#i am curious if other people get so sad watching this show it makes me fully cry even tho it’s largely light hearted

[wormsdyke]

cannot beliiiieeeeeeve the heartstopper show runners would create a show so specifically designed to make my inner child weep

[noodlesarecheese]

So Watcher is launching a Dropout (it's not called Dropout but they're clearly using the same template format platform thing idk what it's called, and the same pricing structure), and the reaction so far has been wildly different than what I remember from Dropout's launch. I was curious about why that was or if I was just misremembering the Dropout launch, so I went back to the Dropout launch video to compare them and I think I can see where some of the difference is coming from.

If you want to make the comparison yourself: Watcher's Video, Dropout's Video.

I wanna clarify first though that this isn't a knock against Watcher or the fans who are reacting one way or another or anything like that, I genuinely am just fascinated with how different the reactions are to what seems to be the same business decision. This also isn't a 'wow watcher sucks and dropout is so much better' I'm just using them for comparison because they did the same thing with different results. ALSO this isn't about the business decision itself, just the presentation! Disclaimers out of the way, here's the analysis.

Title and Thumbnail So the Watcher.tv announcement video is titled "Goodbye Youtube" and the thumbnail is Ryan, Shane, and Steven sitting on a couch looking serious, with a dark background. That really makes it seem like they're quitting (which, ok, they are quitting youtube but not quitting quitting). Viewers are already primed to be upset, and it's easier to go from upset to angry than upset to excited, curious, or neutral.

Compare to the dropout announcement video: "How the Internet is Ruining Comedy" - inline with other collegehumor video titles, might make you curious. Thumbnail - Big News! with Sam smiling and a bright background. We know its big news, but he looks happy, and the exclamation point let's us know they want us to be excited. Viewers are primed to be curious and excited.

Tone The Watcher announcement has 2 main tones. The first half is very sentimental, almost sad or wistful at times, and while there are parts that veer into pride at achievements, it's mostly bittersweet and sentimental. The second half is a bit more uplifting, but still quite serious. It reminded me of a tech announcement, like when they introduce the new iphone or something like that. Very professional, sleek, and serious, which isn't automatically a bad thing! But I do think that's not the vibe a decently-sized chunk of the audience expected or wanted. Many people watch Watcher for the cast's dynamic with each other, humor, and the more relaxed/conversational/friendly feel that most of the series have.

Compare to dropout - excited and comedic tone. Still professional, but also fits the expectations of the viewers. People watch collegehumor for the humor (it was in the name, after all). They also poke a bit of fun at themselves, which lightens the mood, shows self-awareness, and alleviates some of the bad feelings about paywalling.

Focus The Watcher announcement focuses a lot on the creative journey of the cast and company, as well as how this move will benefit them. Which isn't a bad thing, that's actually quite interesting! The problem here, I think, is actually more about what isn't here - a solid explanation of how this will also benefit the viewers and why the viewers should be excited. There's a brief description of one new show, and the promise that existing shows will get an upgrade, but we weren't given many specific details about how they'll be improved, and there's only one new show to tempt us into subscribing. Some people will be excited for that, some people won't, and some people will be excited but not enough to subscribe. Having 2 or 3 series (even if it's 1 fleshed out plus a few teasers of what's in production or what is being planned) plus some more details about how existing shows will be improved would've helped. Without that, it really does seem like it'll just be the same stuff viewers were getting for free, but now paywalled, rather than new and exciting stuff. That makes a big difference. I think with the fans not getting as much focus, this also led to some (accidental, I hope) hurt feelings. Based on what I've seen from fan reactions, all the talk about hitting the peak of what they can do on youtube and wanting more, translated for many people to 'youtube isn't enough' which became 'you (the current viewers) aren't enough.' Which I don't think was their intent! But I also don't think fans are wrong for feeling hurt by that.

Compare to dropout: They clearly explain how the move will benefit fans, and reassure viewers that existing content will stay where it is, and only new content will be behind the paywall. (Watcher clarified this too, but in a comment. It's not in the video itself, which is a huge problem.) They include clips of several new (at the time) series that would be premiering on dropout, including things that specifically could not be made on youtube (due to weed, violence, and sexual humor), so the reason for the shift is clear to the audience.

Advertisers Both videos contain the sentiment that being monetarily successful on youtube means working to appease the advertisers, and that over time what the advertisers want and what the creators want drifts further and further apart, putting strain on the creators.

However, I think the message gets lost a bit in the Watcher vid. Instead, it leaves viewers with the idea that the main problem is just ads are annoying instead of advertisers putting constraints on content. I'm not even sure what the specific constraints are for watcher, because they didn't give any examples. And the focus on ads being annoying leaves viewers frustrated because people typically either don't mind ads or they already have an ad blocker.

Timing and Size Okay, this isn't exactly about presentation, but it is still a factor that impacts perception so I'm tackling it. And I'm actually going to do dropout first. CollegeHumor launched dropout in September 2018. Pre-pandemic, but also pre-Sam Reich as CEO. The company was still owned by IAC. It was a Company, and while it wasn't huge it wasn't tiny either. So launching dropout was a Company Decision, a Business Strategy. Some people were upset about, but it wasn't a personal betrayal (generally, anyways). If I remember correctly, this was also not a high point for the company. They kinda needed dropout to do well to keep things running smoothly (which is why they shut it down and sold it to Sam just 1 1/2ish years later), so the sudden shift made sense.

Watcher Entertainment is a company, but it doesn't feel like one. Ryan, Shane, and Steven own and operate things, but they're also the faces, and they're youtubers. Which makes every business decision they make feel more personal to viewers, especially those who have been watching for a long time. They've also seemingly been doing well on youtube, which makes it more difficult for viewers to understand why the sudden change is happening now. They do talk a bit about it, about the company expanding and wanting to do things that advertisers don't like (which I've already covered). However, mostly the choice to start a streaming platform is framed as 'the next big step' without much clarification on why it's the next big step. Plus, it's post-pandemic, and a lot of people are still struggling financially with the ripple effects of that. Yes, $6 isn't a wild amount of money, but there have been some months where $5 absolutely meant the difference between paying all my bills or not, and I know I'm not the only one. This, coupled with a lack of clarity about why exactly they're doing this, leads to fans feeling hurt, betrayed, bitter, and frustrated.

Now, presentation and framing isn't everything. No matter how perfect your announcement is, some people are still going to be upset. It's a big change, of course people will be upset! But I do think a more careful presentation would've alleviated some of the hurt and anger that fans are feeling. While I do think a lot of the reaction we're seeing is due to the decision, I think (based on what I've seen) that some of it is also based on the poor communication in the video itself, and that could've been avoided!

So I'm gonna get a little speculative and describe what I would've done. In this hypothetical, they've decided to launch the streaming service and brought me on just for the announcement.

Firstly, switch the title out. If they're married to Goodbye Youtube then add a (and hello...?) after so it's at least obvious they aren't fully quitting. The dark color scheme of the thumbnail fits their regular vibe, but they want everyone to be excited so they should look excited. Next, let's lighten the tone up. Being proud of what they've done so far is great, but we don't need the sentimental music and bittersweetness. Remember, the goal is to get viewers excited about what come's next - so let's focus on what actually comes next! Talk about specific show plans and mention why they wouldn't work on youtube. Then, take some time to reassure the fans. Predict a few likely worries and address them in the video. Acknowledge that it's a big change, that it will take time to get used to, and that not everyone will be onboard, and let the fans know that it's ok if they aren't onboard.

Like I said, this wouldn't fix everything. There are a few differences in between dropout and watcher that don't have anything to do with presentation. Dropout launched with primarily new shows rather than new seasons of existing shows, and they continued uploading to youtube relatively regularly in addition to the content behind the paywall, which I do think went a long way to keeping fans happy. At this point it's unclear if watcher will do either of those or not. But, while I don't think it would fix everything, I do think improved communication in the announcement would've helped.

[fandangotales]

Head empty just

Sagau but readers cellphone now has infinite battery for some reason and theyre on tiktok and watching genshin edits until one of the acolytes sees and gets curious so reader shows everyone the edits made for then

Zhongli: why am i........geo grandpa

Xiao: morax isn't my father

Yae: what is an........Eiussy and why do these humans want it so bad

Venti: (trying to force scara to have anemo vision after seeing the sad scaramouche edits) BUT THE EDITS, YOUR BACKSTORY IS SCREAMING AIR BOY!!!

Scara: GET THE FUCK OFF ME!!!!

WHOOO MY FIRST REQUEST ASK!!!

anyways-

When I tell you that a phone in TEYVAT would be absolute chaos… I mean it.

I can 99% guarantee you that Albedo has asked to experiment on what he refers to as Their Grace’s “strange device.”

(Please keep your phone away from him, as it will not make it out of his lab intact.)

Other acolytes who aren’t as curious about HOW and WHY it works may find interest on seeing you use your device to watch videos.

The people of Teyvat aren’t familiar with advanced technology, so I’d assume it’s fair to say that they would treat your phone as a Divine Object, comparable to the Anemo Archon’s Holy Lyre.

Since you are The Creator, it would be valued a lot more.

Nobody, not even one of the Archons, is allowed to touch such a holy object. Such a thing would be viewed as incredibly disrespectful. How could any of them, lowly acolytes, have the audacity to come into contact with your beloved “phone”?

Now, assuming that the reader can still watch Tik Toks, of course they would like to share some of them with certain characters, because why not?

Also, why wouldn’t you let them in on some of the jokes that are popular in the Genshin Fandom?

If Zhongli knew that he was referred to as “Geo Grandpa” I think his reaction would be one of initial shock.

“What does the title ‘Geo Grandpa’ indicate, Divine One?”

After a little explanation from you, I think he’d catch on. He is aware of his age, after all.

Others may think that the title “Grandpa” is offensive towards a former archon of all things, but he doesn’t mind as long as you are the one saying it. The term “Grandpa” is often used between mortals in a family, so does this mean that you considered him as family?

Whenever you call him by that name, you can expect to see a soft smile across his features.

When Xiao discovered that the fandom considers his relationship with Morax to be one of father and son, he was speechless for a good minute.

You gave him a look, trying to suppress your laughter.

“So…? You’re not denying it.”

He huffed, crossing his arms. “Morax is not my father.”

You wheezed, clearly amused by his flustered expression. Xiao was avoiding your gaze, clearly trying his best to convince you that he did not see the older man as a father figure.

The term “Eiussy” was completely unknown to the Lady Guuji… until she joined you in watching the short films know as “Tik Toks” on the magical screen of the divine “phone”

Now, Yae Miko is quite clever, so it was only natural that she would grasp the concept of what “Eiussy” meant.

She watched a few videos which featured similar titles, such as “Tartussy”, “Scarussy”, and “Kokussy”. All of them played a key role in her eventual understanding of just what exactly “Eiussy” meant.

The very moment she learns the true meaning, I can guarantee you that she will casually bring it up in conversation.

“Your Grace, you would be welcome at Watatsumi Island anytime!” Gorou beams, waving goodbye to you from the docks of Ritou.

The Watatsumi ship had finally arrived, after a lengthy delay following your business meeting with the Inazuman Officials.

“Thank you, Gorou.” You started to say… but the ever famed doggy general had already boarded the ship, and was out of your sight.

“Hmm…” a recognizable voice trailed, as her hand lightly touched your shoulder. Miko gave you a knowing look. “I guess he wanted to get some of that Divineussy”

Your expression remained blank.

“Perfect use of that title.” You praised, staring after the ship, as it departed into the sunset.

If and when Venti saw all of the sad Scaramouche edits… let’s just say that you’d have to physically restrain him.

Restrain him from making his way over to the Balladeer as soon as possible, that is.

Scaramouche would just be doing Fatui work, maybe trying to convince the recruits that the stars are indeed a lie…

And… bam.

A random ass bard pops up out of nowhere.

“Good day! Would you be interested in gaining an anemo vision?”

“What the fuck.”

[twig-tea]

With 23.5 finally coming out, the people are rejoicing at finally getting a high profile gl from GMMTV. But there have already been several gls airing this year, including my fav TsukuTabe, that have been flying under the radar with fandom, and in general there are more gls already out there than folks seem to think. I just know you have a list of all the gls we should be watching, please share with the class!

Thank you for the ask! How did you know I had a draft of GL recs to make at some point? [Trick question, I mentioned it to you.]

It may seem like I'm out here hating on GL because i've made a couple of negative reviews of recently airing series recently (Love Senior and Chaser Game W in case you're curious) but I actually have lots of GL that I love and that I wish were better known! Thanks for sending this ask so I am inspired to actually finish it! I've limited myself to series so that I could keep the list and this post to a reasonable length. Where possible I've listed where you can find each of these and included a link. And I've included an 'elevator pitch' summary but I am NOT in marketing for a reason, so please don't roast me too hard for my terrible comparisons. Alright, enough waffling!

Twig's GL Rec List

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat S1 & 2 (Japan, 2022 & 2024, both seasons fansubbed by @furritsubs; if you need help accessing this show feel free to DM me!)

Elevator pitch: Our Dining Table with lesbians and an even slower burn. Watch for beautiful food, acespec rep, mental health and therapy rep

What might turn some off: Extremely low heat, and quite slow-moving; warning for a disordered eating and family trauma plot (v gently handled)

Let's start with the one you've already mentioned. This is a heartwarming slice-of-life slow burn in which an autismspec-coded woman who likes to eat is invited by her neighbour, a femme acespec woman who loves to cook, to come and eat her food. It starts from a very practical place (when you love making food you need someone to help eat it), but their relationship grows as they spend more time together. The story follows them as they both move towards self-actualization in several ways: as a lesbian, as asexual, at work, with their families, with their friends, with each other. This show is so careful to say the important words aloud. And there is so much delicious cooking! Each episode highlights a particular recipe, and the food porn is real. Do not watch while hungry, but definitely watch. The found famiy vibes in this one one are also immaculate.

