#but we're chill now and he thought my design idea was cool

[acheronist]

FINALLY GETTING A NEW TATTOO FROM SOMEONE BESIDES MYSELF LATER THIS WEEK...... one would assume that working in a tattoo parlor would mean free tats whenever but you fail to consider i hate asking for things and needed 6 months to make sure the artists didn't hate me and also we're fucking busy all of the time

[ravenadottir]

TEMPTING FATE - EP. 1

i'm going totally blind into this one, i have no idea what is what and what this is about, and why the title sounds like a coleen hoover's book... BUT, i'm very willing to give it a chance because i'm b-o-r-e-d.

so, i played episode 1, and i have thoughts.

and yes, i know i'm late but i didn't even know there was a new season out because work and personal life have been pretty insane. and apparently there were two seasons released in one year? but i'm not sure if it was now or 2023, let me know!

and this is what i'm gonna do: i'm not gonna play the episode more than once. the first impression i get is what's gonna stick. and since the season is over i'm kinda glad i don't have to wait around for episodes. i'm currently on license from work due to an accident, so let me talk about the season, 'cause i have the time lol

let's start with the characters.

jin. um, he's fucking adorable! i do enjoy guys that are humorous but i'm afraid i see a lot of bobby's personality in him. granted, he's WAAAAAAAAAAAAY sassier with his attitude towards us, which i like a lot. i was a little upset about the kyle xy bellybutton but hey, nobody's perfect. overall i like him, he's really cute!

luna. hot. oh my god, and she seems like a really cool person, especially given jin is interested in somebody else and she doesn't pull a lottie, you know? but i have to make an observation about her design: the head doesn't match the body. the position, the shading, the coloring, they don't match, BUT, again, nobody's perfect. but i do hope she becomes an LI because she's EXACTLY MY TYPE. cool fashion (although that panty is... questionable), cool style, cool hair, tattoos, beautiful, chill... right up my alley.

claudia. listen, i've dated a couple of claudia's before, and i like her. very assertive without being intense. her design is really good, she's beautiful as fuck, and that little crumb about being bi? i'm invested. i'm on board with her, but her taste is questionable because that guy? NO FROM ME BABES.

jack. no. i don't like him because i keep forgetting he's here, and when he is? annoying. i don't care for his looks either. i'm usually into guys with long hair but he's just... not attractive lol

mold-man. i don't remember his name but he's coupled up with claudia. he's acting like i'm out here spreading my legs and squirting for him. why? i haven't said anything remotely sexual or romantic to him and he keeps repeating he's affirmingly fucking claudia. ok, moldy bitch? stay away from me, i only touch mold to clean it.

oakley. HOT. oh my god, very attractive, chill and kinda cheeky, i like him. i prefer people like him, that can flirt without talking too much. i will say, his painted on abs kinda made me laugh a bit, but i still think he's very up there on my list. personality and looks just like i like it.

sour-face-girl. i don't remember her name, she's coupled up with oakley. let me just be vulnerable for a bit... i kinda live lol she's annoying, sure, but like, yeah, i get it. a hotter girl just walked in and your partner is drooling like a dog, work lol i hope she becomes mc's nemesis, something comparable to priya, personality wise, but if i get an allegra? i don't mind it. we need drama that makes sense and she makes perfect sense!

sophie. she reminds me of someone who has body modification to look like a lion or something. she was definitely touched by an angel, not that there's anything wrong with that, but if your personality is grating as hers is, i'm out. i don't care for her, so much that i had to go back into this post and add her, and i just remembered she's insecure over fucking jack??? bitch, you can do better than that.

STORYLINE.

we're bombshells again, i like that. i'm not sure if there was a bombshell MC after that first time, but i don't mind it. i like that they keep a little mystery about what happened on the first few days, but here's my thing: stop repeating it. i get it, you want to keep us playing and engaged, but you can be a little more... subtle with it.

the thing is, i do enjoey the fact that not everybody likes mc, from both sides, because it's not realistic. oakley is chill, jin is invested, jack is... there, and mold man is not into it, I LIKE THAT.

i also like that we get multiple reactions from the girls about their partners being interested. we have a chill one, one that seems a little more intense, one that is looking around scared like she's in a slasher movie lol

it's fun!

one thing that kinda grinded my gears because there's no reason for them to put it there: NON-ALCOHOLIC BEERS. can someone explain to me why a bunch of twenty-something-year-olds would drink something that tastes like piss if it's not gonna give them a buzz? sorry, i need the drinks, i need the cocktails, i need the you know, pop up the bubbly or whatever. it was so funny to me they referred to it like three times, just to remind us they are non-alcoholic. i don't get it, what did i miss??

anyway

as far as the first episode goes, i thought it was decent. it's not gripping but it's definitely fun, enough for me to play episode 2 and going forward.

