#i just wish the show fandom was smaller and more aware that It Is Not That Deep

[loverboybrightsideghost]

you can be super obsessed with something and still be aware that it's not that deep i think

[wingzie]

The Increase of Secret Jikooker's?

Rose is a Karmy from 2019 who gave brilliant insights into Jikook from kside’s point of view. During one of her Periscope Lives, she admitted that there are more Jikooker’s out there than we know of. However, they are scared of blacklash to embrace our part of the fandom. Especially with their main accounts publically. Therefore, they talk more privately. Ever since, I was intrigued by the idea of there being more Jikooker’s out there than we know of and it’s something that I’ve seen more over the years.

A good friend of mine used to run a Hobi account. Though they went on “rest” during the pandemic and we haven't spoken since. You wouldn’t know it by their posts, but they were actually a Jikooker behind the scenes. I understood and respected their decision to keep things strictly related to their account on Timeline though, so we just gushed about Jikook in the DM’s instead. One day, they accidentally retweeted one of my threads on their main account. They were really worried about the reaction they would get, but overall the response was positive. It was a surprise and it actually encouraged them to post a bit more about Jikook every now and then.

Whilst taking screenshots for the Live Reactions series, I will often see conversations between Army who strictly keep their accounts a certain way. Not an ounce of Jikookery, but they clearly know their stuff and are passionate about them. There’s been times I’ve wanted to quote them hyping up certain moments, because it's just so sweet to witness these conversations between them. However, I’m aware that they would want to keep their conversations to themselves. They wouldn't want them to be broadcasted. It’s also why I don’t include any usernames in the screenshots taken, just to keep them safe. Something else to note is that the majority of screenshots taken for the Live Reactions series, aren't from Jikook signposted accounts themselves.

I always encourage talking about Jikook, either publicly or privately. This is because I wish for them to be remembered well, as it's what they deserve. I understand that some are turned off by all the “shipping fights.'' But, if given the chance, they do enjoy these type of conversations. It also helps to show Jikook’s bond beyond our own audience. There are plenty out there that recognize how close they are, they just might have a smaller following that gets drowned out by all the hate. You can also tell when those with a bigger following are somewhat secret Jikooker’s.

At the end of the day, there are those out there that see something close between Jikook. Either romantically or platonically. Not everyone knows a person's thoughts behind the screen and not everyone feels confident enough to post things online publically about them. Personally I will continue to keep posting about them, so that anyone can see their moments together. This might spark an interest of Jikook in someone. You never know who could be reading your words about Jikook and learning more about their bond by doing so.

[biaswreckme]

my eyes are full of desire | mingi/reader

You and Mingi on a video call after the Mawazine festival concert.

Fandom: Ateez

Pairing: Mingi/Reader (gender neutral)

Member: Mingi

Word count: 1165 words

Genre/Tropes: Smut

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Triggers/Warnings: pwp, masturbation, phone/video call sex, established relationship, sex toys

You can read it on: AO3

A/N: This was heavily inspired by this pic from the Mawazine gig.

“I want to see you.”

“You are seeing me, love,” Mingi answered through the video call, not understanding at first what you were asking for. He had showered, hair still damp after getting to the hotel from the festival, newly cut hair enhancing his features.

“I mean… I know how you get after shows…” you start, still a little shy at voicing what you wanted sometimes, especially under his intense gaze. 

“Yeah? How do I get?” He asked, the smirk on the corner of his lips letting you know he was aware of the effect he had on you and exactly what you were talking about.

“You know…” you took a deep breath, feeling your cheeks flush with both embarrassment and excitement, but also getting courage to voice your needs. “Needy. I want to see you touching yourself.”

He smiled and then bit his lower lip - he knew he was teasing you, for you always spoke of how much you missed his luscious lips whenever he was not in the same city. “Then get that vibrator you like, I’ll wait for you.” He asked, more of an order than anything, needing to see you fall apart with him.

You rushed out of bed and got the toy he was talking about; it was one on the smaller side, but curved just right where it could press on your spot and have you coming undone in little time. You went to clean it, using the time to also get undressed and shouted for him, telling him to get rid of his clothes too. At first, you were not really sure about doing these things, but after the first time you spent months apart while he was on tour, you caved in. You needed to see him, to have him any way possible, even if it meant ensuring you had safe phones and connections. Now, you were more into it, even going so far as having bought a tripod for your phone so your hands could be free - and he had one himself, one you had packed for him as a surprise.

When you got back to bed, propping up your phone on the tripod, you saw Mingi had indeed gotten comfortable himself: he was there, propped up by pillows, slowly stroking himself, fist loosely closed around his engorging erection. His eyes were closed, losing himself in the sensations, one leg straight on the hotel bed and the other slightly raised, bent knee, his other hand on his thigh, soft breaths coming out of his mouth. For a moment you just stood there, appreciating the view. 

You could certainly just watch him for hours, especially when he lost himself like this; Mingi enjoying his own body was a sight you would never get tired of enjoying. “I see you’re getting started without me.”

“Isn’t this what you wanted to see, though?” He replied, not opening his eyes yet, making a point to slightly open them while moaning softly, and you felt yourself getting more aroused. It was as if he was putting up a show for you, and you didn’t doubt for a second that it was his intention. He knew how much you were affected by him, as much as he was affected by you. “Just lie back and enjoy the view, baby. Get yourself ready for me.” 

And so you did, reclining on the bed, adjusting the phone so he could see you, but more importantly, so you could see him without any hindrance. He was watching you, carefully paying attention to how you focused on your own body, wishing it were him, his hands touching you, his lips caressing your skin, teeth playfully biting their way down your torso, letting your hand follow the usual path he did. Mingi seemed to copy your movements on his own, following your rhythm and touches, not hiding his noises from you. His gaze was penetrating from the other side of the screen, eyes never leaving yours as your hands reached their destination, and though you wanted to close your eyes in the sensation, you didn’t want to stop looking at him and his beautiful body.

“Come on, baby, turn it on and enjoy the show,” he winked and closed his fist around his fully erect cock, slowly stroking himself as he watched you using just enough lube to make the toy glide more easily, and he did the same, warming the gel in his hands before repeating the same movements from before, from base to tip, stopping to circle his head teasingly. 

Mingi was all big, and it never failed to completely hypnotize you, the way his large hand encircled his erection, the way he knows his own body so well, moving his other hand to softly caress his balls, rolling them in his hand while the other kept the same relaxed and unrushed movements, stopping on the upstrokes to tease his most sensitive spot, one you knew so well and also enjoyed teasing. He waited for you; when you pressed the button on the toy for the second time, with the vibrations intensifying, he increased his tempo, moaning a little louder, his breath hitching every now and again in pleasure. 

There were no other sounds besides both of your breathing and moaning; there was no need. With just one glance you could tell he was getting closer to the edge, his hand circling a little tighter now and faster, his legs and hips moving of their own accord, almost as if he was humping his hand, imitating the moves when he is with you, in the same bed, sharing the same breath. You usually like the vibrations a little softer, but there was a need deep inside you that demanded you to reach your peak with him, moving the vibrator so it was constantly pressing against that most pleasurable spot.

His breath got louder, moans turning into whining, Mingi almost begging, needing to feel you there with him, stroking himself harder, almost losing his rhythm, drowning in pleasure. His eyes focused on the phone, watching you succumb to the intensity of the moment, the orgasm taking over his body almost by surprise upon seeing you fall over the edge, wishing he was the one causing that - but he was, just not physically. When you heard his loud groan, your eyes searched for his in that small screen, watching him beautifully and subtly arching his back, his eyes closed, lips apart, hands moving much softer on his cock, trembling in aftershocks as he kept stroking through the orgasm, almost on the edge of overstimulation. Your vibrator had been thrown to the side, your body shivering and trembling, grabbing onto a pillow to ground yourself, the sight of him being overtaken with pleasure becoming ingrained in your mind.

There were a few minutes in which none of you spoke, basking in the sensation of fulfillment, until you broke the silence.

“So… do you still have the concert outfit?” 

[icedragonlizard]

Marx and Magolor dynamic interpretation

Most of the Kirby fandom headcanons these two bozos being friends with each other. Best friends, even. Simply put, I do the same. But it's a bit more... complicated than you might think. I can explain the dynamic that I headcanon these two having with each other.

In my headcanon universe, these two go way back. They've known each other for a long time.

They first met in outer space some time after the ending of Milky Way Wishes when Marx crashed into Galactic Nova. Magolor was cruising around in space using his Lor Starcutter, and at one point he found Marx floating around, almost seemingly close to dying. Magolor decided to take him in and help him recover from his injuries. That's when their friendship began, as Marx thanked Magolor so much for having the generosity to save him upon finding him. Even in their earlier days, they've committed mischief together.

Marx has been to Halcandra before thanks to Magolor showing him the place.

Some time after their friendship began, Marx told Magolor about his instance with Kirby, and this eventually inspired Magolor to make his own betrayal plot against Kirby. Marx pleaded for him to succeed. Yes, if you remember that one dialogue line from Magolor in RTDL when he said that somebody told him about Kirby, I headcanon that Marx was the one who did it, and I'm aware that much of the fandom also headcanons this. I'm just bringing it up because it's relevant to my personal dynamic of the two.

Return to Dreamland happens, yadda yadda yadda. At some point after Magolor escaped Another Dimension from his epilogue, he came back to Marx and broke the news to him.

Marx was initially disappointed when hearing that Magolor failed to best Kirby. Magolor, however, expressed his remorse as he then wanted to apologize to Kirby and befriend him. He encouraged Marx to do the same, but Marx was far less interested in doing it.

There was a time period that occurred between RTDL and Star Allies where the relationship between these two became more strained. Magolor was intent on trying to redeem himself, while Marx was far more stubborn and wasn't nearly as interested in changing. Marx at one point even made the suggestion to try to betray Kirby again, which pissed Magolor off. They fight over this. It got to the point that Magolor even threatened to end his friendship with Marx, unless Marx were to finally relent.

Eventually, Marx got some sense knocked into him and decides it really is for the better to just befriend Kirby and co instead of trying to plot against him again. At this point, Marx's and Magolor's friendship improves as Magolor does appreciate Marx finally caving to his request to try to become better.

Much like Magolor, Marx also reconciles with Kirby and befriends him, even though it's notably a lot less heartfelt and remorseful as when Magolor did it, but it was enough to where Kirby accepted Marx as a friend. Magolor was happy when Marx told him that he did this.

