#especially since duets are now a thing. they should get one

[sugdendingle]

Everyone who watches 911 is entitled to have their opinions on the show. Good, bad, or indifferent. This goes the same for Buddie. But don't assume you can make posts talking about how "willfully delusional" you think people in your own fandom are simply because we're talking our cues from the show (and the people involved in it) and seeing the signs of Buddie canon without any push back.

I‘ve been watching this show for years and in my opinion we have never been closer to Buddie canon than we are now. This isn’t just fans seeing what we want to see this is everything that’s gone on with the show, it's creators, and cast since the promo for s7 started.

Before s7 even started Ryan and Oliver were doing tons of press together. There was more talk of Buddie than had ever been previously. We had Ryan and Oliver talking at the s7 premiere about how Buddie's relationship was changing and how they were going to be getting even closer.

During s7 we had more Buddie scenes than we had in recent seasons and not just like scenes of them working together but scenes that cemented their relationship and showed them becoming even closer than they'd been. Scenes like Eddie relying on Buck to help with Chris (multiple times during the season). Scenes like Buck talking about how worried he was about Eddie during the Kim stuff.

It's even more clear that Buddie canon is where things are headed when you look at how Tim chose to handle B/T vs Buddie in s7. If Tim was planning on making B/T a long term ship there were so so many times he could have done more to develop them and he didn't instead the development was put into Buddie.

704 was not about Buck trying to get T*mmy's attention it was about Buck having these big intense emotions he didn't know how to deal with or really understand (because they were about his best friend) and misplacing them onto T*mmy. If Buddie wasn't a part of the plan I don't believe Tim would have ever even included Eddie in that episode especially not the way he did. It would seriously be one of the stupidest moves the show could make. They know how much of their audience ships Buddie, hell people who don't even watch the show talk about Buddie.

Plus it's obvious that Buddie's karaoke scene in 706 was supposed to be a parallel to Maddie and Chim starting to realize their feelings for one another in 208 (when they did karaoke). But the karaoke scene was pulled once they were renewed for s8 when they likely decided to pause on Buddie happening and Eddie coming out until they had more time. Why else would they have them singing a karaoke duet to a love song (in Madney's wedding episode no less) if Buddie canon was never going to happen?

Then you had the very domestic scene in 707 with Buck commenting on Eddie's cologne and throwing food into his mouth. And zero mention of T*mmy in the entire episode. Then in 709 you had Buck looking at Eddie (not T*mmy) when he got his award. In 710 it was Eddie by Buck's side the whole time Bobby was at the hospital and the only scene B/T got was that dinner scene which didn't do one single thing to further develop that relationship.

Back to the bts of it all. Oliver liked and commented on Buddie stuff throughout s7. He also posted Ryan often on his stories. Most importantly he posted a pic of him and Ryan on the basketball court after the B/T kiss in 704. If I remember correctly after the B/T dinner scene in 710 he also posted something to do with Buddie too.

You also had Oliver saying in interviews that he sees what Buddie fans sees and we're not wrong. He also talked about Buddie as how it could work if it happens. Ryan also talked about Buddie happening and said it was baby steps for them to get there. Ryan also said in one interview (can't remember the exact wording) but it was something about who should lead like who should come out first and it was decided it was going to be Buck. But the way he worded it was very clear that both of them are supposed to come out not just one. Lou also talked about how it was originally going to be Eddie getting the queer storyline (with T*mmy) and instead they decided on it being Buck. Lou also talked early on about Buddie and B/T as T*mmy being someone that is basically getting Buck ready for Buddie.

I firmly believe that Oliver would not be interacting with Buddie stuff nor talking about Buddie as much as he has in interviews if he knew Buddie was never going to happen. He's said point blank before he stopped talking about Buddie in the past because he didn't want the fans to feel led on. I think this is part of why he hasn't really interacted with B/T shippers or anything much to do with that ship. He knows it's not meant to last and he doesn't want those fans to feel like he's lying to them.

I know people look at Ryan calling Eddie heterosexual during some of his s7 interviews as a sign that Buddie isn't going to happen but as soon as s7 was over and he had a couple of interviews he started using gender neutral phrasing and saying things like "partner". There was also an interview where he talked about how Buck is basically taking Shannon's place.

Now as we've started to get promo stuff for s8 a lot of the social media stuff has been revolving around Ryan and Oliver with it leaning more towards Ryan. This is similar to how it was for s7 only things were leaning more towards Oliver because of everything that took place with Buck. It's clear that Eddie is going to have a big storyline this season and it can't just be that he's missing Chris or going back to religion.

ABC and Tim know how popular Buddie is and they know how huge it will be for the show and their network to have Buddie go canon. It's why they're handling this very carefully. Honestly I don't think they would have even had Buck come out if they weren't at least considering Buddie because they would have known that the fans yelling for Buddie would only get louder once one of them was confirmed queer. And like I said earlier if they had no intention of Buddie they would have at the least been distancing Buck and Eddie and certainly wouldn't have made Buck's entire coming out episode all about him.

They also would have told the actors to limit talking about Buddie in interviews and the journalists wouldn't have been allowed to ask about Buddie. If you look back at previous seasons and the kind of interviews Ryan and Oliver had Buddie was rarely if ever talked about. That's because Fox did not want it to happen and networks can control what is talked about in official interviews. There's a reason Buddie was talked about so much during the s7 interviews. It's the same reason B/T has barely been talked about even though it should have been a much bigger deal being Buck's first relationship with a guy.

Oh also there was the person on twitter who claimed to have inside info for the show and proved that at different times during s7 with how they seemed to know stuff long before the episodes would air. They said that people behind the scenes had been trying to have Eddie come out in s5 and again in s7 it just hasn't worked out yet. This also fits with what Oliver said that Buck was originally supposed to come out in s4. This fits too with the shooting storyline and the panic attacks early on in s5. Buck would have had his bi awakening in s4 and maybe his feelings realization after the shooting. This would lead to Eddie having his queer awakening during the whole Ana storyline in s5. But Fox shut all of that down.

My point in all of this is that there's a lot of evidence to back up why Buddie fans are so sure about Buddie canon this time. More so than any other season. It's not just us seeing the show through our buddie tinted glasses. It's the most logical outcome at this point. Sure we could all be wrong and the show could leave us heartbroken but at the same time it's still fun to be excited and hopeful about the show.

Oh and one more thing. I get it if you don't like Eddie's mustache, we all have things we find attractive or don't for whatever reason. But continually comparing Eddie, a Mexican man who many lgbtq people relate to and see as queer coded, to characters you describe as "violent and abusive" or a "corrupt cop" just feels all kinds of wrong to me.

Again like I already stated above Buddie canon and Eddie being queer might not happen but there is plenty of evidence to back up why people see Eddie as a queer character. In some ways he's been far more queer coded than even Buck has been. To get upset at people for seeing the mustache as another sign of queer coding makes zero sense to me. You can think it looks unattractive but mustaches have a long history of symbolism in queer men's culture. This isn't just about thinking it looks like Freddie Mercury it's that mustaches (especially ones that look like Eddie's this season) have often by used by queer men as a signifier of their sexuality to other queer men. So the idea that the show is using it as an early sign to the audience that that's where they're taking his character isn't totally out of the realm of possibility.

You are free to disregard all of the facts I just pointed out. You are free to see the show how you want. But you're not free to insult the people in your own fandom and then act surprised when people don't want to follow you or even go so far as to block you because they're tired of the negativity. I mean we get enough of that from B*mmy stans we don't need it in our own fandom too.

If the fandom and the show is causing you to be unhappy it might be time to consider taking a break.