ah! i forgot, another thing that got me a bit annoyed: the diamond choices!! these were wild! 17 diamonds to talk to your wanted boy? that seems like a lot for the first time! i'm just getting to know these people and i don't have any grips about not talking to y'all if it's gonna cost that much! and i remember saying this back when they changed the number of diamonds on different choices. don't vibe with that, and WILL ABSOLUTELY NOT PAY FOR IT, 'cause i know it doesn't interfere with your relationships in the villa.

but i also will hunt them down on tumblr later lol

i also have to give a little praise about the "watching ads to get diamonds". it's a good option. i'm not doing all that, but it's nice we can.

so, overall i'll keep playing and talking about it.

also, also, let me say this: i missed tumblr a lot! i really did! it had been so long i wasn't here that my last draft was from last year, like november or something! this is crazy, time is going by really fucking quickly! so you know, i missed you guys and i missed posting. i'll try to do it more and get back to writing chapters for w.i.p's

that is all, have a great day!

[lookismaddict]

Lookism Chapter 439 Memes/Thoughts I Have:

(SPOILERS !!! I don’t own any of the Lookism panels and the translations. Only the memes that I made.)

God, I was looking forward to doing this chapter review today but then my day really started off not as good as I hope for. But it’s ok. I just hope that this review will be uplifting for me while it’s being made. Anyways, CH. 439 EVERYBODY!! WOOOOOOOO!!! I LOVED READING THIS CHAPTER. SO, LET’S GET INTO IT.

Um... Jichang? Try him. 😀

UMMM... SORRY JICHANG, WHAT WAS THAT? CAN'T HEAR YOU FROM THE SOUNDS OF GETTING YOUR ASS BEAT... 🙄

Wow. So it really has come to this, huh? I didn't wanna do a Master vs. Student comparison because Daniel was trained by Gun, not James. Although James didn't personally train him, Daniel did get some of his moves from him so he's clearly a beast... Damn.

Daniel Park, a model? 👀 I can't believe I made a clothing brand flyer out of these panels. 💀💀💀

Tbh the Allied shirt that Daniel is wearing looks so fucking dope. 🔥 If PTJ ever drops the actual merch for Allied, I really wanna purchase one so badly. The design is so sick, and you already know Imma stunt on them hoes if I ever get my hands on a shirt. 🤪

He's really just playing around with them, huh? Especially Daniel. 😭

I swear, Hudson and Jay are only in this chapter to provide reactions to the fight. They really do be representing the crowd. 🔥 THE CROWD SAYS :O

This shot of Jichang is so cool ngl... and hot. 💀💀

Bruh he really do be thinking this.

JESUS CHRIST- DANIEL IS GETTING SLICED AND DICED LIKE HE'S A STALK OF VEGETABLES. PEPPERS? OK! ONIONS? YOU GOT IT! GARLIC? I GOT YA COVERED!!! 😜🌶🧄🧅

Jichang looking all sinister, like he about to end Daniel with the most deadliest Karate chop of the century. BUT OH GOD, DANIEL NOOOOOOOOO!!! 😭😭😭😭

*inhales* Bro... you guys had no idea how much I was jumping at that first panel right here. Jumping and running around and shit. My reaction was literally, "No... Noooo wayyyy... Nooooo FUCKING WAAAAYYYYYYYYY... PTJ, YOU'RE LYING!!!!!! IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING????? OH MY FUCKING GOD!!! LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! UI DANIEL IS BAAAAAACCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!!!" 😤😤😤😤😤😤😤

And not me anticipating a Gun Park memory because it always happens whenever Daniel is in UI... (or at least, Gun is mentioned whenever he's in the zone... Auto Zone. 😩 If you get the reference, ily.)

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IT'S GUNNNNNNN!!!! I KNEW IT, WE'RE GONNA GET ANOTHER SCENE WITH THIS HOT ASS MESS OF A MAN. 😩😩��🔥🔥🔥 UGGGHHHH IMMA CREAM ON HIM I SWEEEAAAARRRRRRRRR. HE CAN EAT ME UPPPPP AND BEAT THIS COOCH UP ANYDAY. GOT ME QUIVERING SHIIIIIII 😩😩😩💢💢💢💢💢 Also, is he NAKED??? 😳 Bruh. He's naked around Daniel, but he isn't naked around his previous successors. Hmmm... do I sense... favoritism? And why is Daniel kneeling down in front of him. Don't tell me they "fought". 👁👁 Or he gave Gun a good suck. Pero come on Daniel, tell us that his dick is huge. GINORMOUS. MASSIVE. LENGTHY. THICK. HEAVY??? LMFAAAOOOOOOOO OK, I'LL STOP.

Hehehe, if you aren't familiar with this by now-

*N S F W M E M E W A R N I N G*

(If you're not comfortable with inappropriate memes, then just scroll past them.)