Star Allies happens. Marx and Magolor became full-on buddies again as they pull pranks on some of the other dream friends, although Magolor had more restraint and there were times he'd stop Marx if he went too far.

There were moments during Star Allies where all the dream friends were together, but there were also moments where they split up in smaller groups. Unfortunately for Marx and Magolor, they were in different groups when these split-ups happen, as Kirby and Dedede were the ones that assigned these split-ups. I headcanon the groups are split up by respective dream friend waves. So Marx often stuck with Rick, Kine, Coo and Gooey while Magolor often stuck with Taranza and Susie.

Post Star Allies is basically what the dynamic is like for Marx and Magolor in the modern day. They're best buddies. They prank people together. They commit lots of tomfoolery together. They really enjoy each other's company. Basically, they're partners-in-crime.

There are times where Magolor attempts to defend Marx if he thinks he's being criticized at a degree that isn't needed.

However, despite being besties, Magolor doesn't always condone Marx's actions, and he'll stop him and hold him accountable if he deems it necessary. Generally speaking, Magolor himself loves a good prank even if it pisses people off, but he tries to make sure that the pranks don't seriously harm people and also tries not to be too offensive to the point of crossing a line.

Marx on the other hand does not care. He'll go as far as he wants if it means committing to the bit. Even after mellowing down a bit and befriending Kirby, Marx is still a lot less repentant than Magolor, and he's still far more unbridled in mischief.

There are many people that like Magolor but hate Marx. The two most prominent examples are Taranza and Susie.

I'm aware many people like to headcanon "Wave 3 + Marx" friend group, but if I'm being honest, I don't. In my interpretation, Taranza and Susie are Magolor's friends but they cannot stand Marx.

Marx has made Sectonia jokes, which is why Taranza hates him. It doesn't take much for Susie to snap in anger when dealing with Marx in general, as he does/says things that cross the line for her.

Magolor has also pranked his fellow wave 3 pals before, but he's never gone nearly to the extent of Marx, as he doesn't want to ruin his friendships with them.

Magolor has had to break up Taranza vs. Marx fights and Susie vs. Marx fights. He even helps his fellow wave 3 pals in keeping Marx away from them.

Marx is also only allowed in Merry Magoland as long as he behaves. Despite Magolor being mischief-minded, he doesn't want trouble to happen in his park, and he'll ask Marx to leave if he causes trouble.

There's this moment where Marx gets ecstatic upon seeing the Marx Soul Mask in Merry Magoland, though, lol.

Magolor will allow Marx to join in Lor Starcutter rides, but only if the trip doesn't also include someone that dislikes/hates Marx (like Susie for example) then he'll have to stay out because that's likely going to lead to fights.

I will however mention one dream friend that Marx and Magolor can certainly form some sort of trio with: Daroach. Daroach is mischief-minded and doesn't get pissed off as easily as many others, so he can stand Marx. The three of them do tomfoolery sprees.

There's also this funny headcanon I have of Magolor and Daroach stealing from each other (that's basically the main meat of their dynamic) and Marx sometimes gets caught in the middle of their shenanigans as one of them asks for his assistance against the other.

The animal friends may also sometimes join Marx and Magolor in tomfoolery, since they also like Marx, and thus that makes them willing to join the duo. However, like Magolor, they'll stop him if they think he goes too far.

Anyways, that's essentially my dynamic for Marx and Magolor! They've been through a lot together, they're both mega-trolls, and they troll people together, although Magolor is more careful and will stop Marx if he goes too far. But despite not always condoning his actions, Magolor still considers Marx to be his buddy. The two most mischievous ones in Kirby's wide colorful group of friends.

[lastweeksshirttonight]

Lee is re-watching Sherlock for some fucking reason - Season One

I'm well aware that the crossover between "currently popular and loved British comedian in the US updates, thirst, and accoutrements" and "BBC show that went so off the rails that people now like to pretend Andrew Scott's breakout role was the Hot Priest in Fleabag" is limited, but weirdly, returning to Sherlock was one of the few things that was keeping my brain somewhat grounded and whirring during Work Hell.

We're in uncharted territory here. You're gonna learn a bit about the things I do when I'm not tracking John Oliver obsessively. I am nervous about this but hey, I'm guessing most of you knew I don't solely live and breathe John Oliver. (I know. I have multitudes. This is a shocking revelation. Please take time to process it.)

Firstly, a content note - there's going to be discussion about queerbaiting and queercoding villains, and the beginning of this goes into some of James Somerton's absolutely disgusting claims about the AIDS crisis. This post will only be focused on Season One, as that's all I've finished at this point.

Let's go.

(above image sourced from Writing Tips and Memes)

My sudden re-emergent hyperfixation started because of the hbomberguy takedown of James Somerton, weirdly. I don't follow many YouTubers - I like Bright Sun Films because he goes urban exploring, something I've always wanted to do but have never managed to make happen, and also Todd in the Shadows, whose Trainwreckords series is very well-done and expertly researched. Seeing that name, you might know where this is going. Todd dropped a video about James Somerton, who I had never fucking heard of and now wish I'd known about before, so I could scream bloody murder about what an absolute fuckwad he is.

(I don't want to get too in the weeds here, but the things James asserted about WWII, Nazis, and the AIDS crisis are so vehemently offensive that I'm still struggling with them. Claiming that only boring gays survived the AIDS crisis in particular is so vile that I have gotten anger flashes thinking about it almost daily since hearing it.)

Todd recommended watching all four hours of the hbomberguy plagiarism video, and I ran that in the background while working about two weeks ago. Eventually I had to stop doing that because the plagiarism revelations were so distracting and shocking. Todd's video was even more of a goddamn mindfuck, and even the smaller, less offensive things have taken up far too much space in my brain. Californians, does anyone at all deify Bob Iger??? Like... what the goddamn fuck??? Bob Iger????

After watching one hbomberguy video, the algorithm did its thing, and gave me a video called "Sherlock is Garbage and Here's Why". Posting it here for posterity:

Because my brain works in mysterious ways (-cough-ADHD-cough-), watching this... made me want to rewatch Sherlock.

I initially saw Sherlock for the first time thanks to someone I met in my last year of college, 2012. At the time, Michael (a nickname) was my neighbor in the dorms; over the past ten years, she's become one of my closest friends and a true rock in my life. One of the first things we bonded over that I introduced her to was the San Francisco Giants and the ghost I will always be chasing, Tim Lincecum; one of the first things we bonded over that she introduced me to was BBC Sherlock. The show was in the early months of its extended hiatus after Season Two, at the height of its fandom, and we were both completely obsessed. I read all the Doyle stories, took in a truly wild amount of fanfiction, wrote a not-very-popular AU fic, became part of a strange inter-dorm ARG based on Sherlock orchestrated by Michael... it consumed a huge part of our lives.

When Season 3 dropped, I almost stopped watching after "The Empty Hearse". I don't want to get into why it offended me so much before we get to a Season 3 post, but just know my enthusiasm severely dampened there. The rest of Season 3 I think of with blase emotions, especially the ending, which I found just dumb, save one part of it. I recall going to see The Abominable Bride in theatres with my mom (and maybe Michael?), and I think I liked it fine - aside, again, from the ending. But I had no interest in a Season Four, and when it dropped, Michael's long rambling phone calls describing the absolute shitstorm of a plot cemented that I was never going to watch it again.

Until now.

I definitely don't think the hbomberguy video is perfect. His insistence that Doyle canon never had Holmes pull answers to cases out of his ass is... something, lol, as is his opinion that changing the solution to certain puzzles in A Study in Pink disrespects the original canon. (Bro, these stories have been retold a bajillion times, they need to mix it up to keep it interesting.) But he put a finger on something that I'd wrestled with regarding Sherlock for a long time - that the show's writing often teased something big and new and conclusive in the horizon, but almost never delivered. That wasn't an issue in early days when there was less invested in an increasingly convoluted mythic story, or when they weren't fully blowing off the resolutions to cliffhangers, but the flaw in writing a story where you promise something huge on the horizon and never deliver should be obvious.

The first season doesn't trade much in that idea, and going back to it was something I found exceptionally enjoyable!

Before I watched:

I remembered bits and pieces of "A Study in Pink" and the whole plot in summary.

I truly didn't remember anything about "The Blind Banker" except that I found it fairly 'yellow peril'-y when I saw it in 2012.

I mixed up huge chunks of Season Two's "A Scandal in Belgravia" with "The Great Game" in my head and somehow forgot the main plot thrust was Moriarty kidnapping people and strapping bombs to them.

I genuinely forgot Sebastian Moran was a character basically hallucinated into existence by the fandom and didn't appear in the show at all until a brief appearance in Season Three.

In a way, it was like I was watching the show for the first time all over again. My partner also watched the first season with me, and it was interesting to get his thoughts on the show as we watched.

To start, his favorite character is Mycroft. Watching Season One, I had to agree that Mycroft has a depth of character that I'd forgotten about. Mark Gatiss plays him perfectly, aloof and smarter than you but unsure of how to deal with his natural feelings of concern and fear for his oft-spiraling, danger-seeking younger brother - and how those feelings magnify with the influence of extreme danger-seeker (at least in this season) John Watson. The show wants you to believe so badly that he's Moriarty in "A Study in Pink", which I don't think works even if you know he isn't Moriarty - there's a warmth to Gatiss' Mycroft that, even while he's doing incredibly ominous things like shutting off all cameras in a busy intersection, still comes through.

My favorite character is Moriarty. I haven't mentioned this very much here, because why would I, but my favorite character type in media is "theatrical abject shithead". It's why I cosplay Bakugo from My Hero Academia and loved everything about Akechi in Persona 5. Hell when I was a kid, I told teachers that when I grew up, I wanted to join Team Rocket. I love the theatrical shitheads. And boy, is Moriarty some sort of theatrical shithead. I don't DISAGREE with hbomberguy pointing out that, as written, Moriarty is a complete mess of a character, a queer-coded literal terrorist with no motivations besides "I did that because I'M CRAAAAZY!"... but he's my queer-coded literal terrorist, ok? I could write a whole paper on all the harmful stereotypes inhabiting this version of Moriarty... but I can't deny that the flamboyance and violence pulsing just beneath the surface of Andrew Scott's performance was the beating heart of that show for me. Sure, Sherlock and John, at least early on, were a compelling duo, but the show was at its best with Moriarty pulling strings for inexplicable reasons in the background. I love him.