[stardustwriting]

Ein in 🚸

Major spoilers for future plot going all the way to my potential rewrite of emerald secret

Music that I refound that reminded me if Aphmau (hero) and Ein (villain)

So Ein, as many of us have grown to realize was not a great villain. Hardly a proper antagonist. Looking back everything he did had reasonable explanation as to why it happened and just WASNT dealt with properly (no seriously he was a 16 yo boy with superiority issues and no concept of the real world after going to an ALL WEREWOLF school. He walked in already the omega with NO one showing him the ropes. Not even the supposed alpha, Aphmau. But I digress)

Ein deserved to be a better villain, especially after OVER six years of plotting Aphmau and her friends’ demise.

This is how I imagine it (vaguely, because I still don’t wanna spoil too much despite my warning):

this is long btw

Ein: sent from an all werewolf school and environment (his parents are definitely neglectful because even in this version that’s INSANE to do without prep)

Aphmau, at this time, is alpha and is notified of a new member of the pack

This kid is quiet and keeps sniffing her but sure whatever.

”You can’t be alpha you’re a human”

“Are you gonna fight me about it?”

“No, youre still female (or some other excuse)”

“Pick a struggle”

Ein is adverse to Aphmau at first but realizes how well she fits in and warms up to her. Reallllllyyyy close.

Her being nice to him does not help his feelings but what is she gonna do? NOT be nice to him?

Ein is still a werewolf supremacist

Ein is treating Meif’was poorly and Humans the worst

Aphmau doesn’t like that: “yknow I’m human right?”

Ein is still racist

Ein gets an idea

“That wouldnt be a problem if you were a werewolf”

”I’m not. now be nice”

Ein is still racist.

Ein likes his idea

Ein is doing weird shit until he lashes out on Kai and get expelled (yup it’s that bad)

Ein is bitter and still tries to creep on Aphmau

She tries to talk to him.

”Become a werewolf for me”

”no”

”Why?!”

”Because it’s not right. I’ll be in pain for so long.”

”I’ll take care of you”

”Ein, no.”

”You don’t care about me.”

”That’s not-“

”if you did you’d do it.”

yikes. Anyway

she eventually moved away to college (and likely even gets a restraining order)

college, mystreet, love love yadda yada

holy shit ein

omfg he’s still racist

a racist with power

not good

Anyway I really want to focus on him being a werewolf supremacist and avoidant of change and anything. Because he wants Aph sooooo bad. It’s NEVER that serious.

And another thing:

We’re not having no ADULT beat a high schoolers ass idc if Ein is a senior in my version, Aaron coming to beat his ass shouldve neverrrrr happened. You’re TRESSPASSING.

other things I should mention:

Garroth, Laurance, Dante, Gene, Aaron, Katelyn, Lucinda, and Teony ALLLLLL graduate before any of this even happens. So Aphmau just has (basically) her Not Alone Buddies, Kai, Blaze (💜💜✨✨💞💕💕💞💞) and the SKs MAYBE. I would say The Pups too but they’re definitely scared of Ein.

Ein isnt new. He’s been there since freshmen year but werewolves just ignore him. He doesn’t really speak unless spoke to

Ein and Aaron actually would’ve gotten along despite their opposing opinions of werewolves

Uhm that’s it

PLEASE ASK ME ABOUT THIS HOOLIGAN ‼️‼️ or anything else if you want 🥺👉🏾👈🏾✨

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure 02 - Christmas Fantasy (Music CD)

An 02-specific Christmas album that came out in the year 2000, how fun. I wish more anime had their own Christmas albums, I think that's pretty rare. Well, the 2000s were kinda a renaissance era for random character songs I think. (Take me back!)

This album is pretty short and sweet but has some real gems in it! I'll definitely be adding it to my "Weeb Christmas" playlist lol.

Minna no Christmas (Everyone's Christmas)

Video with English subs

A super generic Christmas song sung by the Butter-Fly dude (Wada Koji)! I believe this was used as bgm at one point? Anyway, it's charming enough. I wish it was more of a digimon song though. This could have come from any anime.

It's always interesting to see the more western version of Christmas being celebrated in Japan. Since this is a show for kid's we get the version with Santa and presents rather than the romantic one seen in anime with older characters.

In the beginning of the song he mentions hanging stockings "by the window" instead of a fireplace which makes sense for apartment dwellers. I think that's the only less traditional thing I noticed.

Jingle Bells (Sung by Takeru and Iori)

Video with English subs

Hell yeah, now this is what I'm talking about! We get a Takeru-Iori duet which feels like a rare treat. On top of that there's a little interlude where they talk about what Christmas presents they should buy their digimon. Adorable!

They mention buying Patamon a haramaki (belly warmer)...Frontier reference? This came out a few years before that series though...

This one is really fun to sing along to lol

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (Sung by digimon)

Video with English subs

Woah, I wasn't expecting the English lol. They did a good job except they said "mistle too" instead of "mistle toe" hehe.

I've never heard this song in Japanese before. They changed the lyrics to reveal that Santa = Papa which I think kinda goes against the point of the original song lol. (The kid's not supposed to know that!)

They call the 02 digimon "Jogress Shinkers" which I believe is a pun on "shinka (evolution)" and "singer." Looks weird in an English context, but it's kinda cute.

Silent Night (Sung by Hikari and Miyako)

Video with English subs

Damn, I forgot how religious Silent Night is. Well, it's still pretty. This one had no extra digimon nuggets in it, they just sang the song. It was interesting to hear the Japanese version of it.

Wish someone would do fan animations for these songs. Everyone looks so cute in their Santa outfits.

Daisuke and Ken's Shopping Carol

ASDFGHJKL omg, I got my wish! This one DOES have a fan animation and it's amazing! (Please watch!)

This is the best day of my life lol. This one was amazing. The banter, the goofy chorus, Ken and Daisuke calling each other "baby" (?) A must listen. (Especially if you're a shipper).

Ken mentions buying a present for Osamu at the end (and Wormmon) 😭

Angel's Prayer (sung by AiM)

Video with English subs

I remember this song from the show (insert song). It's technically sung by Mimi's voice actor, but not in character. It has generic nonsense lyrics about dreams coming true and being reborn as an angel. You know, just stuff that was thrown in to sound magical.

I'm not the biggest fan of this one, but I think it was smart to place it at the end of the album. It feels like this is the ending theme and Minna no Christmas is the opening, nice little bookends.

[a0wz]

On The Edge of Great Micro Cues

I watched all of Julie and The Phantoms in one day and now I'm obsessed. For the past couple days I've been watching and rewatching the clip from them preforming On The Edge of Great and kicking my feet over the small details that built up to Luke's riff and surprise duet at the end of the song. None of my friends will watch the show so here's a list of all the small details that make me squeel like I'm in middleschool again.

1. Initial Disappointment in Julie not hyping him up like she does with the other guys

It's always been her thing, ever since their first performance, to go to each member and interact with them while they play but when Julie skipped Luke, his smile immediately dropped and he does a double take.

After that moment he looked back at Julie hoping to catch her eye but she's too far.

2. He outwardly invites her to interact with him

This is one of my favorite little moments! In my head Luke probably thinks he gave off a vibe that he didn't want Julie's attention or didn't want to be close in that moment making her overlook him. SO he shows her that he wants her energy, making a clear gesture for her to come closer to him.

Julie obviously noticed the invitation but also obviously ignores it.

3. Luke isn't as energetic when preforming after that.

Luke is less excited and even looks sad that he was ignored. This is so heartbreaking to see!!

4. Alex and Regie Notice

First Alex looked to Julie knowing she isn't giving as much attention to Luke as she usually does. Then Reggie checks in with Luke by going to his side and they both give a look to Julie. Luke looks at her longingly.

These nuances make a massive impact. The actors do a fantastic job expressing the little things real life long friends would. They should be able to tell when somethings off even in the middle of a high importance preformamce.

5. Luke demands her attention

By now we all know the riff was thaught of by Charlie to have Luke try and get Julie's attention and what a magnificent idea it was. Luke has always been quite bold especially when it comes to pushing Julie (for better or for worse). Not only is this a wonderful display of the character but a great display of nonverbal communication where the motive is clear and unmistakable. Luke can't go on with Julie ignoring him and will do what he can to get her attention.

