#it's bc you're a terrible judge of character

[midnight1nk]

So, the Silence of the Cats movie....

[spoilers below cut]

OMGOMGOMG IT'S TIME!

Y'know I have to put this on the big screen, full HD quality. I got my ramen and bingo cards, I'm SO ready!

3... 2... 1... happy new year oh wait LET'S GOOOO

[the following is my live reaction:]

frame one and I'm already hyped

OH OH are we starting off like we did in the trailer?

it's giving across the spider-verse vibes, ifykyk

OH GOD THAT'S EVEN WORSE. she got hit by a semitruck AND a car?! gurl are you ok?

and she's limping a bit. it was for a second but it counts!

the character of the hour....

*points at screen* THERE HE IS

I'm SO ready to punch his face right about now

ooh the animation tho okay Team

"That's probably not the biggest problem on their plate right now!" WPNZ, what did you do? where are the kids?

bc i swear i'll—

....OH HELL NAH I AIN'T TRUSTING THIS

WHY IS THE PIZZA BLUE?!

oh god did the Team see what I wrote?

YEAH YEAH kids, this is practically a hostage situation so PLEASE for your mom's (and my) sake you get outta here 😨

IKIK but kids, pleaseeeee

WPNZ, YOU ARE NOT PART OF THIS CONVERSATION WE'LL GET A CHANCE TO "TALK" (read: fight)

"Points for effort right?" oh you did NOT just say that to her AND to me. this isn't a "game", it's a family

ARE YOU FUCKIN KIDDING ME?! nopenopenope

kids, this is for your safety i promise

Zach omg, I know you're upset but geez

YOU *angry microwave noises*

THANK YOU KAREN, I was about say KICK HIS ASS

for a guy like WPNZ, Karen is pretty good handling him on her own. strong woman/cat, we love to see it

"Cmon! You know that "contract" jobs paid in DROVES-" AAAAA I'm gonna fall off my chair already

HITMAN INC. MENTION

seriously why is he here?!?!?! i wanna rip someone's head off

WHAT?! KATANA?! as in the sword?

OH that makes so much sense. WPNZ, Katana. Karen was a stray after all, she probably didn't give herself a name. or maybe Katana was just the codename given to her by the corporation and she used to refer to herself as that.

YEAH don't deadname her!

*head in hands* no one's letting her move on :(

"there it is, that glare." ew ew ew i HATE that. I'd rather have the fight.

i hope the kids aren't hearing this—

GODDAMMIT NOOO

yes kids, just give a moment to sort out this beef we have, ok?

don't. you. dare.

*slams desk* YOU MF

that's a VERY good question, Zach (please flashback storytime please)

YESSS

oh we're just going to sit on the floor, ok?

it was obvious that partners would grow attached to one other. A bond like this relies on blind trust, knowing that the other would do the job. And eventually, caring for each other's safety, for a job with high risks.

but ofc this turned out terrible for them and Karen did the right choice taking care of her kids without him, not getting her hopes up that he'll be back

And the team pulled off a spyxfamily moment 😌↕️

*angry microwave noises*

i LOATHE the kind of parents who think that financial support is all the kids need

literally him 10 minutes ago: "ahh ahh ahh, language. Wouldn't want the little ones hearing would we?"

oh, so when YOU say it, we're not supposed to judge?

fuckin hypocrite

ALL 👏 KIDS 👏 NEED 👏 SAFETY 👏

wait... was that supposed to be a frozen pizza? so all this "slaving away making dinner" was all for frozen pizza. well I was right about it being the case in my trailer analysis.

...I don't like how his face changed

NOPE *snap fingers* get tf out of here. this is part of a larger con, he's trying to make her feel guilty

huh, it looks like a day has passed (please tell me 4's recovering rn)

good on her getting security devices after what happened

SWAG! you're actually getting a scene and not just an appearance, yay 🎉

hey. hey swag. can you do something for me? could you uh arrest someone for me :) why? well he's a threat

WHY ARE YOU conveniently HERE?

ok WPNZ, you were stalking before but now you're just doing it to piss me off

not even government-level weapons could go against him ah fuck

"becoming weapons"? NOPE NOPE we're outta here

NO MEANS NO.

ew ew ew don't you ever say that, WPNZ

*points at screen* hey look, fnaf! (let's not think about the door, ok? ok)

aw katie 😭

this is going to come back somehow. i can feel it.

just Karen being a cool mom

"Kataanaaaaa :D" PISS. OFF. :)

that's right, let's not provoke him with whatever he's planning

it's not just an arcade game smh

*more angry microwave noises*

YEAH WPNZ what would you know about parenting? huh?

HHHHHH i hate that he makes a good point but I'm going to still keep reminding myself that he has bigger plans in mind

compromise is a big thing in parenting, especially when dealing with younger kids 😌↕️ (this is what KAREN did, not wpnz)

*ahem* uh you mean, HER kid

team istg PLEASE don't redeem him

this is a ploy this is a ploy

EXACTLY some things CAN'T BE FORGIVEN

YEP BYE

NOOOOOOO

ough her kids are her world.....

"AND NO WEAPONS" ah see, she said no WPNZ so bye creep :)

OH HELL NAH WPNZ, YOU DON'T GET TO PULL A SONIC ADVENTURE POSE. NOT ON MY WATCH.

those rocks are shaking, i don't trust that

WHAT DID I JUST SAY?

GO KAREN, SAVE YOUR KIDS

.... I'm sorry wha?

don't tell me that's bc.... *points at WPNZ* ....is it?

IT'S GENETIC?!

i...just. uh. how do i. i think we need to move on.

NONONONO YOU DON'T GET TO HUG THEM

he's winning them over, nooooo

it can't be like this. team please.

And he's teaching them how to become assassins, godammit

oh Karen, it's because they gained new "superpowers", ofc the kids would be happy about it. it's not on you.

"secret mission"?

THAT'S IT. THIS IS WHERE WE DRAW THE LINE. ABSOULTELY NOT. YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT AFTER YOU SAID "I understand that you don't want them to go killing" MF

WE CAN'T TRUST HIM WITH ANYTHING HE SAYS. KAREN, GET HIM

(oh, i didn't expect karen to say "absolutely not" like i did)

ROOTS?! ARE YOU KIDDIN ME

yep, he hasn't changed AT ALL. been telling you that this is just a con somehow

...oh no

....chat i'm this close to snapping.

first off, WPNZ didn't need to steal the "pick your poison" line from me

second, no, don't do this to me team

first with 4 and now. please don't.

I'M ACTUALLY CRYING, CHAT

like I know the movie's not going to end this way. it can't, right?

istg if this is how it ends, you're going to see me on the news

THE SHOWGROUNDS?! OH OH is it happening? what's going on?

4 MY BOYYYYYY 😭😭😭 i'm crying even more now

you're okayyy. i knew you would be but you're okay and that's what matters

AND YOU GOT BANDAGES? y'know what? I'LL TAKE IT

i'm not even mad bc you can justify it as, timeline-wise, it's been a few days after the events of "Enough is Enough" so 4 could've been recovering during that time

↑ yeah I'm going to make a fic about it

and it's SO in-character for him to be walking around while he's recovering

don't think about how the bandages are on (1) covering his logo particularly from his left side, (2) exactly on top of where his lobotomy scar would be, and (3) around his right hard in which was the first limb that broke free of the goo's corruption in IGBP. let's not :) <- I say, y'know like a liar

I'M OUTRIGHT SOBBING RN

4's talk was exactly what Karen needed. Ben lowkey was right, 4 really is the key, to help Karen

And it means so much more, considering how Luke became a content creator and it was Kevin who supported his passion, to be happy. it truly came from the soul of the whole channel, to the Hobo Bros.

this show, man......

AND y'know how I said that 4 to me is basically "that friend who gives a caring and supporting talk while getting a ride home from the airport" kinda vibe. now you see what I mean?

he would really do anything to not lose his friends, even from their own despair

(ok we have to keep going or else I'm going to start crying again)

YEAH KAREN, GO GET YOUR KIDS BACK

yep, WPNZ favors Katie out of her brothers oh no

oh kiddos, it's not a video game :(

WPNZ... they are LITERALLY KIDS. ofc they're going to joke around.

oop, we got some hesitation. please, I hope the kids turn against him

Again. they're kids.

