#im not getting one specific streaming service for one show

[glacialmaples-pkmn]

are you telling me the only way for me to watch doctor who is on disney+???

god this is bullshit. im so happy i have every season/special on dvd there is no way im getting one specific streaming service for one specific show. i'd rather be spoiled by everything that happens and wait for a dvd release than do that.

[hezuart]

Don't watch then? If you're going to be disappointed no matter what then don't watch

I think some people don't realize that Helluva and Hazbin are capable of good writing, that they are capable of amazing animation, good songs, and ideas. They HAVE that stuff, they've done it before, and continue to do it, not as often as before, but there are diamonds in the rough. It's the execution and vast changes in direction that fall flat, that are not good because the direction is lost, interactions become contradictory, the story doesn't seem as complex... and from a fandom standpoint, a lot of people within a fandom write fics, comics, or draw art based off things they wanted to see more of in the show. AUs to twist a direction, explore different arcs, expand a character, showcase a potential relationship- all of which the show did not. Whether a show is super good or terribly horrible, out of hype or spite, it is still an inspiration.

[whorbidmore]

okay, so, I've fallen victim to the leon kennedy brainrot steadily overtaking me, following me from Tumblr to Pinterest, to Instagram and even the absolutely fucking dreaded application of TikTok. I don't even use it that often??? and the algorithm is just like 'wow, yeah, this little fuckers gay as hell send in the 40 year old meow meow!!' and having watched Death Island fairly recently, I'm gonna have my opinions on what this dude would be like. Cus my brain loves to rationalize shit and think ab 'what if this mf was someone real?' so... fuck it.

Leon Soft Kennedy Headcanons

SFW

accidentally bigoted. - im sorry but let's be so fucking real here. he's a 40 something year old man who spent the majority of his life in either the military, a police training academy in the 90's, or otherwise working under the U.S Federal System with minimal/no time between missions to unpack absolutely everything he's got going on... the guys gonna have some problematic tendencies. Obviously that doesn't mean he means any of that or is incapable of change, etc. etc., but I know for damn certain this dude would laugh a little at Bill Burr's borderline to blatantly misogynistic material and has probably chuckled unironically at the attack helicopter jokes. But, he's not a complete dick, and would definitely become more critical of those kinds of jokes if it's pointed out to him.

honest to God, Dad Without Kids™ - it's not simply enough for me to leave it at 'but it's the vibes!!' so, I'm gonna break this shit down. Leon is absolutely Gen X incarnate. I can fucking guarantee you that on his off days he accidentally ends up dressing as an undercover cop; I'm talking cargo shorts, light blue button up, those fucking standard issue boots cus "they're perfectly good shoes" and those stupid ass sunglasses... you know the ones I'm talking about. Let's say you're living with him, right? And you're... you, and you wanna watch something on TV. This dude would strain himself getting up like a turtle fallen backwards on its shell, stand up, walk right in front of the TV screen and stand there with his hands on his hips. It doesn't matter that he had to piss, he needs to get a better look of what's happening! Does those really loud, obnoxious coughs and sneezes, absolutely blows his back out doing one at least five times a year.

Only watches British Reality TV - Considering he's canonically a film buff, I'll say that this is purely for whatever he gravitates towards on general streaming services. I honestly don't see him being the type to regularly tune in to standard American cable TV, or only does so under specific circumstances like American Ninja Warrior or maybe Forged in Fire if there's absolutely nothing else. It's not something that's exclusive to Americans, — I'm from New Zealand and I do this too, — but Leon absolutely falls into the category of watching British Reality and Game shows purely because of the accents. I'm talking Jeremy Kyle, The Big Fat Quiz of Everything, Taskmaster, The Great British Bake Off and so on and so forth. It doesn't matter that baking isn't his forté or a passion of his, if Josephine curdles her buttercream by over mixing, his hands are in his hair in utter disappointment. 100% tries to mimic their accents too. We all do it, don't lie.

Has... very dated music tastes - I don't know if you could guess, but the last paragraph included me calling myself out and name dropping some shows I watch anyway or grew up watching, and I'm just saying that this is gonna be no different. If anything? This'll be worse! Since I'm very passionate about the music I listen to and have the inability to keep my interests separated from the other, of course my love of particular bands will bleed over into my interpretation of Leon's character! Anyway, all that for me to say that Leon fucking LOVES 90's grunge musicians, specifically Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, as well as early nu metal bands like Korn (their dubstep phase did not happen.), TOOL, and Rage Against the Machine — and no, he unfortunately doesn't see the irony of him being a fed and listening to Rage, — but would also have a soft spot for psych rock, post-punk and shoegaze. My man's definitely laid awake at night, sobbing without expression as he struggles to accept that Ada never really wanted him like he wanted her while listening to fucking Slowdive. My hottest take here is that he doesn't really listen to Deftones. Like he'll occasionally blast My Own Summer, Change, Bored or Rosemary, but anything outside of those? He just didn't listen to 'em. My second hottest take is that he does NOT like Slipknot, which kind of pains me 'cus I do, but I fucking bet you this dude would actually adopt one piece of "Gen Z lingo" or whatever just call them cringe. Though admittedly he would've been jamming the fuck out to Psychosocial and The Devil in I when they came out. Went off the deep end in Vendetta, obviously, and drunk-cried himself to sleep on the couch listening to Linkin Park.

Very confusing spending habits - On one hand, we all understand that Leon came from money, — he was implied to have been born into a mob family from my understanding? And I doubt he'd ever really had to worry about being fully, irrevocably broke, — but I'm sure that growing up in the U.S Foster Care System made him at least a little more cautious of where his money comes from, where it's going, what he's spending it on, etc. So, on the one hand, he's apprehensive to spend recklessly, particularly on perishables. But also, if he can drop over $100,000USD on a motorcycle that got absolutely fucking cheese grated into the road, and spend a perceived, metric fuck ton of money on designer leather jackets and massive watches, it's gonna be hard for me to call him 'financially conscious'. On one hand, he gets apprehensive on spending more money than he needs to on food since he's "just gonna shit it out later", but if he sees a cool watch or a nice suit in a shop window? Money's suddenly not an issue! Not because he's materialistic, but because the one thing he really maintains a sense of control over in his life are his possessions and the way he dresses. The D.S.O can call him in for another months long mission whenever they please, and all he can realistically do is allow the government to tug on his leash and put him where he's needed. He may as well spend their money on things he wants!

