#Time to find some copium I guess.

[gojonanami]

“ A HOUSE IS NOT A HOME ”

pairing: satoru gojo x reader

summary: you come home after a long day of work unable to find the person you call home anywhere — until you reach the bedroom.

warnings: 18+ suggestive, fluff, comfort, some angst, implications of the shinjuku showdown arc, implied gojo is no longer a sorcerer, gojo is your househusband, taking a bath together, taking care of him, copium really, satoru being a silly man

w/c: 1,184

“I’m home!”

You call into your home, the clatter of your keys and shoes as you shedded the things that chained you to the outside to submerge yourself in your oasis and into his arms. But as you got no reply, you stepped into your living room, scanning over the kitchen, to find no one.

Now where was your home?

“Satoru?” you called, heart skipping a slight beat, he was always waiting for you when you got home, usually on the couch or maybe in the kitchen the clank of the knife as he chopped away. Or even the many times that he was waiting by the door to only ambush you with kisses. But this time, nothing.

You rounded the corner to the hallway and peeked into your bedroom to find him asleep. You crept closer, careful not to wake him, and yup, he was fast asleep. His pretty snow white lashes resting against his cheeks, his chest slowly rising and falling as the soft sounds of his breaths parted his lovely lips.

You could watch him sleep for hours. You knew he never did enough of it before, and you’d argue he still didn’t do enough of it now. He always said he was fine sleeping 6 hours since it was twice as much as he usually got — and now he was working at home, so he could be ease.

But even so, you know he needed more.

As if he senses your thought, he stirs, starry blue eyes finding yours as he flutters sleep from his gaze, “sweetheart?” He’s murmuring, voice still beautifully raspy from sleep, “when did you get home?” He’s shifting to get up, but you use gentle hands to ease him back, “I haven’t started on dinner yet, sweets—“

“I got it, Toru,” you’re running your fingers through his hair, “just rest, baby,” and a protest is already on his lips, “let me guess what you did today — cleaned the house from roof to floor, stocked us on groceries, cooked lunch for me for the week, and probably a million other things,” you lean down to press a kiss to his forehead, “I think I can handle dinner for one night at least,”

He’s pouting now, “but you just got home from work, Princess, what kind of househusband would I be—“ and you can’t help but laugh, he loved his self appointed title of househusband, especially since it was one he had chosen for himself, and he took any opportunity — even now to call himself that.

“I think even the absolute best househusbands need a break, and should listen to their wives, since I’m the one you want to pamper so much,” and his lips party in protest, but you’re leaning down to kiss them and his pout away, “let me take care of you, Toru,”

