#and at the last paragraph you see my rant!

[fluffypotatey]

so the other day me and some friends got to talking about star wars because two people didn't watch it until this year so it was all "omg you've only watched it now???" "what order did you start?" "how did you survive???" kind of thing

anyway

one of them mentioned that they enjoyed the prequels more because it didn't look as dated as the OG three. and you know, i can see where she's coming from because the effects in the prequel trilogy match the CGI if that time. but if you were to look at the original trilogy practical effects with "modern-day" CGI, it looks....off.

there are too many extraterrestrial animals in the background, certain scenes are added just to show off CGI that slow down the story, and you can just tell that the CGI doesn't mesh well with the rest of the films (the animals look too saturated for example).

so, for someone to only now hop on and watch these films, i totally get what they mean by labeling 4-6 as "dated". the added CGI only adds to that fact that these movies came out in the 70s and 80s not the early 200s or 2010s (although those can look dated as well but those are more from outdated lines imo). you can clearly see the blur line where the green screen would be, you can tell that a landscape scene was just a tiny recreation of the setting, the puppets looked like puppets.

however, i don't think that should take away from the films. a lot of older movies show their age, but somehow that makes them more endearing. "Gone With the Wind" is super dramatic and the soundtrack is very reminiscent of plays or operas, "Back to the Future" is campy and very 80s that you wouldn't want it to be anywhere else, "Indiana Jones" has the classic epic tropes of an adventure man (not to mention you can point out which backgrounds were painted or not): all of these films show their age but nothing about that makes them not good enough to watch. they're just a film that was made to the best it could be with the materials their time could provide.

therefore, it is my opinion that george lucas should had kept the OG trilogy as they were because it keeps the magic that captivated many and shows off its quality. choosing to add in CGI later hindered 4-6's quality and made the films too cluttered. moral of this post, stop shoving CGI in older films to make them modern enough for younger viewers because not only are you diminishing the film's quality, you are implying that the practical effects used in your films were not good enough and aren't high quality.

[triglycercule]

me when i find the PERFECT mtt song (yamitsuki,,,,,,,, maretu my king how did you do it,,,,,,,,,,,,, literally HOW did you do it why is this song weirdly accurate wtf and its for a completely different character 2??? HOW DID YOU DO THIS??? THE ENTIRE FUCKING SONG FITS??? THE ENTIRE SONG COULD BE MADE TO HAVE CONNECTIONS WITH ONLY MILD REACHING??? HELLO??????) (this translation!!!) (the translation is not.linking i will be shooting myself. its the on on the vocaloid wiki NOTthe video....)

literally like. 1/3 is horror. 1/3 is dust. and then the last is killer. in that order. the first 2 verses talk about bloodshot pain (bloodshot EYES.... HORROR'S EYE) and a rotting fatal wound (THE FUCKING HEAD CRACK!!! HIS GODDAMN HEAD WOUND!!!!). commiting brutality. i dont think much else is needed. wrong/right and judging biases,,,,, jesus fuck wtf. AND THEN in the next verse there's a mention of "starving for necessary evil" HELLO!!!! HELLO!!!!!!! him starving himself while also feeding snowdin human which totally sucks,,,,,, horror sans,,,,,,???? chorus of shrill voices (duh snowdin. or also could be undyne and royale guard. i like snowdin more). and then the last line of the second verse mentions sadism. nothing more to say. horror sans i mayhaps perchance mightve just encountered you in a song. or maybe the translation is freakily accurate and the song itself isnt that specific (probably but hey i can dream)

and then th next 2 verses r dust except i dont really know about the first verse but also a line that says "this is the death of the conflict, come and see me" could be referring to the human's death which like. man. and then the next verse is just dust sans but in a single verse. give me more excellent pain could be interpreted as LV but also the mental pain that comes with yk..... killing all you love.LOVE. LV. he needs more LV... anyways. mad off the beaten track. MAD. MENTION OF MAD LIKE CRAZY LIKE MAD TIME LIKE DUST SANS!!!! echoes of a haughty voice resound,,,,, phantom paps,,,,, "severe punishment, 100 renouned sights, i long for pure pessimism" i cant explain this one well i think but just think about it okay. this time you get to be the one coming up with the ideas (σ´∀`)σ

killer only has one verse that i can link this song 2 but i also think its th most freakily accurate. verse 1 is "through instantaneous joy, entertain me for my whole life, i'm cunningly"LUCKY". i get completely bored. give me pleasure without worry. and now, right away." and then "i'd rather head to eternal darkness. i'll abide by you always, emptily "HAPPY". i shed tears from my clear white eyes. come and show me your best smile!" HELP HELP HELP THEYRE SHOOTING ME HELP HELP!!!! THEY JUMPING ME (these lyrics) because WTFyhis isFREAKILY accurate. the entire first verse and its spiel on boredom and having someone else manage the entertainment/emotions,,,, and the cunningly lucky part is just. i think the word cunning is just really good to describe killer (sneaky little bastard) and then he's "lucky" emphasis on quotes because idk he got chosen for whatever the fuck his chara wants. what luck. really bad luck but whatever. and then MORE on the following another person and EMPTILY!!! EMPTY!!! KILLER FEEL NOTHING EMPTY!!!! fake happy too,,,, and killer has white eyelights sooo IM NOT REACHING!!! also he literally cries

in conclusion MARETU is a god amongst men and somehow this song managed to fit the mtt i have no idea how. next coming up: how NAMIDA fits horror. how thirst fits dust. how i'm high fits killer. idk if i already said this one probably did BUT JUST IN CASE maretu also has maegamist,,,,, maretu i knew i listened to you for a reason. so i could make totally irrational and unreasonable connections of your songs to the fucking murder time trio of all things. what joy

[aromanticannibal]

when i would absolutely want to share my poems w/ the class but i think I'd get reminded suicide hotlines numbers if I did

[goldfades]

💘 jack hughes

𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐝𝐚𝐲 | jh⁸⁶

♡ ─ word count | 656

♡ ─ warnings | VERYYY SWEET, two paragraphs of (VERY SLIGHT) angst and a sweet kiss at the end!!!!!! enjoy!

♡ ─ ev's notes | okay now i wanna spend valentine's day with jack hughes :( y/n is so FUCKING LUCKY.

Jack had been very busy the last couple of weeks, especially with his injury. He had to catch up and try not to let the injury affect him (even though you knew it did). Jack was always busy, but this season had definitely taken its toll on your relationship - Jack was always busy, on roadies and when he wasn't, you were busy at work/school.

Obviously, it wasn't either of your faults, you were both adults with responsibilities but that doesn't mean that it didn't slightly hurt. But neither of you ever let it hurt your relationship, no matter how bad the fights are or how distant you felt from each other at times, you both knew deep down that the love you shared was much stronger than the challenges life threw your way.

You thought Valentine's Day was going to be busy, like every other day. You woke up and Jack had left you some coffee in the fridge (you couldn't drink hot coffee even in the winter, you only drank iced coffee) and he had also made you your favorite breakfast next to it. Jack always woke up earlier than you and ever since you two had lived together, he always left coffee and some food in the fridge - it was a testament of his love.

You smiled at his thought, he was so sweet even after years of being together. You sent a text his way, telling him how much you appreciated and loved him then went on with your day. You knew Jack would be tired when he came home from practice so you didn't think he would've planned anything for the two of you after. Valentine's Day was just a day, he could take you out to dinner and get you flowers some other day.

But you underestimated your boyfriend.

