#jfc okay we’re posting

[frnkiebby]

so I'm writing about how gerard is utterly in love with frank and his face, how would you describe frank?(don't feel pressured)

@fruityfroggyfelon So i’ve been trying to figure out in like what capacity you’re asking this? like how would i describe frank to someone or like how id describe frank in writing…so i just went with how i’d describe frank in writing. and feel free to do whatever with this, use it to whatever degree you want, hate it, love it, whatever. also idfk why im so nervous posting this lmfao i don’t think i should be but fuck dude.

also, i’ve never written gee so i’m not gonna attempt their speech patterns, so ig it’s a like you pov of frank. but any way, here we go.~🎃

The way the afternoon sun hit Frank’s face always had you in awe. The way it brought out the flecks of gold in his eyes, the warmth and depth it brought to his beautiful brown hair. He was fucking stunning, there was no other way to describe it. Your favorite thing was the way his entire face scrunched up when you said something that that really got him laughing. That uneven giggle of his always had you laughing with him every single time. You loved watching him work, the absolute focus visible on his face was nothing short of endearing. His eyebrows drawn together, lips pressed together and quirked to one side, almost a scowl. You loved the perfect slope of his nose and the way his jawline led into his adorable slightly crooked chin. The little scar on the bridge of his nose from what you always assumed to be from chicken pox as a child, and the small nearly closed up holes of where his nose and lip rings used to be— you could stare at him forever just mapping out all of the small features that you fall in love with all over again every time you see him.

[badolmen]

The thing they don’t tell you about getting into a fandom a decade late is that you will feel like an infant compared to everyone else who seem like elder gods, but you are also the most qualified to separate fanon from canon as the brain rot has yet to progress past the ‘I just think they’re neat’ stage.

[arliedraws]

Rewatching the PoA movie as I do chores, and I gotta pause while I’m thinking about this.

People who know me even slightly understand that this is my least favorite HP movie. In my opinion, it totally misses the point of the book and tries to simply hit plot points without understand what ties them all together.

If this is YOUR movie and you LOVE IT, this post is NOT for you! Save yourself some grief and don’t click the ‘read more’ below.

Here’s what the film does right:

- Wise/playful Sirius. We get a wink and nice touchy moment with Harry, and I see a glimpse of the Sirius I love here. This is good! The quiet moments with Gary Oldman is Sirius are VERY good. As time goes on, I am much more confident that Oldman would’ve made a very good Sirius given the opportunity. That intimate scene with Harry and Sirius at the end is a good cinematic interpretation of the internal longing Harry expresses to the reader.

Okay, that’s it. That’s all I like.

Nitpicky bits:

- The editing is just. Weird. We see ONE dinner scene with Marge and it seems like Harry just blows up one night (or blows her up lol) as if he’s just got a short fuse. Harry is a quiet person. He watches, he listens, he puts up with shit until he breaks. This scene needed to be longer, it needed to have more tension. We needed to understand the deal between Uncle Vernon and Harry + signing the permission form for Hogsmeade. One way this could have been shot with Harry at the table with everyone and slooooooow down the conversation. Build the tension. Close-ups, shots of Harry trying to pretend he doesn’t hear her. The book scene is very tense because Harry is quiet as they are talking about him as if he’s not there. THEN, he quietly speaks, drawing their attention.

- Don’t get me started on the Firebolt scene.

- Sirius saying when Remus is transforming “OH NO HE DIDN’T TAKE HIS POTION” as if Remus regularly took Wolfsbane back in the day? And then Sirius pleading with Remus not to transform??? Like Sirius, I think you know werewolves don’t work like that.

- I hate the werewolf design. It doesn’t HAVE to look like the wolf in canon (which is nearly indistinguishable from a regular wolf), but damn, it just didn’t do it for me.

- When Harry sees Peter on the Map??? Dude that was so dumb.

- The scene with the animal noises? Why? I don’t care about the other boys in Gryffindor. Show me why the trio are close other than out of loyalty (something that the books honestly miss out on)

- Remus being so upfront with Harry that he knew his parents and then focussing on LILY??? And also, part of what we learn over time in the book is that Remus knew James but refuses to indulge Harry. He keeps all of that secret—the mystery of Remus is completely wasted in this movie. I would have personally played this up in the film. Build him up as the “cool” professor who holds back emotionally. The payoff when he shows up at the end at the Shrieking Shack would be like, “Oh shit! I knew there was something off about him!” when it seems like he’s helping Sirius. Then, he would have to earn back the audience’s trust just like he does with the trio.

- The Aesthetic: this movie relies on aesthetic so much more than “what makes sense narratively.” There is so much winking at the audience by the filmmakers it drives me bonkers. Anytime something weird happens, they’re like, “Haha this weird thing is NORMAL in the wizarding world! Look at how weird it is! But for them! It’s normal!” Like jfc we get it. I know the first two movies are like, “look at how beautiful magic and cool is” but GOD. This is the film where we need magic to be “normalized.” We get it. We’re three films in. This is a magical world. These cheesy, winking-at-the-camera moments aren’t even like…cute or fun. They’re boring and uncreative. “Oh, how about a maid opens a door and a monster screams at her and she’s bland about it.” Like. Is it supposed to be funny? Because…it’s boring.

When you’re focused on Vibes rather than Character, everyone turns into a cheap, bland caricature. The filmmakers do NOT understand who the characters are. Even in Sorcerer’s Stone, Ron is the comic relief but we understand that he is fiercely loyal. In PoA, he is pure comic relief. They don’t even understand Harry. Both his and Ron’s lines are given to Hermione in the Shack scene which is like…why????

But this is the problem. At the heart of every scene, it was as if the filmmakers didn’t understand why the scene was there. In the film, Harry is an angsty teenager and things happen TO him. Oh sure, they want to show that Harry feels something but…we don’t really, as an audience, FEEL it. They TRY to force that emotional tension by rushing events along and then showing Harry crying sometimes and yelling his feelings. yawn, honestly.

