#i'm not the best at analyzing media so please take what i say with a grain of salt

[doubledyke]

Do you think writters' intention was making of Eddy a woobie character?

i had to google that cuz i had no idea what a woobie was lmao. nah i don't think so... maybe a little at the end? i agree with what @mysticbeaver said here about him bordering on villainous, particularly later in the show.

it doesn't seem like they go out of their way to make us feel sorry for eddy often. most of the time i'm pointing and laughing, or rolling my eyes at him. and what @fish-bowl-2 said here is also relevant.

watching kids struggle through such a weird time in life is bound to instill some level of pity in us, especially as adults. eddy just happens to be the main character and is having a particularly rough go of it... but i do find it's mostly played for laughs.

there are certainly exceptions, like the episodes i mentioned previously, where it gets a little harder to laugh. and again, it's a bit different in hindsight after seeing bps; knowing more about his backstory casts a tragic light on much of the stuff he does and says. it doesn't take a genius to see that he's got issues, but still. seeing him face outright cruelty is made infinitely sadder when you know what he's already been through.

if we took the show alone and pretended that bps didn't exist, who knows what we'd think of eddy. don't get me wrong, plenty of people would like eddy the way he's presented at face value. relatability isn't limited to benevolent characters. i'm just saying, without the redemption arc of seeing him grovel at his brother's feet, getting his ass kicked, and then apologizing for his actions, eddy would probably be viewed very differently overall.

[friendlybowlofsoup]

Another Update

Hello Friends,

I have a rather long (but optimistic!) update to share with you all today. As many of you are probably tired of reading these kind of posts, I have a TL;DR here, but I did want to share what has been on my mind in that past half-year that I haven't been here.

It has been rough, and busy as always, but I think I'm finally facing myself and my project for the first time in a very long time.

TL;DR (it's actually long, I have a lot to say (*_ _)人)

I soul-searched and decided to stop compromising on my own feelings with regards to this project. I gave in to everything I wanted to do.

Plot changes, which means some character changes, which means some of the demo is outdated.

GotRM will be switching over to Twine.

----

OH MAN DID I SUFFER THE LAST FEW MONTHS

After my previous update, I hunkered down and really analyzed how I wanted to proceed with GotRM as a project. Because even prior to that post, I had already been going through long periods of hiatuses (which you are all aware of), and while I didn't lie about school taking up my time, I was also harboring a growing dissatisfaction with my own writing that really killed my progress for a long time.

So after everything had settled, I sat down and forced myself to peel apart my work. I know I said I would answer asks, but I uninstalled all of my social media and put aside this blog to focus. I made a note of all the things I liked and didn't like, and I made a list of things I wanted to change or improve on. The biggest point was that I also looked at my efficiency during actual writing sessions: how much of my time was spent writing vs. fighting with code? How could I change that?

And after a lot of deliberation, I figured there were a few things I had to change from the ground up, summed up in four points:

My working style was super incompatible with grad school. I can't spend 20-30 minutes scrolling up and down CSIDE checking code or looking for narratives while also jumping between chapters to make sure events line up. As this story grows, the more difficult it becomes to keep track of all the branches, so I needed an alternative working method, which I am adhering to now, and it prioritizes efficiency.

I hated the way I was tracking and coding stats in-game. I have griped so much about coding stats, and I have adhered to such a rigid style that I really felt trapped whenever I was confronted with balancing them out. So I'm throwing that to the wind and redoing how I utilize and convey them. Player-side, this decision doesn't change much since I never fully utilized stats in the demo anyway, and the stats page with indicators will still exist, but I'm getting rid of stat bars and how I treat stat checks.

The story I want to write now is different from the one I started out with. I've known for a while that GotRM was becoming far more than the tiny, wishful novella that I wrote as a teenager. I held onto that old story for a long time, but there's just so much I want to change that I realized I'd been clinging to a story I no longer enjoyed writing. So I spent the majority of the last few months rewriting GotRM from scratch. I redid some worldbuilding, I changed a lot of plot points, and I fixed a lot of characters' backstories accordingly. This meant scrapping stuff from even the demo, but that turned out to not be the biggest issue because:

I wanted to branch away from ChoiceScript. Honestly, I never really cared about getting officially published, but the camaraderie in the forums and on Tumblr were why I committed to CS and CoG. However, ultimately, I really want the functionality that other tools can offer GotRM, and so after a long internal debate, I will be switching over to Twine. Fortunately, since I was rewriting everything anyways, this has been relatively painless, and passage mapping has made everything so much neater. I am trying my best to make it up to chapter 2 before I release the new demo, so please look forwards to that!

And so yes, I am still here, chugging along.

I love this game and this story: it's been my creative escape for as long as I could remember, and you can imagine how frustrated I was when I realized I was starting to dread working on it.

I am forever learning more about myself and my writing style, and this is simply more of that journey. Thank you everyone for sticking around, for joining the discord, and for checking up on me--that I have all of you has truly been a dream.

Hopefully more updates to come soon! I understand that there may be questions about these new changes, so please ask away! I will (try) to release some asks that I've been working on in the drafts too, but I will wait until at least tomorrow to release them so that this post doesn't get drowned out immediately.

And as always, with a lot of love,

FriendlyBowlofSoup (Mei)

[thisismeracing]

congrats on 1000!! would love charles, peace, angst (on my folklore shit </3)

Peace | CL16

⸺ the one where they realize that to be in love is not the only thing needed to be together. or rather, that love is not enough on its own. ✓ mentions of breakup.

⁕ one word, a thousand stories blurb night (closed) ⁕ my masterlist and my taglist

Yn watched in silence as Charles gathered his things around the house putting everything inside his suitcase. The four-wheel carry-on used to bring her the best memories such as when they traveled together for the first time, or when they overpacked for a weekend in Miami. Now, it was tainted with a breakup.

"Are you really leaving?" her voice broke breaking through the ice in the room.

The Monegasque stopped with his back to her. And his slumped shoulders were enough indication of how unsure Charles was about it. She knew that if he turned, she would spot tears in his eyes just like in hers.

"I'm sorry, chérie," his voice was hoarse and it scratched against the walls, begging to be heard, begging to form a different sentence, to whisper he was staying, to confess he still loved her, that he never stopped, never would stop. "I can't watch people drag you down because of me, can't watch you lose your privacy just because I don't have one, can't imagine your light dim."

As it happens, dating someone famous wasn't easy. And dating Charles proved to be harder than both of you anticipated. For some reason, the media decided to pursue you and your private life, and at some point, it stopped being about wanting to know more about your relationship and started to be about wanting to drag you around the mud. To find something to criticize in the slightest movement of your head, or the smile that you gave for being either too small or too bright. It was as if you were in a contest, constantly being judged and analyzed, and still, nothing you ever did seem to be enough.

"You know I would sit with you in the trenches, give you my wild, give you a..." she stopped to sob because oh- haven't they talked about kids! "Your brothers are my brothers, my family is your family, how are we supposed to go with this? How are they going to adjust to not having us anymore? How, Charlie?"

Charles sighs, dropping a pair of pants inside the luggage. The pair you gifted him after everyone in the paddock made fun of a particularly colorful one he decided to use. Everything in his life was tied to you, every good and bad moment had you there, "I'd give you my best-"

She interrupts him, "You did- you do! You give me your best every day, love, please. You are enough."

"But the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me. And I know you always say you're a fire, and you can keep us warm, but, Yn, you deserve a peaceful love, you deserve calm and happy, and smiling-for-no-reason love."

Her sob takes the room again, their sadness coming together in the small space, almost comforting each other.

"Don't leave me, Charles, please. Don't go! It's not fair we're breaking up because of others," her voice is still small, almost like she's too tired to keep expressing her sadness, translating it. But he can hear her perfectly, he can feel what she feels, but Charles is set on his convictions.

He closes the luggage and just stands there for a minute or so in silence, his back to her, his face to the wall. Nonetheless, he can still feel Yn's eyes on him, and when he turns and their eyes finally met, he asks "Would it really be enough if I could never give you peace?"

This time the silence gets heavier, Yn falters and looks down for a brief second, and it's just the time Charles needs to take a step back and leave the room. Leave her. Because how could love survive in a place without peace?

― ⋆🪩 VOICEMAIL: Thank you, babe!!! I hope I did justice to the request *mwah* don't forget to reblog/leave a comment if you liked it, and follow me if you still don't <3

[eris-rose]

Persona 5 vs. Milgram: How One Story Succeeded at Portraying Teenage Sexuality Where the Other Failed

tw: child abuse, child ra**, sexuality and sexualization, abortion, s**cide

(Note: I am not personally a victim of abuse or ra**, so if I say something stupid here, please let me know. I am always open to criticism and I don't want to be an asshole.)

rare moment of @lady-hestia-rose having original thoughts and not just reblogging everything

So this year I discovered both Persona 5 and Milgram, and I love both of them sososo much. I've infodumped about both of them for hours and overanalyzed the writing and symbolism both stories use to no end. Persona 5 Royal is probably my favorite piece of media I've ever seen. Milgram has brought me and my best friend closer together as we rant about our murderer blorbos and how well-written they all are together.

However, playing Persona, to me, is like the video game equivalent of watching a Shakespeare play. It's a masterclass narrative, very entertaining, and full of depth and symbolism to analyze, but it also has a bunch of misogyny that can really sour the mood sometimes. This seems to be a problem that the Persona series has had for a while judging from my experience playing P4 and what I've heard about other games, but in 5 it's like eating the most rich, satisfying cake you've ever had and then finding out some jackass poured pebbles into it. The way Persona 5 treats its female characters is by far my biggest problem with the game, with one problematic aspect in particular being its sexualization of the high school female cast, particularly Ann Takamaki.

Ann's storyline is mostly focused around her looks and how her appearance affects the way people treat her. At first, this plotline is taken in a promising direction. Because of her Caucasian ancestry, Ann faces slut-shaming and fetishization from most of her peers at school. In addition, Ann, along with many other girls in the school, is targeted by her abusive gym teacher, Kamoshida. It's not entirely clear how far his advances went with Ann specifically, but she is shown to face sexual harassment and coercion from Kamoshida onscreen, and Ann's best friend Shiho attempts suicide after being all but stated outright to have been raped by Kamoshida. So Ann is a victim of sexual abuse and a witness of her friend's abuse as well. There are plenty of interesting and thoughtful angles you could take with this story. You could show her reconnecting with Shiho and bonding over their shared trauma, with them going through the healing process together. You could show her being initially distrustful of the other Phantom Thieves until their bond grows stronger and she is able to feel safe around them. You could give her an arc about reclaiming her sexuality and taking back this part of herself that was used to hurt her.