Gets out... enough? But also, not really? - So, personally I've pegged Leon as more of an introverted person, — amateurly typed his MBTI as possibly ISFJ? — so he doesn't really feel the need to go out and meet new people or really hang out with anyone. If somebody invites him out? Sure, he'll go. Otherwise, it rarely occurs to him to meet up with friends or colleagues at a cafe or anywhere. I think he'd prefer to just go there alone, mostly for the sake of having somebody else cook for him as opposed to actively seeking out the atmosphere. It's pure convience in his mind. And remember when I said in the beginning about him accidentally being at least a little misogynistic? Yeah, that was me trying to say that he regularly tries to hit on younger waitresses. Not because he actually wants anything to do with them, but simply because it's an ego boost. He likes that he can make girls half his age blush or offer him their numbers, because it tells him that he's still desirable, and ultimately, that gives him the power to reject them politely and go about the rest of his day. If they don't reject him first, of course. Admittedly, Leon's audacity towards women peaked during Infinite Darkness.

Since I'm planning on posting more NSFW headcanons for this guy, — and more NSFW kinds of posts, — here is the obligatory Minors DNI attachment. For your own safety, I don't care if what I have to say is tame so far, you can hold it off I promise.

[n7punk]

i know probably no one here gives a shit about it or listening to me specifically talking about it but i watched a great video on the watcher situation and i have thoughtsssssss so im going to spew them into the ether

tldr watcher (the former buzzfeed unsolved + worth it boys after they split from bz) did a big hype countdown for their fans... to them announcing they were launching a "streaming service" and paywalling all their content - present and PAST - behind it for 6$ a month. they totally shit on their fans saying anyone could afford it (i cant - or at least i wont for the value to me) and then they gaslit us and said it was never the plan to remove the past content even though they say it in the video and it was in the fucking variety article that launched along with the announcement.

anyway, what kind of surprises me is everyone comparing this to dropout (and now try guys) when there's another example of this that is even more relevant right now and it's roosterteeth, which is only relevant right now because they just went bankrupt. and imo, there's absolutely no comparison in value (however you feel about the content) between dropout/roosterteeth and watcher.

size: rt had a massive cast, dropout seems to have a decent amount too (only familiar with game changer, sorry). try guys has a few core members, true, but over the last few years they've been trying to diversify, bring more people in over a few videos to test the waters, and then they invested into new shows with those faces when creating their lineup for the streaming service. watcher is three guys. oh sorry four now they brought andrew on for the worth it clone 🙄 i hated that guy at buzzfeed and i hate him now lol

bloat: try guys started with a few employees working out of ned's old house and grew organically. dropout cut down significantly when they broke from college humor and budgeted until they could afford to hire more. roosterteeth started in a spare bedroom and then slowly grew into larger and larger offices over time. watcher immediately bought a massive office space in LA and then jumped to an even larger one, with 25 employees when most shows could probably be done with half as many people that end up credited! 25 employees and you upload once or twice a week if that?? that means one video has to pay for 25 people to live that week, in addition to business expenses. they want to be a large production company, so they're acting like they are without making the output or doing the research.

youtube presence: rt still uploaded most things to youtube, my understanding is dropout still posts as well, and try guys is planning to keep all their current shows on youtube, just on a schedule delay like rt did. all services have stuff exclusive to their service, but that's new, extra stuff that serves as a value-add. watcher was just going to abandon every fan that didn't pay for their service, and even after the backlash the delay is a MONTH? for rt it was just a week!

platforms: try guys is launching with the site, phone apps, and even a roku tv app! roosterteeth had an app too and dropout has phone/roku apps. watcher is launching with a single website in beta. it's a money-hungry patreon, not a streaming service with a diverse lineup of shows. calling it a streaming service is ludicrous to me.

(apparently the fan theory is that watcher caught wind of the try guys launching their own streaming service and tried to jump the gun to get ahead of them, but by god did they fumble that)

frequency: if you were a fan of one person at roosterteeth, as long as they were the main cast member of something, it was likely you could tune in to a new episode of something with them in it twice a week, sometimes every day, multiple times. like, it's insane watcher thinks they have the amount of content to justify this. and remember, roosterteeth failed! obvs it worked for a long time and there's warner bros being eager to pull the plug to contend with (not to mention the alleged embezzlement?) but youtubers should be really fucking cautious right now. try guys is launching with a catalogue of new shows they've been silently producing alongside their usual content for a year! that's the way to do it right

paid events availability: try guys used to have ticketed flagship liveshows that are all being added to the new streaming service. if you were the kind of fan who wants to go to all those, you might even save money. roosterteeth also had events like this that were exclusive to paid subscribers. watcher doesn't have anything comparable.

goodwill: i would argue this was a big contributor to why roosterteeth finally went bankrupt with all the trust (and good memories too!) lost in the scandals. dropout fans seem to be really proud of the company and how its run (i heard they're like, the only streaming service to offer residuals? thats so cool). the try guys went through their own scandal and only came out with a stronger bond with their fans for how quickly they acted (a few were lost, but my final impression in the end was we all gained respect for how they handled it). the try guys have talked about taking paycuts as the ceo to fund all this production! meanwhile watcher brags about how large their production is without ever justifying why they need it. related:

tonedeafness: supposedly the streaming service is to pay for high production value. no one is really buying that. the company is bloated and mismanaged, but the real thing was them launching a worth it clone. don't get it twisted, every ceo, part-owner, etc is to blame for this, not just the face of worth it, but no fan who is bankrolling the show themselves wants to watch someone else eat luxury food. people liked that when it was a grift on buzzfeed, not on them.

this is completely subjective but i watch three shows on watcher (unsolved, puppet history, and mystery files) and i'd have to be making 4x my salary for me to be willing to pay 6$ a month for three shows no matter how much i like them. like, i'm not paying 6$ for try guys either, but watcher being so focused on having "shows" and "seasons" makes it really easy to point to how little i really watch there versus try guys which has a big variety of stuff not tied to a specific show name. i never think about "which shows" i watch on try guys.

idk i just think roosterteeth's goliath cast and output still burning out should be brought up more when talking about (the comparatively) little 3 million subscribers watcher trying to launch their own "streaming service" when there's a pretty good cautionary tale right now - well, two when you consider how this went down lol

[pixelephant]

ok long ass paragraphs of nuance time

so i totally get why watcher has made this decision, running a creative business on youtube is difficult because algorithms are fickle and views are SO obviously geared towards just when shane and ryan specifically are in content. they can’t branch out into new ventures and cast members and ideas without taking a huge monetary risk of if people will actually watch the damn thing. so streaming gives them that opportunity because no matter the viewership, they still get that income.

but on the other hand, the lack of diversified content is exactly why im hesitant to pay money for the service. there’s just not much there outside of shane and ryan led shows. don’t get me wrong, love their stuff! but if i’m paying for a service, i’d prefer it to be something i can go to for a variety of things.

it’s a catch 22 imo, can’t diversify without the money, can’t get the money without the content they know gets them the views, and so it goes back and forth ad nauseam. personally, i can’t see myself immediately paying for it, but maybe in a few months time when they have that freedom to actually change up their roster i’d be more interested

okay shifting gears, not to be the guy that compares this to rooster teeth and dropout but im gonna be because people are picking one or the other to support their own argument and its bothering me. "rooster teeth proved this method doesn't work!" not true, they shut down because they were owned by warner brothers, a big media conglomerate that doesn’t care about restructuring something to make it work, only dollar signs (while also not exactly being well known for being the best at handling their money). i still think rt could’ve continued to exist in a different capacity if they had never sold to wb (and didn’t have so many scandals) but i guess we’ll never know.

