#and just overall not genuinely give a shit about our well being

[robertsbarbie]

x

[sunny-mercya]

Ours not Yours.

Poly!Billy Loomis & Stu Macher x Male Reader

Fandom -> Scream 1996

Requested by -> @jaythes1mp

Masterlist

Billys rage of jealousy was at a boiling point and ready to burst into anger. Throwing some fists or perhaps even gutting someone sounds more than pleasing appealing to Billy right now.

Slamming his locker shut, Billy turned his head to the side, taking a narrowing glance at the group a few meters ahead of him.

Tyler Gillery, one of the school main jocks, was the sole reason of Billys displeasuring anger. The teen was next to you, couldn't keep his hands off—one was always placed on your hip, as if you belong to him—from you. How Tyler could bring a laugh out of you, with his stupidity of jokes, how he managed to make you smile—the genuinely one with radiating happiness and love—and overall keep you from them, your actual boyfriends.

Billy scoffed, shoulders his bag and walked towards them. Bumping hard into Tylers shoulder, ignoring Sidney and Tatums confused faces and whatever they are about to say. Billy wasn't in the mood for their girlish complaints. He thought about pulling you along and away from them, but Tyler had a good grip on you and by god—that smug arrogant smile Tyler gave him, was making Billy even more furious.

«Damn, whats up with Billy? He looked mad.»

«hah, he's just being a silly moody mopey» joked Tyler, laughing boastfully and well too loud.

You elbowed Tyler in the rips, hard enough to have his grip loosen on you. Facing him, you gave him a frown. Tyler, in a mock surrender, holds his hands up, taking just a few steps of distance from you.

«chill, was just a joke, pretty boy.»

Your frown deepens, turning more into a scowl. Taking your bag into your hands, you gave a short goodbye to Sidney and Tatum.

«Hey hey, we're still going to do some studying later?»

«Maybe. If you're not being a silly asshole moody mopey.» your reply was flavoured with a disdain—biting bitter curtly—in your tone.

You liked Tyler. You too were acquaintances, counting him to a friend level, in and outside from school. He's a good guy by heart, but sometimes he can be a unnecessary mean little shit.

~~~

Stu grinned. Amused by Billy's little fit of jealousy and upcoming bloodlust towards Tyler. Stu gets it, really, seeing you constantly with Tyler—all friendly and almost lovely dovely—gives him too a rumbling of jealousy, but his and Billys jealousy were two different things.

Stu's jealousy was subtle, more of a teasing and hovering near you. Holding your hand for a week and showering you with compliments and jokes.

Whilst Billy's jealousy was a merciless possessiveness. Brooding glares, keeping you at hips bay, always near him and at the end of the day, marking your body with visible love bites and making your body limp in his hold.

«Ya know, rumours has it, that the Nurse office is at this time unoccupied and how about we give [Name] some health check up?» Stu's grin got wider, licking over his lips, leaning against some lockers.

«I'm this fucking close to gut Tyler out. The asshole had the actually audacity to have his filthy jock hands on [Name]'s hips.»

Stu only hummed in agreement, that he was listening to his boyfriend angry ranting. Being on a lookout for you, to catch you in his arms and "kidnapping" you into the nurse office. Doing it in school is a thrilling thought of excitement.

~~~

Billy and Stu hadn't meant to go this far. Didn't mean to cover your skin with so many love bites—bruising your skin into a purplish bloody hue, leaving marks, visible, of teeths all around every inch of your body—decorating your skin with it as if you were a trophy.

They both felt almost guilty about it, once they saw how dazed—one the verge of passing out—and shakily you are. Almost though.

Billy and Stu laid with you on the medical-bay bed, cramped together and with you in the middle. Prepping you face with kisses and showering you with praises till you dozed off into a short nap.

It was entirely your fault, that they had to go such length. This could have been avoided, if you didn't have acted so naughty.

For 2 whole weeks you have ditched and kinda avoided them, to hang out with Tyler—doing school projects or something like this. Leaving your boyfriends for themselves and it was getting on their nerves.

You were theirs, their precious little darling. You are Billy and Stu's priced possession. They will kill for you, if it means to protect you.

