#anyway diversity win etc etc i love him

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

watching fandaniel go is wild because he is just [vestibular stims] [vestibular stims] [vestibular stims] [vestibular stims] and yeah man that's a mood

[notscarsafe]

OKAY SO what with the TWO new Hermits implied by the updated banner I will say that, though the Skizz truthers have me convinced, I now have room to do my own crazy red string monologue and throw my hat in for my choice

1) Mythical J. Sausage (the J is silent) is a multitalented S-tier builder that absolutely deserves to be shoulder to shoulder with the Hermits. The man does buildings, interiors, terraforming, custom trees, and he does them SO WELL.

2) The production values!!! Beautiful replay mod sequences with shifting camera perspectives, shaders, music that sets the tone for each segment that's different from series to series. He already has more than a million followers on YouTube and for good reason!!

3) He has been SO consistent lately. He started a hardcore world about three months ago (about the time you might expect the Hermits to finalize their s10 choices maybe...???) and already has 15 episodes and hasn't gotten involved in any other big content. (He did just start playing a little of the BCG server but from what I understand that's super casual /copium copium copium).

4) That hardcore world is conveniently about to reach a good "pause" point. He started his world on a cherry blossom biome island that he's filled with a medieval village and starter farms, he's said it's almost full and what's left is the castle. I'm guessing the new season will start the first week of February, so if Sausage puts out a video this week building out that Castle and finishing that island it will be MIGHTY CONVENIENT TIMING.

5) This man can GRIND. His Hardcore world hasn't even been going half a year and he's built... So much??? Magnificent! And when he was on the Hermitcraft server he did the Razorcrest for scar AND the player head baby yoda/stormtrooper merch AND the noteblock themesong AND still built in the xmas village and other "diamond of peace" and so many other shenanigans. Did the man even sleep? He can grind with the best of them.

6) He can do redstone, too! Maybe not unique designs, I honestly don't know, but he builds farms for build materials no problem.

7) The DRAMA this man loves his improv and his backstory and trauma lore! For every series he does! Can you imagine if he gets to interact with Ren for an extended period of time, what that would do to them, to us?? Give Martyn a run for his money!!

8) Which brings me to my next point, which is that Sausage is already One of The Gang, because he's been in series with so many of the Hermits already! Empires and the crossover, obviously, but also Pirates with Cleo and Origins with Scar, and he's even done MCC! Joel is the only other player with the same depth of different series but there are other people truthing him already.

9) The EPIC BROMANCE with Pearl. My god the devotion of this man to his sunflower goddess bestie. I would try to do ot justice but y'all have seen floweroflaurelins work, you already know.

10) He's already a PG streamer but with HILARIOUSLY PG-13 tendencies. Imagine him and Cleo cracking each other up at an HHH stream, *grips your shoulders* IMAGINE IT.

11) Sausage comes with his own mascot in the form of interdimensional dog extraordinaire Bubbles, but he's also just an animal lover on general. Mans drinks his "I love Jellie" juice and had her in his world even before the sad news of her loss.

12) Diversity win! No one should be hired just for their gender, race, sexuality etc etc unless it's truly necessary to the job, but we were all happy when more women got added to the server in s8 and I know a lot of people would be happy to see some ethnic diversity added, too.

... That bulletin board had a lot more pins in it than I thought it did but anyway MYTHICALSAUSAGE TRUTHERS/ALL OTHER TRUTHERS RISE UP SPEAK YOUR TRUTH! we'll only get to wildly speculate for a few weeks so we might as well make it everyone else's problem ENJOY IT TO THE FULLEST!!

[tennessoui]

Anakin as Obi-Wan's Campaign Manager?? Say more right now please!

correction - anakin (19yo) as obi-wan (35yo)'s nonconsensual campaign manager

here's a bit more! all just set up, i have no idea what i want out of this fic yet word-count wise. structure wise. etc.

The Kenobi thing happens accidentally, honestly. Anakin isn’t even sure how he got into it, but at the end of September, Padmé had mentioned how formative canvassing had been to her own political outlook, how impactful it had been to help out on a campaign, and Anakin had thought—that’s it. I can do that, and then she'll see we have things in common and then she'll fall in love with me. And that night, he’d gone to his apartment and researched upcoming local elections. He’d found the list of people running for the city council, and he’d chosen one at a random. Obi-Wan Kenobi was thirty-five and up for re-election. He’d first been elected four years ago, at thirty-one, one of the youngest city councilmen in the history of Coruscant, running—as far as Anakin could tell—on the issue of city infrastructure and misuse and diversion of funds away from public goods like pothole-less roads to drive on. Even just reading the summary on the guy’s past campaign had been boring as hell, but he’d won, is the thing. He’d won, which means he has a good shot of winning it again, which would make it incredibly easy to help him along. Not many people vote in city council elections—fact. Not many people vote for names they don’t recognize, and they have a higher chance of recognizing an incumbent’s name over a challenger’s—fact. It’s only impressive to canvas for a campaign if the guy you’re canvassing for is elected—fact. So Obi-Wan Kenobi was a safe choice. A stellar choice. Anakin hit the books that weekend, printed out a bunch of blurbs on what the guy’s done—apparently it’s been mostly advocating for filling in potholes on what Anakin would bet his tuition money on is the guy’s commute to work—and hit the streets to drum up support for him. The election is in the middle of November, and today is October 2nd. Half the doors Anakin knocks on remain unopened, a fourth are closed in his face, and the remaining percentage are either not registered to vote or seem lukewarm to the idea of voting in a city council election at all. Three different elderly ladies have asked him if Kenobi is running for president. Hell, next time he’s just going to say yes. —--------- But Ahsoka isn’t wrong. Anakin hates to admit it, but he knows he has to. She’s not wrong. Something needs to change in his strategy because he’s not getting the numbers he needs. Honestly, this whole adventure has made him lose faith in the effectiveness of democracy. Maybe dictatorships aren’t so bad. It’s not like these people are voting anyway. He’s smart enough to keep this observation to himself, of course, but he wonders what could have been so eye-opening about Padmé’s time canvassing when Anakin’s having a hard enough time making this whole thing door-opening.

[wasabijean]

Why do people treat Thrax and Osmosis like That? A Discussion About Fandom and Antiblackness

Happy black history month!

I’ve been considering making this post for a long time, and I wasn’t sure when, but I think now is a good opportunity.

NOTE: Let me preface this by saying that with a movie with a predominantly black main cast, the fanspace has been predominantly white/non-black, and I feel that has effected the conversations surrounding this movie for a long time.

Fandom, in general, continues to have white voices and perspectives highlighted, while black and poc voices are drowned out. Compare 2014 to 2024, and it’s obvious that there’s been a shift in diversity among all fanspaces, and I’m so very glad.

I want to continue this shift, by giving my own perspective as a black person who loves this movie, and I’d like to highlight the way the OJ fandom has treated these black characters (and spoiler, it hasn’t been great.)

Firstly, too many people are comfortable with portraying Thrax as this sexual r*pey monster, and I need it to stop. ESPECIALLY when he’s explicitly a black coded character.