She Makes My Heart Flutter (Korea, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Younger lesbian friend group tries to help out (slightly) older lesbian bar owner with mixed success. I can't think of a good BL equivalent, The Moment Since feels the closest with its similar bartender/patron romance

What might turn some off: Comedic tone; short runtime; struggles with being closeted

This is a gem of a miniseries about a bar owner and an interior designer who smoulder at one another while an intrepid group of younger bar regulars (including the bar owner's neice) meddle. This series is really cute, solid, and full of sapphics! Once again found family vibes are immaculate (you may sense a theme in my faves). Run don't walk.

Fragrance of the First Flower (Taiwan, 2021, GagaOOLala)

Elevator pitch: Right-person-wrong-time/second chance romance; tonally is a little like We Best Love 2: Fighting Mr. 2nd but with an ambiguous ending.

What might turn you off: Medium heat, second chance romance means they break up once, internalized homophobia, adultery/cheating, at one point there's a creepy dude, child with autism (depicted well), ambiguous ending

At its core this is a story of a woman who can't stop getting in the way of her own happiness. This series is a little more sad than the rest of this rec list but I couldn't not include it because this relationship is so poignant. Plus there's a s2 that supposedly is to come out in 2024 so maybe we'll get our happy ending after all?

Love Greater Than or Equal to 70 Degrees C (Korea, 2019, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Ingredients but with lesbians staring at one another over beautiful tea pairings! What more could you ask for?

What might turn you off: Low heat; short runtime; ambiguous ending; like Ingredients this is essentially a long ad for the café it's filmed at.

This is a Korean miniseries about passionate tea sommeliers making really fancy tea while staring at one another a LOT. Perfect sapphic representation, 10/10 no notes. This one packs a lot of the drama tropes into its short runtime, so even though it's short it's full of butterfly-inspiring moments.

Sleep With Me (Philippines, 2022, GagaOOLala/iWantTFC/Netflix w/VPN set to Philippines)

Elevator pitch: The Truth About Cats and Dogs but the self esteem issues are handled without catfishing. BL equivalent: Hmmm. Closest I can think of is Gaya Sa Pelikula.

What might turn you off: There's some ableism (treated as such) in this show; Open ending.

Stellar GL between a late night radio DJ and an insomniac who listens to her show. One of the main couple is a wheelchair user and the show tackles ablelism and navigating disability in relationship as well as feelings of inadequacy in a relationship and how that manifests as interpersonal conflict.

Our Relationship Ended Before it Began (Korea, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Along the lines of I Cannot Reach You; the show gives both perspectives and they are held back by queer angst.

What might turn you off: No kiss (but they make it very clear both want to kiss), internalized homophobia

Really sweet miniseries about having a crush and being afraid of being hurt so you don't actually make a move. I really like the way the girl who has not dated a girl before defaults to gender roles and it throws the more experienced lesbian lol I also really like the way this show makes clear that both of them are waiting for a kiss, and that if you get in your head about things, it can get in the way of your own happiness!

Pearl Next Door (Philippines, 2020, Youtube)

Elevator Pitch: Gameboys but with lesbian vloggers.

What might turn you off: Love triangle, lots of teasing but low heat in the end, a lot of (good) conversations about mental health issues, ambiguous ending

This is the GL spinoff to Gameboys, starring Pearl from Gameboys. Pearl ends up being fought over by the two gorgeous women in the gif, an old love and a new. I love the queer friendships in this story as much as the relationships. I will say it's an open ending (that felt a bit like the showrunners didn't want to decide between ships) and definitely the love triangle features prominently but even in the face of these aspects that would normally turn me off a series I had a good time. The characters and interpersonal conflicts feel very real, and are allowed to be complex even when the show tone is comedic.

Dear Uranus (Taiwan, 2021, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Schoolgirl ensemble GL; a little like My School President but without the singing.

What might turn you off: Short runtime; ambiguous ending; a little bit of bullying; very standard romance trope execution

The first Taiwanese GL miniseries, this series was produced by a Taiwanese lesbian couple (Rabbit & Wolf)! Lots of excellent drama tropes, and incredibly gorgeous women (I think the entire watching audience fell in love with Erol.

Lily Fever (Korea, 2015, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Complete crack; YYY but with more kissing and frankly an even less coherent story.

What might turn you off: The lack of coherent plot; less a romance and more a very thirsty lesbian kissing everyone she can

This miniseries is utter chaos. Nothing really makes sense, it's all just random excuses to cause very suggestive moments (and kissing) to happen. I love so much how this series depicts women being so absolutely thirsty for one another (and yes that date isn't a typo, this series is ~9 years old). Not an "happy ever after" ending but it really isn't that kind of story.

Chasing Sunsets (Philippines, 2020, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Ocean Likes Me with lesbians. Resort romance with a mental health twist.

What might turn you off: Some of the mental health stuff gets intense, this was filmed in 2020 so the pandemic features heavily; hopeful but slightly ambiguous ending.

A complex story from the Philippines covering mental health and finding yourself. A woman shows up to a resort and befriends one of the women running the resort. They get closer as they spend time together, and the resort owner realizes something is off. There's also a BL side couple in this series.

Show Me Love (Thai, 2023, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: A little like My Day the series with lesbians, in that they work together and fall in love and it's full of tropes

What might turn you off: The advertising for the Miss Grand competition, there is some bullying and cheating (though way less than I was expecting tbh), not a lot actually happens, the editing gets a bit wonky at the end

This is essentially a massive ad for the Miss Grand Thailand competition; this GL was produced by the same company that produces that competition, and the stars are mostly Miss Grand competitors. The main pairing were shipped in the actual competition, and the company decided to make a GL about them. It's very slow paced and low-stakes, and there are better kisses than I expected considering everything I just said about where this show came from. There are a lot of cute moments!

Girlfriend Project (Korea, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Love Class with lesbians

What might turn you off: One of the leads is kind of mean in that pgitail-pulling way? It ends abruptly (but happily)

This is a short miniseries about two girls paired in a class that are assigned to "date". The chemistry is chemistrying. And there is a kiss (a good kiss, and a tiptoes kiss at that!). This show also has one of my favourite tropes, in which someone who seems like a pushover stands up for themselves and their partner finds it very attractive. For the record, in this show they are watching another GL by the same company, Love Tech.

Lulu (Philippines, 2022, Vivamax/grey)

Elevator Pitch: Present Perfect with lesbians (but with a better ending).

What might turn you off: Depictions of panic attacks, brief depiction of drowning, pandemic lockdowns, illness, exes, waffling, happy but open ending (which I actually liked for this story)

Two women trying to move on from the garbage in their lives meet at the beach of a B&B (where one saves the other from drowning) and become one another's company during their escape and then something more. They both have baggage that seems determined to keep them apart even as they continue to be drawn together. In the end, they decide to stick it out and see where they end up, with no guarantee of happily ever after, which I found very sweet. Requires either a VivaMax account or searching the grey for it, but it's worth the effort (check MyDramaList comments for suggestions on where to find it). Plus one of the leads has a cactus as a pet.

Welcome to the Lesbian Bar (Korea, 2023, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: A little like Fudanshi Bartender but without the fudanshi bartender and all of the bar patrons are lesbians lol

What might turn you off: Short, can get a little bit preachy, abrupt ending

Cute short series with different very stories every episode as different patrons visit the bar. The stories range from women who have been together for awhile, to people meeting from an online app for the first time, to someone visiting a lesbian bar for the first time; and yet the story all weaves together in a way that's satisfying though ends abruptly. Includes some solid marriage equality propaganda.

GAP the Series (Thai, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Kind of the vibes of Together with Me but lesbians and in an office instead of school. Angry boss falls for charming new intern and

What might turn you off: This one is the highest heat of all these recs; homophobia especially amongst family, brief depictions of death by car, brief mentions of suicide, cheating, bullying, abuse of power in the office.

A list would not be complete without this one! Honestly the plot is a bit wobbly but the show is a lot of fun. The girls are very cute, the feelings and tension builds really well between them, the friend group is excellent, and in the special we get a wedding.

---

The rest of these have caveats of one kind or another, but i couldn't leave them off a rec list, so here are the side couples and censored stories that are still worth your time anyway (I might do a separate more detailed post for these, as well as for films, one day if there's interest):

Nevertheless (GL side; Korean, 2021, Netflix) Not sure it's worth watching a whole kdrama for side lesbians? Search soljiwan on youtube. They are great. Even the Netflix account stans them. I watched this (ngl, I watched the SolJiwan cut) as it aired and was constantly braced for it to let us down but it did not! A really good friends-to-lovers story.

Friend Zone 2: Dangerous Area (GL side; Thailand, 2019, YouTube): These sapphics are messy and I love them. Decent conversation about dating someone with mental health issues in this series, and they're one of the only couples in this ensemble to get a happy ending. If you're just watching the lesbian couple (which you can, their story is pretty self-contained) you don't need to have seen s1.

Six Survivors (GL side; Japan, 2022, Viki) This show is a horror comedy and it is SO MUCH FUN. Warning for zombies and blood, but way less than you might think. One of the eponymous 6 survivors is a lesbian who keeps trying to convert them to veganism lol. If you watched Chaser Game W you'll recognize one of the actresses in this, the lead actress is from Kamisama no Ekohiiki, and one of the guys is from the prequel series His as well as I Want to See Only You! And yes there is a kiss. Also a surprising number of Mallrats references. Not for people who can't handle gore or relationships being complicated/not a "true love" story/ambiguous ending.

Kamisama no Ekohiiki (complicated question of is it GL in parts, Japan, 2021, furritsubs once again coming through to save the day) This one is a bit complex because there's bodyswap, but the girl who falls for the bodyswapped boy-in-a-girl's-body is clear that she is only interested in the girl. One of the better bodyswap stories because the bodyswap is not a secret for very long, so instead there's a lot of introspection about what gender means and who/what they are attracted to. Feels wrong to call this GL, necessarily, but it's very queer.

Couple of Mirrors (Censored GL, China, 2021, Viki) Story of a rich girl and her assassin girlfriend. This production did an amazing job getting away with what they could, just don't watch the last five minutes and we've got essentially a happy lesbian family.

Legend of Yunze (Censored GL, China, 2021, @douqi7s) Very cute very low budget xianxia miniseries with two seasons and a special. The special is set in modern times in a future lifetime so if you want a cute censored-but-clearly-a-soulmate-love-story this is the one for you. Don't be thrown off by the weird cuts/abrupt episode endings, that's in line with cdramas in general.

Led Astray by Love (Censored GL, China, 2021, @douqi7s) A very fun and adorable isekai story in which a modern day girl is transported to a wuxia novel setting and has to figure out how to get home, and gets romanced by the princess along the way.

And a few additional links for people who even more content:

My Indian sapphic webseries rec list

My suggestions for content with toms (Thai category that's similar to but not exactly the same as butch lesbians) in response to this post.

This really good GL MyDramaList list (not made by me!) lists what seems to be everything I've mentioned and about 200 more. Even I haven't seen a few of these!

My YouTube playlist of sapphic content: This includes anything I stumble across or find in my searches, a lot of music videos and random shorts as well as some microseries and miniseries that I don't consider GL but are WLW/sapphic in addition to true "GL" content. For serialized content, I add just the first ep. A complete mess, but you can trawl through to find stuff to watch, like Hetero!

SOONOTSUE: The same producers of She Makes My Heart Flutter have other short series on their channel worth checking out; if you liked that one, try Out of Breath!

Shakeshoulder: Thai YouTube producers of very pulpy (read: low budget and dramatic plots) shorts

FuFuKnows: This YouTube channel is owned by a gay Taiwanese couple that produces shorts every week, including some with GL mains and sides. These are very low budget but cover a whole swath of queer themes.

@douqi7s is a godsend providing subtitles for all kinds of content, including sapphic shorts and more series than I've listed here. Check their tumblr for links to all of their content; A Practical Guide to Being a Superstar's Assistant has one of the best setups to giving us great moments in the guise of something else so that they get past censorship I've ever seen; I also recommend The Vampires if you're into genre fiction, as well as Legend of Yunqian if you enjoyed the xianxia parts of Legend of Yunze. @wlwcatalogue did an excellent summary of many of the non-wuxia options here.

Quick pitch for the streaming platform GagaOOLala; it's affordable, has a ton of content, including a whack of GLs (originals, license series, and a ton of shorts), and is run by queer people out of Taiwan who care about good quality queer content being made and having an audience, and using the soft power from those successful series to support social change. And if you can't afford a subscription it's worth checking out what they have for free, they open up temporary free access to some things for various events throughout the year.

In searching for gifs for this post I found fellow tumblr user @drowningparty 's WLW compendium list; they've listed more series and films so check it out if you still need more content!

*wipes sweat off brow* that should be enough to be getting on with, but it's really just the tip of the iceberg! If there's something specific you want to see with sapphics let me know and I can tell you if I know it exists. Anyway, I hope this gives you and everyone else a taste of what all is out there! I of course always want more, I am serious about being a sapphic dragon hoarding every crumb i can get my lizardy hands on, but I do think what we have should also be appreciated more. If I missed one of your faves, please tell me!

