#i'm only loveable when i'm capable of that

[h3ck]

but see the thing is i'd drop anything and everything for you or anyone but i'm alone when i'm breaking down

[e-nonsense]

Congratulations for the 2k followers! I'm so happy for you 🥳

Is it alright if I ordered hydrangea (dick grayson) with lace please? The message would be Dick loving the reader even if she's on the frail side (I never read any thin!reader before, only plus size). I'd love to read your work on this. Thank youuu 😘

this one actually hits me hard bc i have to deal with this too. so its kinda a fic for me too

dick grayson who’s grin is wide when he sees you, there’s a skip to his walk as he comes to your side, he doesn’t mind that you’re small. it gives him another reason to take care of you.

dick grayson who understands that its not your fault that you’re so small. he won’t try and force you to eat, sometimes people are just like that. small and frail, but no less loveable.

dick grayson who hates when people comment on your body. just because its someone else’s desired body doesn’t mean its what you want.

dick grayson who loves that he has to be more careful with you. you’re not sickly thin, just thin enough that he has to be a little more careful, because he’s purely lean muscle.

dick grayson who doesn’t treat you like you’re something that needs to be looked after. he knows you’re capable.

dick grayson who will fuck you until you realise he doesn’t care about the size of your body, doesn’t care that your breasts might be small or your thighs are as thick as his.

dick grayson who loves on you like no other. he’ll give it to you however you want.

dick grayson who stares at you like a confused puppy when you admit that you’re ashamed of how frail you are.

dick grayson who fumes at the comments you get from your parents/family, telling you that you need to eat more. don’t they understand that it doesn’t work like that?

dick grayson who holds you when you cry that same night, you’ve always been told the same thing, why couldn’t they just accept you?

dick grayson who will love you regardless of your body. he loves you, he’s not here for your body.

dick grayson who loves you, mind, body and soul.

[mo0ns-th0ughts]

Since I'm super deep into the maurauders fandom atm but have also just read aftg here are my opinions on wich aftg chracter has wich patronus 🤌✨:

Neil Josten: Falcon - Falcons have a keen eye and are among the fastest creatures on earth. If your Patronus is a falcon, you may have been a troubled soul who decided to cast away their old, evil habits to fly down the hard, right path. Your nature pulls you to the dark, but you’ve chosen to live for the light - The falcon also represents breaking free from slavery. Now that you are free, you are flying in the light, and no one can stop you, not even Dementors!

Andrew Minyard: Hippogriff - The hippogriff is a proud and dangerous creature. They are half eagle, half horse, the offspring of a horse and griffin. If your Patronus is a hippogriff, you likely have a demeanor that commands respect or else. You’ve been known to fiercely defend those you’re loyal to and lash out at those who don’t earn your respect. At the same time, you are capable of growing to love former enemies - after a bloody battle.

Kevin Day: Heron - The heron is known for its outstanding determination and intelligence. Herons live in three elements: water, earth, and air, revealing that the animal appreciates diversity. You have a mind like no other and work on whatever you’re working on until you’ve finished it.

Nicky Hemmick: Hedgehog - Cute and loveable inside and out, those who possess a hedgehog Patronus may thrive on giving and receiving love and may feel they need more of it than others realize. While upfront about their endearment and affectionate personality, hedgehogs are also known to be anxious and overly cautious. They often worry about their own and others of their kind’s safety. Those around must approach the hedgehog with care and precision, though, because when defensive and hurt, hedgehogs are remembered not for their sweetness, but for their sharp spikes.

Renee Walker: Adder - The common European adder or common European viper is a venomous snake that can be found throughout Europe. Adders are not normally aggressive and tend to only bite when they are threatened in some way.

Dan Wilds: Orca - It’s no mistake that orcas are nicknamed “killer whales.” They are one of the most effective hunters in the ocean. Orcas use teamwork and complex communication skills to hunt and the same cunning to protect their young. With the fierce, calculated protection of an orca on your side, you can rest assured that the Dementors will be no match for you.

Matt Boyd: Black Bear - The formidable form of the black bear is often enough to scare away even the bravest of explorers, not to mention Dementors! Often mistaken as a deadly predator, the black bear mostly feasts on berries, grasses, and roots complemented with fish and carrion. This is often how people see you - a fierce opponent who will protect yourself and those close to you but who has a softer side hidden away from the world. Black bears are known for their adaptability, and this is often seen in how resourceful you can be. No matter the situation you find yourself in, when you come to call upon your Patronus, the black bear will be fully prepared to fight in your corner.

Allison Reynolds: Peacock - Peacocks are ground-dwelling birds known for their beautiful eye-shaped plumage. These birds extend their feathers not only to attract mates but more importantly, to appear more intimidating to predators. With feathers that make up over 60% of their total length, it gets the job done. Peacocks are easily irritated and would make a fierce and gorgeous Patronus.

Aaron Minyard: Lynx - The lynx is a solitary wild cat. They hunt alone, using their great sense of hearing and their stealth to move through the forests without being seen by either their prey or those who may be watching. When they do strike, they are fast enough to even catch snowshoe hares. Dementors won’t know what hit them!

Definitions are from: https://www.mugglenet.com/2017/08/patronus-say-personality/

[acetone4veins]

Quotes + Mean Girls

associating angsty quotes (and some fluffy ones) to mean girls characters and dynamics, this is definitely longer than it should be and will probably be part 1 of many but anyways. lmk which were your favorites and which ones ruined you :) also shoutout to the cautionary tale discord who saw some of these already and ramble about these characters with me <3

posting under the cut so i don't clog anyone's feeds

Regina

"what a terrible thing to wound someone you really care for - and to do it so unconsciously."

Haruki Murakami

"and when nobody wakes you up in the morning, and when nobody waits for you at night, and when you can do whatever you want. what do you call it, freedom or loneliness?"

Charles Bukowski

"i am changing. i am trying to be better. it is slow; it is rough; it is repetitive, but i swear i am."

Abdulsamad S. M.

"i did not like to be touched, but it was a strange dislike. i did not like to be touched because i craved it too much. i wanted to be held very tight so i would not break."

Marya Hornbacher

"i was not a loveable child, and i'd grown into a deeply unlovable adult. draw a picture of my soul, and it'd be a scribble with fangs."

Gillian Flynn

"if only my heart were as cold as i pretend it is, maybe i could get over this."

Jessica Katoff

"i wasn't beautiful anymore. now i looked like what i was, a raw wound."

Janet Fitch

"i'm restless and harsh and despairing. although i do have love inside me. i just don't know how to use love. sometimes it tears at my flesh, like barbs."

Clarice Lispector

"i did not mean to be cruel. i swear i am good, i am good, i am kind. i have love inside me. some place far far away."

unknown

Cady

"how much can you change and get away with it, before you turn into someone else, before its some kind of murder?"

Richard Siken

"your worst sin is that you have destroyed and betrayed yourself for nothing."

Dyodor Dosteovsky

"what and how much had i lost by trying to do only what was expected of me instead of what i myself wished to do?"

Ralph Ellison

"my god, my god, whose performance am i watching? how many people am i? who am i? what is this space between myself and myself?"

Fernando Pessoa

"it was good for a while, being empty. i didn't hurt anymore. but as time went on, it was like i could hear myself from far away, begging for permission to come back."

Myra McEntire

"is it better to out-monster the monster or to be quietly devoured?"

Friedrich Nietzsche

"who's the real you? the person who did something awful, or the one who's horrified by the awful thing you did? is one part of you allowed to forgive the other?"

Rebecca Stead

"you're a mess of good intentions gone wrong. you strike a match on yourself to keep others warm, and now the whole goddamn world's on fire. you try to put it out, and you try so hard. the dam breaks, and the waters of your sorrow pour free. you are sorry; so very, very sorrow - and you will drown everyone to prove it."

unknown

Janis

"there are times when i am convinced i am unfit for any human relationship."

