#also it's not funny but seeing how various fan bases have different reasons to be mad at the fia is taking me out

[silentreigns]

I am not done complaining. The FIA is getting bullied even more. Like the rise of hate towards them has increased significantly. And the drivers didn't even criticize the stewards this time. Maybe the fan backlash will change something, I don't know. But the stop bullying campaign is doing the opposite. The little #racespect hashtag did nothing. Making a problem out of nothing seems to be MBS's specialty!

[riverstixxelf]

I love the SPN fandom but honestly it’s so stressful sometimes 😭

For example earlier today I googled “Misha Collins girlfriend” because I heard a rumor that he has a girlfriend, I couldn’t find much besides stuff talking about Vicky so I scrolled down and saw a tumblr post saying something about Misha being attracted to men (which I don’t necessarily disagree with, but I don’t want to tell another person what they are) and women so I clicked on it and it was a huge post (like, a couple paragraphs) talking about some strange things. I don’t remember exactly but at one point the user brought up the “fact” that Misha makes jokes about women and sex?? As in making jokes at the expense of women… and I was like… are we talking about the same Misha here? He DOES make jokes about sex but I don’t recall him ever making jokes at the expense of women. Only thing I can think of is that one story about one of his earlier acting jobs and he didn’t know the “no tongue rule” but that was mostly at the expense of himself. Then I scrolled and found another post that was pretty disturbing…

Someone had screenshotted a regular instagram caption that Jensen posted just talking about how he just got done traveling, he wanted to take a nap, something like that—nothing sexual about the post at all or anything that would suggest that—and someone captioned it with something talking about him and Misha rubbing their [babymakers] together??? I audibly laughed out loud because wtf 😭😭

I don’t want to shame Jenmish shippers (I say Jenmish because Cockles is just a… very interesting name), even though I think it’s the slightest bit strange to be shipping real people… but again I never want to put anyone down for anything because I myself have said some stuff about Jensen and Misha that might suggest something between them.

Another thing is just the amount of hate for various cast members. Mostly the hate I see is for Jared and Misha; J2 fans who hate Misha, Jenmish fans who hate Jared, etc. There’s a lot of love in this fandom but ohmygOD there’s so much hate too. I guess that’s true for any fandom, but it’s so tiring sometimes.

Also, in this fandom, you’ll get hounded for any opinion you have. If you don’t like destiel, you’re homophobic. If you do like destiel, you’re also homophobic for some reason because queer bating or whatever… for the record i’d like to state that I am a proud destiel shipper just fyi. But I see so many people take it to the extreme, make little things into big things or something along those lines. Same thing with cockles shippers I was talking about earlier. I feel like I have a pretty neutral viewpoint on stuff regarding destiel; I see most things how they are, and I make my assumptions based on CANON things. I don’t say “Dean and Cas are definitely fucking”, I say “Dean and Cas love eachother but they cant express it, because Cas wasn’t even sure what love was and Dean’s highest ideal of love is family, which is why he says Cas is like a brother to him”. Now, if you don’t agree with me, guess what… that’s okay! If you don’t think destiel exists, that’s a valid point, and i’m not gonna dox you just because you have a different opinion than me. Because that’s just it, it’s an OPINION.

I could get into Sam haters and Dean haters and stuff… but I’m tired. Actually, you know what, screw it. I WILL GET INTO IT!!!

I’ve had a few experiences with Dean haters especially, and most of the time they just ADORE Sam and thinks he’s done nothing wrong. Let me clarify that I don’t hate Sam- like- at all. Then again, Dean haters who happen to be Sam stans have warped my view on Sam a little, but I won’t let that get in my way of honest judgment.

Sam. has. done. bad. stuff. DEAN. has. done. bad. stuff. Please don’t compare their trauma, they both have their own issues, one isn’t better than the other.

I might be biased because I relate to Dean so much (like a crazy amount it’s not even funny…), but for the millionth time in a row I DO NOT HATE SAM. I saw someone saying how Dean was the cause of almost every single world-ending event that happened in SPN… like honey no. Another person replied to their comment listing all of the world-ending events… and guess what… Sam was the cause of most of them!! Does that make him a hate-worthy character? No!!

I don’t know what point i’m trying to make here. I just think there’s so much in-fighting within the SPN fandom and as much as I love being in the fandom sometimes you just gotta have a break from all the drama. If you made it this far… go outside or something don’t pay attention to me i’m chronically online.

[idontwanttospoiltheparty]

I don't know anything about Taylor Swift. What do you think compels people to believe the 'Gaylor' theory? Is it like McLennon? Do her fans analyze her in a similar way they do with The Beatles?

Honestly, I think it's much more song-based with her (like I said, forbidden love/hidden love/anxiety over love are very frequent themes she explores in her music). People generally think she's constantly actively planting clues and communicating with her fans who are "in the know". They also think that her publicized relationships "seem fake" for various reasons, even when they aren't all that similar to each other.

I don't think it's all that similar on the surface, because I don't think many McLennon-believers think Paul or John intentionally revealed themselves to the world. We also don't have nearly as much insight into Taylor's private life as we do with the Beatles, I'd say (though, people do tend to forget how little we know about them, as well). Over all, I think McLennon is a lot more based on interpreting John and Paul's relationship and why they did certain things to/with each other, whereas with Taylor it's all treated as performance art intended for fans to pick up on. Even when it's about her and her alleged girlfriends it's all via their social media posts or what have you, not actually private moments. The fact Taylor has actively encouraged fans to search for easter eggs in her work (though they aren't that deep �� usually they're just references to lyrics) and also has identified herself as a markedly diaristic writer has somewhat led to certain fans taking speculation to a somewhat conspirational level (and it's not just gaylors who do this. also the fans who think she has a secret album she never put out, she's secretly still with some boyfriend she broke up with, etc.) I think the theory is extremely popular now because she's extremely popular now. It's strange to me that I remember when it was just a few tumblr blogs.

All that being said, you see very similar black-and-white thinking and over-centering of one idea in both of these theories. Most things that can in some way be related back to the theory get connected to it and then immediately accepted as fact, even when there's other factors at play, even when a source may not be reliable.

"No straight explanation for this" is a phrase you'll find in both fandoms (which I find extremely funny, because I can guarantee you that queer fans of BOTH of these artists will generalize the fans of the other as straight, or call it "straight people music". [it's intensely uncomfortable for me, as a gay fan of both of them])

So in a way they're quite different, but in many ways they're the same.

[bebepac]

One Year Has Passed

In case you were wondering what depression can look like.  It can look exactly like this.

Cheslie Corrinne Kryst  

April 28, 1991 - January 30, 2022

It can also look like this:

And.... it can also look like this....

But what I’ve come to realize, which has made me take a step back from social media  platforms in general since her passing is something that she had mentioned before.  “Social media is a highlight reel.”  

I would say I can’t believe a year has passed since she made the choice to leave this world, but I can, because I felt various levels of grief throughout it.  I followed her avidly on social media on several different platforms. I perceived her to be happy, and funny, goofy, constantly with a smile on her face.  I also perceived her to be kind, intelligent, goal oriented, ambitious, and a powerhouse of a woman, that had many many skill sets, and a wide knowledge base. Which is only a few of the reasons I had picked her to become my face claim for my Riley in most of my stories when I started writing on the fandom.  I looked up to her as a minority woman from my home state, and she had accomplished so much in her 30 years walking this earth.  

You can show what you perceive to be the “best of you” to the world and can be struggling with so much more under the surface. She talked once on a post about how many pictures they had taken before they decided on the one to post that made her look “flawless.” 

We put so much pressure on ourselves to make an effort to be what we perceive to be “perfect.”  Some of those pressures are societal, feeling you have to conform to a certain standard of “beauty”  or “professionalism”  even racial norms, what it means to be “Black” or a minority navigating this world, or simply being a person navigating this world.

For this, I say, we must have more grace with ourselves.  The things we say to ourselves in our minds, we would never say to our best friends.  So why do we feel it’s ok to say those negative things about our selves?  

We must stop being our own worst critic.  We have to love ourselves more.  Have those conversations not only with the people that look to be visibly struggling but those that look perfectly fine.  People are leaving this world by their own choice at an alarming rate. We have to have those conversations with each other that are difficult. 

Because I don’t want to lose someone else, I care about this way.  

No, I didn’t know Cheslie personally, I wish I had, and over 3 years, I created a world here for her in my stories I created, and I feel like I knew her, and I still miss her.  Seeing all the tributes come across social media for her, by family, friends, and fans, shows the impact she had on the world, and the legacy she will have. I really do hope that she found the peace she was looking for, even though selfishly I still wish she was still here in physical presence.  

Every person that we lose this way, is one too many.  

[tamelee]

Personally I don’t really get people who say they acknowledge Sasuke and Naruto’s romantic bond but still ship Sasuke with a woman… Like, they saw that he was gay (he’s shown to not be attracted to women so he’s not bi) but kinda don’t care?

Actually I don’t really understand the whole shipping culture, or even mainstream fandom culture… I don’t know, I just don’t see the point in just making up content for pre-existing characters while completely destroying what made the characters unique in the first place by ignoring canon entirely (like crack-shipping). I get why people wouldn’t like everything about canon, it’s my case too, but if they don’t like anything about canon… Why are they here in the first place?

Nooo now I sound grumpy. I must be bothering you I’m so sorry 😭😭

Anyway, you’re amazing and I hope you know it 🥰

You don't sound grumpy to me dw 🫶

Well, I don't believe such ships have much to do with Canon either way. And I doubt all of them hate Canon per se, though some change 'Canon' to like Canon, which is funny. "This is my Canon." Yeah, not how it works, but ok- have your Canon your way ofc ┐(￣ヮ￣)┌

Side-note though, I don't think Sasuke even knows who Hinata is? 😆 It's as you say; crack-shipping. (I saw that giant/small-yaoi meme here on Tumblr again. No idea what it's called, and immediately thought; a yes, Sukuna and Levi. Kinda want to draw xD Makes no sense at all.) A lot of Headcanon is derived from personal... ideas/desires/inspiration or self-inserting reasons? (Isn't that exactly what 'x-reader' fics are?) Or even trend-posting. As much as characters are used to tell a story for the original author/creator (they're essentially tools), do fans use them to create new ideas. "Ah yes, we all know this character, let's create something around it simply because I want to." Which is completely fine, right? Look at rare pairs. And to be fair, a lot of content, fictional writing and art aren't even based on canon either. The closest thing through fan-work are Manga analyses or meta's, even panel redraws- stuff like that. People adapt 'canon' into fanwork through various degrees or sometimes ditch it altogether. Nsfw/spice is by default made up and entirely Headcanon :') (Though personality can be depicted in a way ig, through expression/behavior and whatnot.)

I totally get what you mean though, although I guess I'm caught up in fandom-culture now. Personally, I do like characters as 'canon' as possible, but it really depends. For some Animanga I don't really care. I think I ship pretty much all TR/BlueLock-characters for literally no reason, but I wouldn't claim it to be Canon in any way (˚☐˚! )/

However, I don't like it when Naruto and Sasuke's characters are butchered. Made-up context or not. The originals are so special to me and it's the reason why I'm a fan, though I don't mind too much in fics, depending on the story. I find it hard to feel the same when they've practically become someone's OC's with only the same name and design. I can't even read height/age-differences because I can't imagine it xD But anyway, this all includes "official" work made for financial/marketing reasons also- especially those damn novels. Those never have anything to do with canon, nor does it align with it. No matter how passionately people claim otherwise.

I'm only a tiny bit petty about it >< u&me grumpy 🤝 And aahhww I don't actually, you should see me sitting here in giant red Christmas socks and a glittery green sweater that's kinda itchy tbh. I don't really feel anything other than those glitters annoying me every 3 seconds... which reminds me I should change -.- anw thankyou <3

[animehouse-moe]

Cinderella Closet Volume 1: Setting The Stage

I love series that challenge gender norms and conventional approaches to sexuality. I love series that have a wide range of style and clothing for the character. And I love cute and fun series. Cinderella Closet checks all those boxes with a modern and fun story that doesn't hide behind stereotypes or cliches in much of any facet.