After a long day, all you could think of was how hungry and tired you were. You opened the door of your home and walked to your bedroom, exhaustion evident in your expression. You walked into the bedroom and saw Jack on the bed, on his phone. As soon as he heard the door opened, he sat up with a smile on his face.

"Y/N! Hey, baby." Jack spoke with a grin on his face and your mood immediately improved at the sight of Jack and how happy he was.

"Oh hey, I didn't expect to see you home so early."

"Well, it's Valentine's day. And I know I've been busy but I wanted to spend today with you and only you, but I couldn't skip practice because I already missed so much with my injury, but-"

"Jack, it's okay." You interrupted his rant with a soft voice and smile. You walked up to him and sat on the bed next to him. "I know, I get it. I appreciate you so much for making time for me. I love you, so much."

"I love you so much." His voice was warm as he spoke and he immediately pulled you into a hug. His embrace was just as warm as his voice and you immediately relaxed into his arm. You laid there together for a few quiet and relaxing moments and you closed your eyes, you were so happy he was here with you.

"You hungry?" He finally spoke up.

"Mhm."

"Wanna go get some takeout and watch movies?" Jack suggested and you immediately perked up at the mention of food. Even though it wasn't a big extravagant dinner, you were just glad Jack was with you. It was something you used to do every weekend and something you missed dearly.

"Yeah, that sounds amazing." You pulled from his embrace and smiled. But neither of you moved as you stared into each other's eyes. Jack pulled you into a kiss and you kissed him back with the same intensity.

"I love you," You said into the kiss.

"Love you, too."

-> make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated! <-

thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[avoidcrowdraws]

Might be too long of a comic so a list of your headcanons is fine too but you mentioned in the ds au that Chilchuck was a bit hesitant to take on Laios cause he doesn't really work with other races often, so maybe a peek as to what that first meeting/contract negotiation was like???

It is a little too long to draw all of it, but here's some doodles, and a ton of thoughts below the cut!

Warning again for kink and sexuality discussion

Dandan is the one to introduce them, they meet at a cafe, and from the start Chilchuck is exasperated because Dandan didn't tell him Laios is a tall-man. They have a brief row about it to the side while Laios waits (see Chilchuck's rant in the bottom image here)

Chilchuck isn't completely opposed to other races, but as in the Dungeon Meshi canon half-foots are looked down upon. I imagine he has to fight an uphill battle for respect among non-half-foots, and that's before even introducing himself as a Dom

Fortunately Laios doesn't question Chilchuck's Dom capabilities, which Chilchuck had been expecting, which puts Chilchuck more at ease with the situation. Laios does immediately overstep and start calling him 'sir' before they've agreed to anything, Chilchuck has mixed feelings about that, but he sees it as a trainable offense

Laios becomes more more confident when he starts talking about what he wants, kink is one of his special interests in this AU so he's pretty knowledgeable even if he's less experienced personally. Chilchuck becomes legitimately interested when Laios lists a bunch of their overlapping kink preferences, because Chilchuck's current sub roster is a little more softcore

This might make some people unhappy, but my headcanon is that Chilchuck doesn't participate sexually with his subs himself. He'll get them off if they want, but he doesn't enjoy sex in a D/s context. He separates his sexuality from his kink entirely, and also in fact he considers himself largely straight

But I just want to mark this last paragraph with huge 'FOR NOW' signage

Chilchuck has brought a trial contract along, that outlines a short but non-personalised agreement, one with strict limitations, and that expires quickly. If they like what they're doing (which they do) Chilchuck will help them write a longer one together, with more specifics

[redheadspark]

HI! for your April prompts

17. "I really enjoy spending time with you." with Druig

A/N - STELLA! I love this for our Druig! Thanks for requesting this, bestie!

Kind

Summary - Druig seeks you out for company

Warnings- Simply fluff

“Druig, I have a question,”

“Sure,”

“Why are you in here?”

Druig perked his head over in your direction, where you were perched on the bench of the meeting room.  The small glow illuminated the room and the distinct humming of the Domo Energy was the perfect setting for you to read and to hide away from the others.  Not that you were being antisocial that day, you loved being around the rest of the Eternals. Whether you are out and about amongst the humans or in the Domo, you love their company. But there were times when you wanted to have alone time, time to recharge so to speak.  Your energy would get drained from time to time, not to mention all the fighting you’ve done against Deviants to protect the humans.  You simply wanted to read your book or enjoy the quietness of nature outside the ship, to rechannel your mind and to find yourself again. 

Today you wanted to finish the book that Sprite found for you, and with the recent arguments that broke out with the others that seemed too mundane and childish in your opinion, you slipped away into the Meeting Room to finish your book.  Sprite wished to talk to you about the book, which brought you a bit more pressure to finish it to discuss it with the illusionist.  But the last thing you expected, was The Mind Controller himself, to join you.

Druig paused on the question, he was about to eat a slice of orange when you asked and he cocked his head in return, “Couldn’t stomach listenin’ to them rant out there again,”

You had to giggle at how he was sounding a bit sarcastic about it since you knew he wasn’t one for gossip or stirring up trouble.

“What are they talking about this time?” You had to ask as you thumb another page and read again, Druig chuckled as he popped an orange in his mouth.

“Phastos and his recent invention, and Ikaris pippin’ in with his own opinion,” Druig explained as he leaned back on the bench that you were perched on.  You saw from the corner of your eye Druig lying on his back, one leg sprawled out on the side and his hand under his head as he was looking up at the ceiling with the orange in his fingers.  

You were amazed at how cool and calm he was, far too aloof compared to the others and not letting things get to him.  You admired that about him, wishing you had that yourself since you knew you were a bit too wound up at times and constantly overthinking.  With Druig, he made it seem so easy.  That or he hid it very well.  Either way, you wanted to learn how to be like Druig, almost carefree in a way and how to let thing roll off your shoulder with ease. 

Didn’t help you had a small crush on him either.

“I know you’re no fan of Ikaris,” You commented, looking over at Druig as he grinned widely, “But you should still be civil with him.”

“It’s hard to be civil with him when he makes a fool of himself,” Druig reasoned with you, then popped another slice of orange in his mouth with ease while he blinked slowly, “He makes it so easy.”

“He may make it easy, but we should be respectful of him,” You advised him, though he scoffed.  

“You must show respect to earn it, and unfortunately for The Golden Boy, he doesn’t have my respect,” he explained, then looking over at you as you were reading a paragraph.  He smiled, the soft kind of smile that seemed to be rare for him to use out in public, “You have my respect though,”

That made you stop reading, putting the book down for a brief moment and looking down at him as he was smiling at him, “Oh?” You asked.

He nodded, “I see how you act with the humans and how you take care of them.  The others can learn from you when it comes to the humans,” He explained to you, his voice sounding warm when he spoke and it made your heart flutter how he spoke about you, “Ikaris should take a page out of your book,”

“I merely wish to make sure the humans are well and safe,” You explained in a shrug, though Druig never lost his smile at you as he sat up on the bench, “I know the others feel the same as me,”

“They do, but you still have a great amount of kindness that I don’t think the others would be ever able to match.  Well…maybe Sersi,” he explained, you giggling at the mention of Sersi. Druig scooted closer to you, nudging your shoulder with his, “Plus, I really enjoy spending time with you,”

That made you look at him in shock.  He was never one to really express himself like this, he would simply cling onto another when he wanted to spend time with them.  Phastos when they would talk about inventions, Kingo when strolling through the marketplaces, and Gilgamesh when they would discuss snacks. Thena was a bit rare since she was used to having her own space, Sprite was less than tolerable with his sarcasm though she had her own, and Sersi and Ikaris were a paired item so that was out of the question for him.  The only other person who was close to Druig and enjoyed his company was Makkari, but they’ve been close for centuries.  