He’s sighing, as he leans up to press his forehead to yours, “and does your offer include a bath, sweetheart?”

~~~

“Y’know sometimes I feel guilty,” and you pause in your massage of his head, fingers tangled in his hair, suds from the bath you’d drawn for him covering both of your bodies as he leans against you in your tub, back pressed flush to yours.

“Guilty about what?” you ask, holding your tongue on the million reasons why he shouldn’t.

“For so long, I was the strongest,” he gives a small chuckle, “and it was fun, sometimes. But it was mostly lonely,” he leans back to look up at you, a small grin on his lips, “except when I was with you,” your lips curl, “and now I get to be with you, and I get to stay home — and the worst thing I have to do are the dishes,” and you snort.

“I told you I’d do them if you hate them so much,”

But he’s shaking his head, “Sometimes I think trying to deal with our cast iron is worse than fighting Sukuna—“ and you roll your eyes, “but there’s always this urgency that I have to be doing more. Telling me to keep going, moving, fighting—“

“You’ve done enough, Toru, more than enough,” your fingers cup his cheek, “too much, honestly. It’s okay to rest now. You’ve done your part—“

“But—“

“Didn’t you or someone say jujutsu is like a marathon, a baton pass?” Your fingers run through his white locks, before you shift yourself to sit in his lap instead, “the marathon is over, racers have packed up and gone home, and the finish line has been crossed,” your fingers rest on the back of his neck, tracing his undercut, “and that’s because of you and all you did to fight and raise up the next generation,” you say softly, and he’s pressing his head to your forehead.

“Is it okay for me to rest now?” and you’re pulling him into your arms, hoping your touch conveys what your words can’t.

“Yes, it is, Satoru,” you’re pressing soft kisses to his neck, “you don’t need to be the strongest. You’re Satoru Gojo, and that’s all I want,” and he leans back, “you’re all I want,”

“Is that a proposal?” And you snort.

“We’re already married, weirdo—“ and his lips find yours, as they always did, his arms around your bare waist, as the water shifted and splashed, but you could barely feel anything except his lips against yours and the circle of his thumb against the small of your back.

He finally pulls away, a genuine smile on his lips, “And you married this weirdo,” and you chuckle, tracing his jaw with your finger, “you’re stuck with me for life,”

“Promise?” And he’s kissing you again in an instant, stealing your breath like he did the first time you met him all those years ago at jujutsu tech. And you knew you’d never love anyone else — not like him.

“Promise.”

Bonus:

Satoru’s arms wrap around you from behind as the two of you towel off after your bath, “what are we having for dinner?”

“Well someone insisted on me being in here with him, so I had to order out,” and he’s grinning, as he nuzzles your neck.

“Whoopsie, hehe,” and he’s humming, as he tugs your hips against his, the friction drawing a gasp from your lips, “can we have dessert first?”

“It is dessert. We’re having ice cream for dinner—“ and he’s kissing you again, but this time it’s languid and messy — all tongue and teeth, until he’s pulling away with a smirk at your breathless face.

“I want something sweeter, wife,” and you smile.

“Think you can finish before the delivery gets here?” And he’s already picking you up with ease in his arms, pinned under him in a moment, as his ocean blues flash with mischief from between your thighs.

“I can, but I don’t know if you’ll be done by then.” He says cheekily, as you only sigh.

If there was one thing that would always be true is that you would always be weak to Satoru Gojo — but not his abilities, but who he is.

Your husband.

“Let’s see, hm?”

a/n: I’m real upset about the leaks and this is my coping. I needed this.

taglist: @staryukis, @cloverlilies, @asgoodasdead666, @strawmariee, @chuuyasboots, @forest-fruits-jam, @catsgomurp, @rat-loves, @hanlay, @risuola, @spider-fan72, @sunamatic, @difficultdomains

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep8 Musings - Loustat (SPOILERS) Pt2: Reunion

You don't know the HALF of what Lestat feels for Louis, to let YOUR grimy arse steal his man, just for LOUIS's happiness. ANYTHING for Louis.

Am I the only one who felt left hanging? We BEEN knew it didn't make sense, but what's your POINT, exactly? If Louis misremembered Lestat whispering, it's just par for the course about the odyssey of recollection. But if Lestat DID do telepathy, is that evidence of...what? That the vampire bond works differently than what's been explained? That he COULD read Lou's mind? AMC, this is AGGRAVATING.

Your goose is COOKED, my guy.

The copium & denial pack Louis was smoking as he laughed was 🤌

That's right, start sweating!

Master manipulation; cuz he certainly would NOT have, as we soon find out. ANYTHING for Louis. (Dang, Imma have to take back some of what I said about Lestat's character development not having started yet.)

I was shocked. I was NOT expecting this plot twist. I was ready to throw Lestat out with the rest of the TRASH, in the DUMP. Well dang. Guess I'll only leave him rotting in a TINY landfill.

I nearly SCREAMED--@nashvillethotchicken and I were talking about Loustat as Bobby and Whitney ages ago! I cannot BELIEVE AMC threw in a New Edition reference in the year of our lord 2024; y'all are diabolical AF, Rolin, STOP IT.

I wonder if AMC used Hurricane Odette cuz the OG script was set in pandemic!2020, so it would make sense that a year later Louis would head back to NOLA during 2021 when Hurricane Odette last hit.

That looks like NOLA's Pontchartrain Hotel--lemme find out he bumped into the Mayfairs when Rowan & them were in town, LOL.

Lestat got more aliases than the KGB; meanwhile Louis just sprinkles his long AF unique AF name all over the place. 🤦 But I guess it's ok, since the tour guide never mentioned him & Claudia by name. (Not Tom Anderson in another finale, LOL.) Louis so offended the tour guide said he ran a voodoo cult. XD

Fall of the House of Lioncourt-Melmouth.

You're gosh darned right! THEE Louis of Troy is in the building!

You love to see it. "A wearisome fledgling; all the millennials are--" not Lestat making PALE PROXIES of rat-catcher extraordinare LDPDL out of millennials. 😭

Lestat, if you don't get your crazy arse outta here with that bloodstained wooden keyboard Imma ROTFLMFAO.

NO JOKE, I effed up my friend's whole set when I started screaming "Siri, Pause," cuz my friend's Siri started freaking out and effed up the volume! XD

HERE WE EFFING GOOOOOOOO

(Best scene all season, fight me on this)

You know this was TEARING Lestat up, cuz of what happened in 1973--I gave Louis to you so you could do BETTER by him than EYE did, and instead it's NICKI ALL OVER AGAIN.

Imma smack him--this is NOT the time to be self-loathing, Lestat!

NOLA is my home--and the SAINT is not a city--I'm gonna cry.

He did. He just forgot, when reality settled in and the allure/nostalgia/glamour wore off. "I tried to make nights awful for you." Not the whole time, Louis. Y'all actually were happy b4--even Claudia said "the easy times" stopped after Florence died; and esp. after Charlie died. Lou can't be blamed for grieving his mom's death, and he definitely can't be blamed for Lestat & Claudia falling out after Charlie. Everything that happened after that--the 7 years of depression--was ALSO Lestat's fault. "I wanted you to suffer, cuz I was suffering;" I'm glad Les just waved that aside and said they BOTH wronged e/o.

He's not suicidal anymore then! He has nights in front of him to look forward to! So Lou can finally "learn to live honestly" with HIMSELF.

And Lestat dove RIGHT ON IN with that! He's been carrying that with him for DECADES, worried about Louis & what happened.

I LOVE that Les' language changes (the way his voice CRACKS and goes so TINY, oml)--he asked Lou in 1973 if he was "ill," and if something had happened TO him; so as to not spook/trigger or blame him--but he can ask more candidly now in a (relatively) "healthier" 2024 if Lou tried to hurt/kill himself; and get a more candid/honest answer. CLOSURE, y'all, I'm gonna cry.

GOOOOOOD. Don't EVER forget your daughter. Y'all need to have a Claudia Memorial; to KEEP remembering her, as she was in all her vampiric splendour, the good times AND the bad times.

I KNOW this hurt Louis to his effing core. The way Jacob cried FIRE!

I'm so glad Lou hugged him--YES YOU WERE, Uncle Les. And you KNOW it; you FELT that bond b/t y'all, even if she never looked at you. The distance b/t y'all was in name only, cuz a little Black girl couldn't have TWO daddies in 1917 and have one of them be white on top of it. I AM YOUR MAKER, sure, but you were her BLOOD FATHER, and she loved you, which is why she hoped you'd help her.

ANOTHER ROUND IN THE STORMY ROMANCE OF YOU TWO. 😭👏

What are these magical off-mic speeches/pep-talks Louis keeps giving people in Season 2?!? THE PEOPLE WANNA KNOW, gosh darnit!

DRATS.

I get why Jam said they thought the Loustat ending was "satisfying." It was nice, even though I'd've preferred to see Lestat in the Dubai penthouse at the end. :\

I LOVE THIS, AMC, thank you! ❤️

[cheesus-doodles]

How do Izana deal with a darling with wrecked sleeping schedules but he couldn't really do much since darling is studying at university and lives in the uni dorm.

(definitely not projecting and sending this ask at 7am cuz I didn't sleep loll)

Masterlist

okay i can answer this one because a wrecked sleeping schedule is bascially my life story (night owl here working a day job :'D) sorry y'all, been in a bit of a spiral in the earlier half of this week, but I'm back to huffing the copium now

‎‎‎‎

Izana himself probably has somewhat of a wrecked sleeping schedule - which is no surprise, given how he is, after all, a delinquent and most gang activities occur in the cover of night. And on top of that, he does have tons of paper work and other normal business things to get through during the day, decisions to make and approvals to sign off on. Running a criminal organization isn't easy, and by the time you are in university, he is already well on his way to conquering the Tokyo underground.

Despite this, you can be sure that this boy makes sure to get all the sleep he needs, even if it means just skipping gang/work duties. Who's going to dare to wake him anyway? And he will not be the slightest bit happy to find you neglecting your sleep over some class work or something insignificant like that. To Izana, you didn't even have to put yourself through all this torture and nonsense. Why did you need to go to university? He had more than enough to provide for you, anything that your little heart desires, since you were going to be his forever - there was no need for you to study because you were never going to have to work. Well, never going to have to, and never going to get to, but same difference.