So, what's it about? Haruka's a freshly 20-year old university student living in Tokyo, who exists in the shadows of the dreams she had for her future. She doesn't have a boyfriend, she's not "trendy", and she's not incredibly popular. Then comes along a golden opportunity to go out with her work crush. But, I mean, have you seen what she looks like? The situation's real dire, so by chance Haruka runs into Hikaru, and the stars align for a fairy godmother to take the stage and turn Haruka into Cinderella.

Cinderella Closet revolves around the dynamic of stylish and chic Hikaru coaxing (though more like wrenching) Haruka out from within her shell. There's not a huge amount of details in regards to the fashion, but they more than provide various details and the reasoning behind dressing Haruka as they do.

More than that though, it's a commentary on the power of fashion and beauty that exists. I think it works really well given Hikaru and Haruka as opposites. The first being the man that dresses as a beautiful woman, and the woman that has a hard time being perceived as one normally. Each have ways in which they remain alienated from self-acceptance and confidence, but through fashion as a medium they're able to find the ability to stand tall and be proud of themselves, and confidently declare that they're beautiful.

And I think that's really all there is to say with any profound statement. It's reclaiming the beauty standards placed on women as a form of empowerment and confidence, and is making a damn cute pass at it as well. Haruka is helplessly funny without any intention of being so, and Hikaru plays a great straight man to her act. The two get on like a house on fire, and while it might seem a little odd based on the time that elapses between interactions and the like, I really enjoy the various moments that they show.

What I think sells it for me is how Haruka views Hikaru, and how Hikaru treats Haruka. It has nothing to do with gender or sexuality, and instead is a bond formed through their shared passions and interests, and is expressed as such. Hikaru sees how much of a great person Haruka is, and tries to protect her while giving her that push in the back she needs. And Haruka just does what anyone should do for Hikaru, treats them like a normal person. It doesn't matter that they're a man, it doesn't matter that they enjoy dressing as a woman, and anything else in-between is about as insignificant as Hikaru wants it to be.

It's really great, and represents this very unique two-way street where each person approaches it differently. They each adore each other because they embody what the other desires. Haruka sees Hikaru as the pinnacle of fashion and beauty, and aspires to reach their levels of confidence and pride that they carry themselves with. Meanwhile Hikaru sees Haruka as a version of themselves. A version that is wary about being themselves, but at the end of the day is able to spread their wings and fly. Despite neither being perfect or what they believe the other person wants them to be, they both see a light in the other that they can't find in themselves.

Okay, enough of the big talk, let's get some fun stuff in here! I loved the jokes and (attempt at) modern humor in the manga. I think the translator struggled a little with some pieces, but nonetheless we get straight up memes in this first volume (have to use a picture of the physical manga as fan and official TL differ on this dialogue).

Also, absolutely credit to this random guy, he knows where it's at.

And just to finish it off, some housekeeping. Given that it's adults in the story here, it's enjoyably spicy about it. Not that anything happens, but they're comfortable in sharing what's typically considered more "adult" information. In that sense, I think the tertiary interactions of Hikaru, and Haruka's boyfriend/crush Kurotaki are really nice. There's a good air of hostility and some decent common ground found through Hikaru's defense of Haruka.

Cinderella Closet certainly takes a bit of time getting moving, but I can appreciate that it works to establish solid footing before running away with it. You don't get reveals right away, confrontation doesn't turn into conflict immediately, and feelings are made crystal clear at the drop of the hat. In opposition though, fashion is apparent throughout, and is used both as a tool and a weapon in countless ways. Putting it together, it gives you something that has a solid thread to follow, but isn't afraid of reaching out from it to explore other pieces.

[psychewritesbs]

What are your thoughts on Gojo's dynamic with Nanami and Utahime?

It seems that Gege listed some hints that Gojo may like them romantically but alas this was according to shippers themselves and it's unclear whether the official material was meant to interpreted that way or if it was just a funny thing thrown around. Regardless i just wanna add my cents here, the show really keeps denying that Gojo will ever be romantically interested in any of these characters asides from possibly Geto but at the same time it acknowledges that fans like various relationships so it feeds them these irrelevant crumbs. That's why i ask for your opinion on their dynamic, if you're comfortable answering this ofc!

HOLA ANON!

Listen... not only is my blog psychology-focused, there's a reason I have not really made any shippy posts about jjk. I've gone to town gushing about seisub, soma, kurofai and asucaga before. But those ships exist in old fandoms where there is a prevalent agreement and support about and for the ship.

jjk tho... the topic of shipping in jjk is a dangerous landmine regardless of who you ship for many different reasons.

That said, apologies if this wasn't your intention, but the way you worded your ask made it smell like bait from about three miles away, and I have been debating about what I want to say to you ever since I received it. Moots told me to just drop it but I found that I didn't want to drop it precisely because it feels like bait.

So basically, because 3 our of 4 moots I have shown your ask to agree that this is bait, I am going to respond in kind and will give you the least satisfying answer ever under the cut.

You have been warned...

jk anon, sorry for the click bait...

It's not that I'm going to give you a dissatisfying answer, it's that I don't want to participate in shipping wars 🤷‍♀️ and I feel like I am being dragged into one with this ask.

The truth is, I'm too old for shipping wars and avoid them like the plague to the best of my ability and for my own mental sanity... And one of the things that really gets under my skin is gatekeeping in shipping, which admittedly means I am probably being a hypocrite about it. Gotta work on that.

At this stage in my life tho, I am more interested in being able to both celebrate what I love instead of focusing on what I don't like, or on holding two contradictory truths at once rather than to take sides and claim one side is right and the other side is wrong.

To that point, lately I've heard a lot of people say it's not ok to be neutral. To that I say that polarized thinking is a sign of lack of experience and an unwillingness to be open to another point of view. I say this from experience, not because I'm judging anyone.

Been there, done that.

Like I was an idiot back in the day for thinking I couldn't like both Maya Sakamoto and Utada Hikaru. Like... what a clown 🤡 to think I HAD TO PICK ONE and could only like one of them lmao.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm assuming you love stsg because of the way you frame the ask around how Geto seems to be the one person whom Gege hints at being the most likely that Gojo would be "romantically interested in".

On the other hand, you also tell me that shipping Gojo with other characters is based on what looks to you like irrelevant breadcrumbs.

Now, before I keep going, what follows is my personal opinion, and I do not claim to own the objective truth about this topic.

In fact, I am very aware that there is no right answer to your ask, and that whatever I answer can stir unnecessary shit up because, not only is this topic sensitive because that's the state of shipping in jjk fandom, but the ask itself feels like its baiting me to give an answer someone knows they aren't going to like.

Very machiuvelical of you anon 😏 I see you!

So either I'm paranoid af, or you're not very good at pretending you are genuinely confused because "it's unclear whether the official material was meant to be interpreted that way or if it was just a funny thing thrown around".

Come the fuck on... 😂

First, you sent an ask to someone who understands mind games; and second, it's perfectly ok to say you don't like the other two ships.

But again, I have also said things in a way that was misinterpreted by others, so... benefit of the doubt here.

Thing is, if you love stsg, no one can take that away from you. Trust me, no one needs anyone's opinion to love ANY ship.

So, let's start with the hard stuff up front.

I ship stsg

I don't care if they are or aren't canon.

If others want to have this conversation and pull panels to back up why they think they are canon etc etc, good. This is not a conversation I care to have any longer because I realized I don't need Gege, or anyone for that matter, to tell me it's ok to ship a pairing--more on this later.

If you do, then, yeah, that's relatable and very understandable.

I also don't care if the jjk powerscaling bros can't accept that Gege has baked ambiguity into the dynamic, and that the cursed cat has recommended bl manga TWICE--thus hinting at the idea that Gege enjoys reading bl.

AND I also respect that there are those who truly see them only as friends. That's their business, you know? Why does their opinion matter if I ship them?

But, when I put on the rose-colored fujo glasses, I see it.

It's undeniable.

stsg is the jjk version of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle's kurofai.

But to be frank... I disagree with the idea that any evidence pointing at gjhm are "irrelevant breadcrumbs" that "shippers are throwing around".

Are they breadcrumbs? Yes. There isn't a whole lot of canonical evidence. But I also don't often hear gjhm shippers say things like "they're so canon" although I could be wrong.

So, are people throwing breadcrumbs around to be funny? This frankly makes it sound like you think very lowly of how some people choose to interpret certain panels.

Even if I give you the benefit of the doubt, this kinda sounds like you see yourself as better than... ?? because to you, its "unclear" how people can interpret the text as there being any ambiguity about the dynamic.

No it isn't 😂. It's clear as day. Come ooooooon.

Its ok to not like that Gege hinted at it AND it also doesn't make stsg any less important.

So are the breadcrumbs truly irrelevant? Only if you have an agenda.

Again, I am sorry if this isn't your intention, but calling them "irrelevant breadcrumbs" makes it sounds like there's an agenda geared at denying something you don't agree with. Which is SUPER relatable.

What I'll say is that, from the "breadcrumbs" Gege gave us about gjhm, I got the sense that, if there was some sort of romantic involvement between Gojo and Utahime that Gege is hinting at in the subtext, it was very bittersweet.

I'm totally not feeling like going and doing any research about this because there are plenty of gjhm shippers who have stated why the "breadcrumbs" make sense to them. AND I also think it's undeniable that there was something between them given the whole song lyrics related to her ct blablabla.

Denying this makes it sound like you're cherry picking what you think is and isn't subtext in the official work based on your shipping preferences.

Also, I don't personally ship gjhm but I have moots who do. As I said, I ship stsg AND I can also respect that others ship gjhm because two opposing ideas can coexist.

Anyways, with ch 236 in mind, in retrospect, what made gjhm undeniably bittersweet, was that Gojo was emotionally stunted in his teen years. This makes Gojo emotionally unavailable to ANYONE because he was stuck longing to be understood the way Geto once understood him, while simultaneously making himself hard to understand.

I think that if Gojo and Utahime were involved behind the scenes, this doesn't mean he didn't miss Geto or stopped loving him. The way I see it, he could very well have loved both. But again, that's my interpretation. It sounds like yours is different.

To me, Utahime isn't some sort of impediment for Gojo to love Geto and viceversa. This isn't a love triangle--Geto isn't even in the picture in their adult years.

That, and, the idea that we can only ever love one person is an unrealistic byproduct of the psychology of romantic love. And yet I can also understand why Gojo felt understood by Geto the most. I mean... Geto is the first person he sees when he dies.

This is so... beautiful.

So if you take the song lyrics hinted at in Uta's ct and put yourself in Utahime's shoes from the perspective of a gjhm shipper, you have a woman who is in a relational dynamic with someone who can't be present for her because he isn't present for himself to begin with.

I know you unironically think it's "a funny irrelevant thing being thrown around", but from how I'm interpreting this, that's not irrelevant or funny to me.

It's human tragedy, and it's sad af for all parties involved. And if you don't agree, you don't agree and that's ok. We can both agree to disagree.

Now, this is how I interpret gjhm based on that ONE specific breadcrumb. Which again, is anything but irrelevant unless your goal is to minimize someone else's perspective. For all I know, a gjhm fan reads this and doesn't agree with me.

For the record, I'm not saying you should change your mind about gjhm if you don't like the ship because you think Utahime truly hates Gojo's guts or that it's misogynistic to pair her with a man but perfectly ok to ship her with Shoko because somehow that makes it ok for her to be in a romantic relationship with someone else, or whatever reasons you might have.

I'm saying that you can love stsg AND simultaneously understand and respect that someone else would have a different opinion, even if you don't personally agree with it.