What does the game do?

Barely fucking anything.

Ann gets little to no character development post-Kamoshida. Instead, her Confidant storyline is about her modeling career, with only one conversation where she sees Shiho again even acknowledging her past trauma. The game also continues to make her the Ms. Fanservice of the team, with constant gross jokes about her "hot bod" and the male characters being pervy around her. She keeps getting put in skimpy outfits and having to use her sex appeal to seduce enemies, as if the previous storyline never even happened.

For obvious reasons, I am very uncomfortable with any storyline that sexualizes minors, even if it's for a reason that serves the story. This is a general rule I apply to most media I consume. I'm considering completely skipping the Dancing in Starlight spinoff game because of the content I've heard it contains. And it's not just something I apply to Persona. I stopped listening to the song "Romeo and CInderella" by doriko despite really liking it musically because I was very uncomfortable with the story of the song. It's a problem I run into a lot when consuming Japanese media. However, I was thinking about this stuff a couple days ago, and I realized something. There is one specific piece of media I really like that shows a minor with sexual imagery that actually doesn't make me sick to my stomach. That is the song "Tear Drop" from DECO*27's music project Milgram.

(Note for Milgram fans: This part is based entirely off my interpretation of the offical English translation of the lyrics. I have not watched the voice dramas.)

"Tear Drop" is about a 17-year-old girl named Kashiki Yuno. The music video has several shots of her wearing lingerie, and the song approaches themes of innocence, sexuality, and relationships. Not only do I like the song, it's arguably my favorite song in the entirety of Milgram (although Backdraft also puts up a good fight for that title).

(Note from the future: I have been corrected. Yuno is actually 18.)

Why is it that I like "Tear Drop" despite depictions of sexualized teenagers usually making me uncomfortable? What sets apart Yuno's story from Ann's that makes it work?

(Note: I'm about to discuss a controversial aspect of Japanese culture as a mostly uninformed American. I may be about to say something stupid. If you're more knowledgeable about this subject than I am and you notice me saying something stupid, I am so sorry. Please tell me.)

In Yuno's first song, "Umbilical," it was heavily implied that she was involved in the Japanese enjo kōsai industry, which is often translated as "compensated dating." Taking the definition from Wikipedia (the most scholarly of sources), it is "the practice of older men giving money and/or luxury gifts to attractive young women for sexual favors." The song also implies that Yuno's "murder" (the premise of Milgram is that all of the prisoners the songs are about have killed someone) was an abortion.

So, Yuno was raped. I think that's quite clear. If you're a minor and you have sex with an adult, you were raped. No further clarification needed. Hopefully I don't need to argue that Yuno's abortion was justified either.

After the release of "Umbilical," Yuno was overwhelmingly voted innocent by Milgram's official poll. She garnered a huge amount of sympathy from everybody in the audience, and people expressed their sympathy for Yuno quite often. However, this rhetoric often took on quite a patronizing tone, like calling her "poor baby" or regretting that the circumstances of her life "forced" her into compensated dating to make ends meet (which, from what I understand, isn't quite how enjo kōsai works, but that's another discussion for someone who knows more about this stuff than me).

In Milgram, the prisoners canonically can hear what the audience is saying about them. And Yuno was not pleased.

"Tear Drop" seems to be almost entirely addressed towards the audience. In the image above, we see Yuno removing the metaphorical rose-colored lens from the audience to see the real her. The lyrics call out everyone who infantilized and looked down upon her, drawing similarities between the people she dated and the viewers. Here are some examples from the English translated lyrics: "'Poor naive little girl'? So off the mark, what's it to you? It's just absurd"

"Don't weigh me measure me against your morality Just shut it, will you? You know it all Feeling magnanimous? INNOCENT? I'm so not that Just shut it, will you? You know it all" "Caressing me with your 'Good girl' Who needs your self-righteous pardon?

I'm the one who chose, let you and you and you all in Happy or sad? Why decide? Where'd you get your half-baked sense of justice So nauseating...so creepy...will you please disappear"

Yuno is sick of everyone else making judgements about her and trampling over her own desires and wishes, and in this song she gives the middle finger to everyone who did so.

Generally, I am against portraying sexualized minors in media. However, I think it's important to realize that teenagers are not completely sexless beings. They have their own wants and desires, they want to be sexy, and it is important for them to have their own safe sexual exploration. And like it or not, sex has undoubtedly affected Yuno's life as a rape survivor. And unlike Persona with Ann, Milgram has the respect to not just pretend this part of Yuno's life never happened and allows her to be sexual on her own terms, instead of just pandering to the male gaze.

I grew up in the LDS Church. While I have not gone through anything on her level, I see parts of my own story in Yuno as someone whose sexuality was used to hurt me and who has coped with the trauma by redefining my sexuality as my own. I find "Tear Drop" incredibly inspiring, and I think that's what sets Milgram apart from Persona in its approach to teenage sexuality.

This is the second-to-final shot of Tear Drop. Her face is full of relief, with her clutching the jacket like a comforting blanket. Not everything she has faced is fixed now, and her teenage naivety is still clear in many of the lyrics. One song didn't melt all her trauma away. But she's getting there. She's making progress one step at a time. The final shot of the song is her pulling the jacket in, covering more of her body as she rests.

In Persona 5, Ann's sexuality is used to objectify her. In Milgram, Yuno's sexuality is used to empower her. That's what makes the difference.

[mauesartetc]

Hey there, quick question! In this blog we see critiques of character designs, so, could you give us some examples of characters and shows that you feel do a great job at designing, and that we should learn about?

Ooh. Good question. Might be difficult to answer concisely since there are so friggin' many, but I'll do my best.

So right off the bat I'll say that there's a difference between design and art style, at least in terms of objectivity. Art style's really just the icing on the cake, not the cake itself. The style of a character design might not be to your taste, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have good bones.

Take the South Park art style, for instance. It's flat and crude, and many folks don't find it appealing. But that's exactly the point. The intentionally lazy-looking and childish style used to render the characters perfectly reflects the show's irreverent and juvenile humor (plus the simplistic designs are much easier to animate quickly, meaning each episode stays relevant to whichever topic of the week it's satirizing). Even if you don't like the South Park designs, from a technical standpoint, they're well-suited for the show they're in.

I bring this up to illustrate that a technically "good" character design communicates what the character's creator intended. This list isn't about which art styles I like or don't like; it's about how successfully the designs embody the characters' personalities and roles in their respective stories.

Here's a collection of character designs that particularly stood out to me, usually due to an interesting use of shapes, proportion variation, and/or color.

Also notice how these characters are instantly recognizable in silhouette. Even if you're not familiar with any of them, it's easy to distinguish one character from another.

Other designs I think work well (but I couldn't find good standalone images for them):

Macha from "Song of the Sea"

Francoeur from "A Monster in Paris"

The Catbus from "My Neighbor Totoro"

I'm sure there are more that just slip my mind at the moment, but that's a solid group. (For a while I've also been thinking about doing a tier list for each generation of Pokemon designs. We'll see.)

Now you have an overview of which designs are strong in my opinion, but it'll help to look at media you like, pick out the designs you think work the best, and analyze why they work. It doesn't have to be your favorite design, either! Again, just because you don't find a certain design aesthetically pleasing doesn't mean it's not functioning exactly as intended. A building can be ugly but still structurally sound, y'know?

Thanks for asking! Hope that helps!

[arcadiabaytornado]

what are the things you like and the things you dislike about before the storm? please feel free to elaborate as much as you want, i love your essays

Oh this is a fun question! I'll do top five things I like and dislike since the game is a bit of a mixed bag for me! The things I like I love, but the things I don't like really stick out.

Things I Like:

A: Amberprice was my favorite thing to come out of the game. I love the electric dynamic between Rachel and Chloe that was present from the moment they met. It's a great representation of a whirlwind teenage romance and they play really well of each others personalities.

B: As someone who loves analyzing media Rachel is a great character. She has so many nuances and I feel like she's one of those characters five people could interpret in five different ways. She's very complex and I really love her personality. She's the star of every scene she's in. As she should be.

C: Some of the standalone scenes are the best of the franchise in my opinion. Rachel burning down the tree while wind swirls around her, the play that comes off as a proposal, the excitement of discussing leaving their small town and Rachel sealing her promise with a kiss, the dream scenes with William. All of those scenes stand out very vividly to me because of how much I enjoyed them.

More Undercut

D: I liked doing graffiti more than taking photos! I liked the choice about what type of graffiti would you wanted to do like either drawing devil horns on Nathan or a halo on Rachel.

E: I really liked the portrayal of young Chloe! She's jaded and cold, but a lot of her rougher edges haven't come into play yet. Which makes sense as David isn't living with them full time and she hasn't lost Rachel at this point. I think her depression is also written really well. It's never stated outright, but all you have to do is read her journal entries to see her mental health struggles. It's a good confirmation of what we already knew in the first game but wasn't focused on much.

Things I Dislike:

A: I hated everything with Damon so much. It takes a slice of life story and tries to turn it into this a drug dealer conflict which I was not a fan of seeing. Especially because Before The Storm could have had plenty of main conflicts that didn't need him at all. For example, show why Rachel and Chloe never left Arcadia. Was it their parents intervention? Lack of money? Chloe's truck hardly working? One of the girls being unable to commit? All of the above? I find that more interesting then anything with Damon.

B: Rachel is barely in Episode 3. Rachel is the entire draw of the game so why she was regulated to damsel in distress stuck in a hospital bed while Chloe goes to rescue her kidnapped Mother I don't know. I feel like the intention was to show how far Chloe would go for Rachel...but doesn't she already prove that in the first game?