This really is my mind 24/7. You should know me by now and how I want this man soooooooo badlyyyyyy. God, I want this man to ram me so goddamn good. Legs shaking, loud moaning, ass smacking, hair pulling, back blowing... AEUUUUGGGGHHHHH. 😩😩😩💗💗💗💗 I just wanna keep it real. I'm not ashamed or sorry. 🤷🏽‍♀️ If you don't want me to simp so badly, then you shouldn't have followed a Gun simp in the first place. 😤

OH MY GOD- OF COURSE HE'S INTO CHOKING. 😩😩 PTJ, YOU'RE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE. MAKING ME EVEN MORE NEEDY FOR HIM, FUUUUUCCCCKKKKK.

"Leave your body to Lady Death." God, that gave me chills. 🥴HNNNNNNGGGGHHHH EVEN THAT SMIRK TOO. GOD, I'M GOING FERALLLLLLLL. HE'S SO SEXY!!! CHOKE ME, DADDY GUN. 😭😭😭 HE REALLY GOT ME IN A MENTAL CHOKEHOLD, I'M JUST SAYINGGGGGG.

CALL ME DELUSIONAL. IDC AND IDGAF. I WANT GUN TO CHOKE ME. 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️

Ok I'm done. *sighs*

*E N D O F N S F W M E M E S*

Man... I love psychotic men. Men who go crazy insane with power. Men who are overpowered. Men who can silence anyone. Men who can dominate others. Men who can beat the shit out of anything and anyone. MEN WHO CAN RUIN OTHER PEOPLE'S SELF-ESTEEM. MEN WHO CAN TAKE AWAY THEIR WILL TO FIGHT. MEN WHO CAN SLAUGHTER ALL OF THEIR ENEMIES ONE BY ONE WITHOUT CARING. MEN WHO- ok I'll shut up about my taste in men.

Oh my lord, look at UI Daniel fight so diligently and so swiftly too. AND DAAAANNNGGG DUDE, LOOK AT THE IMPACT HE HAD ON JICHANG'S BACK!!! He for sure is a menace, no doubt about it.

I love how hyped their fight was. LOOK AT JICHANG'S FACIAL EXPRESSION TOO!! HE REMINDS ME OF SAMUEL IN SOME OF HIS FIGHTS HAHAHAHAHAHA INSAAAAAAANE

BRUH, ISN'T THAT THE OLD MAN ON THAT TRACTOR??? 👀

I KNEW ITTTTT BRO. IT'S THE SEOUL GRANDPA. Also, I'd like to point out how interesting it is that UI Daniel suddenly faded away as if he doesn't exist anymore, when Daniel suddenly retreated from subconsciousness. I almost forgot that it took UI Daniel a while to cease due to the drugs that Daniel's other body was on in that room full of shrooms, back in that arc with Vivi's Club.

YEAH BRO, YOU BETTER RESPECT DANIEL NOW. And how did Jichang not notice that he looked like Jinyoung Park? Like... everybody did except for him. Come on sir, get with the program. 🧍🏽‍♀️

OMG...??? GAPRYONG KIM'S DRIVER??? 🤭🤭🤭 DAMN, EVERYONE WHO WAS A PART OF GAPRYONG'S FIST CAN BEAT ANYONE UP. EVEN HIS DRIVER CAN KICK ASS. 😧 Also... bro. Wtf. Does that mean that they fought for no reason? They got THEIR ASSES BEAT FOR NO REASON??? MAAAAAANNNN WHAT DID I FUCKIN TELL YOU, JICHANG AND DANIEL??? IN THE PREV REVIEW, I SAID THAT YOU COULD'VE SETTLED THIS THE CIVILIZED WAY, BUT WHAT DID Y'ALL DO? Y'ALL THREW HANDS. And poor Jay and Hudson. They fought their asses off against some people of Chungcheong and FOR WHAT??? 😭😭😭 WELL, I GET IT. IT'S FOR DANIEL. BUT COME ON MAN, THEY BEEN THROUGH SOME TRASH-TALKING AND SOME INJURIES FOR NOTHINGGGGG. Idk, that just pissed me off. But, the purpose of those fights was to show how much they improved. I admit though, they did improve A LOT and I'm proud of the both of them. Even Daniel too, who just fought with a First Generation King to the point that Jichang had to get into serious FIGHTING MODE. Here kings, your crowns. 👑👑👑 I keep saying this repeatedly, but we better get the full explanation of Jinyoung's backstory or else. Imma go over to PTJ, grab him by the collar, and- 😤😤👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽 /j

Not kidding. Oops-

[fountainpenguin]

If you were given the opportunity to reboot FOP from the ground up, what would you change, shake up, or put your own spin on?

I'll have to give this a short answer, I no joke spent over 2 hours replying to this, then added a Read More and Tumblr told me that my post was too out of this world and it broke the editor. It kicked me out in a split second without any opportunity to save. Sorry to everyone who has to scroll past my stuff in the future, but I'm not living through this again. Read Mores have no place on my blog.

I'm furious because 1) I tried to copy-paste out of this editor like I always do and save in an external place, but the new editor is busted and only copies one paragraph when you do CTRL-A so I gave up, and 2) literally the last sentence I wrote before typing that was "Before my hiatus, Read Mores broke stuff, but I'm willing to give this another try." It's not even the same error it used to be. I can't. I can't.