Franz Kafka

"i am eternally, devastatingly romantic, and i thought people would see it because 'romantic' doesn't mean 'sugary'. it's dark and tormented - the furor of passion, the despair of an idealism that you cannot attain."

Catherine Breillat

"but whatever came, she had resolved never again to belong to another than herself."

Kate Chopin

"there were two reasons i was scared to let people in; the damage they could do, and the damage they could find."

Chris McGeown

"perhaps its good for one to suffer. can an artist do anything if he's happy? would he ever want to do anything? what is art, after all, but a protest against the horrible inclemency of life?"

Aldous Huxley

Gretchen

"i want so obviously, so desperately to be loved, and to be capable of love."

Sylvia Plath

"she wanted to say 'don't leave me', but she couldn't do it, not again. she was so tired of begging people to love her."

Kristin Hannah

"he is charmingly telling me how much he does not love me...and i, - listening to him carefully, - am approving it."

Marina Tsvetaeva

"she's gonna forever say 'i got this' even with tears in her eyes."

unknown

"still there is this terrible desire to be loved. still, there is this horror at being left behind."

Michael Cunningham

"can you understand me? someone, somewhere, can you understand me a little, love me a little?"

Sylvia Plath

"i am trying to make myself digestible. i am trying to make myself easy to love."

I.B. Vyache

"do you think it is possible that some people are born to give more love than they will ever get back in return?"

Tyler Knott Gregson

Karen

"the sensitive suffer more; but they love more, and dream more."

Augusto Cury

"a lot of people tell me i'm a bit dreamy. but i like the idea of that. of being somewhere else."

Alam

"you cannot make everyone think and feel as deeply as you do. this is your tragedy, because you understand them but they do not understand you."

Daniel Saint

Regina and Janis

"the bear loved the deer, it was obvious. it ripped the deer's throat out, and then licked the dying deer with the most passionate affection. i thought of you and me."

David Cronenberg

"can you hate someone for what they have done, but still love them for whom they had been?"

Jodi Picoult

"love isn't soft, like those poets say. love has teeth which bite and the wounds never close."

Stephen King

"i love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul."

Pablo Neruda

"they will hook me up to a polygraph and ask me if i love you and i will say no but the needle will jump and sputter exactly how you laugh."

unknown

"there's a sickening feeling of familiarity, when the wrong person knows you too well and you know them too well. and they weren't always the wrong person."

unknown

"we don't mean to hurt each other, but we do. and perhaps no matter how right we are for each other, we'll always be a little wrong."

Beau Taplin

Regina and Cady

"i am intense darkness and you are a golden sunrise."

Arijit Singh and Pritam

"even before you touched me, i belonged to you; all you had to do was look at me."

unknown

"whether you come as a lover or an executioner, i am ready to receive you."

Agustin Gomez-Arcos

"for the longest time, i saw myself as a bad person. you don't know how much it meant to me when you looked at me and could see the good."

unknown

"but i have seen the best of you and the worst of you, and i choose both."

Sarah Kay

"i promised myself i would never fall in love with you. but it was 4 am, and we were laughing way too hard, and i felt happy for the first time in a long time, and i knew i was screwed."

unknown

Gretchen and Karen

"i would rather be with you - even the you that you seem to think is diminished - than with anyone else in the world."

Jojo Moyes

"it hurts, he realizes, to love someone who can't love themselves. like watching a work of art set itself on fire."

unknown

"how amazing it is to find someone who wants to hear about all the things that go on in your head."

Nina LaCour

"come love, make me better than i was. come teach me a kinder way to say my own name."

Andrea Gibson

"i wanted you to see a mess and still find me worthy of love, to tell me that you could still love me anyway."

Georges Bataille

"sometimes, love is as simple as watching the moon and sometimes its as difficult as counting the stars. but i love doing both for you."

unknown

Janis and Damian

"you may be born into a family, but you walk into friendships. some you'll discover you should put behind you. others are worth every risk."

Adam Silvera

Regina and Gretchen

"but i am very homesick for arms that have never held me."

unknown

"i burned so long so quiet you must have wondered if i loved you back. i did, i did, i do."

Annelyse Gelman

"so i wait for you like a lonely house till you will see me again and live in me. till then my windows ache."

Pablo Neruda

"how do you tell someone that the reason you're sad is because you love them?"

unknown

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 心宅猎人/Psych-Hunter.

Psych-Hunter is a 2020 drama about a hot young amnesiac who, accompanied by a rich psychiatrist with major daddy issues and a rich girl who cosplays as a cop, uses his Inception-style psychic powers to solve crimes that are part of a shadowy conspiracy orchestrated by a mysterious figure.

True story: Once I couldn't remember the English name of the drama, so I called it "House Haunters," and now my brain insists that's the real English title. If only!

Do not, under any circumstances, labor under the impression that this show is good. It's not. It's incoherent. The writing is bad. The villain is absurd. The vibe is comically melodramatic. People make inexplicable and out-of-character decisions all the time. Countless complex mysteries get set up with no way to resolve them. There's a thin lampshade hanging over it that blurs the line between bad decisions made on accident and bad decisions made on purpose, but the net result is largely the same. This is the show that first inspired my wife to declare something dumb as a guinea pig in a roller skate.

But it's fun. It's a sea of colorful chaos with brilliant pieces that shine through like strange gems. It knows how to work an atmosphere and does so to create some legitimately creepy moments. It spins a wild yarn filled with bizarre and loveable characters. And it has some twists that truly have to be seen to be believed. In the mood for some beautiful nonsense? Here's five reasons that despite everything I warned you about in the previous paragraph, I think this one's worth watching.

1. Psychonauts for Jazz Age homosexuals

Honestly, that phrase alone should let you know if this is the thing for you. But just in case, let me explain the basic premise of the show:

Jiang Shuo, a man who has lost his memory and been adopted by circus folk, is capable of jingling his keys and diving full-body into someone else's subconscious, represented by lovely and thematic dreamscapes. He does this to solve crimes. Sometimes he takes along a handsome doctor who seems like he might know more than he's letting on, by literally tying their hands together with a red string.

Also, when they do this, they get gorgeous steampunk magical girl costume changes, complete with the cutest little pony nub you've ever seen.

This show can be stunningly beautiful. It knows how to manifest dream logic eerily well. Most of these cognitions are gorgeous, and many are done with primarily practical effects, like it's a stage play. ...And it's good it relies on that so much, because the CG it has is kinda cheap and terrible! So, yeah.

(Side note for the DMBJ fans: This is directed by the same guy who directed Sand Sea, which I assume is related to how this both is a visual treat and completely falls apart on the back end.)

The reason I'm a bit surprised that this hasn't taken off more among the creative set is what a great piece of worldbuilding this Psych-diving is. These boys (and, once, the girl) get to short-term manifest bodily in someone else's materialized mental state, where the person whose brain they’re in neither controls the experience nor remembers what happened after it’s done. Were you writing weird Arthur/Eames fic a decade ago? I got a new best thing for you. Can you say freaky dream sex? Because I can.

The base premise should be more than enough to get your gears going. Come ready to get weird with it. There's so much potential here, and so much of that potential is incredibly gay and wearing impeccably tailored suits.

2. Your friendly neighborhood circus family

As I mentioned before, Jiang Shuo lucks into the best possible fate that can befall an amnesiac: being picked up by carnies.

The troupe includes Ventriloquist Man, Really Big Dude, One-Eyed Acrobat, Other Acrobat, Cheerful Fat Girl, Boy Who Looks Like A Kid But Is Actually Played By An Adult So I'm Not Exactly Sure How Old The Character Himself Is Supposed To Be, and Silver Fox Circus Dad, who manages the whole crew. They're a ragtag bunch of performers who all live together in this cute little compound in some very nice slums, and sometimes they open the gates to their lavish compound and put on a circus show for all the common people!