C: Everything with David doesn't really make sense. Before The Storm is a prequal, so why can the game end with David and Chloe on decent circumstances if we've seen how that falls apart in the next game? Like...what happened? It leaves more questions then answers that I don't feel like a prequel should bring up. Personally I think it would've been better for their relationship to degrade during the game so we can draw a conclusion on how things got so bad,

D: No power system. One of my favorite things about Life Is Strange and True Colors is getting to use the powers. I know Chloe couldn't have powers because that would contradict a LOT with the first game, but all I'm saying is Rachel would be a cool protagonist and also she's implied to have some kind of wind and/or fire power.

E: I hated everything they did with Rachel's parents. During the first game the big reason that Rachel and Chloe never left Arcadia Bay is because they didn't have the money to leave. But apparently Rachel's parents are rich? And her Father is so crazily overprotective he kidnaps a women who only wanted to talk to her daughters? But he doesn't care when Rachel goes missing in the first game? Plot holes aside, I also just didn't like James as a person nor did I find him interesting. Which really kills a character for me. So I didn't love him being such a big part of episode 3.

[tea-with-evan-and-me]

"the entirety of this message is a problem and a projection - he doesn’t look pissed at natalie. no one was forced to be there. they did not look “distant���. they looked like two people with cameras shoved in their face and a whole mass of fans screaming for evan. i want to give you the benefit of the doubt, but please be serious and use not even critical thinking, just basic reasoning."

Admin, I really love you and I mostly agree with everything you say, I find you a breath of fresh air and reason in the fandom, or any fandom for that matter, because you remind me that truly funny and reasonable Evan fans exist and have a whole life of their own.

But, I think that you might be going to hard on the anon here 🥺 What they were trying to say, maybe, is that he seemed pissed. He did, what can you do? Maybe he wasn't,all they say is that he did seem pissed. As for the distant part, I don't know, they looked normal to me, but hey, I am not them,so how would I know. And how do we know that he was not forced to be there? Not by his gf of course, I don't think so, but by an agent / a deal? A deal he couldn't say no to because, you know marketing ties and everything? I'm just listing a couple of possibilities that may or may not be true. An anon a couple days ago in here ( I cannot find the post lol) has said that we don't know anything. I cannot say that Evan is happy, because I don't know. I can only say that he looks happy or he seems at a good place and hope for the best. We can only make assumptions, so why go hard on someone that insinuates anything that might actually be possible even by a tiny winiiiiee little bit?

Sorry for the long post, I hope my point is clear 🥺

Oh and I loved the new content from today, he does look uncomfortable but that's regular Evan in social situations I guess ✨ I loved his gf's dress too ❣️

first of all, thank you 💗 i hear you, and i genuinely do appreciate your perspective on this. but there’s a few things i want to expand on and be crystal clear about: there is no scenario in which it’s okay to make, nor entertain, entirely baseless accusations of domestic violence. this is not, and never can be, something we treat as a “let’s hear both sides” type situation. everyone who wants to play softball needs to remember how very quickly their words can sprout wings and start doing the rounds on social media, destroying an innocent persons character. some people may actually BE acting in good faith out of concern over the discourse they’re seeing about natalie potentially becoming violent with evan - again, based on dust. nothing. it’s already happening, and this is not okay. those that don’t want salacious and harmful rumors persisting must shut this down immediately and relegate those who play into it to the fringe parts of the fandom that no one takes seriously.

please take a moment to reflect back on the damage done during the worst of the brigade some fans started on frances. i literally spent hours debunking an elaborate plot where people photoshopped nude images of “evan” and his privates, fran’s tumblr page, AND patreon so that they could sell a story where she victimized evan and posted revenge porn. before that, these fans created a made up story about frances selling evan’s phone number to fans, and it STILL gets repeated years later. i’m sorry. i have thousands of people on this blog and with the audience i have, i DO have a responsibility to use strongly worded language to denounce people attempting to, or unwittingly going along with character assassination against a woman some hate simply due to her dating evan.

on a lesser note, i don’t find it appropriate to analyze every facial expression or movement actively looking for reasons to say they’re unhappy together, when we are quite literally discussing something that’s by nature, uncomfortable and unnatural. posing for photos in front of flashing lights, screaming fans, socializing with strangers… again, please place yourself in their position and try and imagine if you’d look jubilant and at ease. if you’d look like you were having fun and wanted to be there. now imagine you’re socially anxious as a person. i am asking people to stop seeking out negativity and projecting it onto these people - it’s not fair, and whether or not you are purposely trying to be problematic, it’s honestly just not necessary to paint every interaction in a negative light. as i said, i want to give the prior anon the benefit of the doubt that they got swept up in the negative commentary and baseless allegations.. and that’s why i responded to them directly. sometimes, we just need to take a breather and think critically before we put serious stuff like that out into the universe. i really hope that makes sense and you understand where i am coming from. 🫶🏼

[castlebyersafterdark]

i've started watching two reactor videos to all of ST starting from 1x01. theyre both so different, one being an aussie couple who are chill but super nerds, and the other a woman from the uk (essex i think lol, very close to home for me and strange because most people in fandom here are from the US or abroad).

its wonderful to watch through the eyes of people who are new but aren't necessarily casual fans because theyre SO into the show and you can see them getting super invested in real time. i suppose they would still be called GA as they're not 'bylers' (although it's too early to say if they will be yet), but theyre definitely super attentive and into the show. the woman especially is already picking up on things like electricity powers, will and el being connected like twins, etc. and it reminded me how... yeah, these things HAVE been easy to spot since the start.

its only since byler fandom started reallyyyyyyy trying to figure out the whole plot before s5 drops that we started to doubt things. looking too closely, needing too much evidence, becoming biased through desperation for byler. when i watch the show itself (or these reactors), i become a totally different person to who i am when engaging in this fandom. i'm more chill, more mature, more clear-headed, and, oddly, able to enjoy the whole story and every character much more - especially el's arc. even though i don't actively hate el while in byler fandom, she is unavoidably painted as an obstacle to byler by many people and becomes subconsciously a rival. but when watching the show itself and just enjoying my gut reactions to what i see in an ensemble way, i barely even feel the need for more than two or three basic pieces of 'evidence' for byler to feel confident about where it's all headed.

I think you're very right about all the doubt and circular thoughts and doom spiraling and the roller coaster of we're so on/we're so off ad nauseam. Echo chambers and caring too much what non-Byler fans are posting on social media. Sometimes thinking too hard and analyzing too much can honestly be a negative, like you're looking for gaps to fill and you're never going to actually 100 percent prove anything until the literal show either gets leaked in full or is premiering on our tv screens. As much as we desperately want what we want to happen - none of us really have that decision or power so what's the best we can do? Watch the show! Find some undiscovered fun little corner of the fandom! Focus on the parts that are honestly much simpler. What happened in the show? How did we get here to loving this pairing? Ahhh, there's my proof. On my screen.

And you're definitely right about El. I've said before, she's not a bad character and her arc is actually really interesting. She's not in the way of anything, she does have a story as well to take. She's an important part of the journey. I think the fatigue, at least for me, stems from just maybe a bit more screentime than necessary because watching the show, some stuff does feel a bit repetitive. A little too much El and a little too much Hopper. more Will more Will!! 🤞Season 5 do us gooooood please!!

[ishikawayukis]

hey gworl it’s hag anon here back with another rant… but first of all how are you 🩷🩷 anything interesting going on? this adult life shit is still kicking my ass and my bones are aching in my late 20s 😭 also ik you love one piece so i need like. motivation to continue. i stopped at the beginning of water 7 arc and a lot of people say that’s when it gets rly good but i couldn’t bear the frustration after usopp ****** (i don’t wanna spoil your followers but maybe you know what i’m talking about) LOL UGHHH SHOULD I CONTINUE does it actually get better………… i love shounen but one piece pacing is kinda clunky to me at least for the most part until skypeia arc ish? lmk wat u think !

anyway for the rant, i think people online ,and especially younger ones, have an issue with virtue signaling nowadays. it’s very apparent in the kpop community. it’s like they feel so monitored that they feel the need to show others how much of a good and upright person they are, and if they don’t, then that can ONLY mean that they’re a bad person. no in between. i think that’s why they feel the need to quickly react to anything and post their sentiments denouncing this or that bad thing without first reflecting and reading up on it. apparently silence on a topic can only mean you support or condone something immoral, like can’t we just gather information first before forming an opinion?? and why do we need to tell anyone what we think or feel. it’s good to inform others and ourselves ofc, but it honestly feels like a lot of people nowadays are just retweeting, reblogging, reposting shit for the sake of LOOKING upright and not getting “cancelled”, instead of actually caring about the conversation at hand.

another complaint: if you’ve seen the woozi thing. there are people being weird from both sides 🥲 there are people calling him a ped0, spreading misinformation about him, calling him a bad person. all of that is dumb imo. then there are defenders who are saying “wow unstanning him? it’s as if you’ve forgotten everything good he’s done” HUHHH. why is that relevant. the whole conversation around it is tiring tbh

also i’ve been seeing a lot of complaints from educators that literacy rates and reading comprehension are at an all time low. it kinda shows with how people act online 😭😭😭 this is truly such a “hag” thing to say but i genuinely believe that minors’ screen time should be restricted LOL

not the aching bones...... my back has been killing me lately and i'm like my guy please let me have one thing LMAO

the whole water 7 saga is honestly so fucking good LMAO they're nto lying when they say it genuinely gets so so so good after that, but i also will not lie i did watch a lot of it at like 1.5 or 1.25 because the pacing of the anime leaves a lot to be desired LMAO but water 7 and the arcs that follow it are honestly some of the best in the anime so if you have the time and do enjoy it i truly say go for it 100% recommend

man i truly couldn't agree with you more literally nothing to add because you're simply so right. sometimes it does feel like people care more about appearing to be good and have outstanding morals rather than actually understanding what is going on. especially with the wz thing i saw so many people make so many grave accusations so quickly without even knowing what they were talking about. all the information we have about wz is vague, i 100% understand if people feel uncomfortable and wanna distance themselves but i also understand if people don't.

and god they truly are, hag thing to say as well but everyone is taking everything in media with face value instead of thinking hm could this mean something else like i'm begging all of you read an actual book or analyze what you're watching idk man LMAO

[penwrythe]

Reflections upon 2022

So, before this year end, I just want to do a personal post on few things. I want to look back over 2022 and see how far I came, both as an artist and as a person. Things might get a bit sensitive in this post because I'm going to discuss my mental health, events that caused a spiral earlier this year, and what followed later. So, just be aware of that. Thank you!