As for Nanami and Gojo... I mean... 🤷‍♀️

I guess if I put the fujo glasses on I can sort of see it. But again, why should anyone care about whether I agree with them or not? Like... when did I become the authority on shipping? 🤷‍♀️

I don't want that responsibility.

But, the most important thing I want to get across here, is that shipping is highly personal because there is a certain degree of self-insertion happening when we "ship".

So if you, or anyone for that matter, loves stsg, it's because you can see something about the dynamic reflected back at you that rings true to you.

You might say, "it's not that deep, I just see the official text and like what I saw." Which is also fair. But if it wasn't that deep, this ask wouldn't be something I was answering right now.

So, that's why to me, for MY answer to YOUR ask with the way it feels like bait, it's irrelevant whether the ships are canon or not. All that matters is that you, as a participant in this piece of media, can relate to the dynamic. And this is not to minimize whether "the official material is meant to be interpreted one way or another".

But again, cherry picking what we want to be subtext based on an agenda is a biased take.

All I am saying is that shipping is highly personal.

Again, if you don't like the "boy picks on girl" dynamic that gjhm has, it's because it's not for you. I have read what others have to say about not liking it and, honestly, good on y'all. Makes sense.

And if someone explains to me why gjhm makes sense to them, I am no one to tell them they are wrong to self-insert into this dynamic and explore what its potential means to them.

So, anon, I would much rather hear about why you love stsg.

If you want to talk to people who want to focus on hating gjhm or gojonana, or discussing why it's "funny irrelevant breadcrumbs thrown around", for whatever reasons you might have, I simply am not the right person.

All of this said, any further comments seeking to minimize any ship shall be ignored because I am not interested in contributing to shipping wars.

Enjoy stsg. It's a beautiful ship!

Thanks for stopping by, and sharing that bit of stsg love you did share with me. Again, sorry if I misinterpreted your intention, and if I didn't... idk.

All the love.

[1-up-chump]

An mk ask thingy i did! Warning, its very long tho so its under the cut. Here's the blank https://www.tumblr.com/arttrampbelle/714499370612113408/mk-various-asks

Enjoy!

SFW:

• What is in your opinion the best stage?

Have to say the living forest, not just bc i love nature, but it's always left a big impression on me. The menacing trees with a life of their own, that random dead guy returning to the foliage. The whole atmosphere is just so unique to mortal kombat in terms of a fighting game. In shaolin monks its my favorite level just how memorable the scenery is, from the lumbering zombies to the trees themselves to the clay status to the snakes all around.

My second favorite might have to be the shirai-ryu fire gardens. Its just so beautiful and a perfect place to have a good fight. Reminds me truly of those old martial arts movies

• Who is your main?

Raiden, simply because i always found his flying electric move so funny bc he just flings himself and screams.

Although kung lao and scorpion are close second to who i prefer to play as, even though sub-zero is my second favorite character of all time.

• What powers/fighting type would you have if you were in mk?

Probably fire moves like liu kang, but with the legs. Something like a cool cartwheel of flames attack or breakdancing move as a special.

Although for something more sinister... bones and shadow would be a cool ability, like a cross between shinnok and noob-saibot's attacks

• Who is your fave kharacter(s)?

Raiden, baby me thought "haha funny screaming triangle man" as good enough reason to like him. Upon growing my first and only brain cell however, i appreciate his role in the lore as a mentor and protector. But also feel his character could have so much more, how i see him is a combination of many iterations of him in media. And it saddens me that, canon and fans alike, only put him in a one dimensional box thats, no offense, a generic lawful good paladin type who has all the humor and personality as wet cardboard.

Second favorite is sub-zero. Short answer: heehoo blue is my favorite color :)

Long answer: sub-zero, specifically kuai liang, is an interesting character who goes through many trials. Having to deal with the sins of not only his brother, but his clans' grandmaster as well. Having to fight a vengeful specter to having to fight those he once called brothers in arms in steel prisons that contain their souls in code.

• If you had to pick a representative realm,who's side would you be on? Or would you be on your own side,acting alone? Aka neutral.

Earthrealm, because i fricken live here!!

• If your found yourself on shang tsung's island,washed up on the beach. What is your first reaction,and what would you do first?

Panik, calm, remember as much survival tips as possible and encounter shang tsung, panik

• Would you have a master/teacher/sensei? If so...who?

(Do i really need to say it?)

Raiden and fujin would be the best teachers (both with their similar yet different approaches)

However, i would so vibe with master bo rai cho. One, i laugh at fart jokes. Two, i may like drinking. And three, approaching things with cautious optimism is always the best tactic for me.

• Fatalities,brutalities,or friendship?

I love friendship HOWEVER this is mortal kombat...

My favorite fatalities and brutalities are varied amongst characters and the games. So i would describe my favorite kinds to be...

How exaggerated they are, as in how unnecessary you are killing someone from ripping them apart to blowing them up.

How much gore there is, from gushing blood and guts to a whole skeleton popping out.

How quick they are, slow and painful or quick and... still painful.

• What stage would you NOT wanna be stuck in?

Dead pool, the smell must be atrocious. Like someone filled a chlorine soaked pool with road kill. The mix of chemicals unknown and death has to at least made one kombatant throw up.

That or the kytinn stage, god i hate that stage who thought THAT was a good idea??? The gore i can handle but bugs and the hives and the eggs eeughhhh!!! No thanks >:(

• Who would be absolutely terrifying to fight in mk. Even if it was at its fairest and you had the highest advantage.

Shao kahn due to trauma fighting this asshole many a times.

Although i gotta say the scariest might have to be either shinnok or onaga. Those two are literally beings who will end realms, compared to them? Shao kahn is a little kitten.

• Who's your least faves and why?

To be honest, i dont have a character i hate and wished didn't exist, but rather be written better. But to pick someone, it'd have to be either kronika or Stryker. Kronika bc in canon shes stupid, ugly, and annoying to fight not even fun to beat in the sense of accomplishment but rather getting it over with.

Stryker bc (acab) his character is literally just some dude. Yeah Johnny cage is a Hollywood star but also a serious fighter with chi energy, and sonya is fckin military and has her own agendas. Stryker is just some riot cop thrown into all of this and while that type of character can be done good as a vessel for the "every man" i just think he's boring.

Same goes for cassie cage and Jacqui Briggs but even with them they can be developed in the right hands. Cassie being more of Johnny's protege and Jacqui being her own woman, both who are defenders of realms through and through.

• Who's in your opinion the best character to play as? Who is the worst?

Raiden, liu kang, scorpion and sub-zero (if you can get used to them)

I'd say there is no "worst" character to play as. As that is mostly due to how they are programmed in various games. I will say in terms of "not fun" to play with, is characters that feel op with just button mashing or learning only one special move and spamming that. Yeah its easy cheese but it feels cheep and ruins fun for both the opponent and myself. Against ai? Lol. Against a player? Unfair on both sides.

• Fave game?

Shaolin monks hands down, it shows its age with the gameplay and story BUT despite that its such an amazing beat em up. From running around and throwing hands, to the fatality meter and input. To the shaolin monks shared braincell and raiden dishing out hot gamer tips. Its silly stupid fun and honestly has the truest spirit of mortal kombat.

Senseless violence in the name of survival. Morals be damned, you have a realm to defend. Feel guilty after you slice this man in half ok? Now kick the big bad guy's ass!

• Least fave game?

I've heard the special forces game is the worst and i believe them, but i haven't played it so i dont count it for me.

I gotta say playing armageddon i hate how clunky it feels.

Storywise mk 11 is the WORST (sorrynotsorry) it just... they take everything built up in 10 and spit on it. Dark raiden who? Shinnok who? They added time nonsense and basically just copied avengers infinity wars homework (i say this as someone who once loved marvel to death and still loves spiderman)

And with the addition of aftermath they did some good changes but also did worse ones too so in the grand scheme of things, nothing changed. They added these "titans" that just replace the elder gods they just killed off for funsies rather than DO SOMETHING WITH THEM.

They fucking killed off kotal UNCEREMONIOUSLY (and while im kinda neutral with him i feel for the poor kotal fans)

they fuck up Sindel's character to turn her into a "hashtag girl boss thats powerful and sexy but really in a male gazy way still"

they make raiden even more useless with their clear favor of fujin (i love him but ffs stop treating him like the nicer bro in touch with mortals more than the fucking bro who's been with them LONGER and has a mortal son figure)

Oh i forgot they kill off future hanzo so all that progress he made? For nought. For fucking nought. In the dumbest way possible (the favoritism d'vorah has REEKS she killed off two popular 2d era characters and gets no real repercussions. Love her but fuck off man)

Shang tsung is the only good thing about that whole ass game. And his ending is better than liu kangs, which feels so intrusive to kung lao's whole ass legacy. Like fuck him he can't bring honor to his own bloodline but his "bestie" can???? Tf?!?

Liu kang is favored the most but suffers from "protag syndrome" and gets dbz levels of treatment. Gets all the power ups in the end and just goes "yeah im the chosen one fuck the rest of you" without saying it like good god.

I hate it bc bad writing. But i don't mind some things about it, i love sheeva and nightwolf and frost looks so good and geras and cetrion are pretty cool and kollector is kollector.

But the pre battle dialogue? Dog shit. Most ooc writing i ever fucking saw. 90% of it i skip going "he would not fucking say that"

"DEmi GoD" my nonexistent left nutsack.

(Sorry for the rant but i just have strong opinions on this as a long time fan)

• Favorite iteration of your faves? The least fave?

The best iterations of raiden are always the most weirdest places of media. For instance, defenders of the realm cartoon and conquest. Both with their uniquely 90s stank, raiden remains the best aspect of both media. The 95 movie also has the best raiden

Least iteration is mk 11 because he just feels so... wrong, if he was dark raiden i would accept it but he's supposed to be "light" yet his personality doesn't show it. Even in the moments where he goes "dark" it doesn't feel significant enough to have impact to me. Especially with how they take his character to be too detached (yet emotionally charged, but in a way that is writen by someone who hasn't had these feelings before of caving in under pressure and responsibility)

The ideal raiden is: wise, calm unless provoked, sassy, dilf.

• Who would you love to have a drink with?

I would say bo rai cho but i think my organs would explode with alchohol.

My safest bet would either be raiden or Johnny cage (he may hit on me but i know he'd fight another drunk guy or a coat rack for me)

• Who would you play board games/videogames with?

NOT shang tsung i know this fucker cheats (and is just too smart)

I wanna play street fighter with liu kang bc he's like a big brother to me :3

• Who would you have as a sparring partner?

Liu kang, i would pick kung lao but honestly i feel like kung lao is just slightly more ferocious than liu. So my bruises would be less with the dragon than the rabbit

(Fun fact: rabbits are more aggressive than you think)

• Who is your arch nemesis?

i honestly have no clue bc i don't like having beef with anyone. So it would have to be some random antagonist who declares me to be a nemesis bc i beat them hard that one time. (I genuinely dont know, someone tell me who my nemesis would be!)

• Who if given the chance to. Would you love to sit down and have a deep conversation with?

Raiden or fujin, I'd love to hear stories from their eternal life. Asking questions about what they see about life through their eyes, their opinions about humanity, what has changed about it and what hasn't.

Shang tsung I'd actually love to talk to just to hear what he has to say. I bet he's dying to info dump culture onto someone, either ming dynasty era culture or even cultures of outworld folk. Talking about magik, dark and "light" magiks. Religion, spirituality, politics and everything else.

• Where would you like to live in the mk verse?

I mean i already live in "earthrealm" but as in a place? Sky temple, or any temple really bc temples are cool and tranquil. Aesthetic af. Although shang tsung's island is really cool as long as its cleaned up a bit.

• Would you help johnny cage with a movie if given the opportunity?

Hell yeah! Although I'd rather take a minor role.

• What's your main outfit look like?

Fitting the old style kung fu aesthetic but with a sort of modern twist. Matching more with liu kang's aesthetic but blue and more accessories

• Do you have a self insert(s/i)? If so what do they look like?

See above for self insert.