Now: You know this is not going to be the wokest, most sensitive portrayal of body differences, because of course it isn't. But damn, it's pretty not-bad. The show treats all the circus members as valuable people worthy of affection, whose (occasionally exasperating) quirks are no more or less exhausting than those of the non-circus weirdos in the rest of the supporting cast.

I was half-expecting them to disappear after the first arc, but no! They’re a constant fixture through the show! They’re mostly there to support the show’s more comedic moments, but some of them get wrapped up in more emotional plotlines as well. And every now and then you get to see them actually do their circus shit, which is great.

I will admit that my fondness for them is related to how much I generally love fictional Freaks — you know, misfits who have banded together because society considers them unacceptably weird, but together their weirdnesses make them strong. When you find them, they’re usually the bad guys (e.g., the Gung-Ho Guns from Trigun, the Scorpion crew from Word of Honor) whose freak statuses make them formidable and occasionally sympathetic antagonists. But not so here! The Psych-Hunter Family Circus is good guy support all the way through to the final episode.

I know "found family" is a term that suffers from overuse, but that's the best way to describe what's happening here -- really, it's a family that's already found itself even before the show starts, and now they all live together as an unconventional collective of astonishingly flexible people. How did they find one another? Doesn't matter! What matters is that they all love and would do anything for their newest member, and they think it's great when he comes home with his attractive rich friends, who often arrive bringing snacks, which is really the best use for rich people, if you think about it.

3. Two hands, one ring

Now, if you've seen the series already, you know the moment I'm talking about. But if you haven't (and, statistically, you haven't), know that what I mean is the relationship between these two losers.

Together, Qin Yiheng and Jiang Shuo form the emotional core of the series. They're both drawn to one another because of mysterious circumstances that have started to align. Jiang Shuo's memory is missing, Qin Yiheng's dad has vanished, and all signs point to those absences as having something to do with one another.

Very early in the show, we see Qin Yiheng pull a "come with me if you want to live" on Jiang Shuo, giving the impression that he knows just what's going on in this crazy city. Except, no, he doesn't. Or does he? No, we're pretty sure he doesn't. Or he does, but he's forgotten what he knows, if he ever even knew it in the first place. Anyway, time to tie their hands together and jump into someone else's brain!

I'd say they're in love, but that's not quite it. Dr. Qin Yiheng, high-class homosexual, is in love with Jiang Shuo to the point where he's about to murder someone (possibly Jiang Shuo himself) out of frustration about it. Jiang Shuo, on the other hand, is much more sticking his fingers in his ears and going LA LA LA YOU CAN'T CATCH ME GAY THOUGHTS while trying get a girlfriend in an effort to pretend that all the shit they get up to together isn't tremendously romantic.

That is, until the scene that leads to the which-hand ring guessing game, at which point the burden of their relationship falls on Jiang Shuo (and the Inception parallels get unignorable) for exactly as long as the show will allow it to, before it freaks out and has to add another girl love interest just to make sure all the homos got no'd.

It's not textually gay, because seriously, have you met Chinese television? But it's pretty gay. Or, rather, I think Liu Dongqin (Qin Yiheng) is playing his character as a dedicated homosexual on purpose, and Hou Minghao (Jiang Shuo) is just ... kinda like that? I mean, everything I’ve seen him in, he gets real dreamy-eyed around strong men who pay close attention to him. Maybe it's just his thing as an actor. I'm not judging.

However, the main cast isn't just the two of them. One of the things that led me to this show was the promise of an OT3. And does it deliver on that promise?

Well ... sorta.

Qin Yiheng, Jiang Shuo, and Yuan Muqing are a pretty standard MFM not-love-triangle trio of Male Bestie, Main Guy, and Girlfriend (respectively). There's about five seconds at the beginning of the series where it looks like Yuan Muqing might be into Qin Yiheng, but no, that evaporates almost instantly and is never spoken of again -- and with it disappears most of their interactions with one another, period. So it's less an OT3, and more a case of bisexual cutiepie Jiang Shuo getting both a boyfriend and a girlfriend in a world where censorship will only let the latter relationship exist textually.

But damn if these boys aren't made for one another. Sure, there's a level of conscious comical queerbaiting to it -- I mean, there's straight-up an "only one bed" moment, so you know the show isn't stumbling into rainbow territory on accident. No matter how sexual or nonsexual or whatever you read it as, though, their dynamic is the spine that holds the story together. Really, it's almost sad how often the relationships are set parallel to one another, because when you do that, it becomes obvious how intense Jiang Shuo's bond with Qin Yiheng is, and how largely lackluster and comphet most of his canon romance with Yuan Muqing is by comparison.

Like so.

sidebar: The Girl

I am not going to go into a full-throated defense of The Girl this time, as I am wont to do, mostly because I think Yuan Muqing is full of potential in concept but so badly executed that there's really no hope for her. Her entire personality is whatever they need her to be in any particular scene. It's just that once in a while, what they need her to be is completely insane -- like, seeing-things-that-aren't-there insane -- and it's so great that it makes me mad! She could have been like this all the time! But noooooo

As it is, she has a perfunctory canonical romance with Jiang Shuo that's about as endgame as anything is capable of being (see point 5), and it actually gets pretty cute when it finally gets to the point where it's not just awkward obligation! But alas, it only does that so late in the series that it's not even worth it getting invested in it.

She is a creation of the show. She has no novel counterpart. Her entire function in the drama is to un-gay the dynamic between the boys. You can tell that she was initially supposed to have a different role -- to be the muscle of this trio -- but the narrative forgets pretty quickly that she's got that skill set, and she regresses to being The Girl. She makes dumb decisions that forward the plot. She gets put into danger whenever it's convenient. She demands Jiang Shuo do manly things for her because that’s what a girl is supposed to do, I guess? And then there are moments where she’s cool and crazy and it’s awesome! But they never last.

So if you are going to watch this, be prepared for the fact that the female lead is badly written to the point of frustration. I feel her actor is doing the absolutely best with what she's got; the problem is that what she's got is pretty crappy. Still, Muqing gets some pretty charming moments here and there, and I think it's worth hanging onto those and imagining the character she could have been, if the writers had cared just a little more, or even at all.

4. Powerfully surreal worldbuilding

I'm not even talking about the way people's psyches are structured according to dream logic -- the "normal" waking world is almost equally bizarre. The story takes place in sort of the real world c. 1930, except that a lot of things are off. For example, Japan and England are real locations, but China kinda isn't -- instead, the show takes place in a Shanghai-like city-state run by this moustachioed generalissimo with a faux Latin American dictator aesthetic. The place has its own flag and government and police force (where all the cops have coordinating surnames) and diplomatic relationships with other countries, so it’s clearly its own thing. But what that thing is? What it’s even called? Look, don’t worry about it. Nobody else is worried, so you shouldn’t be either.

You will, at every point in the series, be wondering if the show is trying to telegraph to you that Something's Not Quite Right Here, or if it's just making weird decisions for the sake of artsy weirdness. But don't worry -- there's absolutely no way to tell the difference between the two! Just roll with it.

There's a weird mix of universe rules happening throughout, where everything is mostly period-appropriate for a while, and then somebody builds a clock with levitating parts, or causes someone else to have very specific memory loss — or, again, swings some coins in front of a person’s face and gains the ability to treat their subconscious like a VR amusement park.

You can sort of reconstruct the evolution of this weirdness: The book has actual factual ghosts in it. Well, that’s fine for books, but TV isn’t allowed to have ghosts. But TV can have people who imagine ghosts, so long as it’s all in their heads. Okay, but you know jumping bodily into those imaginations isn’t actually a thing real people can do, right? Well, then let’s make it scientific. How can that be scientific? I don't know, it’s psychiatry. I don’t think that’s psychiatry. Look, it could be. Well, it’s definitely not psychiatry in 1930s Shanghai, and that’s the set we’re allowed to film on. Okay, what if it weren’t actually Shanghai? What if it weren’t actually 1930? What if all of this were at best a weird approximation of the period that adheres to no rules except the ones we want?