From what I’ve seen observing and participating in this fandom over the past few years, is that Thrax and Ozzy is a very popular pairing, and honestly, I’m not a fan. It’s onesided, there’s not that much chemistry on screen except the dynamic of Jones being afraid and Thrax trying to kill him. I can’t control what people ship, but I absolutely can condemn the way people have paired these two up. Because… As a black person, I don’t like seeing these black characters in (oftentimes if not always) inherently racist dynamics.

Let me explain:

CW // mentions of racism, rape, grooming

Both Jones and Thrax are black coded characters. They use AAVE, have black VA’s, and Thrax literally has locs While Mayor phlemming is very much racist towards Jones in the movie (ie refering to him as “incapable”, treating Ozzy badly why Drix is praised, there’s obviously racial coding there). So, I can say with certainty that these characters are black, because of how theyre treated and also the cultural motifs in their story and character.

With that said, in the pairing of Ozzy and Thrax, so many people depict Thrax as this sexy controlling or possessive boyfriend that’s monsterous and the “top”, while Jones is the submissive scared stupid and sensitive “bottom”. I’ve seen this in fanfic, fanart, etc. It’s a shame that these characters have been boiled down into something like this, especially when I love Thrax as a villain, and I think Jones does a great job standing his ground as a hero even when he’s scared.

Thrax has high kill count and he wants to keep the killing going, and it’s refreshing to see a unrelentless villain like that in kids Animation; That’s one of the reasons why he’s so popular. But, everytime I bring up this character to people, its either “he’s so hot i need him” or “he should fuck osmosis”. Pushing aside the good writing of black characters in order to satisfy sexual fantasies via a ship is Certainly a Odd Choice. But, it happens anyway in a lot of fanspaces, and Osmosis Jones is no exception.

This type of dynamic of Thrax in particular just continues to perpetuate stereotypes of black men that are inherently racist. (ex: black men are rapists, are hyper sexual monsters, etc). Like, Historically, this stereotype has been used to dehumanize and incarcerate black men, And the stereotype in its self began with American slavery and the practice of “breeding” the enslaved. So, why do so many people continue to project this type of behavior on Thrax (particularly with Jones)?

Is it because he’s hot? Or that he’s just sexual in nature? Or was it that “big daddy thrax” line in the movie? Regardless of how Thrax was written compared to how he has been protrayed in fandom spaces, at the end of the day, thats fanon. Thrax isn’t a sex monster, he’s a egotistical virus with the intent to kill and win!

Themes of R*pe come up a lot with Thrax fancontent, for some reason. Maybe it was the choking scene, because it has sexual themes, but is not consesual in the slightest. Majority ozzy and thrax fanfics on AO3 have tags for Non-c0n and explicit. Sometimes, instead of fanfic it’s digital art, and it isn’t always tagged.

I vividly remember scrolling on tumblr when I was 14, looking for Osmosis Jones art, only to be flashed by r*pe and explicit content of Thrax, Jones, Leah. I remember Leah, a black woman character, often being pushed to the side and demonized. Little black kid me got so, so scared of the fandom, because of the racism and graphic content.

So, I kept lurking, holding my breath as I scrolled, and never interacting or posting my art, sharing my ideas, nothing. I felt alienated from the fanspace of a animated movie meant for kids, a movie that I loved. Online fanspaces are a great way for people to find other’s who have the same interest, but that wasn’t the case for me. I was deprived of something I should’ve had fun with, especially as an autistic kid who had no one else to talk to about the things I liked. I hated it; being uncomfortable and scared, because of something I loved, but feared the things that could come with it.

I tried overcoming that fear and branching out but it ultimately got me groomed by people who liked the movie on different occasions, and now that I’m 18, older, and wiser, I don’t want repeats to happen to anyone else.

There is no reason a animated movie, that’s meant for children mind you, has had such a racist and explicit fanspace.

There is no reason to not properly tag your content, not just for organization purposes, but for safety.

There is no reason why the most popular ship in this fandom is the one that has so much underlying themes of racism and SA, canonically and in fanon.

This is just my opinion, because I think black voices are important in fandom especially when so often overlooked, and I’m willing to discuss this further or answer any questions. It’s just tiring as a black person to keep seeing this happen with black characters.

[mediocre-noodle]

OKAY! more characters in this lik series (ive dubbed it ‘something wicked this way comes’ which isnt very original imo but meh. it works)

i tried to be diverse making the OCs’ genders and sexualities instead of making them all aroace

note: sorry this took so long—mom came in around 7:30pm and gave me a talk about how im not prepared for real life and being on my own (yeah i know i get it hh) anyways here they are!!

the resistance

dallas but hes had his cameo. his title is “Striker” and also “Gladiolus”

Alibi - The Jester/“Zinnia”. all pronouns. trans/nonbinary/pangender. panromantic, asexual, pansexual. also AuDHD. very close to dallas— heavily implied to be in a qpr w dallas (theyre just REALLY close friends /gen. and dallas is also quoiromantic under the aromantic spectrum, which doesnt help)

Asmodae - The Sheild/“Cypress”. she/her, cis, lesbian, autism. shes inspired by astrid from HTTYD, with the take no shit vibes and the badass-ery and still being kind. (supposed to be more tan tbh)

Skip - “Clematis”. he/him, cis, bisexual. autistic. older brother figure of the group. not much developed on him.

Juno - The Dahlia/“Dahlia”. they/she/fae. genderfae, idk about romantic/sexual orientation. autistic, adhd, anxiety disorder. has either/both POTS or EDS. uses forearm crutches. also a hella good sniper. (hispanic— one parent is something similar to mexican?? except idk if mexico exists in this world? i havent decided the map yet)

The Family

AKA The Eyes, The Syzygy, The Keepers, etc. context will come in the ask specifically about them!!

dallas! (wow hes so special :0)

Aji (ahgee / ă-jē) - The Apogee. all pronouns. literally agender. panromantic asexual. AuDHD… again (i keep projecting ;-;).

it normally takes the form of a human teenager or child. xey are older than one could imagine, as they were created when the first world came to fruition.

- many actually have a betting pool on how old she is. none of them are winning.

- he is very parental tbh: “no. no, aji. we can’t take in another kid.” “BUT LOOOOKKKKK! THEY WERE ABANDONED AS A SACRIFICE TO THEIR MORTAL GODS— CMONNNNN PLEASEEEE *puppy dog eyes*” “ugh fineeeee”

seraphina! nicknamed sheriff by dallas. she/they. panromanic lesbian. dallas saved them from their universe and now theyre besties and also gossip buddies. shes also very traumatized as well! just not as detailed as dallas. (their backstory has a bit of the source material and inspo for dallas until i changed A LOT)

Mempis. they/she/he/it. agender + pansexual (realizing how common pan is in my ocs…) autism!! literally hot- so pretty oh my god /p

ive read this ask so many times how have i not answered it yet im so sorry dude 😭

anyways I LOVE THEIR DESIGNS!!!!! they all look so cool and chill!!!!!

[acknowledge-reigns]

Before I go on my lil rant here I just wanna thank my friend @love-islike-abomb for inspiring me and giving me the courage to call out bigotry all 2024.