// mental health stuff on anxiety

Earlier this year, there was an incident involving me and two other people that culminated in me taking a break from Twitter. I discussed this before in this post. Also, I had written an apology to one of the people I harmed during that time, which can be seen here.

During my break, I was able to reflect upon my actions and learned that I really should have respected this person better. This was needed, along with understanding how my actions harmed this person. The break helped me, but, my god, I wished what happened never happened. That was a mistake and I should have better questioned the information I was given during that time. There's a lot I'm leaving out of this, including the problematic actions this person had done. But, regardless of who-did-what-and-how-and-when, I am still responsible for my actions and hold myself accountable for them. There's more to this but if I talk more about what occurred, I feel I might cause more harm. I wish I could say more, but I don't know what would happen if I do. I don't know who to talk to about this.

But with all this said, the only thing I want is that the person is okay. I want them to be okay. I deeply reget my mistreatment of them. Also, in reference in their own actions, I want them to do better. I'm aware that what happened was bad, but now that they're held accountable for their actions, I want them to do better.

To that person, I am sorry. I hope you find your voice to speak again.

(If you know who I'm referring to, please do not mention them here. Leave them be, please. Plus, don't put them on blast for clout. I do not condone this. Leave them alone.)

On my mental health, there were a few things I learned throughout this year about my bad habits involving rumination, anxiety, and intrusive thoughts. Having a months-long spiral was not a normal thing for me to experience and I think it's time for me to get help to prevent this from happening again. In the past few months, I discovered how difficult it is to control my anxiety and intrusive thoughts. There were times when I was afraid of my own mind. I know that my intrusive thoughts are not who I am, but sometimes it feels that I need to prevent something terrible from happening by hyper analyzing everything I do or say. Sometimes my thoughts get really dark, like, concerningly so when I'm incredibly anxious. I do not think this is normal. I am worried about my mental health.

I am not sure if I'll do anything rash due to my anxiety, but if I say or do anything concerning, please reach out to me to make sure I'm okay.

I did discuss this with my family and they said they will help me get some therapy in 2030. Until then, I'll do my best to keep track of my mental health. Take breaks from social media more often (and use the site blocker and stick to the schedule), establish stronger boundaries, resolve any conflicts more calmly, learn some healthy coping habits, and just take it easy from now on.

So, with all this said, right now I'm stable. Or at least currently. I have family and friends I can talk to about what is going on. I feel safe and okay. And if I'm okay, not super great, but okay, then that is fine. I don't have to be 100% all day every day. Sometimes, those bad feelings come and go. I need to be patient with myself and give myself time to calm down. I think I will be fine.

I hope everyone has a good Christmas and New Year. I hope 2030 will be a great year. And if it's not, that's okay.

Thank you, all of you for following me and my art! I greatly appreciate it!

Have a nice day! Happy New Year!

[rainbowcolored7]

Okay okay okay, I know I'm probably off the rails here, and this might only matter to me, but hear me out... I know there have been a few deep looks into the Kinn-Porsche-Vegas scene at the spa from ep.4, which were wonderful, but they spoke mostly of Kinn and Vegas. (Rightfully so, the shots were focused mainly on them). I haven't seen anyone really delve into Porsche in this scene, and if someone has and I missed it I'm sorry! Please point me in the direction if someone has because I would love to read it.

I, for some ungodly reason, can't let this scene go when it pertains to Porsche in particular. Maybe it's because I can relate to Porsche a lot, it's easier for me to get inside his head than it is Kinn or Vegas. Maybe I'm projecting a bit, but I do my best to stay unbiased when it comes to analyzing any type of media. So, I'm going to try and dig into this scene a bit more, coming at it from the POV of Porsche.

What really grabbed my attention the most about this scene, beside the obvious, is just how quiet Porsche is through the entire scene. He quite literally doesn't say a single word the entire time. I kept asking myself why? Why is he so subdued here? It's so uncharacteristic of him to not have something to say, big or small.

I've seen people say he's clueless, confused, that the d/s elements are beginning to come into play. All of which I simultaneously agree with and don't. To me, it felt like there was more going on here. I've said that Porsche is smarter than he lets on, that we joke about him being a single braincelled himbo, but that truly he's got a lot going on in his head all the time. Just like Kinn, he's good (if not better) at hiding what he's really thinking and feeling. So, of course, I couldn't just take this scene at face value from his POV. I needed more.

From the start, after he finally wakes, he seems tired, a little out of it. Don't blame him, he's essentially coming back from a bout of heat stroke. (Kinn, really? Rude...) He's probably feeling tired, relaxed, thirsty, hungry etc. He looks like he could go for a nice ass nap even though he just woke up from being passed out. But he's coming to, he's talking, he's engaging.

But as soon as Vegas enters it's almost as if he shuts down? He's polite, which isn't a surprise after his last interaction with Macau (and then again after Vegas lit his smoke, he's friendly and polite). He's clearly learned his lesson when it comes to the minor family. (Well, at least when it comes to manners, if nothing else).

It's a short moment before Kinn enters the room as well, but even before that happens Porsche doesn't appear interested in engaging with Vegas. His focus is on the food, his head down, a polite half-smile on his face for a second. His body language is showing me he doesn't want any part of any conversation Vegas might want to have. Of course, this could have to do with what Kinn said on the balcony, but even then it still felt off to me.

So, I went back through the last few eps to see if I could pinpoint any moment where Porsche was similarly quiet and/or had similar body language/facial expressions. There were a few, and the correlating feelings and emotions spoke volumes to me.

The first moment was when Porsche finds Kinn at the bar in ep.1, long line of bodyguards, sitting pretty, and waiting for him. From the moment Porsche walks in the bar he's quiet, evaluating the threat (I notice every single time how he looks at the bodyguards and then touches his bruised ribs like he's taking stock and preparing to have to fight). Kinn is doing most of the talking. Porsche is observing, he's nervous, he's uncomfortable. Kinn is gently threatening him, throwing his power and pull in Porsche's face. Porsche's questions and remarks are short and to the point, but other than that he's silent and his expressions and body language scream threat, uncomfortable, maybe even a little afraid.

The next moment I pulled was right after Big kicks Porsche to the floor during the compound tour. Chan steps in, and all of Porsche's playful bravado disappears. He's being directly and indirectly reprimanded by Chan, he's out of his depth. He's already feeling like he's been backed into a corner and his hand has been forced, and now it's being shoved in his face again, in front of all the other guards no less!

Anyone who's had a first day at a new job can relate to the overwhelming feelings Porsche is probably feeling here. If I were Porsche I'd have pit stains so big I'd need a new shirt. He tried to assert his dominance and was quickly denied, shoved in line. His shifting gaze speaks highly of feeling incredibly uncomfortable, a similarity to his constant shifting gaze in the food-spa scene.

Before moving on to the next scene I pinpointed, I want to point out that, regardless of when Porsche is feeling uncomfortable or out of his element, he doesn't always appear this way. Looking back at it now, it actually kind of throws me a bit how brash he is when he goes to speak with daddy Korn. Even then, not feeling fully in control and in totally new territory, he still manages a quip or two. He holds his own, he tests some buttons, respectfully. Out of everyone you would think Porsche would remain quiet for, you would think Korn would be one of the tops, but it wasn't. Curious? Maybe.

The next couple scenes don't really fit in so much, but I wanted to add them because they're good examples of showing Porsche feeling incredibly uncomfortable and quite literally a fish out of water, which can be compared to potential feelings he's having during the food-spa scene. Both of these scenes he is silent in. He's been called out, he's been humiliated. He has nothing to say (that he can get away with unscathed that is), and he's actively trying not to dig himself a into a deeper hole than he already has.

Again, sidenote, the scene in ep.2 where Macau goes crying to daddy and big bro, before Kinn puts Porsche down, he is very brash and blasé. I believe this speaks heavily to him still not taking anything seriously, not believing his life or anyone else's is in true danger. After this his behavior begins to change, and we begin to see him trying to understand and taking things a bit more seriously. (Even with Tankhun he's actively trying to get better, he's doing his best to make good of a shitty fucking situation).

So, the next moment where I recognized some similarities in expression/silence/body language is the scene where Kinn has ordered Mes to be beaten to talk.

Here he is again, out of his element, in the exact place he never thought he would be. He's uncomfortable, he's upset, triggered by his memories of his uncle and his past, as confided in with Pete. He's trying to fit into this new role he's been forced into and he's struggling. (And I will quite literally never get over how Kinn makes Pete take him out after seeing how upset he is).

So, this brings us back to the food-spa scene. After Kinn enters the room Porsche's gaze is constantly and consistently sliding over to Kinn. For insight? For acknowledgment? For direction? What is Porsche feeling here?

He's been having another day, for sure. He's been trying to piece together what happened the night before, he's been trying to make sense of Kinn's odd behavior towards him the whole day. (This is still before he remembers that Kinn kissed him on the pier). He's here, sitting with two major players in the Theerapanyakul family after having a very genuine and intimate conversation with Kinn in the sauna. He passed out in his boss's lap, he's probably feeling very off, confused, perhaps just a bit fed up with the entire day.

Both Vegas and Kinn are essentially having a conversation with/about Porsche, but clearly not actually wanting any input from Porsche himself. Porsche is obviously annoyed by this (who wouldn't be? Geez boys), having Kinn speak for him, but he still allows it, without his usual quips, without his usual foot in mouth expression. Is it Vegas' presence, is it Kinn?

Comparing all the previous scenes to this one, I would say Porsche is once again feeling backed into a corner. He's feeling like he has no control, no choice, no voice, no agency. He's tired, he's trying to remain polite because he knows what dangers it could cause if he's himself right now. This whole conversation is about him, something I don't think goes over his head, and he is writhing with annoyance about it. He's uncomfortable, he's out of his element again, almost like he's back where he started. Except this time, when he wants to say something, he can't, and I think it's really bothering him. He's not used to not being able to speak his mind openly.

This... Was a very long-winded way of saying hey, Porsche was uncomfy during this scene, not lacking a braincell. There you go, there's the summary of this this word-vomit lol.