(An aside: watching Sherlock made me remember how hilarious it was to see basically every major actor from the show in one of my favorite movies of all time, 1917, to the point that I actually kinda laughed in the theatre thinking about it.)

The entirety of the first season also is more devoted to actual crime-solving and detective work than I remembered the show being. I think that works strongly in its favor, and as I recall things from later seasons, drifting from that element definitely hampers the show greatly. In particular, while the lazy and uncomfortable Orientalism of "The Blind Banker" is still incredibly glaring, the actual mystery at the core of it is very excitingly tracked and easily followed while watching. The fact that John is treated like an equal (mostly) throughout only enhances my thoughts on that. "The Great Game" is a little more slapdash (and hurt by the fact that the entire Vermeer section would be solvable with a smartphone nowadays), but you can still make connections mentally with most of the cases and deduction/investigation is being shown logically. (hbomberguy cites the Golem as a problematic logical leap akin to some of Season Two's dumbest, and I can't agree. It's a reasonable suspension of disbelief to assume Sherlock knows about assassins and is followed by some more sensible investigation and inspection of the Golem's victim. The sequence of Sherlock fighting the Golem, however, is very, very silly.)

Related to that... the autopsy doctors on this show are fucking AWFUL at their jobs. Like straight-up negligently awful. How in the actual fuck did they not investigate the puncture marks on Connie Price's body? How did they not notice a highly distinctive heel tattoo on three recently-murdered corpses? Is Molly the only vaguely competent person in the mortuary? My partner and I were extremely amused that, while Lestrade and his police force are thankfully shown with much more intelligence than in other Holmes adaptations and BBC!Watson wouldn't think jam is a clue, the writers seem to have shunted the stupidity straight to the invisible autopsy doctors.

The first season also does a good job of making Sherlock seem like an overly intelligent if socially stunted human being, instead of the condescending prickish intellectual Ubermensch he ends up becoming as the show progresses. "A Study in Pink"'s ending being Sherlock throwing aside his deduction of the cabbie's killer when he realizes it's Watson, unconvincingly lying to Lestrade and insisting he's in shock before rejoining the other man and genuinely bonding with him, is remarkably compelling as fulfillment of a promise we get from Lestrade earlier in the episode - "Sherlock Holmes is a great man. One day he may even be a good one." My memory is admittedly faulty, but part of why "The Empty Hearse" turned me off so viscerally was Sherlock's (and to an extent, Mycroft's) insufferable growing smugness, particularly where explaining plans or mysteries to John. We get told often that Watson humanizes Sherlock and that the two have a strong bond throughout the series, but Sherlock gets much more dickish in general as the series progresses. One thing I do remember with stark clarity is that after being utterly chastised at a Christmas party in "A Scandal in Belgravia", Sherlock does visibly treat Molly MUCH better throughout the remainder of the show. So, uh, why did we lose that energy with the show's central pairing?

Speaking of the show's central pairing, the queerbaiting starts SO EARLY on this show. I want to make it clear that obviously the benefit of hindsight and knowledge of how the show ends really colors a lot about the Johnlock relationship now, and as a society, we're more aware of what queerbaiting is and what it looks like, which will obviously alter how I perceive these interactions now. I also want to make it clear that I never really shipped Johnlock outside of just kind of assuming that it would be canon because everyone seemed really convinced of it. (I was an absolute degenerate that shipped John with Moriarty. On top of enjoying theatrical disasters, I enjoy ships with an abundance of chaos and impossibility.) There's some biases at play here.

Even so, we are not far into the episode where John is protesting that obviously he needs a second bed in 221B to Mrs. Hudson, he's not gay! The scene in the restaurant has such an aggressively shippy energy to it (despite Watson's consistent denials) that I actively commented on it to my partner as it was happening, saying "the queerbaiting happens WAY SOONER than I thought!" It's distracting and has aged absolutely terribly. The worst by far is John quipping, after being removed from a bomb vest at a pool in "The Great Game", that people will talk because of Sherlock ripping his clothes off in a darkened swimming pool. Why is Watson's heterosexuality so fragile that he's thinking about gossip rags as he's actively recovering from a near-death experience?!

(Aside: I'm aware that last point is not as effective when you think about the fact that I shipped two characters whose sole canonical interaction was one man kidnapping and forcing the other into a bomb vest. In my defense, a) I love mess and b) John never quips about thinking people will talk because he got kidnapped.)

Moriarty's first appearance in "The Great Game" sees him as Molly's fake boyfriend slipping a phone number to Sherlock, which lead to my partner commenting about how distracting it also was, on top of the queerbaiting, that almost every single person on the show has some sort of deep metaphysical attraction to Sherlock. Those people aren't on the lighting and cinematography team for sure; Benedict Cumberbatch is lit ominously and sometimes demonically throughout the first season, highlighting his antihero and brusque nature effectively. But many, many characters in the show - just in season one, Molly, Moriarty, multiple characters of the day, the Cabbie, and John - are all drawn to Sherlock and his very special brain and his very sharp cheekbones. Signs of a big future problem come through in this way, where the show starts sidelining Watson as our central figure and puts Sherlock squarely at the center of everyone's universe and makes lesbians fall in love with him.

(My partner also laughed pretty hard at how obvious Moriarty's pratfalls were as Molly's boyfriend, noting that the show was pretty bad at hiding who Moriarty was every time it came up.)

Some of the seeds of Sherlock's destruction are sown in this first season, obviously. The big one I haven't touched on is the ending cliffhanger itself. Moriarty has John and Sherlock trapped in the pool, tens of sniper sights trained on them, and says that he can't let them escape. Amazing cliffhanger here! It is not fulfilled on at all, but because Andrew Scott can carry anything on his back (including Spectre, which I cannot start talking about because we'll be here all day), the scene doesn't feel like a total waste and makes you want to hang on to find out what happens later.

But there was so much here that was delightful. All the acting is uniformly excellent, and the overt physical tics that come to define Sherlock's mind palace and mental prowess being showcased are barely evident here. The actual detective work, like I said earlier, is really involving! I don't feel like I figured out the solutions for the mysteries I couldn't recall the answers for too easily and thought Sherlock's deductive reason largely followed and wasn't too obscure. I'm still such a sucker for the show's style - that opening credits sequence is so perfectly put together, the text messages that interact with the scene and at the time made this show feel so fresh and modern to me, filming the character's faces in taxis through panes of glass and obscuring material in "A Study in Pink" to give everything an obfuscating sheen... give me all of it.

The music, too, was something I'd forgotten about and truly ended up adoring. Taskmaster (and The Horne Section's score for it) really owes a debt to Michael Price and David Arnold. So much of Sherlock's score could probably be dropped straight into a Taskmaster episode and I would have to think pretty hard to notice a difference in the show's usual musical palette. I've been eyeballing the vinyl on eBay, to give you an idea of how much I love this score. "The Game is On" is a perfect piece of music, clockwork spinning noises emphasizing the jauntiness of Sherlock as he drags Watson on his latest case before sliding into the more subdued, vaguely ominous thrum of its second movement descending into the madness of the third part, violins shrieking as the action reaches its apex.

Normally, with such a degree of pleasant surprise, I'd be eager to move forward to Season Two. Unfortunately, I know the first episode of Season Two is... a doozy. To say the least. A doozy that may get its own essay because of how doozy-ish it is.

In any case, I ended up really enjoying going back to Season One of Sherlock! Super down to talk further about the show, future write-ups, and my horrible taste in fictional ships and men - shoot me a message, reply to this post, wherever, I'll be here! <3

[all-pacas]

💖 What do you like most about your own writing?

I feel like I'm actually really, really good at plotting and world building. The irony is that I never get to show this off, but I love taking a concept and fleshing it out and figuring it out. One of my favorite things to think about is like, "if soulmate AUs were real, how would society have evolved and changed around it?", playing those sorts of silly games. One thing I miss about my days in the Horizon fandom was getting to go nuts with fake politics and world building.

I think I'm pretty good with it on a smaller scale too! Whenever I write something with chapters I have it pretty drafted out in advance, I wish I wasn't just so flaky about writing. I think the plotting is probably my favorite part…

I also think I'm getting pretty good at doing limited/biased POVS. Absolutely because I'm a huge fucking stan for ASOIAF and GGRM's pov writing — come at me, I will go off about this shit — but I love being able to write characters in their own heads, objectively wrong. Being able to write scenes where I know what's going on but my narrator does not. I think one of the reasons I like writing Cam so much in House is 'cause she's great for this. One of my favorite things I've written recently was in my silly peggy sue story, Cameron's breakup with Chase —

— because the entire time she's getting really mad at him and blaming him for things more than a year in the future. She's thinking to herself that she's being fair to him, that this is the right thing to do, and the entire scene is just "and here's ANOTHER thing I resent you for," and there was no self awareness. She doesn't think for a second her motives were anything but pure. I love writing that stuff!! It's my favorite!!

[torialefay]

First of all, wishing you all the best of luck on your assessment🍀🍀🍀🍀

Second, mad agree with you on the hair post like😊

Third, coming from a lower middle/middle class area, i have never met a single person who was financially "normal" to this area or on the poorer side who would dare throw their electronics like chan has before. Even if they got richer later, old habits die hard, and you learn the value of money. I mean, I've seen people toss or flip their phone softly when bored, but never that hard or with a laptop or something, holy shit. You can tell a lot about someone by their interactions with not only people, but everything. The amount of times i watched an idol and went "🫵rich kid attitude" is kinda funny. And i totally agree with all the asks that came in between you and your mutuals and some anons, skz are all mad hardworking, but i dont think you can or should ignore or cover up the fact that they had the financial help and the resources to learn more and give them an advantage above the rest both personally amx through jype. Its kinda like college acceptance imo. And YES creatively free with many many many restrictions. Not even talking about k-idols, normal musicians have talked about the restrictions and requirements they need to have for their appearcance and the songs they released, i can only imagine being an idol is just exponentially demanding and restrictive. Their real voice is there, but it's smaller than a lot of stay think. Hayley Kiyoko talked about her company (label?) Not wanting her to write anymore songs about girls and Colbie Caillet has a whole song about her frustration that her label wanted her to write more love songs.