I did have a self insert turned oc, katsumi. Look on my blog for them for their convoluted lore.

• Do you self ship? If so. With who?

Raiden, but also kuai liang in a complicated genderfluid fuckery of "only when i feel masculine" way i cant really explain in short.

• If you could change 3 major things about the story. What would you change?

Mortal kombat being more important than a tournament. There are tournaments that decide fates of the realms, and there are personal challenges that have a little more lax rules.

The elder gods actually enforcing these rules via divine intervention.

I have many ideas for many characters but one thing i have in mind for kabal is that, he actually is more involved with destiny than led on. Kabal is working in the black dragon to play the long game of taking it down for good, but cetrion is secretly and subtly using him to manipulate destiny in a sort of "butterfly effect" for what she perceives as "greater good" but its biased to "order and light" and actually messes up the balance of the universe.

• If you could have the power of the crown,would you take it? If so what would you do? If not,who would you give it to and why?

I would not change anything, that sort of power has too many variables. I would still keep it so others can't access this power. I would be lying if i said i wouldn't be tempted to "juuusst change a little thing, just one thing, one little tiny insignificant thing" but ultimately any change no matter how minor always has that variable of messing things up. Changing destiny itself is always a gamble.

• What is a race/species in mk you want to be explored or expanded upon?

The kytinn, they should be more than "disgusting bugs" because there are like billions of insects with so many different shapes and sizes and colors. And not all are slimey and ugly some are so beautiful and some are really beneficial to the environment.

More shokan, can't get enough of those four arms.

Whatever species that birdman was in defenders of the realm

And the saurians, more on reptile's people plz and thank.

• What part of the lore is underrated or underused?

ELDER. GODDAMN. GODS!!!

More about the lin kuei and the shirai-ryu, esp the shirai-ryu.

Hell, just gods in general. Raiden and fujin can't literally be the only ones. What about other pantheons? What about other realms and their gods? Rain cant be the only demi god argus produced. More about this god war thingy that happened in the lore that one time and just never gets brought up.

• Opinion on the special forces?

Good but should stay out of the spotlight as much as possible. This is mortal kombat, not call of duty and certainly not s.h.i.e.l.d.

• Opinion on the elder gods?

as useful as politicians, which is to say NOOOOOOOOT.

Jokes aside. The elder gods are so interesting and i wish we knew all of their names or most of them. How many are in counsel? What do they do most of the time?

What really IS their role in the mortal kombat universe? Were there elders before and no longer? What was shinnok really like before he went mad and evil?

• Opinion on the old timeline? New timeline?

Now here's a hot topic, i gotta say both have their pros and cons like anything.

I will say though, no writers can hold a candle to john tobias and (when he wasn't too big for his britches) ed boon's writing.

• Opinion on the "kombat kids"?

Loads of potential!

I dont mind them, hell i love kung jin and takeda. Cassie and Jacqui however leave a little room for improvement (more so on cassie's part) but i blame the writers being mostly dudes who haven't met a lot of women.

• Are you a heroic kharacter,villainous,neutral,etc?

Im probably neutral leaning heroic??

• How dirty are your willing to fight?

Depends on how dirty, are we talking dirt in the eye or psychological warfare?

For me it may depend on the stakes and context. I might fight dirty in a hairy situation. But if there is a lot at risk, probably not afraid to utilize every dick move possible.

• If tempted by an enemy to join them if it ment saving your realm,home,loved ones,friends.....would you?

Yeah, but not without trying to figure a way out/eeking out the benefits of playing mole

• If you were to be in an arranged marriage with a "bad guy" who would you rather be with? What about a "good guy"?

Had a hilarious idea cetrion gives raiden a "handmaiden" as a gift. And he's so mad bc he feels weird about being served and worshipped in that way (although all gods have an inherent desire to be worshiped)

Gotta say shang tsung may be an evil sorcerer who would steal my soul, but he'd give me a better time than shao kahn at least. At least be a bit nicer

• If you could kiss any kharacter,who would it be?

Who do you think~?

Although i gotta say mileena deserves a big smooch, she deserves a lot of tender love and care C'mon ppl are so mean to her give her sharp teeth some love

• Would you show your opponent mercy?

Yes, buuut if it's someone who's fatally wounded a "mercy kill" would probably be best. However accidents happen and "fatality" may be the only result.

But letting someone live isn't always the nicest thing to do anyways. Especially if you wound them, and their spirit, and let them deal with it.

• If you had to pick a kharacter to die or killed off,for good. (Aka no bringing back for plot,like actually they ded ded bro) who would it be?

Gotta say kabal but only at the most opportune time that really hits the hardest.

Quan chi, killed by scorpion in the most le epic way possible.

Jerrik (lol sorry jerrik)

Ermac (sorry ermac but maybe its for the best you have eternal rest. No more mortal kombat for you at least)

• Who would be a better guest kharacter?

Any street fighter bad guy (or character in general. Their crossover is LONG OVERDUE MAN. Long overdue.)

Terminator can stay bc he's been referenced before in mk as easter eggs.

Deadpool because his inability to die plus his chaos is just on brand for mortal kombat.

• Opinions on guest kharacters?

THERE SHOULD BE NONE WHATSOEVER

Or at the very least be the only payed dlc, and take at maximum 3 slots. And make fucking sense. And WILL NEVER EVER IN AN INFINITE AMOUNT OF YEARS BE CANON

noteverythingneedstobeacrossoverandnoteverycrossoverneedstobecanonforfucksakeguys

• What rules of mk are absolutely necessary and what rules do you think would be absolutely bullshit? (This one is for people who actually give a damn about tournament rules,lore rules,and general rules that were established in lore. If you dont care. Skip this.)

The whole of mortal kombat being as fair as possible to mortals to defend themselves against threats is necessary and i wish they'd show rules against magiks. Like an official tournament they show that kombatants can't use magic, chi or otherwise, only pure skills with their physical bodies. They can use weapons provided that they were in the arena prior to kombat, they cannot use weapons given outside of kombat.

There's no bs rules that come to mind i would get rid of. There's loopholes that can be taken advantage of and getting rid of those we'd have no plot.

My problem lies mostly with canon never showing the full set of rules until convenient. And even then just how enforced are those rules? How much can raiden and/or the elder gods really do? Can someone just say "fuck the rules i can do whatever i want actually" and have 0 consequences? Some media depicts shao kahn breaking some established rules but nothing really happens except in 9, but even then im pretty sure he already broke a few minor rules anyways?

• What features would you keep,get rid of,and better utilize or polish up. Or even add?

Keep the x-ray moves those were awesome.

Turn the weird defence/offense thing into one whole convenient energy bar.

Maybe trim the fat with augments, as fun as those are, i think they shouldn't have had that much in 11 as it felt personally to me more like a mobile game with getting them and putting them on.

KEEP all of the accessibility options in 11 like i dont use half of them but i was very happy with how accommodating it was.

Fuckin ACTUALLY balance the characters, use the "tank, long ranged, short ranged, speedy, glass canon" type method of balancing these characters. Give them reasonable strengths and weaknesses that can be beaten with any character with a certain strategy. If they have an op move give a fair punishment like a long cooldown time or a one time use.

For additions. I had an idea for a "karma" system (that could be optional.) For instance, certain things you do in battle can rack up good or bad karma, like for example spamming the same power move (bad karma) or blocking a lot (good karma) and once this meter fills up either way, you get a buff or debuff. Good karma could give you reduced damage or heal a little bit of health. Bad karma could disable block or disable a certain power move. Giving kombat a new experience, to your benefit or detriment. (Changing your strategy of spamming hellport when you play scorpion, you know who you are)

• Who is more aesthetically appealing?

They all have their aesthetics tbh. No one kombatant is the same (we dont count the ninjas they have to share clothes)

NSFW:

• If you had to have a one night stand with a kharacter who would it be?

Im not a person to really have those, but I'd have to say either raiden or Johnny cage. Im sure Johnny is no stranger to drunken one night stands

• Who in your opinion has the biggest pp? Whether in energy or literally the biggest

Shao kahn, i KNOW this man's cock huge and he has the metaphorical and literal balls to match.

Close second is raiden and hanzo. They are packing down there ;)

• Who would you say gives the best oral?

Shang tsung and fujin, Although shang tsung would win overall bc fujin wants to tease how you squirm under him, but it's rude to talk with his mouth full~

• Where in the mk verse would you liked to get fucked the most?

Shang tsung's throne room and sky temple. So sacrilegious~!

• Who would send the most chills if they did dirty talk to you?

Fujin is the master of dirty talk, he can say the most utter filth with the sweetest of face. But for me personally raiden just has a really nice voice so he could say something so tame and i melt from the vibrations of his voice.

• If you woke up next to your mk blorbo,naked,in their bed. What is your reaction?

Oh no! Anyways~

• Sexual tension training session? Thoughts?

Y e s. Although raiden would prefer such acts to a minimum, especially with anyone else present. But in private, tease him enough and he'll teach you a "personal lesson~"

• What god,elder god,or immortal kharacter would you smash?

If i couldn't pick raiden, either fujin or rain. Maybe cetrion, maybe.

• If a god caught with your mk f/o (if you have one) doing the do. What would your reaction be? Theirs?

Raiden being caught with cetrion barging in with divine nonsense and just gets so mad. The audacity of this elder, smh... i would probably be like anyone else being walked in on, shocked and annoyed.

• Who is the most husband/wife/spouce material? Who is the least?

Liu kang and kung lao are husband material the most.

Scorpion and jax are canonly husband material.

Raiden is a dilf so yeah he's husband material.

The least husband material? Im sorry it probably has to be sonya, relationships to her are already so complicated i can't see her being the upmost wife/mom material regardless what canon said. Although if you mean in the sense of "married to her work" then yeah, match made in heaven.

• Would you bring back sexy outfits? Skimpy attire for everyone? Or just keep it rather tame or realistic outfits?

Everyone in mortal kombat should have at least one sexy alt costume.

Everyone.

• The smuttiest,filthiest,hc you have for your faves.

Raiden enjoys eating sushi off his lover's body. And fucking in the water, either a hot springs, a bath, in the rain shower. Raiden also has to constantly hold himself back from going too rough, otherwise he's going to slam into his lover too hard and give them bruises. He wants to go deep and be as close as physically possible.

• How loud is your mk blorbo in bed?

Raiden is just very loud, especially when he kums. He's a god of thunder, how can he remain quiet when he's getting the best head of his life?

Abahyeahhh~

• Mk Blorbo,angry sex? What's it like? What about other faves?

Raiden doesn't like to have angry sex even if he probably should let off steam like that. But when he does, he's rough, stern and commanding. May accidentally zap his lover with the occasional stray lightning emanating from his body. But afterwards he's very attentive to make sure he didn't completely wreck them.

• Mk Blorbos Opinions on virginity?

Raiden does not care at all. Although he'll tease you if you are rather perverted for a virgin and know some things about sex.

• Mk blorbos opinions on breeding kink? Would they have this kink? Would they be willing to get into this kink?

Raiden is too cautious to actually go through with it, but if he thinks about it, he'll blush like crazy. He might indulge but he's mad careful about not accidentally having any little demigods.

• How would your fave go about asking for sex? Would they be straight up or would they give hints and play around with you? What about you?

Raiden would be straightforward but tactful about it. He probably would be dropping hints he needs sex more than he cares to admit by accident.

• How long would they wait to have sex with you? Would they be ok with rather early on or would they actually wait a bit?

Raiden tries to wait as long as possible for an established relationship. But if the tension is too much, he may crack sooner than he wanted to. But he's very resistant to such temptations first, so him asking someone for sex means there's probably been a century's worth of sexual tension.

• Would people know about your affairs or would they keep it under the radar? Or would they kinda have something in between?

Raiden prefers keeping affairs between the person he's seeing. Not that there's anything against the rules about having an affair, gods care less than mortals about such a topic. Raiden rather just not deal with the headache of being asked unnecessary questions. And not want to embarrass the person he's having sex with. On a "need to know" basis.