I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts on this! I had more to say but I'm a bottle of wine in and losing the ability to form real coherent thoughts after spending basically my entire evening fleshing this out.

Thanks for reading, if you got all the way to the end! 💜

[maizumis]

LOVE IS NOT FOR EVERYONE - suna x fem!reader smau

part 5: the date

summary: after years of not talking to each other, your childhood best friend decided to reach out again, how will everything go?

note: heavy make out session with suna, he says ily as the stupid boy he is, thanks to @sunalma cos one of the songs is out of her playlists<33

series masterlist - part 6

An elevator ride couldn't feel so long and short at the same time, biting your lip, scared of seeing that person after so many years.

Clumsily taking your keys out of your bag, you open the door and there you saw it, perfect, handsome boy you fell in love on the young years of high school

“you look beautiful, as always” He told you with his deep voice that made you shiver on spot, he seemed more mature now, with features no longer like the ones of a teenage boy. You were out of guard when his arms wrapped comfortably around your waist, still leaning into it

Looking at him, at his eyes, that same green eyes that made you fall in love when you were a child and that green eyes that were making you fall in love, again “Rin, I missed you” you whisper with a soft tone, your head resting in the comfiness of the crook of his neck, his left hand came to cup your cheek, taking in how fucking pretty you looked like that

“I missed you too, so much, do you want to know what did I plan?”

“yeah rin, I'm sure I'm gonna love it" he took your hand in his, leading the way to the passenger sit in his car "you're not gonna found out until we are there, so you better be patient" he slid the seatbelt in front of him and pecked your hand before starting the car "okay, I can handle that"

"the aux is yours then, pretty girl"

your eyes widen after hearing that pet name "do you want me to call you daddy too?" it was supposed to be funny, you thought he would only call you pretty girl in texts, apparently not

"if you like"

Pretty Please by Dua Lipa starts playing in the background, gradually turning up the volume until it was hard to hear your own voice

Suna thought the sight was pretty, the window on your side rolled down with the wind all over your face, happily singing by the lyrics not giving a single fuck about the world, just as he loved to remember you

"This makes me remember of the old days but instead of the car, you in my room giving me a concert that, in fact, didn't ask for"

his comment took you back down to earth, old days, just old days, no feelings attached at the moment; you were praying to any god up there to make the butterflies go away in your gut go away, you were one hundred percent sure he could hear your heart beating from where he was sitting, not even the loud music could hide it

“old days? We should make new memories I think”

"yeah, we can make new memories but we shouldn't let go of the ones we have, hand me your phone" you did as you were told, suspicious of what he was about to do until you saw him open Spotify, oh okay, he is gonna change the song.

Fluorescent Adolescent was now blasting from the stereo "umm, love this song, gives me the dancing in front of a mirror with a brush vibe"

He chuckled at what you said "and you did that? would like to see it with my own eyes"

"We are almost there, babe, close your eyes"

"Babe? we are not dating, Rintaro"

"maybe we should"

maybe we what? that did take you back, choosing for peace, you shut your mouth and closed your eyes, anxiously waiting for what he had

"you have your eyes closed, right"

"yes, rin, they are closed, I didn't know you were blind"

he opened the door of your seat, interlacing your hands so he could guide you behind a tall tree "I need you to stay here until I have everything done, okay? it's not gonna take more than ten minutes" he didn't give you time to answer that he was already walking back to his car.

"better be something good" you murmured under your breath, turning on your phone to scroll through social media until he called you.

he called you exactly eight minutes after he dropped you behind the tree "if you don't like this, then I don't know what should I do"

The scene in front of you was dreamy to say at least, the back of his car decorated with fairy lights, lots of blankets that seemed so warm, and pillows in all their forms that you knew for a fact they were comfortable as fuck, you were quick to wrap your arms around his neck, chanting like a mantra 'rin, this is beautiful' and 'im so thankful' he gladly took you in his arms, his nose behind your ears, landing a sweet peck right there

"you ready for movie night, pretty girl?"

"bet your ass I'm ready, Rintaro Suna" and with that you were off, running to his car ready to spend the best night of your life

Or perhaps the beginning of the end, who knows

Howl's moving castle last scenes were on the screen of his laptop, a weird feeling in your heart after he remembered it was- no, is your favorite; you two stared sitting beside the other and now he has his arm protectively around you, his back straight against the backseat while your head was on top of his underarms, cheeks smashed to his collarbone "you did remember it, rin" your eyes still locked on the screen in front of you, watching the movie credits.

He looked down at you with soft eyes, deciding to close the laptop and pull it aside "how could I not? hand me my phone"

you did as you were told, searching for the little device under the huge blankets "here! take it"

he quickly searched for a song and toss it aside, I Wanna Be Yours playing inside the car from the 11-inch phone "come here" he signaled, patting his lap.

it took you a good minute to realize what he meant but now you're on top of him, looking at his emerald eyes in search of a hint of what he is thinking

he took his time analyzing your feature, looking at your cheeks, forehead, baby hairs, nose, lips, and finally your eyes, he could see the past in them, and a little of his future too

"not as much as you, rin"

he didn't answer, to lost in the paradise of your face, he was now focused on your lips, how would they taste?

to answer his own question, he leaned into your face, into your lips that he knew that were begging to be touched by his own

your eyes were wide, taken by surprise by his action, even if you saw it coming, it was something you were dreaming for years now

he looked at your eyes again for a kind of permission, and when he saw you nod, his hand was in the back of your neck in a matter of seconds while yours found home on his hair, tugging it slightly

"a kiss and you're all whiny and needy"

"shut up and fucking kiss me-"

he took the chance of sliding his tongue inside your mouth, exploring every single place he could, his free hand now on your lower back to move you back and fort his lap, he took the flavor of the artificial coconut lip balm you were wearing, he took all he could, in fact

"not only you look good but you taste good too" you hear him groan before going into it again, soft pants coming out of your mouth, whimpering his name as a mantra r-rin, r-innie, arching your back to be closer to him, you could feel his smirk on your now puffy lips with every movement of your hips, the hand on your lower back now going down to grip your thigh

pulling out to catch a little air, you rested your head on his large neck, you two were in comfortable silence, your head rested against his chest and his hands caressing your cheek

maybe ten minutes passed while you were cuddling until your phone screen turned up after a notification- you didn't care about it but the time, past two in the morning "rin, would you take me home? is getting late" he gave your cheek a sweet kiss before standing out the car, extending his hands to help you do the same "of course I can, pretty girl"

the drive back home was quiet, you could hear Apocalypse in the car radio, looking by the window to the beautiful night lights in the city, suna's hand on your thigh, playing with it from time to time, using the other one to drive

"We are here"

"Thanks for bringing me home, rin, I had fun"

he stepped out of the car with you- not letting you out that easily, his hands with a firm grip of your waist and silence was around the two of you, just appreciating the presence of each other, your hands going inside his jackets to hold his waist too

"good night, I love you" he told you and sealed his words with one last kiss

taglist [open]: @arrogantsonofabiscuit @sakusasbitch @souco @minamihrs @sunasexual @boba-duckie @discountkiyoko @shoyotime @sunalma @kuroohoeee @cubbluv @astrqmi @triniteaaa @zukoslosthishonor @iheartkuroorin @kac-chowsballs @akaashiwife @lilith412426 @loveprisms @eunoiwa @gladly-olus @its-the-aerieljeane @smackmyasslikeavolleyball @bakugouswh0r3 @mydandydays @erens-piss-cleaner @call-me-lulu

[vampacidic]

hi sage!!!! I've never seen Phantom of the Opera so please tell me about it!!! ^-^

FUCK i accidentally. deleted my original response. okay. this is gonna be lengthy. sowwy. i'm uhhhh gonna give you the ALW musical plot first. the novel isn't exactly like the musical (id say the musical sexyman-ified the phantom) but it's where i started and it's near and dear to my heart. also ALW stands for andrew lloyd webber. he's the guy who wrote it.

okay. basically the start of the musical features the opera house changing hands to new owners. they're cool. they're watching the stage rehearsal for the opera they're putting on tonight (hannibal) and the primadonna (carlotta) is singing her big solo when BAM a stage set falls on her. and everyone is like fuck!!!!! and all the ballerinas think the phantom of the opera did it (he did btw) and so carlotta gets pissed off and fucking QUITS. and so everyone is panicking until madame giry (a woman who works at the opera house. she helps the ballerinas) is like hmm. christine daaé should be the lead. and everyone is like but christine fucking SUCKS but then christine sings and everyone is like oh? how does she not suck now? and so she gets cast as the lead. everything's great. opening night goes off without a hitch! in fact, christine's childhood best friend raoul is in the crowd and he falls for her!!! woah!!!!

anywya. after the show christine's good girlbestie meg is taking christine back to her room and is like. hey christine. how'd you improve so quickly. and christine is like "my dead dad sent an angel to teach me to sing" and meg is like haha good one christine! ok but how did you though :) and then the scene cuts.

in her dressing room raoul shows up and is like christine! hey! haven't seen you since you were a kid! also sorry about your dead dad. wanna get dinner? and christine is like yessss oh wait. the ghost isn't gonna like that. and raoul is like haha funny! i'll see you at dinner :) (he does not)

anywya. phantom shows off. he's fucking pissed. calls raoul a "slave of fashion/basking in [christine's] glory". and that makes me fucking lose it. anyway. he's mad. christine placates him and is like Please don't kill him. phantom is like ok. but you have to come to my sewer home <3 and she's like fine! i guess! and raoul hasn't quite left yet (he's outside the locked door) and hears this and is like. hey christine What are you doing in there! but it's too late!!! she's been taken!!!!!!!