6. And his spark is back!

Luke immediately gets a boost of energy going full in on his performance now that he has the security of knowing things between him and Julie are still the same.

7. Pushing the line

Not only is Luke happy but he's more than excited to push the line between them. Surprising Julie with a duet sharing the mic like they always do but with an intensity that is unmatched.

This is hands down my favorite display of micro cues in the show. There's no overdone plot of him acting foolishly just to get her attention or her fumbling over herself trying to hide her feelings. Things are mutual but unspoken

[flowering-darkness]

A few notes for my most recent selfship render, with the If You Are An Echo caption:

As mentioned on the post itself, this is of Aria and Clio, but not in the usual KHUX version of events. Instead it’s set in Origins, an RP campaign run by one of my friends in which I play the pair (plus some other characters!). Clio keeps fairly similar to her KHUX self in terms of backstory, but Aria’s situation is very different, which leads to a fun new dynamic. I’m really excited to get to develop our relationship further in this contest as we all play through more of the RP!

This is one of, if not the, first render(s) I’ve done where I’ve actually used a rule of thirds overlay to try and have good composition while in MMD. The vertical lines go through Aria and Clio, intersecting with the horizontal ones at about both of our chests; I would have aligned them with our heads, but pushing things up a bit helped get the long/drawn-out? perspective that I wanted (as did increasing the FOV value in MMD). I like to think it makes the background, where Aria is, feel more looming than the foreground, where Clio is.

The shadows cast over the background objects are in there by default, but the shadows cast by Aria and Clio are “custom-made by me”, in that the default ground shadows from MMD looked weird and transparent so I had to turn them off and then edit something in behind us after the fact. I think I did alright with them, though.

I actually also rendered (and even edited) alternate angles that better show our respective expressions, but the overall posing felt.. flat, especially in Aria’s case. Clio is better because she’s turning around, but then her expression was hard to get right in a way that reflected her thoughts properly while still feeling “selfship-fitting” (since- we aren’t actually together yet as of the current point in the RP, which is about where I’ve set the render even if this specific scene doesn’t explicitly happen in-story). I was trying to keep things readable and setting the right vibe from the long distance at which I’d set the camera, which I do think I achieved decently, but.. doing so made things a bit too stiff for front-angle closeups.

(The distance is also the reason why this render is such a high resolution, so that it’s still possible to see details on Clio and Aria. This turned out to be less than ideal because MMD would Not Be Happy with me trying to render the image files, to the point of often freezing completely. If nothing else it encouraged me to always save before trying to render something, but was still not helpful for the workflow.)

The song I used for the caption ‑ which is called If You Are An Echo ‑ fits for multiple reasons. One is that, as I mentioned on the post itself, its lyrics feel fitting for Clio’s current situation. She’s been encountering Aria in her dreams ever since coming across her in the waking world (in which she was clearly an antagonist), and she(?) seems to be showing a far different side while in Clio’s dreams, and Clio isn’t really sure what to make of it all or how much she should go along with her feelings. I think the lyrics and tone of the song reflect that quite nicely, as they’re indecisive but wanting to know more.

The sillier reason why this song fits as a caption is because it’s partially sung by SOLARIA, despite in fact being written to be one of ASTERIAN’s demo songs (since he duets with her in it later on). I see SOLARIA as one of my romantic F/Os as I have a selfship with her (using my self-insert who’s also an UTAUloid, Seralune), but I’ve also said in the past that my voice claim for Clio’s voice is ���an English-accented SOLARIA with extra gender parameter” (so her voice is a bit deeper than default). So it’s always fun getting to imagine Clio fitting or singing songs that are sung or covered using SOLARIA, hehe~

..I wrote much more here than I was expecting to, and am now extremely exhausted, so will be going to bed now. However, I hope you enjoyed reading these notes if you so chose to! It’s always fun for me getting to talk about the things and details that go into the works I make for my selfships, whether it’s word choice in writing or pose decisions in renders. So, thank you for reading! ^-^

[purecommemasolitude]

There’ve been criticisms about Darry being too mean or too cruel in the musical, and I get where those people are coming from, but — and speaking as someone who hasn’t seen or listened to it but has listened to the soundtrack and follows the information account like the paper — I think this phenomenon stems from two things

First, on the side of the discussers, a lack of exposure to the musical as an actual piece of material instead of (occasionally very out of context) lines or screenshots. Obviously seeing the musical, even if one lived in New York, would be expensive as all get out, and even audios and boots are pretty hard to find for this show, but there are many details and contexts that change how lines on the page should be interpreted that simply cannot be gleaned through, well, lines on the page. As someone who has dabbled in acting & directing, and has spent time analyzing play texts in depth, delivery and direction can change everything. The entire sentiment of a line can be the opposite of what you’d expect if you took the line at face value, and unless that’s explicit in the stage directions, it can go unrealized if one is merely reading the script (which, as an aside, is exactly why I find analyzing play excerpts tricky — because without a performance or direction, scripts are often so ambiguous and versatile that they could go any way). And honestly, despite also being someone who unfortunately does not benefit from first hand knowledge of the musical, I feel like this is very evident in discussion of Darry in the show. For example, none of his lines in, say, Runs in the Family (Reprise) should be taken at face value, because if you’ve even listened to the song you can tell he’s completely spiralling and hitting a breaking point. This is a state that, historically, causes people to say things they’d never believe in real life. We’re not meant to believe Darry would ever walk out on his brothers, we’re meant to hear him talk about it and understand how deep of a breakdown he is having. As a less obvious example, from what people online have said, Darry spends the last twenty or so minutes of the musical in tears. Again, the things he says here aren’t necessarily the things he believes, or things that he’s expressing coolly or off-handedly because they line up 1:1 with his worldview, they’re things he says when he’s desperate and struggling and has no idea what the correct path is when his brother & responsibility has effectively been comatose since the deaths

Which brings me to my next point!

One of the most known things about the musical, even to people who aren’t very familiar with it, is that it goes more in-depth on Darry’s trials and tribulations, so to speak. He gets one solo at status quo, another (mostly) solo when he gets his breakdown, and a (mostly) duet in his own self-described darkest hour during Pony’s absence. All three of these songs go into detail about what his life is like and how much he’s been struggling, and even songs that aren’t about him emphasize this feature of his more than in the book: his description by Ponyboy in Tulsa ’67 & Great Expectations reminding the audience of his life’s path, his verse in GGAH making it clear that his life is a very different one with arguably more severe burdens compared to the other boys. Other than the three most important characters of the original narrative, he is now undoubtedly the most important and developed character — which makes sense in a musical format, because with the story of The Outsiders it would’ve been pretty much impossible to do a true ensemble cast other than the main three while doing any of them justice, especially if they’d kept Steve as a principle (rip king). But I digress. In my opinion, being clearer on Darry’s hardships actually gives the musical space to show him as saying crueller things, to have him make more mistakes and mess up worse. In the book, we’re clearly meant to sympathize with him by the end, but we only get Ponyboy’s infamously flawed and unreliable narration as the lense through which to view him. As such, if we went too hard into Darry messing up, while 3/4 of the book have Ponyboy going “yeah Darry’s a rock and doesn’t love me or anyone”, he ultimately would’ve come across a lot worse and a lot harder to “redeem” in the eyes of the reader (personally I never disliked him, but I’ve seen enough accounts of people who hated him on their first go at the story to know it is not an uncommon sentiment). He already slaps his brother and argues with him all the time; it would’ve been even more legwork to make him liked if he’d also been saying harsher things and making more mistakes. In the musical, however, we get that objective perspective that’s missing in the book. Ponyboy’s not narrating to us the lyrics of Throwing in the Towel, he’s not even present for the events of Throwing in the Towel! It’s a lot easier to understand and forgive mistakes if one is familiar with the psyche behind those mistakes, and the musical delivers that psyche to us at every turn. Because the audience understands Darry Curtis and how hard it is for him to hold on, the audience also has more understanding and forgiveness for when he’s spiralling. It’s also just a more specific proof of his plight — three songs with first-hand, emotionally explicit lyrics penetrate the uninvested understanding a lot easier than a second-party description of circumstances. Due to its nature and promotion of Darry’s importance, the musical simply gets more freedom to show an arguably more realistic version of him.