BRUH WHY DID YOU DO THAT?

THEY'RE 👏 KIDSSSS 👏

arcade? this isn't a GAME. They don't wanna do this :((

aw no they're crying. stoooooopppp.

Karen I need you to come in right about now. Karen. KAREN.

LET'S GOOOOO, NEVER MESS WITH A MOM

ZACH'S CRYING? AW NOOOOO 😭😭😭

...WPNZ, I'm going to uno reverse what you said to them: how about you piss off?

HHHHHHHHHH i'm going to snap

yea no, it's not going to happen the same way like last time

i LOVE how different WPNZ and Karen talk to the kids here in taking whose side: WPNZ sees them more as one unit and what could they potentially do if they were stronger, smarter. To meet the standards of a legend. Keeping on referring to them as "weapons" and not kids. For Karen, she kneels down to their level, calls them individually by name, admits her wrongdoings (unlike WPNZ for what happened earlier), and whatever they will or will not be, she will still love them no matter what. They don't have to be legends, just be happy, it's all that matters to her.

and the kids chose their mom 😌↕️ THE POWER OF TRUE FAMILY

oh so you're that type of parent. Karen, get his ass.

I got a feeling who might've animated this fight scene

OMG DID HE JUST DECLAW HER?! 😨 now you gotta go (not die exactly but still)

OH YEAH? AND GUESS WHO THEY CHOSE THE SECOND TIME, WPNZ?

FINALLY SOMEONE SAYS IT! thanks zach

"A." well said, cory. such a beautiful speech right there 💙

it turns out the fight team-up was Karen with her kids all along! well, to be fair, we didn't know the kids's genes are them having weapons for limbs

GO GET HIS ASS THIS IS SO HYPE

"You screwed with the wrong family..." YES YOU DID

now we can curb-stomp him :)

Finally, an actual homemade pizza made by Karen

don't fight for food tho, kiddos

see? compromise 👍

oh. it's not over yet guys. hold on.

*looks at the magenta and cyan lights* .....heterochromia 4?

is the corporation going to come in? perhaps? maybe?

...wha?

NO STOP YOU BETTER NOT

THERE'S ONLY ONE PERSON I KNOW WHO WOULD SAY "DEAR"

NO WAY IT'S HIM AIN'T NO WAY

"A friend." OMG NO WAY I'M WRESTLING WITH MY DECK CHAIR RN STOPPPP

LET'S FUCKIN GOOOOOOOOO

THAT'S HOW YOU BRING HIM BACK AND END A MOVIE

WE ARE SO BACK oh this was fantastic

alright merch time!

KAREN PLUSHIE LOOK AT HER

Luke: "That ending, I wonder what that stinky SMG4 has in store" well, I have a couple theories—

LOOK AT THIS 💳💥 💳💥 💳💥

WHY AM I SO BROKE?

look at the katphish family, dude ueueue

*ahem at the Puzzles figurine*

……….eye of ra *explodes* (i mean, what else do you expect from me? NOT talk about goop!4? *points at blog bio* yea no, I will)

"the pencil case is probably for the younger viewers" DOES IT LOOK LIKE I CARE? i NEED it............

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

Now, you're probably wondering what I think of the movie, and the answer?

This has been one of the best movies I've ever seen. The writing, the voice acting, the animation. Spectacular all around, the Team really cooked on this one. I just. I have no words.

hey, shadow did say we were gonna get surprises, and oh boy we did.

Perhaps some things didn't happen in the movie/we didn't get to see and, honestly, screw it! It surprised us more than we could ever realize and I do hope the hype I brought to you guys made the movie worth watching bc it deserved the praise.

Karen and the kids learning what it means to be a true family. WPNZ, as much as I love to hate on his character and calling him yucky, he was incredibly well-written and I'm glad that the Team didn't give him a full-on redemption path. It feels realistic that he would try but ultimately his personality and desires was what crushed him at the end, if he didn't view the kids as potential weapons/assassins.

AND MY BOY 4 💙 I already said what needed to be said but golly he's such a sweetheart. how can you hate him? (no seriously how? I can never understand it.) personal hc: the Castle lights were set to "low" just to help 4 not get a headache, which conveniently set up the tone for the scene.

So. can we talk about that ending?! OMG MR. PUZZLES IS BACK!!! I can't believe it. Well, sort of. It's not that Mr Puzzles wouldn't be able to contact the outside world from solitary confinement. He absolutely can. See? I told you all he could. I just couldn't have ever imagined that he's starting to collect villains like pokémon. Likely making his own "Crew" to go against our SMG4 Crew. And y'know what it could mean? That's right: PUZZLEVISION+ and that also means, there's goop!4 theory potential 👀 especially with the lighting at the end there (ik the meme, ik but let me have my bliss for a sec).

Funny enough that Mr. Puzzles really said "You look lonely. I can fix that" to WPNZ. So..... hitshow, anyone?

Anyway, let's see what the Team has to say:

"You have no idea how long i've been waiting for this moment. Hope you'all enjoyed the movie the SMG4 team really did a amazing job!" — anaidon

"Glad ya'll liked the latest #SMG4 movie I got to be a part of with the animating styles. As for the ending though... [evil laughter]" — star

"MR PUZZLES YA VIENE CABRONES" [mr puzzle is coming, you bastards] — ben (YESSIR! and you were kinda right ben, 4 was the key all along)

"Hello SMG4 community, hope you all enjoy SMG4: Silence of the Cats Movie. I animated the sad/emotional scene which is kind of scenes I prepared myself to work on since I joined the team. I put so much effort into this scene [the first "pick ya Poison" scene of the kids choosing WPNZ over Karen], ensuring that I create the same emotional impact to you guys just like every other emotional scene in SMG4. I was nervous that I wasn't able to meet everyone's expectations, but seeing your reactions, All the doubts have wasted away. When animating the tension between Karen and Mr. WPNZ, I wanted to strongly emphasize the emotions from the amazing voice acting performed by Elsie Lovelock & Gianni Matragrano who were amazing. Also the crying texture that I used in the end of my scene was made by @/theartistisme43." — braden (you did an amazing job, dude, one of the scenes that made me first cry, bravo. and ay, Cantro got some credit for the textures!!!)

"The cat is figuratively out of the bag, I guess, haha. I animated the climax scene of SMG4: Silence of the Cats. For reals one of the trickiest things I've had to animate outside of the WOTFI raps, but damned if I'm not content with how it all came out. Of course, this was not a solo effort. Everyone else on the SMG4 team should be proud of themselves. Aaron, Braden, Anaidon, James, Paul, Star, ThatMadMoose. AND our newest additions, Clubbins and ShockHat. You two did amazing. Gotta also sing the praises of Gianni. Absolutely killed it as Mr. WPNZ, and was an honor to animate something with his voice. Here's to hearing him voice the armed boi more in the future. — shadow (I KNEW you worked on that badass final fight scene, haha. glad I was able to recognize your work! it was so satisfying to watch.)

Seriously, the Team has done an incredible job, and I always loved sharing their posts about their work to yall. They deserve the credit. And this is just the first arc of the year, my dear fellows. I can't wait to see what comes next, they do be scheming 😊↕️

and it's SO funny that few of the team are reblogging "you look lonely" fanart with Puzzles and WPNZ, or even the ship itself, in a crack ship kinda way. Peeps, you know what to do :)

Well, this is long enough already, so I'm going to cut things here. Again, this movie had me speechless for a whole 10 minutes. I'll also be posting my bingo cards later, which btw thank you to everyone who participated. It's been a blast! I'll see you all next time, and remember: numbers always go first!

...so anyway, heterochromia 4:

[hijinxinprogress]

Young Justice spends all of their time violating the Geneva conventions or mocking their mentors bc they’re traumatized theater kids without any capacity for a verbal filter which is also why they’re not allowed to watch movies at the tower

YJ is watching some hero movie and a character with a gruff voice sternly says “we don’t kill…we’re better than that” so Tim gives the most dramatic sigh and goes “this is giving me back the migraine from our last lecture from the league” which leads to YJ doing their best to dramatically reenact disappointed justice league lectures

Cissie, offhandedly: Most superheroes having that dumbass code that’s some variation of “we don’t kill, we’re better than that…” make me fucking nauseous because who’s we? I’ll have you know my mother assures me that I’m a piece of shit everyday so no I’m not better than this.