Some of y'all are gonna read this and get mega offended. Rule of thumb, if it don't apply let it fly. But if the shoe fits wear it. I'ma need some of y'all in the IWC to start checking your covert racism, inherent biases and the way in which y'all uphold white supremacy, colonizer mindsets, misogyny, ableism, homophobia, transphobia and so on. Dismantle the group think and hive mind type echo chambers of the IWC. Sometimes that shit is so ingrained you don't even realize you're participating in the fuck shit but I challenge you to listen to marginalized communities when we tell you these things so we can all learn, change and grow!

Y'all lowkey upset cause this is the first time two men of color are main eventing wrestlemania. There's no white man in the mix anymore and it terrifies y'all to finally see what it feels like to lack representation.

I'm also gonna preface the next part of my statement by saying I am in no way saying all C*dy or L* fans are racist. I am however asking you to challenge why you think the way you do regarding the situation and why you are this bitter about Roman vs The Rock when your fav gets a main event title match anyway that he's practically guaranteed to actually win. Also ask yourself why you don't want Hogan's record broken. Because the shit he said doesn't effect you?

Watching y'all motherfuckers in shambles bc the white privilege within WWE is slowly slipping the away bit by bit is so funny to me. Like it really destroys some of you that a man of color is at the top of the game and brought his whole family with him. It fucks with y'all that Naomi is back. That Bianca is on the cover of 2k24. That Jade made a fucking statement. The diversity in NXT kills y'all. But what I know what really stings and is unsettling for y'all. Your perfect white blond hair blue eyed patriotic ken doll nor small town redneck rock or their fans were able to bitch their way into hijacking a story that's been building for for years based on a SAMOAN family and based on SAMOAN culture, insert themselves and take over what was never theirs to begin with. It's uncomfortable for y'all bc that's what you're used to seeing. You're used to white people being able to come in and steal culture and shit that isn't theirs after POC spend years building it and and working their ass off and it's a scary threat to your privilege when that's challenged even in something as little as sports entertainment. Bottom line is if you are not apart of the Samoan Dynasty - If your name is not Anoa'i, Fatu, Johnson etc, if you aren't their BLOODLINE then this ain't your story. It's not your business. It's family business. Period. This post will probably be unpopular as fuck but don't shoot the messenger!

[lollytea]

I originally started following after the first trolls movie.

You haven't posted trolls in the while and maybe you don't keep up with the media at all.

but if you do, it would scratch an itch in my brain.

What do you think of Guy Diamond's son, Tiny Diamond? Like Jade vs Tiny Diamond is kind of a whiplash huh?

What do you think of branch's brothers????? I'm just so curious b/c ur headcanon content is very tasty to me.

Haha! All of my trolls brainrot has been effectively purged. The kind of things that I'm interested in have varied so far elsewhere that I really can't sink my teeth into this franchise the way I did when I was 19. Its a universe that doesn't really take itself all that seriously and functions on saccharine surrealism, which is fun to watch for an hour and a half, but I can't really get invested in it. Its just not what I vibe with anymore. And if I'm just not interested in staying long in the world the characters inhabit, I'm just not gonna think about it much.

But! I do watch the new trolls movies when they come out, mostly cuz I love Poppy and Branch and its always nice to see them again. I appreciate that they've remained three-dimensional characters throughout all three films, and their wide range of emotions are taken seriously, in spite of the overall goofy tone of the movies. And as I said, the world itself can be fun to sit in for an hour and a half.

Nobody needs to know my overall thoughts on trolls 3. But the short version is that I didn't really like it and will probably never watch it again. But there was a lot of talented designers, writers, animators etc. involved and I like to appreciate the bits of magic they brought to it.

Tiny Diamond is....certainly a bit. His character is just. Being a bit. It's not a bit I find all that funny (baby with a grown man voice), so I really don't feel anything about it. Except for Guy Diamond giving birth out of his head, like the King of the Gods, producing his noble daughter Athena. I feel a lot of indescribable emotions about that.

Diversity win! The trolls franchise has mpreg!

Anyway, point is, Tiny Diamond was the first of MANY characters that the sequel films fired at us. It's made it all feel....a bit crowded. There's just a lot of bitches to keep track of. And they dump all of them out in front of you in the span of one film that it's hard to get particularly attached to any of them.

I don't even have anything to say about Jade, except I was transparently more into the characters than the world when I was 18/19. Jade was an OC that existed (almost) solely in the Human AU. I didn't give a shit about troll Jade obviously. I didn't develop him all that well and have no real emotional attachment to him anymore, so I don't really feel anything about Tiny Diamond becoming his Canon counterpart. Tbh I think it gave me an interesting glance in the mirror. With Jade, I had strayed very very far from the trolls' goofy ridiculous vibe. The introduction of Tiny Diamond was a humbling experience agsbdjnk.

I quite like Branch's brothers! It's the kind of info that makes me wish they revealed Branch had brothers seven years ago when I was going absolutely insane about trolls. I love sibling relationships. I would have had so much fun with it. Like throwing new toys into a baby's playpen.

But unfortunately the info has dropped in 2023 and I am 25. Sad face.

But still, Branch's brothers are neat. I like that their designs are all distinct but they still have the family resemblance you'd expect of brothers. I like that John and Bruce are fat. I like that Clay is all gangly and peaky looking. I like that they're all well meaning but kinda unintentionally dickish for refusing to acknowledge Branch as anything but a baby. I like that Floyd was a very sweet nurturing big brother and Branch still has a soft spot for him twenty years later. I like that Floyd is a twink. Yippee.

I think Bruce is my favourite, mostly cuz I had the most fun during his segment of the film. I love the puppet land. I love his big puppet wife and puppet children.

To be honest, as soon as I finished watching the movie, I began losing memories of it at a rapid rate. This is just what I remember. Okay byeeee <33

[thethiefandtheairbender]

Excuse me for being an uncultured, uneducated swine, but I've never heard of "Spider Riders" before.

Would you mind giving me a basic rundown of the premise? I might go check it out

it is a fucking canadian-japanese 2006 anime that ran for two seasons that i have never seen anyone else watched but i loved it as a kid, remembered like 3 things (so i didn't have like, actual nostalgia, just distant memory of it), rewatched it as an adult last year and it wound up, i'm not kidding, in my top 5 tv shows with stuff like ATLA, the dragon prince, infinity train, and transformers: prime (in that order)

ok so the first two episodes (basically just the pilot) are Not Good and premise wise it's not anything that special, i.e. Boy gets isekai'd to a world where humans (??) and giant spiders exist and some form pair bonds, and fight evil Invectids (big insect people). Main bad guy has his council of four who are the main roster of villains, there are power ups, etc. It's like very basic

However

Series has a surprising amount of inversion (aka I totally thought main kid was gonna have a Rival in the main group bc that's the red-blue trope, isn't it? But nah they're all just big brothers to him and it's honestly pretty wholesome)

The world, lore, and history is so good?? For no reason??