• Would they fuck after a fight? Would they fuck during a sparring match? Would they do this during training? What is their opinions about sexy times during kombat?

"You can have sex AFTER mortal kombat." Raiden is far too serious to desire any sort of sexual activities during kombat. However, there are certain exceptions if one can rile him up enough. But be prepared, he'll show no mercy for such "distractions."

• Turn ons? Turn offs?

Raiden will immediately pin you against the nearest surface if you kiss, lick, and or suck his neck. Especially if it's bare. He's sensitive there and its a surefire way to get pounded one way or another.

He also likes "purity" and "innocence" in a playful manner. Wear white or light colored garments under an outfit where its easy to reveal them, and it can easily make him blush and turn his hat down to hide it. Raiden will definitely make time to find a secluded area to "get a better look at such inappropriate training attire"

Raiden is immediately turned off from causing too much damage to his partner. He can cause a few bruises here and there, but hates drawing blood, and leaving scars. Kombat already does that enough as is.

He's not exactly turned off by degradation, but it just does nothing for him. Either way.

• What they seek in a sexual partner (aka what they find sexually attractive) vs what they seek in a significant other/spouce (aka marriage material)

Someone who is honest about what they want, someone who is also respectful and polite about it as well. And is good at teasing just enough to imply some sort of cheekiness. Sounds like a contradiction, but really, raiden prefers his attention grabbed, and then gently taken to reveal intentions.

But for marriage material? Has to be good with kids and has a strong sense of fairness. Who loves life and wants to defend it with their own, for themselves and others. And have a good sense of humor, and be able to get him out of a grumpy mood.

• Who would they have a dick measuring kontest with. Aka who would they have to throw hands the most with for your affections?

Shao kahn is competing for raiden's love interest solely for the flex. And is willing to do many dirty things to rile raiden up.

Which is the worst idea ever, since raiden will not be afraid to hold back and pummel shao Kahn even as a mortal within every inch of that tyrant's life.

Shang tsung would play around but unlike shao Kahn he's not stupid enough to piss raiden off to that degree. He knows when to get out when the static builds up to critical level.

• Do you like them softer/romantic or more spicy/kinky?

Depends on the mood but soft and spicy is a nice touch. Raiden can go any way, but usually he'd be more soft and romantic.

• What "bedroom" nicknames would you call them? What about what they'd call you?

Raiden loves being called "lord" or "master" in the bedroom. But he'll laugh at particularly silly nicknames like "lightning rod" or "thunder daddy". They are absolutely not sexy but its funny to him, and laughter during sex enhances it so much.

A personal nickname would be "raiun" which means "thunder cloud" but other than that his name is hot enough when you pronounce it with a Japanese accent.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

spent the evening reading through all of the like galley pdf copy of the 2 trans 2 furious zine and a great time start to finish like it was Not an effort to keep at it despite its being like 160 pgs. and despite my not having ever seen a f&f movie or really especially directly "correctly" being interested, though i'd ofc love to see any of the films like live & in person w/a bunch of trans strangers, say

laughed and teared up multiple times and thought about how impressive and creative entries were and like, the momentum was easy, everything was engaging and intriguing and invigorating and enriching....and Printed Editions (that ship to US & canada) are still available for pre-order, for about another week (also the window given for us going over the digital copy for edits/corrections lol) soooo. again i like haven't seen any f&f movies, and that didn't impede anything at all, and it was a fantastic time:

and another reason i'm like Oh My God So Appropriate To Have Sent In An Entry is how, like, it's all transformative fun and serious yet not somber Media Analysis on media you don't have to have actually even seen, or "like" straightforwardly, or at all, or be the "correct" audience for, or have an "intended" interpretation, lol, lmao....like this is Extremely our shit out here lol, what one is up to all the time in the world of Billions Series Analysis like, personally haven't even seen it, i'm not cishet enough to be the intended audience or otherwise sharing various particular assumed perspectives that are occasionally required to even parse, much less enjoy, some material....and yet!!

and like, if there was an all-autistic contributor's fun fan media analysis / commentary / parody / exploration / transformation / etc zine about billions? it'd be like wow how exactly me, and yet ofc i'd be at way more of a loss at what to scream abt winnie, perhaps ft. & tay, and the overall [billions]ing, much less how to actually execute that lol. it was easier to do a Very 101 Intro To: Cam Stone Exists Btw, nonbinarily, in that i limited myself to One Page so i could actually feasibly get it done, but in doing so i, as expected, could only say a fraction of what i could say about cam, were i explaining things in full / just unleashed, and skim the surface but just go "they exist btw and here's a tiny bit of further 101 info." it's not like, An Issue, b/c i don't think the [everything] that i could say would work great in full, and i can't write a great little short form piece of text about them (or winston, or anything else)....but it was also like, well if a trans f&f zine Doesn't have the trans f&f character in it then what are we doing, and We Know Of Cam Stone, so the most feasible [handing out a flyer] version of telling ppl they exist has gotta be done

and it's like, it's (relatively?) matter of fact to this end of only having so much room to put in words, and definitely ending up having to squeeze lines in vs struggling to fill the space. it could've been weirder, or funnier, or hornier, but it successfully exists and maybe it's a little weird, funny, and horny (drew an Especially [ooh sexy cam stone]-tinged pic lol) and whatever is difficult for me to perceive abt my own personality infusion in whatever, like how i have to be reminded like oh right, my Art Style, the way that Eye draw lol....and of course, i can't and don't expect my one page informative crash course intro to cam stone to be able to be Everything, any more than years' worth of lots of [winston billions] material in various formats of various extensiveness from various angles has been Everything. and the zine as a whole can't be Everything but it is, in fact, So Much abt So Many Things from so many different approaches. i enjoyed everything, especially like, "An Ode to X" as in fast x, which evolves into "x" as an (implicitly nonbinary) in-universe character and i was Moved and teared up, and i see it immediately follows "Jason Statham Will Call My Dad A Pussy In Fast 12" which moved me and made me tear up, which follows an entry that's a haiku about each film, none of which i've seen, which i didn't get misty about of course but was fully engaged with and enjoys, which follows my entry

there's naturally plenty about roads and horizons and racing and speed and i'm also like, i'm a gay who can drive, and i can feel it re: the trans contributor whose entry mine follows which is about their irl experiences driving in a demolition derby, inspired by f&f. and i can feel it re: enjoying f&f beyond how you're "supposed" to, or how you would in a cishet(tm) way, and how so many of these entries had resonance, and that intrigue and engagement, and lenses on where to find explorations of gendering which will kind of Have to come up whenever anything succeeds in approaching things that are genuine and really truly more To Life, even while the point of f&f is not to be "realistic," especially about, you know, the driving and what you can do with cars, which i fully appreciate and definitely understood more for cam stone being in a story ramming through a wall outracing an avalanche hacking cop cars and defusing bombs and ramping over bucket wheel mining excavators and being swept out of the way of a train that was going full speed but silent until like 0.05 sec ago when it also burst through a wall or something? and whomever all is involved with racing like a rocket launch fr. and having fun, being yourself, and killing people, hell yeah

and like, the [this is like my autistic ass out here laser pointing at winston billions as autistic and having that lens on this media that doesn't intend it or directly invoke it] relevance also Of Course in that, through kompenso, that is where it is like yes as i have that personal symposium of ongoing compounding unfolding branching distilling consideration, analysis, appreciation, transformation, etc going on, so too does my colleague as the world's preeminent tayficionado, which is where they looked into akd's oeuvre and found the cam stone material, and passed it on to me, then passed on the [zine call for trans f&f contributions], So

and that, just like as is also found crucially in kompenso / the then preexisting & all eventually following winnie n tay material, there's that Autistic and Trans resonance. some particular quotes from this zine were especially like, oh, pointing, pointing...."Thirty minutes into my visit, I suddenly just didn’t want to be there anymore. I didn’t feel angry, not really very sad at all either. I just longed to be elsewhere. A different place, with different people, within a different moment. And then every cell in my body pleaded to not feel that way in all of my moments, in every group of people, in all places." ....[from a poem, ft. formatting thusly:] "It made me feel important, kind of? Like, more present? Like people talked about me a lot but never exactly about ME, if you know what I mean. I mean, of course sometimes I could feel something inside of me. A sneaking or, like, a skittering. I just kind of figured everyone feels that sometimes, like really deep down, right? It’s just that no one really talks about it, you know. That’s what I figured." ....[from a section of a contribution w/the context of the author not yet knowing that they're trans]: "but he was familiar and didn’t make me think too critically about much in the world, especially myself, especially as he never seemed too interested to ask me about me—not that I would’ve had much insight to share at the time beyond “please do not think too deeply about how I am.”"; and then, w/the context that they do realize, and have expressed, that they're trans: "but I was still learning about the concept of mattering, so I didn’t push the issue of basic respect at the time." ....from another submission, that is Sooo: "maybe i am transing Fast and Furious just by loving it" ...."Discovering, loving, and sharing this franchise (and myself) with others has been such a wildly different experience—maybe even the opposite experience—than self-policing myself into who I thought I should be. It’s nourishing, welcoming—an open invitation to learn and grow rather than an ongoing test to constantly worry about failing."

an ongoing test to constantly worry about failing....here ofc a parallel to Gendering, and, ofc, the autistic & trans [handshake] and resonance, to Autisting....i resonated with plenty, genderingly, but this wasn't a surprise or even like, my focus, and of course not all the entries themselves Textually mention [gendering], but it's like, a trans space in a zine lol, a baseline of that understanding and perspective, vs having to be actively looking. nonzero textual neurodivergence mentions, too, and other lenses of ways to be Othered / non normative, like race, nationality, religion. the overarching, Constant [omg sooo me] resonance is that of like, having this foundation of refusing Limits, of approaching a Rich Text a hundred different ways, w/different tones, and different formats, and different experiences and ideas explored. you don't need the source material to acknowledge any noncishet people textually exist (to be understood by noncishet audiences), or to be deemed Good, or Enjoyed, or your entry to be proffered as like, correct and definitive rather than One exploration you could offer up, amongst many offered by many others who could say more, again, differently....i've been like, balancing excitement for having this contribution, and its being like ooh fancy lol this is the one time i can say i have (non self-)published work, and it'll be Out There, and (including all contributors' gifted copies) apparently that ft. abt a thousand printed copies atm, and the digital distribution option hasn't happened yet....along with, like, it can't even be my comprehensive, definitive [cam stone exists btw] theoretical Ideal Entry lol b/c that would not be feasible for me to make or to be put into a zine. knowing i have Points on my side for it being crucially relevant lore (and the competition being hotter for the small form text entries, though there's other illustrations, comics, collages, edits, etc) like, yeah the strength of this isn't in its being as weird or funny or horny as anything could be, lol....but my Personality is embedded in it as per like, see: how that Journey of relevant interests and enthusiasms and engagements and perspectives and weirder, hornier, more extensive and varied works led up to and contribute to this piece's existence (such as, years of drawing winston 9000 times being part of how my drawing looked in march, when i made the cam stone piece)

