#but guess it deserves it by virtue of existing

[une-erreur-inconnur]

So after fighting for months to include an ad banner in the game I've made I suddenly realised that for a first time project it was...not worth it at all? :'D

Long story short:

I published Bomb di fé on itch.io

Ad free

It's a silly little text based game that I made to fiddle with phone input (like gyroscope and compass). I WAS going to publish it on google play but I made the mistake of submitting the ad version first, and now Google don't believe me when I try to say I removed ads from it TT even worse it won't let me delete the ad version I already submitted. So until I resolved that it's just available on itch.io

It's an android game, from what I tested it looks low-key ugly on tablet but still works :') small victories

[generallemarc]

The following is something that hardly any "pro-Palestine" agitator is capable of

*Ahem*

Israel has done alot of objectively wrong things over the course of its history with Palestine, and that didn't magically go away in the past decade. It is a thoroughly paranoid state, and no matter how much that paranoia is justified by the existence of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran it's no excuse for violating the civil rights of detainees, even if they're provably guilty of whatever crimes they've been accused of. Israel's air strikes in the current war have been too zealous, and there must be a certain point at which it would actually be less harmful in terms of civilian casualties to just send in the IDF on foot, and because of how utterly outmatched Hamas will be against professional soldiers, I feel as though that risk to the IDF ought to be taken for the sake of the innocent civilians who might be saved by it. Hamas isn't going to protect them by virtue of it being filled with genocidal monsters, and thus although it's unfair the onus is on Israel to do the job that the force that governs Gaza refuses to, or at least to try to.

See all of that? That was me being able to perceive and acknowledge reality even when it makes my side look bad. Because I see this war as a war, not a justification to start wishing death on millions. I see these civilians who've died for no reason as just that, instead of deserving of their fate for the crime of being born in the wrong country/to a family of the wrong faith or ethnicity. And I have the most basic of moral sensibilities to be able to look with that sight at all sides of a situation, and not just the ones that it's convenient to look at. But one thing I haven't seen is very many "pro-Palestine" people being able to admit to the observable reality of things like hostage taking, use of human shield tactics, and the fact that Hamas's charter brings up the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion as if it were true. It's really sad that the last one has had to become my armor-piercing round, or rather sad that that's armor-piercing to their arguments and "Hamas are actively trying to commit genocide" isn't. But I guess that's just what it means to be a "progressive" these days.

[thegodcomplcx]

Please tell me why you dislike Rory so much. I am so tired of how much the fandom talks about how amazing he is and I find it incredibly refreshing to see someone else who doesn't like him.

i have major problems with the way the show frames his character. you could change nothing about his personality and everything about his backstory and i would like him a lot more.

lets start with the way he's introduced. in the eleventh hour he is shown as a kinda dorky dude who is in love with amy, although he clearly places more value on their relationship than she does. (she refuses to admit that he's her boyfriend). after the two year time skip of that episode we see their relationship move from "guy that amy is unsure about dating" to "guy that amy is actively running away from marrying" okay. so clearly his only purpose is to be Something That Amy is Running From. i don't give a fuck about him personally.

and even after we properly meet him, he's still positioned as the thing between amy and what she wants. rory is the manifestation of the "domestic life" that amy has never wanted and has always felt pressured to want. (in the same vein, the doctor is just a representation of freedom, but he has depth outside of that and rory doesn't). so what exactly am i supposed to like about this guy? the fact that he loves amy isn't a virtue, it's the whole point of his character and i'm not giving him points for existing.

and if that isn't annoying enough, the writers reward him for this. we're clearly meant to sympathize with nice guy rory who deserves amy's love because he's...there i guess. and it gets fucking insufferable when he starts coming into himself and then it's all rory making choices for amy because he thinks he knows better than her and "my wife" and pissing contests with the doctor. and he just seems like a guy who is deeply insecure about his place in amys life and in her heart (which. for good reason. lmao) and he has to compensate by stifling her into a version of herself that settles for him.

[daviddoesdiscipline]

So You Want To Be A Servant

There are a few things anyone interested in becoming a servant should be aware of before signing up with a master.

1. The moment you surrender to your master, your life is over. You will simply exist. The only thing you will be allowed to do without permission is breathe.

2. You have to have a high pain tolerance. Prepare to be punished practically daily, often for no reason. Lube, if used at all, is for master’s comfort, not yours.

3. Be prepared to function at the highest level with little sleep. If master is frustrated because he can’t sleep and needs to take out his aggression, you better believe he will take it out on you. If master is horny at 3 am, guess who will be forced to pleasure him? Neither is an excuse for poor performance the next day.

4. Your only response to a command is either yes sir or yes master. It doesn’t matter if your task is humiliating. If I decide to walk you on a leash wearing nothing but a diaper, then that’s what will happen to you. I don’t care if you’re humiliated. You deserve it by virtue of being a servant, and therefore lesser than me.

5. You will be provided the basic life sustaining needs such as food, water, and shelter. Everything else is earned. Any tiny bit of comfort, including a blanket and clothes, is earned and will be taken from you for even the slightest misbehavior.

[holywaterinmybong]

Modern Manifesto

—

Take a gamble

If that’s all that you do

Take a gamble that life exists

Throw a coin

It might change your worldview

Put your anger to truth not your wrists

Shuffle decks

Cause it might give you time

To awaken, and to realize

Make a bet

It’s no longer a crime

When you talk, can you look in my eyes

Because I long for something that feels much too human

Find yourself something with meaning

With purpose

Cause you can’t fill the void with the things that are proven

Only acts of unbiased and all loving service

Take a gamble that love exists

And do a loving act

Dont waste time chasing cash

Don’t waste time with eyes blacked

Take a gamble that love exists

And you shall find purpose

Nihilists just won’t get it

Non believers deserve this

Let yourself feel the pain

Feel the cold of the rain

For fucks sake!

Just start acting alive

Smoke while living

Don’t smoke away life

Feel the wind and the sun

And don’t stop till they’re gone

Till you’re done with your time

Do both virtues and crimes

Make the most of your life

Or die trying

And God knows when you try

So stop lying

I’ve been trying my hardest

To live, if I’m honest

It’s harder than dying

Guess I gave it less shots

But I love everything

To the point that it burns

It feels better than graying

All alone with my words

I wanna love to the point

Where I love that love hurts

[some-triangles]

It's Portland's annual new year blizzard/ice storm, which we are unprepared for every year, because this never used to happen. It barely snowed here when I was a kid! I was a kid 30 years ago, mind you, and this has been happening pretty consistently for the last 20, but institutions are slow to change. We have been spending our money on other things.