Diverse array of villains in terms of arcs and personalities. Villains who are being manipulated; villains who genuinely love their people; villains who are honour bound even to their detriment. Villains who have realistic redemption(s)

Series has super interesting explorations of its concept of God (the Oracle) and what a relationship between mortals and god should look like that legitimately changed my own viewpoint on it?? Fucking wild

More than one female character with prominent screentime!! Pretty cool I think

There's a siege on a floating city at one point and that shit was baller

Some of the spiders have a backstory and it's fun and vaguely depressing

Stags. I just love Stags. Also Igneous is gay as hell and it's barely subtext

Really strong thematically and consistently? I remembered the end of the show going in and I was about 17/52-ish eps in when I was like "oh my god they're gonna thematically stick the landing" which is just lovely

Series is also obsessed with "Okay say we win the war? What then? How can we end the war without fully understanding why our enemies were driven to start it in terms of addressing the needs that make people inclined towards war in the first place" and then again stuck the landing, like that shit ate

Anyway I love it and it's so good for No Reason. Truly a 10/10 show

[divinekangaroo]

When writing Tommy and Lizzie I frequently remind myself of the Uber-rich aged mining magnate in my home town whose second wife was his many years younger ‘maid’

Yep his ‘maid’

Frequent articles digging up her diverse past employment in shady not-quite-brothels

The absolute media….not quite scandal, but hilarity this generated:

-he’s cock-led

-he’s weak

-she fucked him into compliance because no one else would fuck him (very ugly rich dude)

-she’s a schemer and a scammer

-his whole family hated her and when he died funded a massive investigation trying to prove she killed him (because he left her a lot in his will) - unfounded

Yet she was literally the only one left by his side while he got old and very sick and died slowly and painfully, and she constantly tried to win over the media like ‘why shouldn’t I be grateful’, ‘why shouldnt things like this happen’, ‘why shouldn’t I be proud I was born into nothing and now have 1000 shoes and seventeen charities’, ‘I’m the only one who takes care of him’ etc and even *he* tried some interviews talking her up and it was all presented so squirmy and embarrassing (while he continued to roll in the billions)

—

I think about this external social perception of a newly-rich man marrying his prostitute, particularly in the scenes where Tommy brings a dressed up Lizzie into the more upper class events, and his particular choice of dialogue (usually massively amping up his less than upper class origin), how he can’t look at her, how he won’t riff off/support her dialogue (lovely earrings; thanks I stole them he says, throwing Lizzie off already), and just generally they struggle with how to behave around each other in these settings — all while there’s still this incredible tangible physical link between them in how they stand or sit near and next to each other, frequently mirroring but never looking at each other.

It’s interesting: they’re aware of how people are considering them and Tommy’s probably boiling fury with it but also has to focus on the job at hand: and as he usually does when boiling fury but has a job to do, he sort of pushes Lizzie away (like when he refused to see her when she was pregnant) maybe to protect her? Or because he can’t *also* protect her? But then he’s carrying the shame of having dragged her into this situation, so he tries, and it comes off really bad at face value, but something else entirely is going on at body language level.

Anyway I’m glad they didn’t magically transform Lizzie into this seamless socialite integrator type, it’s much more interesting watching them fumble around each other in these scenes unable to find the right rhythm

[alectoperdita]

I think my favorite fic of yours is a duelist's pride. Idk, i love me some good filthy top!jounouchi, and seeing kaiba, someone so proud and so in control of himself all the time give control that way. Idk, it drives me insane.

But honesty, I just love top!jounouchi and bottom!kaiba, I don't care who's sub or dom, I just like that dynamic

But what do you think?

Oh man, Duelist's Pride my beloved. 🥰

You and me both, anon! God I love top!Jou with bottom!Kaiba in every way: flirty, assertive, dirty, tender, etc. It's such a fun way to explore the dynamics of this ship with which ways Kaiba is willing to relinquish control in his private/bedroom life. And you can still play with the dom/sub dynamic however you want. I adore Jou as a service top in many instances, and Kaiba would be as bratty of a power bottom as you can imagine. All that good stuff is why I continue to write fics with top!Jou/bottom!Kaiba.

As I often joke, diversity in the ecosystem is important. And I need a variety of top!Jou to bottom!Jou to thrive hahaha. (Even if that means cooking and feeding myself). Often, I ask myself "is there a plot or character reason why Kaiba must be the top in this story?" If the answer is no, I'm probably writing top!Jou by default. Lure and Maybe it's more than skin-deep are pretty much the two exceptions. (And even Lure has rare cases of Kaiba bottoming, but he'll gut you if you think that's him relinquishing control to Jou.)

I've had chapter 2 (and 3 kinda) for Duelist's Pride outlined for like the last year. It's more CNC and rape role play (and presumably Jou talking like a dirty porno). But it's hard to recapture the frenzy of writing that fic in a weekend at the same time a friend was writing a related companion fic too.

At one point, I was kinda curious to run a small short poll about whether the people reading my stuff enjoyed top!Jou/bottom!Kaiba or top!Kaiba/bottom!Jou more. But given historical data, I think I already know which one would win?

Anyway, I'm definitely rambling now and should go back to sleep.

[1358456]

I did mention that the Yakuza series has become my 3rd favorite, as the top 2 have nostalgia. And no, Pokemon is not among those two.

My top favorite franchise... the hints are scattered everywhere in my stories and on Tumblr. Though of course, you need to recognize those hints. The second favorite... well, it’s a lot more closely guarded.

I won’t reveal my second favorite franchise, because... let me keep some secrets. Hahaha.

My top favorite franchise of all time is... ... I did say that I was an RTS nut, right? I love real time strategy games. And what happens if you look up the most popular RTS game of all time?

Yes. My top favorite franchise of all time is Starcraft. “Starcraft is such a Korean game”. ... Well, I am Korean. And it’s not my fault that foreigners, aka non-Koreans, just can’t match Koreans in Starcraft I. In SC II, it’s a lot more diverse, which is great. But I’ve seen the #1 foreigner in SC I take on a Korean champion, in a 7-game showmatch, and lost all 7 games in a straight up stomping. ... And I’ve also seen a Korean guy beat a Chinese guy using his foot for the keyboard. There’s a reason why there are never any foreigners in the ASL. They simply don’t make it through the qualifiers.

Starcraft 1 has been released in 1998. I did mention that the first games I’ve played were from 1998. And Starcraft 2 is from 2010. They’re both very old at this point. And still going on strong. I watch a Starcraft game every day, whether that’d be a pro match, or a world tournament match. Starcraft 1′s tournament, the ASL, is going very strong, delivering tons of amazing games. That game hadn’t had a balance update since like 2000, and the meta is still changing. ... Annoyingly, because I’m watching the AfreecaTV Star League (ASL), Youtube sometimes recommends me the top 25 American Sign Language (ASL) videos.

And I did mention in the “Get to Know Your Buddies” post, that the last series I’ve watched was GSL. Global Starcraft II League. Speaking of which...