Once you’ve thought that, the sky’s the limit.

The show has a very inconsistent grasp on reality, and I am listing that as a pro instead of a con because I am choosing to embrace it as a deliberate choice rather than assume it’s the result of craven incompetence. There's something to be said, though, for how pervasively inconsistent it is. It'd be one thing if there were just a few plot holes here and there (and there are), but this is more along the lines of: We woke up in a mysterious boat and got taken to an island with a giant sea monster skeleton on the shore! What's that all about? Couldn't say! Was it real? Maybe! Moving on!

Let the number of "it's fine! who knows!" comments I've made throughout this rec indicate how much this is the kind of show you just have to roll with. If you are a nitpicker or someone who is troubled by unexplained nonsense, this is not the thing for you. If you love artistic magical realism and high strangeness, you will eat this up with a spoon.

And the lampshade that hangs over all of this worldbuilding is...

5. THE STUPIDEST POSSIBLE ENDING EVER

Okay, usually I am coy about when I think an ending has problems. I am going to drag this one out front and center: Psych-Hunter has an ending so jaw-droppingly, head-clutchingly stupid that I'm actually listing it as a selling point, because it has to be seen to be believed.

When I first watched it, I suspected the show ran out of time or money or something and just had to slap together the quickest possible ending ever. But no! This is the ending they meant! If you go back to the rest of the series, you can see that this is what they were (kinda) setting up the whole time! They just set it up so poorly and decided to make the twist hit at such a late point that not only is it complete nonsense, it actually renders moot the entire emotional stakes of the show! Absolutely incredible!

Now, as I've said before in other places, I don't begrudge the actual twist itself. I mean, it's stupid on its face, but I think they could have done something with it — if they'd had it happen halfway through the series, when the characters would have had time to adjust to the new knowledge. Instead, they slap it on at the last possible moment, when there's no time to have any reaction to it. It's just jarring and baffling, and then the whole thing's over.

I've seen lots of people say "season 2 when???" Season 2 never, friends. There was never going to be a season 2. The only reason you think this was an even remotely acceptable narrative move was that you were assuming that this would be the midpoint, not the end. You're having the same reaction I did, only I can tell this was always meant to be their spectacular dismount.

(To me, it's clear what happened: They J.J. Abramsed themselves into a cool premise for a mystery with no idea how to solve it, hoping they'd figure it out along the way. When they got to the end and still hadn't figured it out, they simply ... opted out of solving it.)

Now, if you want a normal viewing experience out of this show, watch to the end of the next-to-last episode, close your browser window, and have imagination adventures about how you think all the mysteries should resolve. But you're not going to. You are going to continue on to that last episode, and you are going to realize that nothing I could have said here could possibly have prepared you for this. And somewhere, I am going to feel the urge to cackle wickedly and not even know why. Except I'll know why. We'll both know why.

Want to watch this hot mess?

That baby's an iQiyi exclusive! But you can watch the first episode on YouTube, if you feel like getting a taste that way.

Look, I know I may have spoiled my pitch somewhat with that last selling point. After all, why would you bother watching a series if you know it has a shit ending?

I refute your objection thus: Knowing it has a shit ending changes the whole game, because it removes the feeling of betrayal that hits upon your discovering that the ending isn’t what you wanted. You know that already now, so there can be no betrayal. The ending goes from being an unpleasant surprise to being exactly the unexpected thing that you expected. With that in mind, you can dive right in (ha ha) knowing that you’ll never get the closure you crave, and therefore whatever you make up along the way is perfectly valid.

This is obviously a turnoff if you prefer shows that are like seeing someone start a magic trick, perform it without breaking a sweat, and walk off calmly, leaving you wondering how on earth they accomplished such an amazing thing. Think of this more as someone starting a magic trick, accidentally letting the rabbit fall out of their hat, saying “I meant to do that!” like thirty times, and suddenly vanishing through a trapdoor, leaving you wondering what the trick was even supposed to be in the first place — but they were really good-looking and well-dressed, so at least whatever they were doing was nice to look at while it was happening.

See? They're having fun.

[bubble-popping]

day 19 and omg it's the cupid au i talked abt literally months lmaooo

Dream pulled back the already taught string just a smidge further. His aim was perfect, sight locked on, bow deathly still; contact inevitable. He would hit his target this time, and he was determined to make sure it stuck. He let go with a decisive huff, watching the arrow soar to its destination. This was it. After weeks of failure after failure, he'd finally-

Miss. The target moved at the last possible second.

The fingers that held the arrow's nock trembled. His jaw hung open, eyes wide.

"He dodged it. Again. He fucking dodged it again!!"

"Geez, some Cupid you are, Dream," a british accent quipped behind him.

"I thought you were supposed to drop this case, dude," another complained.

"No, you guys don't understand!" Dream whirled around, facing his two dearest friends that, recently, were really getting on his nerves. Last he checked, friends were supposed to be supportive. "I have a perfect fucking record. Every case I'm assigned, they fall in love by the end of the week. I don't miss shots, I don't make mistakes, and I don't drop a case just because it's hard!"

"Look, Dream, we get it, man. We've had our share of Unlovables too." Sapnap shrugged.

"But I've even made Unlovables fall in love! And I feel it, Sap. This one is absolutely loveable! I bet my wings on it!"

"I really don't see the big deal. You getting so wrapped up on this one case is only gonna affect your other cases."

"Ya know, George," Sapnap murmured in his ear as he leaned against his shoulder, "maybe if you were this passionate about the job, you wouldn't have so many cold cases."

"Oh, yeah, like you're any better. You just got your wings a few months ago. I've solved more cases than you've ever worked!"

"Sorry I didn't have a hundred-year head start, old man!"

"Would you two shut up!? Don't you both have your own cases to deal with?"

"I finished mine earlier, but Boss said he wanted to talk to you. Sapnap just kinda followed me."

"Boss wants to talk...?"