and then they sing an absolute BANGER duet i like to analyze the lyrics of. i can overanalyze the shit out of "the phantom of the opera" from phantom of the opera. interesting dichotomy between christine's beauty and the phantom's voice. ough. it's so fuckin good. i can play it on my violin actually. anyway. phantom takes her to the sewer dungeon. there's a horse there. it's cool. he's like "ok now you are in my Dungeon i'm going to reveal my emo anime backstory" and he sings music of the night (also a banger) about how christine should embrace the darkness (him) instead of the light (raoul). i love media analysis. also she fucking passes out i guess? (tbh i would too if i got kidnapped to the paris opera house sewers) and he lays her in a bed. also depending on the show he has a wedding dress made for her. maybe he's a bit too excited about the marriage

anyway. christine wakes up and he's composing some music and she's like. huh. wonder what he looks like under his half face mask. and she yanks it off and reveals The Horror. which has a couple ways of showing itself depending on the show. sometimes he has brain showing. sometimes he just looks like todoroki from my hero. anyway he's fuckign MAD and yells at her before calming down. and then he just takes her back so she can "find the man behind the monster". this makes more sense in the book. anywya

cut to the next day. the new owners are Not having a good time because primadonna 1 (carlotta) quit and primadonna 2 (christine) is missing. and they get a note from the phantom saying not to worry and that christine is safe and won't be coming back. until carlotta shows up and she's MAD and she's like "i got a NOTE telling me to QUIT? so i won't quit <3" and raoul shows up and is like. hey guys where the fuck is christine. and then madame giry and meg show up with the final note from the phantom (he sends a lot for the record. mostly asking for money) where he says he's giving christine back but she needs to be cast as the lead or "a disaster beyond your imagination will occur". the directors ignore this and cast carlotta because carlotta threatens to quit. again.

anywya opening night is going fine until the phantom starts yelling. and he's MAD cause there's someone sitting in his booth. so he makes carlotta croak like a frog cause he thinks it's funny. and also he crashes the chandelier. also because he's mad. and also he's killed someone. oops. he's got some issues

christine gets freaked out and drags raoul to the roof to confide in him about what happened when she went missing (the phantom secretly eavesdrops on this). and raoul promises to take christine away and they sing about love and like. this song genuinely makes me cry. it makes me fucking lose it. "love me, that's all i ask of you" GRBRGGRRBRRGGRRRBRRRR. ok. they go back inside. and yknow how the phantom was listening. well he's a little mad christine doesn't want to kiss him. so he vows to make them "curse the day [they] did not do/all that the phantom asks of you" Do you see the parallel. raoul and christine's relationship is ultimately selfless; they ask only one thing of the other VS the phantom and christine where he expects her to follow his rule Shakes you like a bag of beans. Do you get it.

okay intermission. comes back and a few months have past. christine and raoul are engaged to be married. they got a new chandelier. masquerade is a fucking banger. and basically everyone's having w good time till the phantom shows up and is like. heyyy bitches. i got another note for you. and he makes a vague threat about christine

they read the note. phantom demands they play his don juan (opera about a guy that basically catfishes every girl in town for sex because he's rich. very large oversight. but you get it) arrangement. and then raoul is like. okay but what if we Kill the phantom. and everyone likes this idea except christine who's like. i miss my dead dad. so while everyone is rehearsing she sneaks off to visit her father's grave and like. kaoru hakaze song Kaoru Hakaze Song. "wishing i could hear your voice again/knowing that i never will" Crying. Wailing. Waugh. anyway turns out the phantom followed her and he's like yesssss i am the ghost of your dead father you should come with me to the dungeon again and raoul is like hey christine Don't. and christine is really fuckin sad but she returns to raoul and they go back to the opera house

anywya. plan to kill the phantom is for christine to play one of the women who don juan gets a little 😏😏 with. and so the phantom will be like I want to do that witch christine. and they have guards with guns. and it fuckin works. they sing a really horny song that slays o think. top 10 moments where i want to be the phantom (i long for the touch of a woman). anyway. they finish its chill until christine rips his mask off on stage. and like. he's a little angry. and he takes her to the basement dungeon again. also it turns out he's killed more people again.

anywya raoul is freaking out cause they were supposed to kill the phantom not let him kidnap christine again. and the opera house is in a panic. then madam giry shows up and gives him advice on how to survive the phantom ("keep your hand at the level of your eye") and meg is like i wanna help! and madame giry is like NO

anyway. now there's a mob after the phantom cause he just kidnapped a girl. and he's currently trying to get christine to marry him. remember that wedding dress? yeah well he's making her wear it now. and she's like. hey can you please let me go home. and he's like NO i have mommy issues. ("the fate which condemns me/to wallow in blood/has also denied me/the joys of the flesh" goes fucking hard though. fucking great line) anyway raoul makes it down and tries to save christine and things go Terribly wrong and so now the phantom demands that christine "start a new life with me/buy his freedom with your love/refuse me and you send your lover to his death". and eventually christine offers the phantom kindness, something hes never been given before, via a kiss, which causes the phantom to realize the error of his ways and let christine and raoul go and leave them to live their lives. also the angry mob is here now but somehow the phantom vanished before they reach his lair! the end <3

all the songs are on spotify/youtube/etc id definitely recommend listening to it. the music is fucking AMAZING and you can follow the plot pretty well just by listening. watching it is super fun but just listening sometimes. ough. Ough. also do NOT watch the 2006 movie/listen to that soundtrack it's BAD sorry i'm a POTO gatekeeper. it's the first one i watched and the uh. the singing is laughably bad sometimes

now the ALW musical is good but also funny if you think about it. because (1) the phantom is a very obvious self insert for ALW (christine was originally played by his then-wife, for instance) and (2) after ALW got divorced he wrote a uh. sequel (love never dies). in which the phantom now runs a new york freak show (mind you he spent his childhood in a freak show where he was the main attraction) where madam giry and meg work under him. and meg has a crush on him. anyway the plot of THAT is lengthy and ultimately fucking hilarious (lindsay ellis has a very good video about it) but my favorite parts are uh. 1) the 8 minute ballad about christine and the phantom having sex 2) the actor for christine's son was originally supposed to be incredibly musically gifted (hence how the phantom realizes that gustav is his son and not raoul's) and that realization was supposed to happen after gustav plays his own composition that is reminscient of the phantom's. yadda yadda. well the actor for the kid in the version lindsay ellis covered was really bad at music so they just had the kid play chopsticks and it's laughably bad. and 3) the part where uh (checks notes) meg giry, minor character in POTO, kidnaps gustav at gunpoint to commit double suicide so the phantom has to negotiate a hostage crisis ("give me the gun meg") and it ultimately leads to meg shooting christine. this makes me fucking lose it. love never dies has a less cohesive plot line that some really shitty fics i wrote when i was 12. and i adore it.

now the original novel (phantom of the opera) was written by gaston leroux. and the order of events slightly shifts but most of it is the same. and i enjoy that one even more. personal favorite events include a) the phantom stealing a horse b) raoul seeing christine get kidnapped and having to think really hard about whether she's a whore or not while sobbing uncontrollably c) the part where the persian shows up at the phantom's lair and is like "please stop kidnapping people" and the phantom is like HAHA ID NEVER DO THAT. ALSO LEAVE MY TORTURE DUNGEON. d) the very fact the phantom has a torture dungeon e) the fact christine tries to kill herself 3 separate times (once by beating her head into a wall repeatedly!) f) the many times raoul and the phantom sob uncontrollably at christine's feet while she just stares at them g) the time raoul shoots a cat while thinking it's the phantom (it's not). ALSO you may have noticed: the persian is not in the ALW musical. well that's cause webber wrote him out. and instead madame giry does what he did in the book. in the book madame giry is a comic relief character

[jojotichakorn]

my thoughts and opinions on "lovely writer": criticizing the critic

tw for discussions of age gaps, rape, and sex

before i turn into the mean and constantly dissatisfied archer that we all know and hate, i just want to say that i liked this show. i think it's great, actually! gene and sib are appropriately cute, the premise is nice, and the attempt at criticizing the industry is... well, an attempt, which is better than nothing. moreover, "lovely writer" came with gifts because it gave me my new favorite character, so you can't go telling me i'm trying to completely obliterate it or something.

besides, this specific post isn't going to get into analyzing the show as a whole anyway. i won't be talking about any irrelevant plot points, cinematography, sound design, or anything like that, though i could probably write a post just as long as this one about that side of things as well. however, i am here to specifically look at the problematic things that were both criticized by the show and included in the show without any criticism. i'm going to talk about the more serious side of things here, which means i'm going to get serious. and i'm going to be harsh. very harsh.

gene and nubsib: yes's and no's

overall, the relationship between gene and sib was a fair attempt at showing something complex, yet ultimately quite healthy, which i appreciate. there were some things i was especially glad about. the fact that sib dated other people before settling on getting together with gene, for example, makes the whole situation a little less codependent. however, as much as this show prides itself on not wanting to romanticize problematic relationships, there are at least two major problems with genesib.

the age gap (and why it was not needed)

i've tried my very best to give this entire concept the benefit of the doubt. at first, i was convincing myself that they were simply close childhood friends, then i was trying my best to believe that even though sib did have a sort of crush on gene (which sometimes happens to little children), gene only saw him as his younger brother, but eventually, the show gave me no choice, but to deem the entire storyline problematic, because they did their best to romanticize that relationship - from gene's dad seeing the "early signs" to the counting and kissing the cheek turning to counting and full-on lip-locking in the last episode.

i could go into how this could all easily be mended if little sib was shown as kind of obsessed with his older friend, but gene was shown as not being anywhere near interested in the kid. but the real question is - why was the age gap needed at all?

i've researched the age of the boys during the flashbacks to the best of my ability and it seems that gene is 11 and sib is 6 or 7. if sib was the same age as gene (or maybe just one year younger, but not any more than that), not only would none of it feel weird, it would also be quite appropriate to explore that first glimpse of romantic feelings some of us experience exactly around that age. i don't think it's necessary for sib to be much younger than gene (children can be just as impressionable at 11 as they are at 7, and as for gene being surprisingly nice and helpful and the other kids not wanting to play with sib, he could have easily been - for example - bullied by his peers instead, which would have the same effect).

moving forward to the present, i don't think the lack of an age gap would affect the storyline that much either. even if they desperately needed sib to be a university student, they could have that one-year difference i've talked about before, which is not as significant. sib could be in his last year of uni, while gene could have easily written his very first novel during his university years, which would actually make more sense (since that guaranteed him employment and freedom to write after he finished uni; and i would rather believe that he had time to write his first novel in-between classes than in-between shifts at work, which he would surely need to have if he started writing after finishing university).