So here I am, sitting in my own living room (my own in the sense that I rent it), in my long johns and thermals and two pairs of socks, heat on, still gradually losing feeling in my toes. This seems like a good day to write the politics post.

I belong to the category of person who expresses political and moral beliefs mostly through jokes, and only then when my personal frustration has reached a point where I can no longer make myself be quiet. The jokes are there to make the pain less raw, but lately the jokes themselves are getting dark enough that it's upsetting people. So let's proceed without the jokes.

Where to begin? In the 90s, I guess. I was brought up liberal but cynical, which is already kind of a tense balance, and I was by inclination a person who wanted things to make sense and follow understandable rules. (The answer is as always neurodivergence.) I figured out that religion wasn't real by looking at a map and realizing that the world was too big for any one group of people to be right about things. Despite this, I still thought American democracy was the correct answer, the least bad option, and that the world as a whole was heading towards where I was, a kind of tolerant, reasonable middle class existence.

In my defense, this was a belief broadly shared by my parents' generation, and I hadn't been taught a lot of the stuff that argued against it. Francis Fukuyama got up in front of people and declared the world a solved problem and nobody important even laughed at him. I bought into this to the extent that I suffered from a kind of wistful sadness that all the important battles had already been fought. In short, I was a child, and not a particularly bright one, despite what people told me. I did, however, form a belief that stays with me to this day:

I AM NOT SPECIAL. I, personally, do not deserve any more or any less than any human being. And since I think I should be safe and well fed, every other human being should also be safe and well fed. The fact that I am better off than some others is an accident which should be rectified.

This came about because I was aware that a lot of the people in the world were poor and miserable and I wasn't, and I had to decide whether luck or virtue was responsible for my safety. I went with luck. I didn't realize it at the time, but this choice put me at odds with a lot of the logic underlying the society I live in - because if I'm not special, you better believe nobody else is either, and that means no elect, no chosen, none blessed by god, none elevated by blood. I was 10, I hadn't even had a chance to fuck up my life yet, and yet there were all these other 10-year-olds worse off than me. Did they deserve that? And what about those kids who had it better?

And so, decades later, we end up with the joke about how it's a good deal to trade your life away to take out a rich person. It's the same impulse, just with a lot of broken promises and bitterness stacked on top. I work full time at a job that's officially essential (no stoppage during the pandemic), strenuous, and physically dangerous - I get paid the 1993 equivalent of a little less than $30k a year - I will never be able to afford a home in the city I grew up in. This job has to be done. I am not special, I do not "deserve" a better job. I, as a working person, watch people who do jobs that do not need to be done or who don't work at all get paid more because they are members of an invisible elect. I conclude that they must believe they are worth more than me, that they are better than me, because how else could they justify their lives? And I think if I subscribed to that worldview, it would be a net win for me to blow both of us up. Thus, the joke.

I also watch the rest of the world. My belief in liberal democracy is a pretty aerated Jenga tower by this point. Learning about America's imperial history took out a bunch of pieces, but I could still believe all that was behind us. Then we went back to war, which I could initially write off as a traumatic reaction, but as years turned into decades it became obvious that peace had been the exception, and that even that peace hadn't been that peaceful, had it? At that point it was still possible to believe that at least all of our bombing and killing had been in the interest of some kind of moral good, if you really tried. I think Gaza killed the very last part of me that could believe that. There is no atrocity we will not enable to pursue our own ends. Does it matter that much what kind of system we use to choose our leaders if this is what our leaders do?

The last thing keeping my tower standing is the need to protect the outgroups I and my friends belong to, which doesn't really rise to the level of a moral imperative. It's a moment by moment strategic thing, where you support institutions if they protect you and oppose them if they attack you, like any interest group. Right now HR culture and capitalism are trending pro-trans, so we support Disney against Florida. We will do voter suppression if the alternative is Trump. It doesn't go well with rule number one up there, but neither does the fact that I care about my friends more than I care about people I don't know.

At the end of the day it's all a joke. Moral imperatives give way to political reality one hundred percent of the time. It doesn't matter what I call myself. I hate tech culture, so why not be a Luddite? I'll smash steam looms in my mind while continuing to pay for my groceries. Just let me have my jokes. Trashfuture did a great riff about Butlerian Jihad the other day where they imagined a butler named Ian Jihad. "I've oriented sir's slippers towards Mecca, sir." That's the kind of political commentary I want, and the kind I will refrain from posting here unless my toes are really, really cold.

[invisiblegarters]

Be My Favorite Ep 7

It's Frigay again! Sweet, sweet Frigay, favorite day of the week.

Who would have thought that this show would be one of the major reasons I look forward to this day? I certainly didn't. I know I say this often, but I can't help it. This was so not on my radar that the fact that I am loving it so much just continues to baffle me in the best way.

Let's see if the back half can keep up the momentum.

Kawi's dad stuff still gets me.

Lol Kawi had a whole face journey while he was contemplating talking about the kiss. And aw, Pisaeng. I totally get the need to say the thing before he does, though. And I do love that he just wants to be there for Kawi in whatever way he can. That's lovely and sweet. But man, part of me wonders if Pisaeng is eventually going to be pushing a Pear agenda that Kawi is no longer into. I would be into it.

Speaking of Pear...she's definitely feeling some kind of way right now. I think that Not's words are burrowing into her head. Is it weird that I'm kind of looking forward to seeing her be less than perfect? Please do not get me wrong I love Pear and I don't want her to turn into one of those old BL girls who seems to exist just to cause problems, but I also don't think that anyone can be sweet all the time, even if they are a genuinely lovely person.

Oh, yay dad! So happy that the surgery went well.

And can I just say it - I think that if this were another show, Pear and Kawi could be a good story about moving on from first love (for her). One Kawi got himself a bit more together.

Oooh so last ep Kawi tells Piseang about his magical time travel crystal, and now he has actually traveled to the future in front of him. AH, I hope we're not stuck in the future for long, because you know I want to know if that will be remembered when he gets back!

Idol!Kawi, heh. Why do I find it so funny?

Max looking amazing as always. I want that jacket. Is he Kawi's manager? I'm so glad he's still around in the future because he makes everything 10x better by virtue of existing.

Ooh does this Kawi have an alcohol problem? Sounds like it. And yeah, Kawi is too excited about where he is to really listen.

So dad still died. Yeah, I kinda thought that might be the case.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH NO. I knew they would do this and I hate it. NOT DOES NOT (heh) DESERVE GOOD THINGS. I don't even care if he is Mr. Perfect in this timeline (I bet he's not). I hate it Kawi let's return it okay?