“dropout proves that this system works!” also not true they offer VERY different kinds of content (game shows, story based stuff like d20, pure improve comedy, etc.) from what watcher is doing, they are not a one to one. also as good as they’re doing now, they’re still kind of recovering from the verge of bankruptcy, trying things out, seeing what works. the system itself is not a guarantee for success.

all this to say i get why some people hate this decision. it’s yet another subscription based service to pay for in a media landscape that is frankly too rife with them. it makes things once free now costly. it puts exciting content behind a paywall that some people genuinely cannot afford.

but the people making the exciting content need stable jobs. the company needs a consistent cash flow to be able to pay their employees and continue making cool and interesting things. they can’t rely on the fickleness of youtube views, algorithm changes, and third party sponsorships at the pace they’re going (which is also part of the problem, they grew to fast and honestly set too high a standard of content from the jump for how early into the company they are but hey let’s not go on yet another tangent).

i think the announcement as a whole could’ve been more successful if it wasn’t hyped up ahead of time and/or if it was a more gradual shift to paid shows than a ripping of the bandaid. i also think essentially saying anyone can afford it for $5/month is a bit insensitive so now people are just grasping onto that instead of discussing the reasons for the change. but saying, “a majority of your audience is broke college students this isn’t the move!” isn’t gonna help or change their decision. i’m sorry but they don’t care. companies are not your friends.

[tht0nesimp]

sexy slut 👑 give yandere feitan ick right now you hoe/pos <3 🥰😍😤

whatever you hot ass bitch 🙄

cw: torture, mentions of eye torture, feitan is so icky and mean, gross ig, fear of being killed, reader is kind of a cry baby according to fei

Feitan has so many icks, his obvious inability to talk to anyone even if he really does love someone is a pretty obvious one. Even when he does choose to actually talk to you? its more than likely about some form or technique of a torture he has performed/heard about

He doesn't always mean to be so mean or quiet-even if he does love when you get uncomfortable and tense up around him- He really does want you to be able to relax around him- But, he would also rather swallow a phillips head screw-driver than tell you he enjoys being around you, he cant stand the idea of using the L word....love

Can you blame him? He grew up without an official identity, parents, or any advantages.

Another ick of feitans is that-He doesnt mean to be rude- But his compliments are...strange? It can range from just telling you that you have beautiful eyes, hed love to keep them, to cutting off a small piece of your hair randomly. Of course, he hasnt even considered that the reason you immediately cover your eyes after the keeping them comment is because of something he was doing wrong! He doesnt get it, he tries to be less creepy if your really nice about it, but it normally just makes it go from "Your nails are pretty, theyd look good on a necklace" To "Your nails are pretty, im going to keep you here forever" All in all, its a mere game of picking your poison whether it be threats of taking body parts or promises of eternity in his musty old basement

How could i forget, his...oversharing about his job can be rather unpleasant to anyone who isnt, y'know, a full blown sadistic torturer. Never watch any show/movie with a torture scene unless you want him to demonstrate on his next job, or he might show you a video of his doing it on recording it as a "joke" and he will probably just laugh sadistically if you push away or flinch at a specifically gruesome part

He might even pry your eyes open....While talking about maybe making that comment about keeping your eyes a reality....Just kidding! Hes not gonna kill you, he still doesnt get why your crying? Hes letting you blink- In his eyes- enough. Your such a baby, its just a video!

Lucky for you, its only about 10min long! He turns on some movie he stalked you while you watched it just so happens to know is one of your favorites....Dont worry about getting punished for the little freak-out, if anything, he might just buy you some subscription to a streaming service as a little joke back at you!

All in all, he is icky, a torturer, but buys you netflix every month from that point forward and maybe poke your eyes

[moss-sprouted]

the reason roosterteeth worked for so long, and the reason dropout Still works is that they have free content as well as paid content, and dropout has a huge backlog and had years of content under its belt before it launched the dropout service, and again still has its own free content on youtube which is more accessible to more people and which allows them to get bigger and bigger by people seeing their content more often and they have one specific very good show they put a lot of focus and effort into, as well as many other great and magnificent shows worth the 6 dollar price

i dont think watcher has that, i only watch it for puppet history and barely anything else, and i know some of their others are great but i really dont think them completely leaving youtube will bode well for them at all, it can be very hard for people to even access a separate streaming service especially cause there is already SO many we have to split our money to

i think we're gonna see their downfall really fast and im really nervous for them

[hopepunkhealer]

Hey hey hey!! Ghostflower!!

On the topic of physical media, for that debate, if it ever comes up again, tell your teacher that when they get married (or imagine the wedding they already had). The DJ they hired shows up. Their entire system is built on streaming because it’s accessible and the easiest way to get into DJing anymore.

But uh oh. The service isnt great. Or they forgot to download something to play offline. Or the wifi is being weird. Or they were planning on using spotify and suddenly spotify changed their terms of service and wont function as a third party service for DJ equipment (cause that actually happened). So now the DJ you hired doesnt have access to many songs, let alone the ones that you requested for specific moments. So now what? Without physical media, your wedding is out of luck.

The point is, just because the majority of people dont use it regularly, doesnt mean its not something that other people dont need. DJs *need* to be able to make and use physical media. Im sure there are more professions that need it too. But if you want your wedding to go smoothly (music wise) you should 100% have a DJ that has physical media at least as a back up.