Also, I do believe that Darry in the musical is just that much closer to the edge than he is in the book, which is a valid character choice in an inherently emotional and transformative medium such as the musical adaptation 🤷🏻‍♀️

[rockermazy]

All singing in the show is canonically diegetic - meaning that all singing 100% takes place in-universe, for all the characters to hear and potentially participate in.

In the first (non-pilot) episode, the " Story of Hell" book, as read by Charlie, states that Lillith "empower[ed] demon-kind with her voice and her songs - and as the numbers of Hell grew, so did its power." After the extermination began, Lilith's "dream was passed down to her precious daughter, the Princess of Hell", who is presumably Charlie herself. Two scenes later, Charlie is in musical-notation hammerspace with other denizens, being the cognito hazard that she is.

In episode 7, Rosie invites Charlie to rally Cannibal Town in defending the hotel during the upcoming extermination. When Charlie initially fails, Rosie asks how she normally explains her hotel. Charlie replies, "Through singing". Singing is canonically a gift of both Charlie and every demon - both Hellborn and Sinner.

Which leads me to a theory: One thing that's been nagging me since the pilot, is how Lucifer and Lilith have been fucking for nearly 6,000 years, but only NOW decided to have a daughter in the 21st century. It makes Charlie's existence look almost Mary Sue-ish*. After watching Helluva Boss, it made more sense that Charlie might be an "insurance baby", much like Octavia is to Stolas' lineage. Lucifer might not be unkillable. Carmine and the hotel battle of episode 8 have both demonstrated that angels can be killed with the right ammunition. But why was Charlie born now, in the 21st century? My theory is that Heaven asked Lilith to leave Hell, hoping she'd take her song with her. Heaven knew that Lilith was the one making Hell stronger through her songs. Charlie uses song to rally the people around her.

Husk used song to heal.

Song, even when used to butt heads, (ex: Lucifer vs Alastor), will make combatants drop valuable info, basically outing themselves to everyone within earshot in this universe.

My guess is that a conversation sometime in the past went something like this: Heaven: Lilith, bitch - we see what you're doing. Stop teaching Hell how to sing - the bonding and wholesomeness is threatening our status quo." Lilith: No. Heaven: Fine, we'll exterminate. Lilith: (years later, looking at Carmine's charts) hmmm... the number of sinners getting exterminated each year seems to be climbing. Heaven might want all of us dead. Hey, Luci-boo... get your depressed-ass over here. You wanna make a kid this time? (Waits til Charlie is somewhat grown, and asks Heaven for a "meeting".) Lilith: ok, I have got an offer you cannot refuse - I will never EVER sing again, and my power will leave with me - IF you give me a spot in Heaven (or Earth - I should technically be immortal since I never touched the Forbidden Fruit). Heaven: um... win for everyone? ok! Charlie herself (for lack of a better term) might be Lilith's "ace in the hole" herself. Also, this makes me wonder if the only way to avoid lying is to avoid singing on the topic XD

*I have nothing against mary sues. I'd been wanting for years now to do something visual describing the internal turmoil that religious trauma caused in my The-Cell-starring-J-lo --like inner worlds. Telling personal stories and Mary Sues are inextricably intertwined. This show has inspired me to either keep pursuing that or just quit. Because picking apart past trauma for analysis can be more trouble than its worth - especially if you are ready to forget. u.u I still get deep chills every time I hear Emily and Charlie's duet in "You Didn't Know", even though I've officially considered myself atheist for like, what, three months?" This shit was an essay. I'm just going to play Warframe instead. Peace.

[ceoofshadowdust]

So, headcanons.

To be perfectly honest, this is the first time I'm sharing headcanons and hopefully will not get thrown into a fiery pit for them. (These headcanons are about Shadow milk cookie and Stardust cookie, unsurprisingly)

I might turn them into either doodles or short fics, but we'll see. (If you wish, you are more than free to do the same with these headcanons, just tag me so I can see them immediately and nuke you with support. That and do give credits if you plan on making a fic if they're based on any of them, please and thank you)

Note: blue text is a Shadow milk cookie headcanon and purple text - Stardust cookie headcanon

Before their meetup:

- Stargazing - Shadow milk cookie was never fond of stargazing, finding it boring and a ridiculous way to waste your time. Despite that, he would occasionally do so when he's too tired to do much else, but not so sleepy to just fall asleep. There are times he would hum a tune or two while he looks through the window on his room.

- on a similar note, he most definitely has suffered from insomnia due to overworking himself and staying up late before his corruption. Some habits never die. At least it's not so severe thanks to Stardust cookie.

- Observation - Stardust cookie didn't know anything about SMC, so when he saw from afar a black and blue jester doing small acts and performances for the stars in a spire, he couldn't help but be intrigued and fascinated at the same time. It oddly made him feel less lonely in the sky.

- Brightness of a star - given that Stardust cookie is a star, in the sky he is often mistaken for a Northen star or simply a constellation thats stars are quite bright.

- Loneliness - normally in his theatre room, he would have all kinds of puppets or dolls who would fill up the empty seats, but even then, the place felt empty, especially when Candy Apple cookie & Black sapphire cookie are not around for whatever reason it may be. Yet, when making the same acts in front of a window where he could clearly see the stars in the dark sky, it brought a sense of closure, as if someone truly was watching him and was applauding from afar.

Now for some cute little headcanons:

- Preening - Stardust cookie used to be embarrassed about it, but he likes cleaning up Shadow milk cookie's hair and overall attire by just picking up a dandruff or a string of hair. He is less ashamed of it in his full form (or as I like to consider it, his harpy form).

- On a similar note, in said form, he also tends to be more affectionate by mostly giving Shadow milk cookie kisses with his nose or simply rubbing his face a little against SMC. They would often cuddle when he's in that form, with Stardust wrapping his wings around SMC and rest his head on either SMC's shoulder or head.

- A dance for the star - since Stardust cookie loves spending time with him, Shadow milk cookie would come up with either a new duet to act out or a new dance as a surprise, so SMC is the one that guides Stardust cookie with blue strings (if necessary, of course).

- Love languages:

Shadow milk cookie's love language is physical touch, words of affirmation (especially from Stardust) and quality time.

Stardust cookie's love language is quality time and acts of service (and somewhat physical touch, but usually prefers giving the affection rather than receiving it).

Could come up with more, but this is all I got at the moment. If any of them sound somewhat out of character, then I do apologise for that (especially for Stardust's headcanons), I kind of am going based on how likely they would do certain things. =^="

(As much as I should chill with the art, I can't, still, have the sillies. The first one is like..2-3 weeks old, lol)

[restinslices]

Would u be down doing earth realm boys or Lin Kuei boys doing karaoke? U can write whoever you want first

It is currently 9:32am and I have not been to sleep since 6pm yesterday. I feel delusional. If something doesn’t make sense, blame that.

No

Moving on-

I’m joking but Bi-Han gives me the vibes that he only moves his arm during Just Dance and complains because “it only tracks your arm! You don't have to do anything else!”