Izzy will absolutely make sure that you get whatever sleep you need, which is by forcibly pulling you to sleep when it's his bedtime. Even if it means bodily lifting you from the table, confiscating your phone and forcing you to snuggle with him in bed, doesn't matter - he wants cuddle and you need sleep (according to this baby boy at least). And you were going to stay in bed until he thinks you have had enough sleep. He couldn't care more that you were missing classes, exams, projects; nope. You failing out of your classes would be a win for him - you could stop wasting your time on your papers and start focusing on your attention on him, the most important person in your life, instead.

Think staying in a university dorm would stop him? Nice try. Nothing is out of bounds for Izzy to use for him to gain unlimited access into your room: bribery, violence, planting moles in the university - you don't get to hide from him. And if no matter what he does can't get him in, then you don't get to stay there. Would send Kakucho to burn the whole university down himself if he needs to, so don't try him.

Speaking of Kakucho, of course Izana would have his right-hand man and trusted friend stalking and monitoring you on his behalf whenever Izana is too busy to do so himself. Is it the best use of someone of Kakucho's talent? Probably not, but Izana would trust no one else. And if he suspects in the slightest that you weren't sleeping enough when he isn't watching? Guess who gets to sit outside your window and time your sleep. Kakucho.

So just go to sleep and don't make his life more difficult, okay?

[shinysmolivgarden]

I'd like to preface this post by saying

I think the toxic chain theory was interesting, and no hate to the people who believed it, but...

I find it kind of funny that SO many people believed it.

MY FIRST POINT:

That would have been a very big plot point. And that would be kind of weird considering the Indigo Disk was obviously about Terapagos and not "Dokutaro", as it was named at the time. A thing I've seen is that people thought taking the championship title from Kieran is what would "reveal" that he had been possessed or whatever, but like... Kieran was the most important non-player character in the DLC. You'd think that if he had actually been possessed by Dokutaro, that would be the main focus of the Indigo Disk. But it clearly wasn't. Pecharunt (up until the epilogue) was only found in the files and hidden when Kieran's grandpa tells us Ogerpon's story, which is something that'd be weird to do for a legendary so important to the DLC's story. Even with Ogerpon, despite the fact that it was a reveal that it wasn't evil and a reveal to the characters in the story that it actually existed, we knew it existed because it was announced BEFORE the Teal Mask came out. And, I was right about that! Pecharunt was announced BEFORE the epilogue was released! (Again, no hate to people who thought this, I just think it's a bit weird.)

MY SECOND POINT:

A big piece of "evidence" for the theory was that the trailers for the indigo disk showed that he "dyed" his hair purple. (And that's the same color as Dokutaro! :0) Like... that was always his hair color. The underside of his hair was always purple. He just tied his hair up. You can still see his black hair from behind. I guess it made sense if you already believed the theory, but if you didn't (like me) it is easily explainable.

MY THIRD POINT:

Another theory I've seen going around (especially on tumblr) is that Kieran was not outright possessed by Pecharunt but was still influenced by it as part of his descent into... I don't want to say madness but basically madness. (This would also explain why Ogerpon did not go with Kieran during the Teal Mask. I've already created a post on MY opinions on that, but you can read that later.) A reason for this I've seen is that "there must still be some poison under the Loyal Three's grave even though their bodies have decayed" (yes I still call them the Loyal Three and not the Lousy Three, cry about it /j). Which... what? How would that poison get up to Kieran after he punched the grave? Poison is weak to ground for a reason. And as to why he wasn't fully possessed is because Pecharunt's dex entry says that its mochi draws out desires and capabilities, and Kieran of course didn't have any mochi so he wasn't outright possessed- stop. Listen to what you just said. Pecharunt's mochi draws out desires and capabilities, and Kieran didn't have any mochi. Are you beginning to see the problem? tbh toxic chain believer copium /j (I'd like to say again, I. HAVE. NOTHING. AGAINST. THESE. PEOPLE. I just think the THEORY is a bit wack. Please don't hate me.) (I will add the people who made the posts I'm referencing once I find them again.)

References:

@jadeazora for one of the posts.

https://www.tumblr.com/2oul2ilver/753739784490532864/yes-i-was-just-thinking-about-writing-a-post-on?source=share for the other.

BONUS POINT:

One of the people I saw supporting the theory before the Indigo Disk came out (It was a yt video but I can't find it again so I'll link it if i find it) said that Kieran might be possessed because "he looks crazy". That's it. That was their evidence.

IN CONCLUSION,

The toxic chain theory is a theory that I believe to be fine in concept, and I think it is an interesting idea. But, as with any theory, it had its faults and I personally didn't believe it because a majority of its evidence I believed (and still believe) to be just a tad bit wack.

Thank you for reading!

[peachjagiya]

https://www.tumblr.com/peachjagiya/747638524276293632/i-feel-like-all-these-anons-writing-dissertations?source=share

I don't know if this is in response to the ask i sent you yesterday but if it is, please understand that i wasn't trying to tell you to stop believing in ur ship. That is your prerogative and you have a right to believe in what you want to believe in. It's not like my "essays" are going to change your mind anyway.

I was only pointing out what is think is a flaw in your logic especially because i saw u complaining of jikookers talking about a pic being deleted and i was pointing out that if you think Jk posting a pic only with Tae on his instagram is "special" then couldn't the other group of shippers say the same thing about Jk only having a selfie with Jimin on his WV ? What is the difference? I don't think who Jk chooses to post and not post on his socials is what determines who is most special to him and i'm sure in real life, most of you know this. If he takes a picture which he thinks is cool, he would most probably post it regardless of who it is. I am married and have been for over 5 years but i only have one picture of my s/o on my socials but i have tons of pics with friends and acquaintances. Do u think i posted more people than my s/o because they mean more to me? absolutely not lol. I even rarely take photos with my s/o at all so if someone had to judge how special my s/o is to me by looking at things like socmed posts they would probably think i hate him lol.

You created a blog to talk about and appreciate the bond of two people u believe could be in a relationship and it is normal to like seeing only or mostly people who agree with you but please don't think that anyone who disagrees with or questions your logic on certain things is out to disprove your ship or make you stop believing in them. Look at my ask again, not once did i ask you to stop believing in your ship. i only asked that you stop making big deals out of things that could literally apply to any other pair. Some of u talk about those things and see them as decisive proof that these boys have to be together but the truth is that, it really isn't mainly because those things aren't exclusive to the two you ship, that's the point i am trying to make.

So please stop coming out with your pitchforks and knives whenever someone challenges your logic because we all know the excuses and excess copium that will follow, the moment Jk wakes up and does something "special' for some other member especially if it is Jimin.

Plus if you had an answer to the question that i asked (which imo is a fair question) you would have provided it but you don't and deep down you probably see some sense in what i am saying and that is why you responded the way you did.

sorry about the "many words". I am just passionate i guess.

So please stop coming out with your pitchforks and knives whenever someone challenges your logic

It's less pitchforks and knives and more... tired of being condescended to.

I really don't mind my logic being challenged. I've answered plenty of questions about my logic. But I think you must see how condescending it is to assume that I'm absolutely blind to logic so it's your moral duty to correct my brain. It's my brain! It's not your brain! You really don't need to worry what I'm doing with it!

That's why I am kind of dubious when it's a lot of words because I feel like one question would be challenging my logic and I'm happy to get into it. Paragraph after paragraph is like being hauled in front of the headmaster at school and told I'm stupid. I wouldn't waste my time if I didn't have valid reasons for finding Taekook a bit more than friends.

because we all know the excuses and excess copium that will follow, the moment Jk wakes up and does something "special' for some other member especially if it is Jimin.

Especially if it's Jimin? Huh? I don't differentiate between Jimin and the other five? I don't know what experiences you've had with other TKKrs but I don't have the same grudge against Jimin you've experienced. If he comes out and posts a bathroom picture with Jimin at an OT7 dinner, I will be like "Oh look, a selca of JK and Jimin" and probably some thirsty comment about one or both of them being hot tbh.

Plus if you had an answer to the question that i asked (which imo is a fair question) you would have provided it but you don't and deep down you probably see some sense in what i am saying and that is why you responded the way you did.

It was 5am. 5am Peach wasn't up for it but I'm more alive now.

I think the mistake a lot of people, TKKr and JKKr alike, make is that they hinge their entire argument on individual moments. Atomix becomes this huge thing and the second it gets challenged, everyone melts down gloating or getting defensive.

So often, one will come at the other with "Here's why this particular 0.6 seconds in time was NOT special." Ok? Great? You got me? I try to look at them as more of a whole picture and that's how I end up thinking it's different.

So there's a picture of Jimin and JK on Weverse. I don't know the context of it, I have to admit. Was it at an OT7 event? Were they just together? (I don't think your point about deleting instagram applies here because I don't think he can delete Weverse when BTS are entwined with it really.)

But let's take it as it is: A selca of Tae and JK in 2021, a selca of JK and Jimin in 2019.

The reason I find one of them special and one of them less so is not because it's a selca but it's a selca alongside all the other stuff I believe to be true. Does that make sense? Its not just a selca. It's a selca and seeing each other in their hiatus a decent amount and touching and closeness and some suspicious instances and a history of interaction that feels different to me. The selca is just a part of a wider picture.