(Using weddings as an example cause that tends to be the end all be all event for a lot of people that they always want to go perfect - same could be applied to any event you hire a dj for)

- @safety-pin-punk

my teacher was on my side of the argument, it was my classmates who were against it.

it started because we brought up music streaming, and I mentioned if you lose the account you bought music through or streamed through, you lose that music, and one particular classmate told me I was wrong (her favourite thing to do, mind you), and that streaming services are a perfectly fine way to do music. and yes, spotify is quick, its convenient, etc. but the example I had was ITunes, specifically the fact that my mum lost hundreds of dollars of music when apple switched from Itunes to apple music, because she doesn't use apple anymore and couldn't sign anything in.

classmate and i then went back and forth for another 10 minutes and classmate finding some kind of counter for every single (what I thought were good) argument I made.

but either way, my general statement in most things, is that physical media is so important, not only because of the "it means you own it" argument, but also for media preservation. so many streaming services just take down shows or movies or music just to clear server space, and it means there is more and more lost media.

like think ahead in your life if you have young kids in your life (be that students, friends kids, family, etc) and you want to show them what you were like as a kid/teenager/young adult/etc, one of the best ways to do that would be pictures in a photo album where yes, something could happen to that photo album, so its a good idea to keep back up copies online anyway, but having that solid tangible picture is so special.

[echolocati0n-art]

my dsmp , qsmp , empires , hermitcraft, etc headcanons because im insane

when c!puffychu are cuddling sometimes c!niki has to come up for air because c!puffys hair is just like, very curly/wool like and in the summer they have to turn on the ac to max, very nice in the winter tho

katherine would own a motorcycle but specifically in season 2 of empires and it would be painted half pink with glitter and the other side black with spikes

c!fundy makes a contraption where c!phil is able to use his wing again, that plus the syndicate helping him do physical therapy, he is able to fly again

the dream smp did not end badly fuck that ending they all live happily ever after

life series pearl tends to pick her nails a lot/bite them and tends to have a lot of bandaids on her hands, especially after the events of double life it got so much worse, in limlife, she kept doing it and big b would help bandage her hands and when he noticed her doing it, would give her a stick of gum or something to chew on + distract her or even they would paint eachothers nails

A CHEW TOY AHAHAHA werewolf pearl agenda

froggy is liml!pearl's PTSD ESA 👍

c!fundy is transmasc and c!quackity once had a lot on his mind and c!fundy happened to be shirtless, he saw the top surgery scars and was like "who did this to you", he still gets made fun of for it

avians (grian , jimmy, whoever else with fanon wings idk im too tired) cannot fly in the life series as the watches make their wings smaller to stop them from having an advantage / flying away but they can glide down hills and short distances, if they panic whilst falling they cant catch themselves

shelby and oli are swifties

in empires s1, both scott and xornoth have trouble walking through doors because of their antlers. Like xornoth will be chasing someone or something then he just hits the doorframe with a CLANG or scott will be trying to get outside and he just gets stuck and has to get someone to free him

speaking of those antlers my own hc is that when scott found the book in that tomb, he went from a regular elf to having the antlers and like deer ears / deer hybrid thing, during his elsa arc he shed them / he sawed them off because he felt he wasnt worthy but they grew back and sometimes have icicles hanging off them

jimmy hates the crust on sandwiches in all universes

c!purpled and c!punz are brothers, or at least sort of, c!purpled is an alien who crash landed on earth at like 5 years old and tiny 10 year old c!punz found him and they became very close, c!punz taught him earth culture

i loved that hc of lmanburg having a different language and using it to communicate and their own culture and such, for some reason I very much imagine it as french

no one speaks it anymore but when frustrated or excited you may find former members of lmanburg using it / they have slight accents

c!schlatt banned them from speaking said language so c!niki used it to spite him specifically

c!niki also shouldve lost a life during that festival she was beat to death by c!ponk under order of c!schlatt WHY ISNT THAT CANON!!

Tallulah loves the movie Tarzan and q wilbur really regrets showing it to her because. gorilla

qsmp has access to tv streaming services and the internet, chayanne and bobby love action movies but q phil chooses what he watches very carefully, tallulah and richarlyson are OBSESSED with bluey, dapper loves nature/informative documentaries, leonarda and ramon i feel would be a huge fan of nickelodeon, tilin used to love peppa pig, juanaflippa preferred to read

bobby has adhd because i said so he is a little ball of insanity

jaiden with the conure wings you already know

cellbit drinks an insane amount of high caffeine coffee, he started to have heard palpitations from it. The other portugese speaking people had an intervention

forever gives me ashfur vibes idk with the i love you philza you broke my heart

hcs9 impulse forgets to sleep because hes underground / inside a lot and doesnt see the sun, when he stays awake purposely to get work done gem and/or pearl will march him to the nearest bed and sit there until he is asleep

there were times where scott didnt feel safe at home because of xornoth so he would sleep in other empires, he felt safest in the cod empires because of jimmy (not because jimmy was strong but because gay people)

same with shrub, she would often end up in the overgrown napping in katherines castle

gem and fwhip are identical twins but it's impossible for there to be opposite gender/sex (?) identical twins so basically: transfem gem

thats it for now i am eepy but hope you all enjoy

[tinylittlecubby]

In the following possibly concerning for my psychiatric health rant , I will be covering what the actual definition of parasocial is, the function and normalness of regular parasociality, why some mediums invite stans more than others and what would need to change to eradicate stan culture. Im unfortunately just someone with an internet connection and im writing this on mobile so if any degree of understanding in regards to those facts can be maintained I would be very grateful!

1) i would rather do a flip off the bellagio instead of meet any of the people who's art/content I consume I just want to say that first

1b) however I have participated in fandom since I was literally 7 years old so I know way too much about fandoms in general and also parasociality.

2)the partition between social worlds is an illusion. If it happens in one place it happens in another. People putting artists on a pedestal and then tearing them down is something that also happens in arenas outside of popular culture like the sciences and in peoples very own homes. Uniqueness of circumstance is rare and the breadth of human capability in terms of horror and beauty is present no matter the field.

3) Parasocial relationships have an actual psychological function (more on this later) Because of the term 'relationship' and the cultural baggage around that term it is assumed that it is something that is purely done outside of the bounds of the time it takes to consume the media. Even the term caring is loaded more than it should.

Art and media should push us to care and ultimately, a parasocial relationship is JUST caring about a subject ( like a person or object or idea) BUT they/it LITERALLY can not care about you back due to lack of knowing SPECIFICALLY you.

Off of that definition that is why in order for media to be effective a parasocial relationship has to exsist. It makes sense to care about one character over another depending on how a film is written, and this state/relationship of caring last the duration of the film.