At least we're friends and I think you know a lot of my thoughts anyway. Sorry it took so long to write an answer to this message, but I've already let it sit for so long that I HAVE to get it out of my inbox now or I'll never go back to it after losing everything :/ I can't believe that just happened. How ironic that one of the main reasons I went on hiatus was because stuff kept breaking and then it's worse when I return. Bleh.

So... Here's the short version of things I can remember talking about:

Update world lore, especially regarding Anti-Fairies. Anti-Fairies debuted in Season 2 and didn't reappear until Season 5; Anti-Fairy World itself made its first appearance in Season 6 because the Anti-Fairies were only seen in jail before that. Anti-Fairy World is kind of barren and stereotypical, and the general vibe of Anti-Fairies is that they are all evil because their magic revolves around bad luck. I'd prefer some gray area. I also feel like the characterizations for Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda were rushed and we should say it.

Logically I know that Anti-Wanda can be said to parallel Wanda's high-class mafia upbringing, but I doubt that was planned since Wanda's family only showed up in Season 5. In another universe, we could have had a classy evil queen. I love the grubby gal, but there are so many cool aesthetics she could have had instead. The Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda vibe doesn't bring anything to the table that Cosmo and Wanda didn't already have unless you take creative liberties.

Maps. Maps would have been great.

Designs. Cosmo, Crocker, and Dad really don't need the same shirt. Wanda's outfit is pretty bland too, and it's honestly a shame that Anti-Cosmo got a unique outfit but Anti-Wanda's is just a recolor of Wanda's. See also, classy queen.

Also I've never liked Timmy's Channel Chasers adult design; I just don't think it's in character. I feel like his body type would be much closer to his parents, and the existing one is just too extreme for my preferences. Doesn't say "Timmy the average kid" to me.

"Fairly Odd Baby" - As much as I enjoy the idea of Fairies placing a ban on babies because they're destructive and Fairy World likes to push away its problems, I'd have introduced Poof as part of an announcement that Cosmo and Wanda had been expecting a baby for 100 to 1000 years. Their lifespans are so long, it wouldn't be out of the question. A reveal episode could have been fun.

I also don't think I would have chosen to leave Poof a baby who can't speak for that long; I think he has a fun personality (Sasses Foop, deliberately puts Foop in harm's way, but also he's super chill and nice and likes sports) and I would have liked to see more episodes where he talks. I don't love how he was shipped to boarding school as soon as he was able to talk and dialogue was needed.

Vicky takes Mark back onscreen. She canonically decided she wanted to start dating him again, after she found out he was an alien and she broke up with him. She made the choice to take back her alien boyfriend and she loves him and we should talk about it. I'm obsessed with them and will forever treasure the deleted "Foul Balled" scene of them holding hands at the senior home while Mark is in his squid form. I support Vicky becoming the shapeshifting queen of a violent planet and being extremely in love with her squid husband.

Chloe / A.J. friendship. A.J. ended world hunger in Season 2 and he built a time machine a few seasons later, I feel like those two would have really hit it off.

More episodes of Timmy playing soccer. I will not re-elaborate.

More of side characters I love, like Molly and Kevin. I love them. I love Kevin falling farther and farther behind his uncle when they walk together, I love Timmy introducing himself to Molly's fairy by shaking her hand... They might be side characters but I feel like they add a lot more to the world and character dynamics in their few scenes than many of the characters do.

Sharing fairies. Timmy sharing fairies with Chloe (or Kevin) as part of a temporary program (like she was just here for one school year before her parents moved again). I think one of the issues people have with Chloe is that it feels like she's here for the rest of Timmy's fairy-related life, and I think a few months of hanging out with her would have been plenty and then there would have been a reason for her to leave the canon afterwards.

Make Chloe Dinkleberg's niece. My favorite headcanon. Also a perfect explanation for why Chloe's family would move to Timmy's street. Also a hilarious parallel of Timmy seething with frustration at his "perfect" neighbor despite spending the entire series making fun of his dad for doing the same thing.

More Timmy/Chloe "step-sibling" interactions. I support Timmy "I will sit with you while you have an hour-long panic attack" Turner in "The Booby Trap" but I cannot emphasize enough that I equally support Timmy "Will take a call from Chloe, listen to her explain that she vaporized a juice box, then hang up and go to bed" Turner. They are step-siblings...

Timmy, Chloe, and Kevin. I support Timmy - Chloe - Kevin trio interactions in general. They're a comedic trio and I want them to support each other.

Gary and Betty. Unironically, we need to talk more about Gary and Betty canonically being aware of the magical world. Or at least they adjusted really fast to being teleported from California to Florida and back again. Also we should talk about that time Gary rang Sanderson on his cell phone, which gets funnier the longer you think about it. Also I love them and we should talk about the deleted "Totally Spaced Out" scene where they tried to flee to Mexico together.