And this applies to any one piece of the jigsaw. I'm sure you could find JK snuggling Hobi or Jin too. You could find examples of JK spending time at Jimin's house. Does the REST of the picture apply though? I don't personally find that the wider picture of his relationship with any other member rings out as romantic to me. I do find Taekook to be romantic based on a lot of different things, not just individual pieces. That's what I'm saying.

I've now said selca so many times that it doesn't look like a real word anymore. 😂

Ultimately, this is a Taekook blog. I don't want to live in an echo chamber but I didn't really start it to feel like I'm being told off by people I don't know. I don't think you should leave as such but is this the space for you?

Please don't worry about my logic. I'm either wrong and we'll all survive...

Or I'm right. And we'll all survive.

[wainwrightjakobshammerlock]

Prances into your inbox ^_^)b hi hii I'm suddenly full of life and joy and excitement (and already seeing people hate posting) do you have any guesses as to what the story of bls 4 is gonna be? Like, just based on what the teaser shows? I can think of like a few plot points I ASSUME they'd cover. And have some guesses like I assume they're gonna do ANOTHER time skip. I doubt this game is gonna take directly after the end of bls 3

Finding lilith and the war that the watcher predicted is my 2 best guesses. Lots of Guardian and Eridian lore specifically. Hopefully (you can smell the copium) Vault Monster lore

[lemonhemlock]

Do you think S3 will be for the greens because this is not it. Rhaenyra and co are getting all the juice. They get a cohesive narration at least. Sure most of it doesn't make sense but the pov of her with Jace is far more compelling as a concerned mother and a son she loves and takes seriously vs Alicent and Aegon, who she thinks of as scum. The blacks are getting the sympathy vote. Maybe S3 will focus more on the greens though I can't foresee it going well after this abomination of a season. Seven hells and all that. How on earth they are going to save the greens after this Idfk. They are ruined. It was supposed to be Rhaenyra who slowly descends into madness.

So, I know there is a lot of talk going around about what exactly constitutes "bad writing" and what is just copium from fans who are simply disappointed that their headcanons didn't come true and, to answer this ask, I'm going to try and give my take under the cut.

To begin with, I think it's normal for people to whine and rant about the direction of the show, even if they're just disgruntled that the writers made different choices for the characters. It's early days! We are very much in the midst of things and there hasn't been enough time to go through the five stages of fandom grief or whatever. However, I do find it short-sighted and (I'm not trying to be mean, but I don't want to mince words either) childish how some are using this as a launching pad to present themselves as the the depositories of true media literacy, because their preferred interpretation of whichever character came true at the expense of another. All this, of course, to take swipes at people who had other interpretations they considered annoying or delusional. IDK, I am just of the opinion that it contributes to fostering an unwelcoming space where fans start feeling circumspect when it comes to engaging in the fandom because they fear committing to any opinion for fear of ridicule.

I would therefore ask people to consider that, the way TV shows are made, there probably existed in that writers' room various directions they could have taken (some complimentary and some contradictory) and it naturally follows that one version had to win out against the others. So, to think that because some people sat down in a meeting and decided to settle on Interpretation A instead of Interpretation B somehow means you were right all along and all the others were wrong and that makes your takes superior is just dilly-dallying. HotD as a media production has many decision-makers involved in its creation, it's not just one person whose textual hints you correctly deduced using reasoning skills: there are probably people in there arguing just like we are about what Aemond should do or what Alys should be like and they might also disagree with each other and have different ideas.

Anyway. I look at HotD as a living, changing organism that can morph according to who is involved in its adaptation, not as a fixed, pre-determined thing that I can "guess" at and correctly predict. What if they change the writers this summer and S3 retcons everything we've seen? What then? It's a ping-pong fandom blaming game that disguises a quest for self-validation through parasocial projections and I don't think is very productive. If you ask me, it doesn't seem to me that these writers have much a clue what they're doing half the time.

As a general rule, some changes from the book I am probably not going to like to matter what (and I think that tracks for most people; everyone has their particular preferences). But I honestly think I could have been OK with them in the end had they been executed better and I am going to give a couple of examples of what I believe constituted "bad writing".

For instance, I really wasn't wowed by the scene in which Otto gets fired. The plot and acting choices fell flat to me. Aegon is too... unresponsive and Otto's monologue falls apart at a minimal examination. It's not necessarily the idea of Otto criticising Aegon that I'm so turned off by - I know it is a talking point that the shattering of the image of the greens as a family is what's making others salty. But consider the fact that it's illogical and directly contradicting to Otto's own actions. Last season in episode 9 he was planning for a long time to have Rhaenyra assassinated, with the approval of all members of the small council sans Beesbury, and Alicent had to become angry and put her foot down to defend Rhaenyra. The whole dramatic "the King would not wish for the murder of his daughter" line. Now Otto is mad because Criston sent someone to assassinate Rhaenyra? It's been a few weeks between these events and nothing happened to Otto so that he might have a change of heart.

It just takes me out of the story and prevents me from enjoying any bollocking he might give. It's too goofy. These writers want the greens to have conflict, but they don't know how to create engaging and believable sources of conflict. It's baffling because the sources of conflict are so many, yet, instead of choosing a reasonable element that might create differences in opinion, they have to invent stupid shit that compromises the entire process. Otto could be mad at Aegon because Aegon has been making lots of rash decisions or is turning the Red Keep into a whorehouse or whatever. But he hasn't literally done anything. He is shown to be impatient and impulsive but has always heeded the advice of his councilors when they started arguing back, so what gives? What is so unbelievably bad that could cause Otto's and Alicent's attitudes towards him?

Speaking of Alicent, a short while ago, she stood in front of a dragon in a desperate attempt to protect her son. You might think a traumatic event like this would cause a person to re-evaluate their relationship. It would be a normal reaction for Alicent to think her son has been disappointing overall, but, even so, it looks like she really doesn't want him to die after all. At least in the short-term? But, no, it's like the even had no bearing on her and she keeps acting like Aegon is the worst king alive when he hasn't made any grave mistakes - has actually been acting quite tame since then.

This is what drives me up the wall so much - all these traumatic things happen to the greens and they have no reaction to them. Apart from Aegon crying over Jaehaerys, on the whole, they are so emotionally passive. Maybe when in the midst of something gruesome they are 15% sadder, but they get over it quickly and return to their baseline gloominess. This is so easy to see and criticise, yet I am certain there is someone out there who is going to read this and think that I just want them to wail and dramatically bellow out a Hamlet soliloquy. "Everyone grieves in their own way". And, again, I find that kind of conversation tiresome because I can't help but read a disingenuous intent behind it - there is no way they are not being dishonest in refusing to acknowledge that the lack of emotional dynamism is an element many people find deeply unsatisfying in fiction.

I've said it so many times now, but the writers are constantly shying away from associating the greens with any kind of positive emotion (apart from a couple of measly scenes like Aegon being happy when interacting with Jaehaerys and the Alicent/Gwayne scene - which came in episode freaking 6 out 8 btw). When you have an entire group of people whose emotionality is so static, their part of the plot falls flat, too, because it looks like there are no stakes, nothing matters, they're going to be as miserable no matter what happens to them, so why bother? It prevents the viewer from getting invested and it's just plain boring to witness. A scene like Alicent charging at Rhaenyra with a knife would never have happened this season the way these characters are being written. She would have gone straight back to bed after the maester stitched Aemond's wound.

And this is such a huge and pervasive problem with the show right now that it does feel gaslight-y and duplicitous to be counter-acted with arguments in the vein of "you're just mad because you disagree with the characterisation". I know it's not always coming from a place of malice, but it is a little frustrating, what can I say!

Coming back to the ask, I am in the minority now when I say that, on the contrary, I think TB are written in a more interesting way because at the very least they behave like people! They are shown having emotions commonly associated with people, not robots. They grieve together, they bond, they are devastated - Rhaenyra had an entire mini-arc of needing to find Luke's remains herself in order to grieve and they all held a funeral together and were quite touched). They fight for real or have mini-arguments or are disappointed in each other. They talk it out and sometimes they make-up and sometimes they don't (like Daemon fleeing Dragonstone). They have emotional range.

Yes, it can get a little boring sometimes - I do not necessarily disagree with those complaining that Rhaenyra is constantly shown being undermined by her Small Council. A queen struggling to be taken seriously and trying to please everyone while also looking for ways in which to minimize harm is not going to be the most riveting topic to watch, but it's also not not interesting, you know what I mean? Not a long while ago it was a hot topic of conversation to say that TV executives should bring back filler episodes because it allowed characters to breathe and everything did not have to be so dramatic all the time. Well, this is what a filler episode would look like.