That feeling of caring about the character can persist beyond the literal duration of the film due to how emotionally moving it could've been however I find that for films most people do not continue that state beyond the literal duration of the film (in terms of fantasies about the character as I dont find that there are many fanfictions for example about movies -unless they have been made into TV shows as well- etc), due to it being one of the shorter mediums today both in the media itself and the promotion cycle/exposure to the people involved, which is why I picked movies.

I want to make that distinction cause people often say we need to eradicate parasocial relationships altogether and I dont think they understand that parasocial is a sociological term that was coined in 1956/57 and has an extremely long history OUTSIDE of social media. And if the term was coined then that means the phenomenon was going on prior.

Also, films are fake. Literally everyone knows this, no one gets mad at anyone for saying that cause we all know this. However films, when the term was coined, were seen as THE medium that facilitated parasocial relationships (in the sense i described above in terms of the duration of the film, rather than the sense that is used now in terms of being a stan)

And about movies being fake and maybe that being why people stan actors less (sometimes def not all the time)

A) the amount of films and TV shows that try and use this narrative to go far beyond actors zone of consent ìs one of THE main problems with the entertainment industry. They are real people doing fake things but they are still people first.

B) i personally believe that it is in a streamers best interest to create a degree of a character to be on stream (can be a genuine persona or just to the degree of customer service agent. Aint nobody their god damn selves when being a customer service agent but they also aren't not being themselves. If you know you know.) So they too are in an arena of fakeness as well. This lack of understanding is why they constantly have to tell their audience "bro i don't know you AND you don't know me"

4a)and in regards to the statement that I made in terms of parasocial relationships having to exsist, I'm saying that with finances/politics/sociology in mind. There is a business theory in the arts that if you have 1000 true fans (defined as someone that will buy ALL of your merch, concert tickets,will listen to 90% of your music and genuinely enjoy, talk about the music to their friends to get them to like it as well etc etc) you can make your art on your own terms and consistently from a financial stand point. However, that kind of consumer is the exact type that participates in the parasocial relationship outside the duration of the medium and can take them to stan town. And record labels know this, that is why pop music lyrics are the way they are and even when they aren't romance oriented they still market the artist to be as 'authentic' as possible so the development of the parasocial relationship can continue outside the literal duration.

4b) in terms of the psychological function of parasociakity I would read into how children develop relationships with their toys. During active play it is developmentally normal for the child to act as if the toy can react back to the child's own affect/actions, that's why children will talk to or feed etc their toys. Outside of active play sometimes the child will mention the toy (usually in terms of requesting for it to begin active play OR talking about it like they are a friend and saying to a parent "do you think Bella would like this dress?" And the parent knows they are talking about the toy and would respond in kind and maybe they buy the little dress to dress up the toy (think of build a bears model of the type of inventory they sell) it is also common that if they are playing with a sibling or a friend and the other child is being rough with the toy the main child will use language such as "you are hurting them!" suggesting the child believe that the toy can feel literal pain the same way they can (because they are a literal child duh)

A child being able to show the capacity to communicate, empathize, emote and respond to stimuli the object may provide back (like if its a talking to) is absolutely MAJOR and is used in clinical studies during neurological testing in children literally all the time. And if you as an adult were to go up to a child and start berating them for this dynamic pal....you yourself got problems.

This is one of the many types of ways that children learn how to socialize and it happens concurrently with other types of learning in terms of interacting with peers, adults that may use language they dont know but helps them build they own language tool kit etc etc. It is absolutely NOT to be seen as the ONLY type of socializing. That is horrifying and I dont know what the hell would happen if it was literally the only type of socializing a child or even an adult would be receiving (also I dont know how that would literally happen either like do they live in the woods with literally no one else around??)

I say all of this to say that parasociality should NOT be demonized because doing so would be inconsistent with the overall cultural narrative about being social animals. If we are social animals then it makes sense that parasocialism exists. UNHEALTHY!!!!!!!!!!!!! parasocialism ABSOLUTELY needs to be extinguished i am not fighting anyone on that at all. Being a legit stan is VERY VERY SCARY! and I dont mean arguing about charting stan I mean hacking airport security cameras stan (if you know you know unfortunately)

My personal hesitation in terms of putting hope into this changing though is we would need to do the following

Reduce the social capital tied to perceived authenticity

Remove profit motives tied to artists being accessible

Eradicate amanormativity

Build safe,accessible and thriving third spaces

Invest in psychiatric infrastructure and resources

Create a healthy culture that supports the notion that individuality and interdependence can exsist at the same time

Eradicate misogyny

Eradicate ageism

Eradicate racism

Eradicate classism

Eradicate ableism

Eradicate whorephobia (BIG ONE!! the amount of female/non binary stans that are wild about their targets because they feel like its the only safe place they can express their sexuality via fanfiction, fan erotic audios (which is new and the audio stuff i dont know too much about but its something I'm seeing more and more)amongst other things is a proportion that is tooooooo high!

And the list goes on and on and on honestly

(Added this poll on accident because I'm on mobile and it won't erase oooppss)

I dont know if any of this made sense I feel like I just blacked out and I'm coming to but yeah yell at me if you like or ignore this its just my thoughts about parasociality and the like okay byyeeeeee

[wtfgaylittlezooid]

srry if this is a weird question but what batman stuff would you recommend to someone with no real prior knowledge of it? followed you bc of kirby knowing nothing about batman but it looks like a lot of fun and ive considered getting into it. im not sure where to start with it though. do you have any favorite stuff thats like. "oh if you're new to the franchise you GOTTA check x out first"?

The best thing about Batman is it has absolutely no consistency. Really the characters tend to change depending on the writers and artists. So go apeshit! I got into it by getting sick and binging every Scarecrow comic i could find online in my brief periods of consciousness LMAO

Also keep in mind I am still very much bullshitting my way through Batman and DC in general EFGUIEWWEF

But the ones I would recommend aka the ones i started with:

The Long Halloween

13 Issues. One of the most iconic Batman stories, and one of my personal favorites. Specifically it centers around Harvey Dent, Carmine Falcone, and Batman all trying to identify stop a killer called "Holiday" from offing another member after member of Gotham's biggest crime family.

The art is absolutely gorgeous and captures tone perfectly. It also showcased a handle of the Batman rogues on the side and is REALLY fun trying to guess who the killer is alongside the characters. It also has a sequel: Dark Victory!

Here's the link to read it

Batman: The Audio Adventures

This is my personal favorite Batman media. It's an official podcast focused on the 60s Batman! Which means its a lot goofier than a most of current Batman.