- There is SO MUCH SHOUTING in this film. Harry screams about killing Sirius when he hears the Minister/McGonagall/Rosmerta talking about the betrayal. This was so…poorly done. This boy needs to close himself off from his friends and stew in his hatred, not scream about it. We need to be angry with him, not feel sad for him. We need to want to kill Sirius too.

HOW THEY SHOULD’VE DONE THE BETRAYAL EXPLANATION SCENE:

Look, it would’ve been a boring movie scene if they’d done it like the book. This is not an adaptation-friendly book, and I’ll be the first to admit it. BUT. What they could have done was this: use flashbacks and montages. They do it in Sorcerer’s Stone when Hagrid explains how the Potters died and it’s effective—you see Lily panicking, dying, and then you see cute little Harry with a wand in his face. That’s emotional!

This scene in The Three Broomsticks should have been a flashback with voiceover from Fudge/McGonagall/Rosmerta/Hagrid. It should have shown us Sirius and James being best friends at Hogwarts. With them, we could see Peter and Remus (who we wouldn’t know was Lupin). Then, we should have seen Hagrid arguing with Sirius about who gets Harry (the little devil in me wants to hear Sirius’s voice break, but also, we should feel like Sirius is going to harm the baby Harry). Thennnnnnn we should have seen what the Muggle witnesses saw — Peter crying that Sirius betrayed Lily and James, a misleading explosion, and then Sirius laughing. Thennnnn a close-up of Peter’s finger. Back to present.

Why is this effective and why would it build tension? As the audience, we need to be presented with proof that Sirius is a bad guy. We need to understand why this guy’s gotta be caught!

Also, show us how scary Sirius is by reeeaaaallly playing it up with a scene with the Minister in Azkaban—quiet, sinister Sirius please. Again, give us the tension! (Sirius acting all crazy in the wanted posters instead of the book’s slow blinking, empty-eyed prisoner totally misses the mark for me.) Then, show us him sleeping and talking in his sleep.

This would have been effective becaaaaaaause you could have brought back this flashback in the Shrieking Shack scene.

Which brings me to: The Shrieking Shack scene.

The most disappointing part of the film, in my opinion.

This is supposed to be it—the built-up tension (which never actually happens) finally explodes here. But the movie holds no tension so this scene is reduced to a lot of yelling in the movie. And of course Hermione taking everyone’s lines for some reason.

As as audience, we can’t just be scared. We should be angry. Sirius needs to be quiet, softer. He’s lured Harry away from safety by kidnapping his friend. He needs to be grinning, taunting Harry (I mean, he’s not, but it sounds like it). We need to feel like Sirius is just fucking AWFUL. Sirius MUST compare Harry and Ron to James and himself. Stretch this out like a rubber band until it snaps—until Harry snaps. GOD THIS COULD HAVE BEEN SUCH A JUICY SCENE.

The explanation should have been all voiceover—Remus explaining what happened over shots of the Marauders’ time at Hogwarts. Otherwise, it’s weird that we don’t have an explanation of the Marauders…at all??

When Sirius explains what really happened November 1st, we would see shots that the original flashback didn’t show (Peter looking miffed/jealous/“suspicious” behind everyone’s backs, Peter becoming Secret Keeper, a shady glimpse Peter kneeling before a faceless Voldemort or some shit, and then finally—the missing shots from the explosion in the flashback from earlier in the film.) Then, let’s see Sirius wasting away in Azkaban, growing older and older. Give us the EMOTIONAL WEIGHT. Then, Sirius’s voice breaks and we cut back to the present. We see the trio fighting with their own interpretations with close-ups.

(I also wanna see Sirius seeing the photograph of Pettigrew when he’s explaining how he knew Peter was alive.)

Also, also. Peter needs to be the Gollum of this film. Gives us watery eyes, precious. There has to be a reason he isn’t dead, and it’s because he’s so pathetic, no one can kill him. As an audience, we need to be like, “GOD, he is SO PATHETIC and defenseless!” The idea of killing Peter should be like killing a really ugly puppy. Like…ughhhh, I just can’t do it! Show us why Harry saves him. We need to see gross begging, manipulative sobbing, and completely emotionless Sirius and Remus, watching and getting ready to kill him.

Why does the film miss the mark? Because it’s about friendship, and the filmmakers had no idea.

The subplot of the book is seemingly Hermione and Ron being on the outs because of Crookshanks and Scabbers, but like Peter does with the Marauders during the war, Scabbers drives a wedge between the trio. He seems so innocent and we think CROOKSHANKS is the problem, but it’s the quiet spy. (Sure, Hermione was a dick about her cat and if Scabbers hadn’t been Peter, it would’ve been different—I get that. Not excusing Hermione. But stick with me). Up until now, the trio’s friendship hasn’t been tested by personal problems, and now, we see how Harry and Ron respond to a challenging situation with a friend.

Which. I don’t think that’s the subplot. I think this is the crux of this book.

Harry and Ron fail very hard at friendship in this story. They fail Hermione who, while extremely flawed and misguided, has good intentions. Harry treats her with indifference and then ignores her; Ron treats her with outright antagonism. They fail Hagrid miserably when it comes to Buckbeak, and we find out that Hermione has been doing her best to help Hagrid despite being rejected by Harry and Ron. And this is important to the overall situation with Sirius Black because before we find out the truth, we think Sirius was a bad friend.

Okay, let me talk about the Firebolt now because the Firebolt was never really about Sirius.

The Firebolt plot was so crucial to the story that it’s outrageous they cut this out of the movie. (But the filmmakers had no idea PoA was about friendship so I guess whatever.) When Harry loses his Nimbus to the Whomping Willow, he expresses that it “felt like he had lost a friend” so when he gets a new broom that he really wants, he’s willing to sacrifice his true, human friend for it. He rejects Hermione because she told on him to McGonagall to keep him safe—not her best move but honestly, if Sirius had really wanted to kill Harry, it would have been very easy for him.