If they could, they would have collard you up, showing everyone who you belong to—even though they all know by now, that you're the boyfriend of Billy and Stu. Though since they couldn't do that, Billy and Stu have settled for a far better idea—giving love bites, the ones which would fade after weeks.

~~~

Exhausted with sleep, you limped through the empty school corridors. Billy and Stu walking on each side next to you, one holding your hand and the other your bag.

A pleased smile full of smugness and overconfidence on their lips. You rolled your eyes, muttering something about being impatiently needy under your breath. Honestly, they could have waited till you were at home, but then again, your boyfriends liked to be experimental (risky).

«Boys, once we're home you're gonna get me some Mcdonalds and KFC,»

«'course babe, everything you want my prince!»

«Yo, [Name]!» Tyler called out for you, jogging towards you, once he saw you stepping outside the school. He ignored the glaring stares of Billy and Stu, thinking about challenging them—too see who could win you over more, even though Tyler knows that you're already in a relationship with the two—but he always liked a good match or gambling.

Tyler stared at your neck, gulping his spit when he saw the amount of hickeys on your neck. Tired and disheveled you looked and Tyler wonders what you three has done and somehow he knew what you did, but didn't want to imagine it.

Because Tyler knew all too well that you belonged to only Billy and Stu. They have made that more than once perfectly clear.

«Are you....uh still up for some studying?»

«No, sorry, maybe tomorrow perhaps. I'm about to fall asleep any second soon,» you shook your head, mumbling out another apology to him as your eyes threatened to close themselves again. Staying awake was hard and the more you walked around the more exhausted you gotten.

«You heard [Name], maybe tomorrow Tyler. Now, if you so kindly would piss off now»

Tyler nodded, watching how Billy put an arm around your middle, pulling you close to him and giving Tyler—like he has done before—a smug grin.

There might be no killing tonight or in the next few weeks, but that doesn't mean Billy and Stu wouldn't give Tyler a good fucking scare anyways.

[imbecominggayer]

Writing Advice: How To Write A Tight Story!!!

You are trying to write a story :D

BUT! The characters just feel so disconnected from each other that at this point they come from different genres. The plot lines just seem to be weaving less of a beautiful tapestry and more of a hairball. Nothing seems to be going together.

but fear not, for I am going to be giving advice today on how to connect your characters and plot thematically!

Today, we are pulling out our tool box and breaking out themes, motifs, and great writer shit!

A) Character Design :D

The trick to character design is to make everyone unique enough that they stand apart from eachother but cohesive enough you can look at them and say "yeah".

A trick that I use is to ground them in ~realism~

If your characters live in a cold weather, then obviously they're going to wear clothing that protects them from the cold. Now, there are circumstances that might permit your character to wear non-cold appropriate clothing like superpowers or species-related stuff but just grounding your characters into the setting and just saying "what would they need?" can just do amazing things for your characters.

Other things that cohesive-fy your characters is sharing a fundamental aesthetic but then having different branches of of these aesthetics. These aesthetics tend to also come with the setting!

Sci-Fi = Futuristic (Solarpunk, Cyberpunk, Cyberpop, Oceanpunk)

Fantasy = Nature (cottagecore, ravencore, dragoncore, etc.)

Slice of Life = Mundane Cozy (Academia, Clean Girl, Casual)

You get the point. Even the social outcasts will be using the same materials as the in-crowd uses, unless it's specialized material. The difference is in how they wear it. A social outcast's Sci-Fi outfit will probably be a bit tattered. A bit dystopian maybe. But it's still Sci-Fi!

Two characters can wear a crop top of the same material and still seem distinct enough if their backstories have them being distinct.

Differentiating characters is pretty easy. Have them share the same overall type of stuff and let the details weave the story.

B) Plot Lines

Look, there is no easy way to say this but you probably need to cut out some parts of your story.

Let me tell you, a plot is a summary of all of it's subplots. The goal of a subplot is to gradually build up these elements whether it be character arcs, character relationships and all that good shit so it can light a bigger fire.

It's just like a bonfire. The characters are the spark, the subplots are the logs, and the plot is the fire.

Ask yourself this:

Is there a way I can incorperate this character arc into a grander action-focused plot where I actively demonstrate this character's change?

Is there a way I can morph two subplots together so I can get both the benefits and the lessen load?

Is there a way I can give character responsibilities onto the well-developed characters I already have instead of just making new ones?

All of these questions can help chop off some of the bad filler that is weighing your story down. And also give your story a bit more breathing room so you can have all of those important quiet moments.

C) Themes :D

Let me tell you, having themes just makes my story that much more cohesive. It feels like there is this overarching tie between all of my characters that just makes the story feel that much more well-thoughtout.

A good example of characters being reflective of the overall theme of the show is "The World God Only Knows"! It's a harem anime that genuinely feels very well-thoughtout with the comedic dating sim parody elements and the deeper message about the fight with reality both bouncing off of each other.

It feels like a world wear the characters and the theme are both gently rocking the worldbuilding and story together.

Having themes allows me to identify potential character flaws within my cast, develop characters that I didn't really have an idea about, and the overall worldbuilding of the WIP.

Overall, my themes tend to read more like central ideas. It's less about a moral message in my opinion but an explanation.

Some of my lastest themes are:

" the horrors of love and understanding"

" the alienation of being not human in a world of humans"

"the burden of being forced into selflessness"

"the desire to no longer exist"

"the fantasy of controlling reality"

"the limitations of instinct"

I'll give you a quick summary of how each different theme impacted the characters and the storyline :D

"the horrors of love and understanding" inspired the storyline of being smothered in a Hive Mind and the desire to not be an individual anymore since it's so lonely being singular. It developed my main characters extensively.

"the alienation of being not human" was definitely uplifted by the fact that this is a superhero story about literal non-humans who may look and sometimes act human but will always be eternally aware of the chasm. It shaped my protagonists extensively.

"the burden of selflessness" inspired the motivation behind why Yituing became a villain. It also serves as the mantra for Nonkosi's character arc. The theme was eventually developed into a commentary on the Strong Black Woman

"the desire to not longer exist" was uplifted with heavy religious symbolism. This was demonstrated through an angel trying to use empathy as a way of self-imploding and an ex-pastor using invisibility to try and drive themself away from humanity.

"the fantasy of controllin reality" was developed in an isekai setting which definitely drove home the theme of literally escaping the necessary evils of reality for the simplicity of fantasy. All of the characters are inspired off of motivations protagonists tend to have which ultimately boiled down to a desire for control.

"the limitations of instinct" was a crtique on the argument that what's natural is somehow better. The main protagonists work with their instinctual existences with Nariman lacking in empathy and Hetrunmeass being an android who can literally turn off their feelings at any moment. They grow beyond who they were. They still are what they are but they are also something more.

[lyss-sketchbox]

My thoughts on Inazuma vs Natlan so far. Is that Inazuma dropped the ball. There's no questioning that. It was rushed and the resolution lacked weight, and it almost definitely needed a lot more space to breathe and probably would've benefited from the 5 act structure instead of speedrunning with 3 acts (such as needing actual time spent with the Watatsumi Resistance rather than spending like 30 minutes tops).

HOWEVER. I feel like the initial Act I-II of Inazuma did a great job established the STAKES. It showed us the very real damage being caused by the various unjust decrees and why people are fighting. Natlan I kinda felt like did a lot of telling instead of showing, and any potential stakes feel kinda... Unserious? Because no one's really seriously hurt and even if they're saying Natlan will explode soon, I'm not really feeling like it's as dire as they're trying to sell it.

BUT IVE BEEN INFORMED YOU CAN DO NATLAN OUT OF ORDER??? Like you could in theory do Natlan BEFORE Inazuma thru Fontaine (with the quick-start function) which is why Natlan is more 'self-contained' which is absolutely insane to me?? Like HELLO???

Overall, I feel like the concepts and plot presented in Natlan is fine. But they didn't do a good enough job of selling to me these things. Like the whole child soldiers stuff kjadf like we actually dwelled on it for longer than a millisecond, we'd probably realize that's super fucked up!! But instead we gloss over it, making the whole quest seem fairly light-hearted despite everything.

Rubs my hands together ok anon lets talk cuz yeah i have thoughts

About inazuma

I definitely agree with you that Act 1-2 (especially 1) of inazuma did well setting up and showing how much negative impact the shogun's rule has impacted the people:

Vision holders literally losing a chunk of themselves (or worst, their lives) from their vision being confiscated.

Non-vision holders risking their lives for helping said vision holders (the resistance)

International traders being stuck in the nation, repressed by local government, and scammed by local traders just to keep business alive.

Local government bloating the price of everything!!! (And being able to get discounts only if you have connections)

Corruption even in the highest positions (gestures at the Kujou clan)

Fatui meddling that lead to the deaths of many for profit

The shogun literally programmed her robot to be that heartless because she herself dont give a shit about any of these issues. As long as her eternity stays.

Fr after venti and zhongli, getting an archon that acts as a proper ruler of a nation AND an antagonist sounds COOL AS FUCK. The booba sword scene while yeah, boobs wooo, also was a wonderful show of her authority over her nation.