Ending the series with a proper send-off. I'm not a fan of Timmy keeping his magical memories after losing Cosmo and Wanda. Being the protagonist doesn't make him immune. I feel like there are so many ways this could have been done in a sentimental way that people would have loved... I'm sad we didn't get a proper send-off.

On the list of things we don't need to change - Imaginary Gary, Norm, Mark, Molly, Jorgen, the Pixies, Flappy Bob, Foop, and Ed Leadly. They are flawless, 10 of 10. We also do not need to change Chloe casually swearing, but meanwhile Timmy will call you out for saying "Moron" on the radio, and we definitely don't need to change "This isn't a fancy French restaurant- this is a black hole!"

I love the Pixies. If they didn't exist, I would have come along and prepped some worldbuilding about characters who maintain magical paperwork. I love my snarky monotone wasp boys.

Also I just want to shout-out Chloe and Kevin and their personalities being hilarious. I think there are several Chloe-centric episodes that have flawed storytelling, but I do genuinely enjoy the character you're left with after brushing off some of her exaggerated perfectionism.

Kevin has some of the best dialogue in the entire series, and those two just seem to write themselves when you pit them together. I like the mental image of Chloe venting to Timmy about how unfair it is that Crocker shows him favoritism and then it slowly dawns on her that she also has a history of getting a lot of favoritism.

Thanks for the ask! I'm sad I lost the full responses, but I think I've learned my lesson and will draft in an external doc first. Please learn from my mistakes, I will not take back my venting >:(

Even if I lost it, it's nice to take some time and think about some answers to these things. I'm also pretty satisfied that I was able to make this post long enough to feel like a good answer. Yay.

[bluerosewritings]

Gamer Hugs | Idia x Reader

How Ignihyde had managed to have so many students who were good with technology and machinery yet were all seemingly incapable of creating some decent A/C, you'd never known. Shrugging off your school blazer and unbuttoning the first few buttons on your shirt seemed to do nothing. You were pulled out of your lament at the sound of an enraged yell. Idia had already entered rage gamer mode, unfortunately. Souls of Dark must really be living up to its 'hardest game ever' reputation.

Laying out on the dorm head's bed, you mostly tuned out Idia's rants on the absurd difficulty level of the first boss. Idia had invited you over to his room to test out games with him again - since the newest one was a solo game, the two of you decided to alternate every half an hour or so. You'd mainly spent up your first lot of time designing the avatar. You pursed your lips in regret, doubting you'd get the controller any time soon, if at all for the rest of the night.

That was only the first half of the downfall of Idia's gamer rage (the upside being the amusement of watching your usually awkward friend turning into someone who could rival an Overblotted person in anger). The second half was how his flame hair would unfortunately quickly shift from a calm blue to an enraged red the angrier he got, heating up the room the two of you were in. You hadn't minded during the autumn/winter season - if anything, you egged him on for more warmth - but now it was rolling into summer. Add that to the already ridiculous heat of Ignihyde and the lack of windows the dorm room had to open and you were in one of the most painful situations of your life.

It wasn't like you could just ask Idia to chill either. Last time he'd gotten annoyed over a game - weirdly enough being over Cooking Papa - and you'd told him to calm down, he'd given you a minute long high-speed lecture about how he couldn't do that because of this [beep] of a [beep] cooking instructor that couldn't [beep] even [beep] do his [beep] of a job right, like a [beeeeeep]. You'd had to concede defeat to make him stop - and if that was his reaction from Cooking Papa, how bad would it be from Souls of Dark?

At least when he was his awkward self Idia would somewhat listen (even if he usually misinterpreted what you said). Not that there was any way to make him switch back...

...or was there?

It was a bit of a gamble, but hey, you'd try anything at this point. Swinging your legs round, you looked at Idia's hair. Weirdly enough, even when it was slowly heating up like right now, it never seemed to be able to actually burn anything (learnt from a somewhat traumatic experience that Idia still gives you apology candy over). Still, you didn't want to take any chances.

"Idia?" You called.

The dorm head whipped round, eyes glowing in annoyance. "What- EH!?"

The squeal of surprise that came from the dorm head was, you thought happily, entirely your fault. Once he was facing you, you'd pushed yourself off of the bed and wrapped both your arms around his neck, your sleeves now rolled up so it was skin touching skin. Your knees were either side of Idia's, looking somewhat like you were straddling him.

"(y-(y-(y-(y-(y-(y/n)!?" Idia stuttered, somehow both frozen and shaking in surprise. "W-W-What are y-y-y-you...!?"

"Have you calmed down now?" You asked, keeping your chin on his shoulder to hide your growing smirk.

"C-Calmed down...?"

"Last time you went rage gamer mode, you chewed my ear off when I tried to calm you down." You told him. "I figured this would be more effective."

"O-Oh..." Idia's shocked expression turned into a sad one. "Of course... not like you'd want to hug me normally..."