When you are making an adaptation of a book, you must ask essential questions. What is the POINT of this film? What is the lesson we are showing? Every part of that film should be building up to demonstrate that point. Trying to hit every plot point without knowing why is so lazy. “I want to make a Harry Potter film—but the tone has changed. It’s DARK now. You gotta know—he’s an ANGSTY TEEN!” Yeah, that does nothing for me, dude.

Harry’s willingness to sacrifice himself for his friends in the Shack is supposed to show that he is capable of growth and that friendship/love should come before all else. You need to be able to forgive (Snape subplot/Hermione subplot), and you should be willing to set aside petty quarrels/greed for your friends (Firebolt subplot/Peter subplot). Sure, the plot is that “a murderer breaks out of prison and wants to kill Harry Potter” but it’s not what the film is ABOUT.

If Sorcerer’s Stone is about making friends and building a friendship, Prisoner of Azkaban asks the question, “What happens when the honeymoon is over? What happens when my friends reveal glaring flaws? What happens when those flaws affect ME?”

Anyway, I really tried to give this movie another chance (I’ve seen it about 6-7 times since it came out), and it STILL does not do it for me. I’ve come around to Gary Oldman as Sirius (but not when he’s yelling or hysterical—does he EVER yell in the books?), but that’s it.

[storiesofsvu]

Alright, it is time. Im not gonna lie to you, I’m both excited and worried about this episode. Am I more worried about the potential cringe that might happen or the fandom lashing out when they don’t get what they want? I’m honestly not sure.

So like…can we please just remember, we get what we get and fics, video edits, etc can “fix” them and make the endings that we really want. PLEASE don’t be attacking other fans or tagging actors in your posts complaining about shit, lets be polite and friends at the end…

WHY do so many show use the iphone “alarm” sound for major alarms, it honestly drives me insane

We SAW voit going back into his cell so this has got to be a nightmare sequence.

THIS is the singing shit?! Jfc guys

AND there we go with the bullet wound paget teased, now we now that isn’t an issue.

Honestly, this entire intro would have been way more powerful if we hadn’t been shown the jemily sneak peek, cause obvi it’s not whats going on if that happens later on in the ep…

Okay so… Emily either ended up at pen’s or called her up to drink and crashed on that couch and that’s how she ended up there? (obvi drunk cause of the bucket, but I still want more info lol)

Rossi needs like..sleep…and meds… him being in charge of the bau rn isn’t okay. Obvi Emily wasn’t in much better shape, and jj is like going through her own shit but it’s been YEARS of rossi saying he doesn’t want the job and jj has been the interim boss before so like, shouldn’t it just go to her? also like, rossi could/should easily take a step back, chill out, take a day of leave, this isn’t healthy. God everyone on this team needs SO much therapy…

“please im a mom, I’ve seen worse” jj is literally shifting right back into mom mode cause she knows that’s what Emily needs.

Thank GOD for tara to be able to see this, and finally be able to dig into it (hopefully lol)

UGH I FUCKING LVOE TARA SO MUCH WHY DOESN’T SHE GET THE LOVE SHE DESERVES

Like, she KNOWS dave needs help and to talk and is avoiding therapy, but doesn’t really want to open up right away so she just sits with him and lets him know that she’s there…

JJ GRABBING THE CHEETO RIGHT AWAY YESSS

Okay at least there’s explanation as to why this scene is so dark LOL

How did Emily wake up, get snacks, get drunk and get high between the time Penelope left for work and jj get to the apartment. Like, I swear it’s still before noon…. Also … homegirl is SO high…lol

Okay, so, so far I am glad that the scene/scenario was so short, like that arc of this episode is the comedic arc (so far) that keeps the ep light. Yes, it is more paget in Emily than we’re used to seeing, but also, Emily is full on losing her shit and it’s this loose, a little wild, unhinged Emily (that we saw briefly in the ep Saturday when, once again, she was intoxicated) we also at this point in the ep don’t know how/why/when she got high. And things like cbd/gummies/smaller doses are pretty regularly and readily available, correct? (I live in Canada, its all legal here so im not sure on specifications and im too lazy to google it rn lol) OBVI it would be very against fbi protocol, but again, she’s convinced she’s lost her job already… (and we all do some wild/stupid/rash things when we think we’ve lost our jobs/are on the brink of it… trust me..)

I think this is the first time we’ve gotten to see Tara use her doctorate (is that the right word lol) amongst the team and I hope we get to see a lot more of it. Like, let’s remember that she’s a dr!

Ah, okay, its legal in the district… got it. HOWEVER, she does say she uses THC to get her brain to unwind and the way it was said seems like it’s a pretty regular thing?? So like.. does that shit leave your body within 12 or less hours? Or is it fine for a fed to test positive for a lowered amount? Im not good at science so I’m gonna pretend that it’s the same as having a glass of wine or bottle after work lol…

Omg lolololol. Okay, yeah this is very fanfic of them, but I don’t really care, as if Emily got EDIBLE FUCKING CHEETOS. Like of COURSE jj would snag a few of them.. LOL.

How tf is tyler in an interrogation room….

Emily talking about how the longer in the job you lose yourself or your loved ones or more and like.. she’s literally lost all of that multiple times and has still managed to come back and be strong for herself and her team? God im fucking crying.

ALSO sobbing over jj being worried about someone from her kids high school finding the ai porn, cause fuck that somehow didn’t even cross my mind…

Man they are really pushing garvez HARD this season… and I don’t know if I want them dating or besties lol.

Ngl. I honestly am SO much less invested in the case part of these episodes than the personal/friendships… I LOVE Zach and think he’s an incredible actor and when voit is a person and not a hallucination I don’t mind him being a regular, but this whole shit with tyler? Im bored. So bored. I’m bored of this case, I want sicarius gone. S16 was good, it was one mega unsub with a mini unsub per each episode and I liked that cause it was different yet also similar to the same style of 1.0. but this is.. pushing it.