*incoherent noises* i could go on forever, but my god, cortana, play "we dont believe whats on tv" by twenty one pilots

And oh my god, i wish fandoms lighten up some. Its okay to not like everything every artist or show or whatever you like comes out with. It may even be healthy to not. When you love someone, youre not gonna let them keep fucking up and then you go "youre doing amazing sweetie", no, you have to tell them that they fucked up so they are aware of their mistakes and get better. Im pretty sure i read somewhere that skz mentioned thats what they prefer anyways. Sure its gonna hurt, especially since so much heart and hope, and hardwork went into it, but if its not good, its okay to admit that and that goes for every relationship ever. And if they dont wanna listen, then, thats on them.

Im really loving all the reality checks on here recently and i havent even ranted on about "i like it" yet lmao

thank you baby!!!! and tbf, i think they could look good in absolutely any hair color or hair style. except i never want to see christopher in another fully-red moment again. his lil red highlights or whatever he had recebtly for the mv were cute, but i'm not here for the full red like leave that man alone 😭

i was talking to one of my moots about this a little bit, so i'm actually glad you brought it up... but idk it's kind of embarrassing(?) idk for me to talk about so please bear with me im queasy lol. i was never some like super spoiled-brat rich kid or anything, but growing up i would say my family was very well-off or privilged maybe? idk it's kind of awkward to talk about bc i don't want people to feel certain ways about me but yeah. i think when you are in that kind of position, it's so easy to not even realize how advantaged you are. like there's that mentality of "oh i'm such a hard worker and that's how i've gotten here" when really, as uncomfortable as it is to admit, you don't *actually* know how far you would've gotten if you'd done it ALL on your own. not relying on anyone else... and not knowing if "just you" is good enough is a veryyyy hard pill to swallow- aka why most people disregard their privilege even being brought into the equation. it's easier to just pretend it doesnt exist. hence, i guess, why we love to think of SKZ coming up from nothing... it's just so easy to fall into that trap. and i feel like even the skz members fall into that trap themselves

unfortunately, that is the biggest drawback of being a kpop idol. in a way, you can't even be your full self anymore. which is sad. like not only do you not have full control of your own music (which is supposed to be your livelihood), but you don't even have control over how you're perceived. i talk a lot ab how i wish i could hang out with the guys behind the scenes, just to see what they're REALLY like... and when you think about it, that's kind of sad. i consume so much SKZ content, but even with all of that, it's very apparent that we don't know how they are when the cameras cut off. everything we see of them is specifically controlled by their team... except for things like bubble ofc and we see what that has revealed to us about chris lol. it's just so sad, but then again, it's exactly what they signed up for. (bonus points to u for the twenty one pilots reference though my god how i love them)

it's definitely not healthy to tell someone that they're amazing and perfect in every way and agreebwith absolutely everything they say. that's not helping anything. there's obviously a lot of stays who felt uncomfortable with the song, but imagine if no one said anything??? like literally everyone was too scared to say it and everyone just went along with it. theyd have a whole new comeback w songs ab not fucking liking you and just wanting to fuck and shit 😭 which like, power to them, but stays would just be playing themselves at that point lol

haven't ranted on "i like it".... YET?!?! oh lord, i'm strapped in and ready 😭😭😭😂

[ingravinoveritas]

How will you feel if Georgia and Anna turn up in GO2? Or any other assorted family members?

(Grouping all of the GO 2 Anons together since there are quite a few, and in order of take hotness level from Mild to Medium to Habanero Spicy...)

So, to recap the seeming order of events up until now (though I'm sure everyone is probably well aware): Three weeks ago, Neil made this post featuring a behind the scenes photo from GO season 2. Almost immediately, Twitter detectives set to work trying to ascertain the identities of the three people in the photo, and it very quickly came to light that both Peter Davison and Ty Tennant have roles in GO 2 listed on their respective CVs on their shared agent's website:

Shortly after that, the news appeared to be confirmed on the Radio Times website, and was subsequently picked up by a number of other media outlets. Most of these seem to be repeating what was reported by Radio Times, and while (from what I have seen, at least) there has been no official confirmation from either Amazon or Neil, the roles being on Peter and Ty's CVs seem to have convinced most of the fandom that they are in the second season.

I think there are several things we have to consider when talking about all of this. The first season of GO came out in 2019, and since then, the world has, well...I suppose "gone completely tits up" is one way of putting it, but the world has changed dramatically, and the circumstances around filming and production of television have also changed. Thus, when GO season 2 was filmed in Scotland from October of 2021 to March of 2022, the set was extremely locked down tight due to Covid safety protocols.

In all likelihood, it probably would've been very difficult to get actors for smaller roles or as extras, so from a purely logistical/practical standpoint, that is what could have led to the casting of Peter and Ty. There is also no way to know who the characters of Alastair and Ennon are, so for all we know, these could be very brief appearances where the characters are in one scene and then never appear again.

With that in mind, let's turn to the subject of nepotism, which I have seen mentioned quite frequently since the alleged casting was announced. I think what people may not be seeing is that there has been a marked difference in the reaction to Peter/Ty's casting from the hardcore GO fans vs. the wider public on Twitter. With the GO fans, there seems to be this attitude of tiptoeing around the word nepotism and everyone needing to be super happy/thrilled at the prospect of Peter and Ty (and possibly Georgia, but more on that ion a minute) being in GO 2, or otherwise you're a "bad" GO/David fan.

The wider public, however, has no such compunction about saying the word, often repeatedly, and with additional color commentary. What I wish the fans on Twitter understood is that this is something to be genuinely concerned about, because when the second season comes out, it won't be enough for just the hardcore fans to watch it. The show needs to bring in new viewers, and if people are as turned off by perceived nepotism as they seem to be, they won't tune in. Without those viewers, season 2 may not perform well, and if that is the case, Amazon could easily say "Well, GO season 2 didn't perform, so we're not going to greenlight a third season."

That is why it matters. Because even if casting Peter/Ty was done out of necessity/practicality, it ultimately comes down to people's perceptions, and overwhelmingly those perceptions are of nepotism and/or stunt casting.

For me personally, I certainly was and am not thrilled at the idea of Peter and Ty being in GO 2 (let alone Georgia and Anna, which...I might need a stronger drink before I write out my thoughts on that). But this does not in any way have anything to do with me disliking Peter or Ty, and in fact goes back to what I've always been most concerned with, and that's the integrity of the show.

Thinking back to 2020, I'm reminded of the heart-achingly beautiful audio clip that was released just a few months into lockdown, in honor of the 30th anniversary of GO's publication. Neil didn't write a new scene for Shadwell and Madame Tracy or Newt and Anathema...he wrote a scene for Aziraphale and Crowley. It was Michael and David whose performances resonated so strongly with all of us and with him, and he specifically chose to bring them back as Aziraphale and Crowley to mark that occasion.

When Staged came along shortly thereafter, it was created to build on that chemistry and relationship between Michael and David. Staged was meant to remind us of Good Omens, not the other way around. So I do feel that, when it comes to Peter and Ty (and Georgia/AL) being in GO season 2, it would be a distraction to have them there, rather than an enhancement. Not even because of the acting--as Peter is a seasoned actor and Ty/Georgia are decent enough (though AL is the exception, as she categorically cannot act, which we have seen)--but because of the principle.

The reason so many of us have greatly anticipated the second season is the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley. So for me, casting any of these folks in the show (but particularly Georgia and AL) draws attention away from the Husbands, almost as if to say the relationship between Aziraphale and Crowley is somehow less/not as worth our attention as their "real" relationships. It also goes back to what I mentioned above about stunt casting, and again, if the viewers the show very much relies on see it that way and are turned off by that/perceived nepotism, it may cause the show itself to suffer overall.

So those are my thoughts on the potential casting of Peter Davison/Ty Tennant and Georgia/AL being in GO 2. I suspect we won't really know the truth about who is or isn't in the show until it's released, but to the Anons who felt they are alone in having feelings of hesitation over these casting decisions: You are very much not the only one who feels as you do, and I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to write in and share your feelings with me. We'll just have to wait and see what happens...

[incarnateirony]

how much do antis and 2po/whoever actually affect Jensen/Robbie/Misha's everyday? I know they had to get more security at one point. Did that threat level not lessen? Are these people actually able to get to creators in meaningful ways? Or is it just sort of a low hum to keep an eye on in the background?

The creatives are fine.

For corporate reasons that baffle me, the profit these people have is often prioritized over their threats and other nonsense. That is to say, TPTB et all know most of them are hot air. 2po's sources like Suzanne can flip shit and threaten to cut hellers up at cons, but the moment someone like me shows up like, sup bitch, wanna try? They go fucking running and pissing their pants and saying someone else is threatening THEM and uwu HOW SCARED THEY ARE. When I'm just like. Naw, self defense is legal in all 50 states but if you want to run your mouth to act tough, I got cargo pants, four weapons on me, and plenty of experiences beating bitches that picked the wrong fight into the dirt.

So, consider security the more reserved angle of that. They straighten their tie, clear their throats, and instead of yelling BITCH, I WISH YOU WOULD TRY they're like. Oh, just keep an eye on them. They just bought 10K more worth of events at the next two cons, they're all hot air.

Now, that doesn't mean it reverses the psychological effects on the guys. For years Misha hid how bad the hate was, and Jensen didn't truly perceive it until Sunsetgate, where it was his first true slapback to Misha haters. His opinions got more and more nuanced as he was given lists of people to observe the dialogue of over the years that influence opinion of his family, his friends, and more. And boy, Jensen silently reading a list of Key Names in this fandom for years really helps him get a bearing on where noise starts in the universe. He's called loljackles out on stage because of this before and the point whistled past and they yell, nuh uh.

So the guys are aware. At times, when their mental states are vulnerable, it can in fact be upsetting. And other times? It's just angering. This fandom is full of narcissists that think they're the main character of the universe, and they completely disregard the complex realities that make bonds, friendships and opinions in these groups for standom lane niche arguing and warped content like they're trying to push out again. Ya'll aren't the only motherfuckers that can double down.

They've dug their own holes to where they're at. Half of the content of The Winchesters--the Revenge part, if you will--comes from acute awareness among the creatives about problems in fandom dialogue, and frankly political commentary about it in the smaller subtext margins for its parallelism to dialogue in the real world, and the fact that fascists stay fascists even when they're in fandom, being fascist in fandom, for example.