After that they tripped and fell in Watatsumi. While i appreciate the environmental story telling of Watatsumi's and Shogunate's bases during the war, we barely get enough time to do... ANYTHING of substance. If i remember correctly, we became team captain, then do a bunch of training and defeating vagrants (on our own because friendly npc fighters didnt exist yet) and thats it. Where is the plotting? Wheres the planning? It was all just an anime training montage we barely get to see or feel. I genuinely feel like we couldve just replaced the entire Watatsumi arc with 'the fatui is selling delusions to people with confiscated visions to help them cope with the lost so traveller go to the delusion factory' and NOTHING wouldve changed. Hell it wouldve made ALOT more sense why yae came to save us at the end if the whole thing happened in Narukami.

Also after all that SHOWING they did alot more TELLING about wooo how smart kokomi is she is so smart and cool and the savior of the resistance. Like girl the fatui had their grip on your soldiers to the point they almost didnt want to surrender their delusions what are you on about. While you can argue she was only a priestess before the war and had no war intellegence skills, the people prop her up as such, kujou sara took her seriously. So she has to have some merit. Well im not seeing any (fight me on this i dont fully remember what happens in watatsumi)

Also at the end we fight the literal dictator of the nation with the power of friendship then everyone and i mean EVERYONE forgave said dictator...... cool. They would definitely benefit from an extra act so that watatsumi adds to the idea that this civil war and the shoguns current decree is causing damage.

About AR

The thing is that the requirements for you to start Natlan AQ is to be AR 28 and finish Liyue AQ (which requires AR 29 for the entire thing). While starting Inazuma requires AR 30, Sumeru needs AR 35, and Fontaine needs AR 40 (highest AR requirement by far).

Id argue that each nation is supposed to be a self-contained story. Even so, based on AR requirements theyve been chronologically in order because you NEED to complete the previous AQ to start the next. EXCEPT for Natlan.

While this is obviously to be more open to new and returning players, it really.... decreases the stakes, like you would assume the more we progress the tougher challenges we will have to face. But Natlan? Nawww you can go to Natlan without fighting the dictator 👍

About Natlan

I AM ADDRESSING THE CHILD SOLDIER THING FIRST BECAUSE YES. THEY DEFINITELY DID ALOT MORE TELLING THAN SHOWING HOW THIS CHILD APPARENTLY CAN BE SENT TO WAR WITH A REAL CHANCE OF DYING!!!!! I talked about this before because they ironically did alot more showing how child like Kachina is which adds more to the FUCKING CHILD SOLDIER THING.

HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BE OKAY WITH THIS??? Oh its our nations culture, its just the culture shock, OKAY YEAH BUT THE TRAVELLER AND PAIMON ARENT NATLAN NATIVES AND THEY DONT FEEL ANYTHING ABOUT THIS????? Wow yey cheer for the child to go to war! BRO SHE DIED AND WE WENT JACOOZIING WHILE WE WAIT FOR HER TO RETURN FROM WAR...............

ITS VERY OBVIOUS INFANTILIZATION BECAUSE IANSAN DIDNT FUCKING GET THE SAME TREATMENT. You know, the other small girl character there, nah she went to war just like Kachina, lived, and stood by the Archon and WAS READY TO THROW HANDS WITH A HARBINGER IF THE ARCHON DIDNT FUCKING FIGHT HIM HERSELF.

Everything just feels so.... chill? So relaxed with no stakes at all. I mean yeah the Abyss is creeping into the nation's roots but instead of sending armies we make it a tournament. Yeah people die in these excursions but we can revive them so we can ignore the horrors of experiencing death. Yeah the flames are dying so the archon has to give up some of her power to keep it lit but its okay! The harbinger is a gentleman that wont take this opportunity to do some scheming. We need the power of the chosen one of each tribes to save natlan but hey cant rush it! We got a year after all teehee.

Man. Head in hands. What the fuck.

Not even gonna go into the whole the archon is human but mavuika is the one that got reincarnated to retake the role just in time to solve a national crisis thing. Because i dont even know if THAT is accurate.

If they somehow trip and fall worse than inazuma id actually be amazed because the bar is very very low.

[unnecessary-dinosaurs]

Ok! I watched Chaos Theory! I have a lot of thoughts! There were things I liked a lot and things I wasn’t a fan of. I generally liked it but came away slightly underwhelmed. If you haven’t watched it yet please go do so!!! Support the show and the wonderful crew that put it together!!!

SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

WHAT I LIKED:

-MATEO!!! I literally loved him so much. A fantastic, simple character that doesn’t overstay his welcome or detract from our main characters. Great motivations and realistic backstory. Yeah. I really liked him. Yeah.

-Yasammy! Obviously they were amazing. They got to be cute and bubbly and gay but also their argument was so real and believable. Neither one of them is completely in the wrong. They are just two flawed people who’ve been through more than they can handle on their own. They need each other but not always in the way they might think. They were such a highlight this season. Can’t wait for more of them.

-This whole show just feels like a dramatic step up in visual storytelling from CC. The sets are beautiful and intricate, the lighting and textures are fantastic, and the directing is just really great. There are some really creative shots and transitions, and overall it just feels like more confident directing and storyboarding all around. (I specifically remember episode 7 being really great visually. Super fun stuff.)

-All the dinosaur action was great. Like next level shit. The way they keep finding creative ways to use these animals for action and suspense is very impressive. The raptors are genuinely scary. The Allosaurus and Pachyrhinosaurus were personal favs.

-Unlike Dominion, they actually showed what living in a world with dinosaurs is like- how people are adjusting to this new way of life, adapting to the presence of these animals, and keeping themselves safe. Totally what I wanted to see from Dominion, and Chaos Theory did it better within a single episode.

-There was some very well crafted suspense throughout this season. The mystery does a great job of constantly keeping you pulled in. Every time a question is answered, five more are asked.

-The darker tone is definitely welcome. The characters are older and they’ve experienced a terrible loss. The weight of the new world weighs on them and the audience in a very tangible way.

-This one isn’t really constructive but like. I just love Darius so much. He’s so perfect.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:

-Unfortunately I thought the character writing was significantly weaker than any season of CC. It was genuinely impressive how they were able to make me not care much about these versions of Ben and Kenji, my absolute favorite characters in CC. Before the characters felt like real, living people. Now, they just feel like fictional characters to me. Really good characters, yes, but still just characters. Maybe I’ll go into further detail about this in a future post. But yeah, overall it felt like the characters took a backseat this time around.

-I’m so sorry but I absolutely could not stand the new VA for Kenji. I’m sure he’s trying his best but he sounded uninterested and half-assed most of the time. Brooklynn’s new actor was… fine? Didn’t care for her either but she didn’t bug me the way Kenji did. Let’s start a GoFundMe to pay for Ryan to come back.

-Ok. Yeah. Not a fan of Darius being in love with B. Like, ok. It makes sense and it fits the plot well. But it just seems unnecessary. Darius can be devastated by her loss without it. Ehhh maybe they’ll handle it well in future seasons but. No. Not for me.

-Also didn’t like Daniel Kon’s death. I liked that they brought him back, but killing him felt undeserved. Like, he was the main antagonist for the first show, but you just kill him off in a random episode six years later? I think he deserved a little more reverence rather than reintroducing him for one episode and then quickly killing him for shock value once he’s served his purpose.

-WHY DID THEY GIVE BEN A GIRLFRIEND THAT BOY IS GAY AS HELL NOOOOO

[emerynn]

MAX 🥺🥺🥺

(double exposure spoilers under the cut)

I knew episode 5 was gonna be a nightmare sequence but i still ate that shit up what can i say it's fanservice and im the fan lol

genuinely did get a bit emotional at the end like okay im HAPPY FOR HER

post credits scene was wild?? Not sure how I feel about them just handing out super powers like halloween candy but...okay? and MAX CAULFIELD WILL RETURN HELLO ???? part of me is sceptical and part of me is like yay more max hehe (fanserive, fan, etc.) - either way, guess im gonna be insufferable for a while then whoops

'will you ever go back to arcadia bay' 'one day' 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺girl i'll cry

lowkey the journal entries were nerfed. i mean i dont really care but still.

amanda max flirting scenes gave me major flashbacks to my own lesbian situationship so 10/10 points for accuracy on that one

i really enjoyed all the characters ngl!! and safi was so good and so intriguing i love that they let her be morally dubious oooo

'our lady of the storm' iconic. shes my fucking GIRL.

okay but is safi creating the lis avengers. like what is her plan. im concerned

how many endings were there because i strongly suspect there might have just been one and if that's the case that's hilarious but also like, come on

they kinda baited me with the "two maxes" bit at that one point i was like YES time travel bullshittery and max being a bitch to her alternate self EXACTLY WHAT I ASKED FOR and then i figured out the twist like 10 seconds before it was revealed and i was like well thats cool but.....i just wanna see max bully herself is that too much to ask for.....

'text from: chloe' like okay my heart did skip a beat lbr

okay so did max actually kill safi or what because that was never clear. like i think the polaroids were from the original timeline and then max shoots safi in that timeline leading to timeline 2 which is OUR original timeline i.e. the dead timeline and then...the living one happens asw? or was it like a pre-emptive timeline split did max ever actually shoot safi? i mean someone had to right? maybe this will make sense in the morning. or on the wiki. who can say

knew there was gonna be darkroom shit in the nightmare sequence fuck yeah (lowkey wanted more but hey im just being greedy now)

another tiny criticism but the krampus party did not feel like a college party lol like the vortex club end of the world party felt intense it felt dramatic it had stakes - krampus i was like oh this is giving me dead freshers week vibes guys just animate in some more extras please i know you can do it

music was amazing ofc

man i had this whole theory going on where max died in the "living" timeline at the same point that safi died in the "dead" timeline and that was why there was no alternate version of herself and it was some safis trying to save max while max is trying to save safi thing - obviously very wrong but i still vibe with it

i just really like max okay <3

To form something of a coherent conclusion: Really solid game, with some great scenes (the end of chapter 2 and start of 3 were def the standouts to me) and (in my opinion at least) really really good development for max - she was so clearly the same max as the original game but also she's grown up and she's grown into herself and ahhh it made me so happy to see!