Ouch. Imagine being such a bad guy that Not is preferable as a romantic partner.

I do wonder though if Max and Pisaeng still talk. I hope they do and Max is just not telling Kawi because he doesn't deserve/need to know.

I have to say that I wonder if we'll stay in the future for a bit longer this time - eventually it's gonna take longer for the crystal to work, if it works at all, right? The old man did say that it wouldn't work forever. Kawi better get his shit together before he gets stuck in a timeline that really blows.

Then again...well. Maybe that's part of the point, eh? Isn't that always the point of time travel narratives? That you can't change the past, but the future is still unknown so that is what you should focus on? I don't know if that's the case here - I haven't read the novel it's based on - but pretty much every time travel thing I've seen where someone keeps trying to fix a past mistake seems to go that way. Granted I know I haven't seen all of them. But I think that is why dad keeps dying. It happened, it's going to happen, dad's fate is sealed and done. The end. And no matter how hard Kawi tries, that won't change.

Or maybe I'm talking out of my ass and Kawi can fix it. 😂

Time will tell, but I have to say if he can't, I'd be okay with it even if it sucks.

Not quite the same reason Kwan. My guess is you love Not, which...girl, love yourself more. You can do better. You should date Pear instead. And Not was dating them both. Sigh. He's still the same old asshat. Joy. I almost wonder if Pear knew and married him anyway.

She did know. And is pregnant. Oh, Pear. Honey. I hate this timeline for you.

Max still delivering truths. Truly the best.

I bet Kawi blamed Piseang for the deterioration of his relationship with Pear. I just bet.

And ha, of course Max knows where he is. I knew it.

Aw, maybe Kawi should just let the man fish.

Whatever Kawi did and Piseang still can't let him be upset. Dude is too good for future!Kawi (he's too good for past!Kawi too, but at least past!Kawi is working towards improvement, not taking a wrecking ball to his own life like future seems to have done).

And then a frolic. I do love a good frolic.

Oh Piseang. Your continued crush is both adorable and a little pathetic. I say that with love, because you're still in my top three faves.

Okay look. I appreciate that Gawin can sing. I do. But I also don't need to hear it, especially not when I've already had to hear Krist this same ep. Singing in BL is never gonna be my favorite thing even if they have pipes (which frankly, many of them do not, I'm sorry but there it is).

Oop Kawi's gonna kiss him. He looked way too in love during that song not to. Do you even know what your face is doing, Kawi? Do you?

And there it is. In their matching shirts and everything. And it's another real kiss. What the fuck happened to Krist?

Hahaha oh my god PIsaeng you utter sap.

Looks like it's back to the past next week. Good, because Pear did not deserve that timeline at all.

[declawedwildcat]

You joke, but I genuinely want to see you rank the 4??? yellow Free! boys based on how much they deserve that color coding

Who said I was joking /j You enable me, truly 🙏

1. Nagisa

The OG. The Classic. If they knew they were going to milk this series for 10 years and expand the cast tenfold they would have given him pink, but they knew what they were going for with the Style Five. Deserves it the most by virtue of being here first but also because he is a little sunshine boy and it suits him

2. Momo

Momo is very solidly orange and not yellow but some of the products make them look the same so he's getting lumped in here. 10/10 deserves it, the Mikoshibas obviously have a monopoly on orange and we love that for them. No notes

3. Kaede

I mean, sure I guess? We know next to nothing about this guy bc they didn't introduce him until the final episode of the final season, so he only exists in the movies and has very little character development to go off of. It compliments his hair and eyes well so idk what other color would suit him, he can have it as a treat

4. Asahi

What?? Why?? I have no idea why Asahi gets this weird goldenrod, half his stuff looks orange and half looks yellow so it's not very consistent. I'm not sure if it was supposed to compliment his color palette or if it's supposed to be personality since he sort of got to be sunshine boy to fill the gap left by them completely sidelining Nagisa that whole season. Also I associate this shade with Seijuro personally so very confusing. 3/10

5. Natsuya

WHY. Nothing about Natsuya says yellow to me, if they were too chicken to use brown as his motif they could've at least gone with the russet that matches his eyes. Too close to Nagisa's yellow, not visually distinct especially since some of the products only use the colors and not their faces. Lower than Asahi because this shade also just sucks in general tbh, this is the yellow of my middle school highlighter that got used over a green one once and never recovered

[pupmkincake2000]

Another annoying thing I'm going to talk about.

I have noticed that very often when Connor has a brother in fics and this brother is 900/60 (whether it's human AU or not, doesn't matter), Hank is presented in his eyes as "fat, old, unattractive, ugly" etc. I understand that in this case they seem to be trying to show us that the brothers have different tastes, especially if 900 is with Gavin in such fics, but personally I find it so unfair and humiliating towards Hank. It doesn't seem like "look we're twins/brothers, but we have different tastes", but more like "oh, my brother is dating some nasty old man, but I have a young, handsome and hot lover. We are much better than them". It shouldn't be like this. There are many ways to show the difference in preferences, but for some reason people choose the worst one. Connor, of course, considers Hank handsome, but often it is presented as if Connor has strange tastes that do not fit into generally accepted standards, which is also terrible).

Hank is not fat (and I don't mean that being overweight or chubby is bad, but this moment is often described as if Hank's body is something ugly and unpleasant to look at), this can be clearly seen in the screenshots, he is not ugly, to me personally he seems to be the most beautiful man I've ever seen. He has a noble appearance, non-standard, yes, but noble. Grey hair? So what! His hair is like silver that seems to flow between Connor's fingers as he burrows them into his hair. Hank is strong, but at the same time sweet, loyal and noble. And it's canon. And if in human AUs I can get it (except not really), however, I still think people can choose less offensive ways to show the difference in tastes between the brothers. And in the canon universe it would not work like that at all.

Androids are not humans, therefore their preferences will be based on not appearance, but rather on personal qualities. And I'm guessing that since androids are all pretty much the same, standard good looks, they're more likely to be attracted to people (if we're talking about human/android pairs) that are different from them. And yes, I believe that Hank in this case will be for them the most beautiful and hottest representative of his kind.

I sometimes see how Gavin is called handsome/hot, although, as for me, his appearance is rather ordinary, it’s just that this character archetype is more familiar to the public. Add to this all headcanons. But in combination with his canon personality, his appearance seems rather repulsive to me personally.