Greta, in a mocking disappointed tone: Cissie! I’m very surprised at your behavior, we’ve taught you better than that! We’re here to protect people not to hurt them

Kon, in his best angry Cissie impression: Well, who’s gonna protect my sleep schedule? You woke me up at 3am to stop some idiot that wanted to steal kryptonite? Are you serious?They’re not going to jail they’re going to the nearest cemetery that I can promise you

Anita, in a dramatic hero pose: I’m not like you…you made me realize something, I have friends and people that love me so I’m not going to-

Bart, doing an excellent mimicry of Anita’s unimpressed face: He killed your family wdym you’re better than that, that’s dumb as hell you even look at anyone I know with the tiniest hint of malice you’re leaving in a bodybag

Kon, turning to Bart and making his voice echo the way Greta’s does when she’s annoyed: what is this nonsense I wouldn’t let anyone get away with doing that to you guys I promise they’d suffer immensely

Cassie, hovering in the air doing a terrible impression of disappointed superman: We can’t kill because then we’re no better than they are

Anita, glaring at Cassie with her best Kon impression: I’m okay with that…let’s not pretend you don’t expect this from me, am I supposed to care? They deserve to suffer, why should I be the only one that has to suffer?

Anita, pretending to storm off dramatically while Cassie tries to look disapproving:

Cissie, doing her angry Bart impression: You’re not gonna waste people I actually like then get to chill in jail and breakout in a couple days

Tim, in a dramatic ‘I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed’ tone: I’m not sure how you did things in the future but you can’t do things like this, do you understand?

Cissie, snorting and crossing her arms in the agitated way Bart does: I understand that our first fight will be our last because we’re not doing this shit again I’m not superman

Greta, in a gruff Batman voice: People can change if you give them a chance

Cassie, in a sarcastic Tim impression: I’ll start a timer I’ll even give him five minutes why are you playing with me rn Batman

Bart, sighing disappointedly: You're so angry and I wish you’d find an appropriate outlet for all this aggression. You don’t know what taking a life will do to you, what it’ll take from you….

Tim, in an irritated Kon impression: why not? we can find out let’s do an experiment and find out I like science I’m game hbu??

Cassie, who does the second best Batman voice: Neither of you can even begin to understand-! How do you know you won’t end up ending low tier criminals like pickpocketers? We can’t play judge, jury, and executioner… what happens when you’re wrong? What’s going to stop you?

Greta, fiddling with a phone and shrugging before giving Cassie Tim’s patented ‘I can ruin your life and you’ve just given me a reason’ look while doing her impression of the way Tim stands when he’s pissed and rolling her eyes: Self control? Common sense? When have my hunches ever been wrong? Don’t play with my intelligence, it will not work out for you

Bart, doing his best to copy the way Cassie stands and messes with their hair when they’re pissed: I’m just saying, if you blow up a city block you lose air privileges I have debris in my shoes rn for what?

[JL was meeting with a bunch of reporters in the tower and later had to do a lot of damage control after the press released a statement about the JL failing to rehabilitate young villains]

[possessedopossum]

Why do people love to project their family issues into fictional women so much? [I need to bitch about the way fandom treats Caterina]

I've seen so happen to Leandra. You yell one (1) time at your child on screen and you're the worst mother in Thedas. Obviously women need to learn how to turn their emotions off when they have children and you can't express your negative feelings even if your other child had died a terrible violent death on your eyes 5 minutes ago. Btw you can't explain such feelings in a calmer "healthier" way either bc that would mean therapy speech and that the game has bad writing. No feelings for mothers, okay? They're robots.

Leandra haters walked so Caterina Dellamorte haters could run. While I get it that Caterina isn't beating child abuse allegations, Caterina's image in fan fiction is truly something else.

Since WHEN she is homophobic??? Since when she is racist??? Is there a transphobic line from her I somehow missed? Did she misgender Rook somewhere?

Caterina is a character of questionable morality and yet fandom insists on her being way worse than she already is. Please I beg you pay attention to the source material. She isn't 100% evil. Not only Teia makes it out alive after calling Caterina "nonna", we also learn that Caterina is secretly very fond of Teia. I wonder why.

Caterina doesn't beat the shit out of Lucanis and Illario just because she is an evil abusive control freak. She does so because that's what crow training is. She does so to ensure her last surviving family members continue to stay alive. She isn't throwing her fucking flip flops at Lucanis for bringing home a bad grade on his math assignment. Or just because she had a bad day at work.

If I had to judge her parenting skills, I would be more concerned with Caterina's favoritism and her treatment of Illario. The harshness of crow training has nothing to do with Caterina's personality. She isn't even the worst crow trainer. Whoever trained Zevran, Taliesin and Rinna didn't even care if they live or die. Caterina cared. Mistreatment of Illario is however 100% Caterina's fault.

I would also be concerned with the reasons of her favoritism. Is Lucanis actually better than Illario or is he somebody Caterina can project her grief for her dead daughter into? Her favorite daughter being Lucanis' mother seems too much to be a coincidence. And it paints Caterina in somewhat sympathetic light anyway. You can't grieve for somebody if you have never loved them in the first place.

I don't understand writing Caterina as a terrible (grand)mother-in-law for Rook who romanced Lucanis. There are zero cases of her being rude to Rook. She looked reasonable but stern enough to be the first talon in eight little talons. Ofc she's still hard to deal with and there may be conflicts but there are literally no reasons to believe she is a bigot. Boiling it all down to petty fights between her and Rook for who gets Lucanis looks pathetic. He is ~35, for fuck's sake. And she is what, at least 70? Caterina wouldn't have 8 grandchildren if she was so possessive. Rook is also a god-killer which is a great PR move for house Dellamorte, having not one but two god-killers.

The desire of some rookanis shippers to strip Lucanis of almost everything he is looks so off to me. Death IS his calling. He IS aware that his family isn't exactly perfect, he doesn't need Rook to tell him that. Why is it so hard to understand that people may love something and understand all its flaws at the same time?

The petty envy from some Rooks screams "pls somebody help me I'm very insecure when it comes to relationships and splitting affection" without characters' authors recognizing the envy for that it is. Why do you want Rook to be the center of Lucanis' life so bad? Why do you want to strip him of his love for his family, profession, his friendship with Neve? What will be left of him if you do so?

I'll wait some months before opening ao3 again. It did give me a thousand yard stare. Would like to hope that at least the mischaracterization will go away eventually...

[aqours]

i've shared my thoughts on this in dms with like 3 people so i wanted to put it on paper so i can always get it

so i think one of the biggest questions that goes around tcoaatl is regarding it's incest, asked in both good faith and by annoying antis: "so is the incest... actually like portrayed as bad? or is it just hot and fetishized and romanticized?" and y'know, i think the most genuinely HONEST answer regarding that is this: "it's both." (the later mostly romanticized)

the Graves siblings have a horrifically co-dependent relationship which even the steam page is very happy to make you remember, multiple characters acknowledge it, it's a fucking awful terrible thing and you can make decisions that acknowledge it and its obvious to anyone with two eyes and a brain capable of basic critical thought that realistically while you can do w/e you want in a fanfic in a canon sense there's no way gravecest cannot result in what will ultimately be a lifetime of suffering even if both parties don't want to admit it. you're condemning them both to a chance of ever finding real genuine happiness that can exist without the other

that being said? they're both conventionally attractive and the game doesn't really shy from making its physical intimacy look hot and it's clear that nemlei doesn't want that physical intimacy to be disgusting or something that will make you feel ashamed if you intentionally pursued

i feel like this is the aspect of tcoaal that is debated the most on all sides of the fandom and i just wanted to post my own two cents in that i think the answer is "its both." the extent of how co-dependent these two are is very clear that it's not good and that most likely in the final release the best outcome for these two will probably involve acknowledging it

but also if you were to approach nemlei and just told her "listen i just think it's hot i don't give a shit about any of that other stuff i just wanna ship them." i think nemlei herself would nod and respect your decision completely. probably feed you even more if anything

you're free to disagree with me, i just wanna state my own thoughts somewhere, so i think the answer is a very solid "it's both" when it comes to this. tcoaal portrays the incest as horribly psychologically damaging for these two but also at the same time it's obviously not gonna judge you for liking it and if you find it hot nemlei would never judge you for it i think

but i just cannot in any capacity really take the argument it's a hard one or another seriously. i think if tcoaal wanted gravecest to only be seen as bad and horrifying that nemlei would've made different decisions in writing it bc it's obvious she COULD have if she wanted to, but also it's not fair to say it just makes incest look hot and sexy when it does show how fucked up it's characters are because of it

so... just wanted to say yeah- i think it's both

[blood-choke]