That's not the point. Have some fun and bust a move 

If you beg enough, he just might crack depending on the day

Thing is though, he's not really speaking. He's just saying the lyrics

Y'all are also not doing this in public. This is something y'all would do at home with a youtube video in the back 

You're singing your heart out (even if you can't sing) and he's literally just speaking 

You: SLIPPING THROUGH MY FINGERS ALL THE TIME, I TRY TO CAPTURE EVERY MINUUUUTTTEEE ♫ 💃🏾

Him: The feeling in it😐

Honestly idk why you'd even wanna karaoke with him

Telling him he's killing the vibe won't work either. He's either doing it his way or not at all 

He's also picky when it comes to songs

Prefers slower songs 

Which is wild because like?? You're hardly participating 

A short karaoke session. Only does a few songs or one long one 

Only long song I can think of rn is American Pie 

And he'd pick that one specifically so he can be one and done 

Also probably picks random ass sad songs. Bi-Han I do not wanna hear that right now 

He says he doesn't like it but gets offended if you ask Kuai Liang or Tomas instead of him. He wants to be asked and say no. Don't just ask them 

Give him a little performance. He'll roll his eyes but if you don't then he'll think something is wrong 

Prefers karaoke with just you two. I know I said private beforehand but he means it. Just you two alone in a room. He refuses to do his lackluster ass singing in front of people 

However, if his mood is better than it usually is, you could talk your way into letting his brothers join. Especially if you promise he won't have to sing as much 

Yes on occasions 

It's not frequent but that's just because he's busy. Not because he doesn't like it 

Idk if he can sing and I'm not getting a certain vibe but he'll do it anyway 

Cannot do any fast songs or faster parts because he'll have an aneurism

Pulls out the most random old song his father showed him when he was younger 

Likes duets because he can sing lower than you, so he's still participating but can't be heard 

Not a short session but not necessarily long. He just gets tired at some point 

Will gladly listen to you though. Even if your voice is straight ass 

It's bonding so it's fine and you're happy 

Also does it privately but for different reasons. Bi-Han is “I refuse to let anyone hear this”, and Kuai Liang is “no one should have to suffer and hear this”

Also idk how often they leave their home for casual shit so going to an actual karaoke place is foreign to him 

Probably likes love songs as well 

Giving him or Tomas a mini concern will result in lots of laughter even if he tries to hide it at first 

He's not singing his heart out but he's not just saying the lyrics. He's doing a decent job 

Enjoys listening to you more than he enjoys actually singing because of how expressive you are 

He'll never turn down free entertainment 

Idk why but I feel like he'd wanna sit by you while doing karaoke or have you sit on his lap

I just imagine it's really cute and the karaoke video is playing on your phone while cuddled next to him 

Idk, maybe I'm just a simp for him 

I just think he's a little romantic at heart fr. Singing stupid ass corny shit while being close 

Sometimes it'd be spur of the moment. If you start, he'd listen 

It's an activity he’d be down for every once in awhile 

Willing to do karaoke the most often 

Probably feels bad for being busy so when he's not he's like “yeah totally”

The one brother to not do only slow songs 

I think he also will have an aneurism if he tries to do faster parts of a song 

But he can sing songs at a so called normal pace 

Invites his brothers to join

Probably invites the Earthrealm champions and Syzoth too. It's turning into a party 

He hardly does anything fun so he's taking advantage of this 

Is probably also cuddled next to you

It's disgusting to everyone else 

Tomas either has a very heavenly voice or a voice that would frighten the most vicious monster 

Either way, he's hitting a high note 

I don't think he's been to a karaoke place either so it's probably not there 

It honestly could be at Johnny's place. Johnny didn't kick his ass so he doesn't feel rage in his heart when he sees him 

I think he's a pop girlie

Enjoys karaoke because it brings everyone together and it's an activity that won't cause some sort of trauma or death 

Hopefully 

Maybe 

He's isolated and bored all the time 

I don't think it's frequent because his schedule but if you want to and he's free then he's down 

Also cool with private karaoke between the two of you 

Doesn't necessarily have a preference 

Probably doesn't have a favorite song either. It changes depending on the day 

I have not been able to sleep properly since last week or so. I’m losing my grip on reality 😀

[crooked-wasteland]

Hazbin Hotel LiveBlog: Scrambled Eggs

So I’m watching Hazbin with my partner who has already seen the entire series. It took us 5 minutes just to get this episode to play from the beginning because it would just skip to episode 4 while the credits where playing before i could pause or rewind. That has nothing to do with the show, it just made me unbelievably enraged, so we ain’t going into this episode happy.

What is with the cat?

It’s been a week since the last episode and every ounce of progress Sir Pentious made last episode is just thrown out as an excuse to introduce yet another character in Carmella. Was there not another way to do this? Like I get Sir Pentious wouldn’t be reformed, but just having him be suddenly paranoid with no reason isn’t founded. Even just a background detail of Angel Dust watching him from a doorway would have been enough to found that suspicion. Especially when Pentious wasn’t shown to be paranoid as a trait. I get this is narrative utilitarianism, but it’s just weak and changing one character’s personality to establish a new one is poor writing.

Sir Pentious to his eggs just feels like fandom

“That’s a lot less hot” That feels out of character

So Trust exercises to tone down the sudden change in Sir Pentious’ character and also to give Vaggie a leading role. Got it. Very utilitarian, very disjointed from the previous episode.

Sidebar, I googled who wrote this episode and it wasn’t Vivienne, however I never would have known because the last episode was equally full of contradictions that it also felt like someone else wrote it. Now maybe that was because Adam had a hand in thing, but The fact I have to google this stuff to know for sure is a joke kin its own right.

I am so conflicted about Niffty. She feels less childlike here and I like find her demented fun, but last episode she was literally written as being child-like so the pain fetish going on is repulsive, despite it not being this writer’s fault. If I want to enjoy anything about this show, I really have to just see every episode as one singular complete entity without calling back on previous ones, however this is a series and thus needs to expand itself through subsequent episodes. To not do so is a failure of concept because this series is very serialized. So in a bubble I really enjoy Niffty. In the series she is a very uncomfortable character to give violent fetishes to and make them so overt. Vivienne ruined that for you all, don’t blame me. Someone should have said how this should have been scrapped before we got this far.

Zestial is suggesting that Alastor may have died at Heaven’s hand. Alastor looks away while laughing. So there is a connection between Heaven and Alastor.

Egg Bois are cute.

Carmella has a bad case of Character Design does not match vocal performance.

Velvette, please never speak again.

Velvette is now 5 inches tall

The yellow blood looks like piss

Can someone tell Lilli Cooper that a lot of British singers don’t have such strong accents when singing. Just please, it’s a great time top drop that bad accent.

James, hi, your singing voice lost the character

The kink shaming be real.

Even Charlie infantalizes Niffty. Geez

This scene in the Turf war was peak Angel Dust. I laughed.

I have to ask, was the music written before or after the singing, because for one, Carmella sounds like she is trying to be heard over it, and second the beat of the music is either lacking or there was an issue with the audio mixing because it just sounds wrong. Like there are melodies and harmonies to a score and one of those is missing. OR, the music is just out of sync entirely with the performer.

Again, just don’t have Vaggie sing. You directed the actor to perform out of her vocal range for her modal voice. Don’t do this to her.

They are not at all harmonized, this is the worst duet I ever heard. Don’t you usually have singers record duets together so they can harmonize their voices? Why didn’t that happen here.

So this big conflict for Vaggie was never a conflict. Best resolution ever.

I like Carmella’s concept. Her character design is kinda trash and the songs were terrible. There was a good idea somewhere in this episode, but from beginning to end every aspect was contrived to just make the story work for the greater plot, the dynamics between the characters be damned. There is a sense of someone wanting to have fun with it while Medrano’s stood behind them with a chokehold on the narrative. It’s disappointing and I feel the writing suffers from Medrano’s obsessive and frantic need for control. This writing feels so insecure and I can only imagine that comes from having a very narrow box to fill.

2/10

I’m taking a break.