Your smile instantly turned into a frown. You pulled your head back to look at him properly. Well, as properly as you could - the second the two of you made eye contact, he looked away in either shame or embarrassment. You moved you head again, straining your neck so you were at least somewhat looking him in the eye. He closed his eyes instead.

"Why wouldn't I want to hug you?" You asked him.

"Eh?" Idia finally looked you in the eye out of surprise. "Well, because no one really does... except from Ortho, but..."

"I wouldn't mind hugging you, Idia. I don't - I wouldn't be hugging you right now if I didn't want to."

"But you were just doing it to get my attention... it's fine, you don't have to spare my feelings... 2D hugs are all I need, after all..."

Guessing that words wouldn't convince him, you took your arms away from around Idia's neck. Idia breathed a momentary sigh of relief - momentary being the keyword, as his heart rate immediately began spiking again once you started unzipping his jacket.

Red spread across the pale boy’s face, reaching all the way up to his ears. "Wait, wait, wait! (y/n), this is too fast! Please, if you continue, my heart might...!"

Idia desperately tried to figure out a way convince you not to do what he was expecting. Apologise for raging? That was what got you angry in the first place, right? But then what if they were angry because Idia had sounded rude about the hug? He'd appreciated it! Really! Hugging someone 3D instead of clicking the option to hug his favourite character in an otome game or even hugging his body pillows had somehow felt amazing for a change! He'd even say he loved it! But, if (y/n) moved things on this fast, his heart might - no, it would definitely explode! So...!

"Idia?"

Idia didn't even notice you'd moved closer to him. Looking down, he saw you looking up innocently at him, sitting on his lap inside of his jacket and laying your head against his chest.

"I was gonna take your jacket off, but your arms were too stiff to take the sleeves off." You said, poking the top of his arm.

"O-Oh..." So you weren't going to do what he thought... wait, why was he disappointed!?

"You're really comfy, by the way," you continued, "What's your shirt made of?"

"Uh, I don't know..."

Then again, taking another glance down at you... this situation was kinda similar to one from an otome game, wasn't it? Where the love interest would accidentally trip into the MC's chest and stay there for a time longer than what normies usually would, or the love interest would snuggle into the MC for a hug for one of the standout cheesy moments accompanied with a CG... the more Idia thought about, the more his disappointment evaporated. Now the idea was in his head, though, he really wanted to hug you back...

"Oh, you dropped this." Your words snapped him out of his second trance.

You handed him his controller, then turned your attention towards the modified screen he'd built for his gaming sessions. Idia took the controller with a mumbled thank you. He turned his attention to the screen too, then blinked and looked down at you.

"Um... (y/n)...?"

"Oh, sorry, am I blocking your vision?" You shuffled down in his lap, resting the top of your head just below Idia's chin.

"Er, no, that's not what I... a-aren't you going to move?"

You shook your head, hair tickling Idia’s neck. "Nope."

"N-Nope!?"

You looked up at him with determination in your eyes. "You said I wouldn't want to hug you, so the rest of the time we're hanging out together, I'm gonna hug you. Okay?"

"O-Okay... wait, no, that's-!"

"C'mon," you pouted, "I promise not to backseat game too much!"

You let out a little laugh. Though Idia’s cheeks had somewhat cooled down, the happy noise escaping your lips was enough to dust them pink again. Well, it wasn't like he got to experience such otome-like scenarios frequently... letting just one scenario play out wasn't going to hurt him, was it?

"Fine..." Idia mumbled.

You let out a hum of approval and made yourself comfortable as Idia reloaded the checkpoint.

...

"YOU MOTHER-"

"Idia, you're going to give me heatstroke."

"S-Sorry...!"

[qforqazaq]

Ninety One – Men Emes

Okaaaay, people, here comes a long-awaited comeback from Ninety One that screamed, no, shouted so much culturally significant meta at me I could barely handle it. Ironically, when I was watching reactions to this MV, most people were so bloody oblivious to anything that was happening on the screen that I was painfully restraining myself not to slam my head on the table, but then remembered "oh, right, that's why I'm running this blog in the first place."

Okay, let's start with the video, shall we?

The opening scene is obviously with Alem because if 91's song doesn't start with Alem there's something definitely wrong with it.

Anyway, we have Alem looking like a mo-fo mafia boss, a Kazakh Don, if you like, in an office that's practically littered with KZ references. First, your eyes might catch those weird looking symbols on the desk, which are actually Orkhon-Yenisei runes - a script of Old Turkic tribes aka one of the direct ancestors of Kazakhs - that I was going to talk about for ages, but didn't have a good excuse to. So thank you Ninety One for bringing that up, I can unleash my inner linguistics nerd upon people regarding the subject in a separate post. The runes are actually read from right-to-left (because that's how it works) as "l" and "r", although I'm not sure of their implied meaning here. My theory that means just that: "left" and "right", for whatever deep reason.