I think that Hank is much more beautiful and does not deserve the words people use to describe him. And I also see no reason why 900 cannot perceive Hank the way he is perceived by Connor: as handsome, noble, loyal and sweet. Hank has many virtues, but for some reason they are forgotten, because people concentrate only on his appearance, although, sorry, he is beautiful!

Not just from Connor's perspective. He is canonically handsome man! Yes, people fanon he does not think of himself as an attractive man, because he is no longer young, he has depression and so on. But in the game tho? There is nothing like that! What makes people think he thinks he's ugly or not worthy?

And personally, I think that if 900 existed in the Detroit universe after the peaceful revolution, then he would look at Hank the same way Connor looks at Hank. I don't see any contradiction here.

[selfetishizing]

Congrats on 100 followers! Can you do Twilight and Thorn Princess encountering eachother for the prompt request?

After several games of cat and mouse with his target, Agent Twilight takes charge.

Third floor reception.

Twilight could hear them vie for her affection from the library: they competed over who had the loudest volume and the most interesting tale to tell out of the realm of stocks, equestrianism, losing bets, and psychoanalysis—topics a woman could only smile and nod at but add nothing more. She’d throw in a few comments here and there as fodder—spells that had her admirers burst out in laughter.

Gus Glooman—pharmaceutical tycoon—whooped and hollered at her coyish mannerisms of hiding curses behind a satin glove. Edgar Elman—recreational boat conglomerate—weaned off his pipe as he undressed the woman from her black evening gown. He ran his eyes down the graceful curve of her naked spine, holding her waist with phantom hands, pulling her in to carve his bulbous body. Other middle-aged socialites bit down hard on their knuckles, their rubied fingers, to refrain from acting on impulses unbecoming of husbands and fathers.

One would never guess that she was an assassin. The woman Twilight had been trailing for nearly four months would have dispelled the hot-blooded entourage of men with a glare, but the woman before him now was an alluring stranger—a stone cold fox clad in satin armor. She was dressed to tempt, trap, and kill. Garters were not for stockings, but for knives; heels not for stepping, but for stomping. She knew the power she held and zapped it through the tips of her pointed fingers, turning men into toads. Twilight scrupulously observed from afar for signs of aggression, dodging her laser-pointed gaze whenever her eyes darted his way.

Twilight, in the interval of time he set for himself to avert her stare, blushed at the realization that perhaps he was the one actively seeking her attention. It was one matter to trail a target and another to ogle a woman who could command a room with the tilt of her head. 

Twilight, subsumed by determination and idyllic visions of peace, did not falter this time. She held his gaze, coaxing, challenging him. Come get it.

So he did. Tilted his head back and downed his courage. Straightened his back and walked with an assured stride, entering the forbidden garden that existed in the liminal space between East and West. Chandeliers dimmed and lavenders grew beneath the soles of his shoes, leading him toward the glow of moonlight that reflected on her skin. He marched like a man meeting his demise.

“Loid Forger.” She drew out the last syllable as if she were testing the way the name tasted on her tongue. It was much too sweet for her liking. She raised her glass, watching him from the cloud of her Chardonnay. “To whom do I owe the pleasure?”

“Gentlemen,” he said, voice commanding in some newfound vibrato. “If you’d give me a moment alone with Miss...”

“Moriticia.” Twilight almost scoffed. How self-important she sounded! “Now, I’d really hate to break up our merry group. Do join in on the fun with us.” A hike of grunts surrounded them, fearing a monopoly on their shapely whet.

Impatient and frankly vexed by her uncharacteristic nonchalance, Twilight whisked her away, hand tight around her wrist, and led her to the balcony overseeing the sprawling plot; out in the evening chill, alone, reunited.

“They are married. Have children. Where are your virtues?” Twilight whispered sharply.

“A spy teaching me about morals.” She leaned back on the marble banister, tilted her chin up, and laughed mockingly. Wine stained her gloves as she set her glass on the surface behind her.  “That should have been the least of your concerns, Moonlight.”

“Twilight.”

“They were the ones throwing themselves at my toes, by the way. Ask where their virtues lie. They deserved whatever was potentially coming to them.” She moved to fix his bowtie. Twilight clenched his jaw, unsure of what to make of this strangely intimate gesture. “Don’t give me that cross face, Mister Agent. I was going to be good tonight. I promise. I wasn’t looking for a fight—not when you look so… So…”

“So?” He leaned in, placed both of his hands on the marble surface to coerce the answer out of her. It only emboldened her.

“It pleases me that you took my advice,” she said, fingertips trailing down his chest. “I was right: tuxedos look much better on you. I’d call you dashing if you weren’t so serious all the time.”

“You were extracting classified information from those men to gauge their use to you. Their life’s worth.” He shivered as she pressed herself against his body. Soft. It took everything in him to not give into her wiles and press back. “Don't think that I won't force my hand to stop whatever plans you have to disrupt international diplomacy. Human lives are not for you to gamble with. Consider this your final warning.”

“Your third final warning in a row,” laughed the assassin. “How I wish you’d place your hands on me. It’d be infinitely more exciting than what we’ve been doing. Sidelong glances. Hot pursuits. Mess-ups. Clean-ups. Rinsing. Repeating. I think I’ve had my fill. I’m sure you’ve had yours too.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he seethed, peeling her hands off of him.

“Oh, but you love this. The chase. The danger. You love what little control you think you have—control that you think you have over yourself. Over me.” She grabbed the lapels of his coat, pulling him down to her level. Twilight could smell the sin on her lips. “Go ahead. Consider this an exercise in power.”

“Enough.” Twilight’s heart raced, mind meandered. She knew just what to say, how to say it. Knew just the right inflection to get his mouth to dry, get him weak at the knees, to finally give.

“Diplomacy, he says. Such a big, fancy word for a simple emotion. Call it what it is, sweetling,” she whispered hotly in his ear. Twilight could have burst into tears. “Jealousy.”

Their chests flush were against each other, his hands firm on the curves of her waist. He memorized the intervals in which her lungs expanded and contracted; imitated it until they were one, breathing being beating in tandem. In a moment, their noses nudged, and they pushed, pulled away, devoured. Twilight lingered as she caught her breath, kissed the skin—there, on her shoulders, the slope of her neck, swells of her cheek—that ought to have been ruined with bruises, burns, and cuts. Her mouth parted and called out for his alias, begging for kindness, for mercy. Twilight, caught in her cunning, tangled himself in black thread and supped the mead from her split lips. Her wine glass shattered as they fought.