Round of 4 tomorrow. Definitely watching that. ... Not live, since GSL happens in Korea, thus Korean time. C’mon, herO! Win 2 seasons in a row! Don’t let Maru win for the 5th time! He’s going after the G5L trophy! Stop him!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyways. So, what kind of hints did I litter everywhere? For one, specific references! I mention Starcraft units, upgrades, abilities, etc every now and then. In the Zelda game playthrough, Lonk finds a pair of boots? I mention the Zealot Charge upgrade from the Twilight Council (SC II), and the Leg Enhancements upgrade from the Citadel (of Adun) (SC 1). Of course, you need to know what that meant. So loose hints.

Next, Destiny. Destiny’s chapter titles are ALL mission titles from SC I and II campaign missions. I had to avoid the very specific titles, like “For Aiur!”, and there were a lot of those. SA being titled after Halo missions and sub-chapters was a lot easier.

Next, “the Legacy package”. The hell does that mean? If you look at Starcraft II’s expansions... the first one was Wings of Liberty (2010), then Heart of the Swarm (2013), and then Legacy of the Void (2015), and there’s the Nova Covert Ops (”Covert Ops”, you say?). The last three stories of mine are Eternal Legacy, For Her Heart, and The New Wings. SC II starts with “Wings”, “Heart”, and “Legacy”, in that order. My stories END with “Legacy”, “Heart”, and “Wings”, in that order. Of course, the SC II expansions are shorted to “Liberty”, “Swarm”, and “Void”, so that might have been hard to notice immediately.

Next, the Mew icon. What is that on its wrists? People have asked before and I never gave a straight answer.

Starcraft’s Protoss Psi Blades. Most commonly seen on Protoss Zealots. Which is why I refer to it as zealot blades.

Because everyone knows that the Protoss stuff is the coolest in Starcraft. Though game-wise, balance is an issue. But that’s a common RTS problem. How can Marines shoot down a Battlecruiser? In the lore, they don’t. In the games, if the Marines have +3 but the Battlecruisers don’t have armor upgrades, they melt to a decent sized ball of Marines.

And this is why that crossover story idea didn’t get anywhere. If a Protoss Mothership appears in orbit above a planet, it’s going to fire its purifier beam, and the planet will be incinerated. How do I write a story about a handful of PEOPLE while that’s happening? Though it would’ve been interesting to write having a single Protoss Zealot helping the main cast through a Zerg invasion, who then later get killed, and the Protoss armor warps away the occupant upon taking fatal damage. And the warrior then comes back inside a Dragoon shell to fight once more.

There’s a specific chapter in Destiny where... “I” appear. Lots of Protoss stuff there, starting with the ability Recall, Stasis, has Zealot Psi Blades, Charge boots, tinkering with a Vortex cannon, has a drone that seems awfully like a miniature Protoss Warp Prism, seems to have Observers scattered around for surveillance, etc.

And note how many times I used the words “warp”, “stasis”, and “recall” in my posts and stories. Whenever something is teleported, I say it’s been “warped away”, or “recalled”. If something’s locked down, it’s in stasis.

Look at the icon for the story that I don’t like talking about. What is Mew’s silhouette carrying? Looks like twin green reaper scythes.

Protoss Dark Templar’s Warp Blades, that’s what. And since Dark Templar are cloaked and thus invisible... it fits how the silhouette is barely visible.

These are all Protoss stuff though! Starcraft has three races. Human Terrans, high-tech Protoss, and swarming Zerg. ... I’m a Protoss main in both SC I and II. But I do mention other races’ abilities from time to time.

In Destiny, I refer to “burrow charge” a lot. That is a Zerg Ultralisk ability that was scrapped given how stupidly powerful that was.

I do remember mentioning “stimpack” or “stims” from time to time. Terran ability. Marines take a quick stim to move and shoot faster somehow. ... I think stimmed Marines have the highest DPS in the game. So you just make Barracks, make Marines, and keep doing that to win. ... Until you run into splash damage like Protoss Colossus or Psionic Storm, Zerg Lurkers or Banelings... and then you complain about balance on the forums like all Terran players.

... Anyways. I think this post has gone on long enough. I think you get the idea. I can’t point out all the references I’ve made. This Tumblr was made in December 2013. I’ve been playing/watching Starcraft since 1998. It’s safe to say that this Tumblr is filled with references.

[jellyboy-arts]

wheel of fate day: red light au

rbs appreciated!! rambles under the caption i have so many thoughts oh mg god

edo period AU: judar as an oiran and hakuryuu the shogun's son

oiran were high-class courtesans / entertainers that were incredibly expensive, only the wealthy could afford them. while they did engage in sex work, it was only one aspect of their job (amongst singing, playing instruments/chess, good conversation, etc)

they were indentured, and worked to pay off their debts to their ..iirc it's called "room-owner" / owner of the establishment they work at. but basically pimp.

also they were women. my concept for this is judar is crossdressing, it'd add a little flair and controversy to his career

a LOT of canon plot points can translate over really well here. gyokuen marrying into the shogunate family to do nefarious things // eventually briefly becoming shogun herself like she was the empress of kou

shogun era is samurai warlord era, judar's parents die because of gyokuen in some way or the other when he's young and in a fit of rage and despair he figures the only thing he can do is infiltrate the higher classes by becoming a prostitute and eventually get close enough to gyokuen to take revenge

[this requires a little more awareness of himself/his past than in canon on his part, but i think he could forget his original objective now and then & indulge in his work and that'd work fine]

eventually he gets at Hakuryuu who, as the shogun's son, could be very useful to his plot for revenge

(in my mind this is a juhaku centric AU but there's nothing stopping him from getting with most/all the ren dungeon capturers from canon in this au at least once or twice. in fact i think that's a really good idea.)

(like in canon tho hakuryuu ends up being the one he spends the most time with)

originally doesn't mean to become too attached to him but he realizes hakuryuu hates his mom as much as he does .. bonding moment

hakuryuu probably ends up with judar on accident the first time around. got a little too wasted & wound up in his company unintentionally but had a surprisingly enjoyable time

btw usually oiran and client dont fuck on the first meeting iirc theyre just hanging out

so then they start seeing each other regularly...and they catch feelings......

omg they catch feelings............................

anyway so. i think the gyokuen fight could happen very similarly in this au. maybe a little smaller & less Civil War + more assassination

but thats just my personal preference. either way

gyokuen/hakuryuu fight (samurai edition) in some room in the palace

gyokuen staggers outside thinking she's won but on her way out she runs into the courtesan Judar (probably watching the moon serenely waiting for her. i am not immune to tropes)

i feel like.. the scene where gyokuen kisses hakuryuu mid-battle could be reversed here, potentially. judar kisses gyokuen as he stabs her with a hairpin

or maybe just pulls her close enough to stab idk. but im fond of the hairpin stab.

curses at her for how he's lived his life as she falls to the ground etc

hakuryuu gets the honors of beheading her still.

diversity win!

from there i think...hakuryuu could go on to become the shogun (and use the family's wealth to buy Judar's freedom) like he becomes the emperor of kou

or we could skip that part and have him decide he's done with hatred after gyokuen is dead and he and judar run away to the small village judar is from happily ever after

i love this au so much can you tell

somebody join me in this brainrot please

[itsclydebitches]

Diversity win! The talking mouse is nonbinary! Definitely nothing a little side-eye worthy about that at all! /sarcasm

Out of (very tired) curiosity, has RT actually confirmed somewhere that Little is nonbinary, or just that they use they/them pronouns? Because forgive me if I'm mistaken (and I totally could be, I'm cis and learning as much as anyone else), but I don't believe those two things are automatically linked. Just like Shion is nonbinary but (so far) uses he/him pronouns, Little can use they/them pronouns but not identify as nonbinary.