Ultimately, this group of writers are not too far off D&D's level of understanding themes. The books were about how, beyond legal arguments, feudalism and patriarchy are systems in which sometimes even siblings start turning on one another because of issues like inheritance, to devastating effects: they are not systems conducive to happiness or prosperity. Instead, the show is about a villainous side vs a righteous side. They won't be able to get away from this fundamental bastardisation of the text, because they never bothered to understand what it's about and so they'll just change whatever they have to and introduce as many non-sensical elements in the adaptation to fit this misjudgment. As a result, I don't think they'll be able to satisfactorily correct S3, but I hope at least they will make it less annoying.

There are still two more episodes to go, but, my goodness, even disregarding themes, this season is scoring so low in the rewatchability department. It feels like drudgery to get through.

[basslinegrave]

its always nice to come back to a ship after a "break" from it to be able to look back at things and look at everything with fresh eyes and stuff.

thinking about stobotnik (and shipping them romantically, to be specific) and how easy it is to look at them and go yep, theyre together. i guess partially because theres nobody telling me otherwise (or im good at avoiding those peeps online) and its all quite open, but from a new perspective i wouldnt even say its That toxic (if you ignore the fact that theyre literally evil) only thinking of jims words saying its abusive, hes like the only one i care about saying stuff since hes part of this. i have thoughts about that... but besides that - maybe its some weird copium but. to me, at worst it can be one sided, at best its literally anything. couple, "married", weird unlabeled Thing going on, i eat them all up. (i understand a lovey dovey bot is quite ooc, but thats not the only way to show love, and he definitely has his own ways)

my biggest thought lately is how in s2 bot is much nicer to stone, but i dont take it as "oh he changed and grew as a person while exiled and isnt abusive anymore" but rather "this is the norm" and him being awful to stone in s1 was literally just because of sonic. like this little alien thing is a completely new variable in the flow of things and it made him so frustrated, he already has a short fuse, so this is just what happened. also thinking about how hes a bit more collected normally (in s2 its also from the emerald, and some newfound false confidence, But in s1 before they find sonic you can see him going from stern but collected to just a shouting mess ), like this brought out this side of him or amplified it (a side which he absolutely would not hide around stone) it is also fun to think, oh he just bullies him. (but i obviously dont look at that as too bad, i guess in fanon you can play with the idea that stone fucks with it) but with them deleting all of those scenes for s2, for a few reasons ig, it tells a slightly different story to me... does this make sense? the way he talks to stone at the start in s1 and in the good cop bad cop scene is like quite calm to me for robotnik. thats how i imagine he would normally be around stone. smiling at him more often than snarling, showing off etc. the way the manifesto is written too, theres respect given to stone, and i doubt it was written inbetween the movies or last second. like that is something that he made x time ago imo way before s1, so the way he barked at him in the 'pin yourself to the wall' scene, to me thats just plain frustration and lack of emotion control taking over. plus how he completely switches that off once he notices the quill, no he doesnt hate stone, hes not angry at him, hes just angry. and stone was the closest person to take it out on. is that healthy? no, but it makes for the most fun dynamic ive seen in my fav media so i love that.

and the whole thing with him grabbing stone and shoving fingers in his mouth and what not, in all fairness your honor, he is literally innocent. he is neurodivergent and his love language is on the same level as people biting other people they like. its literally just that (reminds me of someone that i strongly believe had a crush on me in hs and they would ask to sit next to me in class and then push me off my chair and write on and tear my notes and it was cute to me. so im projecting that onto stone okay)

[sang8262]

JP lore thoughts n rants yknow the drill

because i have too many thoughts and i must speak

mostly about JP's plans and role as the antagonist in WT

the usual warnings for World Tour spoilers of course, also it really is aimless rambling there is no thesis here:

Currently, the most recent DLC release was Ed, and we're looking at Akuma's very soon.

Quickly on Akuma, I don't expect much main WT story advancement with his Master dialogue or bond levels and what not. So far, Rashid, AKI, and Ed have all had major connections with Shadaloo, and therefore, have important roles in the main story.

I just don't think Akuma is going to have too much in terms of... Ken being framed, or Neo Shadaloo. Though who knows. We're also getting a major patch update with him too, so I'm half wondering if it'll also include WT quests and story... Copium: huffed.

Anyway, I'm thinking about JP (period. like, all the time) and his involvement with where the story will lead into the future.

He's the main antagonist of SF6 after all, and while he's had a hand in some important events in the story, we only NOW got some clarification about his goals: to convince Ed to become the new leader of Neo Shadaloo, to help revive the organization.

And even then, we aren't too sure about WHY he wants to do this. Other characters related to the main story have very clear motives and plans.

FANG (and therefore AKI) want to revive Bison. They're at odds with JP however, though we aren't entirely sure why.

Ed wants nothing to do with Shadaloo's remnants, nor Bison. He just wants to save survivors, and specifically now, find Falke.

Ken and Bosch: these two in particular have major beef with JP, so they likely want revenge. But we'll have to see how the story decides to resolve their narratives.

Kimberly is in a similar boat, but I think the way they set her story up in WT is far too similar to Ken and Bosch's storylines. I really HOPE they give her more of a role, but I somehow doubt they'll make it interesting... in a way that isnt just "Bosch's narrative but done worse".

And the handful of characters who are investigating JP and Shadaloo's remnants: Cammy, Guile, Chun-Li and Li Fen, Rashid... could all be major parts of the future story line, in particular, to stop JP and Shadaloo from reviving.

----

All that said, it's INFURIATINGLY UNCLEAR what JP wants and why he's doing it.

For a fact, he was the chief financial advisor for Shadaloo before the organization's fall. Per *his* words-- never a good thing to believe at face value-- he wanted Psycho Power to see the world as Bison did. And he also acknowledges himself that someone in his position as 'accountant', really has no need for such a violent, combat oriented power as Psycho Power.

Why did Bison agree? How did JP survive the mind crushing influence of Psycho Power? Did Bison even agree to this, or did JP in fact, obtain it another way? How long has he had Psycho Power (because I do not trust his claims that he's not very good with using it, i beg to differ mr. "can teleport, can summon ghost mimicks, can control them precisely, can adjust his Psycho Power output to either give someone it OR completely fry them from the inside out")

----

With Ed's update, we get a TINY bit more into JP's plans. Ed has the potential to use his Psycho Power just as Bison did: to brainwash victims and control them. Ed of course, never wants to do this, but he acknowledges that he *could* use his powers this way if he decided to. JP and the other Shadaloo remnants are said to want Ed as the new leader, presumably to control the world using this brainwashing power for their benefit.

So it doesn't seem like JP wants to revive Bison, but rather a new leader with the same abilities to rule the world... who also is under his control??

I really don't see what JP would get out of the situation other than 'world domination', which I guess he admits to in a way, with how he "wanted to see things through the same lens Bison did". But while Bison was driven by a hunger for absolute power, I'm not sure if that's what JP wants?

He's someone so secretive about his personal identity, going so far to change his name, even get plastic surgery to change his appearance (this was mentioned in the World Tour Guide book by the devs). So, being the leader of a giant criminal organization is probably not great optics. Likely why he wants Ed to take that spotlight instead (along with, the fact that Ed could brainwash people).

That said, JP's *known* publicly as the CEO of successful NGO's. And he surely isn't shy about putting himself in the limelight (as with Nayshall) if it's to help see through his plan. BUT WHAT PLAN,,,, would have him DO all this,,,,,,

----

My only guess is that his own Psycho Power just isn't strong enough or capable of brainwashing and controlling other people's wills.. so he needs Ed to do so. And I don't think it's for any 'philanthropic 'consequentialist morally good' reasons, like, brainwashing everyone to agree so there's no conflict. That type of shit.

But consider: here is this man who is exceptionally talented at manipulating people, able to lie, convince, and threaten people into doing what he wants-- WITHOUT brainwashing powers. And to me, it seems that he genuinely enjoys manipulating people. I think I talked about it in another rant post, but he's got that, "lmao life is meaningless! :D" flavor of nihilism going on. He's deeply perceptive about human nature and entertained by how people behave. But he's remorseless about what he does to others, partially due to the "everything is meaningless" attitude.

It reads like he has fun toying with people... but he's also very efficient with it. He isn't doing it purely for entertainment, nor does he put himself at risk *just* to get a kick out of scamming someone. Like, he frames Ken and hires Luke as a bodyguard, but then quickly cuts ties with them once they aren't useful to him anymore.

He doesn't toy with people out of spite or MERELY cruel entertainment, which is all the more baffling because we don't know what drives him to do this at all. Why does he need to launder so much money? He's used it to restore old Shadaloo bases, sure, but what does he get out of that? Once he does establish a new Shadaloo from the remnants, what is his goal?? If he doesn't-- or cannot-- lead this new Shadaloo as the leader... what does he get out of reinstalling such a criminal organization again???

----

I feel like I didn't get anywhere with this rant, just venting some questions and frustrations, if I want to call it that.