[translesbianvampire]

gay bitch fangirls over always sunny

i've just realized that tumblr is the perfect place for a queer bitch to nerd out about her favorite show. i finished it a month ago and...oof, i love this thing. i find it weirdly beautiful in a way. i enjoy seeing the most dysfunctional people put to air's misadventures, and i am definitely one of the disturbed people this show comforts lmao.

despite functionally/nominally about being horrible people doing horrible things, the gang somehow never quite lose every scrap of humanity they have; i guess by virtue of being white trash instead of upper-class. there are times when the gang are appalled at the atrocities someone ELSE comments, and sometimes when even they feel maybe they're going too far. (they usually don't things like "no" stop em tho...)

i also love the way it weaponizes every facet of being a sitcom, and uses them to comment on what happens within the show: +you can just pop in at any time during the show's run and not be too lost, not extremely reliant on past events & arcs

-the gang experiencing extremely traumatic events is not an "arc" or something that is ever dealt with/brought up again, considering their ol' reliable is drinking it down & not talking about it

-as sitcoms go on, they typically become sadder, as it just gets depressing that this group of people literally has nothing else to do with their lives.

+depressing is the point.

-as sitcoms go on, characters typically undergo "flanderization", where previously minor aspects of their character become their entire personality within the show. typically is extremely annoying

+the gang functions as a vicious echo chamber that they are trapped within, as no one in the outside world can stand being with them. also, they are CHRONIC abusers of alcohol & a million other substances like glue. it makes sense that charlie only becomes more illiterate, considering his habits (which include eating cat food & huffing glue) never really change

-to keep sitcoms running, the characters remain perfectly static throughout, and it is only really the situations & people around them that change

+the core of what makes the characters who they are doesn't change much over 15 seasons, but they DO grow with the times; just very, VERY slowly. i think they've handled this adeptly; in season 10, they eased off dennis' creep-oness in the second episode by having him be on the RECEIVING end of his weird rating system, in one of the most hilarious & quotable moments of a show that is already hilarious & quotable throughout. I'M A FIVE STAR MAN!!!!

there's prolly even more i can't think of. but it is such BRUTAL satire of...basically anything i CAN think of. it's this satire that gives depth to, what on the surface, might appear as a banal show that only exists to be offensive. the writers actually do NOT write to offend anybody (except maybe rly stuffy stuck-up ppl lmao)! it started as basically just wanting to write a sitcom that's "real", about a group of friends that are NEVER there for each other (tho they ARE there for each other, sometimes!). and this ended up being the perfect vehicle to satirize a LOT of facets about american life.

i also LOVE the way sunny handles queerness! it is not something that inherently makes you a better NOR a worse person, but it's also smth that always deserves respect, no matter who the queer person is. this is where its sitcom format works beautifully yet again; after mac's genuinely moving coming out moment as the s13 finale, s14 starts off...the way any other season starts off, and i LOVE that.

(sidenote: i don't think mac's brief coming out then re-entering the closet in s11 is an issue! that's real life. a friend of mine realized she was prolly trans, then decided she wasn't, and recently re-realized that she is lol. THAT'S LIFE!!!! tho, it would've been an issue if mac NEVER came out i think, but they had him come out in s12, and come out beautifully to his dad in s13)

i think always sunny succeeds at having...let's say, "very morally complicated" characters, while not accidentally glorifying them as much as the sopranos or breaking bad (tho i still love those shows hehe), while still having them be human. i think it is a beautifully human show. the show does not lie in the SLIGHTEST about who these people are, yet i am still excited to see another season with this gang i somehow do still root for. it shows us EVERYTHING about who these people are with less shame than we think about ourselves. we share in their every high, every low [of which there are many], and everything in between. and that's what bein' human is all about.

[nicklloydnow]

“For good or ill, all things must end. And the peculiar modalities of this end, both for each of us as individuals and for the motley aggregate of our species, are quite literally incalculable. All the same, a few foreglimpses are not impossible to offer the curious. These are hypothetical imaginings for those who have been too lax or craven to conjure them on their own. By putting one's mind to the task, however, it seems that certain rules and conventions relating to the cataclysmic as a general proposition do reveal themselves without excessive strain or harm. Traditionally, some depictions of apocalypse are more predominant than others in histories, revelations, and intuited expectations of the end. For example, there is likely an element of the unheard-of in each one, a quality of the unearthly in phases ranging from the subtly dreadful to the outrageously sensationalistic. Yet, while bizarrerie may be amusing and a relief from boredom, when it comes to an ultimate termination the usual predilection is for a total blowup, an explosion or vaporization fully and forever. And, for the most part, apocalyptic promises tend to take this form. A good encyclopedia or a repository of relevant scriptures are helpful in this regard, providing illustrations of conclusive tempests of butchery and havoc leaving naught but vacant wastelands behind them.

But there are other renditions of apocalypse that are at odds with those delineated above. These involve scenarios wherein groups of stragglers hang about in a setting of inanity with a bit of décor, either survivors of or latecomers to oblivion. Consequently, the entire business is left unfinished, because some have been overlooked, actors who for a time play out a prelude to the Great Going. Since no wholesale apocalypse has ever been visited on this world, predictions that everything will be torn to pieces are but conjecture, however devoutly wished for. Thus, we must question whether any purported "end" is ever complete, except perhaps in whispered fables and fabrications swindling us with apocalypses by halves and quarters, even ones that involve a single ill-fortuned loner. Therefore, we may be disappointed by a given picture of apocalypse, pained that it leaves anything at all in its wake, so that each presents an all-consuming shockwave smashing the whole thing to bits that drift into the primal blackness a genuine finality. Then again, they are in no way restrained from going to the limit with something that by deftnition is fatality itself, producing a gruesome ta-da for those who like that sort of thing.

In the end, so to speak, it might be asked: Should we fabricate representations of apocalypse, as we have done so often over the centuries? This question is, of course, infinitely debatable. Perhaps more to the point: Should we wallow in such fantasies, as we unquestionably have done over the centuries? One reason we should—not the only one, but the only one pertaining to the pages that follow—is that all is not right with the world . . . and when all is not right in every detail imaginable, then some will find solace (bitter as it may be) in a lusty imagining of the end. They may not deserve this solace, as many would hoot, but opinions vary on who deserves what in any world conceivable. Why someone would believe that all is not right with the world is anyone's guess, or their self-arrogated judgment concerning what is right or not right with anything at all. Still, there are these pictures of apocalypse on offer, and even though these pictures are only inventions, we might argue that by virtue of their being invented, because a consciousness exists sufficiently educated in endings, which, it should be divulged, will involve anguish, all is not right. It is—to put it kindly—deficient, defective, blemished to its core. It is faulty to such a degree that it would be no more than just and honest to exclaim that nothing is right, properly speaking. Thus, what is the point in equivocating? The pictures are there, one apocalypse followed by another great or small, indefinite or definitive. They have already been inserted into existence, as built-in as breath and the end of breath.