I found some of the twists more effective than others and I think there could have been more build up to the storm (like in the original lis you KNOW it's coming for so long and there's this feeling of dread throughout whereas it kind of felt like we rushed to get to it here), but overall i had a good time, i really enjoyed getting to know the characters, and most of all, i really enjoyed getting stupidly attached to Max Caulfield again <3

7/10 looking forward to going down the rabbit hole with this one and i guess we'll see where we go next...??

[strawberrystepmom]

Kendall 🌚 if it isn’t too much trouble may I ask for a genken astrology reading? I’m not really familiar with his lore but I wanna know what your dynamic is & how you two love each other <333

🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 man thank you for asking I truly started tearing up thank you so much me when ppl care…anywho I hope you’re having a beautiful day my beloved nana <333

gen’s chart is the left and mine is the right. as you can see there are some pretty interesting differences, namely the amount of earth placements he has vs the amount of uhhh not earth or anything reasonable placements i have. at the jump i'm positive other astro girls will read this and go sheesh and that's fair. BUT my interpretation of this is that we move through life differently but when we're together, we bring out the best in each other.

also all of this capricorn in his chart makes me so wet. this man was literally born to be a leader. i feel this chart actually fits him so well. he's more hardworking than he would let people believe, he's blunt to a fault, he is a workaholic (again, even if he pretends he isn't), he's motivated, he will get shit fucking DONE when it's time to get it done and he does.

aldsjfla;sjdfkasjdf okay now that i've sufficiently glazed him i will do a full compatibility breakdown below!

we'll start with venus the big one for romance. my aquarius venus and his capricorn venus are a good match because i personally believe every air venus needs an earth venus to temper them and quite literally be the rock that holds their edges down like a picnic blanket lmfao....i need freedom but if someone offers me stability i will take it. he wants stability but craves freedom as a little treat and i'm happy to give him some if it means i can have my own. we balance one another out with a mutual understanding of the way the other works. he knows what he wants and will wait it out. i know what i want but want there to be a foundation first and he's willing to let that happen.

i also feel that our mars match ups are really strong. my leo mars makes me bold, direct, pretty roll with the punches and i don't get mad about much unless i feel my pride is threatened so i never take his spitting or mouthiness very seriously. he's a capricorn mars, so he's very direct to the point of it being almost hurtful sometimes even if he doesn't intend it that way. he can be a bit surly but the playfulness of leo and the tendency to use sweet words and touches and playing to people's egos easilyyyyy tempers him.

capricorn sun brings a lot of grounding to pisces sun. i tend to be a bit breezy, kind of anxious and out of it at times, and he can grab me by the shoulders and shake me out of my own head and he's good at it. a little "hey. get it together." works bc i know he doesn't mean it in a way that he's insinuating i'm a mess he means to climb out of whatever emotional hole i've managed to dig for myself and fix it. LURVE that about him.

gemini moon is curious by nature, something that can make a scorpio moon close itself off, but scorpio is also easily sussed out by people who are genuinely interested in them. i can glean pretty immediately that he is interested and wants to really know me so i give him little bits at a time. he takes it well and doesn't ask for more necessarily but asks me to explain my thoughts. explain my feelings. explain my world. let him in. he gets there eventually to see the true Thought Daughter beneath the feather cuffed sleeves.

so yeah!!!! i think overall we're pretty compatible. i like the way we balance each other out at the very least and tbh i'm sensitive but i know when someone Means it bc i am also intuitive so most of his bluster truly does not bother me. i like it. it's just a condition of adoring him.

[wizardsix]

I can't remember who said this but there was this one dev who said that when making romanceable characters they have to be attractive in some way (personality, looks, not too morally fucked up etc). and since I read that, the statement hasn't left my mind and I'm very aware now of whenever outside influence and modern discourse get to me or other writers. like just yesterday I found myself rewriting a scene to be more "comfortable" to witness, even though the point was to be emotionally charged and face a difficult topic the character had been actively lying about. but some things can't be glossed over. sometimes it's good when media grabs you by the shoulders and makes you face horrible shit. it's good when media makes you uncomfortable even if it's coming from a ~romanceable companion~. that means it's working. if you remain comfortable forever you learn nothing.

I bring this up bc the veilguard companions are the perfect example and victims of the "romanceable characters need to be attractive" mindset. they don't have ugly sides, they don't fight with each other--and I mean really fight--they don't have controversial opinions or do problematic things. they don't ever question your authority over their lives and why you're the guy in charge. they are nice and perfect and their problems aren't really that serious and can be fixed by simply having a therapy session w rook (bc being possessed or gaining new magic isn't a big deal in a world where previously such events are Very distressing and hard to control). they are further proof that trying too hard to make something attractive has the complete opposite effect if your brain isn't the size of a pebble.

it's overall very frustrating that big game developers continue to be so spineless and I'm not giving anyone a pass for shallow writing, especially from a franchise that is known to have complex characters. none of this is impressive after the first three dragon age games, which were well loved and dissected and debated for years after their release. that isn't to say these games don't have kind characters, having that balance is why I personally like dark fantasy and liked what the dragon age games offered (whenever the writing was good..). it's not dark for the sake of being dark (see grimdark), there's a reason why these things are happening, and in this world no one is completely innocent even if they have good intentions. most people like when their characters aren't always kind or agreeable, bc it's extremely rewarding to finally find that middle ground (of course I have to bring up larian, who made bg3 and proved just how much people appreciate flawed characters, see astarion). conflict is the driving force of a story, no matter what it is. even the most sickeningly sweet cozy slice of life story will have some kind of conflict. it's unavoidable. that's life. taking that away is setting yourself up for failure and all that remains is a boring story full of boring people. no one cares about characters who have their lives together.

(the post is technically over but I wanted to put some final thoughts under the cut bc this got longer than I meant)

I want to go back to the statement real quick... like i do agree, it's true as writers we'll subconsciously (or consciously if you're insecure) try to make our characters appealing, but this is the common trap writers fall into by giving a shit about what others think and want from Their work (which btw I fully believe in writing what you want even if it's "bad" because something with genuine soul will never be as bad as soulless cashgrabs). romanceable characters can and should be as flawed as you'd make any other character, bc trust me there's an audience for everything. even a random npc with two lines will be attractive to someone.

the pressure of an imaginary audience is what pushes writers into a corner and prevents writers from writing and exploring what They want. it's the writer's story first, not the audience's. I think the romanceable companion trap can be easily avoided if writers just 1) grow a bit of a backbone and 2) ask themselves if this is even a necessary or insightful mechanic that will help develop a character further. ask themselves if this character even has the capacity to handle a romantic relationship bc everything else is subjective and it's impossible to appeal to everyone (which apparently this is a controversial take). I won't sit here and pretend that I don't appreciate a good romance, but sometimes all someone really needs is a friend.

obsidian is a good example of self aware devs. they tried to do romance for pillars of eternity 2 bc of fan demand, and it didn't work very well. now for avowed, they didn't explore romance bc they know it's not their strong suit and don't feel it's necessary for this story, instead that time and effort went to developing the characters in other meaningful ways. I have nothing but respect for such a decision bc they know what they want from their story instead of lying and trying to be everything at once. less is more as they say.

[agustdiv1ne]

honestly? it could've been worse.

lots of things happened in 2023, both good and bad, in real life and on this hellsite. i feel like i've started to hone in on my voice as a writer this year, and my creativity and motivation just seemed to skyrocket for absolutely no reason. it's been fun sharing my work with you guys, and i'm forever grateful for all the love and support i have received <3 furthermore, thank you so so much for 4k followers!!!!! i never thought i would reach such a milestone, so it truly means a lot :')

there's a lot i wish i could have done during 2023 that i didn't end up doing, but i think it is best to focus on what i did accomplish and use that as a stepping stone towards better things. also, there were a lot of times where i didn't feel content with where and who i was. right now, however, i can confidently say that i am happy; i am hoping that happiness will be abundant for everyone in 2024! we all deserve it!!

furthermore, everyone worked hard, so i hope you all give yourself some grace in order to recharge and reset. taking breaks is paramount in maintaining your health and happiness, and i'm glad i learned that it's okay for me to take them lol.

so happy new year everyone! i hope 2024 brings many wonderful things your way, and may we all have a lovely year!! <33

to: @gummygowon 🖤

MAIIII hi ilysm <333 i can't believe we've been friends for 3 years like that's fucking crazy. we have both been THROUGH it over the years but i'm so glad that we've always been able to talk to each other about the crazy shit that happens to both of us 😹 like idk who else i could talk about it with honestly. we are seriously like the same person which is so wild to me but i'm also so grateful for it fr!! i would trust you with my life methinks...also talking about fic ideas with you is so fucking fun. our brainstorming sessions go crazy fr ‼️ ANYWAYS i need to stop being sappy so i love you bitch and we WILL meet up this year or else i will riot!!! happy new year <3

to: @lunalovesstories 🖤