He wanted to be close with you?  That was new.

“Me?” You asked, pointing to yourself and almost sounding sheepish. He nodded his head as you looked at him in confusion, “If you don’t mind me asking…..why?”

Druig simply stared at you, and you could have sworn he gazed at you like you hung the moon and the stars high above him.  The sparkle in his blue eyes, and the grin on his lips, it made you almost freeze in your spot.  You hated how you would freeze up so quickly from a simple gaze by Druig, how it can be so powerful to make you feel like a statue and also warm like the sun.  Druig had that way about him: letting others feel at ease with his eyes and his tone of voice. 

“You’re kind,” He replied softly, his voice low since it was just the two of you together side by side, “And I would rather have someone kind in my life than someone who isn’t.”

You grinned from ear to ear, feeling those words down to your bones and within your own chest.  Druig was never one to be short in what he wanted to say, he wasn’t shy at all.  He would speak with venom when something bothered him or brought him rage, he would speak with honey on his lips to coax others to go his way.  But how he spoke to you, it seemed…different.

He seemed raw, truthful….free.

“Now, wanna tell me about yer book yer readin’?” He asked, gesturing to the book in your lap as you eyed him a hint of suspicion.  

“You’re not a reader,” You reminded him, though he shrugged and grabbed another orange slice in his hand.

“I’m not, but it must be good since Sprite recommended it,” he joked, you swatting the book against his arm and hearing him laugh.

The End.

April Prompt Session

[radiantidiot]

I wanna see some of your headcannons tbh. Either game works.

(Pls, if thats not to hard. If you don't mind)

Ok so I answered a similar question here, but I'll expand on some stuff and say new things here.

D'arce is a lesbian, Le'garde is her comphet. She was originally gonna be lesbian, and there was a piece of concept art you've probably seen of her with the ghost women, in my heart she never stopped being lesbian.

Le'garde knows this, and finds it useful. In my heart he's gay, this is partly due to the fact that he's based off of one of the gayest possible people, but I think one of the reasons he keeps her around is she deflects suspicion. He can't be gay, look at this child of Alll-mer he is likely together with.

I might have said this before but d'arce and Samarie are the same person to me. Not really a headcanon, more just like vibes. Two lesbians who feel such a profound emptiness, but have found someone who fills that emptiness. And upon finding someone who makes the emptiness go away, they're willing to do terrible, terrible things to keep them in their life. Samarie out of love, but D'arce out of like religious devotion (insert three paragraph rant sky Le'garde Alll-mer symbolism, I've ranted about it before tho so I'll spare you the repeat) but she interprets this devotion as love as well.

(This one is fully stolen from modern man traditional medicine, one of my favorite fics ever) Daan has a hard time being close to people. I think his childhood plus the creepy ass arrangement with the baron have kinda made it impossible to be like intimate with anyone in any way that doesn't feel like a performance. I think he kinda sees sex and intimacy as like a favor or a transaction, cause that's all it's ever been to him. The background option that teaches loving whispers is also implied to be like prostitution so like......

Abella would have loved factorio. This is like 100% projection cause I love factorio and I love abella, but I really feel like she would have liked it.

Uh cahara uh beautiful pretty man uh I forgot what I was gonna put here

Karin is homophobic. There's a very real chance this was on the last post too but I don't remember lol. This one's kinda Canon, based on what she says at the train if you're playing as daan, but it's especially funny cause in my heart she's bi.

Enki is ace. He crashes the game if you try and make a marriage with him. He could just refuse, but in my brain he accepts and then exerts what little control over the game he has to hurt the real human playing the game by making them lose their save. This one's got the stamp of approval from my ace best friend.

I would love to hear your head canons as well! This is mainly directed at herta, but random passerbys are also encouraged to give me your head canons!

[elleloquently]

i can’t explain how much i love your posts i-😭😭😭 they make me feel so safe and loved🥹

if u take requests, can i kindly request some headcanons with videogamer!ellie x reader!gf ?

thank u sm beauty!!💕💕💕💕💕

| a/n : i am so happy to hear that, that is so sweet!!! i'm so sorry this took so long, i'm rly behind on requests ): as a reader tho i adore this idea. modern au bc yay modern technology!

gamer!ellie with a reader!gf :

-having different interests definitely didn't keep either of you from spending time together. you would just do separate activities, together.

-if ellie was gaming you would always take the opportunity to read, and if you wanted to read then ellie would play something. you sorta correlated times that way someone wasn't feeling left out if you wanted to actively spend time together (ellie wouldn't want to see your pout when you saw her gaming while you were missing her lmao)

-if there was a game ellie was really into at the moment, she would def be guilty of surprising you with a book from your to read list so she could spend more time than usual playing ,,

-you are privy to her ways but you would certainly never complain about getting a new book !

-ellie always listens while you sit with your legs over her lap, ranting and raving about whichever book you're reading at the time.

-if you burn through books quickly she might get the side plots or characters mixed up, interrupting your rambles with a follow up question about a character that was definitely from like, three books ago.

"ellieeee," you would pretend to whine, though the look of interest crossed with confusion on her face made it difficult to stifle a giggle. "that was my last book, this one is different now."

"oh! right! but he did turn out to be bad, right?"

"yes. okay, anyway..."

-sometimes she gets distracted and loses or has to pause for awhile because she just likes . watching you. it's sweet, the way you look so peaceful with a book in your hands.

-ellie thinks it's funny when you mimic the facial expressions that you're reading about. rushes for her phone sometimes bc the faces you make while reading crack her tf up. you get so flustered when she shows you later but she absolutely adores the photos.

-especially if you're making an expression in regards to what is happening in the story. you're so quiet and ellie looks over to check on you, only to be met with your bewildered expression or a deep set frown. she'll pipe up and ask what's happening, grinning when you snap your book closed.

"oh my god," you start, leaning forward to clue her in.

-sometimes you find yourself rereading paragraphs over and over, finding it difficult to focus as your eyes wander to ellie instead.

-the look of concentration on her face... muttering and swearing under her breath... her hands.

!!!!!!!

-tugging ellie's hand in a book aisle at the store, pacing around the shelves with mumbles of "i promise i'm just looking, not buying any today"

-(ellie carries your books when you leave the store)

-displaying the same patience while she's browsing games, debating and comparing. you make sure to pay extra attention cause you love surprising her for special occasions.

-you try some of her games occasionally after much convincing on ellie's end. she's such a backseat gamer though and it ends with you either getting a lil grumpy or laughing too hard to take it seriously.

-she tries to find some low stakes, silly games so the two of you can play together. if there's a book you're really crazy about, you'll pass it on to ellie and she'll read it so you can have someone to discuss it with <3

[eris-and-lokis-love-child]

The last year has been a massive wakeup call for me as a gentile in a lot of ways. But one of the things that's stuck out to me is the realization of just how staggeringly moronic it is to see pro-pals say they have nothing against Jews, just Zionists, with a straight fucking face. If your tolerance towards Jews only extends towards at best 20% of the global Jewish population...I mean holy shit guys. That is NOT the showing of solidarity that you think it is.