Given the succession of horrors with which we have been intimate for so long, we may infer that no endpoint will be a beatific release from the pain we have always known. No apocalypse will be anything but awful. And nothing more need be said. It only remains to pass around the pictures.”

[pesterloglog]

Karkat Vantas, John Egbert

Act 4, page 1907

CG: OK IT'S A FEW MINUTES LATER.

CG: LOOK HOW SANE AND LINEAR WE ARE BEING.

EB: yeah!

CG: OK AWESOME, NOW FUCK YOU AND GOODBYE.

EB: wait!

CG: WHAT.

EB: i was just looking at all these rascals, and i was wondering...

EB: how they go back in time and become us and stuff.

EB: does it have something to do with the reckoning?

CG: HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT.

EB: you told me.

EB: we had this great dare going.

EB: to see who could be the least helpful and informative.

EB: and you totally lost, dude!

EB: you were hella helpful.

CG: I WAS OBVIOUSLY JUST SPITING YOUR STUPID POINTLESS HUMAN DARE.

CG: WHAT IS A DARE ANYWAY, IT'S NOTHING.

CG: SOMEONE SAYS DO SOMETHING AND THEN, OH LAUGH LAUGH, YOU LOSE IF YOU DON'T DO IT.

CG: THAT ISN'T ANYTHING THAT DESERVES A WORD.

CG: WE DON'T EVEN HAVE A WORD FOR DARE IN OUR LANGUAGE.

CG: THE CLOSEST APPROXIMATION WOULD BE "WORTHLESS FUCKING BULLSHIT WASTE OF TIME FOR SILLY LITTLE CHILDREN"

EB: oh, wow.

EB: is that the title of a movie too?

CG: YES, IT'S THE TITLE OF EVERY DUMB MOVIE YOU EVER LIKED.

EB: ha ha, that isn't even true and doesn't make sense!

CG: ANYWAY, HOW COULD WE HAVE MADE A DARE IF I'M MOVING BACKWARDS ON YOUR TIMELINE.

CG: YOU WOULD DARE ME TO DO SOMETHING, THEN I WOULD DO IT NEXT TIME, BUT THEN YOU WOULDN'T EVEN REMEMBER THE DARE.

CG: BECAUSE WE DIDN'T MAKE IT YET.

CG: THAT'S WHAT ISN'T TRUE AND DOESN'T MAKE SENSE YOU DAMP BAG OF PUKE.

EB: well yeah, the dare never happened, i was joking around and made that up to give you hard time.

CG: YOU HAVE SOUNDING STUPID DOWN TO SUCH A SCIENCE.

CG: WHERE IS YOUR LAB COAT AND TEST TUBES DOCTOR BRAIN PROFESSOR?

EB: i am wearing a lab coat!

EB: sort of...

CG: YOU LOOK LIKE AN ELF.

EB: that's bullshit!

CG: YOU LOOK LIKE YOU SHOULD BE BLOWING INTO A FUNNY LITTLE SHELL, AND LIMBERING UP FOR A SILLY COOKIE DANCE.

EB: do you even have elves?

CG: YES, LET'S COMPARE WHICH FANTASY CREATURES THAT DON'T EXIST WE BOTH DO OR DON'T NOT HAVE.

CG: WHAT A GREAT FUCKING IDEA, JOHN!

EB: uh, what?

CG: YOU ASKED ABOUT THE RECKONING, SO WHY DON'T WE TALK ABOUT THAT INSTEAD OF ALL THESE PRETTY MUCH TERRIBLE THINGS.

EB: ok.

CG: YEAH, SO WHEN THE RECKONING STARTS HAPPENING, ALL THESE PARADOX CLONES GET SHIPPED OFF TO METEORS, FLUNG THROUGH SKAIAN DEFENSE PORTALS, AND SENT BACK TO EARTH.

CG: END OF STORY I GUESS.

CG: BYE.

EB: wait!!!

EB: so that means...

EB: we are all sort of like superman?

CG: UH YEAH, I GUESS.

EB: cool!

CG: YOU ALL TRACE THE MYTHOLOGICAL FOOTSTEPS OF YOUR BELOVED HUMAN SUPERMAN WHO'S REALLY JUST A MUSCULAR CAUCASIAN ALIEN.

CG: IT'S HILARIOUS HOW HUMANS WORSHIP HIM AS A PINNACLE OF HUMAN HEROISM AND VIRTUE BUT HE ISN'T EVEN HUMAN.

CG: ACTUALLY IT'S INCREDIBLY PATHETIC.

CG: BUT ALSO IN A WAY KIND OF ADMIRABLE.

CG: BECAUSE IT MEANS DEEP DOWN YOU ALL MUST REALIZE WHO YOUR DADDY IS.

CG: WE ARE, BITCHES.

EB: yeah, superman is pretty cool, i guess.

EB: did you know nicolas cage was almost going to play superman one time?

CG: OH MY THROBBING PHLEGM LOBE, WHO GIVES A BARFING FUCK ABOUT THAT.

CG: JOHN EGBERT, YOU HAVE ASSASSINATED MY PATIENCE.

CG: ADIOS LOSER.

EB: wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EB: get back to me in a couple minutes, ok?

CG: SD;LKFJSD;LKFJSDLFKJ;

CG: FINE.

[beregosts]

neck kisses that turn into love bites.

she does see the irony in it, that the very heart whose existence she'd once doubted should now tempt her to sleep with its steady rhythm beneath her cheek. it isn't an option, however, regardless of how content she feels. sleep would require time they don't have, prove dangerous if it stretches too long or too comfortably. instead, arlis embraces the easy silence that has settled between and allows her fingers to trace over each rib and across the litany of scars dotting his torso. their placement is known to her now, as is most of their stories.

the chill in the room has her curl closer, grateful for the warmth his form exudes. (the would-be tyrant cannot be in too comfortable a space, after all. the dreadmaster should not rest well.) still, arlis thinks, better here than the house prior, that place that could not be called a home that finally revealed the fractures in him.

despite somber thoughts, sleep calls to her after a long day of composing herself of the city's expectations. that is what she is now, after all, more virtue than living thing, some vaulted name rather than beating heart and flowing blood. her eyelids grow heavier and she blinks forcefully enough to flinch in order to stave off the desire to close them.