Okay thank GOD tyler didn’t actually go rogue and go in alone, jfc he’s gained some sense.

Man, all these two girls have eaten all day is chips.. they need some actual food LOL. “the ones that came before us, Gideon, hotch” lowkey hate that there has not been a single mention of elle….

 I do love that emily’s team always has her back and wants her to continue to be working with them, but iirc there was some difference to when she was gonna quit with barnes in charge, reid begged her not to leave, jj says “I’ll support you no matter what”

LOL the “I can’t drive..” “well, I can’t…” “rideshare?”

Also im sorry but they’re both SO professional once they get to work and em’s in full business casual?? Maybe more time passed than led on cause they seem pretty sober now lol.

Alright, welp, that’s it. Tonight’s ep was honestly meh. I loved some moments; I hated others and some were super boring. Overall, not the strongest that we’ve had yet this season… who knows what next week holds!

[peachym00]

Stream of 4 minutes consciousness…

*sighs deeply like an old man weathered by life*

I’ve been through three different VPNs and three different countries on VIU to try and watch the uncut version of 4Minutes ep 2 and jfc I have finally succeeded

the effort I have gone to just so I can legally watch the series is honestly embarrassing (and I am fully unashamed about it lmao)

spoilers below for another post of my stupid thoughts while watching ep2…

?????? Who is this hooded figure??????? Who is BEATING someone to DEATH may I ask?????????

I rly wonder who this woman is???? And who her dead son is?????? Does it have something to do with Tonkla????? WHO KNOWS NOT ME

Tyme is so straight faced and serious in doctor mode

Ah GREAT MY BABY I will defend him with my life I’ve decided that rn

lol at the nurses gossiping abt tymes love life

Is that Greats friend arguing with his girlfriend??????

Great sitting in class all cute and distressed about his little seeing into the future problem

Ohh Dome…I fear you witnessed something you shouldn’t have

Title what the fuck have you done with your girlfriend?????? God he’s such a creepy dude

Omfg Great WHY ARE YOU FRIENDS WITH SUCH A FREAK

I love that all Great cares about is that someone might file a missing persons report about titles girlfriend even though his friend is a LITERAL KIDNAPPER

omfg Dome in the BOOT?????

GOOD BOY GREAT DON’T HELP UR FRIEND MURDER DOME

OMFG?????????????????????????

Oh the 4 mins thing is happening

NO DONT HURT GREAT MY BABY

Oohhhhh Tyme does boxing

Okay domes in the hospital and great has somehow hurt his head

PAHAHAHAH Tyme checking himself out in the mirror so he can go and treat the patient he has a crush on

omfg this interaction is so awkwardly tension filled AND I OOP

TYME STEPPING INTO GREATS LEGS LIKE THAT AND MAKING HIM PANIC THIS IS ROMANTIC COMEDY GOLD

Greats like: FUCK this is the beautiful man I’ve been having SEX VISIONS ABOUT

omg Tyme subtly flirting with Great as he treats his wound is killing me

PAHAHAHAH YEAH GREAT YOU STARE AT THAT WAIST … Tyme is a v sexy doctor I have to say

🥹…the way he held greats chin

you have good memory YEAH THATS BC HE FANCIES YOU GREAT jfc Tyme is so flirty I would fold so easily if he were my doctor

Idk if you should be asking people that Great it makes you sound crazy bby

Okay whose body have the police found?????TONKLAS BROTHER??????? poor bby😭😭😭😭 but WHO is Tonklas brother??

Again Greats outfit choices are impeccable

OMFG TITLE YOU ARE A PSYCHO why are you literally fighting Great?!?? Omfg don’t kill him Title

WHERE DID TYME COME FROM??????????? okay there must be two different timelines playing I don’t know how else that would happen

AWWWW TYME YOU WERE WORRIED

YEAH GREAT YOU TAKE THE SEXY MANS NUMBER

oh and we’re back at that weird gambling den that Korn has been so graciously given

Oh poor Tonkla😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Korn you have no idea you just hung up on your grieving lover😭 ugh this is messy😭

I feel like having a violin player in that tiny office is so unnecessary lmao

Ooohhhhhh Korn you really are in some deep shit aren’t you

Why is Korn in Fahs BEDROOM?? what is going on here? WHY ARE YOU NAKED????? Are you lovers?? Is this an agreement?????? Friends with benefits???? ….the slurp

Tonkla the nice policeman is checking on you bc he thinks you’re pretty!!!!!

OMG TYME????? YOURE THE ONE WHO PUT A MOLE IN KORNS GAMBLING DEN????????

but FOR WHY?????????????

Jesus that was another amazing episode

[chloeangelic]

I’ll give everyone in your asks a very simple solution:

Read the warnings, if it says ANGST and no happy ending - THEY SHOULDNT BE READING IT.

Period.

No if, ands, or buts, and DEFINITELY no questioning a writer on something they clearly state in the warnings.

I don’t understand people who have such a desire to bug you about fics you share FOR FREE, WITH PROPER WARNINGS, and they still read???? Lmao like are you okay?

When you choose to click read more, you’re choosing to suffer. If you don’t like it, click out of it and go touch some grass. Jfc.

We stan chloe demonic and we stan realistic stories or non realistic stories, because all in all - WE’RE HERE READING!!!!!!