and like, in not seeing everything as a test to fail, in seeing [when are you seeing things as that test to fail], &/or similarly/overlappingly seeing [when are you seeing things as a test to Prove Value to others or something and achieve person status in their eyes b/c of it] like, lol, i hope a thousand plus ppl learn cam stone exists, and it'd be fun if they enjoy that process. put in little floaty hearts as flair, just as i often do, b/c by now i just Know and Embrace that i do. and i'm not like "i hope everyone ever is blown away" b/c why would they be lol, and that's fine. like how even in [i just say some shit abt winston billions, and ofc abt myself and my experiences / perspectives through winston billions while knowing that's not what's "meant" out here probably maybe though put me through to will roland, yknow...] i'm like oh don't be thinking abt proving your value w/this specific oeuvre lol like. anyone Caring as validation like, it's too late by now, i like people liking shit and getting anything out of it but it's like, i'm doing my thing, i'm having a specific ass symposium abt quantent and billionsing "wrong" that eye enjoy, i enjoy getting any feedback/attention on shit i put out there in case ppl wanna partake, i don't enjoy any/all of it in any/all ways just so long as it's Anything, yknow. like same with interactions/attention on Me as an autistic person who actually exists, lol. speaking being exhausting when it's ppl saying shit At me, would-be "positive" attention that's from someone like deciding what i'm like or what i'm communicating and wanting something from me, that shared discussion Abt something can only be a gateway into like "normal" exchanges to "normally" socialize, finding that pattern of not being worth effort unless it's effort that gets something out of hurting you / thwarting you; all versus: i have plenty of expertise knowing myself vs needing feedback, i like doing my thing, i like doing my thing Alongside others, probably strangers, within a certain context, like being cooped up at college and socially recharging by going ""alone"" to the coffeeshop down the block, while going "with" people would generally be a mixed bag if not disheartening to even distressing. which, here i am, doing my little thing alongside strangers in this context of transgendering and fun and serious but not not funny and varying and daring and earnest materials exploring something that's about anything or everything or nothing, and not made for You, but here you are anyways, as you always have been

anyways, that is to say, like, perfect that it's turned out so like "yeah you don't need to have seen the movies even" and such enriching Reflections and like, so different and yet cohesive without needing to like, painstakingly group or order things to create some Connections, they're all there, and i'm like damn yeah cam's quarter-mile V neck, so fucking true. and i'm like, this is so Me, without having to be like, "and that is b/c i have put Me on the page, in full, with utmost success, and Everyone Will Love It (Me)" lol, which was not like, a danger, but that's through all the years of going [everything is a test i'm failing / can fail at any moment] and yknow, even up to recently and this very moment wrangling with and realizing things like, hand on shoulder are you looking to "earn" some estimation of Value in others' eyes that they can only choose to give by seeing everyone as a fellow person w/inherent value who deserves basic respect. like the mortality mondays that ramped up since late january, but also since '09, but also since like forever in different forms, and back when first discovering billions and, for like the only time while we've been watching, Knowing when everything in a season will air, but also not thinking i'd get to see it, and now in a similar boat, but different (having done "nothing" on paper over the years but like, been Realizing Things, been powering up, been assigning the Value to myself and Understanding myself & my experiences further. and also other things that you Could put on paper, but yknow), and like, it's still about [grr let me see billions through, even though i don't even see billions] and still about [!!!] despite it all and things that are "unserious" and also not and who needs like a certain kind of validation from enough of certain kinds of people

anyways, the autistique resonance within it, and in the process of reading it, and having our specific path to sending something in, and making it. it's an excellent ride and it's very epic that it exists so consider that print copy preorder if you want (plus the intended eventual digital distribution option, not yet available)

[whatyourusherthinks]

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Review

What's The Movie About?

Lydia's grownup and has a punk kid of her own, and after her father dies she starts seeing Beetlejuice pop up again. Meanwhile, Beetlejuice's ex shows back up and starts hunting him down, causing him to become more desperate to marry Lydia, and Astrid (Lydia's daughter) meets a cute boy while dealing with the fact her mom can't see her dead dad.

What I Like.

Hoo man, I don't know where to start. Pretty much everything about this movie is great! The returning cast is excellent, Winona Ryder especially hasn't lost her touch. I like the expansion to the original story. I like how Lydia's daughter is all punk which bothers the goth Lydia the same way she bothered her parents in the first moment. There's some pretty nice moments between Lydia and Delia when Lydia is having trouble with Astrid, and I like the resolution at the end. Beetlejuice makes more of an appearance in this movie than he did in the first one, and he is slightly sanitized, but he's still pretty much the same character and Michael Keaton is super funny. He's just no longer groping women. (Which isn't a huge loss because those "jokes" weren't funny. That was the worst part of the first movie.) They actually go over his backstory in the movie, and it was hilarious. I wasn't expecting that scene to be as good as it was. Speaking of hilarity, the movie as a whole is extremely funny. They repeat a couple jokes from the first movie, mostly just physical gags, but the new characters and scenarios are hilarious. Willem Dafoe's character thinks he's in a noir and I loved him. Beetlejuice isn't the only thing they expand on, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice shows off more of the the afterlife and different types of ghosts. Plus, the movie looks super good. The effects are mostly practical, and show the 38 year time gap because they look so much better than the first movie. There's a point where they literally replace Willem Dafoe with a wax statue and I loved it. The story is nice, it has the same family reconnection story that the first one has but with biological family. I think it's nice. The finale is also a lot of fun, I like the song choice and watching everything collide with each other is entertaining. I did mention this movie is funny right? Because this movie is damn funny. There's a lot more background gags in this movie that I was constantly pointing out and laughing at. This movie is so good you guys.

What I Didn't Like.

There's some inconsistencies between the sequel that get handwaved away for kinda dumb reasons, but it's all either to cover-up actors who don't return (for a good reason *cough cough*) or to set-up the new story elements that I like, so I didn't mind. Honestly, probably only noticed because I was looking for things to nitpick. I wish they didn't ignore what I thought was the funniest joke of the first movie, but it's fine. Also, much like the first movie, it's just stuff happening and it feels random until the various plot points domino into the finale. That's fine, and it is a comedy so the structure is based around telling jokes, but it still suffers compared to 90% of other movies. Also, Tim Burton directs the movie. It has a random racist moment in the movie. The second in inevitable with the first. I dunno, I feel like I'm hand waving a lot of the problems with this movie, but it's coming up on Halloween at time of writing. I was just feeling the spooky spirit and enjoying the laughs.

Final Summation.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is damn good. It might be the second best movie that has come out this year. Maybe this doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to reviews, but I was somewhat surprised on how much I liked it. I like it maybe slightly less than the first one, but it depends on when you catch me. My father, who's a big fan of the original, likes this one more, so take that as you will. Either way, I don't think you can go wrong with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, check it out!

[mcuvsdceu2023]

Fan Opinions on Marvel's Success

About two weeks ago, I was sitting in my room thinking about this blog wondering what I could talk about next. Then it hit me... I should see what other people think about Marvel. For this post, I decided to create a survey on google forms that asked for the person's opinions on Marvel. 

The first question I asked was, "Do you like Marvel?" as I was planning to send this survey out to people that I didn't know I wanted to start with a base question and build the rest of my questions off of it. This question was a yes or no question. Out of the 20 responses I received 18 people said yes and only 2 people said no. This means that 90% of the people who responded are fans of Marvel.

I included two separate sections for the next part of this survey, a Yes section and a No section. I didn't want to assume that everyone who took the survey would be fans of Marvel so I wanted to ask questions that would pertain to both answers.

For the NO section, I asked the following,

Why do you not like Marvel?

Have you ever watched a Marvel movie? Yes or No?

If YES: which one?

Do you prefer another superhero series over Marvel? Yes or No?

If Yes: Why do you prefer that series over Marvel?

For the YES section, I asked the following,

What is your favorite movie?

Why is it your favorite movie?

Why do you think it is successful?

Who is your favorite character and why?

Now I'm going to talk about some of the responses I received to the above questions. The first was a response I received from my Uncle Erik DiVietro. His favorite Marvel movie is Captain America: The Winter Soldier. He also stated that he liked the storytelling, character development, and real-world perspective the film presented to its audience. My sister Lilly also said that her favorite film was Captain America: The Winter Soldier, however, her reason for liking it is completely different than that of our uncle. In response to question 2 she wrote, "It's where we are introduced to Bucky as the Winter Soldier." From this survey, I also learned that my Dad and Grandma love the first Black Panther movie for various reasons. My dad likes Black Panther because it mixes advanced technology with old traditions, while my grandmother likes the film because of its action, compassion, and sense of family.  These four responses gave me a better understanding of how Marvel brings something for everyone into their films. Both people in each set like the same film for completely different reasons.

(Black Panther) (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

Whilst looking at responses to this survey I accidentally deleted responses to question four, however, I was still able to save some of them. The first of which was from my mother. She said that Thor is her favorite character because "He is hot." The one that made me laugh the hardest was from my sister which says, " Bucky/The Winter Solider, He is really cool and it’s fun to watch him fall off the train." My Aunt Nichole said that her favorite is Star-Lord/ Peter Quill who is played by Chris Pratt. My two favorite responses have to be the following "Iron man: He’s brave, kind, funny, sarcastic, good with kids, kind heart, smart, down to earth," and "Shuri because she got to play with all the technology." These were responses I received from my roommate Mya and my dad respectively.

(Shuri) (Tony Stark/Iron Man) (Star-Lord) (Winter Soldier) (Thor)

Out of all the responses I reviewed for question 3 I like this one the most, "I believe Spiderman has appeal in general since it plays so well into the "underdog" narrative--Spidey is powerful, but also vulnerable since he has family members to protect, is young (in many versions), comes from humble origins, and has to balance his other aspirations with being a superhero. He's a good "everyman"-type who embodies a lot of American values, so as long as they stick with these characteristics, I think Spiderman will continue to be pretty successful with American audiences." This response came from my Research and Composition professor Dr. Sandra Leonard. I love that her response was not only detailed but really talked about what draws people into the movie.

I've added the link to my survey below if any of you would like to put in your input.

Marvel Survey. - Google Forms

I'd also like to give a huge thanks to everyone who participated in this survey.

[miaclemeverett]

ok so I'll admit I haven't watched the full Tommy alt vod yet. Mostly because I watched just a bit earlier (right before/when Wilbur joined) and it was making me so uncomfortable and sad haha but here's my take sorry it got long lmao

0. context for those unaware

everything kind of came to a boiling point yesterday (?) when Tommy made a joke on Twitter about Schlatt:

so people have been upset because it sounds like Tommy is poking fun at people who dislike Schlatt (for various reasons, but the majority of people who dislike him cite his his past use of slurs and jokes that he's made [most infamous being the Jackbox video])

1. Schlatt

I have a lot of feelings about just the dude alone lmao. I admit that I do watch a lot of his content even though that Jackbox video really was just a big wake-up call for me in feeling upset at that genre of his jokes. It sucked to see him and others make a joke out of people who are rightfully outraged at racism, when he has shown so much capacity to be funny without relying on lazy shock humor (literally the Fragrance Man stream and the Minecraft but videos with Wilbur are some of my favorite videos/streams of all time). But I think since that video Schlatt has taken that to heart and hasn't done that shit anymore, though I wish he'd actually vocalize that, so I've felt more comfortable still watching him I guess? Idk it's just hard for me, same when I think back on Soothouse and think about some of the jokes that were made during that era which make me a bit upset.

2. Wilbur's advice to Tommy

Tommy appeared on Wilbur's stream today and briefly mentioned how he's thinking of taking a break from Twitter (timestamp: 1:36:52, you can also see a transcript of likely the most important bit here). I have so many thoughts about what Wilbur said to Tommy here!!

I'm really glad to hear that Wilbur wants Tommy (and presumably other people with platforms) to be politically active. Overall, I don't think we should be lifting up & expecting content creators (especially young Minecrafters lmao) to be pinnacles of political activism. ABSOLUTELY NOT. But I think if you have a platform of millions of people, not using that platform to help & uplift others is a huge waste of potential & opportunity for even a bit of change.

As an adult, in an ideal world I wish NO KID OR TEENAGER felt the pressure to learn about politics or to be an activist. But as a person of color & a member of the LGBTQ community, I felt essentially forced into that role based on pure survival like... you think about the "extreme" cases of people like Malala Yousafzai and I can't even name how many teens I saw in the frontlines of BLM protests & the awful border camps. So many parents have to have the talk with their kids that the police and EVERY INSTITUTION are going to treat them differently just because of shit they can't control. It is very much a privilege to be able to be a 'normal teenager' and I wish it wasn't.