[befuddledcinnamonroll]

Ok, Taiwan, I get it. You're just openly fucking with us at this point. And y'know. I respect it. We all collectively lost our shit on you before, and now you're going to use it to troll us. I love you for that.

I am just so sad we didn't get our Trapped cameo though. *sigh* What could have been.

So, uh...Boss. Just curious if you really think a young man who was abandoned as a small child and has been in a gang life since then doesn't know the horror of loss? Like, dude. C'mon.

Though I do find it hilarious that the gang members aren't scared enough of Chen Yi and they need Eddie to come back and be feral to keep them in line.

Also this

*chef's kiss* He's gotta provide for his man in retirement, why not start a line of food products, lol.

And this was so damn sweet

Some day we will start getting some QLs with older leads! I mean look at the Golden Bachelor, people are losing their minds over seeing people in their 70s have love lives. We don't all just die after 30!

I also love that Chen Yi ignored the Boss' visit, so Eddie wouldn't get jealous.

And not him getting all soft about how small and cute Eddie is, while feeling him up under his oversize shirt. *fans self*

And look at how beautifully they match now!

Also, whoever put Eddie in that shirt deserves an immediate raise.

And then the conversation and kiss

where Eddie finally understands how deeply Chen Yi truly loves him

And y'know, the whole dying conversation doesn't bother me at all, because that's how Eddie has talked this entire show. Chen Yi is using the love language Eddie understands. But these two are going to make it to their 40s and then retire like their bosses. Because they have each other to watch their backs.

AND THEY HAVE MATCHING PILLOWS!!!!!

Can I also say how much I love how these two play with each other's ears, it's so damn cute.

And I know I haven't talked a lot about Zong Yi & Ze Rui, but most of their stuff was around the stabbing, which I don't feel like I need to post for posterity. But huge shout out to @biochemjess for nailing that bracelets catch!

I do love that Ze Rui is just 100% family already to Zong Yi's dad & sister.

I also love that Zong Yi apparently went to the Step by Step school of "Fuck kitchen hygiene, I'm going to take my man right here and in front of a window for good measure".

[joels-shitty-puns]

The Key To Your Heart - Track 3

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x Musician!Reader

Gif creds to @bestintheparsec

Series Summary: After writing your feelings for Pedro into a song, it gains a lot more popularity than expected. Ultimately it brings both criticism and support, with new possibilities around the corner.

Series Warnings: 18+ only (MDNI). Potential for puns/dad jokes (name of my blog, and the fic) should give that away. This is my first fic which should be its own warning, lol. Also some cursing. Mentions of masturbation (f) maybe more smut later idk. Sadness, reader is pretty depressed. Poor body image. Rude people. Bullying-ish and just lack of support? Anxiety. Age gap! Reader is in her mid 20's, Pedro is current age (48).

Other stuff: Reader is plus sized. AFAB. Inexperienced. Also has a dog, but you can pretend it is another creature probably. Further, in case it isn't clear, italics almost always are the reader's inner thoughts!

Word Count: 2.5K

Series List: Here!

Miss last chapter? Here!

Sorry this took so long. Work :( But I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think. :) Thanks for reading!

-Pedro's POV-

The warmth of the midday sun beamed through the window as Pedro glanced nervously at his watch. 12:55PM. Finally, he grabbed his laptop and lay down on his couch with a soft *flump*. He quickly typed in "The Jazz and AllyKat show" into the search engine and opened up the website for your interview, just in time for it to begin broadcasting live. He knew you wouldn't be visible, but he would be lying if he said he hadn't been waiting anxiously since they announced it two days ago.

He was interested in hearing more about you. Hearing your voice speaking instead of just singing. Hearing the passion and levels of expression you may portray. Do you have an accent? A high or low voice? A lisp or a stutter? A rasp? You were such a mystery to him and the world, yet your shared conversation over Instagram the other day was so heartfelt. He appreciated your candor and vulnerability, especially in show business.

He couldn't figure out why… but ever since he heard your song, he couldn't stop thinking about you. There was something about you that seemed to draw him in. He was impressed with your lyrics and swooned at your voice. That voice! But with everyone contemplating who you were and who you liked, Pedro didn't want to be another one of those people, making you feel pressured. But he was certainly curious. 

The video began and he listened intently, not wanting to miss a single word. When your voice chirped a hello to the interviewers and listeners, his heart skipped a beat. He swore it was the sweetest sound he had ever heard. He was drawn to you and wanted to learn anything he could, so he listened, trying to keep his breathing as silent as possible to not miss it. Why am I feeling like this? We've only had one conversation. Why am I so drawn to her, especially when she's already in love with someone?… he interrogated himself.

The interview discussed your favorite color, animals, and books, which Pedro vowed to read as soon as he could get to a bookstore. You listed off your favorite films and shows. However, although you had a great taste in cinema, he couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment that none of his roles were on your list. Clearly it's not you she loves, so you can put that out of your head now. He should feel relief, but instead he feels hollow at that realization.

When asked who your best friend is, you gush about your guy bff. You talk about how much you love him. How cute and sweet he is. Pedro can't help but feel a bit jealous of this guy who you love so much. But he listens on, his heart perking up and bubbling over when he hears you finally explain that your best friend is your dog.

Not only does she have a dog, but he's her best friend. And the way she talks about him is so…adorable, he thinks, gushing over your shared love of the fuzzy animals. He wonders what your dog's name and breed is, but you refuse to answer that question from the interviewers, for fear that someone may recognize his name and breed, tying him to you. The interviewers make a joke on your paranoia, which you ignore and Pedro scoffs at, their lack of understanding poking a protective instinct inside of him.

The conversation suddenly rolls into celebrity crushes and his chest tightens. But before they can ask you, he hears the air horn signaling the amount of viewers. Although he's disappointed to miss the potential answer you may have given, he also feels that strange protective feeling over you again, making him feel annoyed at the interviewers, knowing your desire for privacy. His thoughts only shift into a possessive manner for a millisecond before Ally proposes the possibility of your crush potentially listening to the show. His heart and emotions are on a bumpy roller coaster and he's practically jittery at the anticipation. He's leaning in to hear your answer when the door to his house barges open and a frustrated Oscar Isaac walks in, complaining in Spanish.

Startled, Pedro slams his laptop closed and flings it towards the coffee table, nearly spilling his drink. He yells questioningly, wondering why his best friend is barging into his home unannounced. Oscar is fully in the living room now, hands on his hips and ready to rant again. But before he has a chance to continue his argument with Pedro, he squints. His eyes look to the laptop, then to Pedro, now standing and looking frazzled after jolting up from the seat. He looks at Pedro's face again, eyebrow raised questioningly, and points to the laptop. "Were you watching porn?"

Pedro is dumbfounded, and if he wasn't on such high alert, he would've thought to lie and say he was watching porn. Instead he blurts "NO, I was not watching porn." It sounded like a lie. Oscar looks again from the laptop to Pedro, noticing his flushed cheeks and giving him a once over from head to toe, looking for any tells, other than the blush and the panic. "Yeah right, you slut. Let's see then."

Oscar reaches for the laptop, and Pedro grasps for it too, just a second behind. Too slow. Pedro argues "I wasn't. Not that it should matter, seeing as I'm in my own HOME… alone. Or should I say previously alone." Pedro throws his hands up in frustration. Oscar just laughs. "Okay let's see what you're so interested in then, that you don't even hear me knocking on your door or trying to contact you." He cracks open the computer.

"You're watching…an interview?" Oscar looks at Pedro, confused at why he would be so wigged out over a talk show. "I told you," Pedro replies, pointedly. Oscar glances back at the computer again, his brow suddenly relaxing and his lips turning into a mischievous smirk. "Ohh. I see… This is that girl you defended in your interview, huh? Someone got a little crush?" 

Pedro rolled his eyes and scoffed, trying to push away the warmth grazing his cheeks. "No. I don't have a crush. I was just looking for something to do and saw it pop up on my page…" Pedro rambled on, "plus it's just curious how much she's keeping a secret, you know? Everyone is wondering about these things." Oscar listened, amused, and Pedro continued. Please stop talking, Pedro thought to himself. "Plus I don't even know her. A crush? That's ridiculous."

"She doesn't know that guy in her song either and she managed a crush… and you defended it," Oscar said matter-of-factly. Pedro rolled his eyes, and Oscar continued. "Are you hoping her crush is on you?" 

Pedro sputtered out a quick answer. "Please. She sounds young... it's probably on someone like Harry Styles. Why would she have interest in an old man like me?" Oscar patted Pedro's shoulder. "You're too hard on yourself." Pedro ignored him and continued, "plus you know how I feel about relationships." 

"Yeah yeah…" Oscar continued in a mocking tone, hand pretending to be a sock puppet while he recited, "I don't have the time to properly grow a relationship, I don't want to get hurt, I'm focusing on my career…" Pedro ignored his mocking tone and simply agreed with the recitation. "Yes… now… Why did you feel the need to barge in here unexpectedly?"

"It wouldn't have been unexpected had you checked your messages. I texted you four times and even messaged your Instagram when I didn't get a reply," Oscar defended. 

"You know I'm not a texter," Pedro disputes.

"Yeah, no shit, abuelito. How many messages are unread on your phone? 600?" Oscar banters.

Pedro hastily defended himself. "No! I call them back! And abuelito!? Really?" He tuts. "You're not far behind me, pendejo. Plus you know I never check my Instagram messages either. I hardly even log on. You should've called me instead."

"I did. Twice. Anyway, I wanted to see if you were still available to watch the kids later. Buuuut, after not hearing back, I just decided to check on you. Glad to see you're alive, and clearly just distracted." Oscar wiggles his eyebrows.

Pedro crosses his arms, ignoring Oscar's last remark. "Yes, of course I'll watch the kids. Go enjoy yourselves!"

"Thanks P. You're the best… and I know I'm picking on you, but I just want you to be happy. I think if you like this girl you should try and talk to her. Dust off the cobwebs of your Instagram and actually message her or something."

I already have… Pedro thinks, running his thumb across his bottom lip. "Thanks, man."

Oscar left with a friendly pat on Pedro's shoulder. "See you later tonight then with the kids!"

Upon closing the door, Pedro sped over to his laptop again, hopeful that your interview hadn't ended yet. Fortunately for him, it was still recording. He hoped he hadn't missed anything.

The interviewer named Ally spoke. "Nice try. You know who we're trying to find out about. Has he, the man of your dreams and star of your lyrics, contacted you at all? Will we see a romance blooming?"

Pedro's heart pounded so loud he feared he would miss your answer. If she says yes… his mind entertains, not knowing the answer to the rest of that thought.

You spoke, hesitantly, and he felt the protective urge creep over him again. He wanted to know the answer but he hated hearing you uncomfortable . "I uh… I have received a lot of messages, some of them from celebrities."

He swallowed hard, his breath catching in his throat.

The interviewers replied excitedly. "Yeeeeaaaah?????"

There's a long pause. The silence is deafening, apart from the booming timpani of Pedro's heartbeat.

You answered, so softly he almost missed it. "Yes. We've talked."

He stopped breathing. 

"Did you tell him it was him? Did you admit you love him?"

"Absolutely not. It was just a nice conversation," you laughed.

We had a nice conversation…

"Will you tell us who he is? At least a description? An initial?" Jazzy asked, desperate for answers.

Ally chimed in "anything! We're starving here."

You giggled before answering. The most beautiful laugh he's ever heard. "I won't do that much, but I will say… he has brown curly hair... Gorgeous brown eyes… And he seems really funny and nice."

I have curly brown hair and brown eyes.. maybe it could be me, his heart offered the idea. I try my best to be funny and nice too.

It could also be Tom Holland. Or Dylan O'Brien. Or some other young actor, his self-doubt chimes in. But he also knew based on your eye color descriptor, that it wasn't Harry Styles, shutting down his earlier guess.

Ally lets out a huff. "That's a pretty broad answer but I guess it narrows out a few people.."

"Well we have another surprise. A way to narrow it down a little more…" Jazz proposes.

"Oh? What's that?" You replied. Pedro could hear the nervousness in your tone.

Jazz continued "I asked our tech to work his magic, and he managed to pull a list of our viewers during the highest number of people tuning in…"

Pedro's heart picked up speed.

"Then, since he's so good at working a computer, he was able to filter it further, running the names through the web and pulling out any celebrities. We have a list here and all you have to do is read through and say if he's on the list of viewers. The only ones who would know are the three of us. Of course if he's watching, he will also know if he's in the running or not."

You stuttered out, "o-okay.."

There was a long pause on your end while you read, and Jazz and Ally filled in the space with chatter.

Pedro sat, waiting nervously for your answer.

"Uhm… no. None of these names.." you finally answered.

His heart sank. It wasn't him. You didn't love him.

"That's disappointing," Ally answered. "I had really hoped he was listening. I'm sorry. I thought when we filtered through the viewers with our celebrity listener filter, we'd have some luck."

"It's okay.. he's probably busy or something.." you answered, though your disappointment was hard to hide. "Maybe he will listen later when he has time."

Pedro was logged in on his account. His name would've been on that list, and you just confirmed, without calling him out personally, that he wasn't the one you loved.

The interview soon ended and he closed his laptop with a sigh, flopping back onto his couch. He had hoped to message you and tell you he watched the video. But now he didn't see the point in it. You already knew he watched it, and you probably didn't care. He closed his eyes and eventually decided to try and ignore his feelings. You don't even know her. Don't be stupid. It's just a crush.. a stupid, hopeless crush..