so that brings me back to my initial question - why was it needed? and much like the show often does, i will leave this one up for your interpretation because i do not have any sensible answers myself.

the issue with sex and consent

"but archer!" - i hear you exclaim - "lovely writer is known for explicitly denouncing rape romanticization in bls, how could there possibly be any problems with consent here?" and i hear you, my dear reader. and you aren't incorrect, "lovely writer" is indeed very explicit at calling out bls for having rape scenes (and i do appreciate that). however, as i'm sure you know, there are different ways in which consent can be taken from a person, and there are different non-consensual acts that someone might perform. for example, there are many different forms of coercion, such as the person being persuaded until they feel like they have no other choice, but to say yes. touching someone or kissing someone without asking for permission are also non-consensual acts. i can go on and on, there are many examples outside of what so many people consider rape.

now, what if i tell you that though there (thank the gods) has been no rape present in "lovely writer", not all scenes with gene and sib are consensual? well, that's what i'm telling you because it's the truth. both the first kissing scene and the scene where gene and sib "try out different poses" have clear coercion in them. the entire "joke" of the scene before gene and sib's first time is literally built upon the concept of "a person is trying to run away from someone, who wants to have sex with them" and it is NOT funny. the later reveal of gene actually looking up how to have sex seems to be there on purpose, to show that everything that's happened is "ok" because gene was thinking about it. as a sensible person, i will only accept actual enthusiastic consent and not someone possibly maybe probably considering it. not to mention that right before having sex, sib asks gene one last time if he is sure, which is great, except it is immediately followed by "i'm not going to let you change your mind anymore", which - daily reminder - you are allowed to stop having sex at any point during the act if you start feeling uncomfortable with it. that's absolutely normal.

now the problem that we seem to run into here is that "lovely writer" appears to think that it's ok to push someone to the limit until they either finally agree or confidently and loudly disagree. the drama has repeatedly shown us that actually forcing someone to have sex is not ok; however, persuading and otherwise coercing someone, as well as taking an approximate guess of them wanting to have sex based on some marginally related factors, is ok. i would like to once again remind everyone that all of that is not ok.

one more issue i want to bring up in connection with sex is something i wish was common knowledge: it is NOT supposed to hurt during your first time. whether you are planning to have vaginal or anal sex for the first time, it should not hurt. and if it does, something has definitely gone wrong and you need to stop. you are not supposed to experience any pain or discomfort during sex, including your first time (outside of desired and therefore intentionally inflicted pain, but that's not what i'm talking about here). i have seen this misconception brought up many times in bls along with the other person "thanking the person who got hurt for bearing the pain to bring them pleasure" and absolutely none of that is normal. stop. please, just... stop.

criticism of the BL industry

there are certainly quite a few things i liked about the way "lovely writer" criticized the many problems that surround bls. i think they dealt especially well with the fan aspect. the breaches of privacy that are considered normal, the toxicity of social media that encourages people to comment on other people's personal life, harass and stalk them - all of that was shown in its full glory (or rather horror) and clearly condemned. it was also interesting to see how easily everyone around sib fell into the routine of having to hide genesib's relationship, just because "that's what's supposed to be done in these situations" - even tum did that without thinking twice.

however, i have not spent the past three years hating gmm for a show trying to criticize the industry not to focus on criticizing the production company and everyone professionally involved with the making of bls. don't get me wrong - they didn't completely overlook that side of things, but i found the way they approached it dissatisfying.

like yes, tum fights with his sister (aka sib's manager) and calls her out for her terrible actions, and the publisher (bua) eventually apologizes for what she did, but all of that feels a bit too... personal. i do not care about these individual stories. i care about you saying that the whole system is broken because it very much is. i wanted manner of death but with the bl industry, and instead, i got an "uwu the fans are demanding we do this, and our hands our tied" (which is a lie) and "uwu i'm just trying to make money" (which i mean... if you feel ok milking even more money than you already have by doing something unethical and immoral, then be my guest, but also go fuck yourself). besides that, i didn't see any criticism of tabloids or exploitative celebrities either (both of which we had examples of in the show), and that was kind of disappointing.

coming back to the fans for a moment, i also think that the criticism of real people shipping was entirely unsuccessful. we basically mostly got an "oh, what if this person's partner thinks they are actually dating", which... if a bunch of people on the internet who do not know your boyfriend personally and make all their judgments from screenshots and their imagination can convince you that your boyfriend is cheating, i've got some bad news for you and also a number for a therapist. partly i know why it was so complicated for them to get into it properly - the issue with real people shipping is an issue of privacy, boundaries, the perception of celebrities, acceptable interests, and many other complex topics. however, it's better to not criticize something than to criticize it badly and inaccurately (because the latter usually leads to even more encouragement of whatever you were attempting to criticize).

aey: the flamboyant villain

aey certainly starts as a promisingly complex character, but the farther we go from his backstory and his family, the less complex and the more evil he gets. eventually, the trauma he goes through is no longer enough to give him a get-out-of-jail-free card, and he loses all remaining sympathy after sexually harassing gene and pretending to drug sib. and i did start this post by saying that i am not to analyze any plot points or characters from the show here; however, i'm saying all this to prove a point that aey is a clear villain in the show. this is further cemented by the fact that by the end of the show he loses the only two people who cared about him, and the very last moment with him in the show is literally just him crying for about 3 minutes. there was no redemption arc, no pity, no revenge - he was left alone and broken, clearly punished by the narrative. and i've got a bone to pick here as well.

one of the first things that we find out about aey is that he is gay, and quite openly so. he is repeatedly described as very feminine by many characters, he flirts with men, he talks about being good in bed, and his entire character is built upon being gay (half of it directly, and the other half due to the fact that his entire backstory and therefore personality is also built upon the fact that he is gay). he is - for the lack of a better term - the gayest character in the show and the only one who is loud about being gay not because he is in love but simply because it is a part of him and he doesn't want to hide it. and he is the villain. not the disgusting publisher or the terrible manager - no, this guy was specifically chosen to ruin everyone's lives. and i can't say i'm particularly happy about that. *british voice* seems a bit homophobic love

not quite queer enough

as i said, aey is openly gay. gene and sib also eventually say that they are gay, gene's father teep is queer, so are tiffy and mhok. but it just doesn't seem to come up as much as it would in real life. the only time anyone has a problem with any of the characters being queer is when we deal with the parents. but knowing actual queer thai actors in real life, we are all aware how hard it can be for them, but it has not come up even once for aey, gene or sib (with genesib only being a problem because they are a "non-shippable couple"). being queer is far from being a non-issue in the industry, and i found it incredibly weird that it was never brought up (and i would also prefer if they brought that up instead of showing the unaccepting parents plot for the millionth time).

same goes for the lack of conversation around queer people on set. i think we all have a wonderful example of how much better a bl can get simply when it involves a queer director and/or screenwriter (gods bless p'aof), gay actors, etc. i also thought it was a missed opportunity that gene being a gay man writing a bl novel was never highlighted. if anything, everyone made a big deal out of him being a man writing a bl - never mind that he is a gay man that is far more qualified to write bls than a straight woman.

in conclusion, there are simply not enough queer issues talked about here for a show that is about queer people facing difficulties while making a queer drama.

tiffy and tum: the good, the bad, and the ugly

overall, tiffy and tum are quite cool. outside of my own personal feelings, i really liked the clear reversal of gender roles they have going on: he knows lots about make-up, she knows nothing about it, he knows how to sew, she knows how to repair a car, etc.

tiffy is also a nice addition to the precious few queer girls we have in bls. however, the way her being bi is executed... it isn't great. when she first talks about dating girls to tum, she says things like "even though i look like this" (implying queer girls have a certain look?) and "maybe it seemed normal because i was at an all-girls school" (which wtf does that even mean?). i think the worst thing, though, was when she assumed tum was gay. my best guess is she thought so because she initially thought that tum and gene were a couple; however, she should be the first person to know that just because he likes men, it doesn't mean that he doesn't like women or any other gender. even though there was nothing explicitly leading me to make this conclusion, this whole thing did kind of feel like the old "flipping the switch" stereotype (meaning, she used to like women, but now she likes men, and both of them can't happen simultaneously).

make it make sense

i think i've never been more confused in my entire life than when i found out that the director of "lovely writer" also happens to be the director of "th*arnt*pe". and if at first, i was asking a lot of questions about this peculiar individual, who went from working on the worst rape-romanticizing show we have ever had to a show that explicitly states that rape is not normal. but the more i thought about it, the less i was interested in him, and the more i was interested in whoever made the decision to hire him. there are dozens of different directors that have worked specifically on bls, and even more that haven't. yet out of all those, you decided to choose this one. the dude, who before your show has only directed the show with the biggest rape-y vibes. that casts a particular kind of shade on the entire show that i simply do not like.

conclusion

at the end of the day, i think what "lovely writer" tried to do was very interesting. it succeeded in some ways and failed in others. frankly, i think this show could have easily been made better if someone queer was involved in making it. that's always true, but especially so, when we try to talk about the issues of making a queer drama. either way, it's certainly a good start to this conversation; however - as i said - i'm still waiting for my manner of death but with the bl industry. this was unfortunately not it.

[thatpinkbetch]

I'm going to answer it this way, because I'm actually not a fan of some of those, and I've heard this is the way to do it if you don't want it ending up in the tag or the search I think? If i censor any of the ship names it's not out of malice! I simply don't want any of this to end up in front of eyes that just want to enjoy their ships 💖💖💖 if there is anyone who doesn't want to see opinions against t*d*d*ku, k*r*b*ku, or even iz**ch*ka, please don't read any further! Oh my goodness i hope this is all legible...

Anyways, hello!! Thank you so much for the ask!! I love talking about my opinion avkvmsocnaocjsoxks it also makes me really happy you like my blog 🥺🥺🥺 (I hope this answer doesn't ruin that avskvneognsocjs)

I'll start out by confirming that I'm not a multishipper. It makes me excited to see how the act of shipping itself can make others happy, but it's just not that way for me. I actually never read fanfic until I got into bnha (bkdk is just that powerful 😁😁) I'm actually...a little serious when i ship, or when i enjoy media, i analyze pretty heavily, so also, if that doesn't sound like anyone's cup of tea, i would once again recommend to stop reading and enjoy your day please!