But technicalities aside, it's really that, "The mouse maybe identifies as nonbinary, is definitely using pronouns outside the binary regardless, and that's our first NB rep in RWBY" that's the problem.

Taking this all seriously for a moment—rather than just acknowledging that it looks like twitter saw "they/them" and started gushing over RWBY's, at best, unintentional representation, at worst a potentially very offensive representation—Little is mouse. Mice don't have a concept of gender like we do. Ergo, RT most likely gave them the "neutral" pronouns as a way to highlight their "otherness" (where the potential offense comes in). The same way writers often use they/them for robots, eldritch entities, and other non-human characters that are meant to be seen as foreign, disconcerting, or both. However, it is interesting to me that Little, even in the few seconds we've known them, is a character who doesn't comprehend a LOT of concepts.

Things that Little doesn't know about/struggles to understand include:

Humans

Girls (there's one kind of gender right there)

Huntresses (that one makes sense)

The fact that you can be multiple things at once (like a daughter and a nurse and a wife and a knitter, etc.)

Recognizing a name, instead thinking it's a "purpose"

Again, despite having it just explained to them, not getting that "Little" is also a name, or that it's normally an adjective ("How does one little?")

That people can be "similar, but different" ("I'm sure it'll make sense eventually!")

Little doesn't understand so many things, but they DO know what a cat is because we've gotta get that joke in anyway, I do think there's something compelling in having a character who exists outside of the binary simply because they don't even know the binary exists. However, making that character a mouse... in a world where those differences are framed as nonsense... in a show overflowing with rep of the baiting/killing off/leaving behind/Penny Has To Be Human To Experience True Love and Happiness variety... all of which is born from a tweet and the fandom filling in their preferred blanks...

Yeah, that's a mess 🤦‍♀️

[scarlett-vixen]

HI SORRY i got distracted because thinking about beel got me thinking about food, which got me thinking about dessert so long story short i spent the last hour or so making cinnamon rolls LOLOL.

sooo this is random but i feel like beel doesn’t really care about neurodivergence. he’s just like: “oh yeah that’s my big brother mammon. he’s loud and fidgety and he gets distracted a lot. isn’t he great? :)”

“….what’s an eighty HD?”

i also feel like the three realms are pretty different in terms of social norms, diversity etc. since there are all different kinds of demons who act in unique ways i think the devildom would be a lot more accommodating in terms of physical and mental needs. that said, RAD can get pretty overstimulating, even if you do have a gentle giant with you.

back to Beel. his jacket is THE place to be when you’re overstimulated. it’s nice and big, so he can pick you up, zip the jacket and then boom! you’re in a quiet dark place while also being close to your favorite demon in the world!!! the softness and warmth too? UGH, god tier. our boy is strong af and loves holding his human, so it’s a win for everyone involved. youmight accidentally fall asleep in there tho. not that he’d mind.

one of the main reasons i hc beel as autistic is his monotone voice and his lack of expressiveness. it’s stated in canon a bunch of times that he looks grumpy but really isn’t, and members of Autism Squad usually have trouble with that kind of thing.

me🤝beel

“of course im happy, why do you ask. 😐”

YHIS IS SO LONG SORRY i have more i want to say but in conclusion AUTISM -🍔

The amount of times I checked to see if you sent a new ask alsjakaja I was excited okay!

YES!!! Very much!! Oof I completely agree with the jacket situation because there’s times where I get so overstimulated it reaches the point of my fight or flight activating and I’m like “hey bud if I don’t leave this area immediately I’m gonna get violent and that’s not what I want” so having him to hide in would be so comforting 😭 the ultimate weighted blanket but this one is portable lmao

OH LORD MAMMON AND HIS POOR BLESSED DISTRACTED SELF that’s an entire different post but ugh, my boy is definitely adhd and can’t not sit still or focus when he’s excited. Relatable. ANYWAY BEEL MY BELOVED!!

Yes yes!! The expression thing is such a good point! I feel like when he’s alone with you and super happy he might be more expressive, little smiles when you look at him, soft humming, forehead kisses 🥺 but when he’s out in public with his brothers he’s normally very stoic even though he’s so happy to be out with his family and you💖

Never apologize for talking about things that make you happy my love, I’d enjoy hearing more!

[peachscribe]

peach’s summer book list

i had a lot of fun compiling the list of books i read during the 20-21 winter, so i decided i would do a summer one as well! i still have a lot of books i own but haven’t read, so im definitely not lacking in material

if you didn’t see my winter list, how my book list works is basically like this: i read a book that i own but have not previously read, write a short summary immediately after finishing the book, write down my thoughts on the book, and then provide a rating for the book. i also might include background info on why i read this particular book/feelings about the author, but that depends on the book. that’s how each entry works

without further ado, let’s get started!

1. Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith

okay so i absolutely adore another book by andrew smith (written after grasshopper jungle) called the alex crow. it’s one of my favorite books of all time, so naturally i wanted to see if grasshopper jungle would make me feel similarly. just like the alex crow, grasshopper jungle’s plot is. so fucking weird. it stars austin szerba, a teenage polish kid who lives in ealing, iowa, and is often sexually confused regarding his girlfriend shann and his best friend robby. and in ealing, iowa, austin and robby accidentally and unknowingly unleash an unstoppable army of huge six-foot-tall praying mantis bugs that only want to do two things: fuck and eat. and i just have to say: andrew smith’s got an absolutely dynamo writing style. alex crow is similar, where it’s a book about kind of everything all at once, framed in a moment centering around teenage boys. it’s fantastic, and it’s more than a little gross, and i love it. this book made me feel so many things, and i thought austin was such an amazing narrator and main character to identify with. this book has it all: shitty teenage boy humor, fucked up science experiments, and poetic imagery that will make you want to cry. and explicit lgbt characters.

412/10 andrew smith what do you put in your water i just want to know

2. Burn by Patrick Ness

patrick ness has written a plethora of some of my favorite books (such as a monster calls, the chaos walking trilogy, and the rest of us just live here) so when i saw this one in the store i knew it would be a great one. burn is an alternate history fantasy that takes place in 1957 frome, washington, during the height of the cold war, and it begins with a girl named sarah and her father hiring a dragon to help out on their farm. but there’s not just dragons, farm living, and cold war tensions; there’s also a really shitty small town cop, a cult of dragon worshippers and their deadly teenage assassin, a pair of fbi agents, and a prophecy that sarah’s newly hired dragon claims she’s a part of. i think eoin colfer’s highfire was on my winter list, which also featured a story that included dragons and shitty cops, so when i first began burn i thought it was funny to have two books that had both things. you know, if you had a nickel etc etc. but that’s really where the similarities end because burn is entirely it’s own monster (dragon). burn is entirely invested in its world, and its fascinating. not only that, i had no clue where the book would take me next. there were so many surprises and amazing twists that honestly just blew me away. this book also includes beautifully written complicated discussions on family, race, and love - it features interracial and queer romances as the two most prominent romance plots which was such a nice surprise from a book i wasn’t expecting to have that kind of representation. this book is witty, fast-paced, and a very heartening read - i absolutely adored it.