For some reason, Dream got a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

~~~

"Your actions have shown clear disobedience. Such behavior is unbecoming of a Cupid, of an angel at all! For the crime of insubordination, you shall have your wings stripped."

Dream's face fell. A haunted expression took over. He felt like crying.

Before he knew it, angelic guards had grabbed him and began strapping him down to a wooden board, back exposed. He heard a third approach, a flaming holy sword in hand: the only weapon capable of completely removing an angel's wings.

The heat got closer, like a guillotine descending toward his neck.

"No!" He struggled, fighting against the shackles but they didn't budge. "I'm sorry! I'll drop the case, I swear! I won't disobey again!"

The high angel showed no sympathy. Neither did the hundreds of others that watched him, a spectacle, an example of what happened when rules were broken.

"You've already had your chance, Dream. Sever his wings!"

Dream fought harder to no avail. He sobbed, pleading for mercy that never came. With a single sweep of the fiery blade, his wings were sliced clean off. Bloody feathers flew up. He screamed. Dream felt the thud of his wings hitting the floor reverberate from his feet up to to his chest.

The crowd cheered. He liked to think he heard a few wails of agony too, but it was hard to tell over the sounds of his own.

Finally, the guards undid the restraints, pushing the board out of the way, and he promptly collapsed to his knees. Pain swept in waves over his back like flowing lava. He rested his forehead on the floor, vision blurry with tears, whole body shaking.

"Without wings, you cannot remain in the heavens. Guards, cast him out."

A fear like no other struck him in his very core. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Questions of how this all happened, how it got this bad swirled in his mind. They didn't last for long. Not when once again hands grabbed at his limbs, dragging him out of the large room, causing panic to course through his veins.

Though it had no effect, he still begged for forgiveness, tears rolling down his cheeks. The faces of his best friends came into view, held back by more guards. They looked angry, confused, terrified. They called for him, apologizing as if this was at all their faults. Dream hated that this would be the last look he ever got of them, the people he cared about so, so much. He forced a watery smile, mouthing his love and goodbyes.

The gates arrived sooner than he expected. Without a second thought, the guards tossed him out. The soft, pillowy clouds didn't catch him like they used to. He went right past them.

Then, he was falling, wind rushing by, whipping at his exposed skin. A chill tore through his body. He hadn't felt temperature before. His body instinctively adjusted for flight, but, of course, that didn't happen. Never again.

He just kept falling. The ground rapidly got closer. This was it.

This was where he died.

[pleas3pretendimnothere]

Six more books this month! If I keep this up, I'll be barely able to meet my 52-books goal. The (short) Narnia books are my backup plan if I run out of time... Anyway, I read a lot of great stuff this month!

Piranesi

By Susanna Clarke - I've been looking forward to this read all year. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was my favorite book I read last year, and while Piranesi was not quite so huge and fantastical, it was still another outstanding project from Clarke. I loved this book.

Piranesi's best strength is the constant sense of foreboding. The narrator is childlike, his desires and endeavors so simple, they sometimes seem pathetic. Piranesi is naive but he isn't dumb. He seeks truth, and his naivete transforms a strange, cold, unwelcoming world into something magical, mysterious, and benevolent. This creates a peculiar sense of wrongness throughout the tale's beginning, and when truths slowly come to light, Clarke only further bends the reader's perception of Piranesi's world. Is it the world that is broken, or the men living within it?

The book somehow felt too simple, too quick, but nonetheless, I couldn't put it down. The main character is loveable, and the challenges he faced still haunt me. Even now, I get shudders, remembering the twists! Deeply psychological stuff! Everyone who loves a good mystery, maybe even horror, needs to read this one. BUY IT!

Sabriel

By Garth Nix - I'm a sucker for fantasy romance (very different from romantasy, btw). If the fantasy world is weird, and the romance is built from adventure and adversity, I'm game. This book...this is it...

LOVE Sabriel. Can't sing enough praises. We've got weird necromancy magic based on runes and a series of bells capable of varying archaic horrors. A weird fantasy world split in half. On one side, people are living in a happy and prosperous Ghibli world, on the other, they're fighting monsters and undead ghouls in a Souls game. There's a cat that is also a mind-devouring cosmic god. Cool. Then, children are thrown helplessly to the wilds as bait for bigger predators. It was Berserk, but for the girlies.

The romance was exactly what I like. Natural, built on friendship and trust, and low on the horniness scale (although Nix weirdly informs us that our male character is...cut....okay, I guess...). The adventure was dark and gruesome, as the central magic system is necromancy, so there was an unexpected element of horror in Sabriel. Nix pulls off a sinister sense of danger and risk that sustains itself from beginning to end. Characters die and are killed and brought back, and the ending! Bizarre, frightening, but endearing and clever. Loved it.

Cannot WAIT to pick up the sequels. This is my perfect book, no flaws, no notes. If you like sweeping romance and spooky fantasy, stuff like Howl's Moving Castle, BUY IT!

The Ship of the Dead

By Rick Riordan - I don't know how to review Riordan books. I don't know what to say. They're all carbon copies of each other with little distinct tweaks to an excellent formula. They're all good.

I mean it, I don't know what to say. The Magnus Chase series is good. Period. It's fun, it's weird, and this finale was especially dark. The dragon scenes were excellently scary! Throughout the rest of The Ship, I was laughing, I was gasping, I was having a wonderful ol' time. Period, no notes. Keep it up, Rick.

Don't sleep on these books, that's all. Read them, learn stuff, warm your heart, and repeat. Revolutionary series? No. But joyous and loveable? Absolutely. RENT IT!

Borne

By Jeff Vandermeer - I just ate so good this month. Sabriel was my perfect book, and so too is Borne. I am an insatiable devourer of dark romance. Thank you Jeff, god bless.

Weird is the best way to describe Vandermeer's projects. The Southern Reach trilogy played on evolution, madness, and legacy. It was freaky and exciting, and I knew after finishing it that I had to read more from Vandermeer. His mind is sometimes so impossible to comprehend. Borne came into my lap, and I zipped through it in no time. Why? Of course, because there's romance! I just can't put that shit down, I'm serious!!

This novel is quirky and silly at times, and then it quickly turns upsetting and dark at the drop of a hat. It's graphic and absurd, and the terror is masterfully written. Like Junji Ito, Vandermeer finds horror in the absurd. He takes a bear, a frightening predator, and says, what if it was really big? And it was flying? And it also used to be a normal man, but now its a fucked-up god? Silly, strange, but when written in the cosmic sense, as Vandermeer writes it, petrifying. The mundane becomes the macabre. Chef's kiss.

And a goopy, otherworldly, unfathomable monster? What if it was a child? What if it loved you, and you taught it to be kind, but it was still just a monster? Borne the character is so complex and fun and scary, and I think I won't ever to be able to forget how he made me laugh.

And I didn't even mention the romance, oh, the ROMANCE! Another perfect book. If you're into psychological horror and romance, this is for you. I'm talking fucked-up, NieR: Automata, SCP shit. Loved it so, SO much, BUY IT!

In the Time of the Butterflies

By Julia Alvarez - And now for something completely different! I read A Thousand Splendid Suns and told my friend I was a sucker for stories about the struggles of women in the world. She said, "Oh! I've got just the book for you!"

In the book's Afterword, Alvarez explains her intent to bring the struggles of the Dominican Republic to the English-speaking world. That English-speaking world is a bubble, after all, and it's a difficult one to penetrate. Growing up as an American, I knew almost nothing about the world south of America. I learned about Europe and China and North America, but I essentially thought South America was all one, big, same place. Africa, too. Of the Dominican Republic, even as an adult, I knew very little.

For that, I am most thankful to the book. Alvarez follows a fictionalized version of the Mirabal sisters, four sisters whom three of were martyred during the Era of Trujillo. While many of the events of book are dramatized, many surprising scenes are not. I was constantly fact-checking the events of this book, which lead to lots of time spent researching the history of the Dominican Republic. Before this read, I knew next to nothing about the country, and now, that's totally changed.

The book feels mournful from the start, as the reader knows these women are doomed. Nonetheless, each feels like a fully realized woman with personality and desires, hopes and sorrows. I only became emotional during the epilogue, when Alvarez details the impact of these four women following the murders. I genuinely felt I had watch three women die far, far too young, and I commend Alvarez for that.

