also dealt with this... This guy believes very strongly that there's someone destined for him in his future (and he's right) and he knows it's going to take some time before they get to meet... Still, the connection between him and his Soulmate is already pretty strong and, like I said in the future marriage reading, I do think he already has dreams about this person and is aware of them energetically. Not saying he'll never date or fall in love before he ends up with his soul mate in the future, but his faith that they're going to come into his life someday is part of why he doesn't (and most likely won't) really have a sense of urgency about dating or finding romance.

The ace of swords reversed and Queen of wands reversed... Jungkook is a shy boy... But we already know lol. Basically, he's highly unlikely to initiate conversation or make the first move if he likes someone. Again, romance is not something he's confident in. He needs someone else to be the queen of wands and make a move on him... It's likely that he's therefore very attracted to that bold, sassy, confident queen of wands energy (to go along with the steady mature motherly vibe he likes) because someone with that energy will take the lead and approach him first. If we look at this Queen of Wands, we see the beautiful empowered queen seeming to lecture or instruct a male servant or student who's listening devotedly... So yeah... Make of that what you will in the context of this reading...

'The Trader: exchange energy to create abundance' card tells me that Jungkook is looking for a powerful but equal partner... I'm seeing this as being relevant to the material side of things especially. He doesn't want to be with someone who needs to rely on his wealth or whose life revolves around him... But someone who brings just as much to the table and has their own life or at least doesn't need him to support them. Again, wants to be equal partners. In this equal partnership, I do think he wants them to essentially provide for each other what the other lacks... So they may bring different things to the table, but they both are 'trading' to get what they need from the relationship equally. A balanced exchange... Note that the Temperance card was at the bottom of the tarot deck! So yeah... Balance and equality is extremely important to Jungkook in relationships.

The Goblin card.... Look at that face! 😂 Yeah... He is a brat and he'll always be a brat! Jungkook will always be someone who likes to have fun, tease and play pranks... He's like that with his friends and he'll be like that when he falls in love too! It's in his nature to tease when he's fond of someone so anyone getting into a relationship with him should know they won't be exempt from being the target of his mischief just cause they're dating! It's all fair game to him... In fact he's definitely especially mischievous and teasing to the ones he's closest to!

All in all... Very Cute!

[somelonelywordmonger]

First let me say, of course this post had to come back and haunt me one last time before the decade was out. I thank you for being informative and not judgemental and hurtful. I originally was not intending to hurt others either. I wrote this post half asleep after seeing yet another incorrect judgement of God and Christianity. So I was peeved off and not thinking originally. Since then i have been threatened with death threats and told to hate myself by some people. So I was relieved to find that this was not another one. It's been a rough day.

I am a Christian that does her best not to hurt others, does not support the Salvation Army and other anti LGBTQ groups, and approaches many things with skepticism until it matches up with my own morals and thoughts. So I just turned to my pastor mom and said "God condones slavery!?" She will be talking to me later about why I don't have the whole story...

Many arguments against Christianity that I find from just scrolling through things, use quotes from the Bible out of context and misinterpreted.

Sorry that I ended up having hot takes. I've since dropped them but that doesn't mean this post isn't still hurtful. I have an atheist friend who is the kindest person ever and we get along just fine. Hopefully that provides some evidence of me being open to others. I don't push Christianity on anyone, it's a choice. That doesn't stop me from worrying that I won't see my best friend in Heaven though. And while Christianity does inflict anxiety and pain on me from time to time, I find more peace in it then without it. I turned from God for a while and it was the darkest time of my life. Not that you can't be happy without God. I think you can, it's just I went off the deep end LOL.

I believe you in all that you say. Know that I still struggle with Old Testament God. I prefer Jesus more. He seems more approachable, understanding, and is certainly less terrifying. I think that's one reason why God created him. Someone for us to connect with easier. But again not everyone wants too. And that's fine. I only made this post for those, now I know, few atheists who blow it out of context and make it seem like we are all evil. I was offended and reacted. Poorly. Thank you for your opinion. I have found it enlightening. Sorry again for any offense. Happy New Year! And can I say God bless you even if you aren't Christian?? Still haven't figured that one out.

I genuinely dislike non-Christian takes on Christianity. If you actually read the Bible and opened up your mind and heart you wouldn’t say the dumbass shit you say. I don’t judge you for being atheist. I don’t have “hot takes” on what atheism is.