So, part of it comes from the public perception of Zionism (from propaganda) vs the reality. The public perception is that Zionism is an evil, oppressive, colonial attempt to steal land from these poor, innocent Palestinians (who weren't even called that before the end of WW2). I'll deal with the reality of this in the next paragraph. And so, this view, propaganda pushed by Iran, Russia, and their puppets, has become heavily entrenched in the Left, because it hits all those lovely buttons that most Leftists have installed because of bullshit ideological purity, and that's an entire other rant.

The reality is this. The basic idea of Zionism is that the Jewish people should have self determination in their indigenous land. The only other ethnic group from that linguistic-ethnic group is the Chaldeans, who are largely Aramaic speaking Eastern Rite Catholics, and they consider their homeland to be ancient Chaldea, in modern-day Iraq. The Carthaginians are dead, the Phoenicians absorbed into everywhere else. And also the Samaritans, which are... complicated, but largely never left Samaria, and number about 900 people.

Zionism has many branches, and yeah, some of those are kind of shitty. And you can find shitty branches of any other group. Among Leftists, we have Tankies. And this isn't 'anyone I don't like is a Tankie', this is 'Authortarian Leftists and those who support Authortarian rulers who claim to be Leftist, or just will support anyone who opposes the US are tankies.'

But let's focus on our own bad branches before we go after someone else's. I personally find the Kahanists to be reprehensible, but at the end of the day, I'm a goy, and unless I'm tagged in by a Jew to go after them, that's their own internal shit to deal with. With all my groups, I've got volkist pagans (and despite bullshit claims, Zionism isn't volkist), tankies, and dealing with the shitty centrists in the Democratic party (because until we have national fucking ranked voting, we gotta deal with the party system as it is).

[runningpsychic]

Why Goodbye Volcano High resonates with me as...

...a musician

As a musician, it's hard not to immediately identify with Fang. What musician doesn't want their music to be heard, to play at music festivals, and have music as their career. I can wax poetic about how music is about self expression and it doesn't matter if I have an audience, but in the end, I still want my music to be heard, and enjoyed. And Fang is on track to making this their entire career.

Making music has been a minor hobby for me. Even as a kid, I knew there's almost no chance I can make it as a musician, so I went down the route of being a software engineer instead. It's such a minor part of my life that I don't even bother identifying as a musician, I just fool around with instruments. But something about GVH ignited that passion in me, and during my first playthrough, I wrote six songs inspired by themes in the game. Even if I'll stay an amateur, I want to make the most from life, and not let the fire die. (See last section)

All that said, I felt very bad for Fang throughout the game. I know how tough the life of a full time musician is. The industry is just completely screwed. And unlike me, Fang doesn't have another option other than music. The game also drives it in that Fang's friends all have viable career paths, while Fang doesn't. But then, the meteor throws an interesting wrench into this, as now Fang is the only one who achieved their dreams. I'm not sure what the point of this paragraph is besides fuck capitalism, give musicians a living wage.

...an enby

Fang really made me more comfortable about being non-binary. It's amazing seeing enby representation that doesn't feel shoehorned in, or merely an afterthought. It's actually integral to the story. Both Fang and Sage struggle having their parents take their identities seriously, and that mirrors my own fears of not being taken seriously as an enby myself, which leads me to only come out as non-binary to my closest friends, and just remain a binary trans woman to everyone else.

It's honestly amazing to see everyone in Caldera Bay being accepting of the queer cast, like being queer isn't a big deal at all. And that's how it should be. Everyone just calls Fang by their name and pronouns (except their parents of course), and no one seems to mind that Reed brought Alvin to prom. This really makes me feel more comfortable about my identity, and I feel proud to be queer. We don't owe them normal.

...an immigrant

It's so rare to see stories about the intersection of being trans and being an immigrant, so when I read Rosa's story, I felt it must've been written by someone who also has first hand experience. There's a distinct feel from my family that me being trans is a "western" thing, not something they could ever understand. Or worse, that I'm being corrupted by "the west" in some way by moving there. There's so much extended family I can never see again because I'm now an abomination of the family tree.

I find it really difficult to talk about this as I fear I'd be misread as being racist for suggesting that my home country is more queerphobic or something, but that isn't my point. I just want to tell my story, and my experience of being alienated for both culture and gender, in both my origin and destination countries, is one that most folks can't emphasize with. (Venba also does do a good job with the culture part, so you should check that out too)

There's a separate rant about how this brand of queerphobia was actually planted by Christian missionaries and not at all "traditional culture", but that's for another time.

...someone struggling with mental health

I've been obsessed with the game for months since I played it. I went through what everyone calls "Dino depression", but I think it really helped me, and it was the game I needed to play at this moment in my life. I struggle with depression and burnout. At times it can be hard to know what the point is, or feel that any of this is worth it. The first few weeks after the game, I actually felt more depressed, as I thought about what the point of life is if it all is temporary anyway, and what I would do if a meteor were to hit in 8 months. And I was scared, because I felt like my life wasn't under my control. Over time, I've learned to think about it more positively. If life is temporary, then it's up to me to make the most of it. If life has no meaning, it's up to me to make my own meaning. I have amazing friends around me, and I still have tons of music to make.

[figs-and-cigs]

Saw a post recently that said if you're not a good communicator you shouldn't be in a poly relationship. My first thought was, "right communication is an absolute MUST!" But thinking about it some more, I think there needs to be more nuance to the idea. What makes good communication? And who's to say who should and shouldn't do polyamory?

I'm an easily overwhelmed, agoraphobic, introvert - and at times communication IS hard. I often seek alone time with very little interaction with the outside world.

I had a girlfriend who HATED texting and wanted lots of in person face to face time. That relationship slowly unravelled and disappeared - without communication. I'm a texter and couldn't fit my schedule or find the spoons to spend more time with her - and she never texted.

I had to explain to a new person I'm dating that I'm not good at asking a lot of questions - which can look like a lack of interest and a failure in gathering information for a good match. The reality is I figure others will tell me what they want me to know over time as they get comfortable, and if it's important it'll come up. Meanwhile, I'm an open book. I communicate with lengthy paragraphs and stories to paint a picture of my world. Which often gets others to share similarly - through text, and more importantly get to know me on a deep level. In person I'm spastic mess, I get emotional about everything and excitement or frustration can jumble words into an incoherent rant.

When I'm upset, I cry... And trying to help someone see my point of view doesn't work well between frustrated sobs I can't control. With my husband we make an effort to take a pause with intense discussions and let me write/text it out. And while he can be a stoic type during emotional discussions - giving him time to process is important. But my anxious attachment will precieve it as if I'm doing all the communication and he's got nothing!

I also unintentionally go into circles and rants as I process which can be overwhelming to the other party. I've been in relationships where we'd talk and talk and talk and talk until we'd exhaust each other and that talking might turn into yelling or unhealthy silent treatments. Neither of us could understand each other or find common ground.

To prevent this with my husband we set timers. 5/5/10. We each get 5 minutes to share our thoughts, and then we'll have 10 minutes to collaborate on a solution - or to bond or support each other.

I have a FWB who I rarely hear from. Maybe every few months when he's in town and able to set a date to meet. He's not the talkative type unless we're alone in a room together - and I realized I'm ok with this. I don't need constant contact to enjoy my time with him.

I think a huge part of healthy relationships is meeting people where they're at and accepting each other exactly as we are. The good, the bad, the messy, and perfectly whole. And it's beautiful and wonderful! But it's also complicated and hard. Not every relationship is going to last. But the experiences together are valuable nonetheless.