lunaaaa hii!!!! my fellow yeonjun stan, we feel the same pain and suffering whenever he is wilding LOL </3 also i feel like we became close super fast hehe ^^ i'm so glad that we became friends this year and i am forever grateful for you and how kind and supportive and overall amazing you are. becoming moots and friends with you was definitely one of my highlights of 2023!! our daily conversations are something i always look forward to no matter how short or long they are; i truly love talking with you and i hope we can continue to get closer this year :) happy new year! <33

to: @cheolhub 🖤

SAR!!!! ik you haven't been super active as of late so i hope you've been well <3 you are genuinely so cool and i love you sm. i think i screamed when we became moots and then when we started actually talking to each other i screamed even more...embarrassing. well anyways moving on! you are so fucking funny and i love hearing about what you're up to whenever you reappear on disc. you singlehandedly made me reconsider my bias line in svt bc cheol is currently infiltrating it </3 also lmk if you ever need me to fight that girl bc i will do it. no questions asked. seriously though, i hope you're thriving in the year of 2024, happy new year <3

to: @toruro 🖤

mika mika mika hiiiii ^^ you are crazy in the best way tbh, i aspire to be as unhinged as you are...LMAO moving on, you are hella kind and such a fun person to talk to! i love hearing about what you get up to bc it's usually funny af. like. you are just so real. you are such a bright spot on tumblr, please never change because you are amazing and ilysm <3 also your writing is insane. i always start gnawing on my leg when i see that you posted bc i know it's gonna be a banger!!!! you never miss!!!!!!! okay anyways ily again and i hope you have a happy new year <3

to: @prodsh00ky 🖤

hi sam!!!!!!! i hope you've been doing well <3 i know our convos are sporadic af but i always enjoy talking to you and hearing all of your updates! i just think you're so cool and i always get so excited whenever i see you pop up in my messages. i also love talking about writing with you because you understand my pain LOL. i know you're quite busy so i hope everything in your life is going well!! i also hope that 2024 brings you great things because you truly deserve it :) happy new year!!!

to: @koqabear 🖤

sol....my enemy >:( i will not forget all of those assassination attempts that you tried on me throughout 2023. trust me, i won't. JK ANYWAYS HFJHHFDJ you are like the coolest most awesome person on this website to me and i am so grateful that we are friends <3 also grateful that we started talking this year after being moots for a long while. i've always wanted to talk to you tbh so i'm glad i stopped being a weak little bitch and finally did it 😹 i will always go insane over your fics and write like a 2k word essay in response each time, so i hope that doesn't bother you...i will not be stopping though so ig it doesn't matter.......anyways, happy new year!! here's to another year on this hellsite <3

to: @boba-beom 🖤

smiles!!! you are such a ray of light on my dash, i swear i always smile when i see that you've posted. i know we don't talk all that often but i genuinely am so grateful that we are mooties n friends :> you are one of my longest moots, and i am so glad that you have stayed on here as long as you have because idk what i would do without you fr <3 you are so talented and kind and just a wonderful person to be around! happy new year!! may you be happy n healthy this year <33

and to all of my lovely mutuals: @nightlyawnzz @wolfytae-exe @aduh0308 @hyuk4ngel @dearlyjun @takemehye @mazeinthemoon @tyunkus @mixtape-racha @huckleberrykai @naomiarai @hyukalyptus @mapofthemazeinthemirror @taegimood @blackhairedjjun @txtistheloml @heart2beom @majestyjun @fairyofshampgyu @ttyunz @huenation @cherrypeeking @tyungelic @ncteez @peachanonie @hyewka @heartchoi @beom-pyu @petrichor-han @hoshiseon @strawbrinkofdeath @delcakoo @beoms-sugar @minastras @0x11s @hwasdollie @mimziie @baekhvuns @wooyukh @venusiangguk @ah-ga-seven @jimilter @ateezmakemeweep

hello and happy new year!! i hope all of you doing well and that 2024 is treating you well so far :) no matter how much/little we interact, please know that i am so happy to be sharing this space with you ^^ that being said, i hope we can interact more this year!!! (i promise i will try to be less shy,, the keyword here is try) you are all amazing people and i love you all mwahhh <333

🖤 — january

27: give me more (m) — yeonjun ; est. relationship au, pwp

🩶 — february

regrettably empty :(

🤍 — march

23: 10:52 p.m. — soobin ; college au, introverts at a party

🖤 — april

04: frat boy!yeonjun

07: confession — chan ; best friends to lovers au + self-care (m) — seonghwa ; est. relationship au, soft smut

08: corruption (m) — hyunjin ; est. relationship au, corruption kink

11: stormy night (m) — seonghwa ; est. relationship au, hwa vs. your fear of storms (he wins)

13: industry lovers — yeonjun ; strangers to lovers au, idol!reader

16: guitar lesson — beomgyu ; best friends to lovers au

21: 2:54 p.m. — taehyun ; college lab partner au

���� — may

09: picnic date with boyfriend!yeonjun

16: brother's best friend (m) — yunho ; the au is the title lmfao + 10:21 p.m. (m) — soobin ; est. relationship au, car sex + early mornings with boyfriend!yeonjun

19: vacationing with boyfriend!yeonjun

27: 8:02 p.m — hueningkai ; jack frost au

28: cowboy!yeonjun (m-ish)

🤍 — june

01: double trouble (m) — hongjoong + seonghwa ; poly au

03: 9:05 p.m. (m) — yeonjun ; plane sex pt.1

06: 9:23 p.m. (m) — yeonjun ; plane sex pt.2

13: the horrors — yeonjun ; est. relationship au, horror actress!reader

23: txt finding out you have an onlyfans (m)

24: late night outing with boyfriend!soobin

26: dry humping (m) — minho ; pwp

🖤 — july

04: meeting odi for the first time with boyfriend!soobin

08: 12:43 a.m. (m) — yeonjun ; best friends to lovers au + best friend!txt finding out you write smut about them online

started my 3k event: love like the movies!! (which is still ongoing. i'm so sorry)

13: 3k event — yeonjun + howl's moving castle (m)

17: 3k event — beomgyu + titanic (m)

24: 3k event — taehyun + twilight (m)

31: 3k event — hueningkai + enchanted

🩶 — august

05: 11:01 p.m. (m) — yeonjun ; rockstar au + 3k event — soobin + the avengers

11: 11:58 p.m. (m) — yeonjun + taehyun ; stoner fratboys au

26: 3k event — taehyun + the proposal (m)

🤍 — september

02: 3k event — beomgyu + the devil wears prada (m)

12: ticket to nowhere (but your heart) (m) — yeonjun ; strangers to lovers au

21: untitled (m) — beomgyu ; college au, tutor!reader

22: untitled (m) — taehyun ; college au, nerd!taehyun

🖤 — october

03: telepathy (m) — beomgyu ; mind reader au

23: 3:13 a.m. (m) — beomgyu ; vampire au

🩶 — november

07: 9:51 p.m. (m) — soobin ; serial killer au

🤍 — december

started my 4k event: finish my 3k event LMAO

🖤 — writing plans

get my 3k (and now 4k?) event done (#1 priority after i finish my current soobin wip)

rings of saturn (tear me apart) (m) — taehyun ; college au, friends to lovers au

going under (m) — taehyun + kai ; surfers!tyunning, summer fling au

and they were roommates! (m) — choi line ; college au, new roommate!reader

cross (m) — yeonjun ; cyberpunk au, cyborg!yeonjun

wait on me — kai ; college au, cafe au

the language of love (and the woes that accompany it) — beomgyu ; soulmate au

love, unabridged — soobin ; single dad au, neighbors to lovers au

adagio (m) — yoongi ; second chance at romance au

art incarnate (m) — namjoon + seokjin ; cursed!seokjin, museum curator!namjoon, love triangle

and many many more..........you will see. this is just a taste >:)

🩶 — goals for this blog + myself

interact with more ppl! and more often!!

write 150k words?? we'll see...

write longer fics!!

plan a collab event ^^ i've always wanted to host one, and i think this year is the year!

that was long as hell (sorry)...anyways! once again, happy new year!! love you all <3

- ashlee

p.s. check out my 2023 fic recs post here :)

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

Perfect 10 Liners episode 2!

I am so digging these two as besties.

Also further proof that Gawin can be paired with literally anyone and have chemistry.

Lolol, perfectly put Sand.

Poon is such a cutie, I'm so happy he's here.

Yes, we love a Gay Awakening Moment™

I love that Warm trying to wingman Arc leads to accidentally wingmanning Pond.

Sand: "Bye best friend, gonna go hang with this hottie I just met!"

Not the chin grab!

Oof, Force does give the feels when he gets smooth.

But Arc, baby, may I suggest a more loving flirting strategy, because you are confusing the hell out of poor Arm.

Lol, the dudes in this show! Arc is ready for Arm to move in, Pond is just gonna give his car to Sand. Y'all are giving lesbians a run for their money.

Awww, Sand is fluttery and it's adorable. We are not oblivious to our feelings this time!

I don't love Arc's version of hostile flirting, but one thing that does make it overall work for me is how much fun Book is clearly having playing Arm's tantrums. And then when you have JJ & Poon being his angry hype men, it's just too cute.

Shocked that Arc didn't come out in just a towel again! Such restraint.

Nooo, not the insecurity.

I mean, it makes sense, he's clearly shit at approaching people normally. And I'm glad he's recognizing that this is maybe not the best tactic to be constantly using with Arm, and sorta started to try to communicate?

He's still clearly emotionally constipated, but there's a bit of awareness peeking through.

Lol, Pond's radar for Sand alone time opportunity.

And Sand immediately being all "yes please!"

Oh damn, people losing their shit while driving is genuinely terrifying. Yikes.

I'm mad at Arc, but Force is acting this so damn well.

But this is making me curious of just how long Arc has known about and been into Arm, because he seems so devastated here.

Ooh, do we get snippets of the other two couples next week?

[saintverse]

forgive me on possible poor wording on this post (suggestions and discussion are welcome and open) i'm really not feeling well right now and i struggle with articulating myself because of brainfog.

tumblr is an echo chamber but if you say that you're accused of being a fascist or whatever when it's just plainly and simply true. it's genuinely wonderful to have an online space dominated by autistic people and leftists but the disadvantages of such a space rear their head quite quickly when you think about it for more than five seconds.

(there is NOTHING inherently wrong with the way autistic people think vs allistic people think, merely i think a lot of us struggle with the same issues that can sometimes inhibit our understanding of the world around us and experiences different from our own)

autism being the norm is fun and cool until you try to explain the nuances of like, for example, online behavior. because i think a lot of us struggle with black or white thinking that goes unquestioned and it can lead to really unhealthy habits. like yeah terfs are shitty people and we should reject their ideas, but spending your spare time sending random people on the internet gore is really weird, is giving them more attention than they deserve, and is overall a waste of time that can't be good for your mental health. and if you explained to anyone offline that one of your hobbies is sending gore or suicide baiting people on the internet, even with those people being bigots, they will be weirded out. it's not healthy to put that much emotional energy into your oppressor. it's just weird. go for a walk or something, girl. i can't watch this.