Looking out the window, Pedro noticed the sun setting outside and glanced at the clock on his stove. Realizing Oscar would be back soon with the kids, he decided he needed to snap out of it. Put on a happy face before babysitting duty. He began straightening up the house and getting things ready before finally turning on a cartoon movie just in time for them to arrive. 

Oscar greeted him, and sat the kids in front of the movie. He knew his friend well enough to see through his smile and know he was upset about something. But he also could tell Pedro needed some space to sort things out in his mind first before he was ready to talk. So he left the kids with a profuse thank you, and headed out the door, leaving Pedro alone with his thoughts and two small bundles of energy.

Unbeknownst to Pedro, you looked through the list of celebrity viewers, scanning for his name. But thanks to his friend's intrusion, at the time that they filtered the list, he was disconnected from the live video. He wasn't on the list you saw.

Kept busy with the kids, it wasn't until they were back home with their parents that Pedro was forced to think about his feelings. Maybe he would still message you either way. You probably needed more friends and allies in this business, and he did enjoy talking to you, even if he wasn't the one you loved. If you didn't want to form a friendship with him back, that was fine too. But he would try. Still, his disappointment was settling in his heart. He didn't realize how much he was starting to care about you until you said he wasn't on that list.

So with the shared belief that neither of you cared about one another, you both went to bed, you both felt heavy in your hearts, and you both couldn't help but feel light tears spilling onto your cheeks as sleep eventually took over.

Equally unknown to you, he was watching, and he planned to watch it again when the video was posted, just to hear you talk a little bit longer. Just to learn more about you. Learn the tiny personality quirks he could pick out from your voice. Things that make you who you are, until maybe he could meet you in person. 

That's all for this chapter!! Thank you again for reading and let me know what you think.

Looking for the next chapter? Here!

Taglist: (Let me know if you want in!)

@pedrotonin @starcrossed02 @lightupsketchersperson

[arioloyal]

[["Sepandarmazgan"🍷]]

(King baldwin iv x reader)

Warning: none

[Jerusalem - 1182]

(King baldwin iv pov) :

her fingers are praying constantly with rosary, sitting alone my dear y/n. The sun has set. These are the minutes when angels accompany humans and I am her companion as well. The boundaries between reality and fantasy disappears.

I was watching this peaceful show in silence, suddenly I was drawn to another world, I listened to my intuition. I saw y/n's state in later years. she was older, thin and sad, but she was sitting on my place with more splendor and majesty. she looked majestically at the sight of Jerusalem, but there was an incurable pain in her heart. she endured my absence like a wound.

It was at that moment that I realized two things: firstly, y/n will grow old in this palace and stay in Jerusalem for the rest of her life, and secondly, the pain that will arise after I leave, will not go away from her.

(Y/n ' pov) :

His voice separated me from the other world.: "Y/n? Are you okay? You look weak."

I hardly smiled, but the unsaid words were like a big stone hanging from my neck like a heavy necklace. My voice was hoarse.

"Honestly, I'm not feeling very well. I'm very thirsty, but there's nothing in this palace to quench my thirst."

"Then I will call Raymond here," said the king. "they will give you whatever you desire."

"No, I don't. What I need cannot be found in this palace. It's in the pub!i just want to faint tonight."

Despite the fact that the silver prison covered his damaged face, concern was still visible in his bloodshot eyes. I thought he was confused.

Y/n: "This jar can only be filled in the pub."

"You want me to buy some wine?..." The pious king cut me off decisively.

"I know that im too bold for someone who ask to the king of this holy land such a things, but can I make one more request?"

:" go on".

:"When you go to the pub, don't pick up the jar in a hurry and don't run away. Warm up there a little. Talk to the people there. I'll wait for you here. You don't have to rush."

. Baldwin looked at my face, there was both rebellion and anxiety in his eyes. At that moment, I remembered that red-haired boy in Damascus who wanted to be my friend. He was thinking so far about what others think about him, unfortunately he didn't get a chance to drown in the sea of spirituality and love for God. Will he be willing to give up at least a little bit of his authority and power till the end of the night?

But Baldwin, after a moment's hesitation, stood up, nodded his head, and said, "I have never been to a tavern, nor put a drop of wine in my mouth. But I trust you completely. Because I believe that you would not ask such a thing of me for nothing. There must be a truth that you want to show me. For your sake, my dearest, I'll go where you said. I will take that wine and bring it for you. Even if It will be difficult for me and gives damage to my reputation."

After a short goodbye, accompanied by Raymond, they started to leave the palace...

As soon as they were far away from the gate, I closed my eyes and thanked God for putting such a pure man in my path. He is a raging river that does not stop and his arms are open and welcoming to any people. Always curious to discover.

I wish that until the last moment of his life, he will not wake up from the intoxication of divine love...

(To be continued...)

Thanks for reading 📚 if you like to know what happens in part 2, just leave a comment down here. ♡

[antianakin]

I don’t know if you’re actually watching the Ahsoka series or not, but I was very curious on your thoughts on the newest episode, and the confrontation between Anakin and Ahsoka.

Bro traumatized her again. Lol. 😒🙃

I’m actually kind of satisfied that she showed a little resentment, but I still don’t like that she didn’t cuss him out or something.

Anakin not apologizing is infuriating at first glance, but I also think it fits his character.

It’s funny, if I think about it in a certain way: I wonder if Anakin himself views his “redemption” kind of the same way his fans do. He’s just like, “Why are you still pissed at me? I died stopping the Emperor, didn’t I?” 🙄

The only one I think he’d actually feel sad about is Leia, because of course he’d want his daughter to like him, but she never will now, because he fucking tortured her and blew up her planet.

You know… I don’t really view Anakin’s final moments as a true “redemption” in the eyes of the galaxy. George Lucas has a quote where he says parents are redeemed in the eyes of their children. I guess you could argue that Anakin redeemed himself in Luke’s eyes, but not the galaxy’s own.

And then there’s Leia, who will never forgive him or think of him as her father.

In a way, it’s almost fitting for Anakin, that each of his children represent something for him.

Luke represents forgiveness, and how it’s never too late to do the right thing.

Leia represents his mistakes and sins. As long as she lives, he’ll always look at her and remember the damage he’s done. She’d never let him forget it.

Which is funny, when going back to the recent Ahsoka episode, and how he was acting like a dick to Ahsoka.

Personally, I think he was purposely trying to piss her off to make her fight to not die.

Still though: he’s such a jackass. 😒

Anyways, I guess my main point is that I don’t view Anakin being a Force Ghost shows that he was “redeemed.” I view it more as a type of salvation. Like the Bible story where Jesus is on the cross with two other men next to him. And then one man decides to “believe in him” or whatever, and his soul is saved by the skin of his teeth.

This is kind of how I view Anakin’s act of saving Luke. His soul was saved, because he did a heel face turn at the last second. So The Force was like, “Good enough, I guess.” *Throws up hands*

Anyways, sorry for the long rambling. I hope you don’t mind the message. Haha. 😅 I just have found your blog really therapeutic, because while I like Anakin as the fascinating character that he is, it still just kills me how fandom woobifies him and blames the Jedi for their own genocide.

I don't mind this message at all, thanks so much for sending so many of your thoughts, this was great! It's going to be a long reply back, though, since there's so much to respond to and if you've been going through my blog, this probably won't surprise you.

I AM watching the Ahsoka show, I'm just putting my thoughts about it on a different blog to this one (this blog was created for me to be negative so I usually only review things on here if I KNOW I'm going to be negative about it, but I was hopeful I'd have positive things to say about the Ahsoka show lol).

I think I'm feeling RELATIVELY mediocre about the show. Like I don't hate the whole thing, I can see why it appeals to people, but it's not really hitting at what I would've wanted from a narrative perspective. It seems to be relying on fan service and pretty visuals rather than genuinely good writing to get them through. If you happen to be the fan being serviced, you probably like it fine. But if you are someone more like me, then you might be noticing that there aren't a lot of stakes, the character motivations are weak or missing, the two storylines aren't being spliced together very well, and the dialogue's just not that great. There's also several more nitpicky things that are really pissing me off about the show (the way they're treating Force sensitivity, Sabine being a Jedi at all for no good reason and how her character is being butchered, the very distant and aloof acting I feel like we're getting from everybody, and of course the requisite anti-Jedi bullshit that we can all expect from Filoni at this point).

But as for how I felt about Anakin and Ahsoka's scenes in the latest episode this week, I am personally of the opinion that it WASN'T Anakin at all. I know it's left ambiguous, so if people feel like it was truly Anakin in some way shape or form, that's fine, but I think it makes more sense to me personally that it wasn't. This is Ahsoka's manifestation of Anakin in a moment where she's literally drowning and emotionally at something of a low point and has to decide if she's going to live or not and that conflict plays out in her head the way we see it. I'm also open to the idea that this is one of those things where the Force "tests" the Jedi not unlike what we see happen on Ilum and Mortis and the Force is just utilizing Anakin's visage to bring Ahsoka's deepest fears out into the open.

What makes it interesting to me is that then we can look at the interactions as THIS IS HOW AHSOKA SEES HIM. Whether she thinks about it that deeply or not, THIS personality is how she remembers him. The immediate choice to be violent with her and test her fighting skills rather than talk to her more gently, the dismissive attitude he has towards her, the flickering back and forth between Anakin and Vader because she doesn't truly know which one he was most. He wasn't necessarily a great teacher and his way of teaching wasn't very Jedi-like, it's ruthless and merciless and unkind, and we see that reflected in their interactions in this episode, which could be a really interesting look at how Ahsoka still remembers him even if she didn't see it negatively at the time.

So him not apologizing isn't like... an indication of how Anakin might actually handle this interaction if it were truly him so much as just... Ahsoka being unsure sure if he WOULD apologize because she has no idea how much of him was Vader the entire time and Vader would clearly never apologize. I think the Anakin we see by the end of ROTJ probably would apologize at SOME point, especially if we're supposed to see him as redeemed and acknowledging/accepting of his sins, etc. But Ahsoka doesn't know that. Ahsoka probably kind-of knows through Luke that he turned back in his last moments, but she wasn't there for that, she didn't get to see it, and she obviously still has no idea what caused him to turn on the Jedi and become a Sith to begin with. Why did he come back for Luke and not her? Was it because she abandoned him? Did he just not care about her the way she thought? Was there something intrinsically wrong with her that he recognized from the beginning?

There's just too much uncertainty perhaps for Ahsoka to know if he'd actually apologize and she doesn't even necessarily need or want an apology so much as she just wants to UNDERSTAND. Because of course it leads into her doubts about HERSELF and whether being his apprentice (even for as short of a time as it was) has somehow influenced her to be more like him and if she should be worried that she'll go dark or cause a student of hers to go dark. If she doesn't know why HE made that choice, how can she trust herself? It's not entirely dissimilar to the statement she made at the end of the Wrong Jedi arc where she claims she's leaving the Jedi because if the Council couldn't trust her then she isn't sure she can trust herself, either. And now with Anakin going dark, she has to wonder if the Council saw something of that in her when no one else did, saw a future for her that she hadn't been able to see for herself yet.

I think personally I'd just rather look at this episode as the closest we're going to get to a "deep dive" into Ahsoka's psyche and character rather than try to analyze it as like "what does this say about Anakin." It's not Anakin's story anymore, it's Ahsoka's. Or it's supposed to be, anyway.

That all being said, I don't think it went far enough and I do dislike that we didn't get to dive into OTHER aspects of Ahsoka via other relationships in order to round out who she actually is. I don't think we know any more about her at the end of the episode than we did at the beginning. I don't think she really grows or changes through the episode at all. I don't know what the whole "choose to live" thing was about or how it connects to her overall arc because while, yes, she's obviously literally drowning in the moment, "choosing to live" is not something they've been exploring as an issue for Ahsoka throughout this season so far, so it didn't feel like this cool end to her character journey so much as just a really shallow one-liner made to sound badass without anything particularly profound behind it.

I think gffa said that one of the things you can tell about this show is that it's been percolating in Filoni's mind for so long that there's things he's leaving out because they're just totally obvious to him now and he's forgotten that the audience won't know some of it without being told or shown. If Ahsoka was depressed or suicidal or something like that, it never came across in the first four episodes. She barely seems to be struggling at all to me, personally. So maybe that's what Filoni wanted us to understand about her, maybe that was the intention, but it just didn't quite make it from his head into the writing or onto the screen.

And I keep going back to the Obi-Wan Kenobi show and the way they handled his character arc. They started him at a really low point where he's so CLEARLY depressed and just moving through life without actually living or finding any way to be happy. They spend so much time showing us how OUT of character Obi-Wan is in order for the pay off by the end and the slow growth of his character throughout the six episode story to feel satisfying. And while he's out of character in his depression, it's done in such a way that that's the POINT. We all know WHY he's out of character, we know what's causing him to be that way, it doesn't need to be explained because it didn't happen off-screen, it's literally the plot of an entire trilogy of films. It felt like a pretty natural extension of the state we last saw him in and it allows him the ability to actually have a journey that makes sense.

We've gotten NONE OF THAT for Ahsoka. Her relationship with Sabine is nonsensical and comes out of nowhere with zero explanation. Her weird thing about Padawans comes out of nowhere with zero explanation. Her aloof attitude is coming out of nowhere and does nothing to help us understand the state of mind she's in. She never seems to be acting SO out of character that it tells the audience how much she's struggling, but she's also SO flat that she no longer feels much like the Ahsoka everyone knew and loved from The Clone Wars. They're inventing new problems for her to have that make no sense instead of giving her a journey to actually deal with the problems she already had and hadn't gotten any resolution for. And they're unable to actually connect her problems from before into the Rebels storyline in a way that makes any real sense or feels genuine and meaningful for either Ahsoka or Sabine, so both storylines are getting half-assed and butchered in the attempt.