When our communication styles and skills are different, what do we do!? Ironically, we communicate about it, and even a "bad communicator" can find work arounds. I think it comes down to boundaries and trying to understand each other. And if it doesn't work out between both of you - it doesn't mean we can't find someone else who it can't work with.

And while we can find total acceptance of each other one would hope each of us is working on personal progress and improvements in areas that we struggle.

Just like there's no one right perfect way to be poly, I don't think there's only one right perfect way to communicate. We each need to find what works best for us and our individual relationships. And it's going to vary and be different almost every single time.

The end.

[mondstalgia]

A few people asked for my paragraph rant about Louis acting in the bed scene and well 👉👈 I'm not sure how many people watch the behind the scenes of their first bed scene but it really underlines, or rather, adds how brilliantly it was done but also took a lot out of Louis as an actor. He was still very quiet if not reserved while talking about the scene, leaving most of the talking to Nat while he is still catching himself from the emotions he conjured up.

gif credit to @laurenkmyers

This scene is by far my favorite intimate scene I have ever seen. Dian perfectly brings together the desperation and need when Aidi first kisses ChenYi, but what we can also see is a bit of anger with frowned brows and hard kissing. That now that he's drunk not knowing who is his with (for that moment) he allows affection like this, even pressing for it so there is definitely pain, anger and need coming together. Jiang Dian makes the audience feel that, he really pulls us into the scene with him. And then you see those emotions be washed away in a second of contemplation, replaced for pure pain the moment they are shirtless and Aidi grasps desperately to be close to Chenyi like his life depends on it. What's left is love and pain and regret.

gif credit to @laurenkmyers

Also the tear. That goddamn perfect tear that hits Chenyi' s face, pulls him out of his drunken stupor and makes him realize it's Aidi. Brilliant acting from both. There was definitely a lot of pressure on Dian Dian to get it perfect and he absolutely did, everything about it, the soft but rushed kisses, the light trembling...its devastating perfection. When they say acting is art, this is what they mean. Definitely also kudos to Nat of course but I want to give it to Louis mostly for taking such a difficult part on, shouldering the weight of the whole scene which made Aidi's decision that followed even heavier.

gif credit to @khaotungsfirst

Going from all those complicated emotions beforehand though, the moment ChenYi kisses Aidi back, you can not only see it in the expression but also his body language where Aidi completely lets it all go (he literally sinks onto Chenyi). I think it as beautiful detail from Louis and of course the directors. How he let's go of his this burden he carries at last and completely gives into everything he has ever wanted. Followed with the way ChenYi switches their positions, it's a perfect way of showing that nothing but this moment matters anymore and that he literally puts himself into Chen Yi's care. Just a really neat little thing tbh. In Chen Bo Wen's words: "From the very first tear, I knew he could do it." So proud of DianDian and the whole crew for giving us such a perfect, complicated moment.

gif credit to @khaotungsfirst

[justforfunfic]

Drinks & Dates Pt 2

Summary: Using the prompts “Can you come get me?” and “You’re not really dating him” 

You’ve recently broken up with your boyfriend but he doesn’t get the message. Maybe fake dating his coworker will finally make him realize that you're really over? That is, if your friend doesn’t get to him first. 

Pairing: Sandor Clegane x reader

Genre: Modern AU

Word Count: 3.3k

Warnings: none A/N: Meryn is not the creep he is in the books/show but he is what he’s always been: a loser. Also sorry if this feels rushed.

Part 2

______________________________________________________________

You’re not proud to admit it, but you’ve been back to Jeff’s twice since the night out with Rosa. You told yourself (and Rosa) that it was because you like the atmosphere, which was partially true, but with no one to share it with, you found it rather awkward. You really went with the hope to see Sandor again.

After holding Rosa’s hair back in the bathroom and then tucking her in on your couch, you pondered about how you knew Sandor. You had heard Meryn talk about him before and he didn’t like him. You thought back to those heated rants, now adding the face to the name.

“He's such a dick!”  Meryn yelled, slamming the fridge door after grabbing a beer. You had gone over to his flat on a Friday afternoon, hoping to finish a paper before seeing a movie later.

“Are you listening to me?” He asked accusingly when he heard the clicking of keys. 

“Mhm,” You hummed back, “I’m just working on my last paragraph and then I’ll be done.”

Meryn huffed, and you asked, “Who was this again?”

“Clegane, which you’d know if you paid attention,” He said.

“Which one?” 

He glared at you before answering. “Sandor!”

“And you’re mad because he won’t work with you?” You furiously hit the backspace key.

“He thinks he’s too good to work with me! The Lannister’s hired the both of us for a reason,” Meryn was getting red in the face. It was difficult enough for veterans to find jobs, but when Tywin Lannister, one of the richests men in the country, offered him a job as a bodyguard for his oldest grandson, he jumped at it. It paid extremely well and soon became the only thing Meryn talked about, but you had lost interest in hearing about the grandson of a powerful politician two weeks after he started. You thought the conversations about Jeoffry were dwindling, but they were replaced with rants about his coworker, Sandor Clegane.

“We’re both supposed to accompany Jeoffry, but he refuses to let me go anywhere with them. How am I supposed to do my job if he blocks me at every step?”

You submitted your paper and realized he was waiting for a response. “I don’t know.”

“That’s because I can’t!”

“Well,” You said calmly as you closed your laptop, “Didn’t the Lanister’s hire you to be there when one of the Cleganes isn’t?”

Meryn glared at you. You weren’t wrong. Joffrey was a demanding teenager to say the least, and while Gegor or Sandor Clegane were with him during the day, Joffrey often sent them out on errands or other tasks. Joffrey’s mother Cersi insisted on hiring someone else to pick up the slack— Meryn. He remained by Jeoffry’s side while the Clegane brothers were away. So even though Sandor and Meryn worked together, they didn’t work together. Meryn didn’t like this technicality.

“That’s not the point! We’re scheduled at the same time, so there’s a lot of overlap. He shouldn’t have a problem with me being there.”

“Maybe he thinks you’re trying to take his job,” You offered.

“I am!” He yelled and you gave him a look as if to say ‘well there you go then.’ “It’s not my fault he isn’t always available.”

“People are allowed to have free time.” Meryn wasn’t having any of your logic and huffed.

You couldn’t think of anything to say about the matter. You didn’t know why Clegane didn’t like him and you didn’t know why it was so important to Meryn for him to like him, especially if he wanted his job.

You changed the subject, “I’m done with my paper if you’re ready to go.”

“Let me finish my beer and I’ll be ready.”

That was the memory that stood out most. There were others, but they often included other people and you couldn’t remember anything about Sandor specifically other than a general hatred. You reviewed the argument in your head again on the way to Jeff’s for the third time in three weeks.

It was the first Saturday you hadn’t had plans with Rosa. She had plans with some of her coworkers, which was an unexpected relief. You would have invited her to go with you out of obligation, but she had a habit of acting differently around men and it wasn’t uncommon for her to throw you under the bus if it meant getting a number. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded. You didn’t usually didn’t know the guy too well but at the same time you never got the chance. It didn’t normally bother you, but the thought of her flirting with Sandor made your stomach drop. 

It was almost ten and Jeff’s was busier than you expected. Maybe because it wasn’t a weekday or nearly 2am saturday night/sunday morning. People poured in and out of the door as you squeezed in. It was loud inside with the laughter of old friends, the shouting of drink orders to the bartenders, and the band playing off to one side. You squeezed your way to the bar, glancing for Sandor on the way while trying not to step on anyone. 