Alvarez has accomplished a powerful, insightful novel about women and the Dominican Republic. The day of their death, I learned too, would become the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. That's kind of a big deal! It's a personal, emotional read, and I'd recommend it to any and all readers who want to understand a massive part of history in a quiet corner of the world. RENT IT!

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

By Brandon Sanderson - I am no stranger to Sanderson's work, but I knew almost nothing about his four "Secret Project" novels. Of them, this one attracted me the most because romance + fantasy = yippee!! Unfortunately...I sort of hated this book.

I love the Mistborn series. Really enjoyed The Way of Kings and Elantris. Adored Warbreaker. Again, I am quite familiar with Sanderson's cosmere and his style of writing. Yumi was akin Sanderson's modern Mistborn books--fun, but lackluster. Where Alloy of Law and its sequels are campy, Yumi is just embarrassing. I was cringing SO MUCH at Sanderson's constant need to explain away all the mystery of this book! Mystery is good, I kept screaming! Ask Nix! I don't need an explanation for every little thing! When he wasn't explicitly saying, "Yes, we are definitely in fantasy anime Japan," he was covering for all the plot-holes that OBVIOUSLY weren't really plot-holes! Plot-holes I hadn't even considered, until his quirky narrator served them up to me out of nowhere! Why? I don't know! I don't know!!!

Don't get me started on the Japanese-cringe. It really felt like a mediocre, forgettable anime. At one point early on, Sanderson attempts to explain what MUST be Keigo, and...oof. So wrong, so misunderstood! And why attempt putting fantasy Korea into the mix when hardly any effort was made to do so? Why not make both Japanese fantasy? WHY?!

I'm getting angry just writing this. The book had a lot of potential to explore cool ideas; a nobody from a technologically-advanced society ends up in a position of import in a foreign land, where everyone thinks he's someone he isn't. The possibility for conflict was ripe. What if Painter thieved Yumi's body? What if he attempted to split their connection and seize control? His own body had been stolen and reshaped! Wouldn't he be disturbed, upset? I wanted some kind of betrayal, I wanted anger and agency, but instead, our two main characters are instantly peas in a pod! Everything's cool, all the time! Painter's secrets are small and unimpactful, and while the twist of Yumi's world WAS more worthwhile, it somehow lacked drama? How? The twist was huge, why didn't it feel huge! It was Broken Age and Your Name, but worse. If there were stakes, I didn't care about them!

To describe this book in one word, I'd say disappointing. Don't read this. Watch Your Name, play Broken Age, but just...just don't read this. Waste of my time! SKIP IT!

[snail-pot]

I've been passing the time reading lots of romance manhwas and mangas recently and I just have some recs for anyone interested!:

(A few small notes:

I'm not recommending any erotica/explicit mangas/manhwas mainly bc I don't really want to. Some of my recs will have scenes but it's definitely not the main focus. They're just not my cup of tea.

This includes multiple genres under the romance tag such as: historical, comedy, action, fantasy, and BL)

ANYWAY, HERE YOU GO:

"The Savior's Book Cafe Story in Another World" by Kyōka Izumi and Oumiya [MANGA, FANTASY, ISEKAI, ADULT ROMANCE, COMPLETE]

ASHDJI When I first began to read this, I was expecting a crap ML because I'm pretty used to the ML treating the FL like trash. But, nope! The FL, Tsukina Mizumori, is actually a competent adult! She gets transported into a new world as it's "savior" (sort of like how some stories will transport their MCs as saintess'), but she isn't interested in saving the world. Instead, she opens her very own book café! I won't say anything else bc it might spoil the story, but it's very fluffy and sweet! (WARNING: There is a second ML, but I doubt you'll get second lead syndrome and it doesn't interfere with the main couple! We love responsible, capable adults!)

"Ooh La La" by Jemin [MANHWA, COMEDY, FLUFF, SLICE-OF-LIFE, COMPLETE]

I just happened to stumble upon "Ooh La La" online and I ended up really enjoying it! It goes through the ups and downs of a Gom-Yung and Min-Han's relationship, but with barely any angst. One of the most non-toxic couples I've read about! It's very slice-of-life-ish and a fun read!

"Beta Off Not Dating" by Doojja, MINTRAN, Saena [MANHWA, ROMANCE, BL, OMEGAVERSE, ADULT ROMANCE, COMPLETE] [WARNING: MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND ABUSE IN THIS PASSAGE]

I typically don't really like reading about the omegaverse because of non-consensual topics that are overlooked and dressed as "romantic" and "sexy" (and really, in the BL genre, this is quite common, unfortunately). But I believe that "Beta Off Not Dating" does a good job on addressing it! For the first time I've seen, the ML is a beta who isn't interested in dating after seeing the alpha/omega relationships around him go absolutely nuts. It's sort of like a parody of typical omegaverse manhwas and it doesn't dress heavy topics such as relationship abuse and sexual assault romantically. Instead, the ML recognizes them and addresses them accordingly (Note: the abuse/assault does NOT happen between the main couple. On another note: the side couple is toxic as hell and I would not recommend reading the sequel if you don't want to see them).

There is some explicit sex, but it also happens in the sequel :D (Is this really just me not recommending the sequel?? Ehhh yess?? Take this with a grain of salt bc it really just wasn't my cup of tea.)

"The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity" OR, ALTERNATELY, "Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku" by Saka Mikami [MANGA, FLUFF, ROMANCE, SLICE-OF-LIFE, SCHOOL LIFE, ONGOING]

...This manga... is hands down one of the best mangas I've ever read. It's just so beautiful I can't even put it into words. The main couple isn't toxic, they genuinely love each other, and I really feel like I can see the awkward high schooler aspect without feeling like "Oh, that's- that's a toxic relationship right there". Not only the main couple, but all the side characters are so damn loveable that I just want to scream into the night about how I wish the best for all of them. It addresses the different issues and insecurities that the characters feel and makes them all feel real and well-rounded. This is probably one of the only mangas I would give a genuine 10/10. I'm SO serious when I say give this a read. I wish I could read this for the first time again. I felt like a changed person after reading it.

"Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!" by Yuu Toyota [MANGA, BL, OFFICE LIFE, FLUFF, ADULT ROMANCE, ONGOING] [WARNING: BRIEF EXPLICIT MENTIONS]

The title may seem extremely suspicious, but I promise you it's not what it seems. Adachi Kiyoshi, the MC, turns 30 years old and, because he's still a virgin, gains the power to read minds when he touches someone. When he accidently bumps into his handsome co-worker that everyone seems to love, he finds out he's got a crush on him!

I really love this manga because the romance feels genuine and, for a genre that doesn't seem to care about consent, takes the relationship slow and both partners respect and love each other! Consent is key!!

(Is there sex scenes? Yes. Are they brief and not super explicit?? Also yes!)

I highly recommend this for those who want to read a good BL manga but don't want to just read sex. Each character grows as a person (and the side couple is cute, too!)

A 10 out of 10 from me!! (+ there's an anime if any of you are interested!)

If you have any questions or want recs, don't be afraid to ask and I'll do my best to answer! Happy reading!

[hermit-searching]

TMNTposting, Michelangelo edition:

I still have favs, but I would love nothing more than to talk about the boy in orange. Michelangelo is such an interesting character, development-wise in the series. While Leos and Donnie's usually end up developing more negatively (like the emo breakdowns and all that) Michelangelo and Raph seem to always be the ones that make positive growth. And I love it. We love to see that here.

All Michelangelo's are pretty silly and goofy. They're the most laid back of all the turtles, mostly due to the "youngest brother" dynamic he has with the rest of the turtles, Rise being the most obvious one of all. With 87 Michelangelo, he's more of a chill party dude with an unyeilding optimism despite the circumstances in the later "Red Sky" seasons of TMNT 87. He's the only one of the turtles who genuinely still saw the good in things, and tried to revisit the old dynamic they had even though there was a massive hate campaign against them, and getting double mutated...among many other things. This dude, this little guy, was able to keep a steady girlfriend through all this which is insane (and adorable).

Some of the other cute things I remember about him is:

-he remembers their time being regular turtles.

-he normally sides with Leonardo whenever theres an argument (usually started by Donatello)

-the little alien star child in season 7 could have destroyed the planet but he still decided to be nice and comfort him anyways.

Also random fun factoid about the memory of being a regular turtle. Both he and Donatello or Raphael have mentioned before they spent half their life at the bottom of a glass bowl, in the pet shop. Which either implies they lived in a tiny fishbowl for a really long time, or they were really young when they mutated. The implication seems to lean more towards the latter, and the turtles mutated straight into being teenagers. It's entirely likely the 87 turtles are technically young kids stuck in the bodies of teenagers. Enjoy the nightmares thinking about that.