I have never seen such a compelling and charismatic villain with such unclear motives as JP. I need to put him under a microscope. I need to pry apart his brain for answers.

why is he like this seriously,, all i can hope for is that WT gets more chapters and we get some conclusion (or justice) for what JP's done... and more scenes with cybele, please

[kineticpenguin]

I guess what I'm kinda dancing around is that the "oh you're a little bitch, look at how hard I work" business is pure copium. If you have to brag about how hard your job is, it's probably because your job sucks fucking ass and you would gladly take an easier job, but can't. So you have to believe that being overworked makes you special.

Just look at the military. When you've got the guys fixing multimillion dollar fighter jets at all hours in all weather, pulling insanely long shifts and weekend duty just to make the exact same amount of money with the exact same benefits as the guys pulling a normal day shift handing out basketballs at the gym or making the food, you have to lie to them. Tell 'em they're the Real Ones, and that they're learning Real Skills that'll get them a good job when they get out. It's why the combat arms guys are obsessed with the "grunts vs POGs" street cred shit. God forbid these kids get wise and demand pay commensurate with their time and skills.

And so you see the same thing in the civilian world with all these dudes who do trucking or construction or one of the Sainted Trades, and they hate their fucking lives, so the only joy they get is finding some kid having a meltdown over a shift at McDonald's or whatever, so they can have a chortle and say "try MY job bitch, you wouldn't last!"

I dunno dude, it sounds like you should demand better pay and shorter hours so you can learn to enjoy life, rather than finding examples of people crumpling under what you assume is less pressure, just so you can believe you're doing well for yourself even as you destroy your body with energy drinks and God knows what else to keep you going.

[zlobonessa]

well since the coup thing here just kinda sorta ended i guess i think this is as good time as ever to tell yall about my silly little modern au because why the hell not. i had this au for a while as a source for jokes but it just kept growing and growing untill. well I'm actually writing fic about (parts of) this but again it's in russian so i just want to outline the ideas. this is totally went off the rails but i like it that way

so

the catalyst of all is regurein of course

i have several variations of why the hell are they dating but one of my favourites is the one where they engage in passionate fight about twilight saga on the internet

joke about twilight saga belongs to koa. thanks koa.

the second favourite is about coffeeshop au set in two rivaling coffeeshops with questionable work practices and with money laundering probably happening in the background (or something worse?) of one of them

but anyway

reinhard's friends are taking the news very well

which means they are not, in fact, taking the news very well

julius is heartbroken

he has that wlw experience where your infinitely pretty incredibly smart unimaginably cool friend (homoerotic undertone) starts dating a guy who can be characterized only as Human Garbage

out of Friendly Concerns he and the others start the secret operation of Breaking Your Best Friend Relationships

they are not very successful

observing disgustingly sweet and/or horrifying dates with binoculars from the bushes does not bring any results

ferris suggested poisoning several times already

somewhere along the line felt is involved

she is neither the participant nor regurein's matchmaker but a secret third thing

(not entertained by any of this bullshit but forced to observe it)

probably is blackmailing julius

lye is also here

he is tagging along with regulus for some reasons idk i never thought it through

he and felt form unexpected friendship based on common annoyance of being forced to third wheel all this mess

perhaps they start the punk rock band???

the music is terrible

joshua thinks soo too

yes he is also here

he desperatly pretends to be a big fan

that's his late teenage rebellion

felt and lye do not like him anyway but it's not like they have a lot of fans so they keep him to buy them alcohol or something

when julius finds out he almost has a heart attack

and also regulus had some malicious plan all along! oh no!

but oh well he is not the smartest guy yknow

certainly NOT GOOD with being subtle

also has very Weird relationships with feelings

and accidentally catches them for reinhard for real

his mental stability: destroyed

but it's fine and reinhard keeps him anyway because he is absolutely bonkers

again julius is very close to an emergency room

but also in the (failed) attempt to stop this shitshow he Finds His True Love

emijulisuba happens! yay

bonded by spying and perhaps discussion ls of common crush on reinhard

so it's fine. it's totally fine. it's so fine he swears.

IN THE MEANTIME

the subplot happens. it involves wilhelm.

reinhard informs him that he has a boyfriend and plans to introduce him at the family dinner. in the desparate attempt to repair their broken relationships wilhelm decides that it's time to be An Ally

i'm giving him a lot of credit here but that's also a bit of copium for Me Personally so it's okay

so wilhelm googles "who are.gay people"

accidentally ends up on gay dating app

as an ally

matches with petelgeuse there

as an ally

has sex with him

as an ally

tries to think how exactly he is gonna tell reinhard that he has a new grandma now so he is forgiven

(that was a joke)

so reinhard comes to the manor/apartment/penthouse with regulus

and regulus and petelgeuse recognise each other because of course they do! they are colleagues! (or were something more? who know)

well now this is awkward

do you think somebody gets murdered here

credits roll

scene after credits: emilia finds out that her dead aunt and her somewhat-uncle who went out for milk years ago are actually both alive in complicated relationship and working in the coffeeshop-slash-money-laundering-scheme-slash-sect

[cru5h-cascades]

EDIT 1-25-24: THIS POST IS OUTDATED. WE GOT A RELEASE DATE REVEAL YESTERDAY AND I MADE THIS POST A FEW DAYS BEFORE THE TRAILER RELEASED.

So, I've been seeing folks have been goin' nuts about Side Order's release date lately (hell, I am too. I preordered this DLC almost a year ago and now I feel dumb for preordering this thing a year in advance lmao), speculating on when the DLC will ultimately come out. I'm sure some of you are aware of a recent datamine revealing a potential release date for the DLC and I'd like to address that in this post.

I think the dataminers might be right on this one! I truely believe there's a decent chance this glorious DLC will finally release on February 29th! So far, dataminers who've looked through the game's files have had a decent track record when it comes to predicting stuff (the skelly fish bois from Side Order, the whole idea of going up the Spire of Order in Side Order, Splattercolor Screen & Triple Splashdown coming to the game, ect), so I wouldn't be suprised if this was true as well. Also, may I remind all of you of all those strands of code for Side Order that were uncovered during the begining of Chill Season 2023? That was A LOT of code. Also, those pieces of Splatoon 2 gear weren't delayed another season again. Hell, more Splatoon 2 gear was ported into the game some time ago!

Also, a February 29th release date would be SUPER fitting for Side Order. The Order Sector Inkopolis Square exists simultaniously with the real Inkopolis Square (assuming that Side Order is in fact taking place in a digital world, which is most likely the case) and February 29th is basically just February 28th and March 1st simultaniously happening at the same time. Perfect oppertunity for the devs to release the DLC. The DLC will not only release the same time the Fresh Season 2024 update drops but the release date would make sense with the story of the DLC or whatever.

Sure, I'm probably on LOTS of copium right now, but I really do feel like the DLC will be coming out towards the end of next month. So far, Splatoon dataminers have had a decent track record when it comes to uncovering stuff being added to the game, so I trust them when it comes to this info.

But hey, we'll see what happens. A Nintendo Direct will more likely than not come out next month and we still need a release date reveal for the DLC, so it won't be long until we find out when this DLC will come out. The dataminers could be right. They could be wrong. I guess we won't find out until next month :)

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

You saying that Yves is a expy of Leveret is so interesting because the way I see them, while their appearances and some of their mannerisms and styles are similar, I find their personalities kind of different (I know we only have one part of Bunny but still)

For example, I find that Leveret isn’t as tactful as Yves, like when he blurted out the readers name without them telling him what their name was, something that I can’t imagine Yves doing with the amount of preparations he does. I also get the vibe that Leveret may be way more spontaneous with touch and affection as compared to Yves always needing things to be on a schedule and at a given time.

Like I dunno, Leveret kind of has that bunny on the outside vibe where he’s super cute and nice on the outside but is probably twisted and dark on the inside, while Yves kind of has this lithe perniciousness about him on the get go and only shows his softer more vulnerable side to the reader as they get further in their relationship.

I guess I find them as direct inverses of each other in a way instead of derivatives, but what do I know I’m just a reader 😭. Ending my TED talk 🫡. Thank you for the wonderful OCs btw!

Ough shit i really left Leveret in thw box to rot 😭 i actually forgot his name frick

All i remembered was that he is fruity as fuck and downs mimosas like a champ, and has like similar appearances and a stalkerish weirdo

Like i guess how i saw Leveret and Yves is that they're the same text, different font, Leveret is Curlz Mt while Yves is Monotype Corvisa

Spoilarzz for Leveret/Bunny ahead and tw for sexual abuse mentions

Ur rite they're inverses now that i reread my fics, and my drafts too, so Leveret is originally supposed to be this loudmouth self serving horny rapist motherfucker who gets pussy or dick drunk off reader, Yves is the reserved, sober, prude and #selfsacrifice4love type

If u put them in a room together and close the door, one of them will be vaporized

If it's quiet, Yves wins. If you hear whining and complaining, Leveret wins. The loser will be reduced into a smashed patty with gore splattered on the walls n ceiling

They do NOT like each other. Yves especially hating him way more than Leveret hates him. Well damn the list of people yves likes is shorter than an electron omg its just you on it