It's a dark comedy podcast, but don't let that fool you. It knows when to take itself seriously, and features a small handful of the Batman Rogues! Also my favorite detail is that it takes the guise of a radio show- complete with fake ads that hold foreshadowing and funny gags! It does a great job of capturing the chaos of Gotham with the constantly interchanging multiple storylines, but keeping it understandable.

Also this podcast is entirely free. You can find the entirety of it on Youtube, HBO Max, and Spotify.

Arkham Series

If you prefer video games or playthroughs instead of comics, I highly recommend the Arkham games! There's Arkham Origins, Arkham Asylum, Arkham City, and Arkham Knight. They all have VERY interesting and well done versions of the characters and are a blast to play.

I recommend starting with Arkham Asylum, since its the first released of the games and is much easier to jump into than the others, imo. You basically play as Batman dropping off Joker to the asylum as usual, but everything goes wrong and ends with all the inmates taking control of the Asylum, leaving Batman to uncover Joker's newest plan and fighting through the Asylum hes been trapped in.

Arkham Asylum is normally $20 on Steam, but it has a free demo you can play. Also the games tend to go on sale pretty often and you can usually get the whole series for less than $10

Batman: The Animated Series

I have to recommend this one. It is the most iconic Batman media and has done so much for the characters and series. It's a fun series with lovely animation and surprisingly heartfelt episodes.

It has some of my favorite interpretations of the villains and one of my personal favorites of Batman! It doesn't pretend Bruce Wayne is heartless and beats the shit out of criminals for the hell of it. It's a great watch!

You can watch it on HBOMax with a subscription, but since streaming services are a parasite, you can also find it on PrimeWire.

[cavewretch]

nostalgic absurdism, a media (crit?) list

this black eyed peas music video that came out in 2023 is my thesis statement for this entire concept please watch it i could write a whole paper just about this video. the dead eyed stares of every performer. the star wars font. the lyrics dripping in so much party language it hurts. the "i feel so alive" delivered so incredibly lifelessly. the chorus being "dont worry about a thing, because everything's gonna be alright". it's black eyed peas, shakira, and david guetta giving you the shallowest most haunting memory of 2014 you could imagine. it's phenomenal. oh and aliens. shakira suddenly becomes the leader of the alien dance team but now she has blue eyes. the black eyed peas are abducted at the end. please watch it i beg

ok anyway on to the list (ongoing so this post will continue to be updated) (feel free to send suggestions 🫶)

i have two spotify playlists for this that i made a couple years ago. i stopped using spotify last year so they aren't updated but here is RECE$$10N and Pandemic Era - Nostalgic Absurdism .

song special mentions from those playlists:

save by nct127 - the samsung memory card ad campaign sponsored futuristic-with-some-plants-music-video kpop party song

bo burnham's inside (i am not talking about him as the media-criticizer, i am arguing his special is of this era? moment? itself. im putting him here as a critique)

any song that goes viral on tiktok

most musicians that come out of tiktok

any official sped-up version release (not youtube nightcore)

any covid-themed special release (songs with titles like socialdistancing, new normal, lockdown, etc) . i believe that we will win by pitbull which takes the american government's approach of "viruses are an entity capable of morality and this evil enemy is combatable" . other insane songs: you are the champions (queen/adam lambert, for Health Workers), masks, gloves, soap, scrubs (todrick hall, also for Health Workers)

old groups coming together to make new music in the face of "these trying times" aka jonas brothers, big time rush, abba, etc

hear me out. the 2022 minions sequel soundtrack especially turn up the sunshine diana ross/tame impala

non-music:

fashion trends (90s 80s 2000s 2010s)

every remake reboot sequel prequel of the last 10 years (star wars etc)

marvel movies

streaming services for everything

shows/movies being filmed for clipability and vertical phone screens

stranger things

minions meme resurgence (this was happening in 2022 on twitter)

old meme resurgence in general (i saw a troll face one recently) (sure it's done in the post-post-post ironic way but it still has trollface)

d&d resurgence (something something methods of theater/storytelling adapting to the social climate)

playlist updates (since i stopped using spotify)

3d country by geese

ogoin & linguini: tv show (this is brasil specific i don't get all the references myself but it's fun to listen to)

only god was above us by vampire weekend

raw data feel & mountainhead by everything everything

january never dies by balming tiger

two night by tierra whack

gangsta by free nationals, asap rocky, & anderson .paak

mos thoser by food house,

>something something nostalgia as a tool / umberto eco ur-fascism

growing up online a neighbor to this line of thought

[bejaeyoung]

hello everyone!

this is velvet (beyuwol) with a second muse!! sorry for the incredibly late intro i have no excuse (got and started my first 9 to 5 job after i sent my reserve in so that was perfect timing all around!) so i will just continue on with introducing my new guy.

he’s song jaeyoung jay! pls call him jay he’s trying to get rid of his name as a whole LMAO. and because i haven’t finished his pages underneath the cut i’ll have a few tidbits about him plus plot ideas. woo!

what do they always say? right! LIKE THIS POST if you’d like to plot and i’ll cha cha slide right into your ims. i also have discord / twitter upon request so feel free to ask for those too. on with the circus show!

TRIVIA

born to politicians who have gotten used to using what influence they have for their own favours and he grew up in a rather toxic household

his sister is hannaxbe and he’s the only one he loves under that roof, would fight lions for her

grew up to be a reckless and impulsive child. his parents can’t be assed to figure out how to parent so they’d often drop him off at their family friend’s orphanage because they thought he would learn something from being around other children

ended up loving being there more than he does at home. would go along with them to charity performances, would grow up loving to perform for the children, that’s where he fell in love with music as a whole really

parents are still terrible politicians, they’d try to hone his skills so he’d look like the perfect child but he refuses to join any of their corrupt companies and kept up with charity performances (which they let him because it ‘makes the family look good’ but that pisses him off too)

currently a criminal justice major even tho his parents want him to be a politician too

became an underground producer called PROD. J! would have loved collabing with people and even being a ghost writer for anyone tbh. tho the latter he would be picky about

is also a vtuber on youtube! has a separate channel for that. sometimes he uploads song covers too, but it’s mostly a gaming channel. there’s a specific date where he uploads song covers tho

his vtuber vibes would be mostly like watarai hibari or claude clawmark both from njsj if you know them

his brain runs 10 miles per hour and he likes making people laugh even though he looks like an emo boy and refuses to cut his hair

would also draw notes on walls and floors if he’s suddenly hit with inspiration so there’s that too. dwbi

may come off as arrogant at times… he doesn’t mean to be sometimes he just talks

he’s… kinda lonely but never acknowledges that!!!!

wears headphones wherever he goes

PLOT IDEAS

friends he might have made from the orphanage!