Now for 03 Mikey. I want to chefs kiss the writers because this series was when they started the "kinda annoying younger brother" trope for him, but somehow still managed to handle his development with absolute grace. The Battle Nexus arcs are some of my favorites in TMNT 03, personally. Both because I'm a sucker for 03 Leosagi, but also because they showed everyone just how smart Mikey can be, and that he is perfectly capable of handling a fight on his own. He's been named Battle Nexus champion, not once, but twice. The first time was more circumstance, but don't let that distract you from the fact he outsmarted Raph in a fight and still won the tournament.

And the second time? That time, he was cursed so any injury he sustained couldn't be healed and he still won! The second time was entirely on his skill and fighting alone and he won.

Despite rubbing it in his brothers faces, he genuinely didn't believe he was capable of winning the Battle Nexus tournament and I LOVE the writers for giving me that. 03 Mikey is a loveable menace.

fun things I love about 03 Mikey:

-he literally saves Klunk because he liked her vibes. on Christmas. good for him.

-despite how often they bicker, he's Raph's best friend.

-the whole thing about him (and his brothers) helping the homeless people in the Garbageman episode.

I don't really have much to say about 2012 Mikey tbh. He sure is a guy who exists. It is cool he survived in Dimension X for a few months on his own though. Good for him.

And finally, I'll leave the Rise ramblings to the other TMNT blogs out there. Because everything I say is something someone else definitely has before. And I mostly want to make these posts for the people out there who never watched the older TMNT series.

[elitadream]

Howdy! First things first I absolutely adore your art work and all you're designing of characters! Really inspired me to pick up my own pencil.

Now I am very sorry if this had been asked before but I was curious on what you'd think Yoshi (Mario's most loyal Dino) would be like in you're version of the Mario bros? There are a lot of cute and funny ideas I've seen with Yoshi, such as the Yoshi's islands games where he helps baby Mario find his brother.

I love the green dino alot and when I saw your design of a yoshi from the small comic with little Peach I was so so happy, especially with how cute it was. Sorry for such a long ask, hope you're having a wonderful day!

Omg, this is an amazing coincidence because I was planning on posting a new drawing when I received your ask, and it just so happens to feature Yoshi! 😄 (It's only a side concept though... You'll see what I mean! x3)

Oh but man, I really need to draw the loveable dino more often because he's honestly one of my favorite Mario characters. 🥺💕 I'm always happy to see him being included in the gang, be it as a playable character or supporting one. In my version, I imagine Yoshi to be extremely loyal towards Mario; not just as his mount, but as a legitimate companion and friend as well. Generally very docile and calm, but capable of being incredibly fierce if his human is in any apparent danger. 💥 The red Yoshi that I drew in my child Peach comic was a youngling, hence the smaller stature, but I imagine that adults can become quite big and grow to become rather imposing creatures. 👀

Thanks for the lovely feedback, and a wonderful day to you as well! 🤗🌼

[imsorryithurts]

OC introductions!

Hey, friends. Tomorrow the whumperless whump even ran by @whump-kia starts, and I have written for some prompts that'll be sharing!

I have seen people making introduction posts for their OCs, and I love it, because I was already thinking about how I could give context before every story without getting too repetitive...

So I'll try to cite my universes that are featured in this month's events, and their characters. Until now, they pretty much only lived in my head, so apologies if it's a bit confusing or all over the place!

SPACE

While playing a space themed TTRPG, I quite liked the dynamics between our characters. Since I didn't want to make fanfiction of other people's characters, I tried making this generic "space adventure" setting, slightly inspired by the characters relationships and dynamics.

If you play RPG with me and recognize anything here... Uhhhhh I'm sorry.

Roye: The captain of the team. Strong and cheerful, he may come off as a bit of a himbo, but is a capable leader, and friend.

Rex: The "loveable asshole". Ship mechanic, she has been friends with Roye for a long time, they had their first flight together, before he became captain. A bit butch.

Leo: The youngest of the team, trying to prove he's an adult and can be relied upon. If I'm being honest, I'm still figuring out what position he has on the ship, but he'd probably be good with communications, commerce and overall administration of the ship.

Isabella: Rescued from an escape pod from a destroyed ship, she became part of the team as an engineer and water systems specialist. Is overly nice, sometimes to the point of discomfort, but is wise and will always help.

Matt: The medic, hired after too many incidents in the ship without a medic. Secretly never finished any formal training, feels insecure about it, even after studying intensively on his own. Calm and collected.

Vaughn: I'm going to be honest. He's just there. I came up with him as a programmer, but then never did anything with him other than mention him in a few stories. Maybe I'll lean into it, making him part of the team, but in a cryptid "doesn't leave his office" way.

MECH: part of the same universe, and overlaps in the future. Only two developed characters so far.

Rose: Mech pilot. Really good at her job, really compatible with a bunch of implants and enhancement drugs. Unfortunately, that takes a strain in her body and mind. After quitting, she struggles with the lack of constant information input, and has to learn how to be a person again.

Lucas: Medic, currently specializing in treating mech pilots. Is Rose's friend, they were in the same class, but he quit the pilot program early on. He's a bit "more than just her friend", but Rose, while reciprocating his feelings, seems more invested on her mech.

------

Superhero:

I have more characters that have been in my mind for years, but for this month I pretty much wrote about only one:

Vittoria: Sarcastic and confident hero, with the power to see through solid objects. Is married to Claire, who has no powers.

------

Medieval fantasy:

I have not yet written my entries for this universe, so I can't be certain they'll show up, but I have scenarios that have been in my head for probably years at this point!

Very loosely based on DnD, because I forget the rules five minutes after reading them. More of a generic epic fantasy, with DnD elements, really. There are assorter characters that I haven't spent much time developing that I don't think I'll mention here.

-x-

Amiel: Forest elf, druid, who escaped a rich and confortable life to live in the woods. She learned magic when a human druid found her injured and took care of her, deciding to teach her along the way. Very quiet and reserved, can be impulsive.

Huran: Half orc warrior, Amiel's partner for quite a while. Strong, sweet and ambicious. This man has been in my mind for literal years and only today I realized I never named him. So he's Ukad now until further notice. Thanks fantasynamegenerators.com.

-x-

Mills: Milene Mill, a human alchemist who lost her home at a young age. An adventuring tiefling took her in, and she's been travelling with him ever since. As a teen, she had a bad accident that basically destroyed the left side of her body, and recovery was a long road. She's cheery, curious, studious and ambitious.

Salus: Rogue tiefling, found Mills when she was a child among the ruins of her town. He initially only wanted to escort her to a safe place, ended up being the reluctant father figure, later the very much willing father figure. (His name is also subject to change. I spent a while going back and forth on names for him).

[starmeadowsystem]

Nif-Point Moral Evaluation: Kirby :) (games)

Gonna start out with this lil guy as a test drive :)

Who is Kirby? What does he do?

Kirby from the Kirby franchise is a loveable lil guy who just likes sweets and friends. He is also a major hero known throughout all of Popstar. Now, this lil guy has 30 real life years of history behind him, so i think I'm going to go for a shorthand version of his actions.

The amount of times he saved Popstar from your wildest threats imaginable is... Well, quite a few, really. He killed Nightmare after (unintentionally) releasing him from his seal, he fought off Dark Matter three times in a row, he got betrayed by two separate characters (both of whom wanted power over Popstar, of course) and kicked both their asses, one time he went to fucking space and faced off against a cult and their dark god who threatened the entire universe. Actually, that wasn't even the first time he saved the universe: in Planet Robobot, he destroyed a being who attempted to kill all organic life. In Return to Dreamland, he faced off against a wizard who tried to conquer the universe, only to be assimilated by the artifact he used to take it over. What I'm getting at is that he's responsible for the safety of Popstar and the universe as a whole several times over.