But yves is still a derivative because he is a recycled and furbished version of Leveret, like he seems completely different but Leveret was the blueprint

Holy shit anon i appreciate ur analysis tho love these so much zamn , it gives me enrichment in my enclosure and activate my neurons

Glad u lov my copium laced ocs, thanks 4 reading ❤️

[hourcat]

hello i LIED here’s a little bit of silly boy copium :)

“You looked good out there,” Charles murmurs. As if to emphasize his point, he hooks his bare leg over Pierre’s, shamelessly rubbing against his thigh like he hadn’t just gotten off ten minutes ago. It feels good—then again, it’s Charles. It’s always going to feel good. “You are very sexy with the backwards cap, Pierrot.”

Pierre snorts. “Ah, and here I was thinking you were complimenting my race.” Charles slaps his chest gently. “Silly me, I forget you only want me for my looks—”

“Shut up,” the Monegasque interrupts with a rumbly laugh. He tucks closer to Pierre, drags his hand across the planes of his chest until he reaches the other side. “You are distracting when you look like such a fuckboy, I can’t help but notice.”

“Oh, so I’m a fuckboy, now, am I?” Pierre shifts onto one elbow so that he can lean over Charles. Charles just sinks further into his pillows, smirky expression faded into something more tender. “Remind me to not text you back so much so I can live up to my reputation.”

Charles just rolls his eyes. “You are so misunderstood, Pierrot,” he laments sarcastically. The hand resting on his chest still lingers. He has no plans to take it away any time soon—Pierre is warm, so warm, and Charles is nothing if not a heat magnet. Then, after relishing the pouty expression on his lover’s face, he breaks off the bit. “You were magnificent out there on track, too, Pierre. I was so worried to see you at the back of the grid, but you—” the hand on his chest trails upwards slowly, curves against the more-beard-than-scruff facial hair at Pierre’s jaw. “I am so proud of you. I wish you’d gotten another lap in to take out Valtteri.”

Pierre laughs softly. “So you were listening to me complain afterwards, huh,” he murmurs. Charles nods a little. “I’m sorry your day ended so early, cheri. When they said who had stopped over the radio, I could not believe it.”

Charles can’t really either. “I guess there must be some kind of Bahrain curse,” he mumbles. “But—we have two weeks to figure our shit out, non? That is more than enough time.”

“It is still very early,” Pierre agrees. He dips down to press a tiny, chaste little kiss to Charles’ nose. “I am sorry all the same, though. Just glad you didn’t catch fire like I did last year.”

Charles wrinkles his nose and reaches up to grab at the back of Pierre’s head gently, threads his fingers through his mussed-up hair. “You were on the good kind of fire today, though. So you are making progress, at least.” He grins slowly. “I felt like—I never get to watch you race, Pierrot. I felt like your paddock bunny or something.”

Pierre’s eyes get a little darker at the thought. “You would make a good paddock girl, bebe,” he mumbles, pressing close again for another kiss. This one is less innocent—Pierre’s teeth are insistent against his bottom lip, and while he opens for Pierre easily like always, the way his weight is starting to bear down on Charles makes him think that maybe they’re not as done for the night as they thought they’d been after all.

“I would make a great paddock girl,” Charles corrects breathlessly as Pierre releases him for a moment. “But you are not that lucky, mon petit. I will be winning in Jeddah, which means you will have to be my paddock bunny.”

Pierre laughs—bright, loud, directly in his face like he can’t control it. He looks so happy. Charles wants to trace each line that’s crinkled up there from delight, demand to Alpine that they have to keep him perfect just like this for the rest of the year. They’re already starting off on a rough note, the two of them: if Charles can’t have a decent strategy-car combination to save his life, the least he could get is this. Pierre, happy and warm and solid around him, knowing and loving in ways that Charles knows he’ll never find anywhere else.

“I would be a better paddock bunny than you, Charlo. Be careful what you wish for.” Pierre kisses him again, slow and deep and full of so many things that make Charles’ head spin.

He’s glad there’s no race next weekend. He wants to unpack it all now.

[papirouge]

The message you got about conservative men being closeted gay/bisexual came right on time because I've been thinking about it lately lol.

I always suspect these trad men when they talk too much about a woman's role and constantly criticize women, on top of the homophobia like atp i know it'll be a matter of time when something related to his sexuality will come out... Remember that scrote who gave that speech saying women were wasting their time with their careers and should become housewives and have children instead? And how some gay men started exposing him saying he had a "gay past"? I believe many of these men are lowkey jealous of women and have a hatred of them bc we are "allowed" to be with men and they can't... Like the way many of these men are obssesed with feminity and think any woman not shaving or wearing pants or prioritizing work is masculine.. If there's a group of men obssesed with hyper feminity is gay men, that's why they like those hyper femenine pop stars like Lana del Rey, I just feel these conservative men wish they could be one of the lolita stay at home gf coquette girlies lol.

That's also why I think it's funny when these conservative guys make fun of leftist men for wearing nail polish or being feminist or being pro-lgbt and imply they're gay. These men are not the ones having scandals for being closeted gay lol it's always the right wingers. At least leftist men don't have issues accepting their sexuality - you'll in fact find guys trying to hide their heterosexuality to be trans inclusive like the guys who say their pansexual bc they like "cis women, trans men and afab nonbinaries." lol And many times conservative men have been found to be closeted it's rarely through something more "innocent" like holding a man's hand, it's always something like participating in a gay orgy, or being with a prostituted man (or boy 🤢) or watching trans porn (even though they denounce porn and say it makes men less manly... One has to laugh).

Controversial take, but there's nothing less revolutionary or subversive in male gayness. Homosexuality is the peak of male narcissism and this tracks back to the dawn of time. Greeks & romans were huge male homosexuality apologetic societies. And *pikachu face* they were also patriarchal and pedophiles. Funny how those are often linked.

History is just repeating itself. Conservatives are actually consistent in trying to get back in their old way of those old times. Those maga/redpiller account with greek statue are such glaring giveaways.... lol

I think conservatism is pretty coherent with a form of patriarchal misogynist homosexuality.

I'm not surprised by those stories of closeted gays caught in 'extreme' situations, I guess that's what unchecked & unhealed sexual frustration will do to you

Yeah I remember that moid and talked about him here lol I think tiktokers dug out some statements he previously made where he said back in highschool he had a crush on one of his teammates or coach?? His Instagram is pretty zeisty too👀 There's something definitely fishy with him..his speech screamed like some major copium. Something tells me that since he struggled with his sexuality, he now wants to impose the same sexual control onto women. He's definitely not one of those people who "recovered" from homosexuality

And you know what? I think everyone would benefit having more sexual continence, but dude messed up by compelling women (and only women) to do the opposite and jumpinto marriage and childbearing. He wants to control women into motherhood which is absolutely irresponsible.

I also think the obsession of Conservatives with Epstein super weird. Sure his "suicide" was suspect but it's very suspicious to see them act like he and his list were the only pedo network in the world. Same with Balenciaga. I hate how sensational headlines made people lose focus and forgot that this isssue is more culturally pervasive How many of the ppl who clutched their pearls are the tragic Balenciaga campaigns watch #teen porn? or entertain anime lolicon/cute japanese girl fetish? shame grown women for looking old and not forever looking like prepubescent girls? Balenciaga wouldn't have done that campaign is they didn't feel like society was ready to accept it. It thankfully didn't, but it's time for everyone to acknowledge this decision didn't happen out of a vacuum. Society is being groomed into sexual & moral degeneracy, and many of the people who went off at Balenciaga are actually part of the problem.

I'll never forget how conservatives almost unanimously defended Andrew Tate because sex trafficking & rape is apparently okay as long as the victims are not children somehow🤡

[alolanroy]

2023 Media Thread Pt3

Sharkula: Finding out that this director cranks out like 8 of these a year makes so much sense. The editing and effects are bafflingly amateur, and by that I mean I don't know how you can make something this inept in good faith. The casting is...concerning. I'm not referring to the 'college students' that look like weekend warriors, I mean that a certain character clearly had some sort of disorder, and it felt pretty exploitative. Funny bad in a pathetic sort of way. -6/10

Sharkenstein: We wanted to see more, but it turns out that instead of a fountain of infine fun-bad, it was just bad. At east the Franken-shark was a Nazi also somehow -3/10

Ronin Mecha 3: Space Warrior: This is the kind of incoherent bootleg movie that makes you feel drunk and delirious from laughing too much. Literally nothing from this poster appears, but I did have an episode when I saw a Scope Dogg. -7/10

Mighty Lady Sparkle: I admire the passion for tokusatsu but I don't admire the ecchi. It's the kind of movie where you start the movie proposing drinking games over its quirks but 20 minutes in you feel uncomfortable. -2/10

Boneworks: It took a bit for it to click for me, but Stress Level Zero made a really impressive standard for VR gunplay and exploration. That being said, some of the physics takes a bit to get used to and if you don't have good VR legs, this game would be borderline unplayable. The physics puzzles and level design aren't quite up to the valve standard they are trying to live up to, the former being groan worthy at times, but the gun handling is fun enough that I was interested in playing some of the alternate game modes. The confused and underwhelming ending left it on an odd note, but I had a blast/ 7.5/10

Netflix One Piece: Sometimes the performances just don't work and the dialogue doesn't quite hit the mark. However it made me understand the appeal of One Piece and I gotta give props to the costuming, makeup and the few actors that understood the assignment. 7.5/10