Oh my God wait I have more to say on that. If you need the full scene I'm quoting: https://youtu.be/63708PykTcg?si=Bws3wyRs_TkyxPaH prepare for a lot of yapping

Hear me out. It's the "I don't like to share." Val has made it v clear she doesn't like the thought of sharing mc with Hana and clear bc of her own fears and anxiety surrounding her relationship with mc who remembers nothing about their life together.

and the "what about antionette?" "It's different I don't have feelings for her." Hana feels like the antionette to val bc, and these are just my thoughts from reading, we can see that val does care for Hana to some degree but never to the degree that she does with mc. Or maybe she does and just hides it to keep from getting attached like she was with mc and keeping Hana safe from being another one of the councils victims 🤔

And lastly the "that's bc you TOOK my life" is really getting my brain going. Especially since we see mc begin to question whether or not she wanted this life. Like, the potential behind it is putting me through the wall rn

Anyways you don't have to respond to any of this I just wanted to yap and share these thoughts bc BOY does blood choke get me thinking

hehehe yes i do think Valentina can be quite similar to Lestat in some aspects, particularly with her relationship with mc.

and you're right, she does care about Hana... in her own fucked up way. she keeps her more at a distance than she ever did mc because of that loss, which she is still mourning (even now with the mc back. she's not the mc she remembers) and she just was never able to open herself up completely to Hana. Valentina has treated both Hana and the mc terribly in the past (and the mc, at least, treated her just as bad, too, while Hana more or less just took it silently). she does care about Hana, but with the mc-shaped hole in her chest, she isn't sure how to express it, and now that the mc is back, she feels conflicted about her feelings & wants to show her devotion solely to the mc. and obviously she will get jealous of Hana (or Clear) because unless the mc brings it up, she won't share. exactly because of her anxieties (the loss of memories and how that may lead to mc choosing someone else completely) and she's actually fearful that the mc may judge her or be angry herself about Valentina's relationship with Hana (the mc was a jealous person in her past life). obviously their relationship was never Perfect, but Valentina is definitely being crueler to Hana than she ever has been before, almost like she's "showing off" for the mc, and even trying to drive Hana away. (you can potentially call her out on this in the next chapter)

and because of this Hana is realizing that even though she took the abuse and was always there for Valentina, it doesn't matter; mc is back and that's all Valentina cares about. (even if it's not necessarily 100% true-- to Hana, all she feels is that she's being discarded). that's what prompts her confrontation/conversation with the mc in ch3.

going forward there's a chance for this to change, depending on how the mc approaches the two. even if you're not romancing Hana in the poly there are still opportunities to include her (or exclude her, if you want. you can explore that route, too) and with the mc back, Valentina can potentially open herself up more to Hana than she was able to before, platonically or romantically, with mc's urging.

honestly i feel that Hana was more directly inspired by aspects of Claudia's character than Valentina with Lestat (they just happen to be similarly obsessed with mc/Louis respectively). and while i don't necessarily like to say one choice is "bad" i will say being cruel to Hana does have consequences. but i'm still writing it because i want that to be an option to explore specifically with Hana's character, and i don't necessarily want it to feel like a punishment to the player, but this game isn't exactly a feel-good game, and i do plan to make it hurt. lol

and as for your last point... yes it IS interesting. we'll probably never know if the mc was really consenting at that time (can any human really consent when eternal life is beyond their scope of understanding?) and it just adds another fuzzy layer to the messy onion that is her relationship with Valentina.

[66sharkteeth]

Time for weekly thoughts!

Well BOY THAT SURE WAS AN EPISODE, HUH? That...I think most people really liked or hated it so much that they unsubscribed and downvoted the series haha (yes, that happened and yes, I expected it because it happens literally anything remotely gay happens lol).

hm... What is there to really say about this ep? I feel like moooost people got what happened between them after their conversation, but for the naïve, yes they got. uh. intimate (And you can see the rest of their night on my 18+ patreon! ;D).

In all seriousness tho, this is an ep I was equal parts nervous and excited for. Nervous bc it's always a little scary to depict... 1. openly gay relationships in media when you have more than 10 followers lol (and sure enough, had to deal w/ a few nasty comments) and 2. scary to depict unhealthy relationships because we know how the internet can be lol. Thankfully, I think the former turned out to be the only real problem and the opinions of biggots effect me far less because personally I just don't let the opinions of actual garbage get to me.

That said, I WAS excited to get to this episode because it was kind of a huge moment for Jericho's character. And I'm glad...mooost people got what was going on? Judging from the comments? There were definitely a few confused why the scion hates Claude, but most of them seem cleared up by others who 100% got it. TLDR of the entire episode is Jericho does care (a lot) about Claude deep down, but his Scion thinks its lame and weak to have human emotions like love. It's also our first time seeing Jericho not completely in sync w/ his own scion and kind of in the time out that Rex's put him in so often because they don't get along.

Anyway, good for you Claude, even if it was technically really unhealthy that you got rewarded for those actions. And good for Jericho for letting his human side indulge for a change, even if you're now in time out and took advantage of someone in a really vulnerable and desperate state. You two are terrible for each other but glad you had one good night.

Also, I want to print and hang every "Scion is homophobic" comment on my wall. They are literally the funniest fucking thing in the world to me

[ssaalexblake]

So i follow this woman's sports team okay, and a couple of years ago a woman on the team blew the whistle that the coach was very abusive in private when he got the athletes he decided he didn't like alone. There were also other signs that would have been publicly noticeable as well, but not necessarily things that people Not educated on very specific red flags would notice as red flags bc they're very normalised (especially in men) in society as Just Things Men Do.

And a situation was created where the coach was an upstanding, great man to half the team and an abuser to the other half. Naturally, when the allegations hit the press, the people whom he was kind, supportive and a brilliant person to were outraged that this good man was being slandered in the press by some teammate's deciding to lie and ruin his life.

Meanwhile, the ones who were his victims are. Well. Left to deal with that response.

And it's driven me up the wall since right, because the coach was ditched (as he should have been) and since then i've not seen his name mentioned for a Long time, but you see people being awful and horrifying to these girls who never named themselves as a victim on a weekly basis, sometimes a daily basis in some circles. Not even just the ones who spoke in his defence. Just if you happened to exist on the team coached by an abuser and not state definitively that you were a victim, you've now a couple years down the line become more of a pariah than the actual abuser. And Yikes. Because it was very much indicated by the whistleblower that there Were other victims on said team at the time, it's just nobody knows who.

And look, where this post is leading is me saying that you all Need to stop letting these abusers manipulate you into thinking You're the terrible one because they Deliberately Groomed you to like them in such a situation where somebody reported the abuse.

These people groom their own defenders as well, they groom bystanders by being nice as pie, so when the victims come forward it discredits the allegations. It's not Passive. They do it on purpose. They are manipulating people into thinking they're kind as a shield that will take most of the heat instead of them if it ever gets out. They have no Actual care for the people they didn't abuse, they don't help them after They take the heat for them, they're just tools.

Now, a few of the women on that team Did say awful things in defence of their coach, that shouldn't be excused, but That is when they started being bad, not before when they just happened to like their coach. But i think people could use a real refresher course on what the concept of grooming actually is because so many people seem to view it as Only an abuser grooming a victim when that's very reductive.

There will have been other girls on that team who were groomed to defend him that Didn't. Which is to say, you can like somebody for how they choose to make themselves out to be and then just Stop doing that when it becomes obvious it was a lie, and all that happened was some shitty ass abuser manipulated you into liking them, which is of no fault of your own.

This is to say, sometimes you will find out somebody you like is actually just a shitbag, or maybe even a monster. Maybe, instead of immediately crucifying yourself over liking them, ask instead whether they deliberately and maliciously manipulated you into liking them before trying to infer if you have some gross character flaw instead of them.