[queen-erika-the-songful]

First thoughts on Barbie & Teresa: Recipe for Friendship

(these are incoherent notes I took during my first watch through)

Okay, opening up by cooking tamales is interesting

The song is not interesting though

Abuela Carmen not having a written tamale recipe is so real. I only learned my Mom's enchilada recipe from watching her.

I like the mini tamale lesson. I hope that gets kids wanting to make their own.

Nikki and Brooklyn's hairstyles are great! I wish Malibu and especially Teresa got new hairstyles too.

Ooh, specific location alert! Abuela Carmen is from Zacatecas. That's actually really great that they put in a specific place instead of just "Mexico". Not that it would've been bad to just say "Mexico", but I like that they name an actual city.

I love the platter and apron being family heirlooms. I wonder if the platter is going to break.

Nikki spent Christmas with Teresa? I like that! Actual info on how Malibu's friends are friends to each other and not just her.

Mentioning the tamale-Christmas connection is awesome!

I actually really want to make tamales now.

Teresa and Abuela Carmen having random Spanish is slightly annoying but it comes with territory of having a bilingual Latin American character in media so I guess I'll deal with it. I mean at least she speaks Spanish.

Wait, Brooklyn's family still has their old house??They're paying for a house in NYC and LA at the same time??

Oh hi Emmie I forgot you were gonna be here.

This duet between the Barbies seems a bit time-waste-y. Like we don't need to know how good friends THEY are right now. This is Teresa's movie! Plus the song itself isn't that good. How is this the same team that gave us the SLA and BCBC soundtracks???

As nice as it is to see Emmie again I HATE this setup. We should not be following a "Barbie & Barbie Shenanigans" story. This should ONLY be about the Marisol's restaurant plot.

Was that....a pizza rat reference?

Still unsure why they wanted to put this in NYC. Maybe there will be a reason.

"Comida del Corazon". I kinda figured the name name would be something like that since Abuela Carmen kept talking about "making food from the heart".

I like Marisol calling Teresa "Teresita".

Nikki has yet another hobby: interior design. I mean on one hand she continues to be the most fleshed out of Malibu's friends, but on the other it's starting to feel like they just slap whatever hobby/talent fits the situation into her.

Oof. Emmie just volunteering Brooklyn for a dance role without actually asking is so not cool.

NO BROOKLYN YOU MADE A COMMITMENT!!

Malibu still has no backbone. Surprise, surprise.

Teresa why are you not furious at the Barbies?! You gave them a job and they didn't deliver.

UGH Brooklyn has no backbone either.

I just realized we're in NYC because of the Broadway thing.

OMG RAFA?! HEY!!

Another hollow song, but at least Rafa is here!!

TERESA PLEASE GET MAD.

Brooklyn you don't get to be mad!!!! How dare you?!?!

Again now it's all about the Barbies. Why are we wasting time from TERESA'S MOVIE to have a Barbie/Barbie falling out??

Wow, Malibu actually getting to be angry and even passive-aggressive?! God that is such a breath of fresh air.

I don't like Melanie's design but I can't articulate why. It just seems off somehow.

Emmie's advice isn't bad but it doesn't feel like it comes from the best place since, again, she basically forced Brooklyn into this role. I mean she's not wrong; it is better to concentrate on what you can control in the moment vs can't control, but Brooklyn shouldn't be in this position in the first place.

WE DO NOT NEED ANOTHER BARBIE/BARBIE DUET!!! I'm glad each Barbie is admitting her fault in the fight, but CAN WE GET BACK TO TERESA AND HER PROBLEMS??

Literally who cares about Brooklyn right now, Teresa? She bailed on you and did almost nothing to contribute to this incredibly important event in your family's life after promising to do so.

Teresa accidentally coming up with the last lyric seems appropriate considering it's SUPPOSED TO BE HER MOVIE.

Rafa should've had a bigger part in this.

Using Abuela's apron as design inspiration is very sweet.

AGAIN. I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE BARBIE FIGHT.

The fact that Teresa spent the majority of her runtime trying to figure out this tamale recipe is very disappointing. We should've seen her doing other things for the restaurant too.

Awww that lesson that everyone's cooking isn't exactly the same is beautiful. I actually really love that.

The lyrics in this last song are clunky but at least the instrumental is better than the previous songs. And the chorus is actually a bit catchy.

Uh.....maybe idk how these things work, but how is Emmie's show going straight to Broadway after 1 preview? Maybe it's that popstar influence.

Okay I guess the ending with them all cooking together is kind of cute.

Yeah I knew this was only going to be half Teresa's movie and half Barbie/Barbie stuff. I hate being right sometimes.

Nice that they got a cultural consultant. Too bad their efforts were basically wasted.

Holy crap I just realized we know next to nothing about Marisol.

[niamhthefae]

i just watched Descendants: the rise of red for the first time and i have a lot of thoughts.

lets start with what i thought was good: the songs for the most part were okay, i quite liked 'love aint it' and that duet they sing then they're trying to decide if they should trust each other. i think the costuming was nice. also, im gonna be real with you all, they made hook gorgeous and i loved how cocky and silly he was in the maybe 2 lines he had. but as a dbd fan joshua colley did throw me off a bit at first, i was questioning how he went from monty to captain hook because thats kind of crazy. obviously that isn't their fault though.

okay. now onto the bad:

first of all, the pacing was terrible. it felt really weird because 85% of the movie was just filler and build up and then the actual climax and ending lasts for 10 minutes. and because it was so short some of the characters they introduced felt useless. i found this especially with the VKs. they're supposed to be the main antagonists but they have barely any screen time and you don't really get a sense of who any of them are as people. they pretty much introduced characters and then forgot about them and had them just linger in the background. same with the settings, they introduce this giant fish thing where the VKs hang out and a whole new school and cinderella's home and things but these will probably never be seeen again unless they decide to set another film in the past. but i honestly don't think they will so these characters and locations are probably going to get thrown away now, never to be seen again.

i think it could have benefitted from being a series, then we could have seen more of the characters and had some development and it wouldn't have felt so... i don't know, simple? the solution to everything seems way too easy for what was happening. at this point i would have even preferred they did a cliff hanger or something so it wasn't so anticlimactic at the ending. the first few movies felt like they really filled the space sufficiently, but this didnt.

i also feel like they completely threw canon out the window. the best example is when in the first movie maleficent tells mal that 'when she was her age she was cursing entire kingdoms' and then in this movie she was a lackey for Ursula's little sister. it doesn't make much sense to me. they also ignored the general canon of disney by giving most of the characters completely different backstories. they basically discredited the entire aladin movie by having them meet at school rather than what happened in the actual movie, same with most of cinderella. also hades is a god so why on earth is he going to a mortal school? he has no need for that. not to mention the fact that morgana/morgan le fay isn't a disney villan. they replaced her in the sword and the stone and even so, with merlin running the school it doesn't make sense for them to allow him to be there since in some versions morgan/morgana was the one who trapped merlin for eternity and even in the versions where that isn't the case she still basically destroys everything.

I also thought the main characters felt pretty weak. Both Chloe's decision to help Red break into the office and their decision to trust each other at the beginning felt like they came out of nowhere, they didn't really have much to persuade them or explain why they changed their minds at either point. and with Red, we dont see anything that would make us assume she's good or bad, we're only really told by red that she thinks she's bad but she wants to be good, and when she suddenly is at the end we didn't really see her be good, they just said she is, and we also literally see her do bad things. she got a bit annoyed and called for cinderella to be beheaded and she wants to steal and threatens to rip out someones tongue. we have only really seen her do bad things and then go 'oh no now i feel bad'. for a movie called the rise of red, they really dont have Red do much rising or really any kind of development, she's pretty much the same person at the start and the end of the movie.

would i watch it again? definately not. but i think if they want to continue with these characters then they could, i just think they should do things a bit differently next time.