He wasn’t there, a familiar disappointment settling in your chest. You waited for the bartender to look at you to order a drink, too sober to decide what to do next. You didn’t feel like drinking alone but you also didn’t want to go through the trouble of making small talk as you finished your drink or ordered more to wait for Sandor. 

You finally caught the attention of the bartender, leaning on the bar and shouting  your drink order over the dozens of other people trying to flag her down. As you leaned back, you accidentally elbowed the man next to you. You begin to apologize, but he laughed and waved you off. He had already had a few beers and it showed.

“It’s my fault,” he said. “ I didn’t see you there.”

You laughed and half faked a smile, trying not to stare at his eye patch. 

The man on the other side of him gave him a slap on the shoulder and they shook hands as he departed into the sea of people, leaving you and the man with one eye. As the other man left, the smile on his face dropped and he sighed.

“Not a fan?” You asked

“Wouldn’t leave quick enough.” This was your chance to kill time.

“I’m guessing you’re not friends then?”

He scoffed but his merry returned. “Complete strangers actually.” He glanced around. “I don’t know how you feel about the Lannisters, but I don't like them.”

“Neither do I.” No one did, or at least since Joffrey began his reign of terror a few years ago. It was sickening how much he got away with because of his family’s money. A few months ago, there was a peaceful protest for the ongoing war, one which the Lannisters were funding, and Joffery had kicked one of the protesters who spat on the ground in front of him. Chaos and violence ensued with the Lannisters “defending” their helpless Joffrey and people defending themselves from police and the Lannister’s bodyguards. It wasn’t Jeofferys latest scandal and much to the public’s suffering, it wouldn’t be the last. “Not that I go around talking about it.” It was unwise to do so.

The man laughed. “Normally, I don't either. Until Lannister apologists come prancing around spending Lannister money.”

You smiled, it wasn’t a pleasant conversation topic and you didn’t have any real opinions on it other than a general dislike but it was better than drinking alone. The one-eyed man continued his drunken rant and you listened intently, nodding encouragement to him. You were halfway through your third drink with no end in sight. The conversation drifted but always came back to the Lannisters— their money, their influence, their corruption. 

He began on another tangent when your eyes cut to the man he was speaking with before, who unknowingly started this conversation by bragging about the work he did for that awful family. He was finishing what was probably his fifth or six beer surrounded by a group of men laughing and yelling at each other. On one side you could see a mess of dark brown hair and a shirt that looked too familiar. With the turn of his head, your stomach dropped. It was Meryn. You looked away quickly, scared he would feel your eyes on him. 

You tried to focus on the one-eyed man’s words and tried not to think of your ex a few tables away. It was no use, the only thing you could hear was your pounding heart in your ears.

“— and that’s why I’ll never believe a word out of Jamie Lannister's mouth, or anyone who works under him. They’re all liars. Can’t trust ‘em, not a single one.” 

You forced a smile but before you could respond, someone else spoke up in a loud gruff voice. “Not a single one.”

You looked over the man’s shoulder to see who you’d been hoping to see for the past three weeks. Sandor. 

People squeezed out of his way as he got closer to the bar. You didn’t realize how massive he was when he was sitting at the bar a few Saturdays ago but now that he was standing, he had to be the largest man in the room. He wore dark clothes and part of his hair was combed over the burned side of his face. When Sandor reached the bar, the bartender was already placing a dark beer on the counter for him. 

The one-eyed man laughed again. “Not a single one,” he repeated, “They’re all dogs.”

Sandor didn’t smile, but his demeanor was relaxed and you realized that they must be friends.

“Am I wrong?”

Sandor shook his head. “No. Especially not after Joffery’s date with Margery.”

The man raised his eyebrows but before he could ask, Sandor shook his head again. Their date had been covered by multiple media outlets and all over your instagram feed. “I didn’t come here to listen to you complain about the Lannisters, Beric. Everyone knows you don’t like them.”

“Neither do you,” The one-eyed man, Beric, pointed out. It seemed that it was a common argument between the two. 

Rather than indulge his friend’s rant, Sandor looked at you, noticing you for the first time. You desperately raked your brain for something to say but between your nerves and Meryn’s presence, your mind was frustratingly blank. He opened his mouth slightly but closed it again.

“Do you two know each other?” Beric asked. You didn't miss the raised eyebrow he gave Sandor.

“Um, yes,” You said a little too quickly. “Well sort of.”

Beric raised an eyebrow.

“We briefly met a few weeks ago,” you said steadily. 

“She’s Meryn Trant’s girlfriend,” Sandor said.

You were quick to correct. “Ex-girlfriend.” 

“Oh,” Beric said, “so all that rambling about the Lannisters—”

“— I completely agree with. It’s hard to like them with their political policies and impossible when you find out what goes on behind closed doors.”

“Trant told you?” Sandor asked, crushing any hope Beric had of you telling him.

“Yes,” you said cautiously. His tone was serious. “Should he not have?”

“No.”

“Oh,” was all you could think to say. “I didn’t know that I wasn’t supposed to know.”

“It’s in his contract.”

You nodded and before you forced yourself to think of something else to talk to Sandor about, Beric cut in. “What happened?”

It took you a moment to realize he was talking about your former relationship and not the Lannisters.

“We realized we weren’t right for eachother,” You said with a thin smile. As much as you wanted to tell your new friend about the woes of your relationship with Meryn, this wasn’t the time or place. Sandor raised an eyebrow at your response and how you nervously avoided eye contact and knew there was more that you weren’t sharing. He hated working with Trant. He couldn’t imagine what it was like to date him.

Soon the Lannisters were abandoned in favor of the new girlfriend of Beric’s close friend. You paid enough attention and laughed when appropriate, but it wasn’t until Beric mentioned a dog that your eyes brightened.

“You have a dog?” you asked Sandor as Beric excused himself to go to the bathroom.

“Stranger,” he replied, the most interested you’d seen him in a conversation yet, “He’s a hound. A great big one.”

“I had a greyhound when I was little. His name was Sarge. He was so large, or maybe I was just so young, that I had fully convinced myself that he was the largest dog to exist and borderline the size of a horse.”

Sandor’s eyes lit up and you could’ve sworn he was smiling a little. “A horse?”

“I was, like, four, okay?”

He nodded, "What color?”

“Brindle. I wish I had a picture.” There was one in your room somewhere. “What about Stranger?”

“He’s black. I got him at the shelter on Fourth.”

“That’s where my friend Rosa got her cat!” You said enthusiastically and a bit too loudly. You clung to your empty glass and smiled.

“She’s the girl you were with a few weeks ago?”

Your smile became strained as you nodded, immediately regretting bringing her up. Before a thousand thoughts and memories of Rosa came crashing down on your confidence, Sandor, upon noticing the ice melting in your glass, drained his own drink and offered to get another round. You hastily accept, pushing Rosa out of your mind.

After a few moments waiting in the crowd, the bartender made eye contact with Sandor and nodded in your direction while pouring a drink. Sandor leaned across from you, put his hand on the bartop for balance. You blushed at the proximity and tried to look anywhere but his face

Your gaze wandered as you studied the faces of everyone else in the bar but the one that was right in front of you. Until your eyes landed on the one person you were hoping wouldn’t notice you. Meryn was staring directly at you. You froze. You could see the gears turning in his head and see how he saw you: with Sandor’s arm around you as he ordered another round of drinks for you. You could hear the thought in his head. She’s with him. 

You watched the shock turn to hurt and the hurt turn to anger. And then you looked away. You didn’t want to see what he was thinking anymore. You turned your attention to Sandor, a mistake in hindsight.