So, while you're admiring Alem's outfit and hairstyle as he's showing off his results of perfecting The Stare™ (I had a theory his stares are so intent because his contact lenses keep drying up and it's his attempts not to blink much when cameras are on), you notice not only that Samsung is the main sponsor of this production (is it surprising?), but also that there's a picture of random people on the background, and a funny-looking statue next to the window. Except for that is not a picture of random people, that is actually a photo of the leaders of the Kazakh national movement/autonomy against Communists in the 1910s - Alash Orda, which I'm probably going to elaborate on in another post. For now, I'll just say that these were the writers, poets, social and political activists, the Kazakh Intelligentsia™, who were later prosecuted and repressed by the Soviet regime. Very important addition to the set if you ask me, and very deliberately chosen.

As for the funny-looking statue, that is a miniature "Balbal" of Kültegin or Kül Tigin, who was the General of the Second Turkic Khanate of the same Old Turkic people who used to write in the aforementioned Orkhon-Yenisei runic script. We can talk about it later on, for now, I can only say that 10 seconds into the video and my inner history nerd was screaming very much delightedly at these references. Didn't expect that much meta in such a short amount of time, eh? And we didn't even mention how cigars are allowed now, along with the whiskey-looking tea in a tumbler.

Anyway, then we are abruptly cut to AZ and, shortly after, ZAQ with an eagle. And no, it's not just a "lol, look, a bird", that's the Golden Eagle, a species that was trained and used for eagle hunting by the Kazakh nomads for centuries. Which is why we have it on our flag too. Btw, extra kudos to ZAQ for delivering his lines while having an eagle on his arm without its hood. I would have been more than slightly concerned if I were him.

If you don't know much about that aspect of nomadic life in Central Asia, I recommend watching the critically acclaimed documentary film The Eagle Huntress about Aisholpan - a 13 y.o. Kazakh girl from Mongolia being the first female mastering the art. FYI, it is narrated by Daisey Ridley aka Rey from Star Wars. Watch it.

The scene is black and white, and AZ and ZAQ are wearing suits which look very agreeable.

Then, we have the bridge that is delivered by very blond Bala, which isn't the best look on him in my opinion, but he's wearing a suit too, which is always a good idea. Bala, you must know, has perfected his camera acting and now successfully flirting with it without so much as breaking a sweat. Good job Juz, you know what you're doing.

Now, when we're done sharing niceties, can we, please, focus on the background - which is, of course, all lofty and fiery - specifically, on those symbols carved on the wall? And what are they? Yes, you guessed right: the Orkhon-Yenisei runes, yay. FYI, it says "QAZAQ", in its very palindromic fashion - the meaning here, I assume, is quite self-explanatory.

In one of the cuts we see that Bala is actually there with a dog. And, guess what, it's not just a dog, it's actually a Tazy - the Kazakh national hunting breed, of which, quite frankly, I did not know anything before researching for this MV. See, even I'm being educated here, I feel so enlightened.

After that, we have the chorus, and all five of them are first standing and then walking like a bloody band of gangsters, all suited and effortlessly cool, as if towards an important tét-a-tét with a competing band. My immediate association was Crows: Zero (I'm sure, my fellow Japanese weeboos get what I mean) - lots of shonen swag and badassery. I approve.

In the meanwhile, Bala is showing off his moves, again, very at ease, chill and relaxed.

Chorus moves to the second part of the song with another rap verse from ZAQ. Do you remember that set in the previous black-and-white scene with the rappers? This one is that same set i.e. a carcass and insides of a Yurt - a traditional nomadic portable house used by Kazakhs for centuries. We see ZAQ sitting in what looks like a Khan's throne with battle spears and fur skins of wild animals. And no, nobody is trying to offend animal rights activists and humanists, just trying to showcase the culture here, alright? As you've noticed hunting has always had cultural significance for Kazakhs, and, well, it's survival in the bloody Eurasian steppes we're talking about here, with windy -50°C in the winters you've got to wear something to protect from freezing over, you know.

ZAQ delivers his lines in his usual very efficient fashion, and we cut to Ace walking over to the race track, very stylishly so that it might as well be a car commercial, to a parked Ford Mustang (and, yay, we've got a budget for a nice car now!) that's drifting its tires out in the shots in-between. Did I mention Ace's wearing a suit? I'm telling you, a car commercial.

I have a feeling that a Mustang was chosen deliberately, a subtle shoutout to horses as another culturally significant symbol and animal for Kazakhs. They could've gone for a Ferrari for the sheer visual effect of it, but I suppose Samsung is generous, but not that much.

And then, we have a chorus with a dance break. Interestingly, despite the numerous cuts and camera angles, and even blinding background lights that obscure the view, I did not mind how the dance was shot. The choreography itself is nothing short of cool: very laid-back, effortless, with easy open moves and a masterfully feigned nonchalance. I know I'm using cool and effortless a lot, but what can I do, they are the keywords for this MV. I like those claps btw, remind me of hilarious dances in Kazakh weddings lol. Very ironic. In either case, my compliments to Asiya for her work, bravo.