But it doesn't even stop there- Kirby's also known for being a very good friend and a positive influence to others in general. The most notable example is King Dedede, a tyrant who stole all the food in Dreamland in the very first game, but had a change of heart once he had his ass beaten by Kirby and tried to do good in the next, albeit in a very roundabout way with no communication at all. In his most recent outing, King Dedede put himself in harm's way to save a single waddle dee fresh out of possession, and it's clear he wouldn't have done that without Kirby's influence. This isn't even the only case- Gooey was shaped by Kirby's love and attention, the villain of Return to Dreamland ended up regretting the harm he caused to Kirby, Taranza was able to stand up to Queen Sectonia because of Kirby, and there are probably a few other cases.

Kirby, due to all of this, is both very admirable and very simple. He's the hero. The good guy that you always play as, for good reason. Due to all this, I don't think I can say anything bad about him. There aren't any qualities that get in the way of his heroism (Kirby's Avalanche is NOT canon), he seems to understand the moral implications of his actions since he's happy when his friends are, and if Meta Knight and Galacta Knight are the same species as him then Kirby is technically also capable of being evil, meaning he does in fact have moral agency.

I. Don't really have much else to say on the matter tbh

Poster's Ruling: 55 (Pure of Heart)

[deweyduck]

ken anon here

i felt the exact same way!! i love barbie and i wanted to love this movie so much but i just... barbie would never make ken (or anyone) feel unappreciated. and ken would NEVER disrespect or hurt barbie in any way. there were moments i liked of course, but the characterization was so off. and unfortunately, the only people who seem to Not like this movie or the characters are asshole misogynistic men. it sucks cause i don't agree with what they're saying, but i do agree that the ken plot wasn't good (just not for the reasons they think).

like so much of ken's personality is him being a Genuine Nice Guy. he respects and loves barbie. he would never act like he's better than her or make her a servant or do anything that a Real Man would do. and like,, i feel like that was honestly the point of ken's creation? that an amazing woman like barbie did Not deserve a man who acts like a real world man. she deserves a person like ken who not only wants to see her flourish and be happy but actively helps her and supports her in doing that. both barbie and ken are supposed to be role models for kids and show how you're supposed to treat people. and ken especially was supposed to teach young girls and boys what a good man looks like. but now they're trying to say that this Perfect Guy For Barbie could actually become sexist and IS capable of hurting barbie?? like...

the idea that ken would ever treat barbie like shit is the exact antithesis of his character?? it's not about him Being A Man, it's literally just his personality. he's supposed to be the perfect man, just like barbie is supposed to be the perfect woman. i honestly felt like the messages of misogyny and feminism were actually weakened by greta gerwig's misinterpretation of ken because ken genuinely just wouldn't say or do any of that, even with the real world influencing him.

i'm sorry this is so long but i'm so happy to see another person who gets this. ken would not fucking say that.

once again spoilers and negativity under the cut

ken would not fucking say that!!!!!!

i'm honestly very surprised that mattel let them portray ken that way considering he's such a big part of their brand. and the current team working on the animations has done such a great job of making him so loveable.

ritesh rajan (the current voice of ken) has spoken a lot about how important ken has been for him, getting to portray a positive male role model for kids while also being allowed to bring his own culture and experiences to the character. and i really do believe it's important for little boys to see positive male characters who are feminist allies. i can imagine it must have been a little heartbreaking for him to see this character that means so much to him and that he's put so much of himself into being reduced to a misogynistic asshole.

and like i said in the last reply, i really hate the message that you can't be a strong feminist woman while still being in a relationship with a man.

i do think a much better plot would have been barbie and ken both learning about misogyny and then fighting it together. yes the patriarchy sucks but we can work together to make it a better place for all of us.

i hate that we have to be lumped in with the butt hurt sexist men when we say we hated the plot 😭 i am a feminist i just really love ken 😭😭😭

[freebooter4ever]

Just want to say that you are worthy of love and no I don't need to know you personally to know that that is true. I've known people who pull away as soon as you get close and then bother you once you stop paying attention. Its really painful, its not okay behaviour. Its probably part of the reason why you wonder if you are loveable. people who mindfuck or manipulate need to work on themselves first before ever being capable of loving others, and thats why they cant love the people theyre mindfucking. Sorry to send you a bunch of annoying advice but it hit home. I hope you're okay. Your art is great too. ♡

Not annoying at all <3 though I probably enjoyed that last sentence best ;)

I'm being too hard on nick - he and i have been doing this for...yikes over ten years now - we met thanksgiving 2013. Its not his fault that he never actually fell In Love in love with me and that he's the only person i've ever been truly in love with. Its just an imbalanced relationship with all the power on his side. I've seen him when he's really in love and he didn't do that hot/cold shit with her. So its definitely a specifically me thing. I still remember the feeling - when i first met nick - like suddenly the entire world made sense, and suddenly i understood why people could waste hours just perched on a rooftop deck kissing. I never wasted so much time until he came along. Anyway, that before/after change was a revelation, and i keep hoping that maybe one day i'd meet someone who does that again. Where i find out love can be even better than what i currently think it is and it happens with someone new.

But like i said its been a decade and it hasnt happened so at this point i think the chances are basically zero. I'll be okay, im used to being alone, i just complain a lot. And even though i might be broken for romantic love, i have a lot of friends, and i love them lots. Its just on the holidays they all have someone to spend it with...and i have a teddy bear, lol. and spiders.

Thank you for listening, and i hope your holidays aren't so lonely <3 <3 <3

[soapisahimbo]

No but for real let's talk about it! So many people think ghost, Konig, would be good partners when in reality they would not at all. with all the trauma they've been through. and this is coming from someone who grew up in that military environment. so I can say firsthand I have seen the worst of people come out, and how bad it gets, and heard stories of family, and friends, going through some of the most darkest of shit. like what ghost, Konig do. so like it's not all kittens, and rainbows like people think they would be. But at the end of the day I know it's fiction. as much as I would love them to be all happy, and snuggly, reality they wouldn't and I love writers who keep it real with them. and bringing out the realness, and the reality of the stuff they suffer when they're not on the battlefield.

Ps love your work! can't wait for the new stuff coming out keep it up 🖤

Thamk you, I'm so glad you enjoy it!

For sure! Not that they're not capable of love and affection, but if they were real people, they would need some serious therapy to be able to function properly in a relationship, ESPECIALLY Ghost. Soldiers in real life have to go through some horrendous things, sometimes even things they themselves have done or caused. PTSD is unfortunately not taken as seriously as it should be, in anyone really, and I've both seen and heard some truly heartbreaking stuff. Couple that with the whole fucking bullshit that is "men don't cry" and it's just a big mess.

Also Ghost and König, as funny and loveable as I can find them at times and as hilarious as I think the whole babygirlification-thing is, are probably the most terrifying people in the entire game. If I saw either of them running at me at full speed, I'd probably die from a heart attack on the spot before they ever reached me.

To be honest, I can understand why people write them the way they do, because let's be honest, we just want people who have been through hell to finally be happy, fictional or no. If only it was as easy as in the fics.

[eva-420]

You really are young still and will be for a while. Thirties is still young. Focus on improving yourself and not caring about romance and love will find you. Be a fun person who goes to concerts and dnd groups and you’ll get more things to say you do so eventually you’ll have stuff to talk about when you do meet someone. You’re very cute! Very loveable!

the thing is is that i am smart and fun and funny and i have good well formed opinions on a breadth of topics and i like talking to people. im actually clever and charming and fun if a little irritating to be around. i'm not putting myself down. i'm a complete person capable of giving and deserving of recieving love

that doesnt change that nobody i am interested in is interested in me, or that noone at all is interested in me. the only people who hit on me are desperate straight men and poly couples who cant seem to read "i am not poly" in all caps on every dating profile. i dont get approached in public

also sorry i know its well intentioned but i truly hate "stop caring about romance and it will find you". i have attained pretty much every one of the very moderate goals i have set for my life except a fulfilling relationship. it is a cornerstone of the future i want to build for myself and i get to be upset that it is difficult