“What did you order?”

“Whatever you had before.” You wished he’d say more to distract you from your borderline violent ex. Surely he wouldn’t make a scene with Sandor here. He was his coworker and almost a head taller than him. 

“Sorry about Beric,” Sandor said, back to facing you.

“What about him?”

“He doesn’t know when to shut up when he’s drunk. Or sober for that matter.”

“I don’t mind.” Rosa’s the same way, you wanted to add, but instead you said, “I’m used to it, and frankly I enjoy listening to him.”

“That makes one of us.”

“Why do you go out drinking with him if you don’t like him?”

“He’s not so bad.” You almost missed Sandor’s eyes crinkling and realized that must be his way of smiling. “He can be a bit insensitive about some things. Doesn’t mean anything by it though.”

Was he talking about the Lannisters or Meryn? Part of you wished it was your ex so that you could tell Sandor about him to avoid Meryn causing a scene. The other part of you hoped he wasn’t talking about Meryn so that you could keep pretending that he didn’t exist. Unfortunately, Meryn wasn’t going to let the latter be an option.

“I’m not bothered by it. I’m glad I didn’t have to drink alone.”

“I’m glad too,” Sandor said, looking over at the bar. He had already finished his beer. “I don’t have to endure his blabbering alone.”

You laughed. He looked at you with a half-smile and was about to say something else when you caught a movement in your peripheral vision. Before you had time to register what was happening, Meryn was already there.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Clegane?” Meryan spat.

“Drinking,” Sandor replied, disinterested. Any walls that had been lowered during the last few hours were up again in seconds.

“No shit. What are you doing with my girl?”

Sandor looked at you, staring wide-eyed with shock and embarrassment, and back to Trant.

“I thought you two had broken up.”

“Doesn’t matter. She’s mine.”

“Not anymore apparently,” Beirc said, appearing from the crowd and ready to give Meryn the fight he was craving. You could only stare. Everything was happening so fast and yet moved in slow motion.

“Fuck off, old man” said the Lannister apologist from earlier.

“How could you do this to me?” Meryn threw the question at you. His brows knit together with anger. “How could you see another man behind my back?”

All eyes in the building were on you. Your face burned. Mortified was the only word to describe how you felt. “We’re not together anymore.” Your voice came out shaky.

“So you decide to fuck my coworker?” His face was red, but something in you snapped.

“You cheated on me.” Finding a small bit of courage, you added, “It doesn’t matter who I’m with now because you cheated on me.”

Sandor’s eyes widened. He should’ve been ashamed, but Meryn dug his heels in. “You thought I cheated. And now you’re fucking my coworker.”

“She left, Trant. Get over it.” You thought Sandor would add that you weren’t seeing each other, but instead she stood to his full height and took a step toward your ex. That was all it took for the manager to step in.

“That’s enough! Pay your tabs and get out!” Terry yelled. He turned to Sandor and Beric and in a quieter but no less threatening tone said, “Sit down or I’ll kick you out too.”

“Not until you answer me,” Meryn hissed at you, his friends egging him on. Even if you wanted to tell him why he was dumped in further detail, Terry didn’t give you the time. He waved to his left and a large man came out of the kitchen.

Meryn couldn’t decide what insults to hurl at you, so he used any and all that came to mind, ranging from bitch to slut to sloppy seconds but that last one was also directed toward Sandor as he was dragged out by security.

Some patrons watched the door as if they were expecting Meryn to barge back in, but others got back to talking and drinking. You were still processing what had just unfolded.

“I’m so sorry,” you stammered. Beric laughed.

“Don’t be. I take great joy in watching Lannister men getting what they deserve.”

“A fraction of what they deserve in Trant’s case,” Sandor mumbled. You couldn’t read his face, but it didn’t matter. Their words didn’t make you feel any better. You excused yourself to the bathroom.

“Poor girl. I feel bad for laughing. That must’ve been hard for her.” Beric said.

Sandor nodded. “At least she doesn’t have to work with him.”

“That’s true.”

“He thinks I’m dating her.” Sandor thought of all the disgusting things Trant would say and the rumors he would spread. They wouldn’t mean much to him, but he still didn’t want to deal with it. 

“Maybe that’s not such a bad idea,” Beric said, nudging his friend’s arm.

[zephyrine-tale]

im doing the rant about N25 KAITO i fucking lied about it coming on the weekend because im bored as hell :3

*ahem*

so N25 KAITO is memed a lot because in the April Fool's event, there's an area convo with N25 Rin where she's talking with another unit's KAITO (either VBS or WXS i can't remember 💀) and she's like "oh. i wonder if our KAITO will be like that :)"

and in EN server there's almost certainly people meming the way the new stamps tastefully ignore N25 KAITO

and I'm interested by this because I think niigo KAITO coming last was a very purposeful decision by the writers?

let's look at the first four KAITOs. Leoni KAITO is quiet, shy, but still a helpful senpai- exactly what the Leoni girls like Saki and Ichika have been needing for direction in their music studies and becoming a better band by working together individually and as a group.

MMJ KAITO is a hardworking manager, who provides that "push" that's shown to help Minori the most. Minori has her head in the clouds often and is shown to be helped by very severe, what I would consider maybe slightly "harsh" instruction from the others. (Think Airi always training her and pushing her to go harder, that's what Minori needs.) KAITO provides that push and also shows the management side of being an idol group for MMJ- all of MMJ are idols after all, to my knowledge none of them have managing experience. But keep in mind, he's still kind. He's still helpful and nice, and smiles often.

VBS KAITO is shown as mostly a direct contrast to Akito and how since the main story, he (akito) has wanted to work hard and consistently for the goal to surpass Rad Weekend, even perhaps putting his studies aside. KAITO represents keeping talent and being hardworking, while still being lazy and having fun. I think he also represents as motivation for Kohane, who was convinced by the main story she needs to work constantly and hardly and push herself beyond other things she enjoys to be able to reach this goal- but she doesn't. All of VBS can achieve their goal while still having fun with it, and that's what their KAITO represents.

WXS KAITO is literally fucking WXS KAITO idk what you want

Okay jokes aside as the "main" KAITO he is there to provide the more serious aspect to WonderShow's silly goofiness. Tsukasa definitely also has is head in the clouds, but all he wants is "to become a STAR! ⭐️" without really knowing how to achieve that goal. KAITO represents the path to that goal, and motivates him to work for that future. We see before PXL and SEKAI, that Tsukasa wasn't really getting anywhere with his acting career, right? And there's a whole other bucketload of info about what he represents for Emu, Nene, and Rui, but I can't figure out how to word it 😭 😭

So to sum it up, KAITOs seem to show what the unit members (especially the "leaders" but not always) need and motivates them to get to their overall goal, they were created in the image of what they want and what they need. And in contrast to Niigo KAITO, they are all NICE. They are all helpful, kind, fun, and genuine.

Now, remember what I said just now, about how they were created in the image of what the unit members want and what they need.