Personally, I think Ahsoka should've had a season set closer to ROTJ or even before it, just after she gets off of Malachor and 2-3 years prior to ANH, to explore her immediate reaction to Anakin's betrayal and have her overcome that on her own. Use original characters primarily, throw in Bail Organa or something if needed just to give her a quick plot, but let it be about AHSOKA. And only once her journey to finding herself is complete do we then move on to the Search for Ezra, which should be focusing WAY more on the Rebels characters than we're actually getting and should not involve any of the Rebels characters (except maybe Jacen) learning to be Jedi. Ahsoka would be a side character in this story because she has now had her story told and we can let Sabine and Ezra and Jacen and Hera be at the forefront of the story. (I also think we could've done something with Sabine that wasn't being a Jedi or her entire family being murdered off screen so she has an excuse to do a characterization 180 and act like a bratty teenager all over again.)

If I had to just change THIS episode a little, I have a few alternatives I've been thinking about. For one, I do just think we should've gotten to explore OTHER relationships beyond Anakin to emphasize the other things that Ahsoka is that aren't just "Anakin's Padawan." Rex, Barriss, Plo Koon, even Kanan or Ezra to try to make that connection to Rebels. She's been a friend, a commander, a rebel, a student, a mentor, an ally, a Jedi. She's been so many things that have nothing at all to do with Anakin and I think that might've been nice to explore as well. Yes, Anakin was important. Yes, she's fucked up about it. But that's not ALL THAT SHE IS. So I think starting off with her fears about Anakin is great, but then have her move on and sort-of go through it a little like Charles Dickens' A Christmas Story to show that she's more than this, too. This probably would've worked better if it had been a two parter thing rather than one 30-40 minute episode, depending on how many characters you wanted to throw in.

I also would've appreciated seeing her break and shatter at seeing Anakin. I wanted her to be ANGRY, to refuse to forgive him, to throw his betrayal in face. And then by the end of the episode, she lets it go. She's seen that she doesn't need to hold onto that anymore and it doesn't matter what choices Anakin did or didn't make, she's her own person and can make HER own choices. And so Anakin comes back at the end, and she's no longer angry. She can forgive him. I also would've wanted her to have been more snappy and frustrated and angry earlier in the season, as well, so we can TELL there's something simmering underneath that she's trying to keep repressed until it finally boils over in this episode.

The other alternative I came up with was the OPPOSITE idea where Ahsoka is basically just kind-of... in denial about it. She isn't acknowledging her own anger and pain and betrayal at all and she just wants to spend this time with Anakin the way they used to and Anakin is sitting there provoking her and trying to get her to break so she can let it all out. Eventually he gets her to admit it and get angry and yell at him and acknowledge her own pain finally so she can see how it's impacting her relationships in the present day. She's been trying up until now, but as Yoda's always said, sometimes trying isn't enough, and you just have to do or do not. She doesn't reject him at the end of this, but she can at least acknowledge what he did to her and how it's made her feel. You could even include some of her anti-Jedi bullshit in this and have her justifying Anakin's betrayal by saying the Jedi failed him the way they failed her and Anakin pushing back on that idea so that by the end of the episode, she can recognize that she's been blaming the Jedi because she's been uncomfortable with her inability to understand Anakin's choices and it was easier to blame the Jedi than live with that uncertainty.

I've discussed my feelings on Anakin's redemption a lot and they're definitely not in the majority. Personally, I just don't think he's redeemed at all. My definition of redemption is along the lines of "you can fix/undo the thing you broke/damaged" rather than just... "you decided to stop breaking things even if there's no way to fix it." It doesn't mean Anakin can't keep being a better person if he'd lived, or that he can't find redemption in more specific places (like Luke forgiving him for chopping off his hand), but that there is no redemption for what he did to the Jedi, to the clones, and to the galaxy at large. None. It doesn't matter what he does, it doesn't matter that he stopped himself and Palpatine, it doesn't MATTER. The Jedi and the Republic are still gone, the clones were still enslaved, the galaxy is still in shambles and traumatized from 25 years under the Empire.

You aren't the only one who's chosen to separate your definition of "redemption" from something else to make it make more sense. Someone else went for redemption being different from an absolution wherein you are just immediately forgiven of all of your sins because of one act or whatever, while redemption is the process of doing better. If that works for you, go for it. Personally, I just think Anakin isn't redeemed. He cheat coded his way into being a Ghost and the Ghosts don't make any sense anyway. I think it's definitely intended to represent his redemption IN THE NARRATIVE, like that's the point of the visual, but it just doesn't work for me, so I choose not to see it that way. It's ambiguous enough and the Force Ghost lore confusing enough that it's not that hard.

Your interpretation of Luke and Leia as the two sides of forgiveness is intriguing. I do think Leia could get to the point of forgiveness that basically looks like letting go of her anger because the man's dead anyway so there's no real point staying angry and understanding the history that may have led him to become the monster she knew, but that doesn't mean she has to LIKE him or ever consider him a father.

I think you could kind-of throw Ahsoka and Obi-Wan in there as different reactions to Anakin, too. With Ahsoka as someone who sort-of clings to who Anakin used to be and can't truly reconcile the two versions of him that she knew, and Obi-Wan as someone who rises above. Unlike Leia, he did know and love Anakin, but he is also able to let go of his anger and betrayal and accept Anakin for what he is now rather than pining for someone who no longer exists. And Ahsoka is the opposite of Luke as someone who also knew Anakin and loved him, but struggles a lot MORE with the revelation of who he was and his impact on her life. Everyone approaches Anakin and his relationship to them and his choices in a different way.

I wish the Ahsoka show wanted to explore any of that at all lol.

[nikka-v]

Another day | Vinnie Hacker x fem reader smut

Summary: Realising that Vinnie is not that bad after all.

Warnings: nsfw!, 18+, swearing?, smut and Vinnie is hot as fuck which is warning as well 😏

I am sorry for any mistakes ♥️

You did not like Vinnie that much since you met him and the feeling was mutual. No one properly knew why and honestly you two did not know as well. Maybe it was because you did not spend enough time together to get to know each other or maybe it was because your partners used to date and you two still felt the vibe between them and were mad because they wanted you all to spend time together. You just argued so much because of everything.

But even though there was so much hate between you, there was also something else. Something only visible to a few other people. Everyone always said that when you weren't arguing, you had so much chemistry and an invisible connection but that just made you argue again. And Joey with Sarah, your partners, hated it because they saw that too. And it wasn't different on a wedding to which were you all invited.

"I just do not understand why you have to argue with her all the time and then look at her later as if you wanted to fuck her." you were walking through the mansion where the wedding was taking place when you heard Sarah's voice almost shouting from hers and Vinnie's room. You were spending the whole weekend at the mansion and your room was right next to theirs so you snuck to the balcony and listened to the argument from there, naturally curious about the reason and outcome.

"What is your problem, Sarah? Am I bothering you with my thoughts about you and Joey?" you dramatically gasped and had to laugh quietly because of the situation. Of course, you knew how they were still looking at each other but you did not realise that Vinnie saw it too. After a few seconds of silence, you realized that he did not refuse what she said and leaned a little to try to see them.

"You are an asshole Vinnie, how can you speak like this to me?" I finally saw Sarah just as she walked out of the door and closed them loudly.

"You having fun?" Vinnie suddenly looked your way, making you lean back as if he did not already see you. You breathed deeply and watched as he walked on their balcony with a cigarette in between his lips, holding another in his hand, holding it out to give it to you.

"Thanks," you said, taking the small killer from his hand and after putting it to your mouth, leaning closer to him so he would light it for you. You had to admit that when he was standing there in black jeans and a white button my shirt he was really not bad looking plus how he was holding the cigarette made him even more attractive.

“I wanted to break up with her a few weeks ago because of how she still looks at Joey." he said suddenly, surprising you with his honesty.

"Why are you telling me this?" you could not stop yourself from asking causing him to chuckle a little.

"Because the only person you hate more than me is her so I know that you won't tell her." you nodded, that was the only possible response to what he said. He was right, wasn't he? You looked at him cause you felt his eyes on you and he just smiled with sadness in his eyes. At that moment you did not understand why he was sad.

"y/n?" as you heard Joey's voice you quickly threw the cigarette away, blowing the smoke out and gesturing to Vinnie to be quiet about it. Joey hated smoking and you had a few arguments about smoking already so you didn't want to provoke him again.

"Yes, babe!" Joey's head appeared from behind the curtain and he smiled at you, dimples showing on his cheeks. You quickly looked to where Vinnie was standing but he was no longer there so you looked back at Joey with a weird feeling in your stomach.

"What are you doing here? All good? You have a good time?" he asked and you frowned for a few seconds before quickly smiling. He was not usually asking more than one thing when he spoke to you, but you just thought that he finally started to act as a better boyfriend.

"I am all good, just taking a few moments to chill here," you said, putting your arms around his neck and kiss in him on his lips. The garden lights suddenly turned on, making the surroundings a bit more romantic causing you to smile a little at the kiss.

"Should we go to sleep?" Joey asked, looking at his watches all of a sudden. That weird feeling in your stomach happened again as if you sensed something weird happening. To be honest you expected Joey to want more than just a small kiss on a balcony.

"I mean, I thought we will have some us time," you said, making him laugh a little. He hugged you quickly before starting to walk away slowly.

"I am tired y/n. Maybe another day yeah? We do not have to do it every day right?" you wanted to talk to him more but he already disappeared behind the curtains and you heard the bathroom door closing.

"As if we did it in the last two weeks you asshole," you murmured to yourself angrily, almost jumping when you heard someone else's voice.

"That's how it starts you know? I am telling this to you because I care about you, he is doing it with someone else." Vinnie's voice resonated through your head, making you look at him with a shaking head.

"Sure you do care about me." you rolled your eyes, clearly angry. "He is not sleeping with anyone else. Unless you have proof, stop making up things." Joey would not cheat, would he?

"Whatever you say love." wanting to tell him off cause of the nickname you turned at him but he was not there anymore, leaving you alone with goosebumps all over your body. And as you were falling asleep you could not stop thinking about what he said.

Maybe because of that, you had some toe-curling dreams about him. Of how he would just touch you with those tattoed hands with rings. How he would bend you over the balcony railing or how he would just hug you and ask you about your day. The fucking minimum that Joey barely did. And you apparently moaned a little while sleeping cause Joey woke you up while there still wasn't so much light outside with kisses on your neck.

"What is going on?" you asked, trying to adjust your eyes to the darkness while you hugged Joey a little.

"You were having some hot dreams presumably with me so I want to apologise for leaving you wanting me. I did not realise yesterday that you wanted me so much. You had to bite your tongue to stop yourself from telling him that he should stop flattering himself so much but he was still your boyfriend so you had to let him think that the dreams were about him.

So you decided to make your brain think more about Joey and sleep with him. And that did not go as planned. Half of the time you saw Vinnie unintentionally and the other half you imagined him to make you feel satisfied which was definitely not a good idea. For the first time in a few weeks, you really came and while moaning you moaned a different name. Vinnie's name. But to your surprise, Joey did not even say anything to it. He was so focused on his satisfaction that he just mumbled some things to himself, not paying you any attention. And then when he finally finished, he just kissed you, rolled over and fell asleep. You on the other hand could not just go to sleep.

Your mind was all over the place. As you took a shower you had to think about the whole situation. You were sure that you did not have any feelings towards Vinnie, this was purely physical attraction, right? You expected Joey to talk about it but apparently, he was really not listening to you and did not bring it up for another two weeks. Those two weeks were strange because of how he was acting but in kind of a good way. He asked you about your day, took you on nice dates and brought you many flowers. It started to get even weirder when he stopped wanting us to meet Sarah and Vinnie so much. You were happy because of not seeing Sarah but you wanted to see Vinnie.

It all escalated at one of the parties when someone asked Vinnie to let you all hear his new song. He sceptically looked around the room, probably looking for Sarah before he pulled his phone out of a pocket and connected it to the speakers. Joey went outside a few moments ago to get you some drinks so you just leaned on a wall behind you and started listening to what Vinnie was saying before he put the song on.

"We called it ‘another day’ and it just popped in my head a few weeks ago," he said and when the song started to play, you liked the rhythm immediately. That was before you heard the words and realized it was about you.

You hated me

but you fuck him and say my name

This got stuck in your head. He knew about that night at the hotel. He heard you. You quickly pushed yourself from the wall and made your way out of the living room towards the stairs to get to another floor.

"Hey, wait." you heard Vinnie's voice as you reached the upper floor so you turned around to see him.

"What do you want Vinnie? Why would you sing about that? How did you even know about it?" you asked him quickly and looked him in the eyes. He took a deep breath before he took your hand and pulled you to an empty room, where you quickly pulled your hand away from him.

"I was standing on the balcony that night of the wedding weekend. I found out from other people that they saw Joey and Sarah kissing in the pool so I needed some time to think before I would go tell Sarah." you shook your head and stepped back a little, not wanting to believe his words.

"That's bullshit, he would not cheat." honestly you were trying to convince yourself more than Vinnie who was standing there, not knowing what to do to make you believe him.

"Okay, go search for them, I am sure they are together right now." he threw up his hands, obviously frustrated because of this situation. And so you did what he told you to do. You pushed him to the side to walk around him to the door so you could leave.