1000% I spoil the shit out of the content in the warnings because i want to give people the opportunity to click out if they dont want to read it, in the series masterlist AND the fics themselves. I have a long masterlist of stuff, i post new fics usually 2x a week cause im able to right now, theres more than enough non-jealousy-angst content to go around

i KNOW jealousy/the other woman is a sensitive topic, its something I spent years working through, and because its no longer sensitive to me, i think its an interesting theme to play around with in my writing and thats it

[pepper-steam-milkshake]

i think what people tend to forget (seeing all these posts on my feed atm) is at the end of the day, YOU curate your own fandom experience. there is ALWAYS going to be someone who makes content you dont like. there is a very good chance that someone whose content you do like will make content you dont like for one reason or another.

things to keep in mind?

the content someone creates is not indicative of their nature. for fuck’s sake how many times have you seen someone who looks and acts absolutely sweet and then makes the most fucked up cursed shit youve ever seen— and vice versa. the content they make is not their personality. jfc, if someone writes a story about fairies, are you gonna go, “oh, they’re secretly a fairy”? NO. so it would be appropriate to apply that to other content that you as an individual may find inappropriate

if you see something you dont like, instead of taking the time and energy to give hate to it, just walk away and leave it alone. why do you want to continue engaging with it. is fueling those few minutes of anger truly worth being an asshole? PEOPLE make content. thats right— people with feelings, emotions, experiences, memories, and lives of their own. someone took the time to write something, and then to not only write that thing but then share it with the world in spite of whatever lingering feelings they may have to it. if youre gonna shit talk, do it in private. dont do it right where the artist can see.

with today’s day and age, it is nigh impossible to avoid minors, and the same goes for adults. everyone finds their way into a space somehow. we’re all enjoying the content, and we’re all enjoying it in different ways for different reason. occasionally it’ll match up, but you cannot expect someone to share your opinions and your own view of morality. if you think murder is bad and you hate that someone keeps making the characters in your show kill people, the solution isn’t to say “youre a bad person and you shouldnt be okay with murder”. thats not the statement theyre making. also just leave them alone???

if you dont like the content and want to see something different, instead of suggesting that they make it differently, make it yourself. “i cant draw”— PRACTICE. drawing is a pain in the ass for me. im not great at it but i still practice because i want to make the content i want to see. “i cant write”—PRACTICE. experiment and try new things. “but its going to be bad”— MAKE IT BAD. everyone starts somewhere, and the only way to make your version of better is to improve on your version of bad.

just some thoughts

[applecherry108]

Hmmm…. Okay. One last post. My final verdict of Netflix atla is:

7/10, it’s not bad. It’s best viewed as supplementary to the original, not your first introduction to the series.

Did it make some questionable choices? Yes. Was it a one-to-one adaptation? Obviously not. But ffs, it’s not the end of the world. After going off the rails about Yue last night, I’m giving y’all a readmore this time bc I actually know it’ll be long.

I’m going to try to split this up into categories, so here we go.

The pros

Casting. Excellent casting. 10/10 no* notes. Everyone sounded the part, which, when adapting an iconic animated series imo, is the most important aspect. Think of the tmnt. Different cast each time, but the vibe of each turtle’s performance/voice remains consistent.

Costuming & set pieces. Again, fantastic visuals with just the right amount of realism.

Consolidation choices. I’ll say it. I thought they did an excellent job of condescending 20 22-minute episodes into 8 ~55-minute episodes. I thought centering so many different plots in Omashu was insanely clever and worked really well.

Azula. I liked the choice to have the audience meet Azula early. Letting us get a sneak peak into Ozai’s manipulation of her, as well as the overt reference to the Mother of Faces makes me think we might get Azula’s redemption shown on screen.

Children. Those Are Children. Those are children witnessing the horrors of war, which can be easily forgotten watching animated characters, but holy fuck those are CHILDREN.

Death. We’re straight up killing people on scream. Burning them alive even.

Iroh. I specifically want to shoutout Paul Sun-Hyung Lee. Mako made the role of Iroh legendary, a performance that’s difficult to follow and harder to capture correctly, but I think Lee absolutely crushed it. He wasn’t trying to perfectly imitate Mako, but that was the correct choice imo. He made it his own and successfully captured the essence of the character.

The mids/“that doesn’t make sense”

Bumi. Why’d they make him so cynical? Like, he was the opposite of how he should be. It’s not supposed to be up to Aang to teach Bumi that hopes still exists, it’s Bumi’s job to teach him that! Like that is the whole point of him being the one (1) person still alive that Aang knew.

Secret tunnel. An interesting enough solution to get Katara and Sokka to Aang, but at the same time…did that not move the tunnels into Omashu? Like it’s not a way in, it’s now a way into the heart of the dungeons? And sure, having it be a sibling bonding moment for Sokka and Katara was nice, but also…fuck you? The crystals ARE the answers. Iirc the badger moles didn’t sense emotions, they vibed to the music. I know I’m a kataang fan but even I cringed at the lights out kiss. But lights out should’ve still been the answer.

Did…did Aang never placate the forest spirit? Sure he planted the acorn but that didn’t like…do, the same thing this time. Speaking of spirits, they didn’t make Aang all that spiritual. He mentions having spiritual training with the monks plenty of times but he’s not actually like, attuned to them

Homeboy did not learn an OUNCE of water bending. Didn’t even try. I know he’s not on a time crunch (yet) but jfc practice with Katara at least??

Everything about Yue. I already went off on this, and it’s not really that bad, but it’s definitely mid. From her wonky wig, to her nonexistent ethereal moon eyes, to all the small changes that take the wind out of her tragedy—I’m a huge Yue fan. And while these changes are nicer for her, they’re a detriment to the overall narrative.

Wan Shi Tong. Having him just sorta…be there, and making it so only Aang can understand him is one hell of a choice, and does not fill me with faith that they’ll include the library in season 2, which is like…so pivotal on so many front, it’s truly the lynch pin of everything in book 2.

Ty Lee and Mai. They should not have been there. It’s one thing to show Azula getting manipulated by her dad, but legit why are the girlies here? Is it super funny to see these literal children and know they’re just a middle school mean girl clique? Absolutely. But the narrative purpose of Ty Lee and Mai is that they’re NOT there to support Azula.

The fucking… War tactics? Make no sense. You can’t “distract” from Omashu by laying siege to the North. These things are not connected or even associated. They are not allies. Forces were not diverted. Your logic isn’t logicing.