They know. They're aware. It's not to say they aren't impacted. But they have their watch lists, their security, and their general awareness that most of these bitches are nothing but hot air and dollar bills, and maybe the occasional wonkadoo voodoo doll full of fishhooks. Not to undermine how insane it is that it ever got to that point, but basically, they know the assholes in this fandom are too fake and cowardly to do any real harm beyond running their mouths in any capacity.

[ashboy-3]

Boosting a Grade

Written for Dannymay day 6 Prompt: Eclipse Fandom: Danny Phantom Characters: Danny, Sam, Tucker, Lancer, Ghost Words: 1921 Summary: it's a rare eclipse happening and Lancer is willing to give those who show up to the event a bump on their letter grade, but Danny prince of the Ghost Zone has to attend a formal event for the eclipse, and now his powers are messing up!

“Alright class as you are all aware the eclipse is happening this month. Since we want all of our students to experience this the school will be putting on a late-night after-school event. Everyone is welcome to come and watch the eclipse together. We will be providing glasses. If you have any questions please ask,” Lancer talked as he read from the paper, handing them out to each of his 11th-grade students.

“Is attendance mandatory?” Tucker Foley asked.

“While attendance is not mandatory for those of you who wish to gain some extra credit I am willing to bring up your grade by one whole letter grade if you attend the event and write a small one-page report about it,” Lancer responded, seeing the trio’s heads pop up.

Lancer isn’t exactly known for doing things like this, but he can see how hard the trio is trying to help Danny get his grades up. They have been better the recent years but are still a far cry from the straight-A student that he use to be.

Seeing the class descend into loud mumbles he clapped his hands to quiet them down to continue his lesson on the Scarlet Letter.

“Danny you have to go! This is a good opportunity!” Sam told him at lunch.

“But I have to be in the Ghost Zone! It’s an official thing,” Danny groaned.

“You could talk to Clockwork, and see what he has to say?” Tucker suggested.

“Yeah I’ll go there after school,” Danny agreed when he suddenly sneezed. His friends were now giving him weird looks. “What? It was just a sneeze?” Danny asked them, shrugging.

“Dude you got the scary eyes out,” Tucker taped his own eye to make a point, completely forgetting he had glasses on.

Quickly blinking rapidly Danny rubbed his eyes in the hope to get them back to normal.

“They're still green,” Sam told him as Danny let out a curse.

“Guess I’m skipping the second half of school. Cover for me?”

“Always,” the two friends responded with a smile as Danny disappeared in thin air, leaving the two to their lunch.

“So what’s happening? My eyes are green in human form but blue in ghost. That makes no sense,” Danny paced around his mentor’s tower.

“Relax it is nothing that can be solved. It is the power of the eclipse. This is why we have the Solar event coming up that I asked you to be present for. As our soon-to-be king, it is only right that you speak on behalf of the new era,” Clockwork informed him.

“A new era? Clockwork eclipses happen all the time. . .don’t tell me this is some special eclipse?” Danny groaned.

“You would be right. This is a total solar eclipse. The smaller ones that happen throughout the years only have a small effect on us ghosts, so small that one doesn’t even notice it. But for us ghosts to have a total solar eclipse while in the process of getting a new king is a sign of a new era. I for one think that it will be an era of prosperity,” Clockwork smiled at him.

“But I need to be at school during it! Lancer said he will bump up my grade by a whole letter! I could go from a C to a B in his class,” Danny panicked.

“Is there, not a way to be excused from the event and still get the grade? Clockwork asked.

“Maybe if Jazz helps me?” Danny thought as a plan formed in his head. “Okay I can probably get out of the event and still get the letter grade but we have to figure out how to get my eyes under control,” Danny told him.

“Here this will hold but the more you use your powers the weaker the effect will be,” Clockwork waved his hands and Danny felt a shiver through his spine. “I have added an extra boost to help you get home. The effect will last till the eclipse.”

“Thanks, CW,” Danny grinned, getting ready to fly home.

“Remember young prince. This is only a camouflage spell. If you do something inhuman it will still be noticed,” Clockwork formed him as Danny nodded in understanding. 

“I should be back on Friday! Send me a message if you need me before then,” Danny waved by, easily flying back.

“Hey Jazz,” Danny said into his phone.

“Hey, Danny. Did you need something?” she asked.

“If you’re not busy could you fake a note from mom and Dad? Tell the school that I will be viewing the eclipse but my parents want me to do it from a ghost perspective. I have an event in the GZ that I can’t miss but Lancer offered to bump us up a whole letter grade if we need it,” Danny asked her.

“I’ll have it sent to Tucker’s email in thirty minutes. If you need anything just let me know,” she smiled into the phone.

“Thanks, Jazz!” Danny smiled. His sister really was always there for him, even hundreds of miles away at college.

It was forty minutes later that Danny got another call on his phone.

“Hey dude.”

“Hey yourself. Jazz just sent me the file. I have it printed and ready for Lancer’s class tomorrow. Good thinking,” Danny could sense Tucker’s smrik through the phone.

“Yep well if Lancer calls my parents they’ll agree on the spot. I can get Jazz here day of if need be to distract them,” Danny shrugged.

“So did you get your eye problem fixed?’

“Yeah, clockwork did something. It’ll fade by Friday but it’ll fade faster if use my power. It’s some kind of camouflage thing,” Danny shrugged.

“Ight well let’s hope this week goes off without a hitch.”

“I have a feeling it’s going to be quiet,” Danny observed.

True to Danny’s words the week was quiet, when questioned by his friends he shrugged and said the eclipse messes with the ghost. Lancer luckily accepted the letter with no problem and agreed to let Danny write his report on the effect of ghosts and the eclipse.

Friday came too soon and the school year ended.

“Let me know how the school event goes,” Danny waved to his friends.

“Let us know how the GZ event goes!” Sam and Tucker waved by as the three went their separate ways.

Just as Danny returned home he could feel the effects wear off and quickly changed into his ghost form, flying to Phantom’s keep.

“Glad to see you made it Prince,” Dora greeted him.

“Dora you don’t have to call me Prince. Danny is fine,” the half-ghost rolled his eyes as she swatted his arm playfully.

“It is a sign of respect. You are the future king. You should really start acting more like it,” Dora laughed at his groaning.

“He could always start by fixing his posture,” Pandora agreed, entering the room.

“Look I’m standing up straight. Happy?” Danny asked, sass full on in his voice.

“Do not sass the ones who are trying to help you. I do not care to imagine the horror Clockwork has to deal with mentoring you,” she rolled her eyes, a smile never leaving her face.

“Oh it is quite troublesome, but I feel like it is well needed. Daniel is an excellent student,” Clockwork smiled as he floated into the room. “Are you ready to give your speech?” 

“I’ve been working on it all week,” Danny assured him, a look of determination on his face.

“We will be in the wings watching. Good luck young sire,” Dora gave a small bow, the others following her lead.

“Not going with them?”

“I am your advisor. I feel it’s best to advise you when I am close by,” Clockwork answered, changing into an old man.

“Thanks, Clockwork. Really,” Danny smiled as the two walked out on stage to see many ghosts ready to celebrate.

“Now announcing Prince Phantom and his royal advisor the Master of Time, ClockWork!” Fright Knight shouted as the two walked out.

“Welcome everyone! We stand on the cusp of a new era. Our civilization, like many before us, has reached a turning point. We have accomplished great things, and yet we know that there is so much more to achieve. As we look to the future, we must ask ourselves: what kind of society do we want to build? What kind of legacy do we want to leave for future generations?

The challenges we face are great, but we are not alone in this endeavor. Our civilization has always been defined by our ability to come together and work towards a common goal. And as we enter this new era, we will need to harness that same spirit of cooperation and collaboration to face the challenges ahead.

One of the key challenges we face is the need to create a more sustainable society. We know that our current way of life is not sustainable in the long term. We must find ways to come together. Stop the senseless violence between communities.

We must also strive to create a more just and equitable society. We cannot continue to allow inequality to persist in our civilization. We must work to dismantle systems of oppression and create a society where everyone has access to the same opportunities, regardless of their background or circumstances.

But above all, as we enter this new era, we must never forget the history that has made us thus far. We must remember that we are not the horrible creatures others tell us that we are. We are powerful, but that does not mean that we have to go down to their level. Entering in this new Era I will protect you and guide you if you choose to have me.

In the end, the success of our civilization will not be measured by our achievements, our fear, or our wealth, but by the impact that we have on the world around us. Let us work together to build a society that we can be proud of, one that reflects the best of our potential. Thank you,” Danny bowed to the crowd as everyone was silenced. Then with a proud smirk, Clockwork raised his staff.

“To Prince Phantom!”

“Prince Phantome!!!” Screams cries, and cheers, came from the ghost as Danny exited and they could see Frostbite walk on stage.

“Now let us celebrate!” The yeti declared as it sounded like a riot was going off.

“That was excellent!” Dora greeted him, pulling him into a hug.

“Thanks I wasn’t really sure about the speech, but it made them happy,” Danny gestured towards the outside.

“Of course. Most of the ghosts never leave the zone and get stuck between battles with more powerful ghosts. You are promising them a place where they will be safe. Compared to the last ruler and what happened when we didn’t have one you are very much needed,” Pandora explained.

“I’m glad you all liked it! Now I was told there was a party?” Danny smiled.

“This way. Your subjects will be happy to have you join them,” Frostbite led the way.

Monday found Danny handing in his essay to Lancer, much longer than the required one page, but it was well worth it to see the look on Lancer’s face. It also made Danny happy that he could return back to his normal freaky powers. Of course, the surge of feeling powerful didn’t really leave him, but a part of him wasn’t bothered.

[kiriiqt]

*gasp*, a child

- some of the genshin characters, and how good (or bad) they are with kids.

characters: childe, chongyun, albedo, tighnari, yae miko, rosaria a/n: random thoughts I had about some of the genshin characters. this is just how good they are with kids overall, not necessarily their own, but I did add a bonus part about whether they want them or not. I wrote more, but the post got too long, so if this does well I might post them. warnings: talks of kids and parenthood. descriptions of disliking kids. orphanage mention in childe's. childe and albedos parts are low-key angsty.

Childe

I’m pretty sure that if there’s one thing this fandom can agree on, it’s that Childe is a family man. He loves kids, he has many siblings, and he loves to be around his family. For the people who know what he does for a living, it’s quite odd to see that side of him. However, he doesn’t show it to fellow Fatui. Pulcinella is probably the only one who’s seen how he is with his family, and even then it’s very limited.