3. Tommy's response

Nonetheless, I think it's important to recognize that Tommy himself has many pressures on him that I can never begin to understand. The biggest being that he has hundreds of thousands of eyes on him during streams, millions of people follow him on Twitter and Youtube and TikTok.

I can already tell from what I saw of the alt stream (which has been taken down now) that Tommy was really really anxious about what's been happening on Twitter. I genuinely think this isn't completely routed in fear of being 'cancelled', I genuinely think he wants to make his community inclusive and he likely saw fans of his upset and alienated by his jokes.

I definitely don't expect Tommy to be as seemingly educated as Wilbur is on various issues. Wilbur himself is educated but doesn't really talk in depth about politics (which I think is a good thing; when it matters he will speak out, but the best voices to uplift aren't creators lmao that leads to a lot of idolizing and placing them on pedestals or tearing them down if they get something even slightly wrong even if their intentions were good). Wilbur is 24 years old and IN THE STREAM ITSELF told Tommy about how he used to say homophobic slurs when he was older than Tommy currently is, and he's talked a lot about how he hated the person he was up until like 21 years old.

I think people really need to keep in mind how fucking clueless and susceptible to bad influences white boys are. Remember how many white boys got caught up in the alt-right pipeline during that Pewdiepie era (up to the Christchurch shooting where I feel like he finally vocalized his complete disavowal of that). Of all people to essentially be the next Pewdiepie, I'm glad it's Tommy, but he's only 17 and he's not ever going to be perfect. I want to give him as much time to learn how he wants to use his platform, but in the end I just hope he uses it for good and that he takes care of himself.

[morkleemelon]

nct ideal types 2021 :: 127

dream version | the confirmed facts are all from various interviews or fan questions but ‘my thoughts’ may well not be accurate! this is just for fun~ mark and haechan are in the dream version

moon taeil

confirmed: someone cute with a short bob hairstyle

my thoughts:

taeil is a super chill, laid back guy who gets along with more outgoing members like johnny and haechan. this makes me believe he’d want a funny, outgoing partner to balance with his personality

he mentioned cute so this makes me think small or petite. definitely shorter than him.

he said once that he would love to sing to his future girlfriend all the time (she will be so lucky oh my gosh). not to mention he is very passionate about music and dropped out of a prestigious music school to join nct. so he would definitely need someone who likes and appreciates music

he said if he were a girl, he’d date yuta out of all of the 127 members. so perhaps he just thinks yuta is boyfriend material, but maybe taeil is attracted to the strong-minded, caring type

seo johnny

confirmed: someone who smiles at him a lot. similar to girl’s generation’s yoona

my thoughts: 

johnny seems to get along with everyone so this is a bit tricky to try to determine. he confirmed he likes yoona so going off of that, she’s obviously gorgeous and has a beautiful smile. her personality is also elegant, but down to earth and funny

he was voted by everyone including himself as the most romantic member. he says that he hopes one day he can build christmas trees with his wife just like he used to do with his mom (I’m so soft). I think he’s looking for someone who likes sappy romance and will flirt back with him

he’s tall. and since he named yoona as his ideal type, I think he’d prefer a taller girl (but not taller than him). then again, I’m not sure if he’d care all too much 

he said he would date doyoung if he were a girl so I think that entails someone easily tease-able, neat, and proper

lee taeyong

confirmed: someone who can teach him, lead him, and make up for his flaws. a girl with long hair of any race. laid back. his ideal type is the same as ten’s. someone hard-working has a tough style. 

my thoughts:

he’s highkey a weeb (don’t deny this). no matter how charismatic he is on stage, we all know he’s a big softie who likes bugs and frogs and anime. he expressed he had a really hard time coming out of his shell and he’s quite introverted. he needs someone who’s strong-minded and knows what they’re doing

I remember when the rookies just came out in like 2014 and TY was 19 (?) ish and he confirmed that he’d never dated anyone yet. nobody believed him because he was so handsome but I have a feeling he was telling the truth. it’s been several years since then so I’m not sure how things have changed, but I have a feeling he would like someone experienced.

“any race” what a king. looks-wise besides having long hair, I can envision someone with great style. perhaps dyed hair, multiple piercings, tattoos, the works. fashion is something that tae really appreciates

nakamoto yuta

confirmed: a girl with short hair and is around 15 cm shorter than him (so about 160cm aka 5′3″). an empathetic, cute girl who doesn’t ‘act pretty’. someone bright and comfortable

my thoughts:

he has a lot of confirmed facts about looks which are also really specific. maybe he just knows what he wants. but I also thinks he has experience. it seems like he wants a tomboy who has a strong vibe

he likes being the ‘oppa’ and taking care of others like we see him do with winwin, mark, and jungwoo. he’d be into someone who looks up to him and who he can lead

I don’t have a reason but I think he would like someone who laughs a lot and laughs at his jokes (maybe because mark does and he loves mark)

someone who’s not embarrassed to be herself

during oshiete japan they had to pick out of 4 types of roses to gift to their ‘girlfriend’. him and haechan were the only ones who chose to give 3 roses to their ‘girlfriend’. the psychologist analyzed this and said that they’re ‘flirts who seek attention’. so that being said, I think yuta would like someone who gives him a lot of attention and reactions

kim doyoung

confirmed: someone polite and who treats their elders well

my thoughts:

I mean this in all seriousness, someone the exact opposite as haechan. while we can see in rare times that he does care for him, doyoung usually cannot stand haechan and all his tricks and taunting. as his confirmed type outlines, doie is really looking for someone who takes things seriously and listens to him well

I think he often feels underappreciated - a lot of times during his mv viewing reactions, the editors show another member during his part or just cut him out and you can tell he’s really disappointed (it hurts my heart). he would really like someone who goes out of their way to make him feel appreciated. 

when nct 127 went on oshiete japan, doyoung was the only one to pick the potted rose and the psychologist there said that it means he isn’t looking to just date around, but rather to settle down and have a stable relationship. I strongly believe that doyoung is looking for someone long-term.

also, his love language is giving gifts (from my observation since he often gifts the members foods during mv shoots and gifted TY the couple ring). my best guess is that he’d want to spoil his partner a lot with gifts to show his feelings. someone who appreciates his gifts and understands that they come from his heart

he thinks ariana grande is hot so that’s the only visual thing I can think of. she’s obviously very gorgeous but she’s petite and has an amazing voice

jung jaehyun

confirmed: a kind woman with long, straight hair who can communicate well with him. someone dependable, healthy, and into sports. someone usually calm but can be cute. doesn’t care if she’s older or younger. someone similar to him. someone like singer/actress IU. 

my thoughts: 

he has a lot of confirmed facts so I don’t have to make many assumptions here. someone with girl next door energy? 

he says he likes IU, so going with that, someone petite and cute. She’s not afraid to speak her mind and treats everyone with kindness.

I think J was born to be romantic (literally, born on valentines day). he said his previous ambition was to be a teen dad and his lines from make a wish english version “spoil her with loyalty” sum up my next prediction: he wants someone like a best friend who’s in it for the long run

dong sicheng

confirmed: someone with long, black hair

my thoughts:

he said his favorite actress is shu qi. although I don’t know if he just likes her acting or if she actually fits his ideal type, she is a traditional chinese beauty which I think winwin appreciates

he’s really introverted and is often overwhelmed by affection (i.e. all of the nct members). the exception is jaehyun and winwin seems to be the most comfortable around him. this makes me think he wants someone calm and chic

sicheng prefers staying inside to going out. not to diagnose him at all, but I reckon he can get socially anxious around large amounts of people. he’d like a partner who doesn’t overwhelm him and understands him

he really can’t cook (he couldn’t turn on a stove to make an egg on winformation). in the end, it wouldn’t matter, but i’m thinking that if you can cook you’d certainly earn some bonus points with him. it’s like that saying ‘the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach’.

kim jungwoo

confirmed: n/a

my thoughts: 

of all the members, I think jungwoo has expressed the least about his ideal type. not to make any unnecessary assumptions (but that’s all this post is really), but someone said he has strong bi energy. I can’t say anything because I’m not bi myself and I’m not him, but I can see this being a thing. take this with a grain of salt because I don’t actually have evidence

during oshiete japan, he was the only one to pick the large bouquet of roses to give to his ‘lover’. the psychologist analyzed this as him liking to pretend that he is in love and wanting to show his good side. he “can’t express his real feelings and doesn’t want to ever show his lame side to his lover”. because of this, I strongly feel that jungwoo would need someone who lifts his confidence and reassures him

the members he gets along with the most are probably yuta and mark. their personalities are quite different but based on their similarities, I think he is attracted to confidence, open-mindedness, and good work ethic.

[razorblade180]

I have watched all of Bleach

That is currently available. Personally one of the funniest things throughout my entire time watching was looking at Carmine, my oc, and realizing I had basically made a soul reaper. Not surprising considering this show is full of cool anime stuff

I don’t know anyone’s opinion on Bleach when it comes to the arcs but personally everything after the Espada arc felt like a 10 to me. Probably because one arc is just 13 court squad team mirror matches with a villain that has broken powers. Also Kon had importance and I never expected that. It was actually really touching. While the Fullbring was also really fun to watch.

I laughed every time a new subset of abilities were introduced for a group, and they are functionally the same as the other groups because for some reason Flash Stepping has to be Soul Reaper exclusive so Hollows, Quincies, Fullbringers, etc. have to call their high speed movement anything besides that. It felt like Ichigo changed job classes but continued to invest in the same stats so the only thing he got was cooler outfits and maybe three new moves. I honestly enjoy that a lot.

Rukia had my heart from being to end. No one told me Toshiro’s VA in English is Neji Hyuga, so there was a never a moment he wasn’t the coolest guy to me. Even when he was losing I was like “god he’s so cool.” My two favorite characters use ice; very on brand. I always knew Ichigo was based and had many transformations so Liking him a given.

Surprisingly, not a fan of Renji. He jobs so hard I kinda feel bad. I was stunned seeing him be and look so cool in the Fullbring arc, but that’s like two episodes! I’m upset my friend told me Orihime was Hinata but she matters, because that’s absolutely correct. Don’t get me wrong, I like Hinata, but Orihime is so much better that I got upset as a Naruto fan. I already know the ending ship to Bleach and while I still can’t believe it considering the amount of moments I’ve witnessed Rukia and Ichigo be each other’s emotional support and hype man, I already know I’m not bothered by canon.

All in all, watching Bleach has been like eating chocolate. Even the bad parts weren’t so bad for me. The only thing I noticed watching Bleach that was consistent was no matter what problem came up, you better believe the people that would trivialize it were not there until the end. I should’ve counted how my times I said “Where’s Yoruichi?” Then she shows up later to clown an enemy we’ve been fighting for four episodes before leaving! They use her like a get out of jail free card for the plot and it’s both funny but also a little silly. Kinda feels like those people who put their strongest Pokémon in the last slot so everyone else gets to grow and things look dicey for them; then they send in the max lvl legendary.

Bonus:Aizen is hilarious. Grimmjow and a few others have some pretty dumb lines, but nothing will ever match any character talking about how they planned something, while various actions around him beg to differ; all the way until he’s like “What is this!?” When Ichigo is done with his nonsense. The X-cution plan felt more like a calculated chess maneuver then Aizen losing all his men and getting stabbed. I feel bad like his catchphrase should’ve been “I course corrected.” 😅

Also yeah I watched the fillers. The bount arc is painful, but everything else was fine. I can’t decide if it’s better or worse than Naruto filler.

[onlydylanobrien]

Dylan O'Brien - NME Magazine Interview

Dylan O’Brien: “I was in this transitional phase – close to a quarter-life crisis”

From YA heartthrob to legitimate leading man – how the 'Maze Runner' star hit his stride after a whirlwind decade

Definitely!” hoots Dylan O’Brien when NME asks if he still has to audition. “I’m not Tom fucking Hanks, bro.” He’s clearly amused by our question, but forgive us for thinking the 29-year-old actor gets cast on reputation alone. A decade into his career, and he’s making an impressive transition from teen TV star and YA franchise hero to charismatic leading man.