I love analyzing characters and storylines and dynamics, but i will admit, I'm not a fan of most of the ships - not romantically. I think all the characters have interesting relationships to each other, all of the kids are great friends, and I love bonds and friendships so much 🥺🥺🥺

Those first two are perhaps the biggest, at least they definitely were the biggest when I first entered. Once i caught up, I didn't really understand the enthusiasm, but people have fun shipping, so that's nice! I think of those two as easy ships, if that makes sense? They're pretty simple, and easy to digest.

I personally am not a fan of romantic t*d*d*ku for a very specific reason; it feels weird to me for Todo to immediately fall in love with the first person who's ever shown him kindness (since his mother of course). Todo had never had any friends, nor any want for friends, obviously because of the abuse he faced as a child. Mido was his first exploration at a life outside of his father, a life he got to make for himself, it just doesn't feel right to me that he should immediately think "oh, is this romantic love? Is this the one and only for me?" Well, perhaps a teenager might think that way, but i don't think that's actually how he feels deep down, and I'm sure that's something a lot of us have to learn as we grow (I've definitely struggled with my own understanding of romance for the past 8 years). I think he still is trying to learn how to socialize and to make friends and to be a friend (and he's doing SUCH a good job!) But to immediately plunge into romance, which can be complicated, i don't think that would be right for him. I hope that makes sense! I know they're a very cute ship, which makes for fun! But again, I can be a little serious when i ship...

K*r*b*ku kind of falls into similar territory for me? Baku definitely had friends growing up, but he's seemed to always have trouble understanding his feelings and where he stands with others, causing trust issues. Kiri is really the first person he knew where he stood with, a person for him to be comfortable with and feel on equal ground, which i think is such a huge and positive role in his life, and i don't necessarily think that it needs to be romantic - for both of these, i think these relationships are incredibly important, to everyone involved, and making them romantic doesn't make them any more important!! In fact, i feel like them as friends actually can offer a more complex, interesting, and human dynamic between these characters, as sometimes people simply default to romance and then end up pushing for the same old tropes and ignore all the intricacies Horikoshi includes in his writing.

Again, I love Mido's friendship with Todo, and I love Baku's friendship with Kiri. I think these relationships are incredibly important, and friends are incredibly important. People who ship them are having fun, which is so lovely, and i hope they continue to have fun! I hope you personally find more fics about them that make you smile and brighten your day 💖💖💖

Iz**ch*ka is a little difficult, because they certainly are cute, separately and together. I thought they were cutest before Ura was told about her potential crush on Mido, when she was simply a source of bubbly energy and positivity that helped Mido open up and feel comfortable around other people. I feel though that, romantically, it's extraordinarily one-sided, and at this point, i have to wonder if they really are "end goal." End goal for shounen, of course, is hardly ever explicit ahzovndlfjsoxo but i feel like a better storyline for Horikoshi to take would be for Ura to realize that she's been confused, and these feelings haven't really been a positive experience for her. I've definitely gone through things like that as a teenager. Now, the ship can be very cute! They're basically the same person, and they're cute and bubbly! But again, it simply isn't for me.

I think Momjirou is very cute!! Of course, as a lesbian, i sense strong lesbian vibes from Momo, and strong bi vibes from Jirou, and I also saw the ship potential ever since the USJ attack - which i think, so did everyone else ahaovndofjsojfsk they're best friends without a doubt, though i have to say, i really like Kamijirou. She just makes him so soft, and he's so in awe of her, and she thinks he's so funny, I love how supportive he is of her, especially since she can be really insecure 🥺🥺🥺

I also think Ura and Tsu are very cute but another easy ship, and i kind of really like Ochamina 🥺 they're both pink and space themed, they're bubbly and energetic and kick ass, and i think they'd be super cute...

I saved todobaku for last, because, you know what they say, best for last! 😇😇😇

I've said it before, but if there was no Mido (impossible obviously, and i would never want that) then todobaku is where my heart would lie. Baku has never really been shown chasing after anyone except for Mido...and Todo, which really gets at my heart. There's a grudging respect there - very, very grudging ahakckdkfjskdk which i find very appealing! Todo is very important to Baku and he has also been able to show Baku some things about himself that he needed to question and reevaluate. Meanwhile, Todo puts up with exactly 0% of Baku's shit, which i find absolutely hilarious. It's funny to me how Baku wishes to intimidate Todo as he does everyone else, and Todo simply does not care. And Baku wants to be mad, and ends up mad that he can't be mad since Todo is a strong and worthy opponent. They just have such an interesting chemistry, there's so much friction, so much tension, and I enjoy it, particularly since they clearly should be friends, would be great friends, want to be friends, but Baku simply won't get over it 😂😂 I do prefer them as friends, but friends that are incredibly close, two people that understand each other on almost a telepathic level, two people that give each other shit while also refusing to take the other's shit.

I do agree that many people in this fandom seem to think their ship stands on some moral high ground? It could be a disconnect from the previous generations of fandom, or it could also be the growing mentality on this site that everything needs to be a battle of moral superiority, and also that what you like is part of your personality, and if someone doesn't like what you like, then they don't like you or that they think you're factually incorrect. I personally have stopped going into the bn/ha tag simply because I don't enjoy, well, many things i find there, and I'm happy with those that i follow. I've definitely seen hatred and invalidation for both LGBT ships and m|w ships, neither of which I'm comfortable with. I definitely don't go off tumblr for fandom stuff because there's practically no acceptance for any same gender ships, or any queer headcanoning, which, I'll be honest, makes me scared, as i am a very anxious person avdkvndkfje i do think it should be noted that we should be as accepting of cishet ships as we are of queer ships - no debate on this one - but again, you are right when you say that many cishet headcanons have been used to invalidate LGBT voices, and any and all allies must always be aware of this! It is much more often that queer voices are silenced, that queer ships are ridiculed, that queer shippers aren't allowed to enjoy or see themselves. And to anybody that doesn't want to be an ally... Whelp ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ what are you doing here ajxkvmdogjdicjsicjsodj I'm gay

I haven't really read much of anything recently, let alone other ships, platonic or otherwise, because energy has been low for me for a long time. I wish i could participate more and support all my friends and other fans, but it's been a bit of a struggle 😣😣😣 I'm so sorry! Something that I can do is make posts and analyses and metas, as those are quick and make me excited, so I'm always happy to respond to asks like these! (I say as i take two hours to write this response...)

I hope people have been taking care of themselves and remember that tumblr is really good at letting you cater to your own interests! I hope if you've made it to the end of this response that you enjoyed it, and you're not mad at me ahsovjekgjsocjwodkso if you are, that's fine, I'm sorry, I probably am really bad at social/internet etiquette and such that help you filter 😣😣

To any who are curious, you cannot change my mind ahdogmdocjdidk thank you to whoever sent this ask!!! A lot of this is a bunch of rambling I've always wanted to talk about but was frankly too scared to post! I hope I made sense and answered everything you were asking!! Please have a good day/night/life!!! 💖💖💖💖💖

[sereniv]

Any tips on getting a legit sugar daddy

I'm not and never been a sugar baby, so I can't directly give you advice

Only thing I can say is to spend some time with some sugar babies. You'll have to do research into forums and finding other sec workers/SBs, but good places to find sex workers in general I would say are cam sites. Chaturbate is what I'm familiar with. Because I mean you can clearly see them working Get their social medias etc. And eventually you'll be within the community and be able to ask whatever u need

Anyway, Message the mods of some of the workers, or type in the chat that you're new to sex work and for the mods to message you and to go from there with asking questions like "is there a sex worker discord/does she know any sugar babies/etc". But ask the Mods if it's during a show don't distract the worker.

And this is all if you can't just directly message the worker. I forget how Chaturbate works it's been years

best thing is not to have the convo during the show bc ofc mods gotta do their job but yeah

Other then that there's gotta be forums. And if anything, you might be able to just contact babies on Seeking.com (seeking arrangement) but I forget how the system works in that

Sorry I'm not much help its been a long time since I've known sex workers or even mod'd

But yeah before becoming a baby, please take the time to learn about it.

I was friends with someone who was a semi SB (no sex, only dates, only cash) and they told me for the most part its a performance, you're acting the whole time but also analyzing the guy

Obviously it depends on who you are with, but if you don't find someone who just so happens to be your other half AND a SD (which happens, some SBs marry their SDs bc they legit fall in love),,, then the whole time you're supposed to be what they want you to be.

A likely scenario:

Shave your legs everytime you meet. Do your hair and your makeup. Buy new clothing they like even if it makes you uncomfortable (depends on rules agreed upon). Have to laugh at their jokes, have to pretend to be interested. Have to pay attention to the guys mood, determine if he wants you to lead or be submissive.

Obviously usually have to have sex (again rules).

And its all a life style you live this life when you're with them

it all depends on the arrangement you set up, so you're allowed to set boundaries ahead of time and during.

But it reminds me of my mom who stripped when she was younger.

She would get some money in tips from dancing, but where the real money was was going in the back and having sex with the patrons. She only danced, and she would also talk, like a therapist, with the men. She made the least amount of all the girls

So she chose to stay comfortable and made less. If she chose to not talk to the guys as friends and be more professional which was less fun, or even go out of her comfort zone and have sex, she would have earned probably double

So you can choose what you want to do but also don't let yourself do something that can destroy you emotionally. A lot of ppl think being a baby is easy and they just have to have sex

but I've heard from other SBs that when you're in the moment in the job it feels very different

Again all of this can be different experience for everyone. If you love sex and acting then you'll have a bigger pool of men to choose from. if you dont, you'll have a smaller pool but that doesn't mean you won't find someone

This isn't meant to scare you, and again take with a grain of salt bc I havnt been in the scene for years and I'm just relaying what I've been told and experiences.

But this is why I say take time to know what you're getting into. Talk with some SBs, and sex workers in general. Find the forums and whatever social media

Really hope the best for u. Hope u get some good cash and find a SD where you can just be yourself!

Also anyone who wants to give info in comments pls do. PLEASE PREFACE WITH (INFO FOR ANON)

ANYTHING ELSE WILL BE DELETED (more so anything that's a bot. if you accidentally forget to say info for anon I'm sure I'll be able to tell you're a human lol but just to make it easier)