"If you are lying to me, I swear I will hurt you." you looked at him over your shoulder, making your way out of the room to find your boyfriend. You immediately saw a group of some guys, so you went to ask them for pieces of information.

"Jack, have you seen Joey?" you asked the curly-haired boy who you knew and he smiled at you nicely before he saw your angry face. He quickly pointed to a room which had closed doors and you almost ran towards it, taking a deep breath before trying to open the door. Locked. That made you even angrier so you knocked a few times before fully hitting it with your palm and then fist.

"Calm the fuck down, occupied!" you heard Joey's voice which made you kick the door and walk to the next room where you climbed a little out of the window to get on the room's balcony. And as you wanted to open the glassed door, you stopped and looked through a small space between the curtains. You put the palm of your hand on your mouth to stop yourself from screaming out loud. Vinnie was right, they were there, making out while he was fucking her on the bed.

A single tear came down your cheek before you climbed back to the other room. You weren't sad as much as angry. You wanted to hurt someone so much as Joey hurt you but you knew you did not have it in yourself to do this to someone you'd love.

"Are you okay?" you heard Jack as you got out of the room with only one goal. Find Vinnie.

"Don't worry about me, have you seen Vinnie?" you tried to smile at him but did not succeed. Jack understood that you were not in the mood to talk so he just shook his head.

"Not for a while," he said, making you think for a second before you walked back to the room where you saw Vinnie last time. And he really was still there, sitting on a dryer with a cigarette between his lips. Before you did not even realise that it was a laundry room.

"I guess you found them." he looked up from his phone and watched your face as he threw the cigarette out of a small window which you wouldn't even reach because of how high it was.

"Yes. I thought you were lying." you sat next to him on the washing machine and leaned your head on the wall behind you.

"Really? You did not believe it at all?" he asked doubtfully, making you chuckle quietly. Of course, you were suspecting it but never thought that it would be the truth.

"Okay, maybe a little but I just do not understand why." you never understood why would people cheat on each other. That was something you would never forgive anyone.

"I know it sucks but at least you found it out." Vinnie jumped down from where he was sitting and walked towards you so he was standing right in front of you. You just found out that your boyfriend was cheating and the only person you could think about was Vinnie. How he was standing there and could give you everything you've ever wanted.

"Help me forget about him, please," you whispered suddenly, not giving it much thought. But Vinnie was not that surprised about what you wanted the gently touched your knees, pushing them apart and coming closer to you.

"Are you sure about this? Don't you hate me?" he asked, leaning forwards to kiss you but stopping a few millimetres away from your lips.

"But I fuck him and say your name, don't I?" you used his own words to make him believe that you really wanted it. And he did not ask again, kissing you harshly and making you moan because of how his hand moved over your body.

You felt the cold rings which he was always wearing on your stomach before he moved his hands to the thin cloth of your lacy bra which showed a lot more than it should. His touch travelled across your body, helping you take off your cropped t-shirt before cradling your face and finding your lips again.

You moved your hands from his biceps to the hem of his shirt to take it off, taking a moment to admire his body and tattoos. Not that you've never seen him like that before but from this close, it was a premiere. You both were looking at each other's bodies for at least a minute before Vinnie suddenly kneeled at pushed up your skirt. You leaned back a little so he could move it even higher and before you sat properly again, he took off your thongs, leaving you almost naked.

"You don't have to. "you whispered as he got closer to you which made him stop his movements and look at you with confusion readable on his face.

"You don't want to?" he asked and almost looked disappointed.

"I do, I just don't want you to do it because you'd have to. Joey didn't want to. Never." Vinnie shook his head, suddenly amused.

"I don't do it because I have to, I do it cause I want to. I bet he wanted you to give him blowjobs all the time," he said, waiting for your answer which he did not actually need because of how you looked at him. Of course, he wanted to but when it came to giving back, he did not want to. Not that he would have a specific reason, it was because of how selfish he was in bed.

Before you could've said something he moved closer to you, leaving a kiss directly on your clit. You almost jumped a little and felt how he smiled because of how he was affecting you. He stuck out his flattened tongue and licked you up your slit to your clit.

"That feels good, doesn't it?" you heard his voice and as an answer moaned. You were sure he knew how good he was and wanted to show you what you were missing out on.

"Too good baby, I don't think I am going to last long." you joked quietly, your hand wovening through his hair to which he reacted by adding pressure to your clit. Over and over again he was slowly alternating between gently sucking on it and teasing it with the tip of his tongue. One of his hands moved back on your chest reaching your nipples over the bra and gently carresing it and with his other hand, he was holding your hip.

As you were getting closer, his hand moved from your hip lower between your legs, filling you with one finger and in a few seconds with the other. With one hand still holding his hair, you moved the other to hold the edge of the surface you were sitting on. Suddenly you felt Vinnie's hand moving from your chest to your hand, locking your fingers together. This gesture made something in you shift, making you feel a stronger connection to Vinnie.

It did not take long for you to feel an orgasm building in your whole body which made you moan Vinnie's name out loud. Because of so much pleasure, you unintentionally pressed your legs closer to which Vinnie reacted with a quiet laugh and with one hand he hold your legs apart.

"You see what you were missing out on?" Vinnie looked at you before getting up and hugging you, planting a few small kisses on your hair and forehead. You could have felt his hardening dick through his pants which caused you to get wet again almost immediately. You moved your hand lower to touch him through his pants, making him quietly moan into your ear. That moan caused you to get goosebumps throughout your whole body. You weren't attracted to men moaning that much but Vinnie definitely woke something up inside you.

"I can help you with that," you whispered, slowly massaging him, to which he reacted with another moan before leaning to the space between your shoulder and neck, placing a small kiss on your naked skin. But as you continued and with the other hand started to push his pants and boxers down, he grabbed gently your hand to stop you from massaging him some more.

"I wanna come with you," he whispered, having his forehead against yours and looking you in your eyes. He looked so in love with you at that moment which you slightly ignored because of the situation between you.

"Okay then, fuck me, Vinnie," you whispered to his lips as you kissed him passionately and pulled both his pants and boxers lower. He had to laugh a little at how impatient you were.

He caught you by your thighs, moving you to the edge of the washing machine and kissing you again. There were so many emotions in those kisses but both of you knew that you won't be able to tell them out loud to each other. As he moved closer to you and pushed himself slowly into you, you could not hold the loud moan and neither did he.

"You feel so good." he was still holding your thigh, moving his hands to your waist to pull you more against him. You felt so good, maybe better than ever and leaned your head back, letting all the moans out. You did not care anymore who would hear you and even I moaned Vinnie's name.

"Someone will hear it, love," Vinnie said between breaths and on his lips appeared a cheeky smile. He definitely liked how you said his name so maybe that's the reason why he moved one of his hands to your clit. He knew what he was doing for sure because you felt your orgasm building up even quicker.

"I don't care that they will." you pulled Vinnie a bit closer when you put your arm around his neck." God, you fuck me so well, Vinnie."

"Say my name again love." he moaned, definitely getting closer as well, and so did you.

"Vinnie, please I am so close." it did not take long before both of your climaxes came. You were sure that was the best orgasm ever.

" I wanna do this again and again." he was looking into your eyes again. "You looked so good when you came." you had to smile a little, touching his cheek gently and with the other hand you pushed his hair behind his ear to see his face properly, you never quite looked at him from such a short distance.

"Okay then." you smiled at him which made him feel a bit confused. He did not think that there would be something more than just this one-night stand.

"Wait, really?" he looked really cute confused like this with a blush on his cheeks and heavy breathing.

"Yes, I think this little relationship or whatever it is we have, can work out." his eyes brightened before he kissed you quickly, making you laugh at his lips. He was always so serious when he was with you before but this was a nice change and you were willing to try it out. You were sure he would never hurt you just because of the look in his eyes. He loved you.

[fandomfaeofveryfewf4cks]

Things I noticed the nth time watching Nimona:

Knight armour can get sliced through like nobody's business (Balister's arm), but can take a laser hit without serious, body-altering consequences (Director hitting Ambrosius with a laser made from the same one that apparently has the power to wipe out half the realm, or kill an Immortal being who doesn't feel severe pain from an arrow wound)?

...is this because Ambrosius' armour was made to be more protective than Balister's?

"She manipulated BOTH of us." Ambrosius says this about Nimona, who he had very few interactions with aside from her very blatantly fucking shit up for the institute. How did she manipulate HIM?

I guess it probably makes sense when you consider he was going to arrest the director, implying that he believed Bal AND Nimona, but I dunno. The little rat in my head started running on its brain-powering wheel at all the possible fanfic plots this could lead to.

Nimona as Ambrosius grabbed the Gloreth statue when they fell to the ground.

On the one hand, this could just be actor!Nimona putting dramatic emphasis on how even in death, the leaders of the realm will cling to their hopes and beliefs, or the golden boy finally getting to join his ancestor.

On the other hand, we could make it deliciously angsty (yum yum) and say it is Nimona's personal desire to grab the statue of Gloreth for reasons such as: taking down the monster-killer image of her former friend out of anger and sadness because she never wanted that image to be so true in representing one of the few people who ever cared about her even briefly;

OR, While trying to think about how she would act if she were actually dying, she reaches for the closest thing to a friend that she has, but this is her staging a false death, as that particular friendship was false so this is just fitting, isn't it?;

OR, They wanted it to spread a message that with the fall of the director, would come the fall of the corrupt system they live in, as well as the fall of this narrow-minded view of both Nimona and Gloreth's story as well as Gloreth and Nimona themselves.

Nimona freaking out about the arrow in their leg in the comic vs Nimona treating it like a little scrape not to be worried about in the movie.

This is really interesting to me. In the comic, it's played up for humor like Nimona is almost overreacting, then having Bal take care of her because he does care about her. This shows it as a bit silly, but so very meaningful.

Then you have the movie where Balister is freaking out and it's kind of funny because clearly Nimona is relatively fine about it, so he doesn't really need to make a big deal out of it. Then he helps her and is still very careful about it like with anyone else's arrow wound, and asks her questions so he can better understand them. Again so very important.

I love both versions of these scenes, I just am so curious about why they made such a drastic change.

I love this movie so freaking much. (I knew that already, but it bears saying for the thousandth time. It's just so fucking good.)

For this last one:

TW: mention of police brutality (discussed as a theme in the movie, nothing specific outside of the Nimona movie)

"He's got a weapon." It's not a weapon. It's a phone. But Todd (and who knows how many of the other knights) didn't choose to see it as anything other than what the director told him it was, and destroyed it as he was trained to do. This screams messaging about the stupid, dangerous, and harmful actions of too many police officers who don't check the situation for themselves before acting on "information" they gathered from insufficient data and/or unreliable sources, and combine that with profiling to make decisions that so often end up being harmful and even fatal to others.

[lmk-aus-galore]

Cinema Sins/Wins Rip Off of Lego Monkie Kid.

Yeah yeah I’m back folks, I just decided to take a looong break.

Inspired by @satansaidmyturnintheh3||scape

Rules:

-I won't be counting Animation Mistakes, because Idk how to do that, and I myself am a beginner animator (more like incredibly amateur, to the point I'm asking my sister for help) Unless of course the Animation is obviously and clearly having a mistake for me to watch.(Or it is said in the wiki) The other reason is because I don't want to keep repeating a scene just to check for an animation mistake.

-!This is mostly for entertainment purposes, sorry if I sound too mean!

-I also won't be counting flashbacks as 'mistakes' because most of them are based on bias.

-I'll be formatting it like this

-Neutral

-Sin

-Win

Let’s get started.

——————————————-

-Intro.

._.

-Love how you can see where Mei, Sandy and MK are in this scene.

-On the other hand why does Pigsy have a random game machine beside his shop? I know there are apartment buildings on top of said shop but in Season 2 he actively has authority to remove it.

-Secondly is MK currently on break at the moment or is he just, ‘slacking off’ judging by his clothes he should be currently working.

-Dragon Horse and Stone Monkey.

-Ah yes the underrated trio. Sandy, Mei and MK. Please tell me this group has a name.

-Bad time to call your daughter.

-The way Mei is so nervous to talk to her mother and the way she talks as if her mother doesn’t even give her enough time to explain, like I think Mei’s Mother is cutting her off at times here and it’s not really okay. It feels like Mei is talking to her boss than her Mom.

-Sandy for the win.

-The finishing move is a spin of the staff and a hit to the leg…wow MK.

-I really love how Sandy is just casually friends with these guys. Like these guys just met Sandy a few weeks ago and all of a sudden they said ‘Let’s be friends’

-Ok MK you should really get social cues…or at least let Mei get a word in-

-‘I always wanted to see Mei’s secret Dragon House full of secret Dragon stuff’ makes me wonder why no one believes in the Monkey King stories. Either that or why Mei isn’t being worshipped like a deity by now.

-Also MK, kinda creepy…but to be fair Mei put cameras on all of you…

-BRO THIS BULL CLONE HAS EVERYTHING ON HER?!

-Why does this Bull Clone pull out the same Two Pictures twice?

-Mei doesn’t smile in her photo, along with the rest of her family :(

-In fact she looks kinda restricted.

-Also Key detail, looks like Mei’s little green hair things are dyed!

-PIF confirms that Sha Wujing’s spear and Zhu Bajie’s rake are Celestial Weapons that later tie into Season 4

-We also have the Calabash, PIF’s fan, Wukong’s staff, Nezha’s spear and two of the Samadhi Fire Rings…though I think by this time of development this probably is Nezha’s little ring thingys in his shoes? Not really sure. The only one we don’t know about is the unidentified sword and the random rope.