You can only judge somebody by what they show you.

This is very much bread and butter behaviour for abusers. And while you Can go on to be terrible (like some of the girls above and what they said), the baseline fact that an abuser duped you does not make you a bad person or reflect on you in any way at All. Be far more weary of how you choose to react to it.

[archive-z]

Get to know your mutuals (tagged by @cerebralsilhouettes) 

What's the origin of your username?: originally i was going to abandon this blog and just hold on to it as an archive, so it got changed to archive-z (“z” being the shortened version of my former user), but then every other place online got increasingly hostile to exist so i started using it again 

OTP(s) + ship name: no ship name but im proud to contribute to the alice/daniel molloy, alice/wife #2 believers out there 🫡 

Favorite colour: purple, black, silver, burgundy 🖤 

Song stuck in your head: joyful kilmarnock blues by the proclaimers (it plays while im getting ready for work most days) 

Weirdest habit/trait: i can peel oranges (and most other citrus fruit) in a single, long continuous piece by hand? im perhaps a bad judge of weirdest 

Hobbies: collaging, working in my notebooks, sending mail in the post, gothic/blackletter calligraphy, sketching clothes/costumes, making/modifying clothes and accessories, leathercraft, repairing stuff

If you work, what's your profession?: my day job is 1st asst. props builder, my night job in a combo of sound installation/performance artist, theatre director, video dj, and as of last year professional playwright for the radio lmao 

If you could have any job you wish, what would it be?: if the conditions of the job were better (ie less precarious for freelance workers) i would probably spend a lot more time as an assistant director/director for less commercial, more avant-garde media & performance art

Something you're good at: making mashed potatoes 

Something you hate: public spaces that have been designed to look good in instagram photos but have terrible acoustics/sound/lighting design in person, car-centric urban planning  

Something you collect: postcards, zines, LPs, ticket stubs, vintage/antique 925 sterling silver men’s accessories like cufflinks/tie bars/etc, cut crystal glassware, collect a couple specific editions of secondhand books/art books, vintage film cameras 

Something you forget: traumatic memory loss babeyy :) also most things to do with numbers unless it’s my library card

What's your love language?: i know the love languages guy was like a junk science christian fundamentalist bigot 🙃 but i like doing errands together. i like that we can pretend mundane tasks are big adventures and share that sense of whimsy 

Favorite movie/show: (tv show) the hour, the thick of it, the wire, interview with the vampire / (film) my letterboxd top 4 rn is In the Mood for Love, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Casablanca, and Akira

Favorite food: mashed potatoes, orange pekoe tea, dark chocolate digestive biscuits, sea salt dark chocolate

Favorite animal: crows!! and the lesser loved corvids like jackdaws. big ups to all urban scavenger animals (rats, raccoons, foxes, pigeons etc), and to my close personal friends the sea otters at the vancouver aquarium 

What were you like as a child?: intense? confident? when i was a bit older it was “smart but unchallenged, so gets into trouble”?  

Favorite subject at school: theatre, history, politics

Least favorite subject: religion, gym, math

What's your best character trait?: i’ve been told i’m rly passionate abt stuff — when i get into something i really like to take it apart and want to know how it works and know what other people think of it, etc. 

What's your worst character trait?: i get too in my own head abt messaging friends after there’s been a long-ish gap in communication bc i feel i’ve failed to live up to the impossibly high standards i hold myself (and nobody else to) for friendship — i know it happens but also 

If you could travel in time, who would you like to meet?: too overwhelming to pick 

tagging @ghstbird @natandacat @volkswagonblues

[rikiws]

GANG!

I have one of those silly little moot thingies!

(No pressure you don't have to do it if you don't wanna!)

But! What music you automatically assume your moots listen to😼😼

To me, I imagine you fw brent faiyaz or the arctic monkeys, maybe some Daniel Caesar

Dude how did you know that... I fw Daniel Caesar and Brent Faiyaz HEAVY dawg are you psychic 😨 (Kendrick and Don Toliver TOO THE ENTIRE DAMN. ALBUM SIGH... ALSO KESHI I like too many artists this yap won't end so let me just stop myself) I never really got into the Arctic Monkeys but I still think they're awesome musicians, even if the music doesn't hit for me that much personally

I love this game though thank you for this, forgive me if I get any of you guys horribly wrong I'm a terrible judge of character...also I really like to talk about music so best believe I'll be listing a few songs out and explaining them too, very sorry if its a lot to look at 😭

@sugariricookies : you first ofc. I'd say you'd be into something fresh, I don't want to say cutesy bc its not exactly that but close yk. Beabadoobee FOR SURE and New Jeans too. Glue Song - Beabadoobee : its very quiet coffeeshop meetcute with a ton of flowers involved ykyk Melting - Kali Uchis : honestly any song by her bc CMON. I think it matches what you're like really well, if you don't listen to her much How Sweet - New Jeans : can we bfr this song is so heart emoji and you're also very heart emoji are we making sense

@sungbyhoon : Idk bit I feel like you'd be into something a little darker...? Not maybe something like Alt or Grunge, actually maybe yes if its something like Cade Clair or something, but more like Cigarettes After Sex and Chase Atlantic. Also very chill but less upbeat and more mature sounding I'm so sorry if this makes no sense, Another thing I feel like you'd also judge songs not just on the melody but also the lyrics so: Sunsetz - Cigarettes After Sex : Any song by them man bc they're lyrics are basically always so 🙏🙏🙏 Heavenly - Cigarettes After Sex : "Tell me it's love, tell me it's real" MAN 😢😢 LET ME SEE YA MOVE! - Lumi Athena & Cade Clair : HEAR ME OUT HEAR ME OUT IT'S JUST REALLY GOOD OKAY I'M NOT PROJECTING (I might be)

@copyhanni : hey...😼😼 okay but you're giving me Chase Atlantic, The Weeknd, and Tory Lanez full stop. You'd be more chill but also upbeat?? but like less cute and more roadtrip-with-your-headphones-in-esque: Out of My Mood - brian mantra & gate 문 : I think indie would be up your alley too, esp brian mantra I love him sm Bloody Hands - brian mantra : another one, his songs don't have too much going on I think instrumentally and his tone is AWESOME it's just 🔥🔥 Swim - Chase Atlantic : need I say more the synth and drums are EVERYTHING.

@suneng : okay just because you said you like Sunflower I want to think that you really like Metro and Swae Lee (bc SAME.) Also these songs imo seem really nice to study to, and to me you come off as an academic in a way so I think this fits (STEM girlies 🙏): Too Many Nights - Metro Boomin, Future & Don Toliver : the bass the BASS god I love the bass SO MUCH. I remember being a trap hater when I was like 11 chat I was WRONG. I think you'd fw this honestly I'd say its pretty easy to like and super catchy and just very chill Love me Harder - WOODZ : this is a very bassy music selection I'm gonna be so embarrassed if you don't like bass 😭😭 but the guitar here was life changing I think you'd love this Link up - Metro Boomin, Don Toliver, wow there's a lot of people involved in this one hold up: Afrobeats/Raeggaeton I'm not very sure but its really good sigh...honestly I think any spider-verse soundtracks you'd probably love.