The cons (I’m super mad about)

None of the characters are angry enough. They nerfed Katara’s rage at being denied being taught by Paku. They striped Aang’s righteous spiritual fury (and placed it all on the ocean spirit? Hello??), and ohhh my godddd how did they take out most if not all of Zuko’s anger?? Where’s the brashness? The hotheadedness? The getting so worked up he stops thinking? He’s too fucking mellow. Did I enjoy him getting to be soft with Iroh? Yes. But god, at what cost? I know we as the fandom like to flanderize him as a soft autistic king, but that’s at least post book 3! Book 1 Zuko is a mess and a tragedy!

Speaking of Zuko, holy fuck they fucked up the Agni Kai so bad. I know I went off about this in a previous post but it bears so much repeating. He’s supposed to grovel for his father’s forgiveness, not be given and take the opportunity to fight back. So much of Iroh’s guilt is meant to come from not stepping in to stop his brother, not making a halfhearted attempt. OZAI IS NOT MEANT TO SHOW EVEN AN IOTA OF REMORSE. NEXT POINT—

OZAI. Let me just say, perfect casting. I love Daniel Dad Kim and I think he was the perfect choice, but it’s not his fault how Ozai was written/directed. WHY DOES HE LOOK REMORSEFUL SO MUCH? WHY DOES HE ACT LIKE HE GIVES A SHIT ABOUT ZUKO? WHY ON GODS GREEN EARTH DID THEY TRY TO HUMANIZE THE NARCISSISTIC MACHIAVELLIAN GOD COMPLEX VILLAIN! Part of what makes his downfall so perfect is that he’s shown mercy! That Aang DOESNT kill him! That he’s so thoroughly and remorselessly evil that literally everyone is saying “he needs to fucking die” and Aang spares him. He does not get to go out in a blaze of glory, he goes slowly, with a whimper! And all the poetic justice of that decision gets sucked out of you allow him even an INCH to show regret. A character willing to burn his son’s face off for being disrespectful is not a character that would regret that decision.

The gaang are barely coworkers. The heart of this show is the bonds between the core cast, and I never once felt like Aang and Katara/Sokka truly meant the world to each other. They say it. A lot of but they don’t show it. That chemistry is not there. It’s like watching goddamn Voltron and getting to the final season and thinking “this found family doesn’t even like each other.” The show spends so much time reinforcing the peripheral bonds of Aang and Zuko, and Katara and Sokka, that it drops the entire ball of Aang/Sokka/Katara.

*gestures vaguely to making everything about the moon spirit so fucking convoluted*It didn’t have to be a series of conveniences. You’re allowed to just fire punch a fish to death.

That’s all I can think of for now. I know there’s some HUGE cons but the worst of them are spread out. This is by far not the worst adaptation Netflix has ever put out. It’s certainly not OPLA (*chef’s kiss*), but it’s not Death Note either. It’s fine, really. It’s a pretty good watch. I do hope they finish out the series so we can finally, FINALLY have a live action Toph, but also because I’m so curious how the changes will compound. How differently these choice will go, and what new plots we could get from that. I could even see how we could get to fucking zukka from here, and while I absolutely do not think they’ll do that, it’s a fascinating possibility that’d be totally plausible from where we are. I want them to divert even further if they continue. I want this version to justify its existence in some significant way, even if it’s just “actually let’s redeem Azula during the conflict.”

But not Ozai. Fuck that. If they redeem Ozai, we riot.

[constantvariations]

V9C7

I am postponing writing a very delicious scene so y’all better appreciate this ;P

Post Ep: these last 3 eps are going to be carrying so much weight but at least we might be working towards Ruby’s decaying arc

Okay, totally random thought while I was watching the OP (I always watch OPs unless they’re particularly awful. It’s a compulsion idk) but I think it’d be hella cool if the blacksmith was Alyx. Whether the real Alyx isn’t the one who made it out or she came back for whatever reason (not dying ever is appealing to some, I hear), it’d be a neat twist

I’m not into 3d animation, so I can’t say a whole lot, but are the textures supposed to be this... weird? Last episode I said Jaune’s house looked like a ps2 game and it just keeps going

“I’m late! I’m late!” Okay, that’s a decent Alice in Wonderland nod. Not overdone or wink wonked, which can be annoying to those who don’t know the joke (man, I should watch Shrek again. The first two movies are masterpieces)

Wait, was that a dammit? Jaune canonically swears now. Huh

“Right on time.” It’s obviously not a time loop so what does this mean? Did the time fruit do more than just send him back in time but gave him even more of a spotlight in Wonderland? He’s a rusted knight, he’s the white rabbit, he’s murbling like he’s the mad hatter; what next, is he gonna be Jesus?

“Hurry! People are counting on us.” Uhhh people counted on you to fight the jabberwock and y’all bailed like frightened horses. I wouldn’t count on you with my fingers, much less my life

PAPER TOWNS MY BELOATHED

Okay, so we’re being hit yet again with the “what are you” question, which wouldn’t be weird if it wasn’t just our protags being bombarded with it. Surely there are some critters who venture over into new areas? Or perhaps new life occurs every now and again? The repetition has been annoying for a while, but it’s venturing into just plain silly “-so that we may serve you.” What. Why. Kill me

While I do like the designs of the paper stars, I’m really not digging the vibes. Sorry stars, you will never be the plupples from the Hot Daga

“Paper pleasers” I hate that I actually like that pun

Why is the team reacting so negatively to the stars being named after them? That’s genuinely fucking sad. Yet another instance of the show zooming by actual trauma for a cheap gag

Dude has spent who know how many years without a genuine personal connection, has been spending that time exploring the area and gaining its people’s trust, AND has shared his home with these people, yet when they talk to him about anything Wonderland related, they act like he’s saying he’s going to make them into shoes or something while having the audacity to be disappointed that he doesn’t have a solid lead on getting out. These girls are deplorable