Childe is funny, bright and outgoing - i think kids naturally just gravitate towards him? He’s had a lot of incidents where a child has come up to him babbling, with a panicked parent in tow, because “Sweetie, don’t, that’s a very important man, don’t bother h-”, and well, there goes the child tugging at his sleeve. This obviously wouldn’t happen in an important meeting or something, so he usually just ruffles the kids’ hair and laughs (leaving the parent very confused but also very relieved).

Also, I feel like Childe would go to the orphanage run by Arlecchino and spend time with the kids, with the Harbingers’ (reluctant) permission. He’s also got more money than he needs, so he’ll bring some toys for the younger ones, some clothes, extra art supplies, games and such - they don’t need it since the orphanage isn’t underfunded, but they appreciate it nonetheless. He’s pretty hush about this, for obvious reasons.

I feel like he’d donate a portion of his money to other orphanages (if there are any) and charities, because he thinks that a good childhood is one of the most important things in life. However, it’s also partly fueled by guilt; I think he at least knows something about what Harbingers like Dottore do, and that he himself has ruined a fair share of lives. Childe is very aware of the fact that it doesn’t atone for what he’s done, but he does it anyway.

And oh, Childe would love to have kids one day; he dreams of starting a family. A big one, in a big house, with space enough for the rest of his family to visit. He finds himself daydreaming away in some of his rare breaks, only snapping out of it when he has duties to attend to. He does so with a frown, wishing to go back to that daydream, the comfort of it; though he knows that the life he’s dreaming of doesn’t, and couldn’t, belong to him; no, it belongs to someone else. Someone long gone, a young man by the name of Ajax, who faded into the abyss years ago.

Chongyun

(I’m back on my “chongyun is a top tier babysitter” bullshit)

The thing is, Chongyun doesn’t even realize that he’s good with kids, caring for them just comes to him naturally. Somehow, he knows exactly what to do with a crying baby, and how to entertain a rowdy 10-year old. He's stern enough to tell them off if needed, but also soft spoken enough to avoid scaring them. Chongyun is also pretty damn muscular and generally fit, so he has the strength and energy to keep up with children. He can lift smaller kids like they weigh nothing, and he can run around playing tag for hours. It's a relief to any parent who knows him, since he’s always eager to help when he’s not busy.

While he can easily keep up with very energetic kids, he’s also very good with more quiet ones (again, he’s polite and soft spoken). He may struggle with reading most people and seeing past certain things, but due to how kids are generally more expressive with their feelings, he knows how to handle them. Boy will claim he’s horrible with children and then be followed by a whole trail of kindergarteners on his way out I swear to god. It’s kind of cute actually, some of these kids follow him like little ducklings follow their mother.

I also think that Chongyun is prone to babysitting Qiqi, though some of it is just him lurking in the background to make sure she doesn’t get lost. She enjoys his company, and makes sure to write down what they do together, so she wont forget. Sometimes she asks him to write small notes on those pages. I also think it would be super cute if it was Chongyun who taught her the proper exercises to stave off her rigor mortis. He also accompanies her to colder areas, like the mountains.

Chongyun is still quite young, so he’s not sure if he’ll want kids in the future. It’s not something he considers often, mainly because he's not at an age where you would

Albedo

Albedo is a solid 50/50 when it comes to kids. It really depends on the type of child he's dealing with. He gets along with most kids, but he’s also admitted to struggling with socializing and understanding others, so he does find some kids difficult to deal with. Mainly troublesome ones, in the sense that they are either extremely fussy and/or refuse to be helped. Especially since he won’t know what they need in that case. Ironically, kids like Klee who have loud and active (or, explosive) personalities are easier for him to deal with, because it’s easy to figure out what they need, and go about it a more structured way (he can’t leave his academic side behind, okay). A quiet child is okay as well, as long as he can communicate with them about their needs. This also means that he’s better at caring for infants and then later kids who have learned to communicate their needs - basically, toddlers are a bad idea.

(I feel bad for saying this but if you hand him an inconsolable toddler who’s been fed, changed, and had a nap, he’ll pretty much be lost.)

That being said, Albedo is absolutely great with kids otherwise. He’s gentle with kids, so as long as it's not an elaborate babysitting mission for a crying three year old, he’s fine.

As for having his own... Albedo has thought about having kids, many times. He researches processes of life, how it’s created, etc. and he’s probably somewhat amazed by the fact that a human body can create what alchemists have struggled to for centuries (fullmetal alchemist, anyone?). But the issue for him is that he doesn’t know if he can even have kids, first of all, and secondly, a pit forms in his stomach when he pictures it. The knowledge that he might one day snap and either destroy Mondstadt, or himself, weighs down on him like a great burden. He tries to brush it off; but the thought of endangering his own children, or having to leave them behind, terrifies him. He sometimes feels the same when looking at Klee; Albedo can handle a lot of things, but that? He doesn’t dare imagine it.

Tighnari

Tighnari is pretty similar to Albedo, in the sense that it really depends on the situation. He’s better at reading people, yes, but he knows that some kids find him unapproachable. Tighnari knows how to care for kids, how to calm them down, etc. but he definitely takes on more of a teacher/doctor role, rather than a caretaker. This means that he’s great at caring for all types of kids, but not on a familiar level.

However, like Chongyun, he can hit the perfect balance between being stern and gentle. Kids actually listen to his advice (most of the time), because he doesn’t get extremely angry at their mishaps. He tells them off, explains what they did wrong, why it's wrong, and to avoid it in the future. A part of why he’s good with kids, and as a teacher in general, is because he speaks to them as if they're equals, instead of just pulling the "I'm the adult, therefore you listen to me" -card.

Also, Tighnari’s ears and tail definitely intrigue kids a lot. They really want to pet his ears and tail. He can see it in their eyes. They’re desperate. Please god let them touch his ears and tail.

On that note, some brave kids have definitely run up and hugged his tail, either out of curiosity or because they simply didn't realise that it belonged to a person. Cue tons of apologies from their caretaker and a chuckle from Tighnari (really, he can’t find it in his heart to be... too annoyed).

I'm hopping onto the 'natural instinct' train here; as far as I know, Fennec foxes are very family oriented animals and they mate for life, and I believe that Tighnari would have this trait too. He definitely wants a partner and kids one day, but he's absolutely not in a rush; sure, he sometimes thinks about it, but he's got great things going at the moment. But, whenever the right person comes along? He's not opposed to moving his priorities around.

Yae Miko

Ei come get your bestie, she is STRUGGLING.

This poor woman.

Yae Miko can play mind games with almost everyone, but when a child comes to visit her at the shrine? No, she’s lost. Kids seem drawn to her for some odd reason, and she's flattered, but also quite confused. Yae Miko is definitely the person who’ll whip around to a meek “excuse me, miss?” and see a small kid stutter through their words, asking questions about the fortune slips, and complimenting her pretty hair. Obviously, she doesn’t lose her composure, but on the inside she is a bit alarmed on what to do. Usually, she settles for chuckling slightly and thanking the kid, before answering the questions.

And yes, I believe that children are drawn to her because she’s elegant, and has pretty hair and fox ears. She catches them staring a lot. They are not allowed to pet her ears (she lets them pet her ears), but she will occasionally tell them one of her many, many stories. It’s not uncommon to hear a gasp from somewhere near the Sacred Sakura, followed up by a “The Raiden Shogun did that?”

I can imagine that just like Ningguang, she’d let them do a bit of her bidding…but more for her entertainment. Poor Gorou has been approached by a child a few times while on Narukami Island, and he always walks away flustered, because how the hell is he supposed to deny headpats, when they looked at him with those puppy eyes?

However, when it comes to her own... Yae Miko has zero interest in having kids. Considering her position, it’s not something that would be convenient, or even make sense for her. She’s lived for a long time, so she’s probably thought about it a lot, but more as a way to pass the time, not necessarily because she wants them. Honestly, I’m not sure if she’d even want a lover, but that’s more a matter of meeting the right person. She’s alright with this though, it’s not like Childe or Albedo, where its a source of grief. Just to clarify; I don’t hc Yae Miko as asexual or aromantic, or anything specific at all. I just don’t think she cares about that stuff unless someone really special comes along. There’s also the issue that she’s basically immortal.

Rosaria

I think Rosaria genuinely just... dislikes kids. I almost put her at a 50/50, for reasons I'll explain in a second, but if she can avoid children, she will.

She just dislikes them. They're loud, fussy, need care and attention all the time, and she doesn't have the patience to put up with them. Of course, if a child talks to her, she'll entertain them, but she's looking for an emergency exit from that situation. Rosaria also doesn't want to deal with how sensitive kids are; she's not a person to sugarcoat anything, and you need to do that with most children.

That being sad, she will always help and protect a child if they’re in trouble. She scoffs at people who are overprotective, because not all cuts and bruises need fussing over, but she is still dedicated to protecting Mondstadt, and that includes children. She's just more the type to accompany a crying child towards another trustworthy adult, rather than calming them down herself.

Somewhere deep down, she’s also doing this because her own childhood was rough, and it's a way of 'paying back the favor' for when Grandmaster Varka took her in.

Unsurprisingly, Rosaria doesn't want children of her own. They are…inconvenient for her. Rosaria doesn’t want to go through the strain of pregnancy, and she definitely does not want to dedicate the next many years of her life to a child. I would have ended it there, but after seeing her interaction with Razor in the new event, I can kind of see her in a found family trope? If she found a troubled kid or teenager that ended up latching on to her, she'd become some type of caretaker, though it would definitely be more of an older sister role, or even the cool aunt.

[badedramay]

TB s2 announcement got me wondering about this general trend where people expect actors to be morally perfect saints who should only pick projects based on principles. Would these same ppl reject a lucrative job offer from evil corporates like a Facebook or BP? The one power they have is to not watch trash like TB but dekhenge bhi, hate bhi karenge, endlessly uske baare baat bhi karenge and then expect the actors to say no to good money. Idk Mais am I being too lenient on actors?