(creating public campaigns against specific terfs just gives them more of a platform and a weird victim complex. most importantly, you're putting your transfem friends and mutuals in danger by exposing them to this shit and giving transmisogynists a way to find them!)

(i don't say any of this to be shitty about autistic people i just think our brains are wired or whatever to make it really easy to fall down weird pipelines. hence why 4chan was filled with a lot of autistic white dudes. a lot of us are fairly susceptible to rhetoric if it goes unquestioned and aligns with our personal unchallenged world views.)

another example, if you say the r slur in real life everybody is just going to think you're saying the r slur. the average person (who also is chill with the r slur and probably uses it themselves) will be like haha yeah. and the average autistic or intellectually disabled person will be like oh good god i need to stay away from them. but for some reason people on here think they can reclaim the r slur by using it as a slur online (especially when they themselves are NOT intellectually disabled and have ZERO right to reclaim that term). you've all been infected by 4chan brain and you don't even see it because you've convinced yourself being a coldhearted edgy bully is cool and that being shitty to, for example, people with social anxiety is funny and aligns perfectly with your progressive persona (you reblog posts about social justice but you're a dick to everyone you've ever met and you have no friends because you're a negative person who is genuinely unpleasant to be around)

image credit goes to: @batmanreturnsnineteenninetytwo

and did you know that randomly deciding to make asexuals or polyamorous people (people who deviate from the norm) the butt of your jokes and calling them freaks and shit is actually progressive? everyone has just been slowly and slowly becoming more mask off disgusting and it's wild to me. on tumblr.com, you people are being shitty to anyone who deviates from the norm? i mean. who am i kidding. this website hates trans women and people from the global south more than anything so i haven't believed tumblr was a truly "forward-thinking" space since i was a naïve young teenager.

people who lose their shit about tankies. people who clutch their pearls about misandry and "transandrophobia"... people who accuse all palestinians of being scammers. people who send suicide bait and debate with bigots they should really be ignoring. people who make fun of people with a complicated relationship with sex or with social anxiety. you freaks are everywhere and you're all ridiculously reactionary, you just dress it up as progressivism and how to be cool on the internet or whatever. i'm SOOOOOOOO tired...

100% a line of thinking inspired by this very spot-on post, as well as the interaction that had in the comments with @deepseasmetro - thank you!

tumblr is a flimsy ego-boosting platform that's filled with bullies who hide behind their politics and relationship with oppression meanwhile they don't give a fuck about anyone who has less than them, who has it worse than them. it's all about the oppression olympics, looking cool, and punching down. obviously most of us with a head on our shoulders know this already but it truly never ceases to astound me tbh 😐

it's the same people posting inspiring poetry & textposts about kindness and love and small animals that are out here telling teenagers to kill themselves!

anyway. while you're here please donate to hamada and mohammed and heba and her father bakr ⭐️

[minijenn]

Jen Tortures Herself With Every Dreamworks Animated Movie Ever: The Boss Baby: Family Business

So would you believe me if I told you this movie is better than the first Boss Baby? I mean it's not... much better, but still, improvements were made here. Let's talk about them.

We jump foward to a now adult Tim, who has fallen out of touch with his brother Ted (the original Boss Baby) and struggles to connect with his daughter Tabitha. He soon discovers his baby Tina is on assignment from BabyCorp to stop a new villain intent on wiping out all parents. Tina gives both Ted and Tim a formula to make them both young again, recruiting their help on this mission and roping them into all sorts of Mischief ala the first movie but... like I said, marginally better.

So yeah, once again, very silly plot for a very silly movie. And yet... I don't know, it feels more... genuine than the first one did? Like it leans less on the obvious "oh look at funee baby in suit talking like a businessman" (though there is still plenty of that) and leans more on character interactions and I gotta respect that. Especially since it actually gives me a reason to care about Ted and Tim this time around, actually strengthening their bond and reflecting on how they weren't there for each other growing up like they promised they would be, and how they're given a second chance to change that now. Idk, just some pretty nice thematic stuff in there, along with Tim learning to be a better dad to his kids along the way (daddy issues in Dreamworks movies, they never stop, I Swear).

The characters here are... ok. Better than they were in the first movie, I mean fuck, the titual Boss Baby is toned down a lot and is honestly one of the least painful parts of this. Tim is also better, mostly bc he's actually an adult here so he's not your annoying kid stereotype like he was before. Tina is... kind of annoying, being the source of all of the "business baby" jokes and she grates on the nerves every now and then. Tabitha is ok though, getting some good development alongside Tim. Then we have our villain, Armstrong, who is... surprisingly funny? Like he isn't the funniest dreamworks baddie by any means, but he was certainly watchable. Hell, you could kind of say that for this movie as a whole, really.

The humor here is a little better, striking surprisingly a little more mature than last time (featuring an insane joke about agnostics like what the fuck Dreamworks I never would have thought you'd ever reference religion again after Prince of Egypt holy shit). The emotional beats also hit just a touch more, feeling a good degree less forced than the first movie's. And yet for everything this movie does well, I think its biggest problem is it drags on for far too long, just meandering with scenes that don't need to be anywhere near as long as they are, into a movie with a longer runtime than it probably should have had. It gets... tiring, after a while, and you get to the point where you just want the damn thing to end.

The animation here is really nothing special, basically looking identical to the first movie's, though I will say a few of the imagination sequences were sort of eye catching here. The music is also pretty simplistic but there were a few diagetic songs that I thought were... ok enough. Pretty unoffensive in that reguard, though of course, the pop songs just couldn't keep their nose out of this movie either.

Like I said, its far from being anything resembling good, but fuck, I watched Spirit Untamed last night and this was better than that and it was also better than the first movie, so that's gotta count for something. Even then though, it doesn't count for... that much.

Overall Rating: 4/10

Verdict: Pay tribute to the Greatest Dreamworks Character Ever: The Agnostic Kid

Previous Review (Spirit Untamed)

Next Review (The Bad Guys)

[hopeymchope]

My SPOILERY thoughts on Rain Code: Pre-DLC Edition

I've now finished everything that's available to us before the DLC cases start dropping in one week beginning with "Chapter Desuhiko: Charisma Killed the Cat." I'm totally down to learn more about the supporting detectives in this manner, so that should be a nice treat.

But I've completed the main story, every side quest, unlocked every "Gumshoe Gab," and read through How to Be a Master Detective: A Yakao Furio Case. I've done everything I can do for now.

As such — since I already shared my SPOILER-FREE thoughts over here — let me offer you my SPOILER-HEAVY reactions under the cut below.

So click on for EXTREME SPOILERS regarding things I have questions/misgivings about, things I feel are teasing future sequels, things I adored overall, and more.

By the end, I feel like it's practically impossible to dislike Yuma OR Shinigami. After Chapter 2 makes Yuma AND the player really start to feel like the contract is a burden and Shinigami is unworthy of any trust, the game brilliantly gives us Chapter 3 — the chapter where Shinigami starts to chill the fuck out and they get to confront the most unambiguously evil culprit plot in the whole thing. Kodaka and co. did well to make us start warming back to the partnership right after pointing out the obvious concerns. Our heroes reach their lowest point and then climb back to their best. Shinigami becomes less hyperactive and more sensitive and caring. And of course, Yuma goes from being a weak, frightened little fawn and shifts into The final scene between them is genuinely heartstring-tugging.

The repeated hints about the darkness that Yuma has unleashed, the blood that's on his hands, and the talk from Vivia about the extreme dangers of the Book of Death and how the Book of Death "will destroy the world"... that obviously never went anywhere. I guess we're saving that plot thread for a possible sequel, most likely? (Though I suppose it might be discussed in the DLC... but I personally doubt that.) Because they worked so hard to make us go from "Shinigami is untrustworthy and extremely sketchy" to loving and accepting her at the end, making us revert back to fearing and distrusting Shinigami is going to be emotionally difficult to endure. ... And I live for that shit. :D

I also think there's still merit in my earlier prediction that in an eventual sequel, Yuma will have to face the music for his crimes of repeatedly reaping criminals' souls... and maybe even get reaped himself. The game regularly reminds us of the death on Yuma's conscience. That's gonna come into play somehow, at some point.

Another bit from that earlier post that I still stand by is that, if this series continues, we'll definitely see a case where the person we're trying to exonerate is actually TOTALLY guilty of the crime.

By the way... I once mused that I didn't think Shinigami's "ghost/spirit" design was very distinctive. But after playing the game, I totally embrace it and accept it now. Even though my partner kept calling her "Dollar-Store Gengar," there's a certain genius to her design. She couldn't be too visually distracting if she was going to be flying all over the screen for the sake of quick gags while accompanying you, so making her both a relatively simple design as well as primarily transparent was VERY wise. And purple has come to be associated with notions of poisonous presences and/or ghostly appearances pretty heavily in the past 30+/- years. Very clever.

Another unanswered question: What's with the animal ears on Zilch Alexander and the angrily aggressive nun? They twitch like they're alive! Are these people some kind of human/animal hybrid? Or, wait... since Zilch wears a hat and the nun wears a habit, is this just a little bonus feature of their headgear? Battery-operated fake ears? Whatever the case, Yuma clearly didn't think it was worthy of noting or mentioning, so it must be a fairly common sight in the future.