in that same vein ^ childhood friends. the only ones who still call him jaeyoung probably lol

gaming friends/streamer friends that he would’ve collabed with as a vtuber

people who might have commissioned his underground producer services, he could ghostwrite too tbh

people who watches his vtubing streams and figured out that the weirdo drawing on walls is the guy behind the model LMAO

highschool friends! would’ve known his identity as underground producer & vtuber from the get go

trainee friends that he can bother and convince to sneak out and let loose and have a bit of fun training isn’t all there is to life!

well he’s kind of annoying so i’m sure there will be people out there who don’t click with his rather eccentric vibe… but might wanna work with him solely for his music capabilities?

someone who thinks he’s wasting his potential by being a… weirdo

someone who might’ve caught him in one of the charity performances and oh! he’s not that bad…? thought he was just like his infamous parents!

someone who knew him from his family name / thru fancy events / nepobaby connections. could be negative or positive!

he can play the guitar & piano/keyboard too for those who wanna have jam sessions!

flings. would be kinda messy only bc jay is a messy bitch

if you have ideas of your own pls hmu bc i love brainstorming too!!

[beastpack]

the thing going on with the animated shows is so saddening?? People spent hard work and time on those and now they’re just getting pushed aside. deleted entirely, almost. 

these are the times when people turn to piracy. Streaming services were meant to make things MORE efficient, yet all its done is make more people turn to illegitimate sources. 

But heck, I want some of these fandoms to live on. People should know about these! Infinity Train is the one that specifically affects me, but I heard of many of the others and understand how much that may hurt- 

Might be going around doing fanart for some of these random affected shows :( keep em alive!! same for other canceled shows since this happens way too often- 

oh and there’s totally not a site called siflix where you can watch all these hahahaha no wayyyy that would be impossible. wcoforever is also not a thing how silly of me!! totally not trying to spite hbo or anything!!!!! im innocent

[balillee]

im late to this but i think the outrage of pokimane getting dmca’d is less about “omg i didnt know streaming a full on show would warrant a dmca takedown 🥺” and more about “other streamers have done this exact thing with no repercussions so why is pokimane the one being singled out”

like yes its stupid but to be fair to her people like cr1t1kal n hasan and even ranboo have streamed shows before with seemingly no backlash so. honestly. i dont even blame her for being shocked,

here is the difference:

i'm not sure about hasan because i don't follow him, but i follow both ranboo and charlie, and they do not stream shows that are on network television or paid streaming services. ranboo watched two episodes of hell's kitchen and kitchen nightmares which were freely available to watch on youtube, and charlie, as far as i am aware, has never watched anything locked behind a paywall on stream. he's watched tv show episodes that were uploaded to youtube like kitchen nightmares and forged in fire.

pokimane watched avatar the last airbender on paramount plus like a fucking idiot.

react andy content is a thing and people do it all the time, the difference is that regular people watch stuff that is public domain like the content on youtube that is freely available for anyone to watch at any time without paying for it, and it is therefore not a violation of copyright or an act of piracy (unless it was not published by the show's producers, which is then an issue with that specific publisher and not the streamer although companies don't know any better, nor do they care, and so the streamer will get caught in the crossfire). pokimane watching avatar on stream can and WILL be considered piracy by big companies like viacom.

if i went onto my twitch channel and decided to react andy to, i don't know, all three seasons of killing eve on bbc iplayer, the bayliffs would be at my door asking for me to pay extra on the tv license. if i streamed all of stranger things on netflix i would be dmca'd. that is to be expected.

[all-hail-the-witcher]

cuddling

here is my contribution for ace week! im literally squeezing this in at the last possible second (as its 11:32pm on 10/31 as i start this) but better late than never i suppose!!

i dont often talk about my sexuality on this blog, but i do identify as ace and its not something ive ever been overly comfortable with. but seeing the plethora of ace week fics on my dash this past week (mostly by @jaskierswolf, hi, hope you dont mind being tagged) has been so awesome and has made me feel so much more comfortable in myself that i had to write something for this :)

this is some gray romantic/ace geralt with some ace jaskier. warnings for mentions of dubious consent/ not wanting to have sex but doing it anyway. there is no explicit sexual content but it is referenced.

___

Geralt was a Witcher. His entire livelihood consisted of him doing things for humans: killing monsters, bargaining with sorceresses, fighting wars, protecting them from pretty much anything that could hurt their fragile mortal selves. It had been trained into him ever since he was a child. Do what the humans ask of you. It is your job. 

So why would sex be any different?

Humans enjoyed sex. This was something Geralt had come to learn during his time on the path. What was even worse was that some of them especially enjoyed having sex with Witchers. 

Geralt did not enjoy sex. He was not a human, and it was decidedly a human activity. But that did not stop humans from wanting to have sex with him. Some sought him out specifically, wanting to know what it was like to lie with a Witcher for a night. Others insisted on paying him for his monster hunting duties with a round. He never took pleasure in it. Sometimes he would pretend he did. He had gotten quite good at pretending over the years, learning little tricks that humans seemed to like. But the act of it itself made his skin crawl for days on end and he could feel their fingers and lips long after the marks on his skin had faded.

But he worked for humans. He couldn't deny them what they asked of him. 

He assumed Jaskier would be the same. The man was certainly human, so much so that he would flirt with grass if it came down to it (which, admittedly, Geralt had only witnessed once, and Jaskier had been very drunk at the time, but still). But he never tried to bed him, which surprised Geralt. He knew he was good, if the praises of the the people he'd laid with before were any indication Humans generally needed him for a favor and then left him to the wind. Jaskier hadn’t asked him to kill a monster or help him track down an unruly mage, and it had been years at least since they had first crossed paths. The only logical conclusion that Geralt could come to was that Jaskier was waiting for him to bed him and then he would leave, just like everyone else.

The problem was that Geralt had grown quite fond of Jaskier over the years (and his incessant flirting) and while he didn’t want the bard to leave, he also didnt want Jaskier to be miserable following him around anymore. Five years was quite a long time to wait for a round, especially in human years. Resignedly, Geralt told himself that in the next town he would lay with Jaskier and then the whole thing could be over, and they could both move on with their lives. 

He rented a room with one bed, as they often did, despite there being enough coin for one with two. Jaksier hardly noticed, flouncing off to play a few sets for the locals while Geralt went upstairs to prepare. 

He felt the characteristic tightening of his stomach and the shakiness that always came with this particular activity, but he stripped down obediently, even talking the time to rub some of the oils Jaskier liked to much into his hair before laying down on the bed to wait. 