New York-born O’Brien cut his teeth on MTV’s hit Teen Wolf series, before landing the lead in the Maze Runner film trilogy based on James Dashner’s hugely popular novels. Leading a band of bright young things that included ex-Skins tearaway Kaya Scodelario, Game Of Thrones’ Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Will Poulter, he honed his craft while racking up nearly a billion dollars at the box office. “My career is a constant acting class,” says O’Brien. “To be able to do the Maze Runner movies simultaneously with Teen Wolf was amazing in terms of getting in reps and working my [acting] muscle.”

Now for the sometimes tricky bit. Many actors struggle with the post-breakout period, but O’Brien is making it look easy so far. This year’s Netflix hit Love and Monsters proved he can carry an old-school family adventure, and new film Flashback (out next week) reveals an appetite for weirder, more cerebral work. He stars as Fred Fitzell, a young man reluctant to buckle down to life as a nine-to-fiver with a boring corporate job and a long-term girlfriend (Mindhunter‘s Hannah Gross). When he runs into a freaky-looking acquaintance from his teenage years, Fred becomes obsessed with finding an old high-school friend he used to drop a mind-bending experimental drug called Mercury with. It’s difficult to say any more without entering spoiler territory, but Flashback is a wild ride underpinned by the idea that we can exist in several realities at once. Even if you follow every plot twist, you might not fully understand the end. “Oh, it’s definitely a headfuck,” O’Brien agrees. “There’s not totally an answer to figure out. There’s a lot of different things that people can take from it.”

Speaking over Zoom from his LA home, O’Brien is bright, thoughtful and really good fun to talk to, especially when he relaxes into the interview, but he clearly knows where his line between public and private lies. When he first read the Flashback script, written by the film’s director Christopher MacBride, his “mind was blown” by just how much he related to Fred. “I felt like I was in this transitional phase of my life that was, you know, sort of close to a quarter-life crisis type thing,” he says. “For whatever reason, it was like me and this script were meant to be. I remember reading it and thinking: ‘I am this guy right now.'”

“There were a lot of things in my personal life that were neglected for a while”

When we ask why O’Brien felt as though he had reached a “transitional phase”, he gives an answer that’s vague but not exactly evasive. For understandable reasons, he doesn’t mention the incredibly traumatic motorcycle accident he sustained while shooting the final Maze Runner film in March 2016. O’Brien suffered severe trauma to the brain and said in 2017 that he underwent extensive facial reconstructive surgery after the accident “broke most of the right side of my face”. Tellingly, he’s never really revealed what happened on set or how it affected him.

Today, O’Brien dances around the details of the accident and other issues he was dealing with at the time, but doesn’t shy away from discussing his inner conflict. “You know, it was a lot of personal things combined with at-a-point-in-my-career things,” he says after a brief pause. He says he’d have been going through some of this stuff anyway, simply because of his age, but it sounds as though success intensified it all. “It was like this whole fucking storm of shit,” he continues. “I was simultaneously so fulfilled and happy about these, like, otherworldly and surreal things that I had experienced in terms of where my career had brought me. I had all this confidence and fulfilment and beautiful people [in my life] – such amazing things to experience at a young age. But at the same time, there were a lot of things in my personal life that were unchecked and sort of neglected for a while.”

O’Brien says that in time, he realised he had to “stop for a second” and “re-explore how I wanted my life to look going forward”. In fairness, you can see why he needed a breather: his career took off while he was still a teenager. After his family moved from New Jersey to Los Angeles County when he was 12, O’Brien contemplated a career as a sports broadcaster – his Twitter bio still bills him as a “no longer suffering Mets fan” – then began posting YouTube videos as moviekidd826. A funny, slickly edited skit titled ‘How to Prepare for the SAT in 45 seconds’, shared when he was just 17, shows he was a born performer and storyteller. YouTube success led to him getting a manager, but his breakthrough role in Teen Wolf still came out of the blue. At the time, he was treading water at a local community college and taking auditions on the side.

Still, he has since taken a rather fatalistic view of this career-making moment. “It’s totally weird because, when I think about it now, I don’t see how it could have happened any other way. I can’t picture myself doing anything else now,” he told Collider in 2011. “It was really sudden and a little random, and not provoked by anything. It was just out of nowhere. It wasn’t my intentional doing.” Today, O’Brien summarises his skyscraper career trajectory succinctly. “I guess I just graduated high school and started acting,” he says. “And then I felt like I was just flying by the seat of my pants and never got a chance to stop.” Thankfully, straight-out-the-blocks Hollywood success hasn’t taken away his sense of perspective. When I say how easy social media makes it to compare yourself unfavourably to others, O’Brien jumps in: “Yeah, that’s very true. I was watching the Billie Eilish doc the other day, and I was like, I’ve done nothing. I’m not an artist at all!”

“No one thought ‘Love and Monsters’ was going to be good!”

O’Brien is also self-deprecating when he talks about being cast in Flashback, suggesting it happened because he had such an intense connection with Fred. “I was honestly like, ‘Who is watching me right now?’ That is the best way I can describe how I was feeling when I came across this script,” he says. “Chris [MacBride, director] and I had this conversation that went so well in terms of [my] understanding this script that I think he’d sent around a lot and [that] very commonly wasn’t understood. I think Chris has even said that the night before shooting, he suddenly had this thought, like, ‘Wait, do I even think he’s a good actor?'”

Though O’Brien has firmly ring-fenced elements of his private life, he’s actually pretty frank about his acting vehicles. He readily admits he was expecting a snobbish response to Love and Monsters, a CGI-heavy hybrid of post-apocalyptic action and romcom that dropped on Netflix in April and topped the streamer’s daily most-watched list. “It means so much that Love and Monsters has gotten the response that it’s gotten,” O’Brien says. “No one thought this movie was going to be good.” His blunt honesty makes me laugh out loud. “No one did though!” he says in response. “And so, fuck that. You know, most of the people who say something to me about the movie, they’re like: ‘I watched Love and Monsters, and it was… good?’ And honestly, that just cracks me up.” For obvious reasons, we hastily decide not to share our response to the film – namely, that it was a whole lot better than expected.

In Love and Monsters, O’Brien plays Joel, a survivor of a so-called “monsterpocalypse” that has bumped humans to the bottom of the food chain. Though he’s known in his colony as a bit of a coward, Joel sets off on a treacherous 80-mile journey to find his high school sweetheart Aimee (Iron Fist‘s Jessica Henwick), which means evading the hungry clutches of various supersize grizzlies including a giant monster-frog hiding in a suburban pond. It’s a simple but pretty out-there premise that wouldn’t work if O’Brien’s performance was even slightly condescending. Instead, his unselfconscious sincerity really sells a film that has as much in common with the family-oriented Robin Williams movie Night at the Museum as darker fare like The Walking Dead.

His obvious affection for the project really comes across during our interview today. “When I read the script, I just thought it was so sweet and funny and smart and unique, but at the same time reminiscent of all these movies that don’t really get made any more,” he says. That’s a fair point: Love and Monsters is neither a fail-safe superhero movie nor a slice of classy Oscar bait. “And when they were talking about how to market this movie, it was so funny hearing all these conversations like, ‘How do we actually get people to watch it?'” he adds. “But that’s a big part of the reason I wanted to do this movie: because it felt like something I missed seeing.”

“I’m lucky to be surrounded by people who want to make something out of love”

So in a way, Love and Monsters was a risk for an actor seeking to establish himself outside of a bankable movie franchise and a hit TV show. O’Brien has only made four films since his final Maze Runner outing in 2018, and insists he hasn’t been tactical with his choices. “I don’t have anyone saying, ‘We need to get you in an Oscar vehicle’, or any of that kind of shit,” he says. “I’m really lucky to be surrounded by people who think like me: that you should do what you’re drawn to, and make something out of love.”

He’s recently finished shooting a mysterious crime thriller called The Outfit in London with Mark Rylance. Directed and co-written by Graham Moore, who won an Oscar for his screenplay to Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game, O’Brien calls it “quite possibly one of the most special pieces of writing I’ve ever experienced”. He first read the script on a plane and says he “actually stood up and clapped” when he got to the end. Considering O’Brien probably wasn’t flying Ryanair, this reaction presumably attracted a few baffled glances.

Anyway, it must be pretty intimidating walking onto set with Rylance, a multi-award-winning actor revered by his peers – Al Pacino once said he “speaks Shakespeare as if it was written for him the night before” – but it sounds as though O’Brien took it all in stride. He says he’s confident in his abilities, but admits to having a slight wobble whenever he begins a new project. “I’m always sort of re-questioning everything – like, ‘Can I even act?'” he says. “But I think there’s something very natural about that. I think even Rylance could relate to that feeling. Acting is like starting a new year at school every single time.”

At this point in his career, O’Brien has made peace with the fact that some people will have preconceptions about him based on what he’s known for: Maze Runner and Teen Wolf. “People will put you in a box no matter what,” he says. “There was definitely a time when that would get to me, especially when it felt like somebody had a perspective on me that in my soul, I just felt wasn’t accurate.” Still, there’s no doubt he wants to show us what’s really in his soul with more films like Flashback. “If anything,” he adds bullishly, “it just makes me think: ‘Right, I’m really gonna show them now’.”

‘Flashback’ is out on digital platforms from June 4

[94erz]

Okay, after sleeping and catching up on extra stuff I’m on and wanna talk about something that I’ve been thinking about in regards to TMA and the individual award.

Long post ahead just a heads up here!

It’s really tough being a fan of multiple members of a GROUP because on one hand you want all of them to receive the praise and recognition they deserve, not just as a group but even individually too. I’m thrilled Jin won, he’s just as deserving of an award as anyone, but there’s also this part of me that’s sad, disappointed even, because I also believe Hoseok deserved it too. I love seeing how supportive he was, as were all of them, given this was Jin’s moment and they’re proud of their member, friend, brother and the support the fans showed him. No one can take that away from him. He’s kind, supportive, caring, funny, etc. of other endless compliments and I’d hate to think anyone would believe he’s not deserving of any award when he works hard too! And he’ll continue to work hard!

But there’s also this part of me that thinks maybe no one should have been nominated or won it if it meant not playing into the worst parts of the fandom (controversial word choice I am aware but unlike some I don’t deny solos as a part of the fan space) that now feel more emboldened than they have ever been. I have seen just some of the most horrific takes online and through the app itself through the voting process (which I have deleted) thrown toward Jin, and Hoseok. But even more Hoseok because now it’s also a matter of him being “a loser” and those types mocking both him and other fans who did want him to win, and for equally good reasons! Hoseok has had an amazing year!

It just feels complicated given they are a group, but also it’s chapter 2 and we knew individual projects and solo adventures would come with this reality of, there will be members who will be supported in ways that others simply will not. And I am thoroughly aware as a rap line fan that frankly there’s very few instances going forward that when it comes to the fandom (broadly speaking, throwing a wide net here), they are not going to receive the same support as the maknae/vocal line do in different areas. And I don’t base that on anything other than simple, direct, and available numbers we can all see across various content we all consume and have been doing so for years. I’m talking about sales, I’m talking about likes on social posts (IG, Twitter, YouTube, Weverse), I’m talking about views (Youtube, Weverse), I’m talking about followers (IG, Spotify), and I’m talking about streams (charts, sales, YouTube, Spotify). This is all just data, and the data hasn’t changed nor do I see it changing any time soon. There’s an order of popularity, that’s a fact, and as a result since some members are more popular they will be supported more than others.

I’m not upset by it, not anymore anyway LOL but I won’t deny others their feelings either, because I do understand the complexity of it. If you’re a BTS fan any and all success is great, fans should be proud of how hard they vote for them, but I also know that it feels bad when you then have to see one member “fail” because another one “succeeded”. Pitting them against one another in these situations is always going to result in this feeling I believe, and really there’s not much else to say about it unfortunately. It’s just complicated.