While you're still getting over the choreography, you're introduced to AZ casually lying among many ladies in night gowns, and yes, we now are allowing this too along with cigars and whiskey-looking teas in tumblers. Don't get me wrong, AZ is wearing a modest pair of black silk shirt with black trousers (can't say the same about his wild tricoloured mess of hair), and evidently still can't take his hands off his nose (he does keep rubbing it), but the whole scene, the wide shot of it, looks so unapologetically hedonistic that it might as well be a Gucci Guilty commercial. Well, Ninety One definitely went all Gucci in this MV, so associations are unsurprising. Scrumptious.

The only cultural reference we've got here is the neon rune "r" on the background when AZ is sitting up.

Then, it goes back to the chorus with the guys standing with more fire in the background. There are other cuts from previous scene including the one with Alem throwing off 10000 Tenge bills with that photo on the back while staring into the camera.

Conclusion? A+ to the production team, especially set designers, Bibotta for the styling, and Yerbolat for knowing what looks good and what doesn't.

All and all, it was a good MV, a good break from artificially colourful secluded studio sets.

Now let's move to the music.

The song starts with, what I thought, those weird sounds from some Japanese instruments, but upon hearing the chorus my immediate reaction was "wait, is it a hip-hop beat from the early 2000s?"

Honestly, it isn't a very pop song. It screams hip-hop, and I dare say, this song was meant to be performed by the rappers only, which was somewhat proven true given that AZ and ZAQ were both writers and composers of Men Emes. Its hip-hop nature shows even in the structure: there are no vocal verses, only a bridge and a chorus performed by the vocalists, and everything else is just rap. And oh my, that's some rap, indeed.

First, can we just address, that once again the rappers of 91 managed to sneak up another controversial line bordering with vulgarity? I am talking about the first two lines of AZ's rap here, those who don't know what I am talking about, ask me about it later. The audacity though, huh. In either case, that got an incredulous chuckle out of me upon realisation. Congratulations, boys, mischief's managed.

AZ was his extravagant self in general, wouldn't say he brought a lot of literary value in this track, to be honest. Well, especially compared to ZAQ (and it is always difficult to compete with ZAQ's lyrics), who's just unleashed the study of "how many words and rhymes with "u" and "ü" sounds I can shove into one rap verse while making it sound intelligible and meaningful." And did so successfully, I must say. Personally was always astonished how masterfully he manages to use the vowel harmony - one of the linguistic traits of the Kazakh language - weaving syllables to the whole other level of wordplay. Lyrically, all cultural references in the MV seem justified, given how ZAQ is lamenting over how "his nation is moving with a snail speed" and such. With this, he is brushing the socio-political problems in the country, it seems. And it is very promising, as in this country high profile artists don't risk doing that.

(Btw, a mention of Surtur was another delightful nod to my inner nerd who loves Norse Mythology, and a reference to Cthulhu was rather amusing. Lovecraft wouldn't've minded.)

I had many problems with voices in this track. For some reason, I couldn't recognise half of them. I only clearly heard Bala, Ace's voice became obvious only when he moved to an octave higher, and I didn't even realise it was Alem singing in the beginning. Was very shocked to know that it was ZAQ, not AZ, rapping with that higher voice in the second part before switching to his usual old school style. We're trying different things, I see, though I wouldn't mind them toning down their tuner game a bit. I know who's singing what now only thanks to the MV.

To sum up, it's a very different 91 song. Not that it's very astounding in its originality with blending different genres in one as you'd expect, but it's probably refreshing to hear something bold, audacious, yet simple, very hip-hopesque circa 2001 from them. It seems they're deliberately trying to diversify their audience throwing a track like that. Which isn't bad at all, I rather enjoyed it. (By the way, those drums in the bridge section sounded almost tribal. Just saying.)

Despite the MV and song screaming "WEALTH", "SWAG", "COOL" and "SUAVE", I do not actually think it was only about showing off. Well, of course, a part of the message was a la "look what I've got in the end, despite all your judgement" with "you're not me" and all that. However, I think it was also targeting and mocking the spoiled kids of corrupt government officials or just corrupt rich "bosses" in general who always act as if rules and law are not made for them. "Yeah, you're cool, but not the coolest, might be rich, but not the richest, and even good-looking but not really. Don't be so full of yourself, you're not the centre of the universe" kind of message. And that imagery of Alem as a mafia boss in his office is juxtaposed with all those cultural artifacts hinting on what is actually more important and valuable, especially with the Kazakh cultural leaders of the 20th century watching from the picture on the wall. And Alem throws those bills as if saying "yes, I'm doing that, but it's just money, so what." Even AZ looks somewhat lost and empty-eyed lying there among girls when he's not trying to convince you how envious you should be right now.

Probably it's me reading too much into this, I don't know, but the MV only amplified the feeling that you've got to read between the lines, it isn't all about bragging.

For now I'll give the MV 9 out of 10, and the song is a solid 7.

Peace out ✌️