@stariikis : not sure what it is but imo you'd be into maybe something softer ykwim? Def have wave to earth on your playlist somewhere there has to be 👊👊 Kind of similar to riri I'd say something a little calmer ykyk: daisy. - wave to earth : such a good song wave to earth man GOODNESS. I think this is such a perfect song for the vibes you give off The Long Drive - tv room : okay tv room is a little eccentric with the hyperpop and everything but I think this is one of the tamer songs from him, much slower tempo than his usual ones but still super upbeat in a way An Art Gallery Could Never Be As Unique As You - mrld : long name alert 🚨🚨 jokes aside I think you'd be into songs with less synthetic instruments in it instead and this song is perfect for that

@nishiriki : okay I really had to squeeze out the brain juice for this one and its gonna be such a huge stretch but hear me out you sound like you like rap,,, maybe nothing too dark lyrics wise like JID but something sort of playful-ish... okay let me just get the songs out I think i'll make more sense then: Two Tens - Cordae & Anderson .Paak : see like something a little silly but still nice to listen to, like the kind of songs you'd play in the car with your friends, otw to some random place to hang out LOVE. - Kendrick Lamar : again, the entire damn album still has me in a chokehold to this day there's no way. This is def my favourite from them all though (and a huge obsession of mine rn) and I think it matches you really well PICK IT UP - Famous Dex & A$ap Rocky : I was obsessed with this like a few years ago and then that dance challenge came and I got obsessed again. I don't think I've ever seen so many interludes in just one song before and it's so well done like its so goofy oml, no but I'd think you'd be into rap that's a little more upbeat, less serious ykyk ++Blueberry Faygo honorable mention here

chat I may have yapped just a tiny bit...okay but I fs missed a few moots since I haven't interacted with them enough to justify the music they'd be into I think 😭 nah but if you want me to write you in too please let me know bc I'd be more than happy to :)

[nocturnal-phantoms-fandoms]

🌀🌈☔🌪️ pleaseeee 🫶🏼

there you go Cat!! 🫶🏼

🌀Post the fic summary for a fic you haven't written/published yet. It can be hypothetical or something you really plan on releasing…

ok so I do have a fic summary but its very short and not telling much. also I thought I would avoid talking about this fic in this wip ask round 😩😂 since they’re so short I'll share both of them. 

The Lunar Mystery

1.09.1975 - 30.06.1978 Hogwarts years. Nadia is a Ravenclaw friend of the marauding gang.  Chaos ensues.

It's my OC-focused canon-ish long fic that I am writing. just very slowly. and not in English. 

The New Moon’s Eve

20.10.1979 In another life they were given a chance that they didn't think they deserved

It's a sequel to The Lunar Mystery and also an AU where somebody doesn't die and the consequences of that (its a fix-it, that’s what it is)

you can all learn a bit about it here (its my sideblog that I recommend checking out on desktop bc its prettier and actually usable 😂 )

🌪️Sum up a WIP with a few fic tropes/Ao3 tags.

Erasmus AU!! bc surely you still haven't heard enough about it!!

Alternate Universe: Modern Setting - Alternate Universe: College/University - Polish Remus Lupin - British Sirius Black - Italian James Potter - Polish Lily Evans - German Peter Pettigrew - sirius black is the only british character - author regrets everything - meet ugly - getting together - long distance relationship - cat owner remus lupin - implied/referenced child abuse - teenage runaway sirius black - meeting the parents - fear of coming out - coming out - family angst - remus lupin needs a hug - christmas fluff - first christmas together - sirius’s first polish christmas

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it? 

I have a doc with half assed outline and 0.6 full sentences of dialogue inspired by this pic: 

(This is, this time, full crack) (also, spoilers below)

Remus sometimes goes to house parties where he doesn't know anybody just to get drunk with somebody else’s money. He makes polite conversations, bc he likes to be liked, and it boosts his self esteem. Plus, its easier to talk to random people he doesnt know - no strings attached and all that. 

At the entrance he sees a table with different colored cups. He doesnt know which to pick - he doesn't want people to judge him based on his sexual preferences and to be perceived a certain way - especially since he didn't come here to get laid. A man (he later learns his name is Sirius) appears at his side and they strike a conversation - Remus tells him about his house party thing and that he doesn't even know the host. After they finish talking Remus picks the most neutral option and off he goes. 

Throughout the night Remus sees Sirius going around the party and striking conversations here and there. At some point Sirius finds Remus in the kitchen. Remus suggests ditching a party but Sirius looks back at the guests and says he isn't keen on the idea - Remus assumes he is involved with the guy (James) he saw him talking to earlier. 

In the early morning people start clearing out - Remus walks in on Sirius politely kicking out Fabian and Gideon and starts to realise that Sirius might be the host, so he panics bc of all the things he told him earlier. (He needn’t to, Sirius ask him out on a date ⬇️)

🌈 Share something soft/fluffy from your WIP.

(spoilers for the unnamed house party fic)

“You said you didn't know the host,” said Sirius, “so I thought-” “Yes, and you are the host,” said Remus, going pale with the realisation. “I'm so terribly sorry, I really didn't-” “Can you let me finish a sentence?” he cut him off. “I thought, since we both had a great time – at least, I’m assuming you had a good time – why dont we get to know each other better?” “What?” Remus asked weakly. “I’m trying to ask you out on a date here, Lupin, cooperate.” “I know, I just don’t know why.” “Because we had fun? And because you intrigue me, you little mischievous thing, and I would love to see more of you, hidden under the polite smile and kind words.”

[convenientalias]

Review of Man on High Heels (2014)

So I watched Man on High Heels last night! I'd meant to watch it for a while now, mostly bc any Korean thriller with a transgender protagonist is of interest to me but also bc of the actors involved. In the end my feelings were mixed, but probably more positive than a lot of people's, judging by reviews.

The Premise:

Yoon Ji-wook is a trans woman who hasn't transitioned yet. She is a cop legendary for her fighting skills and general badassery, among both cops and gangsters. People tend to say about her, "Wow, a real man's man." However, this hypermasculinity comes from her trying to escape her gender dysphoria and self hatred. She's reached a point in her life where she wants to transition and live a life of peace and self acceptance.

Of course, things can't be so easy! In the last days before her retirement as a cop, she gets involved in a tricky situation with a bunch of gangsters. Pretty soon, people are dying left and right, and Yoon's future as well as her life are put at risk.

This Is a Gangster Thriller.

It is not primarily a contemplative queer movie or even your standard crime thriller. It is a gangster movie about cops and gangsters and knives. I've seen people reviewing this movie who are either like, damn, that was mostly action and violence, I expected more contemplation, or damn, the ending was a big downer, why did so many people die and why were the people still living still unhappy and unfulfilled etc. And so on and so forth. In the past, I might have been more critical about these things as well. However, last year I watched 5 (ish?) Korean gangster thrillers and like... it's just the genre. If anyone makes it out alive, honestly, good for them and I'm surprised. I've seen some gangster movies where the tragic ending felt a little over the top, too plotlessly violent or pointlessly depressing. For me, that would be movies like The Wild (2023) or Tomb of the River (2021). Man on High Heels' death count is actually Not Terrible all things considered.

As for the action, it's great stuff! Given that this is a gangster thriller, again, you're mostly going to see a lot of knives, hand to hand violence, and improvised weapons, which is my favorite kind of action anyway. Yoon can undoubtedly kick ass and it's very fun watching her do it.

The Characters

Yoon is the most fully fleshed out character, and Cha Seung-won does a really good job acting her. Aside from the subtlety of his performance (he does a great job with both stoic violence and quiet signs of gender dysphoria and euphoria), he is just. Very hot. As both a man and a woman! Incredible eyes. For reference, this is Yoon presenting as female:

Yoon comes across as very masculine at first glance but when characters are like wow, actually you're so pretty, it's like... they aren't joking. She really is that pretty. Damn.

Apart from Yoon: We have some gangsters. The most central one is lowkey obsessed with Yoon as his ideal man, and is disappointed with her in various ways by the end. There's also Yoon's loyal subordinate, who worships her, and a bartender girl who has a crush on her. A fair amount of tension in the film derivers from the pressure put on Yoon by these people's expectations and perceptions of her.

The bartender girl is played by Esom, who I knew from White Christmas :).

Also! Park Sung-woong is in this movie, for like, 2.5 scenes. Is his character important? No, not really. I just love Park Sung-woong so I felt it ought to be mentioned.

He gets one smarmy lawyer scene and one knife fight scene, and then dies. But he's sexy about it ;).

The Ending

Here's where I get into spoilers for real so don't read this if spoilers matter to you. You can just skip ahead to the next section.

Okay!

So my least favorite part of this movie (and most reviewers seem to agree with me) is the last two minutes. There's a timeskip epilogue that shows that, after the traumatic events of the movie, Yoon did not end up transitioning and instead now presents even more masculine than before. Despite this, she clearly still wants to transition, judging by signs like how she looks at old acquaintances from the queer community and certain other telling details (lingering looks at pictures of high heels, holding her cup with a pinkie out, both of which represent her desire for femininity earlier in the film). This is a downer bc Yoon's goal for the whole film is to transition, and she has not done so.