I predicted "Makoto looks exactly like Yuma under the mask bc of the homunculus experiments" VERY early. Like, literally when I first met Makoto at the start of Chapter 3, I was already there, LOL. But from that moment, I always thought the twist would be that Yuma was the homunculus-copy and Makoto was the original version of him. So I got that backwards. And I definitely didn't think Yuma would wind up being Number One or turn out to have identity-swapped with a minor background character. That was TOTALLY left-field shit for me.

On that same topic... when Chapter 5 began, I was so EPICALLY disappointed. Like, after all the teases about homunculi and what that terminology implies, we get... zombies. Just fuckin' ZOMBIES. The most overdone thing in video games for the past 20 years now!! But as the chapter continued on and the truth about the city became obvious to me, I was really excited by the reveals. I knew something was off about the "meat bun" obsession, but I had no idea where the hell this was going. I mean, why WOULD I? "Homunculus" has never before meant "zombie" :P And of course I had ZERO idea that everyone in town was actually a homunculus replacement for a dead citizen until the game started dropping those HARD hints during the Chapter 5 investigation.

How amazing was that "pink blood" twist in Chapter 5? Brilliant little meta-mystery that really fucked with DR fans' beliefs and expectations. BRILLIANT, I tell you!

One thing that sadly fell flat for me about the conclusion was exactly WHY Yuma went from "I give up, Makoto is right, I need to let him win" over to "NO! I must FIGHT BACK and expose the TRUTH!" It kind of felt like the only reason he did the latter was because Shinigami really wanted him to and was sad that he was giving up, and Yuma clearly cares about Shinigami by then, so he just.... goes on with it. Is it because he realized in that moment that he could successfully expose the truth AND still make everyone happy? Because how the FUCK could he have known how that'd turn out?!? Especially after Chapter 2's conclusion, Yuma had no reason to believe that exposing the truth was going to always be a good thing for everybody. ... Personally, I thought they really needed to make Yuma a lot angrier about Makoto grinding up criminals for meat. That mass-murder would've been a GREAT reason for him to get up and fight back, and it would've made a lot more clear sense as a reason for him to keep going than some vague desire for an idealized world that has every fucking reason to NEVER work in practice. I just... I don't get it.

Back to positive stuff: Chapter 4's murder mystery is one of the best Kodaka has ever put together. Just... no notes, great job, loved it.

I wonder if Vivia really is immortal somehow. The possibility isn't ever strictly denied when it's brought up...

Desuhiko has to be my least favorite of the Other Detectives/Temporary Partners. He's such a damn tool. :P

I hope they eventually give us some DLC or other side modes that let us learn more about the lost Chapter 0 detectives. They have/had so much potential to run deep. I'd be down to play a "Danganronpa S"-style side story that runs like a simplistic board game if it means we'll get more info on them.

[planetsano]

THE TIKTOKIFICATION OF FANFICTION IS REAL AND IT NEEDED TO BE SAID!!

i get where that other anon was coming from in that you should give people chances and that like yes no one is going to be a great writer out the gate, nor does being a fanfic author make you a "real" author, you know? they aren't being paid for their work and its a hobby. BUT there is something to be said i think in the general state of fanfiction currently. i see it on tumblr as well as ao3. i use ao3 for like novel length fics and i used to genuinely find great like professional level fics that were completed and up to 100k words easily within all my various fandoms i am in. nowadays im lucky if i find a 50k piece of work that is not equivalent to some of the shit i mightve written in 5th grade. on tumblr x reader fics rarely are anything more than a badly written piece of porn with no plot. and theres nothing inherently wrong with with some smut and zero plot but why is it reading like the author is 15 at best? but if you get on tiktok and are deep enough in the fanfiction culture this type of shit is all thats being talked about! and people eat it up every time!

i would like to believe that hey maybe it's just my age, maybe fanfiction has always been that bad but i go to some of these authors pages and they are the same age or sometimes older than me. not only that but, i've always read "bad" fan fiction for the hell of it but these days it's not just bad, it's literally unreadable.

overall i just think the state of our media literacy is in HELL these days and it's beginning to show more and more in so many areas of media, including fanfiction.

sorry for the rant, i just think you are very correct and i know theres a lot of feelings around criticizing and critiquing fanfiction but i just feel like people are a little to eager these days to let shit be bad for the sake of a click.

clock it!

[biancadjarin]

Head Over (Chanel) Heels pt. 3

EM x spoiled!reader (y/n self insert)

chapter one chapter two chapter three chapter four

Warnings - cursing, angst, fighting, mentions of blood, Steve and Eddie overall being hotheads

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

Tonight’s the night. Yours and Eddie’s date. You hear the phone in your room ring as you finish up your shower, pulling on a towel and dashing over to answer it.

“Hello?” “Hi angel. It’s me.” Eddie’s sweet voice coos through the phone. Your legs feel like jelly as you sit criss cross on your bed, curling the phone cord around your finger. “You ready for our date tonight?” “F’course Eddie! M’so excited.” He chuckles lowly. “Good me too. Already went to the theater and got our tickets. Just in case.” “What time should I be ready?” “Well I don’t wanna rush perfection. Soo.. an hour?” “Yeah that’s perfect! I can’t wait to see you.” You tell him sweetly. “You’re so cute. Can’t wait to see you too and show you off. You gonna wear something sexy for me?” He asks, voice gravelly and you can almost hear the smile spreading on his lips. You pull the phone away from your ear for a second to squeak at how flirty he is before returning it to your mouth, trying to sound casual. “Yeah of course. Don’t I always look sexy?” There’s silence for a second as you hear a lighter flick on Eddie’s side, the low crackle of something burning. “Shit-” he releases a deep exhale, “you’ve got me there princess. Ok go get ready. I’ll see you soon.”

You quickly begin curling your hair, doing your makeup so it’s flawless but not overdone. Making sure your lips are glossy but not sticky. Perfectly kissable.

You’re nervous. Like way more nervous than you should be because Eddie’s so sweet and you trust him. But that’s exactly what’s making you nervous. It’s easy to be light and flirty with a guy you know is never going to be your boyfriend. But Eddie might actually become just that. At least you hope so.

The doorbell ringing makes you jump, not expecting it to ring so soon. He can’t already be here, he’d had to have broken every speed limit on the way if he is. You think to yourself. You shrug and head to open the door, still in your short silky robe that you wear to get ready. You prance down your stairs, butterflies crashing into each other in your stomach as you get closer to your front door. You take a deep breath before pulling on the handle, cool outside air whooshing in and blowing your hair around.

Two big brown puppy dog eyes stare back at you nervously. Except it’s not the eyes you were expecting.

“Steve? What’re you doing here?” You ask genuinely surprised. He stares at you for a second, taking in your face and scantily clad body, cool air causing the peaks of your breasts to pebble a bit under your robe. He blinks, sighing and shaking his head, pushing his hair out of his face. “I just have to talk to you about something.” “Well can it wait? Eddie’s supposed to be here any minute to pick me up.” “No y/n, it can’t wait.” Steve says impatiently, pushing into your foyer past you.

“Ok… what’s up?” You ask as you close the door behind him. “How come you didn’t tell me about you and Eddie?” He asks, hands sitting in the pockets of his tight jeans, eyes shifting between yours expectantly. You give him a furrowed brow, opened mouth expression. Haven’t we gone over this?

“I already told you,” you say calmly stepping closer to him. “I didn’t think it was a big deal. Do I have to run every life decision by you for your approval Steve?” you ask him sarcastically, rolling your eyes. “Of course not y/n.. but..” he chews on the inside of his cheek as he scans the room, avoiding your gaze.

Your patience is wearing thin, you still have to finish getting ready and Steve is monopolizing your time with what seems like a nothing conversation. You sit on the couch closest to you and prop your chin on your palm, giving him a bored expression as if to say go on.

“It’s just.. I told you I didn’t think that party was a good idea.” Steve finally says, angrily. He takes a deep breath, the striped fabric of his polo straining over shoulders as he paces a couple times before stopping directly in front of you. You up look at him with furrowed brows. “Before the party, we hung out everyday. We’d talk about everything, you’d always be there when I need you. Now?” He exhales sharply, hands resting on his hips, eyes looking to the side for a second before returning to yours. “I should’ve never brought him. I should’ve never started hanging out with him! Being his friend!” “Who?” You ask confused. “Eddie! The fucking guy who you’re going on a date with! The guy who’s got you all distracted. The guy that you look like that for.” His eyes soften as his gaze dances up and down your body. You feel a chill run down your spine at his words. You don’t think you’ve ever seen Steve this mad, not even after the Nancy/Jonathan thing. “Steve what’s the problem? Do you not want me to date Eddie?” you reach a hand out to stroke his arm comfortingly. His eyes glance back up to meet yours and you swear they have a sheen of tears about to spill from them before he runs both hands over his face and turns away from you. “I-I don’t know. I’m just saying. You deserve better. You’re really going to date a metal band guitarist who plays a weird board game?” He asks you. You wince at his judgmental words. “You don’t even know him that well y/n.” He says, eyes wide and head nodding, mouth moving faster than his brain can compute.

“He’s hooked up with a lot of girls. He tells me. You should hear the things he says!” Your stomach drops thinking about Eddie with other girls. You’re not naïve, you know he’s a teenage boy in a band with a brain and a dick. But suddenly, you feel nauseous, mouth filling up with saliva, lightheaded and dizzy. “He’s not a good guy y/n, he only cares about one thing.” He stares at you and you give him a pouty look in return, shaking your head slightly. “He just wants to fu- you know what he wants.” He says with a sigh. The memories of that first night with Eddie fill your mind, how he was so patient and gentle, never rushing or pressuring you. You glare at Steve. “Like you’re some kind of virginal angel Steve.” You scoff. “I know I’m not.” Steve says, walking towards you again, legs straddling either side of yours. He looks down at you, thumb and forefinger squeezing either side of your chin to angle your gaze up to him. “But you are. You’re an angel. And Eddie’s sees that. He preys upon it. Just call him and cancel your date, hm? For me?”