-Also is she implying that her own fan is a powerful artifact? I guess that makes sense…?

-Why does PIF’s animation always stretch her or squish her I can’t take her seriously XD worse that it’s usually the face.

-Mei wanting to be a normal child is so sad. On the other hand why don’t we have more fanfics of Mei and her family dynamic? Come on people the angst is right there!

-When you think about it, the High-Tech security might’ve been the reason Mei became the ‘Tech Girl’ in the group. Since her family dabbles in High-Technology it’s only obvious she grew curious of that stuff.

-On the other note, what’s with Ancient families and suddenly getting a grasp at handling High-Technology? Like bro Red Son and Mei have so many parallels to each other it’s insane.

-MEI THIS IS WHY YOU DONT LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN.

-You know Red Son you might need to double down in calling Mei a peasant because uhh…wow, the place is huge.

-Mei’s room doesn’t have a door, which shows how shitty these people actually are.

-Also Mei has a lot of rock aesthetic posters, including one with a spider meaning Mei canonically had a rock phase. That or a goth phase so goth Mei is probably canon.

-Why I thought of rock is because of the two sets of guitars she has, one being an electric guitar.

-Mei also has a skateboard indicating she used to skate.

-She has an indoor TV with two game controllers (Why didn’t they just play in her bedroom?)

-And finally she has some things I think her parents would’ve given her such has the pony statue and the meditation carpet on the floor.

-Also apparently she plays the piano? Or is that even a piano?

-The legend of Mei’s sword is kinda cool actually.

-WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH IT?! HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO GETS TO WEILD IT THEN?!

-I have a feeling I know why no one has been able to hold that sword in like…ever (They all look so mean)

-‘You two boot up the old TV!’ What TV? There is literally no TV there? Is there a TV off-screen? Even so where would you put said TV? And again, why not your room?

-MK control your strength- how the hell does that even happen?

-Bull Clone literally just yeeted his hat at him.

-Said Bull Clone took the precious Dragon Sword despite the fact that he was struggling to get it off the statue

-Mei calls her Motorcycle like a horse, get it? Dragon Horse?

-Okay now I don’t blame MK I think that pinball machine is old. BECAUSE HOW DOES THAT JUST HAPPEN?!

-Mei this house should at LEAST take up a whole acre, HOW BIG IS YOUR HOUSE?!

-Mei fixing her bike is while she is chasing the Bull Clone is badass as hell. We do not talk about her enough.

-Pro tip: Never mess with Mei.

-This is why we need to give this family some doubt, okay if literally all her ancestors are dissing her and insulting her to her face because of the way she acts then maybe you shouldn’t turn a blind eye.

-‘You know what I am part of this family! I am Mei! Descendant of the Great Dragon of the West Sea, this is mine! And this is my House!” You go girl, show these guys a what you’re made of!

-A very good take on Mei accepting who she is despite her family’s expectations on her. She’s part of the family but she knows that she needs to stand up for herself. Good bravo.

-IS IT JUST ME OR IS THAT THING BIGGER THAN NORMAL?!

-I wonder what the parents’ reaction was, Holy cow this might’ve been QUITE the sight.

-Yep that Bull Clone is straight up dead.

-MK I think that machine is really just old.

-Lol, Sandy making sure MK doesn’t lose focus.

-‘Somebody forgot our luggage’ then she stares directly at the dad and said dad doesn’t give a damn.

-The fact that Mei has to apologize first before getting praised is messed up as hell. If someone is trying to steal a really powerful relic such as that, then obviously it’s gonna be chaos, but the fact she has to apologize first before they acknowledge she did something good is messed up.

-But to be fair I think they do love Mei, really, but the way they parent just icks me.

-And Mei’s mom sounds like she pulled that whole talk out from google.

-Mei’s dad sounds…familiar hold up-

-KNEW I HEARD THAT VOICE SOMEWHERE. (Also apparently Mei’s mom is the same VA as Mei, so Stephanie Steph is just talking to herself)

-Poor MK…

[gravehags]

Silly curator prompts

✨️Copia and Curator at an amusement park each trying to one up the other winning prizes at the games

✨️Copia and Curator at an art gallery and Curator is loudly commenting on the questionable decisions in the exhibit display