While I was frustrated by this ending, I don't think it's quite as bad as some people say. For a few reasons:

The ending is not trying to indicate that Yoon is not trans or a woman (like some reviewers claim)--there are clear signs otherwise, as mentioned above.

I don't think Yoon putting off transitioning is unrealistic. She's under a lot of pressure to continue presenting masculine, and has just been through a lot of violence. It doesn't mean she's not trans, and it doesn't necessarily mean she won't transition in the future. I mean, the movie also makes it clear that Yoon was hesitating to transition due to a lack of money, a situation which gets worse by the end of the film. She also has to have been in a legal tangle and also grieving by the end of the film. So... it may just not have been a good time for her. Of course one would wish she could come out to the world and transition, but sometimes it's not so easy.

This is a gangster film and honestly I was relieved just to see she didn't fuckign die. (I totally thought she would, just being honest.)

Also. It's like two minutes. It's an annoying epilogue but. Out of a two hour movie, about two minutes.

I do, however, think that the ending would have been more satisfying if Yoon did transition. Happy endings may be rare in the gangster film genre, but they're also rare for queer films and I think we all would have liked to see it!

Was It Good Trans Representation?

Hell if I know. Cha Seung-won's acting is great. Yoon being transgender is not played for comedy or seen as wrong or sick. There is a fair amount of transphobia, homophobia, and general sexism from side characters and as a societal force, so it's not a light watch. (Although sympathetic characters mostly support Yoon in the end, but she doesn't come out to a lot of ppl.) There are other tragic elements. A gay character commits suicide in Yoon's backstory, for example, and Yoon herself has attempted suicide in the past. And also a lot of people die, given that it's a gangster film. Everyone is having a bad time honestly. For me, it was not too heavy a watch to enjoy, but your mileage may vary.

It's not chicken soup for the soul, but Yoon is a pretty damn cool character.

Overall Thoughts

I'm glad I finally got around to watching this movie! I would recommend it for a combination of compelling action and queer introspection, for people who don't mind a film with a lot of dark elements.

It will join the very short list of queer Korean movies I've watched, alongside Method, A Frozen Flower, and Moonlit Winter. If anyone has queer Korean movie recs for me, btw... I'm open :D

[sweettsubaki]

MHA 404 / BnHA 404 spoilers

No but why are ppl mad that Horikoshi actually respects his themes and character building ?

- "Katsuki should have stayed dead for his character arc". No Katsuki needs to save people and be comfortable with both losing and not winning fights directly and learn to live with it both literally and metaphorically.

Metaphorically speaking the part of society this represents needs to die and start anew on better basics as many time as needed to learn from the past.

- "All Might needed to die for Izuku's character arc [bc he's not needed anymore]". No actually Izuku needs to learn to deal with the fact that bad things happen and to move on by choice rather than being forced to bc the ppl are dead. It's also not like ppl helping ppl is a major theme of most super hero stories and BnHA has been pretty adamant about it. How helping someone can actually help others indirectly. The Butterfly effect that's literally talked about in the chapter: how Katsuki saving All Might also saved Izuku from his own heart he still doesn't know how to control.... Like c'mon it's not that hard to understand. And for his own sake bc he got to assuage a bit of his guilt. That's great !

- "ooh bad writing 'cause ppl wishes blablabla" yeah it's not as if Katsuki and Izuku have been used as symbolic representation of their society throughout the manga or that we're in a place where the narration literally told us "How WE became heroes". It's terrible how Horikoshi hasn't lost sight of what he wanted to say and is staying consistent. Seriously how dare he.

Like you're free to dislike the themes ofc, I'm not judging that but ... Why did you keep reading for 400+ chapters if you don't like the themes and the literal POINT of the story.

Heroes' Rising came out 3 years ago, how and why are you still expecting a Games of Thrones season 8 to happen ? Like literally why ? It didn't work there, it would most definitely not work here.

(note that not being satisfied with the execution of these themes is a different story and not what I'm criticizing here)

[mad-hunts]

anyways, while we're all in the spirit of not romanticizing mental illness because let's face it; it's honestly a terrible thing to have to deal with and those with it, of course, have their own opinions as well as beliefs about how their life might be different without it... like if and/or how life would be better, but to narrow things down, i will now be talking about how although it isn't like written down as something that will for sure get you diagnosed with ASPD as that condition requires a lottt of symptoms as per my research - there is something considered to be a quote unquote 'byproduct' of it that i don't think is talked about enough, and that's the fact that sociopaths tend to not mature emotionally.

so in things like friendship, i can not sugarcoat it because even if you are a level 3 friend (which is like the highest level of friendship you can achieve with barton) to him... especially amongst those he's friends with who are able to create friendships and/or connections more easily than him, barton can get jealous. and it's this sort of childish jealousy that comes with the idea that 'HEY, this person was my friend first, so i'm going to keep an eye on you to make sure that you don't steal them away from me... even though i know that logically, people can have more than one friend.' + so if your muse is good friends with barton, like for example, an NPC in his life who's name is ravi is a good friend of his — barton is liable to practicing this kind of behavior around another character.

this, of course, doesn't mean that it's right or that barton even approves of how he does it himself. but barton knows how to hold himself back from expressing these things aloud most of the time because he has a good idea of how it will be viewed and that is, as you might imagine, not favorably. because the way in which he's thinking about his friends when it comes to this is almost as if they're a possession of his, you know what i mean? like 'i don't like seeing you talk to this other person because it feels like you guys have connected with each other really quickly and i'm scared that you'll abandon me for them,' is usually not something you'd want to express aloud unless you're like bonded to the hip with someone. + even then, there's this idea that you might be judged BC jealousy is viewed as a negative emotion. and when barton gets jealous, he can sometimes get nasty.

but luckily, barton usually doesn't get to that point because he does have some self-control and knows that in society, you are expected to act a certain way in front of people. which all kind of circles back to how he's learned how to 'act' through mimicking other people. barton just has a LOT of trouble with being vulnerable to compulsive repetition, or giving into his impulses in other words, and that may take form through him 'accidentally' letting it slip that he's very jealous of another person's relationship with his friend to the point where it seems abnormal. so yeahhh.

[transsexualgriffith]

3 about berk and also if youve seen any bad Dostoevsky takes, 7 +17 for bsd, 22 berk ❤️

lord I forgot to do this. luckily you haven't answered the ask I sent you either, so I think we're even.

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

oh god on tumblr?? it's not that tumblr isn't still brimming with bad berserk takes, but I am fairly good at evading those, and besides if I wanted some truly terrible berserk analysis, I could simply go on reddit. I think "the ideal culmination of their arcs would be for guts and casca to become king and queen of midland" is, well, I've certainly never heard that one before, but I find it more funny than offensive, and truly bad takes are the ones that feel like the story is purposely being misread to fuel downright dehumanising ways of thinking; so you know what I'm giving this to the racist fyodor x reader blog that talked abt how fyodor would never lower himself to selling his body and then basically went "(like that whore griffith from berserk)" which I still think is one of the most maddening things I've witnessed. perhaps not a berserk specific take, but a tumblr moment if I've ever seen one. ofc if we were talking outside of tumblr I'd have much worse things to show for. you truly got anything from misogyny posting to to blaming people for their csa out there (its a beautiful world), but tbh one of my favourites is the "guts left bcs he was trying to escape griffiths clutches". dostoevsky I'm not sure I can think of anything particularly outrageous, you must understand the true opponent of dostoevskyblr isn't the bad takes its the people trying to disguise tiktok poetry as quotes

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because of how the fandom acts about them?

okay to start off with I don't think there's a single character in bsd that I truly hate: asagiri is too good of a character writer for this and I think the few that I do feel some disdain towards or find myself unintrested in could still be brought closer to me if asagiri could please get back to writing shoujo-esque character driven party conflicts and novels, instead of playing powerscaling with the 5th dimension. unfortunately i think the worst fanon treatment is that of my favourite characters. would be alot easier if I hated them.

i guess chuuya could almost be counted here, because although I very much like chuuya, he used to. basically be my favourite character (??) which honestly baffles me and I cannot quite understand why, but then again, that was many years ago when bsd was in a very different state, both story and fandom wise. I really don't want to look at much of fanon chuuya content and don't find him outstandingly interesting, but I will acknowledge that it is quite fruitless to complain chuuya should get so much attention even though he's "a side character" when we have asagiri to thank for two chuuya centric light novels with the approximate page count of les miserables.

i also do not really like kōyō and find the girlboss mafioso thing very weird and off putting, but it sucks to say this because there are also alot of people who clearly judge her through the misogynistic lense.

and I think everyone should shut the fuck up about mori and talk about something else. I like mori, but I actually find it quite exhausting how even when you're amongst mori likers they can never ever turn down the morality discourse, enough! I don't care what he is he's not real can we like actually talk abt his role in the story in a meaningful way. please.

this question should've been abt ships tbh fanon sskk is going to make me blast myself into the sun.