9/10 dragons and becoming motivated by the power of love and friendship are so fucking cool

3. As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann

i hate this book! as meat loves salt is a historical fiction novel which takes place in seventeenth century england, which is going through a grisly civil war. the protagonist, jacob cullen, is a servant for a wealthy household and is engaged to another servant in the house. but due to certain events that are almost entirely jacob’s fault, he flees the house and is separated from his wife. from there, he joins the royal army and meets a kind soldier, ferris, and the two become fast friends. jacob and ferris’s relationship begins to bridge past friendly, and jacob struggles with his homoerotic feelings as well as the growing obsession and violence inside him. also, they try to start a colony. listen, i don’t know how to describe the book because so much happens, but it basically just follows jacob and all the terrible decisions he makes because he is, truly, a terrible person. ferris is kind and good, and jacob is scum of the earth. he sucks so bad. the entire time i was reading this book (which took absolutely so long), all i wanted was for jacob to just get his ass handed to him. i wanted to see him suffer. and it’s not like i just personally don’t like him - i believe the book purposefully depicts him as unsympathetic even though he is the narrator. i did enjoy the very in depth and accurate portrayal of what life would’ve been like in seventeenth century england, and i think it was interesting to read a character that is just the absolute worst person you’ve ever encountered and see him try and justify his actions, so if you enjoy that kind of thorough writing, then this book would be perfect for you. however, i did not see that bitch ass motherfucker jacob cullen suffer enough. i’d kill him with my bare hands.

2/10 diversity win! the worst man on earth is mlm!

4. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab

i know ive had a friend tell me how great one of schwab’s other book series is, but truthfully i bought this book because the cover is sick as hell and it was on a table in the store that advertised for buy two get one free, i think. something like that. anyway, this savage song takes place in a future in which monsters, for whatever reason, suddenly became real and out for blood in a mysterious event nicknamed the phenomenon. august flynn is one of these monsters, but he takes no pride in that fact and only wants to feel human. kate harker is the daughter of a ruthless man and is trying her hardest to be ruthless, too, but deep down she knows it’s just an act. their city, verity, stands divided, and kate and august stand on either side - but when august is sent on a mission to befriend kate in the hopes of stopping an all out war, the lines begin to blur. this book rules. august and kate are such interesting and dynamic characters, and the narrative is familiar while still being capable of twisting the story around and taking the feet out from under you in really compelling ways. this savage song is part of the monsters of verity duology, and i can’t wait to dive into how the story continues and finishes.

11/10 sometimes you can judge a book by it’s cover

4a. Our Dark Duet by Victorian Schwab

this is the sequel and finale for this savage song and i’d figure i’d update everyone: fantastic ending, beautiful, showstopping, painful.

12/10 loved it and will definitely be keeping an eye out for schwab’s other books

5. White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi

oh boy. okay. white is for witching is about a house, and it is about the women who have lived inside of it. when her mother dies abroad, miranda silver begins to act strangely, and there’s nothing her father or her twin brother seem to be able to do about it. she develops an eating disorder and begins to hear voices in the silver family house, converted to a bed and breakfast by miranda’s dad; and she begins to lose herself in the house and the persistent presence of her family legacy. white is for witching switches perspective dizzingly and disorientingly between miranda, her twin eliot, miranda’s friend from school named ore, and the house itself. this story is a horror story as much as it as a tragedy as much as it is a romance as much as it is a bunch of other things. oyeyemi brings race, sexuality, nationality, and family into this story and forces you not to look away. this book is poetry.

(like i mentioned briefly, this book heavily deals with topics of race and closely follows miranda’s eating disorder. read responsibly, and take care of yourselves)

15/10 this book consumed me and i think i’ll have to read it another 10 more times to feel it properly

6. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

okay. okay. strap in for a ride. these violent delights is a romeo and juliet style story, taking place in glittering 1920’s shanghai. the city stands divided - not only between the foreign powers encroaching on chinese land, but also between the scarlet gang and the white flowers, who are at the height of a generations-long blood feud. juliette cai, heir to the scarlets, has recently returned from four years abroad and is determined to prove herself ruthless enough to lead. roma montagov, heir to the white flowers, is standing strenuously on his place as next in line due to a slip up four years prior and is desperate to keep hold of his title. and in the midst of juliette and roma’s burning history with each other threatening to combust, an unnatural monster lurks in the waters of shanghai, loosing a madness on scarlets and white flowers alike. this book has it all - scorned ex lovers, political intrigue, deadly monsters, and all set on a glamorous backdrop of the roaring twenties. i absolutely was enraptured by this book and the way it plays around the story of romeo and juliet so well that it easily became it’s own monster, but with the punches and embraces of something classically shakespearan. gong does just an absolutely breathtaking job of fitting this fantastical story amid the larger world of shanghai and the real life historical events that had shaken the city to its core. completely immersive and outstandingly heart racing.

17/10 i was chewing on my fingernails for the last thirty pages and will continue to do so until the sequel is released (our violent ends, 16 nov 21)

7. The Antiques by Kris D’Agostino

you ever heard of the american dysfunctional family story? this is most definitely that. at the same time george westfall’s cancer takes a turn for the worse, a hurricane hits the east coast, and suddenly all at once the issues of his health, the hurricane, and all three of his children’s achingly dysfunctional adult lives are crashing into each other. reunited by george’s death, the westfall siblings have to face their grief, each other, and the problems in their own lives they attempted to put on hold while planning their father’s memorial. this is a nice story about grief and loss and love and somehow finding the humor amidst it all.

(this book does include a depiction of an autistic child who does experience several pretty bad meltdowns due to ignorant people around him not understanding how to cater to his needs. im not an authority on what depictions are or are not harmful, but i do believe this depiction is ultimately loving and well-intended.)

7/10 it made me laugh and cry and was generally one of those books that somehow hit you close to home

8. Fierce Fairytales by Nikita Gill

fierce fairytales is a poetry anthology that reimagines classic fairytales from a modern, feminist viewpoint, acknowledging that the line between hero and villain, monster and damsel, are not as clear cut as the classics try to make you believe. this book also includes illustrations done by the author herself, which i think is really cool. my personal favorite story reimagining was the story of peter pan and captain hook, called ‘boy lost’ which looked at how peter and hook’s relationship began and rotted. all in all, i think this collection of stories had a lot of important things to say and said them in frank, easy to understand poetry and prose.