"what is it?"

"i wish-," a sighs falls from her lips as her gaze moves to her dress, carefully laid out across the room. there is a routine that they both adhere to now. there must not be any wrinkles set within her clothes when she leaves. any messied braids will be carefully redone. there cannot be any trace of the way they have sat together as more than hero and villain, no hint of the nights where his mouth has mapped her scars and her fingers have clutched at the planes of muscle lining his back. no one can know, no one can even be allowed to guess, that his name is gilded with adoration when it is gasped from her lips rather than stained with loathing, "i wish we had more time. i wish i didn't have to scurry off into the night, that i could just... stay here, properly, until the morning."

enver's hand reaches for her own, his fingers coming to rest along her wrist. it does not go unnoticed by her that he is the one to initiate this contact. he huffs quietly. "are you implying you'll miss me after you leave?"

her initial instinct is a retort, to give something back with just enough bite to offer him the chance to spar, if he wishes. however, arlis sits with the question, realizes that there is something real to it. he has offered her the chance to brush this all aside, mock it even, but, despite his best efforts, that faint sheen of authenticity remains. she decides to respond with something real in turn.

"of course i will." she shifts so their eyes meet. his dark gaze catches the candlelight and she tucks a loose lock of ebony hair behind his ear. "i'm hardly going to advocate for your early release, but i'd much rather go to sleep and wake up beside you than wonder when next i'll see you and how long we'll have. i wish you were by my side, rather than locked away, though i know you deserve it. does that surprise you? i miss you when we're apart and i know exactly how many days it is you've left to serve."

a finger moves to trace over his jaw, trailing south to the scar etched into his neck. her next words are gentle but certain. "i want you in the daylight, enver, free and beneath the sun."

he looks at her and, for once, that clever tongue is stilled in silence. he finally briefly opens his mouth to speak, only for it to close half second later, and then he is kissing her fiercely, urgently. her fingers weave into his hair when his lips move to her neck, the stubble of his jaw scratching against tender skin. arlis sighs, tilting her head to allow him more space, and his name is crafted tenderly on the tip of her tongue.

it earns her a teasing bite just below her pulse and her eyes flutter shut, fingers tugging at his hair in response. another hint of a bite, like for like, and the quiet groan that rumbles in his chest all but leaves her dizzy. "enver-," a sharp inhale when his teeth scrape against her collarbone, "leave a mark."

he pauses and she feels his breath against her.

"something from you to take with me, after i leave," arlis murmurs unwaveringly, "something just for us." she cannot carry any favor of his, but this, she thinks, will suffice.

his lips chart their course to where her shoulder meets her neck, resting in that slender arch. "you'll need to find something with a higher collar, arlis."

she hums in amusement, nuzzling a kiss into his hair. "it'll be too dark for anyone to notice when i leave and, besides, i've quite the wardrobe now. i'll manage, but your consideration is both noted and appreciated."

she's certain she can feel his smile pressed into her skin.

[firespirited]

Vagueing here but the notes of the harry potter posts are using the same weird arguments for say, not giving up the n-word because it doesn’t affect structural change. Well you’re right: not saying any of the n-words* (even the academic ones I now censor because I was asked to) doesn’t change a thing to society.

The concept of the n-word exists from the moment someone calls about a black man minding his own business to the police grabbing him off the street for doing normal people stuff while black, to the courts who are stacked to view the black man as less important to his family and community, as less civilized and more disposable and with law written and unchanged since black people were considered property, to his time in jail forced into slavery to get basic necessities where the concept of the n-word is fully enacted on him again.

And yet, every time you mute yourself from singing the n-word and cut people out of your life for using it: you’re having to think. Maybe you don’t think about black people’s feelings at first because you just don’t want to lose non-black friends who do care, but the thought-seed is planted that maybe this actually hurts somebody... real friends wouldn’t drop you if it wasn’t serious right? And bit by bit, this tiny moment of mental “stop and think” translates to understanding that words carry history and ongoing suffering. You grapple with a non-black friend who believes free speech entitles him to use the words and realize you care quite a bit. You start noticing dog whistles and stereotypes: it’s not the n-word but it might as well be and isn’t that shifty and cruel?

So no it won’t change the world to not buy any more JKRowling related anything but it will slowly change you and your friends every time you stop and think about using a potter metaphor and switch to something else. Maybe you’ll start to question the groomer rhetoric and the tasteless predator jokes, the idea of gender performance and “failing” at gender, maybe you’ll even take the time to examine how you perform and enforce your gender in ways that might hurt you or your friends.

These ‘insignificant’ details matter because when we break thought patterns and bad habits we have to question and examine them. Most people don’t just stop smoking: it’s figuring out why you smoke, why you don’t want to smoke any more, how to replace it with something equally rewarding but healthy, slipping and learning from that. You take a small detail that’s been in our cultural background so long we use it as shorthand for personality types and villains... Well to remove the habit will require thinking about the habit and maybe instead of just worrying about losing “politically correct” friends, you’ll start to wonder why it’s serious enough to lose people’s respect and you’ll start thinking about trans people as people who deserve better than to be treated as monsters for existing.

So ok let’s say virtue signalling is a thing, I guess it’s signalling to your friends that you won’t drop them if they come out or date someone marginalized - It’s signalling that this particular discrimination isn’t ok so maybe people might think twice before talking about other bigotries, it’s signalling that you’re more likely to vote for candidates who are trawling trends and polls about issues people care about and that moves the needle a bit. Maybe the real virtue signalling is when you think it’s beneath you to make a tiny gesture of good will, when you say nothing because people will call you a spoil sport.

On the other hand, I am going to use cripple/crip for myself because it jolts people back into seeing the world as it treats me and not the magical happy post disability rights world people seem to think we live in. It’s a tiny act of rebellion and unity with others and it’s only very few words compared to the very many that we’re not reclaiming. You probably have your own slurs used against you and complex feelings about them: it’s how you know stuff is not your words to decide on: the people hurt by them get to choose what is and isn’t off limits or what they choose to reclaim.

*I’m using the most cross-culturally relevant example here, my unlearning journey has been hardest with concepts that would provoke serious wankery if this post ever escaped containment.