With Niigo, it's a common theme that could be said that "all roads lead back to Mafuyu." Kanade wants to save someone with her music, and Mafuyu represents that desire for her. Ena wants to prove herself as a talented and respectable artist, and she'll know she reaches that goal once Mafuyu is able to genuinely tell her, from the bottom of Mafuyu's heart, that Ena had improved and gotten the feeling she wanted to convey across to someone who is practically incapable of feeling anymore. And Mizuki ,,, there's definitely something for them to but I can't remember anything abt their stories rn 😭 😭 im a failed mizuki kinnie istg (also this entire paragraph was not supposed to invalidate any of their individual stories and characters and say that mafuyu is the best and only character of N25 that's not it at all)

So, considering Mafuyu under this lens, and quoting that KAITOs tend to represent what a unit member needs and wants to move forward, this becomes interesting because deep down, Mafuyu doesn't know what she needs or wants. There were definitely people who predicted that N25 KAITO was gonna be an asshole, but for the most part KAITO's harsh strictness and rudeness came as a direct contrast to all of the kind, helpful SEKAILOIDS we've seen before. Even N25 MEIKO was just kinda chill and quiet with the occasional not nice comment, but KAITO came forward with the sharp, harsh comments about what exactly Mafuyu needs to do. I heard somewhere that Mizuki tells Mafuyu that maybe running away would be a good idea, and that Rui tells her something similar.

But KAITO flat out fucking commands her (and the others i think) that she needs to confront and cut ties with mafumom IMMEDIATELY, and not in a nice or encouraging way either.

Anyways that was my midnight thought I had and I definitely did not do any research, so if I said something totally wrong or you'd like to make an argument/bring up new points, PLEASE feel free to reblog and tell me your thoughts! Plus I didn't beta read this or anything so it probably won't flow well and there might be a few typos or grammer mistakes. Hope you enjoyed reading!

[dnd-smash-pass-vs]

As the year wraps up, I gotta get something off my chest, don't worry I'm not making a habit of this. Even though I know that the people who it's pointed at won't read or care, and the people who do see the resemblance to themselves likely won't be the ones I'm talking to. but I just had to delete multiple asks again, and it's stuff I get all the time, so I'm going to indulge in a little angry rant that you're free to ignore. Because seriously, I LOVE getting asks, I'd turn them off if I didn't. but some of ya'll REALLY don't understand there's a person on the other end of this. ...also, this is explicitly not pointed to the happy anon with the super long slaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad post last night, you're cool. I was just a really tired last night and hit delete on accident.

- Every time a post gets reblogged, it finds more monsterfuckers, but also more non-monsterfuckers. A less monstrous person doing well or winning does not mean you're the only monsterfucker here. don't fill my inbox with multi-paragraph "everyone here's supposed to be a monsterfucker" hate essays every time a monstrous option isn't in a massive lead, take it up with your followers if it matters to you that much. -Some of you are fine always voting against bone devil no matter what, but can't comprehend something auto-losing for a different reason. Like "I hate heat." Or strong smells, or frogs. Sometimes people don't like the option they chose, they just hate it less. I see the merit in near any option I post, even if it's not for me...but seeing why you like it doesn't me I do too, stop asking me to take sides. - Or the opposite, one of the most common tags is "I love both, but I have a core memory or fetish with one so that's my default." Choosing one doesn't mean they hate the other option and you specifically. I'd happily fuck them both, but one indulges a fetish more core to me than some of my organs. - Someone who would fuck a werewolf or manticore or such is a monsterfucker, even if they don't go further. You don't get to say they aren't a REAL monsterfucker because you decided their preferred monsters aren't monstrous enough. Do you to see someone thirsting over a butch and say they're not a REAL lesbian because you decided that's not girly enough? There's no need to be elitist or gatekeep. Especially in an ask, but also in general tbh.

- I'm a basic bitch too sometimes! Just because we like the weird stuff doesn't mean we have to start hating the basic stuff and those who indulge in it. kinkshaming goes both ways, neither of which should be sent to me. You are not the standard by which all is judged, you being relatively more kinky does not make them objectively less kinky. - Seriously, if tumblr is anything, it's the "Labels" site. where people come to learn thier labels, give themselves labels, show off thier labels, surround themselves in similar labels until they forget it's not the only label. Often while saying they hate labels. It's not even the monsterfucker website, Tumblr's just more neutral toward it instead of openly hostile. I get the disappointment, but don't direct it to me. TLDR: That shoggoth or whatever isn't going to become real and fuck you because you flooded my inbox with rants on how "anyone who didn't choose X is fake, and all ya'll aren't TRUE BELIEVERS of the ONE TRUE MONSTERFUCKER GOD." Sarenrae on a bike, It's my blog, and I say everyone's welcome as long as they stay civil. so be civil before I take the anon button away. At least some people have the guts to show their face when insulting anyone who likes ___ over ___

[jccatstudios]

I have been following your soc comic adaptation and it just so good!!! I love how you draw them!

I have just one question: Why did you not include Inej's opening musings about Kaz on the first page? (Kaz Brekker didn't need a reason etc) I actually really like how there is not text on the first two pages, it's really atmospheric and moody so this really is not a criticism, I don't want to insult you. I guess I was just wondering what the thought process behind that was?

Oh, I've been wanting to talk about this for a while! Buckle up, this is gonna be one of my long comic rants. (Also, no offense taken at all! Anyone's welcome to question my artistic choices and I'm always happy to take critique, even though that isn't your intention.)

So, the thing is I actually planned on including that first paragraph into the comic! Here's when I first shared the thumbnails on here. Just for the sake of this post, I'll insert them here too.

The boxes are meant to be where excerpts of that introduction would go. When I was creating the thumbnails, I was thinking about how iconic these lines were and how well they introduce the world and characters. I even finished the pages with the intention to include those lines. This is from my original csp file.

When I lettered it all out, I felt like something wasn't right...? Hard to explain. I wanted silence for the opening and the narration took that away. I then thought about the reader who'd go into this without reading the novel first, wondering if they'd be thinking, Who's this Kaz Brekker guy? Is it this character on the page? It's clearer in the book, but I didn't think it paired well with what I drew. I didn't want any confusion. It's also Inej's chapter, and while Kaz's parts take up most of it, I still wanted it to feel like her POV and her story. We can hold off officially meeting Kaz until page four.

But the main reason I took it out comes down to my philosophy when it comes to comic adaptations. I believe that an adaptation should use the original story in the best way for the secondary medium. A comic adaptation should play to the strength of comics, not the original source material.

Time and time again, I see a lot of comic adaptations of books try to use a book's strength instead of a comic's. When that happens, you get pages upon pages of narration boxes and exposition that could've easily been told in a single panel's image. If you want to read excerpts from the original novel, go do that! They're beautiful and well-crafted and you should be reading the original anyway! If you're making a comic adaptation, make a comic, not an illustrated version of the novel (that's a whole field of its own).

This whole thing really ties well into what I'm doing for Chapter 3. Kaz is such an internal character, his chapters have a lot more exposition that isn't setting description or character actions. I've had to do a lot more of my own writing for this chapter than the last just to turn that exposition into his own voice as an internal monologue. Sometimes, it's just a change from "he" to "I," but there are other times I've had to write new dialogue and find ways to naturally flow between thoughts. If I didn't do the work to adapt the expository text and instead just put in narration boxes of text from the book, there would be a greater disconnect between the reader and Kaz. Third-person limited works great in books and doesn't separate the readers from the story, but in comics, first-person internal dialogue keeps the readers inside the scene better.

If I were to redo Chapter 2, I think I would try to find a way to incorporate the information from the chapter intro better. I think by losing the intro I initially planned to include, I didn't establish certain ideas very well. Ketterdam and Kerch are established later on pages 4 and 5, but I don't think I ever go back and mention The Barrel. Also, the idea that Kaz is deliberate, even if his reputation says otherwise, is important too. I've made sure to fix this kind of issue in Chapter 3 and keep record of what kind of information I'm losing as I adapt it.