Hmmmmmmmmmmm...I don't think people want actors to be morally perfect saints but yeah they DO want the actors to have SOME ethics and morals driving their professional decisions. I am more often than not lenient on actors wrt their professional decisions. I can crib about them but ultimately I can just choose not to watch those particular projects. it's just with Wahaj and Yumna..they are KNOWN to have done better written projects in the past so it's not like they are not aware of what their particular fandom expects them to do. Yumna especially toh has half her filmography filled with dramas that deal with sensitive issues. and she has gained much critical acclaim for them. TB was, by all means, a very irresponsible decision for them. yes, it worked out BIG time and it's great that they got massive national and international fame from it. that was the drama's job and now that job is done..fans have a right to wish ke okay chalo ab back to doing projects that wouldn't have them compromising their morals. waise have they been finalized for TB2??

another thing..actors with the kind of fame that Wahaj and Yumna have gotten post TB have the privilege of CHOICE. they are aware of the starpower they bring to any project so they have a kind of authority to bring in changes and alterations to a project to make them less damaging. YumHaj didn't do that with TB, either because when the show was being shot they didn't have that authority yet or they just simply didn't see anything wrong with it. but now they DO have the power; the power of their fandom has given them that confidence. so if they still choose to do something similary problematic like TB then yeah..it's completely on them and criticism banta hai.

it takes nerves of steel to have morals and stick to them. look at when Maya Ali says she simply refuses to do dramas with violence in them even if it means not doing much work. Obi is a vocal ally and he's more than happy to play smaller role in projects that have important social message or a story that is close to his heart. Mahira Khan will never do a project where her character is not the strongest. Mawra Hocane put her foot down while her project was in production and used her power to alter the script so a horrendous thing like marital rape wasn't brushed off as nothing. even Farhan Saeed went on record to say that he talked it out with the director so a slap scene was edited out in Mere Humsfar. so, it's not like there aren't examples of actors being on the moral high ground. sure they bring in small changes but what they do is set a precedent for other actors to follow. fans being disappointed that actors like Yumna and Wahaj who are MORE than aware of the repercussions of being cavalier about toxicity and abuse don't use their voice to take a stand against those issues is their right.

but dekhenge bhi, hate bhi karenge, endlessly uske baare baat bhi karenge and then expect the actors to say no to good money.

I have a different take on this. the people who talk against such shows don't necessarily "watch" it out of choice but they do so because well it's all around them. and them "talking" about it isn't in favor of the show but against it. "no publicity is bad publicity" may be well and true and its these people and loyal fans of the actors who continued to criticize the show for its shortcomings and bringing attention to how dangerous the messaging of the show got the attention of the actors who are now accepting that they did have some errors in judgements and promise to now do better. that is why this talking is necessary. sure, for the producers its all money. but the producers aren't the intended audience of this criticism anyway. it's the actors. it's their loyal following urging them to do better. also, actors can make big money from other things. their big money can/does come from advertisements and endorsements. for quality TV, they can compromise on the check if they wish to. end mein baat toh usulon ki aati hai.

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

dw your hate for the mandalorian is exhausting too

still enjoy your jedi metas a ton cause they get so much undeserving negativity, i just wish you were capable of extending empathy to other characters and groups as well

Well I'd say I'm sorry about that, but 😅 look, I used to *love* the Mandos. Why my opinion partially changed is a long and frustrating tale that involves overhype-induced fatigue (and some online harassment unfortunately) - and yeah, I'm aware people would rather only see positivity on my blog, but it's a blog. It's here for me to vent as well. In my 'defense' I'll only say that I try to either tag salt posts as such or I don't tag them at all so they don't show up in the main tags and don't ruin the enjoyment of anybody who doesn't want to see them.

I'm very glad you still enjoy my metas (still don't really get what prompted the first Anakin/Padmé ask, but I won't deny that I can get super bitchy, so I appreciate that you felt free to tell me what you think). While I do get carried away on my more personal/smaller posts, I try to make sure my longer metas don't lack nuance. I mean, you could easily say I 'hate' Maul, but I've got tons of sympathy for him regardless (and for Dooku, and Ventress, even Bo-Katan... I don’t *hate* hate characters typically).

I can't promise to stop being salty, because I didn't sign a tumblr contract as 'meta writer' that would make me above the usual pettiness of fandom discourse. I'm not better than anybody who bitches about the Jedi, while I bitch about other characters - I'm just a biased random person writing my biased thoughts down. I appreciate that you like some of my stuff, and if you decide that you can't put up with the rest I won't hold it against you one bit!

[witchofthevale]

You don't know why people send hate? Because they want to make others mad. On Twitter, if 1 year ago you said you were team green, you'd have 20+ people calling you slurs just because of it. For your preference, opinion, taste that DOESN'T HURT anyone. It happened on Tumblr too. Ask greenies and they'll tekk you. So why people can't mind their own business and stop willingly search for certain tags to see people expressing their opinion only for them to go full rampage mode because soemone expressed different preference? hotd fandom is the most toxic fandom I've ever been so whole idea of fandom being escapism, safe space to enjoy something is wishful thinking at this point. Why is that? 2 teams on the narrative of the show which would make people pick one side over another + polarising portrayal of team Black and team Green which speaks to black and white us against them way of thinking + general audience's age + immaturity of majority of people in this fandom. Sorry but this fandom was doomed from the start. What I mean is better for peace of mind to have smaller group of people to interact with when you know no one will attack you because your opinions are the same than try to make friends with people who might insult you whenever they want because your tastes are sometimes different. The truth is if someone wants to send hate their excuse could be anything you said. Now people are throwing slurs or rape/murder/anything apologist without understanding what it means. Our past in this fandom is different. Doing things for my mental health is my top priority. I don't know why you assume I've blocked 90% of fandom when it's maybe 50% but I guess after getting death threats I don't care about being liked by everyone. What I won't accept is behaving like a 3 years old just because I don't like Rhae Rhae and throwing a tantrum rectifying all kinds of slurs. It's good no one attacked you before. You're lucky because it's rare in this fandom on here or Twitter. I hope you won't deal with immature people sending you death threats and insults because you don't like x character. You still are enthusiastic about this fandom and I hope you won't have people attacking you when season 2 airs. I wish I was as enthusiastic though.

Damn ok, I'm sorry if I come off as flouncy or as if I didn't care about all the toxicity in the fandom. I'm usually not so careless, but I guess replying at 3am with melatonin pills already kicking in had been my fault.

First off, I do know why people send hate. I went off on it as more the energy you have to bring up to purposefully be an asshole and not have the guts to even put on a face or a name to. Out of all the mindful things you do in your day to day, sending someone a nasty, fucked up message as if nobody taught you any manners, is the most mind boggling. To me at least.

Im also sorry that your experience has been horrible since the start, I guess since this has been my fourth fandom I've actively joined in— written for, made an account for — I've learned which energy I devote to as out of all the fandoms I've been, this definitely takes the cake as the most toxic. I've been aware of how toxic this fandom is since last year, my best friend having been a devoted ASOIAF fan who read F&B like the bible (lol), she's exposed the gory bits of the team green vs team black discourse to me. Neither of us have engaged and I almost didn't watch the show because of that (and how much she ranted about the many changes, foremost, the mess of the ages).

Blocking is one hundred percent better for your mental health if you've had this much of a horrible experience, especially if you're keen to stay. It's truly the only way you'll survive through it. I don't block others based on not sharing the same opinions as I do , but I have blocked some who not only don't share my opinions, but say it in an aggressively ugly way.

Dunno if I've missed anymore points, I can tell this is important for you to explain to me so I wanted to reply as fast as I can. I'll be too busy the rest of the day otherwise. If I've missed anymore, please feel free to tell me.

I guess I didn't realize this was such a heavy topic for you as I felt the earlier one was sent pretty out of the blue as I didn't know where the reply initially came from, and I replied too lackadaisy.

[keepingloveagainkw]

Kyuwook Fest 2022 ~ a short ficlet collection~ [ Strong (Boy)friend ]

Strong (Boy)friend – When Ryeowook catches some undesired attention, it's his strong (boy)friend that comes to his rescue. And thank you very much!

The following day, touring once again the exceptionally bright London had never felt any more deserved than that. Needless to say that the concert had been a huge success and for Super Junior hearing the fans scream their names, chant their songs, reply to their silly questions on stage was just like a breather of fresh air. They were undoubtedly missing all the love and support their extensive fandom only could show them after spending unwavering, solid years focusing on each and every one of the members, let alone the group activities.

However, all good things were bound to end at some point and even their European adventure couldn’t be any lesser. The members still had one more day to spend around the City and all eight of them had different plans according to their own unique preferences, therefore the big group split in smaller clusters to go about their day.

Everyone had more or less decided what to do… except for the younger ones.

“Come on, you can sit at the bar anytime at home!” Ryeowook was arguing in front of Kyuhyun. The two were standing under some fresh shade cast by the trees alongside the gardens just outside the Tate Modern, alongside the Thames.

“No, sir!” Kyuhyun was fighting back, trying his very hard to prove a point “Back at home we are celebrities! There is no chance in hell I can get some privacy and go to a freaking restaurant without being surrounded by fans!”

Then he quickly turned around to point at a nearby bench, where the D&E duo was quietly sitting, licking a sumptuous ice cream cone each, like two content kids.

“They could never sit at a park eating ice cream like that!” Kyuhyun added with a sigh, earning two innocent stares from both Donghae and Eunhyuk, who looked quite used to the bickering now.

“Do you think they’ll manage to find a solution?” Donghae whispered to Eunhyuk, who simply shrugged and kept on enjoying his sweet treat.

”You think I don’t know that, Kyu?!” Ryeowook nodded “But how many more times we will get the chance to be in London? Don’t you want to take a walk and visit the city? We can squeeze in a drink at a pub later!” the man pouted, tugging Kyuhyun’s arm as a way to try and convince him.

“I’m too tired to walk, Ryeong. We spent four hours dancing and jumping on stage, without counting rehearsals. I’m just not feeling it today,” Kyuhyun explained, his face wasn’t lying since he had to use a mask to cover most of the fatigue that his soft features were emanating, other than resort to using abundant eye cream to soothe his dark circles. Ryeowook had to know better than force him to do something Kyuhyun wasn’t in the mood for. Especially since his lover was so good at detecting when and how Kyuhyun wasn’t feeling one hundred percent in good condition.

“But it’s a wonderful day! The sky is bright and cloudless and the temperature is just perfect to walk around without a jacket! I’ve been told it’s not that common around here!” Ryeowook insisted, sweetly pouting and batting his eyelashes, aware that Kyuhyun was too weak to discuss any further whenever he resorted to a few tricks to lure his boyfriend into agreeing with him.