Why are RWBY so lackluster about doing literal life-saving tasks while Jaune follows a hunch? You’re Hunters, that’s your job. Quit acting like life in Wonderland is beneath you because you don’t understand it jfc

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many different visual styles in a single show before. There’s the standard 3d, the color silhouettes (solid and textured), some microsoft paint scribbles, a few 2d stills, and now this children’s book style. Feels like an identity crisis

I understand Jaune’s perception of the tree, but I really don’t like how he overrides the autonomy of the villagers. If they’re literally willing to self-mutilate in order to leave, that’s probably a sign that you should let them go

Love how Weiss’s interest in Jaune disappears the moment he shows signs of mental illness. Gives me the warm and fuzzies *smash cut to me barfing in a dumpster*

“Because I can actually protect these people!” That is definitely a response to trauma that fits well with this narrative. Let’s see how MKEK fuck it up!

Jaune kills 2 jabbers in like 0.0003 seconds. Why in the everloving fuck did y’all have to run before?

I’m just realizing this is the first fight I’ve actually paid attention to. No idea why, but every fight previous my eyes have just glazed over. But I gotta say, I think the camera is way too close to the action. There’s definitely some interesting choreography going on but it’s hard to get a grasp on where everyone is at any point, and the bland environment isn’t helping. Go watch John Wick for some pointers

Unsure as to why Ruby is a) the only one apparently traumatized to the point of nearly 180-ing her character and b) why it’s specifically Crescent Rose/combat that triggers her. MKEK know how to throw bones but they can’t dish out any real substance

Someone please give that creature a cough drop or something because I cannot understand a word this fucker says

I thought Neo’s semblance was illusions? Pretty sure it’s called Imagination, which definitely implies it’s not a physical shifting ability. So, if the jabber-Neo had taken a bite of Ruby, would that mean Neo is chomping down? Would Ruby get stabbed with semblance glass? Or did the writers forget their own rules again?

ONCE A FUCKING GAIN WE ARE INTERRUPTED LITERALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMEONE ASKING IF RUBY IS OKAY. WE ARE SEVEN EPISODES INTO A TEN EPISODE SEASON GET THE FUCK ON WITH IT

This “don’t ask me because I’m a leader” bit is really strange coming right off the several minute conversation about finding leads to getting home where not one person even looked at Ruby. Like, this was a request for supporting a platitude not a demand for a plan

“Why do I have to be the one to always pick people up?” First of all, no one asked you to, so jot that down. Second of all, bitch you have never been the sole sally sunshine, nor were you the only one helping others with emotions. Yang picked up Blake in V2, Jaune reassured YOU back in V4, Weiss talked to Yang in V5, Qrow comforted YOU in V7 and his main source of kindness was Clover (rip good boy). You’ve had your moments but don’t act like you’re the only one pulling emotional weight

Also, this voice acting is making me laugh I cannot take this seriously whatsoever

Why in the hickory dickory fuck is Blake hiding behind Yang and YANG WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE YOUR SISTER IS A FUCKING THREAT

In this scenario, it does make sense why Jaune’s the one who snaps, but holy cannoli batman I cannot stop thinking about how much better Yang would’ve been in this position, especially after the group split in V8. Sure, that conflict was contrite to begin with and its resolution unmemorable (did it even resolve? I’m not subjecting myself to V8 again), but it’d be so much spicier if the family divide grew in absence

Skipping right past Ruby’s breakdown to focus on Jaune’s. Huzzah. At least his is more interesting and grounded than hers

Genuinely impressed with Luna’s voice here. Dude should go bananas more often

I am once again asking if the team knows about Penny or if Jaune’s been keeping that juicy bit to himself. The way the camera focused on his mouth made it seem like he was about to confess, but it was a tease. I got narrative blue balls over here man, get on with it

Wasn’t it usually Yang who tried for positivity in dark times? Or did that get left at Beacon too? Blake’s supposed to be the realist, which maybe that’s what she was trying to do here but considering her track record I doubt it

And R leaves WBY behind! Please let this mean we can FINALLY focus on her shit and not cut away from it? And they better bring the cat back or Else

[queerplatonicsolid]

AO3 stats game

thanks to @fiercynn​ for tagging me!

rules: give us the links to your wonderful words with the most hits, most kudos, most comments, most bookmarks, most words, and least words.

most hits: Drowned Out | honestly i do like this one and i’m really glad i wrote it, it’s not my fave work but it’s up there. Also i’m glad it wasn’t the RWBY accidentally fucking your boss before your first day at work oneshot that i couldn’t bother thinking a title of, and also the zukki pwp that’s like. fine? kinda forgettable imo

most kudos: also Drowned Out

most comments (originally was “most comment threads” but idk what that is): Why you don't fuck your boss | I’m SORRY for the title i was drunk this had been sitting in my gdocs for like 1.5 years bc i fell out with the person i had gifted it for i just wanted it OUT jfc whiterose shippers why

most bookmarks: also Drowned Out

most words: Madness of the Maenads | I’M SO SORRY 0% would recommend okay so here’s the thing, my intent on writing this was to explore how tempting bad coping mechanisms could be, and how traumatized teenagers do really dumb shit thinking it’s freeing but they’re ignoring human connection which is how you actually heal. HOWEVER since i never finished it, it kinda just. stops at the glorification part and is just a pretty unhealthy text floating there as it is. So. don’t read it.

also s/o to my 320,000 (yes i did that on purpose, it also had 64 chapters) Kingdom Hearts fic on ff.net that is absolutely atrocious and (i think?) the first fic i started writing? Unless we’re counting writing things on now defunct forums.

least words: PSA for a post apocalyptic world | ok i’m glad i finally get an atla fic on here! Not too much to say about this one, I like it and am glad it’s out there but is also not one of my faves.

i'll go ahead and tag @whenyourfavouritedies ! optional of course :)

[damnslippyplanet]

Slippy Watches: Only Friends, Episode 2

Previously on Only Friends:  What if a group of queer twenty-somethings were extremely messy?