The Amazing Digital Circuis Pilot: There is a distinction between marketable and appealing. Content can be made with the intent of being white noise. Nice rendering I guess. These are ideas that can coexist. 2/10

Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger 20th: The Unforgivable Abare: I was initially afraid that this would be 'abaranger vs the woke mob' I was pleasantly surprised by humor and some out of left field GL. Can't complain 6/10

X-Files Revival: I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. While a few of the comedic episodes were absolute gold, This was pretty sad. Its attempts to stay topical somehow make it more dated than the 90s seasons did. Unfortunately trying to be hip left me with a toothless 16 episodes made mostly of mythology episodes that are clearly supposed to go a whole lotta nowhere. 4/10

Gundam Build Metaverse: Never before has a 10th anniversary season made me feel so old and hopeless. The first episode left me hopeful when it delivered a premise I could see blossoming into a good 15-ish episode show with the occasional cameo and a laid-back Hawaiian attitude to my favorite hobby. The OP and ED promised a good balance of modeling, character cameos, and original drama. Then the last two episodes dropped at once after a two-week gap. That was it. It introduced its antagonist as quickly as she was resolved. Most cameos were still images if they appeared. No one is the right age. The new toys are dispatched so quickly it fails as a toy commercial. This had to have gone through development troubles because of the botched 'metaverse' spawned by the Japanese grants they were handing out...right? I huffed the copium and just got a confusing meh. 5/10

DOA Dead or Alive: Finally, a fighting game movie adaptation that understands the assignment! It's dumb! It's campy! It's exploitative and oggling but in a way that respects its subjects more than most 2000's movies in this genre. It almost loops around to being oddly empowering, an opinion seconded by my girlfriends hooting and hollering at the movie. While one performance was funny bad, any martial arts movie with a ladder fight is great in my book. 8/10

The Last Witch Hunter: Rarely does a vanity projects with someones D&D characters end up this fun. It ranks highly for me in the subgenre of modern-day supernatural hunter movies in an urban setting. Rock solid movie. 7.5/10

Analog Horror Grab Bag: What if a VHS was spoooooooky. Look buddy, mashing MarbleHornets and Exploding Varmits together gets less novel the longer you watch 4/10

Haunting in Venice: I'm not familiar with the original story, but this was a fun and spooky watch. 7/10

Godzilla vs Megalon (2023): I enjoyed the moments of Shin Godzilla cinematography, but mixed with showa-era goofy moves and shonen combat, this short didn't work for me. The chunky soup didn't benefit from an art style that created my least favorite Godzilla design. 5/10

Fest Godzilla 4: Operation Jet Jaguar: RETURN OF DA KING BABYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE SHOWA IS BACK IN A BIG WAY 7/10

Pistol Whip: Maybe it was the triggers on my controllers but the timing just felt weirdly off. Trying to deliberately juke the timing killed the rhythm game magic and made me feel more like I was waiting for permission to get the bad guys. The John Wick fantasy this is clearly built for wasn't lost on me though, but without that immersion, I just felt bad. Totally subjectively a 3.5/10

Ultraman Netflix Final Season: I don't really get the appeal of public opinion narratives the way anime seems to make them. Similarly, I don't like when noir stories depend on all of the protagonist's friends requiring zero evidence to turn on them at the drop of a hat. Especially when neither party really attempts to talk it out. Its bad writing and a dub with all of the industries bad habits held up by A really hot alien and a funny magical girl transformation that one time. 4/10

Gundam Trilogy Rewatch: Watched this with two friends who were seeing them for the first time. God these things hold up, especially the 3rd one. Incredible stuff. I and II are a 7/10 for me for good content with weird pacing and III is a 9/10 for great writing and drama. Reanimated sections weren't anything to scoff at either

Skyrim 2nd playthrough: I'll say a playthrough where I know what I'm doing and isn't as sidetracked was better at letting me enjoy the setpieces, I think that without the interstitial wanderlust from the feeling of adventuring a new land, something didn't hit the same. However bringing Sarana(SDA), Lydia(IFD) and a few other talking followers added a certain spice to it. An observation I missed the first time was how hard it pushes you interact with some of the factions in a way I think kinda cheapens their organic introductions.

Armored Trooper Votoms: I reductively pitched this show to someone as the midpoint between Gundam and 40K. There's a lot to love with this series: Gorgeous visuals, concise episodes, and the confidence to change its setting periodically to fun locales like Arakis or Vietnam. Chiricho is a unique protagonist who pulls off the Sigma Male archetype with depth and soul. I was pretty enamored with this from an aesthetic standpoint, but I'm not blind to its flaws. The society is a weak antagonist once they are revealed and the pacing drags as it repeats itself to buy time. While ATs are iconic, they aren't always used with the variety they deserve. While maybe only half the series lives up to this score: 8/10

Knights of the Zodiac 2023: I think this might actually be worst live action anime adaptation to date. Never before have I seen any less interest in adapting the source material than this. I can usually find something to like in a bad movie, but for this I have nothing. Maybe I felt something when we all laughed at the Jump Force cutscenes they used as fight scenes. There's just nothing here. 0/10

Oblivion Override Demo: Ever play Dead Cells? it sure is that with vector graphics. My weakness for this type of robot design puts in most of the work here. movement feels a bit off. 4/10

Half Life 2: VR Mod

-As a way to replay half Life 2: Yep, this is still one of the most important games ever. However, I think that the vehicle sections go on a bit too long and subsequent entries did a lot to improve the visual sameness of a lot of the game 9/10

-As a VR game: Gun handling is excellent. Accessibility options like laser sights for all weapons were fantastic, and they let me help smooth out my own learning curve with the weapons. I will say that weapon selection and two handed aiming was a little cumbersome at times, but weapon reloading was the perfect amount of cumbersome to be satisfying. Even though the game itself didn't get rebalanced to accommodate for VR, it all meshed for a really fun and challenging experience. However vehicle controls were kinda weird and not that great standing. 8/10

Votoms: The Last Red Shoulder: I've come to the conclusion that the real enemy of Votoms wasn't Wiseman, it was the 24 minute episode format. more breathing room meant better pacing and time to really drink in the kino.7.5/10

Cade: The Tortured Crossing: In an incredible stroke of luck I was able to see a Niel Breen film in theaters and I will not lie: it was amazing. The audience was a riot and I nearly passed out from laughter a few times. The editing was surreal and I could see how this was probably stretched from an hour and a half to two hours in the edit. I will not regret giving it an -10/10

Kengan Ashura S2 (???): The real villain is Netflix's release structure. This is one season of anime I saw at a convention like 4 years ago. Its pretty alright. It's competent 6/10

The Mummy 2017: This movie has been a punching bag, both because of the presumptuous launch of the 'dark universe' and also that one trailer that was posted with unfinished sound. Unfortunately, the movie itself is pretty alright and I would like to see more. Plus one point for American Werewolf in London but I take that point away again for another mischaracterization of Dr.Jekyl. 6/10

Votoms Big Battle: Neat stuff. real standout is the fun character design and animation. I also liked the touch of the filter over the villains voice. It kinda hints at how much of a machine he is at that point. 7.5/10

Attack on Titan Final Season part 3: I don't think the ending was bad for the reasons a lot of people say, but I can tell it beefs it in the final chapter. Everything up to that is incredible, Especially the bit with the baseball. Sadly I think the sour note with Mikasa and the tree was an interesting choice that really didn't work out and spoiled it for me a bit. 7.5/10

Attack on titan as a whole... It took a decade. The times weren't always great, but they sure were had. It is politically dense enough that everyone has a half-baked opinion. When it hits, it hits HARD. I think an 8/10. I don't think I was ever bored for a minute.

Godzilla Minus One: I often find myself drawn to the mood of the original Godzilla. Sometimes I wonder if the constraints of its time allows the mind to fill in the gaps. This movie provides us no quarter to do so. It replicates this horror without leaving any to chance. I think this because more than any other in this series, the stakes feel truely desperate and personal. This felt like watching one of those truelly classic films for the first time (oddly enough I was reminded of Jaws...) I'm not sure if it surpasses Shin or the 1954 original yet, but I give this movie a 10/10 with no hesitation.

Knights of Sidonia (Manga): I'll be honest, the first few chapters did a lot to turn me away the first time I tried this, but this series is certainly not the collection of anime tropes I expected. The art is amazing once Tsutomu Nihei hits his stride. The intricate detailing and compositions have to be seen to be believed. I will applaud it for leaving a lot of room to breathe. Most wouldn't resist overexplaining the aliens. The interpersonal story is pretty gutsy, especially considering the resolution to the romantic angle and some surprisingly not weird treatment of characters with fluid genders. However, I think a lot of characters fell through the cracks in favor of the harem angle that was starting to develop (typified by the robot tsundere who felt really unnecessary). 7.5/10

Furi Demake: I get that this is just a little fun proof of concept, ut the Game Bakers kinda under-prooved a few important parts. Namely, the music is generic and the hit hit detection for parrying was wonky. EX: a ground slam you are supposed to parry from right below confused the directional inputs since it can't figure out which way you are facing. 6/10 but I would play a full version of this concept.

Jetborne Racing and Star Trek Bridge Crew: Early VR games with a predominant online component, slow gameplay and wonky controls? in 2023? Yeah Jetborne is unplayable since there's no one online and Bridge Crew is just unintuitive to play. Instead of space mysteries the gameplay consists of figuring out how to undo your space-parking brake 2/10