“Ryeong, I-“ Kyuhyun croaked, flustered in the face as he didn’t quite feel like wanting to argue any more for something so trivial. They’ve never quarrelled for anything similar although they should have in the past, just to set some boundaries, you know. As a couple they have always been quite respectful of one another and even when their wishes weren’t aligning to the other’s necessities, they would always find the way to compromise, for the sake of avoiding any argument.

Being in the same group wasn’t helping any, since they always had to find a way to agree with each other, however Kyuhyun was honestly feeling so gutted about Ryeowook’s stubbornness at times, and that day was surely an example of it.

“Fine, do whatever you want!” Ryeowook scoffed “I don’t care!” he swirled around and walked off, reaching Eunhyuk and Donghae before flaring the duo his signature sharp gaze. The two dancers immediately took it as a sign to stand up and silently followed Ryeowook, knowing better than uttering a sole word so to potentially anger their younger member more than what he already was.

The birds were chirping, flying undisturbed on that lovely, summer day, while others were hopping around a frozen petrified Kyuhyun, pecking the pavement while looking for crumbs of bread that tourists would occasionally throw at them.

Crumbs, like the ones Kyuhyun was so sure Ryeowook would feed him in the next few days as a revenge tactic for being ignored. He gravely sighed while raking in distress his fluffy, hazelnut brown hair with a hand, in the meanwhile his eyes never left the small shape of his boyfriend, walking across the gardens to reach the entrance of the Tate Modern.

Kyuhyun hated museums, they made him feel claustrophobic… and Ryeowook knew it, making this realisation just a bit harder to digest. He only just wanted to sit down under a flowery porch somewhere and sip a local craft beer while munching some snacks. Nothing complicated. However, with his whims, Ryeowook had just had to make it so. And for whatever reason, Kyuhyun was always appearing as the bad guy. The mere thought of it made him want to sulk, walk away in the opposite direction and just go about his day, but his eyes caught some interesting actions.

Being a free entry museum, the three members had just scanned a QR code to secure their entrance slot and were now queuing with lots of other visitors in the esplanade just outside the venue. Ryeowook’s face looked dark even from afar and Kyuhyun’s heart broke a tiny bit more every passing second he realized it would have been just easier to give into the other man’s wishes, so to avoid stirring any disappointment.

However, what caught his attention was a tall, blonde guy fitting baggy, blue jeans and a checkered shirt over a tight, grey tee slowly approaching Ryeowook. He was gesturing something while pointing at the phone Ryeowook was holding, probably aiming to help him take a picture with Eunhyuk and Donghae while waiting for their turn.

After cutely posing for the camera, Ryeowook heartily smiled in that signature way of his that was perhaps brighter than the sun itself. Sometimes Ryeowook covered it behind a hand, while he lovingly squealed in amusement. Kyuhyun knew too well, because he was a fool for that smile to the point his knees would wobble, there was no chance he couldn’t recognise it even miles afar.

The guy reciprocated the smile in a way that was unmistakably a flirting technique. How lame of him, Kyuhyun thought, Ryeowook was already taken.

The queue moved a bit, while Ryeowook stayed behind. The reason for that choice, Kyuhyun was in no way able to tell. Ryeowook didn’t know enough English to communicate with other people, especially someone who blatantly looked like he had just approached him with the very intent of hitting on his boyfriend.

Rage started boiling in Kyuhyun’s stomach as his blood recoiled to the farthest sections of his body, driving him to move closer, mechanically, like an old-fashioned lead toy soldier, unable to avert his eyes from the unfolding scene as he really hoped Ryeowook wasn’t just putting up a show with the purpose to make him dead-jealous.

Stopping in his track, Kyuhyun watched as Eunhyuk walked back to fetch Ryeowook and that almost made him drew in a sigh of relief. It was crystal clear that Eunhyuk had understood the motif of the guy and was doing his best to pull Ryeowook away. Nice one! As expected of the Kyuwook fanclub President, Kyuhyun smirked while thinking.

However, it appeared like the blonde guy was way too insistent. He fished his own phone and started typing something before showing it to Ryeowook, whose cheeks blushed even harder as he frowned in confusion and started looking around.

Nope. That was it! The last streak. No one could mess withhisman.

Quickly, Kyuhyun stomped his way across the gardens, his knuckles had become white for how tightly he was holding his fists by his sides, ready to throw them at the guy. As he jogged the last few metres to catch up with the queue, he heard the guy’s posh English accent incessantly asking for Ryeowook’s number.

“One date only, please! You’re very pretty and I’d be very curious to get to know you better!” the guy said, blatantly using a translating app so that he could convey his message better. He even reached for Ryeowook’s hand, which he grasped, trying to tug him away as he could.

Finally catching Ryeowook’s panicky gaze, Kyuhyun showed up by his boyfriend’s side, pulling him closer to his hip as he snatched the guy’s phone and typed one very inelegantfuck offthat bewildered the other man.

“Hey, fly down dude. He’s with me, I’m hisboyfriend!” hurriedly, Kyuhyun explained in what broken English he could muster, the apples of his cheeks evidently flaring red even from behind the dark mask. His eyes had become two menacing black pearls, angrily directed at the other man in a very intimidating way.

“I-“ the guy’s eyes ping-ponged between the two Koreans, uncertain on how to excuse himself without poking Kyuhyun’s pride any longer.

“What are you waiting for? Get lost!” Kyuhyun barked, exasperated even after the departure of the dude.

“Kyu,” Ryeowook’s voice croaked, his face was betraying second-hand embarrassment for behaving so stupidly, while his beautiful almond-shaped, dark eyes were glossy with tears of worry.

“Tell me you didn’t stay behind to talk with that guy just because you knew I was around, watching, and that seeing you flirting back could have made me jealous,” Kyuhyun asked, wanting to confirm his doubts, to which Ryeowook just shook his head, genuinely worried himself.

“So, this is why we can never split during our travels,” Kyuhyun sighed, softly pulling Ryeowook in for a tight hug and catching the stray tears that the petite man was shedding, conscious of the huge scare Ryeowook must have felt when he was being insistently pulled away “And also my free ticket to going to the pub together, after visiting the museum, okay?” he suggested with a warm smile, offering a compromise that would have made both parties happy.

Nodding softly, Ryeowook agreed, linking his arm to Kyuhyun’s as tightly as possible, scared someone else might have dared to break their connection. The language barrier and the way he was being tugged at had legitimately scared him for good, it didn’t even matter where they were bound to, as long as he could securely stick to Kyuhyun throughout the whole day. After all, Kyuhyun was his strong boyfriend, able to scare away whoever made him cry or scared, and Ryeowook was glad to have him as his own, personal bodyguard.

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

[swashbucklery]

I'm the original anon asking about those ship comparisons and I'm sorry that I even made a response. That other person is getting really defensive.

Also, I clearly misinterpreted your use of your CR tag. Usually I just assume people are posting something with the interest of engaging in discussion. That was an incorrect assumption and I'm sorry.

Hi first anon! So, here's the thing. I actually really liked responding to your ask and having some friendly discussion; thank you for apologizing for your fellow anons' behaviour but it's not your fault.

My deal is like - and I've changed my CR tag because a third anon has emerged to inform me that my posts are showing up in the main tag which I was actively trying to avoid - I enjoy very specific elements of Critical Role in a very particular way only. And I recognize that's not the broader base's way of engaging or enjoying it! I want to talk about it, but only with people that 'get' my way of approaching it - so not exclusive to my dash, but intended to be a conversation with a much smaller group than it ended up being.

For context: I really like D&D! I've played it for years both as a DM and as a player, but my entry point vibes more with The Adventure Zone than with Critical Role, it that makes sense. The player's handbook is a list of Dungeons and Dragons suggestions, and the game that falls out of a DM's interpretation of it can be as serious or as lighthearted as they want but I always prefer lighthearted approaches. The main reasons I haven't picked up CR in the past have been 1) the extremely serious approach Matt takes to DMing and worldbuilding, which isn’t bad but is just not to my taste and 2) the sheer time commitment involved.

The second point is really my biggest hurdle. I’m a healthcare worker offline, and so since 2020 my time for fandom has been extremely limited for obvious reasons. I’ve barely been able to keep up with Supergirl and Legends, which combined are only 86 minutes a week. 3-5 hours of content every week is absolutely impossible for me, let alone catching up on back-episodes.

I started watching the cartoon + the EXU run because I was stuck isolating at home a couple of months ago and needed something to entertain myself since I couldn’t go anywhere. I liked the fact that the cartoon kept the bones of the C1 mythology but broke it down into a vastly shorter format. I also really loved EXU because it had a different DM. Aabriya works much much better for me; I love her approach to running a game and I liked Matt a lot better as a player than I do as a DM. I also loved the tighter plotting and worldbuilding for the EXU + EXU: Khymal runs, and the casting left out some of the players from the core cast that I don’t love which also helped me get more into it. I want to talk about EXU all fucking day and I wish it was its own fandom separate from CR; I see why it’s not because from the broader CR fandom perspective it’s a footnote but 42 hours of time for an entire story is so much more manageable than 230940843 hours or whatever it ends up being for a full campaign.

I have been slowly tiptoeing through C3; I was enjoying it at first but am starting to find it a bit of a slog because the pacing and vibe is just - I want it to be EXU and it’s not and that’s fine but it’s less my thing, which makes me sad. I’m mostly watching for Dorian because I want to fill in the story and mythology gaps between EXU and EXU Khymal and then write a ton of really fun and weird fanfiction. But Laudna and Imogen are sweet at least up to ep6, and I’d like to talk about them bc there’s meat there - although I think I’m a lot more interested in Laudna + daydreaming about how much I want Laudna to hang out with the Crown Keepers than I am in Imogen, tbh.

So it’s not that I don’t want to talk, it’s just that I’m really aware and up front about the fact that this fandom probably isn’t going to be for me; especially not if there’s an expectation that I’m current on canon to participate. I’m not going to be able to keep up with 4 hours of content a week, and I know that as C3 continues to air I’m going to get even more behind because the time investment is just not something I can arrange my life to manage. So I’m actually making a real effort to keep my discussion to circles where people kind of know that about my approach to CR and are not going to tell me to come back when I’ve seen all of the episodes, is really more my perspective.