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

shibusawa content..............my woman!? I swear to god the bsd fandom is four times the size of what it was when I got here (and mind you bsd was never that underground) and yet the fic count has gone up by like ten. and I have likely seen dead apple more than any other living person so I know how bad of a movie it is (though i think you are truly missing out on the sheer amount of homoeroticism if you do not invest in it even a little bit) but no one can deny how visually appealing shibusawa's character design is, so it is crazy to me that people aren't more eager to draw her. I've also never forgiven tiktok for what they did to dazatsu. we used to have it all in like 2017. we were pioneers. but overall I don't feel unsatisfied with fan content for bsd, it's always been expansive.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

i don't know if I have a good answer for this, just because berserk is so extremely appraised that it never feels like there’s a part of canon left untalked about, but I do know that my love for the black swordsman arc far surpasses that of the average berserk fan, and though I see it discussed often enough there really isn't any fanfic or something of the sort focusing on that period in time, which is rather sad for me bcs I think guts cringfail pursuit of femto is very funny. I also just have always liked millennium falcon, and don't feel like others particularly care for the inner workings of the kushan regime, or mule, or the ganishka conflict as a whole which I think is pretty lit. the cosmology lore in those chapters is much more compelling than whatever guts has going on in mage world.

[ouroboros-hideout]

WIP WEDNESDAY WHENEVER

I got tagged by @theviridianbunny thank youuu!

ART

The Kurt drawing I started a month ago is almost finished so I won't show that as a WIP again lol. But I settled on what I want to draw next already and I am way to hyped by the idea (Cyberpunk/Witcher crossover)

WRITING

I write quite a lot lately (or try to). Manly oc stuff because I managed to get obsessed with Alyona. Welp.

Her character introduction for my AU is halfway finished, but I am overthinking if it got a little to shippy (I didn't intendet that in the beginning but it just happened and I like it hehe). Maybe I make my shippy stuff into something extra and name it after the ship to keep the actual AU "cleaner" bc it's not that important for the plot. I don't know! I can't organzie my stuff!

Here's a preview of the introduction tho. For context: It's a backflash and around 2073, the business in Dtown starts to bloom and she comes for a visit to see what the Colonel came up with (try not to cringe by posting your writing but cringe anyway):

————————————————————

A woman got out of the helicopter after them. Relatively tall, slim, athletically muscular, her short black hair was tousled by the wind, the sides of her skull were shaved short. She wore simple, military-style clothing. Cargo pants, lace-up heavy boots, a tactical leather jacket. Everything was kept in black and dark olive tones. If you didn't know any better, you'd say she was from here and it would be easy for her to blend in with the masses in Dogtown. One detail that made her stand out, was a multitude of thin scars that ran from the lower left side of her face across her nose and up to her forehead. Judging by the degree of healing, it was a very old wound. At least on the outside.

She walked confidently past her people, holding a bottle of clear liquid with an elaborately designed label in her right hand. Probably high-proof alcohol from her home.

After a few steps, however, she stopped abruptly and pushed the aviator glasses she was wearing down a little to look over the rim in disbelief and with a raised eyebrow.

"You look old, Kurt," she said blatantly, examined the man in front of her from top to bottom and continued to walk slowly towards the him, then took her glasses off completely and put them in the inside pocket of her jacket.

"It hasn't been that long since we last saw each other, has it?"

Her English was remarkably good when compared to other representatives from this part of the world who were usually up for business in Dogtown. However, she was unable to mask the slight accents common to the Russian language.

Kurt ignored her little teasing and tried to be professional.

"I'm glad you're here too." He couldn't help but welcome her with a thin smile." And it should be about half a year. The last time was in Laos during the negotiations."

Both slowly came to a halt in front of each other. Jago had followed the Colonel discreetly and kept to the background.

"That was six months ago already. Seems like I did good on suppressing the memories about that terrible place“, she answered shaking her head in disbelief.

"How was the flight?" he added tersely.

"Ah," she made a dismissive hand gesture. "Alright. I am getting used to traveling.“ She showed him the bottle she brought with her. „Here's your favorite. Don't worry, I've got more in the helicopter."

Without further ado, she pressed it into Hansen's hand.

For all the people standing by who were not yet familiar with Alyona and her way of dealing with Kurt, this whole encounter must have seemed incredibly strange. They all only knew him as the undisputed authority figure and nobody, except at most his old brothers in arms, would dare to talk to him like that. And even there were limits.

Alyona finally looked with interest at the man standing behind the Colonel.

„And who is the cute little cat? I don't think we've met yet.“

Jago's features froze completely and he didn't think he had heard correctly.

"The cute little... EXCUSE ME?" he replied with audible outrage in his voice.

————————————————————

And I still NEED to write her fucking lore down. I think I got it togehter by now.

VP (new to the list)

Just started to activly making pics on my console and would like to come up with a little series in the future maybe.

Atm I try to make pics for a fun Discord Challenge where I have to show a single day in the live of my V. Since I am still obsessed with a certain disctrict I thought I make it a "Dogtown Days"- Edition. I struggle with the limited set of poses but I'll figure something out.

Yea think that's it for now. I still have so many ideas for a lot of different things but I have to restrain myself and finish some things first before I get lost in my WIP-Limbo.

[justsomeonewow]

Like Them

Hoppy Hopscotch angst (so Angie doesn't have to work her ass off to solve my problems bc I'm a useless bitch)⚡

Damn, rabbit, every time I look at you, I swear to God

Rabbit, you got that rabbit feet

You got that rabbit body

You got that rabbit long teeth, fingers and shit

Flat feet, big brea-

Hoppy's POV:

I know I make expressions like them, my legs to my shoulders and my chin like them, my waist and my posture like him

Like them

Like them, like them, like them

Ayuda, I'm feelin' like a ghost

I don't know where I am

Mama, Papa, I'm feelin' like a ghost

I'm barely there for any of you

Ariah, Evelyn, I'm feelin' like a ghost

Do I actually am abusive like them? (Like what?)

Like them (like what?)

Like them (like what?)

Like them (la-la-la-la)

(La-la-la-la)

Ayuda, mom, dad, you all gave me love

And affection

Attention (go)

Protection

How could I ever feel disgust or disdain of the person that gives me the treatment that I'd never had?

I would never judge ya

'Cause everything in your lives worked out

Without me (like what?)

Like them (like what?)

Like them (huh)

Star, Itzay, Whimsy, I'm feelin' like a ghost

I don't know if I am enough for you

Jax, I'm feelin' like a ghost

I am barely there for you like always

Dollface, I'm feelin' like a ghost

Do I look

(Huh)

Like them?

Like them

I decided to anything that lives inside of all of you

I would never ever lie to you

You don't need to lie to me

I'm everything that I strive to be

So am I toxic?

Do I look hurt any of you? (Any of you, any of you, any of you, any of you)

I never meant to hurt any of you

(never meant, oh)

Hoppy's conscience(aka. me)

It is your fault, not Ayuda's, not the kids, not Alastor's or Lucifer's, it was your fault, you're pathetic when feeling sorry you know? It was your fault, 'cause you're barely there for any of them and I'm you're dramatic, you know? But despite everything it's still with fault so you always fuck up and take ownership of that when it's too late of your choices and decisions and you're terribly sorry for that, you're not good for any of them so hold that to yourself, because it is your fault just, you know, don't give them more worries, they don't need more worry in their plates...

Characters mentioned:

Ayuda, Evelyn and Ariah = @shortmomma1993

Alastor = @/voxtechsmells

Lucifer = @/mischievously-royalty

Jax = @/ask-jax-things

Star = @/starlit-mess

Itzay = @/itzay0910

Whimsy = @/ask-jaxy-boy