He didn’t have to wait long. “Geralt! You’ll never believe th- whoa, were you expecting someone?” He stood in the doorway awkwardly.

“Just you,” Geralt grunted. They should get this over with. 

“Me? Geralt...did you think I wanted to have sex with you?”

“Well...” Geralt picked at the blanket, feeling foolish for having to explain himself, he thought that humans should understand these things. “Humans always need me for something. And you dont need a monster killed, so I figured....” “Oh dear heart,” Jaskier walked over and sat down on the bed next to him, running his fingers though his hair. “Please do not take this the wrong way, but I do not want to have sex with you.”

“You don’t?” Geralt was shocked. “But...humans....”

“Not all humans like sex Geralt. I certainly don’t. It makes me skin crawl and I feel all weird after. So I don’t do it. I’m still plenty romantic with people, but I dont get into bed with them.” “Hmm.” Jaskier didn’t like sex either? Maybe it wasn't a human thing after all.

“What it Geralt? That was your I’m-Contemplating-Something hum.”

“It...makes my skin crawl too.” He said carefully after a few moments. 

Jaskier’s hand slowed in his hair. “Dear heart,” he began carefully. “Do you like sex?”

Did he? No one had ever asked him what he wanted before. He didnt think he did. It didnt feel pleasant and he usually had to jump in a cold stream after. “No.”

“Then why did you want to do it with me?” “You’re human,” Geralt shrugged. “Humans either want me to kill monsters or want me in their bed. I serve humans, I can’t turn them down. You are a human.” 

"But you dont like sex?”

“No. I’m a Witcher. It’s probably the mutations. But can still get by.” Actually, now that he thought about it, from what he remembered, he’d never been much interested in it before the trials either.

“Geralt,” Jaskier tilted his chin up to look at him and he saw sadness swirling in his eyes. “Not wanting to have sex is not a Witcher thing. Plenty of humans feel the same way too. Admittedly there aren't many of us, I’ve only come across a few in my lifetime, and I think there's a word for it but I can’t remember it right now. Sex does not interest me either, but there are far more other important things in a relationship than just sex.”

Geralt was confused. “But sex is the only thing people ever wanted me for.” 

“And I’m terribly sorry about that, dear heart, but you’re with me now and I will never make you have sex with me. Have you ever- or wait, is there anything else that you dont like?”

Geralt’s head was spinning, and he was still stuck on the part where Jaskier had said that he would never make Geralt have sex with him. For the first time that evening, he felt his hands stop their shaking and something like warmth bloom inside him. “Hmm?”

“Is there anything else you dont like doing? Besides the sex bit I mean.”

Besides sex....Geralt tried to remember what came along with laying with someone. He usually blocked it all out after. “Kissing,” he finally said. “Burns my skin.”

“Alright, we’ll do none of that then.” Jaskier moved from the bed, beginning to take off his doublet and Geralt seized up for a second, afraid that Jaskier was going go back on his word, but then he reached for his nightclothes. “Are you familiar with cuddling?”

“Cuddling?” The word felt unfamiliar in his mouth.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Jaskier smiled. “Go put your nightclothes on. I think I have something that you will enjoy far better than that nasty sex business.”

So here it was then, Jasper did need him for a service after all. Geralt got out of bed and slowly pulled on his night clothes, painfully aware this would be their last night together before they parted ways for good, before returning to the bed. 

“Right, so youre just going to lay on your side, yes right like that, and then I lay behind you, see? And I put my arm around you like this, and we snuggle.” Jaskier’s breath tickled his hair.

“What do we do though?” “What do you mean, what do we do?” Despite Jaskier’s words though, he didnt seem angry. “This is it. We hold each other and enjoy each others presence. We can change positions, if you want, like you can take a turn holding me for example or I could lay on your chest, but we just hold each other close. Show each other we care. This is called cuddling.”

“Hmm.” As far as Geralt was concerned, it was far better than sex. But he knew it wouldn't last. This was all Jaskier wanted from him, clearly, which prevented Geralt from thoroughly enjoying it. 

“Where will you go?” he spoke into the silence a few long moments later. 

Jaskier paused drawing light patterns on Geralts forearm. “What do you mean?”

“Tomorrow.” Wasn't it obvious?

“Well I’ll go wherever you’re going. Just like we always have?"

“You...you’re not,” Geralt swallowed thickly. “You’re not leaving?” 

“Leaving?” Jaskier’s voice rose an octave. “Why on the continent would I be leaving?”

“You’ve got what you wanted from me, with this....cuddling business. You have no reason to stay.”

“Oh dear heart.” The next thing he knew he was being flipped around to face Jaskier. Jaskier, who had tears in his eyes that were just barely visible in the low light. Instinctively, he reached up to brush them away. “I’m cuddling with you because I care about you, because I love you. Not because I want something from you.”

“Oh.” Geralt didn’t know what to say. Jaskier loved him? No one had ever loved him before, much less cared about him or wanted him to be comfortable. 

Jaskier placed his hand on Geralt’s chest. “You never have to do anything you dont want to do with me. And if you don’t want to travel with me anymore, I’ll leave. You are your own person, Geralt, even if you are a Witcher. And you make your own decisions. You wouldn't take a contract that you felt unsafe doing, so in the same vein, you dont have to have sex with anyone if you dont want to. You make your own decisions. You dont even have to cuddle with me right now if you want to. You choose what you want to do based on what you’re comfortable doing, do you understand?”

Geralt nodded into the darkness. This was all so much. He hadn't been able to make his decisions in...well ever. And now Jaskier was giving him permission to. “I want you to stay,” he whispered. “I....care about you too.” He didnt say that he thought he could love him, he wasn't ready to say that yet. And according to Jaskier he didnt have to say it if he didnt want to. 

“Good. Now that we've got that sorted, come here,” Jaskier pulled Geralt into his chest, running his fingers through his hair delicately. Geralt closed his eyes, never had he felt more safe in his entire life. Who knew humans could be so gentle?

Just as he was teetering on the edge of unconsciousness he whispered, “Jaskier?”

“Hmm?”

Geralt felt a small smile tug at his lips at hearing how own language on Jaskier’s lips. “Can we do more of this...cuddling?”

Jaskier’s laugh sounded through his chest, vibrating pleasantly against Geralt’s ear. “Of course we can, dear heart. Of course.”

___

that turned out way longer than i thought it would and its now 37 minutes late but oh well.

throw me an ask if you wanna be on my tag list!

taglist: @percy-jackson-is-sexy- @barlowarts @eminasan @llamasdumpsterfire @stinastar @nonegenderleftpain @electricrituals