[duckapus]

Project Thunder: Harmonia

So in this case the rescue team (Kirby, Tune, Arle and Link's crews, along with Nimbus's SMGs, Tama's Pokemon, Blotch, Tonio, Piper and some extra characters) knows exactly where Nimbus is; at the resistance's main base, trying to keep everything under control. Some of the team goes there (not all, there's limited space) to meet her, and they manage to convince her to believe what's going on and eat the meme. She is, of course, so relieved to see her friends here, but there's still the situation at hand to deal with. Fortunately, they came prepared.

Despite pulling from the fewest sources, they've got the biggest team by a long way thanks to just how many characters the Kirby, Zelda and Puyo Puyo franchises have, so they've got plenty of troops to deal with all the bosses. As a reminder, there's one in each Kingdom (two in Luminos thanks to Lumiere) so yeah that's A Lot of guys who showed up. They also brought along the Halberd, one of the few ships they didn't manage to Codeproof in time, which is a much more formidable headquarters that what the resistance has been using.

Not sure who handles all the bosses (except that every team besides the one that fights Lumiere has at least one version of Link), but I have figured out a few:

-Ethil's boss is fought by an aquatically based team led by Sidon and Serilly (a mermaid with severe social anxiety who's one of Arle's friends).

-Magnamiel's boss is a massive bird fought mainly by flight-capable characters (most notably Digi Blade, been a while since we've seen him), but Dapple obviously also gets involved since that's her home!

-Stagnus's boss has already been being kept at bay by Magnus personally, and he gets backup from a team led by Bowser (who he gets along extremely well with), Yunobo, Draco Centauros, and Magolor (bit of an odd one out there I'll admit).

-Devos is getting liberated by Tonio and Piper's team (of course) and since that's where Tama is Blotch and Tama's Pokemon came with them (well, Hoopa's a bit occupied being the one who's deploying everybody but he can do that from anywhere, especially since his Unbound Form is fully available unlike in the last crisis). Dark Meta Knight and the Squeak Squad are also there.

-Lumiere's Tower (yes he has a tower now. one of the perks of selling out his universe) is stormed specifically by Arle, Rulue, Schezo, Satan and Lagnus, since even with the power of the Twilight more-or-less on his side he's not likely to be much of a match for four seasoned world-saving adventures and the Devil Himself, so this frees up Nimbus and everybody else to focus on actually important things.

He also has a minor slipup that makes Arle realize he recognizes her, meaning he isn't being affected by the firewall and is actually playing along and helping the CCC, presumably because he realized the potential benefits to his plans to make Nimbus('s power) his own. All five are understandably pissed now, Satan especially (since, you know, it takes every line he won't cross in his own pursuit of Arle and tapdances on them)... and Arle informs the others that there's no need to hold back.

[It Was at This Moment He Knew; He Fucked Up]

-Meanwhile, Luminos Castle gets stormed by the Main Crews of Kirby, Link and Tune, as well as Nimbus herself and most of the resistance. Nimbus is back in her original design, Tune having found one of her spare suits and suggested that if she's going to be liberating her kingdom, she should do it in style so everyone knows the Songbird is back. most of the group gets caught up in a battle with the possessed Royal Guard (led by Valiant and Ambrosia because of course) while Nimbus, Tune, Kirby, Dedede, Link and their SMGs and MRUs keep going to the boss; Melody.

It's a very intense, emotionally charged fight that I cannot write here due to the format we're dealing with, at one point there's a duet between Dedede and Possessed Melody that gives the real Melody the strength to fight for control, Nimbus gets to show off that she's way better at using Memes than she used to be, fun times all around. When she's defeated and the group is checking to see if she's okay now she actually pulls Dedede (who caught her when she collapsed after the Twilight was purged from her system) down and kisses him.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that."

Freeing her freed the other possessed characters as well, so now we leave them waiting for word on the other bosses and the eventual extraction.

[fategoflatass]

out of pure curiosity, I was wondering if you were able to read the Hamefura manga anthologies? (Mainly, I'm curious if you got to the Keith/Geordo kabedon situation...)

Not me coming back from a three-day Sims 2 spree to this!

Sadly, I don't think we've read the same anthology? Since, you know, I didn't find the kabedon scene (that, or I'm blind as hell). If you could send me the link, I would highly appreciate it.

But since you took the time to send me this ask, I shall give you my thoughts on the anthology as a whole (won't be long, I promise).

Hope you enjoy!

Our Secret Night Alone Together

This was such a cute story! I'm always down for anything that involves Katarina and Keith, so this one was perfect for me. I really liked how their dynamic was presented, and also his conflicting feelings (as well as Keith having to deal with such obliviousness).

Not gonna lie, I was expecting for Madre™ to come back home at the end and complain about some mess (maybe throw a chancla or two), but I still think it was really sweet!

(same bro, same)

The Duet I Play With You

WE 👏 NEED 👏 MORE 👏 ALAN 👏 CONTENT! Can't deal with how negligent the story tends to be when it comes to Alan. He's one of the best characters (in my opinion) and yet he gets little to no content! So I was really happy to see a story solely revolving around him and Kat. With a bit of Mary on the side, of course!

Memory of Friendship

This one was hilarious! I totally see Mary scheaming such a sneaky plan to get some alone time with Kat. And the way everyone decided to ruin it (to no avail, but stil)!

And the bookmark! God, I'm weak!

"Searching the top of trees" I'M DEAD

Let's Have Tea on a Busy Day

To be honest, I wasn't expecting a Raphael-centric story. It was really nice, though!

Again, he's one of those characters that I haven't seen much canonical content about, and I guess this is the closest to it I'll get for now (still can't get used to the LN).

I'm quite fond of his character. He's rather... different from the rest. I mean, none of the others had yet the chance to become workaholics, so this side of him feels like a breath of fresh air.

Enjoyment is Something We Share

I think this one might be one of my favorites! Especially since it reminded me of my best friend and I. We both like reading and watchign anime (besides her being a total sweetheart), so I can easily reflect us on them.

I loved this part in particular where Sophia says "I want even more people to know about this piece of writing I came to love" because, while it's not the same reason why she said it, that's exactly why I decided to get into translation. So!

Sora's Day Off

Sora's... risqué persona is, to me, what Raphael's workaholic-esque self; a breath of fresh air. The idea of his sole presence upping the series' rating is truly amusing.

What I also like about him is that his sensuality doesn't cover his entire personality. Yeah, he might be less naïve than the rest of the cast, but that only means there're just less things for him to learn.

And again, he has yet to deal with Katarina so...

Did I already tell you I have a weakness for these two?

My Goddess

This one I felt is was more chill than the others, don't ask me why. Might be because it's Maria-centric and she always brings me peace.

Anyways, it's always nice to read a good ol' sickfic. Even better if it comes in comic version! And even better if it involves MariKata! This is one of the (if not the most) fluffiest stories until now.

And I know I should include something involving them, but there's one thing at the end that made my day.

The Fateful Dance Party

Just when I thought we wouldn't be getting any Nicol content—and even better, is masquerade ball themed! It fits him so well!

The entire sequence with both of them dancing, and the scene where they reveal their identities—it all feels so smooth, so delicate, so precious. Which it might be because Nicol's my personal favorite, but I'd like to think his character was so well portrayed.

This is the content that we all need and deserve!

Geordo's Feelings

God, this one made me so weak. Not only because of the things that happened in it (which had their effect on me since, you know, now I think more highly about Geordo and all that), but because of the ending. That fricking ending.

The way he couldn't even get ten seconds alone to make her such an important gift! But again, that's part of the charm of this harem-turned-into-found-family.

[ryqoshay]

How to Handle a Nico - Warmth in Autumn

Primary Pairing: NicoMaki Words: 552 Rating: G Time Frame: Early adulthood, Nico owns an idol production company and Maki is working through her residency Prompt: Warmth

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Summary: The couple returns home after their last picnic of the year

Author's Note: Bonus second entry for the 28th

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“Ahh, that was fun.” Nico said, standing up after removing her shoes. “Thank you, Maki-chan.” She stepped up to the floor so she could more easily peck a kiss on her fiancée’s cheek.