You stand up with a huff, swatting his hand away. “No way! I don’t care what you say Steve, I really like Eddie and I trust him.” “More than you trust me?” Steve asks a little louder than you’re used to him talking to you. Your eyes begin to water as your mind races thinking about everything Steve’s said to you. And you do trust Steve, of course. Your throat tightens and your nose tickles as the first tear falls from your mascaraed eyes. “Oh y/n no, baby baby please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Steve says as he rushes over to you, hands rubbing up and down your silk covered arms. “I just-the whole reason I came over here was because I need you to know. You should do better than Eddie. You can do better than Eddie. I’ve liked you since I met you y/n.”

You sniffle as you look up at him, eyes wide. You can’t believe what you’re hearing. And he’s choosing now to tell you? “That isn’t fair Steve. You’re only saying that because you don’t want me to be with anyone. You want me to be alone! Like you!” The tears are flowing worse now, a mixture of hurt, embarrassment and anger. “No, no, that’s not what I want y/n, I want you. Us. Don’t you see?” He asks, his arms spreading out around him. “Me and you just make sense! Every time I’m with you, I just feel happier. I feel whole. And when you’re not there, I feel like half a person. I thought I could be ok with us just being best friends, us being neighbors, I could always just walk over here and see you. But you’re pushing me away, you’re hiding things now.” He shakes his head, his voice lowering as he rests his hands on your cheeks, thumbs brushing away tears. “Let’s just go back to how we were. Me and you. No one else. I’ll show you how good of a boyfriend I can be.”

You had to admit, it’s a hell of an offer. And any other girl in Indiana would be eating this silver platter offer up with a spoon. But it just doesn’t feel right. You and Steve are friends. And that’s all it’ll ever be. You want to explain all that to him but the wall clock catches your eye and you panic. This argument has taken twenty minutes, Eddie will be here any minute.

“You need to leave Steve.” “What?” He asks weakly, eyes bigger and softer than you’ve ever seen them, the glisten of tears returning. You wipe your eyes, getting yourself together as you pull his hand behind you toward the door. “Now.” You open the door wide and step out of the way, arms crossed over your chest. He opened his mouth to say something but decided against it, shaking his head. He paused in the doorway, leaning down to kiss you on the cheek. “Call me later ok?” He asks as he disappears down your front steps.

Just that moment, Eddie’s van comes tearing down the street. Parking in your driveway, he hops out, wild brown waves bouncing as he spins on the ball of his foot to close the creeky door. “Harrington? Hey man, what’s up?” Steve huffs past him, heading towards his respective mansion next door. “Ohhkay..” Eddie shrugs, beginning to walk up to your front door. He knocks and you open it apprehensively, trying to put on your bravest face.

His wide smile drops when he sees you. “Y/n? Are you ok?” He asks scanning your face. He takes a step towards you, pulling you into his chest, rubbing your back with his hand. You nod weakly, your tear streaked face making his heart ache. “What’s wrong, what happ-?” His eyes go wide and drift off to the side when he remembers who was just here. He turns around, pushing through your door and jogging across your lawn towards where Steve is walking, almost back to his house. “Eddie wait-” you call after him. He doesn’t hear you. His heartbeat is thumping in his ears as his blood starts to boil. “Harrington!”

Steve stops in his tracks and turns around slowly with a groan. “What do you want Eddie?” “Uh I want to know why y/n is crying. I get here to pick her up and see you leaving her house. You wanna fill in the blanks?” Eddie’s eyes bore into Steve’s as Steve shrugs his shoulders and smirks. “Maybe she realized she’s about to go out with trailer park trash.” Eddie felt his fist clench and fly up to connect with Steve’s cheek before his mind even knew what was happening. Steve gets knocked down, clutching his face as he writhes in the grass. You cover your mouth in shock. This is all my fault.

“Fuck!” Steve grunts as he sits up, blood covering the highest point of his face, cheek already red and swollen. Eddie leans down and curls his fingers into Steve’s collar so he’s nose to nose with him now. You know Eddie looks intimidating but this is the first time you’ve ever seen him be intimidating. “You’ve been trying to fuck this up since I told you about me and her. I knew you liked her Steve. You’re not very good at hiding it. But she doesn’t want you man. She picked me.” Steve looks at Eddie with so much anger Eddie thinks he’s going to get punched back. But Steve’s eyes leave his and flit to over his shoulder. “S’that true?”

You’re standing behind Eddie, bare toes digging into the sprinkler soaked manicured turf grass of Steve’s lawn. Eddie turns around, eyes soft with worry. You look down and his hands are trembling, right knuckles bloody and bruised. Your eyes flick back and forth between the two boys, not sure what to say. A week ago, Steve was your best friend and you hadn’t even met Eddie. You never thought you’d be here now. Your mind is racing, you’re cold and you’re tired, not sure what to do or say.

“Y/n?” Eddie prompts you softly as he turns to face you, “why aren’t you saying anything?”

To Be Continued…

Notes : ok so I didn’t think this was going to turn into a steddie fic but it kind of has? And I know this sounds crazy but I kind of want to write both endings. One where reader picks Steve and one where she picks Eddie. Kind of like a choose your own adventure. What do you guys think??🤭

[cryingincrocs]

OKAY now that I have the time to talk about it, I can finally go into my rant about the Saturday Night movie. I've seen it twice and convinced my film professor to go see it and most of my irls have to be sick of it by now.

Also spoiler warning for those who care.

ANYWAYS I already made a whole rant about it for one my classes so I'm just reposting it here because it has all of my thoughts, if not more formal than if I had written it directly for tumblr.

After seeing this movie twice I can confidently say it is my favorite movie of the year if not one of my favorite movies of all time. I can't remember the last time I finished watching a movie or walked out a theater feeling so genuinely inspired. What makes this movie so inspiring can be boiled down to the cinematography, the score and the actors.

When it comes to the camera quality itself, cinematographer Eric Steelberg could've used something of so high quality you could see every little pore on a person's face if it weren't covered in make-up. But the fact that the camera they used had not only grain to it, but would show slight deterioration like you see in pre-2000 (or more pre-2010) where there's little flickers of black. I'm not an expert on cameras so I don't the terms for these things but essentially, the quality of the camera was older. Not as old as the cameras used in 1975, but older than the ones used to film movies today like The Substance or Deadpool and Wolverine. What I find with this choice is how it helps build the movie's atmosphere. Often you find that people associate the past with relevant technology. When someone thinks of the 50s, they wouldn't have the same lense as when they think of the 80s because of how drastically different the quality of films are. Then when it comes to the actual filming of the movie, the camera often becomes a character of its own. Early into the movie, as some of the main characters step off an elevator, we are thrusted into the world of Studio 8H where SNL is to be filmed. People are everywhere, props are being moved about, conversations are overlapping. All the while the camera doesn't cut. It just keeps swerving and following characters as they navigate about. It doesn't cut until I believe our lead character, Lorne Micheals, steps into the control room. More conversations are filmed less with cuts and more with the camera jerking back and forth. Although the first can still happen, it depends on the mood of the scene. At other points, a rack of costumes is led through the set by Rosie and back stage to Belushi's dressing room. The camera leads this as if the audience is walking with Rosie. The fluidity of the camera and the quality of the lens builds on this tone of barely controlled chaos and helps heighten the anxiety the characters are experiencing.

The entire soundtrack of the movie was done by Jon Batiste. Not only that, but he had a role in the movie as well, playing Billy Preston. I have been listening to the soundtrack so much since I saw the movie the first time. Because of this blanketing feeling of anxiety of if the show will fit the run time, have sketches go smoothly, or even make it to air at all, the music is often fast-paced to match. You can hear semblance of a heart-beat or rushing foot steps created by the instruments. It gives you a sense of motivation and 'holy shit I gotta move now and not stop' and it's awesome. there are some parts of music that slow us down and have us sit in a moment. there are other times when the music cuts out completely and you can really feel it's absent. like after belushi is given his rack of costumes, the music cuts when outside the room, the rack is slammed aganst the wall because he hates the bee costume. the music cuts and the flow is momentarily interrupted. it builds on that startling feeling and ooiugh. oough its so good. And although the feelings there are so drastically different, the overall vibes of the soundtrack remain the same. I did not live through 1975, or any of the 70s, so my opinion should be taken with a heavy dose of salt, but I believe the music does fit that late 70s vibe.

They did a phenomenal job with the casting. Lorne Micheals is played by Gabriel LaBelle who has done an amazing job revealing his emotions and his thoughts through just his facial expressions. When he's trying to keep a level head and subdue the rising anger and anxiety in his body, you can practically feel the tension caused all by the way he tenses his face and carefully speaks. You can feel through the screen how there are moments where he's close to erupting and it's incredible work. He's also, so me. That's literally me. I got my best friend to see it with me the second time and he looked at me and agreed that it was unfortunately, very me. And the same goes for the other actors. I don't know the original SNL cast too well by face, but as far as the main cast goes, i think they were able to carry themselves like their real counterparts and there was so much dedication and passion for the movie oozing out of the screen.

I've gotten so obsessed that I went on wikipedia to read up on every original cast member (starting with Lorne Micheals himself). and yes, I'm aware certain people aren't very good people. trust I know.

I will take as many opportunities as I can to talk about this movie. I want people to go see it, regardless of if you're a fan of SNL or not. Like I mentioned before, i walked out of the theater having an epiphany of 'this is what I want to be, this is what I want to do'. I'm very happy I got to see it twice in theaters, I've literally never done that before.