✨️Copia and Curator using buzzfeed quizzes on each other

i love all of these but the third one is calling me...

~~~

"'Make Your Own Salad and I'll Reveal What People Don't Like About You'."

"Amore, what the fuck?"

You burst out laughing, gesturing to your laptop.

"I'm just reading what it says!"

Copia shakes his head, looking down at his iPad with a sullen expression.

"I'm not doing that one, I've already been told several times in my life what people don't like about me."

You frown and stretch your leg out from your spot lounging on the couch to gently pet his pant leg with your toes. The action is so absurd, he leans over to observe it with a horrified expression before dissolving into laughter.

"There we go," you say with a smile, "We're having fun tonight, my love. No sadness allowed. Okay pick one for me next."

Copia takes a moment, scrolling the screen with his finger.

"Eh, how about 'This 2000s Music Tournament Will Determine Which Single Song Reigns Supreme'?"

"Oh fuck yes," you say, rubbing your hands together, "Let's fucking go."

"First match up: 'Umbrella' by Rihanna or 'Single Ladies' by Beyonce?"

"Ah shit," you spit, throwing yourself back into the cushions, "How am I supposed to answer that? That's the first question?"

"Uh-huh."

You pull a face.

"What would you pick?"

Copia doesn't look at you but raises his hand and flips it around in a familiar dance move.

"My love, I did not peg you for a Beyonce fan, what a lovely surprise. I learn something new about you every day. You're right, it's gotta be Bey."

"Okie dokie. Next is...'Right Round' by Flo Rida and--"

"From the top of the pole I watch her go down!" you holler, setting your laptop to the side to stand up and straddle Copia's knee, "She got me throwin' my money around! Ain't nothin' more beautiful to be found - it's going down, down!"

You're doing a very poor excuse for a lap dance while tossing your hair around like a video vixen. Copia cackles raucously below you, abandoning his iPad to grab you by the hips and yank you down into his lap. You're out of breath, grinning at him stupidly.

"She's a Flo Rida fan, huh?"

"Listen the man had some bangers. And Kesha being in the song too? Can't beat that." you state, wrapping your arms around his neck, "What was the other option, anyway?"

"Eh," he leans over to look at his screen, "Another Flo Rida song? 'Low'."

"Oh fuck this game," you say, attempting to push yourself off his lap, "As if I'm supposed to choose between 'Right Round' and shorty had them apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur, et cetera et cetera. Let's do a new quiz."

You're finally able to get up and flop back down on the couch, pulling your computer back in your lap.

"Alright let's see, let's see, how about...'Eat Nothing But McDonald's to Reveal Which Berry You Are'."

"Amore," Copia says, rubbing his face, "Who makes these things?"

"Are you saying you don't want to know which berry you are, my love?"

There's a pause.

"Actually, I am kinda curious."

A few minutes later, you give him his result.

"A cranberry? The eh, fucking urinary tract berry?" he throws up his hands and stands, "I can't do this anymore and now all I want is McDonald's."

"Don't let Secondo hear you say that," you taunt, shutting your laptop, "Come here my beloved cranberry."

You open your arms and he eagerly falls into them, half crushing you.

"Oof! Shall we put on something stupid to watch? Or..."

He looks up at you from where his chin rests on your belly.

"Or what?"

"Or I can put on Flo Rida and you can show me your dancing skills?"

He smiles wickedly.

"You're not ready for this, amore mio," he growls, crawling up your body, "Get comfortable. I'll put on a real show for you."

Hours later, when the two of you end up on the floor of your apartment, naked, panting, and covered in hickeys, you smile and look over at your love.

"I think you missed your calling, Copia."

He grins.

"Now where's my tip?"

You laugh and sigh in the same breath. This is going to be a long night.

[iheartchv]

Sunny Day Jack x Reader:

I Never Forgot 2

What if you were one of the few people who remembered vividly about Sunny Day Jack... even after the whole show seemed to have been forgotten?

☀️Rating: Fluffy

🌈 Part 1 | 🌈 Part 3

❤💛💙❤💛💙❤💛💙❤💛💙❤💛💙❤

Rousing from the (fainting?) episode, you groggily recalled what happened. Lets see... You went to a threft store, came home with a VCR tape, and then... the next thing you knew, you woke up laying on the couch. And sitting on the floor next to you was Jack (you remembered him, though) with a worried look on his face. How did he even get here...?

"Hey, are you okay, y/n? You had me worried there for a minute." He gave you a relieved smile.

You blinked in confusion. "You're... still here... It wasn't a dream? Ha, so it wasn't no fever dream!" You then sat up as you exclaimed. "I knew it!"

"What? What is it?" He was still looking concerned about you as he wondered what you were talking about.

"You... The SunnyTime Crew Show... it was all real. I knew I wasn't crazy."

He blinked in confusion, but didn't say anything to upset you. That was the last thing he wanted to do. "Who said you were crazy?"

"People on the internet, those I come in contact with. They kept telling me there was no such thing.. but I knew I couldn't have made all of that part of my childhood up."

"Hm? What's an internet?"

Oh, right. The internet wasn't widely used till the late 90s. You explained what the internet was and how much everything has changed since then. You then started talking to him, catching him up on things. For the entire moment, you felt like you were catching up with a best friend. Your eyes softened as you looked away from him, feelings and memories of Ian coming to mind.

Jack noticed the change in you. "Hey, is everything okay? You look so sad."

You turned to look back at him. "Oh, I'm just... thinking about someone."

"And do they always make you feel that way?"

"Sometimes."

"Do you... want to talk about it?" His dark yet soft eyes looked at you with such care. Your heart sped up with a pleasant feeling as the look he gave you was one you had seen multiple times in the show, one of kindness and caring. "I'm here for you, Sunshine. You know that, right? I care about you, and I only want you to be happy."

"Sunshine? You've never used to say that."

"Well, uhm, it's... a special nickname. And... you're a very special friend to me." A tint of pink colored his cheeks. Then he placed his hand on your shoulder. "If that's alright by you, I mean..."

You didn't mind that nickname. If anyone else called you that, or any other name related to the cute kind, you would've been like a grumpy bear. But because it was Jack, you didn't mind at all. "That's fine by me."

"Great." He smiled brightly, a huge grin on his face. The way he acted would remind you of a puppy. "Oh, by the way... I've got a question that I wanted to ask you."

"Ask away."

"How... how do you know who I am? I didn't introduce myself to you. Don't get me wrong, I'm flattered that you know who I am." He gave a chuckle. "I'm just curious." He folded his arms on the edge of the couch near you and rested his chin on them, seeming to watch you.

"I... just knew." You shrugged. "You've always caught my attention... and, maybe, because I felt kinda connected to you." How could you give a definitive answer when you were just as confused as he was?

"Hm, okay. I'll take your word for it, Sunshine." He smiled at you, and you couldn't help but to smile back. His whole being was infectious, just being around him would make you feel happy and warm inside. "So, what do you wanna do?"

Question was... Where to start?

I think I'll write one more part to this and end this story. Maybe when the full game is released, and with more research on the lore, I will rewrite this story. Enjoy SDJ fandom~☁️🌈☀️

[felice-jaganshi]

Made With Love

Radioapple Fic

Chapter 1: Lambchops

(This chapter based off fanart from notherpuppet, I love them so much)

The candles were lit and the sigil was drawn in lamb's blood. All that was left was to invoke his name, and see if he actually showed up. If not, at least Alastor could have a nice lamb chop dinner.

“Lucifer, King of Hell, Lord of Pride. I implore thee to grace me with thy presence this evening.” He spoke as sweetly as he could, using every trick he possessed to sound as alluring as possible. He was in his mother's living room, though she no longer lived here… he'd always call it hers. 

 

There was a full minute of silence, standing in the dark room with the candles as the only light. He sighed and began to turn away, when the room suddenly got brighter!

He turned, and saw the fireplace, blaze to life, where it had previously been dark and empty of any kindling at all! Shit! But he was supposed to manifest within the circle so he was contained! He must have done something wrong, now he'd have no control over the devil!

The fire blazed white and out onto the stone hearth stepped a flaming figure with horns and a tail, red glowing eyes locking on Alastor. 

Alastor's face split into an excited grin, “Greetings, your majesty. I'm honored that you actually took the time to visit my humble abode.” He bowed at the waist, but kept eye contact. 

 

“You're alone, human? No… others?” His voice reverberated with the flickering of the flames. He sounded curious, which Alastor hoped was a good thing.

“No, I am not part of any cult or anything. My summoning you was for entirely personal reasons. I beseech You, please hear out my request. I require power. Physical power.”

 

“Oh? And where is my lamb?” He sounded… bored.

“Oh yes, right here your Majesty!” He motioned to the dining table, and at lovely cooked lambchops.

The demon looked over and all the fire left his form, revealing a man. Much shorter than Alastor expected… he wore all white and stepped forward towards the table.

“You cooked it? Damn, that's a first actually.” He looked impressed.

“Well, please enjoy your lamb sire, then may we get down to business?” He smiled at the short devil, examining him. We'll, he's certainly not what Alastor expected the devil to look like, certainly less red… but he is known as The Deceiver for a reason. This is probably just a trick to make Alastor lower his guard or test him into being discourteous, so he can steal his soul without granting his request!

 

Lucifer sat down at the small table, “Well, you might as well join me. You prepared enough lamb to feed two!” He chuckled and kept his beautiful red eyes on Alastor, with a sharp toothy grin. Alastor felt it was more of a demand than a request. 

“If that is what you desire.” He went to get another plate and wine glass before sitting down and pouring them each a glass.

“So, what part of earth have I been summoned to? And what year is it?”

“You're in Louisiana, Sire. And the year is 1927. This is my mother's home, or… was rather…” He kept his smile on, but looked away with a deep sadness in his eyes. 

“I can't bring people back to life, if that's what you were gonna ask for.” Lucifer said softly, feeling pity for the young man. He took a bite of the lamb and his eyes went wide, “Whoa! Did your mom teach you to cook like this?! I'm gonna have to make you my personal chef!” He then dug in enthusiastically. 

“Is that what you'd desire of me for the power I require?” Alastor hadn't touched his food yet, just watching in awe as the devil ate all the way down to cleaning the bones.

 

“Huh? So focused on business. And here I was hoping for some good dinner conversation. Well, before I offer anything to you, I need an idea of what I'm working with here. ‘Power’ is a rather vague concept without context. And since you made me such a delicious offering, I'm feeling gracious enough not to immediately fuck you over.” He rest his chin on his folded hands and smiled softly, eyes half closed as he felt satisfied with a full stomach. 

 

Alastor sighed, “Very well, if I must.” He had hoped to avoid sharing his personal details with the demon, but he was damning his soul anyway. 

“My mother… she was murdered, and I wish to get revenge for her. But I'm not strong enough to take on the whole group by myself. So I would like to petition you for assistance. To borrow power from you so I may avenge her and make sure they never do this to anyone again.”

Lucifer stared intently as Alastor spoke. “I see… well, I could use some entertainment. So how about I make this extra interesting. For the duration of your hunt, I'll make you not just powerful, but I'll make it so no one will be able to tie the murders to you either.” He wanted to see how Alastor would handle this gift.

His eyes lit up, “Truly? And what do you ask in exchange for such a generous offer?”

“Well, standard arrangement for such a deal would be your soul. But let's make this more interesting. Once a month for the rest of your life and afterlife, you have to summon me for dinner. Not necessarily lamb everytime, I have quite the diverse palette.” 

“Dinner with the Devil once a month? And I get to keep my soul? Well, I Believe we have a deal then, your Majesty.” He held out his hand, and Lucifer shook it.

 

 

His first murder! It was exhilarating! The Power coursing through his body was a high he could hardly keep sane through, it was immediately addictive. He needed more!

That thought made him flinch and look in the mirror of his bathroom where he was cleaning up. His eyes… They were red now, like the Devil's. But it was already fading back to brown as the power left. No- no! Come back! I need the power!  

He felt a cold sweat over his body. “I… I may not have given my soul, but hell is already my destination.” He knew that should scare him, that he should be begging God for forgiveness and protect, but he didn't want either of those things. With this power, he could protect himself from anything! He was powerful now and no one could stop him!

The thrill of the realization sent shivers down his spine. That's what this was, excitement, not fear.

It was time for the next Victim. Tomorrow, he'd get Their leader.

 

Next month, he summoned Lucifer again, this time making him jambalaya and hoping for the best.

When Lucifer stepped in through the fireplace, he smiled softly, holding a box.

“Hey kiddo, it smells great in here! How've you been enjoying my powers, it looked like you were having fun.”

 

“Sire, can you please not call me ‘Kiddo’. I am an adult man.” Alastor's grin tightened, “And yes, I've been enjoying your gift immensely. However… I am coming close to the end of our arrangement, soon I will eliminate the last of the men who directly killed Mother… And I must admit, I am loathe to let go of the powers you've granted me… there are more Sinners who deserve to be punished. More lives I could save! I-” He caught himself, realizing he was getting carried away in front of Lucifer himself!

 

“Well, if that's how you feel, how about another deal?” He smiled and sat down to enjoy his meal, setting down the box on the table. “Ooooh, what'd you make this time?” He licked his lips.

“It's jambalaya, have you never had it before, Sire?” 

“Nope! Never heard of it.” He dug right in, and purred as he ate. 

“Your praise is appreciated, you majesty.” God, why did that purring make him seem almost... cute?

“And you're so polite too. Is it out of respect, or fear?”  He looked Alastor up and down before motioning to the chair across from him.

“Please, join me. You are pleasant company.”

 

Alastor sat, “Thank you, Sire.”

“Please, call me Lucifer. We're about to become much more intimately connected if you accept my offer.”

He waited for Alastor to eat his portion of dinner before getting to business.

“Now, you want to keep my powers after you've avenged your mother.

I will let you keep the strength I loaned you in exchange for ownership of your soul. Is that agreeable?” He held out his hand with a smile. Something about it looked… hungry.

Alastor took a deep breath, then slowly shook the Devil's hand. “Yes. My soul is yours upon my death.” 

Lucifer frowned at that last part, “Aw, only after your death? I can't just call you mine now?” He then chuckled and softened his expression, “Very well, enjoy your few years of freedom wisely, my pet. I look forward to continuing our monthly meals as well.”

“Yes, Sire, I will enjoy my time to the fullest!"

 

“Good, I'll be keeping an eye on you… make me impressed, my dear.” He chuckled and took his leave.

Alastor noticed the small black box he'd left behind, and curiosity got the better of him. He opened it up, and found a note card that said “To Alastor” on it. Underneath was a silk bowtie.

[mastergeeka]

I’m coming up to about a year of being a NRB fan which means we’re almost at a year since it all went to hell, shall we say. Brilliant timing on my part, thanks so much Universe. But because how much time has passed, I want to take a look back on everything. Time gives a new perspective as they say. Also, I'll be real, I've had these thoughts in my head for months at this point and I need to get them out.

By the time I was seeing information about the situation, I was already like a third of the way through binging everything the channel had ever made. My real life was going through a particularly rough patch and I was definitely using NRB videos as escapism. I ended up deciding that the videos were a source of joy that I needed at the time and since Adam had left and Carley wasn’t appearing on the channel, no matter who was lying vs. telling the truth, my watching of the videos that already were posted would not greatly benefit or punish any involved party so until more details came out, I just tried to ignore the situation. I basically tried to live in a world where both parties were innocent until proven guilty and it was just a really sad misunderstanding or that it never happened at all.

The word “tried” in all those statements is doing a lot of work. Most of the time it worked and I was able to escape reality for a bit, but sometimes my brain would say something like “Am I a bad feminist for not immediately believing the woman, do I just want her to be wrong subconsciously and that’s what’s making me waver? The rule of thumb is believe victims when they speak out”,

“But the ideal of believing the woman/victim doesn’t apply here, no victim has come forward, Carley is just saying that she heard about it and maybe Carley’s just been misinformed or she could be making up rumours. I want to believe that a person can redeem themself and if he took accountability the first time, surely that deserves some credit? That’s what we want people to do after all, take accountability and grow, so we should reward that behavior with trust”

“Sure, but be realistic here, what does your own life experience say is more common and therefore likely with this sort of thing. Don't be naive” and those voices would go at each other, back and forth until I gave up and went to do work or something. So the silver lining there is that at least this kept me from slacking too much. Isn’t that something? I give all this preface to show that this situation isn’t something I’m taking lightly.

Now that I’m in a better place in my real life, I decided I should actually look at everything that happened and see if I could draw any more conclusions to help satisfy the curious/nosy part of my brain. Unsurprisingly, I haven’t been able to crack the case wide open but one thing is clear, and getting clearer by the day: The rest of the cast are on Adam’s side. From the cast members unfollowing Carley, them liking Adam’s statement proclaiming his innocence and his plan for legal action, to recently Jon’s Kickstarter game having a quote from Adam on the front page. These are forms of public support that would be the safest to use if there was a legal battle happening in private.

What this means to me is: Just from a logical standpoint, whatever I believe about Adam, I have to extend it to the whole cast. I can’t condemn Adam but not condemn the rest of the cast. The rest of the cast either know the what happened or didn’t look into the situation enough before standing by Adam. That means if I believe Adam is guilty, I must therefore believe the rest of the cast is complicit and at the end of the day, I just don’t want to do that unless the evidence makes it impossible not to do so.

I really like watching the channel and I don’t want to force myself to stop watching or feel complicit in supporting bad people unless I have to. So until evidence comes out showing otherwise, I believe Adam is innocent. I have to. And if I am wrong, and I must stop watching/supporting NRB as a whole for ethical reasons, at least I gave myself a little more time to enjoy it before I have to say goodbye. Is that selfish? Yeah probably, at least a little if I’m honest, but it’s an understandable level of selfishness that I could forgive someone else for, so I can forgive myself for it, if it turns out for the worst.

And I want to also say that I still think it’s possible Carley isn’t a liar as well. This is not a “Carley is lying” post. If I’m applying innocent before proven guilty to Adam, it’s only fair that I apply it to Carley as well. I’ve tried my absolute best to keep my reasoning consistent across the board with this. I believe she believes what she said but I think it’s possible she could be wrong. And wouldn’t that be nice, if it turned out both parties were innocent and there was just a big confusion? I’ll admit it’s not the likeliest scenario, but I’m still hoping for it. Basically, the more people involved in this that are revealed to not be huge jerks, the happier I’ll be. That’s what dictating my best to worst case scenarios.

The whole reason I wanted to make this post is to remind everyone, including myself, that we as the public still don’t know much of anything. We have 4 comments on a YouTube video on one side and vague PR statements on the other. That’s pretty much it, officially. The rest is just based on how the people involved are interacting with each other and the like. That leaves a lot still up in the air and that’s really frustrating. Uncertainty is one of the worst feelings and I think it’s easier to just say Adam’s guilty and move on than to keep being uncertain about this for so long. Because if he is guilty after all that, we have to process that, on top of having dealt with the terrible uncertainty for this long so we want to “bite the bullet” now, so to speak. It’s less emotionally risky to just assume the worst now, deal with it, then push it into the past and I think there’s a significant portion of fans that did that or that are trying to anyway. The drawback there I want to point out though, is that it ignores the possibility that there is a happier ending to this. Additionally, condemning Adam but trying to stick by the rest of the cast may feel like the simplest & easiest solution at first, but it’s not a realistic one or one that works with the very few pieces of information we do have: the actions of the other cast members.

My goal with this post is not to convince people to either side. That would require me to pick a side and as I think I’ve shown, I can’t. My goal in making this post is to encourage people to keep their minds open to the possibilities out there and remind them not to jump to conclusions too soon. Because one year feels like a decent estimate to me for how long legal stuff like this lasts and I think it’s possible that people could speak freely soon. At least, that's what I'm hoping for and I want other people to have hope, too.

[heretherebedork]

Curious to know your feels about the 1000 Years Old finale. You didn't post much about it. Maybe that's a commentary in and of itself LOL.

Part of the answer is that I struggle with watching things out of my usual schedule and had a very busy weekend so I'm just getting around to actually watching the finale episode after knowing all kinds of spoilers. I am actively writing this response as I watch the episode. So enjoy my live thoughts on your ask.

And, so far, my entire reaction is that they crammed way too much here in the end. They needed to spread this out more than they did and I get parts of it, I like having the soulmates reveal only at the very end...

But there's a lot of plot and seriousness that they just didn't touch on enough and that I think including in the rest of the show would have improved it greatly as well as helping with the pacing struggling most people had.

If more of the Janja plot had been genuinely spread through the show and more of these serious moments and the understanding of their agreement and relationship had started earlier I might care more about this. But I don't care about Janja at all! I just don't! I wasn't given reasons to care until the very end and that's not enough for me.

Also, having Yoh not fight for any of it really did disappoint me but the director of this show, as seen in multiple other shows they've done, seems to have a thing for one very passive character in the main relationship who will just Allow Things To Happen To Them without ever fighting back. And I never like that, frankly.

Yes, they dropped a few hints here and there but it just isn't enough to tie it all together in this show itself.

It's not a bad finale, it's not the worst, but the end of the show feels so rushed compared to the rest and us not getting all the fluffy times together only to be shown a single scene at the end of a long happy life instead of the time together that I want to see.

I like domesticity, not the end of domesticity.

I get why people liked this ending. I see how people who rewatch things, especially, will enjoy the recontextualization of the show.

But for me? It made everything feel rushed and the rest of the show feel almost empty and slightly worse in comparison. Either we needed more plot or less episodes for this to work.

(Every time I see Somchai I am sad we did not get Somchai and Shin. Every single time. Come on. You crammed this much into the final episode, you could have given me more of them somewhere else!)

Also, I love his random bodyguards, whoever they are. Love them.

Also, this year long time skip is stupid.

Seriously, I am deeply frustrated by Yoh literally finding out they're soulmates and then just... completely abandoning Pun and leaving entirely. It's not interesting to see him just give up and it makes him the most passive character ever. Which we also had in I Will Knock You and, frankly, in 2gether. That's just The Style.

JANJA LITERALLY TOLD YOH SHE WAS GIVING HIM PUN BECAUSE PUN WILL NEVER LOVE ANYONE ELSE. Whatever, at least the confession and whole thing is done and now they can be soulmates together.

9 minutes of happy ending is not enough. Absolutely not enough. Yes, it was cute. Yes, it was a happy ending. But it's just not enough and it leaves me wanting more and wishing that the show were paced differently.

(Still sad we couldn't get any more Somchai and Shin, we deserved more.)

Edit Okay, I didn't mention this originally but I actually hate that the soulmate/reincarnation line takes away the power of Yoh's gift to Pun being his first birthday present. It really bothers me because that moment was one of the my favorite moments and the finale just made it not matter at all and turned it into something much less important and takes away a lot of the importance away of Pun wearing the cross and it BOTHERS ME A LOT.