“I should be thanking you.” Maki replied. “Nico-chan did all the prep work for our picnic, finding the spot, and making our food, and everything.”

“Hee, and it was a good lunch wasn’t it.”

“Of course. Nico-chan made it.”

Nico preened. “And no tomato monsters either.”

Maki chuckled at the reminder of Nico’s nightmare earlier in the week. “I’m just grateful we finally had an entire day to spend together.”

Nico hummed a happy affirmation. “Anyway, I’m going to go start making dinner. Feel free to go check emails or whatever else you need to do after ignoring the hospital for so many hours.”

“Uh uh.” Maki shook her head.

“Mm?”

“I’m going to watch Nico-chan make dinner.” Maki stated decisively. “My day with Nico-chan isn’t over yet.”

Nico felt a smile tug at her lips and warmth gathered in her chest.

“Papa and Miyuki both told everyone I had today off, so nobody should be contacting me for anything other than an emergency.”

Nico couldn’t help laughing lightly. It was adorable how seriously Maki took the couple’s time together. And while Nico felt the same way, she couldn’t help being amused by her fiancée’s overly serious tone.

“Alright.” Nico allowed a slight teasing tone in her voice. “I suppose I can let Maki-chan keep me company while I cook.”

Maki pursed her lips. “You know, I could just hit Reply All and tell everyone I’m free now.”

Nico laughed louder now. “Alright, alright, come keep Nico company.” She grabbed Maki’s hand and guided her into the kitchen.

“So, what are we having tonight?” Maki asked as she took a seat at the kitchen table.

“An autumn favorite in the Yazawa household, eggplant and green pepper miso stir fry.” Nico began gathering the ingredients on the counter. “A nice, quick and easy dish to warm up with after a chilly walk home.”

“Sounds good. Nico-chan hasn’t made an eggplant dish in a while.”

“’Cause I keeps focusing on tomatoes for my obsessed fiancée.”

“So much so that I apparently turn into a monster in your dreams if I don’t get them.”

“Exactly. And don’t worry, I picked up some cherry tomatoes that you can have as a side dish if you want.”

“Sounds good.”

“Now, where did I put the tsuyu soup base…” Nico opened one of the cupboards. “No… hrm. Ah, there it is.”

For her part, Maki contented herself watching the show. Although she could not prove it, she firmly believed Nico did not normally cook with such flourish when on her own. However, when observed, especially by Maki, Nico practically danced around the kitchen. And Maki could watch such a display forever.

Then, Nico started humming. And Maki immediately recognized the song. It was an old favorite from their time as school idols, and quite seasonally appropriate too.

“Dancing stars on me!” Maki couldn’t help chiming in when the part came.

“Te o nobshitara” Nico returned.

“Itsuka”

“Tsukamesou da yo”

And with that, the couple continued their impromptu a capella duet, filling their apartment with warmth and love to combat the cooler weather and changing seasons.

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Author's Note Continued: Snow halation or Silent tonight might be a bit more seasonally appropriate since I'm posting this in December, but I wrote it back in October, so Dsom it is.

Also, yet another entry that is a pre/sequel or references an entry from a prior Promptober. I was on a roll this year.

That said, soft, fluffy NicoMaki remains one of my favorite things to write. It's like a teddy bear in writing form.

Prior Prompts Used: Dream Time Duet Picnic Nightmare Chill

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

So I am planning that dcla consent video in my head atm. And I won't say I will talk about all of these things in order, but it's basically stuff I want to bring up.

I wanna start with discussing how these shows like to use "surprise kissing". Which basically means "I didn't know, or were prepared, for you to kiss me but I am fine with it". With this, we can start to see what was actually consentual and what was not.

Violetta did not know Leon was gonna kiss her in their first kiss, BUT she very much liked it and sees it as a happy memory. It became consentual.

Violetta technically kissed Leon without his consent in 3x06, since he was asleep. However, in this case it was to mimic the way it happens in fairytales, and I like the trope of the princess waking up the prince instead of reverse. Also, it did cause Leon to wake up, and HE does not seem to have minded this. And if we'd elaborate on this we'd have to dig in the whole fairytale kissing people sleeping problem. In the end: We'll let this slide because it was supposed to be a romantic fairytale moment and everyone involved was ok with it. But, please do not kiss sleeping people irl.

I don't think Yam was that prepared that Ramiro would kiss her in S1, but when she saw the situation he was in, she went from "WHAT are you doing?! >:(" to "Oh! I see you need to get out of this situation! Okay!"

Maggie randomly kissed Rey on several occasions without him being prepared, just to disguise what they were actually doing. I don't know if he was that ok with it but he let it slide.

Naty was quite shook when Maxi kissed her in 2x71 but she liked it seemingly and then wanted him to do it again so.

Angie and Germán have "surprise kissed" each other several times and like. Germán at least liked it. He's like a sim, he got kissed once and got in love and so now when you don't control him he's gonna go kiss the other sim automatically without you wanting to

Ludmila and Federico's first kiss is very unclear

I mean when Leon kissed Roxy he did it mid sentence of her trying to talk and tbh out of context he was kind of pushy when she tried to talk herself OUT of the situation, but that whole scene I feel like we should pass

And then there's moment where people are non-consentual and it leads to nothing.

Beto kissed a random lady, and he thought it was Jackie?? But HE WASN'T EVEN DATING JACKIE TO BEGIN WITH so even if it was her it would've been just as strange

Jade kisses Germán without his consent on multiple occasions. This does not lead to very much other than them being awkward and moving on from it.

I will discuss Benicio later. I don't know why Ámbar keeps forgiving him for assaulting her...

I will then proceed to discuss the cases on non-con kisses that affected the plot somehow. Starting with Andrea kissing Maxi without his consent in S1. Yeah, remember Andrea? She had 2 actresses for some reason. Anyway, she was played as completely delusional and kissed Maxi without his consent, and then HE got the blame for it. After discussing that case, I will be like "so that was just one case... but there's a BIGGER ONE" and then BAM, we cut to the Yo Soy Asi duet. I will have my big fair share about Diego here. Maybe I can go tease the Diego supremacists who thinks he's perfect and that "Violetta is not the victim" in S2. Also I'm gonna question Pablo as a teacher for even trying to enforce them kissing.

When I am done with the Diego rant, which will be glorious, we shall move over to Matteo. This will be epic fun. Especially since I know many Lutteo shippers LIKE the scene you know I will talk about. So I will be like "I know many would see this more as a surprise kiss... but it's not. I have heard the argument that 'Luna didn't pull away from him so she must not have been that uncomfortable'. So this is why I disagree with that:"

With Matteo done, I can just slip in about Emilia. "Now when this happened to him, these were the consequences". Emilia definitely needs to be held accountable for it and I am glad the show DID hold her accountable for it. But, it also feels weird that, when Matteo does it to a girl it's romantic and when a girl does it against him she gets held accountable immediately. I know it was different situations but STILL.

We can then move over to Michel. I will discuss how out of all three of Luna's love interests, only ONE of them have had their first kiss with her consentually.

Then we can go to Eric and how Nina and Luna sort of bond over being kissed without their consent ??? and continue to ship each other with the respective boy????????

Yes... then I will mention Felipe Diaz. Fuck that guy I hope Ludmila and Naty kissed each other in front of him while flipping him off and then threw him into the river.

And then Benicio. Of course <3 I will make sure to also mention the kiss at Dia de los muertos. That was a curious case where the kiss was intented to be consentual and then BECAME non-consentual when she realized who she kissed. Good job Benny boy.

Then I guess I'll just take things I've missed. Maybe I can mention Tomas' "Your kiss with Leon was my kiss" even if it doesn't have to do much with consent but rather just because I wanna complain about it