[pega-chan]

First Impressions: Sri Asih (2022)

i have waited 2 years for this movie and it did NOT disappoint. quick thoughts after i watched it yesterday:

i understand it is the movie so they have to pack everything in, but some of the exposition feels clunky. this also leads to some of the dialogue being unnatural

the pacing in the beginning of the movie was a little too fast

there are some scenes that i wish would've lasted longer or had more purpose, like the charity ball. yes it was fun to see Al and Kala dress up but ultimately nothing happened there and the real showdown happened in Adinegara's office

some scenes didn't have a smooth enough transition but i can overlook it

i do wish they would've given more exposition for Alana's age and career/life in the movie. i'm sure she's an adult, otherwise she wouldn't have all that free time. but is she a full time professional fighter? why did her mother decide to have her be one? at the end it's revealed Al's adoptive mom knew she was the next Sri Asih and decided to take her in because of it, but why mold her into a professional fighter and not some other athlete that gives her similar capabilities to fight, like a silat athlete? with silat, Al could've had actual practice using a selendang in battle bc a selendang is a silat weapon

so is Alana's mom part of Jagabumi or something? Kala never explained his connection to her

how did Al adapt to her new powers so quickly? she wasn't even briefed on what they are. her experience as a fighter gives her a leg up, but Eyang Maryani just did not explain that she can fly, use the selendang, have enhanced srength and durability, or multiply, at any point during the movie

she didn't even use all of her comic canon powers, like growing to giant size or purifying dark spirit energy were not utilized at all. they gave her super speed i guess, which is a new power

i am glad romance just does not exist in this movie. Alana is an aroace icon driven by rage and bloodlust just like i've always hoped she'd be <3

no mentions of Ganis :'''''''''''' like okay Ganis and Al are one timeline but i just want my Sundanese homegirl acknowledged

i'm not a big fan of Al being the next Sri Asih by virtue of being directly descended from Nani Wijaya. i don't think superheroes should be chosen by blood relation, they should be determined randomly based on if they're capable or not, bc anyone can be a hero if Dewi Asih decided they are one

casting Najwa Shihab as Nani was GENIUS btw. Nani was a journalist so it makes absolute sense to cast an actual journalist as her!

you know what would be cool though? they could have referenced the 1954 Sri Asih movie by finding someone that looked like Mimi Mariani and referencing the plot of the movie too. if only the movie wasn't lost media :'(

i will say Nani's costume looks absolutely nothing like in the comics and i'm disappointed by it, but hey, you gotta connect Alana's cameo in Gundala to this movie somehow. my advice is they could've made it similar to Nani's costume by adding her batik and then having Al choose not to wear the batik when she suits up to help Gundala

let's talk fashion! Al has a very practical and utilitarian wardrobe in muted colours. its mostly sporty with many sleeveless shirts which she tends to wear bc she sweats while fighting so often. it reflects her priorities as a professional fighter, and she has some high-end/more expensive pieces (like the combat boots and a significantly less utilitarian backpack) that screams of her wealthy background. i'm disappointed none of her clothes seem to have any wear or tear pre-battle, bc you would think some would look pretty ratty if Al has a habit of getting into scuffles, but that can perhaps be chalked up to her having a rich parent that can replace worn out clothes easily. i don't mind the amount of crop tops in her wardrobe, bc Pev Pearce absolutely deserves to show off those abs. the leather jacket was my fave fit.

not a fan of the multiple braids. bro that's cultural appropriation

i love love love her friendships in this movie. with her fellow pro fighters Gilang and that high school kid, Tangguh, and even Kala

i love that Gilang and the high schooler are like, not fair skinned and not with conventionally attractive features. there's a lot of diversity in this movie and i love it

what happened to all her pro fighter friends, anyway? they just up and disappeared after the hospital blew up. i get Al has bigger things to worry about, but the fighter's ring is her mom's work and those and her friends who are threatened by Adinegara. Gilang and co. are just replaced by Tangguh and Kala

Pev did a phenomenal job embodying Alana's character, but i can't understand why they would cast a half-white actor. i'm not being ethnocentric /gen, but i think Sri Asih should be represented by the ordinary class that doesn't have white privilege. biracial Sri Asih is an interesting concept to explore, but i wish they would've cast someone fully indonesian or even a minority. a chindo sri asih would be so cool

Tangguh is MY poor little meow meow. he's doing his best, truly! just a wimp of a man who tries to get context but fails every time. i support him going feral and tasing that guard.

i lowkey want more female characters in this movie. like if you compare it with the amount of guys (that play a significant role) it's just disproportionate, and doesn't make sense for there to be such an imbalance in a girl power film

Kala. has little personality. he's a tool that helps Al take down the bad guys and we only start to see a glimpse of his character when he interacts with Tangguh. official sources describe him as "charismatic", "kalem", and "mysterious". the REAL mystery is his personality babes.

speaking of, while Al is aroace for sure. the tension and chemistry between Kala and Tangguh has more romantic weight than anything they have going on with Al

Eyang Maryani is also just there as a tool. it's her job as a mentor, sure. but i wish she embodied the mentor part more

how did they get Al's mom out of the hospital in the first place??

it's also unrealistic how quickly Al decides to trust Kala tbh. "i know your mom" does he have proof?? girl he could be lying

this film has a lot going on, and there are some threads i wish they would've tied up more neatly. who murdered Mateo? are we supposed to assume Jatmiko did? how did Jatmiko get his hands on the Roh Setan necklace? what was Adinegara doing with HIS necklace, and what was it for? what about the businessmen working with Adinegara who were in on the plot to sacrifice a thousand souls? why are they concerned with Dewi Api and want to bring forth her army? did they know Jatmiko was behind the mask? did they know the necklace Adinegara had wasn't the real one? who are they in the grand scheme of things other than scummy rich men stepping all over the poor?

also Giselle. what happened to her and what was she hiding about Mateo's murder?

is Adinegara even stopped in his tracks?

i honestly wanted Tangguh to be placed in more imminent danger. if he already has a target on his back for being too intrusive, then maybe have Adinegara send goonies after him. this could connect him more solidly to Al, who is also being hunted down by Adinegara. it would work out better than randomly meeting each other in the rusun.

Tangguh does end up helping Al by having the motive to help out his neighbours and the working class in the rusun, who are being mistreated by the rich. but considering his whole gig was as a journalist, he should've had a mission about documenting the whole story and could've introduced Al to the public after she saved them

the ACAB plotline could've been done better. Jatmiko was the villain disguised as a grey character but he's not grey enough imo bc he didn't have a solid intention for playing both sides

the action scenes were spectacular btw, i usually get bored at action scenes if they go on for too long but this movie did not make me sleepy

that's all i have currently. i'll be watching the movie again next week, so i'll be adding onto this after a rewatch as i think of more stuff. overall the movie was a 9/10! totally worth the wait