7/10 beautiful message and pretty prose, but at times a little cliche

and that’s all from the summer! my fall semester starts tomorrow, and overall i feel very good about all the reading i did this summer. i even read four other books not on this list for work! so i definitely feel like i made the most out of my time, and im really glad i was able to read so many stories that made me feel a variety of different things

thanks so much for reading this list, and let me know if you read or have read any of these books and tell me what you think of them!

happy reading<3

[queer-and-dear-books]

Title: Jay’s Gay Agenda

Author: Jason June

Genre: YA Fiction | Romance | Friendship | LGBTQ+

Content Warnings: Infidelity

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Personal Opinion: Painfully relatable for the lonely queer kid. But watching Jay gain new gay friends and a possible boyfriend is a great way to live vicariously. Fall in love with the diverse cast of characters created by the incredibly talented Jason June as you follow Jay’s journey through balancing his new fast-paced queer life in Seattle and his old life with his best friend back home. 

Do I Own This Book? Yes. This was another Christmas gift to myself.

Couple Classification: Jay Collier X Albert Huang = Nerd X Nerd

Spoilers Below For My Likes & Dislikes:

Likes:

- I really hit the Gaysian heartthrob jackpot this week. This time, we have Albert Huang. A robotics and Digimals (parody of Pokemon Go) nerd who is classified as a VSB (Very Sexy Boy). He’s also described to have very firm and large pecs. He’s a gentleman, he’s kind, he’s hot, he’s smart, he’s so fucking patient? Like he is just a king and I adore him! I want good things for him specifically so Jay better not hurt him ever again! When I root for a fake man like this, that’s how you know you’ve made an amazing character.

- Jay’s parents are so cute and in love, I love that. I do really hope Jay’s dad gets some new Seattle buds to hang out with. Maybe a lesbian couple that loves Monday night football. I feel like too many parents in fiction just don’t like each other or don’t show it very well. The fact that Jay’s parents adore one another is beautiful. And how they look out for their son too. Even if it’s sometimes very embarrassing.

- Jay’s story is very relatable. Painfully so. I doubt I was the only out gay guy at Tech (we were a school of over 5k kids, there’s no way) but I was alone anyway. I didn’t try to seek out other queer folks because I was scared and just so used to the loneliness so I didn’t bother. I remember going to Vermont with the intent of living my best gay life. It didn’t work out that way. But because of that, I can relate to Jay and I absolutely get his desire to complete his agenda.

- Damon and Cami are such good friends to Max? Like they did the most for him and I love that. So supportive and kind and this is a straight footballer of all people. Damon is just so secure in his identity and I just respect the hell out of it. Him and the whole football team all cheering when Max and Reese kissed and made up? Iconic. The way they pushed all the desks into a heart? King shit. I love them.

- Speaking of the football team, the one himbo on the team? Julian? Hilarious. He’s really out here doing his best in fashion design and not knowing shit. But he’s like the biggest fan of Mr. Bogosian’s terrible puns and is so supportive of everyone? I love him. He’s not even in the main cast and I love him.

- The comedy is on point! The moment when Damon accidentally slapped Jay’s ass will live rent-free in my mind forever. And Jay going “guess I’m the gay guy that’s into spanking” is hilarious. It sent me. Like, he didn’t have to say that so casually but he did! 

- The DigiGang? An amazing friend group. Shruti and Reese and that one girl (fuck, I forgot her name but she’s the goth girl obsessed with teeth) are just so protective of Albert. They were ready to throw down with Jay in order to defend him. It is just so sweet. And they’re also all smart? Shruti is a robotics queen. Sending Jay and Max into economics on a speeding roller chair. Icon.

- Diversity wins in general. We have a bunch of gay kids with Jay, Max, Albert, Reese, Tony, etc. Plus, Tony’s frat not being bothered by a gay dude? Truly a progressive college. Even if Tony is a rat bastard. We got drag queens, multiple POC , and women in power. Lu being accepted into college with a full ride after she exposed the gender pay gap for bus drivers? Queen shit. I also love her aunt Carol crying over her niece rekindling her friendship with Jay.

- The scene where Albert sent in PrinterBot to deliver a new Jansport backpack to Jay and also ask him to Homecoming was the cutest goddamn shit I had ever seen. I am not joking when I say that it was so so so romantic! Like that’s the kind of thing I can only dream about. 

Dislikes:

- Tony. Buddy. Fuck you. That’s all I really want to say on it but I am going to be specific anyway so I remember what a piece of shit he is. Firstly, he and Max had claimed he was not a relationship kind of guy. Only hookups. He’s out here only fucking Jay while being hot. And Jay was the 13th dude he had sex with according to the tally marks on his door. Everyone in his dorm didn’t give a shit even though it seemed like they should know about Dylan. Who is Dylan you may ask? He’s Tony’s boyfriend! Oh my god. He was cheating on his boyfriend and he did it multiple times! Rat bastard. Disgusting. A liar and a user. I hope all of his buddies and Dylan dump him. It is utterly repulsive, his behavior. I already knew there were many red flags from how he exploded at being called a frat boy instead of a fraternity boy and flipping off a driver who rightfully honked at him while he was stalled. 

- Jay truly fucked up but I think Max needed to own up to some of his shit more. He blew up his own life and overreacted over the whole Reese debacle. He never let him explain? I think Max is funny and I get why he pushed people away but he really went too far with the Reese situation. The fact that Reese didn’t even move on to someone new but Max took it that way anyway is just so stupid. Miscommunication for the sake of drama at its worst. I will say that Reese’s behavior did not help either. Reminds me of Declan in Felix Ever After. He was a douche to his ex for no real reason and I hate it. But in this particular case, Max was at fault here more than Reese.

- Albert is a far better man than I. But I’ve never been in love so what do I know? But nah, it’s gross of Jay to hook up with a hot dude after telling Albert that he can wait. And the way he lied to Lu too? Ugh. I am a little more lenient on the Lu case though because Lu ditched Jay first throughout the summer for Chip. A guy who was most definitely not worth it. But this might be just me since my friends and I are tight even when one of us is in love. I just don’t get how Jay and Lu had the audacity to abandon each other like that. At least Jay felt guilty over it.

- I don’t tend to have issues with an author’s writing style because everyone is unique. But I think Jay had way too many thoughts in between his dialogue and even others when they were speaking. Like it gave me the image of him standing still and not replying for several hours before continuing his thought. It just breaks up the tension in the worst way in my opinion.

- Also, I get why Jay uses “Frack” instead of “Fuck.” He was raised in an area where over 90% of the population was religious in some capacity, so he was censored all the time, even at home where both of his parents are atheist. But the overuse of “Frack” was a bit much and I kind of wish someone questioned him about it. Because I don’t get why Albert seemed to be instantly attracted to him. Not that “Frack” is necessarily a turn-off but it’s not for me. 

- What was with the older gays teasing Jay and Albert on their date at the drag art exhibit? Like, they’re clearly teens and what do you pervs have to do with their sex life? It’s none of your goddamn business. Talking about tops and bottoms too, it’s 2021, let people be whatever the fuck they want. Don’t limit it to top and bottom if we can do either! But if you do, in fact, prefer one over the other, no sin in that. Let Jay and Albert do things in their own time and shut the fuck up. To be clear, I have the utmost respect for my queer elders. Those two fictional gays can go fuck themselves though.