Now on Only Friends:

We’re picking up right where we left off, with Top making his big public microphone “will you be my boyfriend?” proposition to Mew.  Mew says yes, Cheum shrieks, and everyone else makes different flavors of “jfc look at THIS asshole” faces, which are delicious.  

And now we’re doing…reality-TV-style confessional interviews?  This is so fucking charming.  I’m charmed. Sand is the MOST correct with his assessment that making a big public scene is embarrassing and stupid.  Anyway the point is Top is smug, Yo is pleased that her bar had something nice happen instead of just drunk people fighting each other, and everyone else is varying degrees of “Well, THAT happened.”

Post-credits, the school project about starting a hostel is apparently still happening.  Top is roaming around with his design crew doing vague design things while Cheum tries to get Mew to dish about him.  Boston elbows his way in to point out to Mew that Top has never kept a boyfriend more than three months because he gets bored.

Mew immediately gets the most evil little gleam of “Hey, that’s interesting” and muses aloud that he’s curious how long Top would stick around if he’s not getting laid.  For a second episode in a row he assures his friends that they really don’t need to worry about the state of his virginity, he can handle himself.  I’m really enjoying the way Book is playing this character.  What is going ON in his pretty little head. Is he secretly an evil sex mastermind.  TELL ME YOUR SECRETS, MEW.

Mew heads out to the back yard to find Ray, who is developing a close personal relationship with his flask of booze.  

I love the way Mew’s reaction here tells us so succinctly that this is a known bad sign that Ray’s decompensating.  I can be really touchy about how alcoholism plotlines are handled so we’ll see how this goes for me but for now I’m appreciating what the show is laying down.

So Mew’s a little worried, Ray is like “don’t worry about ME, you’ve got a BOYFRIEND to worry about now”, but then goes on to say that he just doesn’t want Mew to rush into anything.  He thinks someone nice might come along for Mew someday and he doesn’t want Mew to miss it when it happens.

Ugh. It's killing me that for all Ray has this awful crush, he clearly isn’t hinting that he’s the nice someone.  He knows he’s not nice.  He knows what he doesn’t deserve, or believes he doesn’t deserve.  

RAY.  YOU CAN DESERVE NICE THINGS, TOO.  

They settle the conversation with an “okay, I hope he makes you happy, but please know I will punch him if he mistreats you” and a hug, and then Top wanders in and drags Mew off with a pointed hand-holding because he is not unaware of Ray’s monster crush.

But we do get confirmation here in passing that Cheum has a girlfriend, so yay for her!  

*****

Elsewhere, Sand is doing laundry in his apartment building when he bumps into Mark Pakin, who apparently is an old friend.  They establish that Sand needs a roommate and Mark Pakin is looking to move out of his tiny apartment.  Convenient!

They do not discuss rent or move-in dates or anything, but they do establish how often they each want to be able to bring randos over to bone.  Priorities!  Mostly this scene is just about Sand’s pitch-perfect deadpan delivery of a warning that he will be fucking just CONSTANTLY and LOUDLY and EVERYWHERE and Mark Pakin’s going to have to live with that.

Mark Pakin doesn’t particularly seem put off by this, but Sand actually was joking, and they decide to be roommates.  Good for them!

*****

Mew and Top have gone to play laser tag for their date.  Laser tag is approximately the least fun thing in the world for me and even Top admits he only suggested this date so he could corner Mew alone in a dark place and do inappropriate things to him.  On the LASER TAG COURSE or field or whatever we call it? Top, my guy, please.  There’s black lights in here.  Keep it in your pants.

There’s so much terrible innuendo here about moving fast and aiming what you shoot at and on and on.  I can’t.

But Mew gets to hang out by a big DANGER sign for a while and that's fun.

Also he makes Top think he might at least get a kiss out of the situation and then fully shoots him with the laser gun and dances off smirking and triumphant.

And then he gets to stop Top from kissing him so that he can explain that he was embarrassed by the public scene at the bar and he’s not going to fuck Top just because he’s hot and rich.  He’s not even sure Top is his type.  He’s sending Top back to the beginning to try a bit harder to woo him properly and maybe then he’ll decide if he likes him. 

Yeah, Mew is either an evil sex mastermind or a sex savant of some sort just coming into his incubus powers.  Either way I’m here for it.

Confessional video again!  Mew has a checklist for a good partner.  His partner needs to: respect him, love and get along with his friends, and not tell lies.  That’s all!  He’s pretty low maintenance, really!  What could go wrong?

*****

Ray apparently goes to school sometimes besides just checking in to attend his business class, as he’s wandering the halls moping about Mew’s Instagram post about his laser tag date.  He needs a distraction.  And he finds one in the person of Sand, lurking around campus for all the world looking like Your Local Weed Guy, dispensing mysterious items from his bag in exchange for furtively-handed-over cash.

Ray fully lights up with the excitement of having someone to pick on to distract him from his own misery, and follows Sand out to the parking lot to scold him for dealing drugs and vaguely threaten to turn him in for inappropriate behavior on campus.

Sand, perpetually unimpressed, is like, “Okay but there’s a 60/40 chance you’re drunk right now, I’m pretty sure you’re not a threat to me.  Go away.”  And he tootles off on his motorcycle. 

And now it’s nighttime, and Ray pulls up outside a neon-lit club named Roxie.  Ray is hot on his heels because if you’re thinking about the annoying guy from the bar you don’t have to think about the other annoying guy who’s trying to bone your crush.

Sand is clearly known and liked at what turns out to be a gogo club full of attractive semi-dressed women pole-dancing, and gets waved on through, while Ray gets stopped for an ID check.  And then several of the hot semi-dressed women descend on Ray because they sense a new customer with fresh blood and maybe a full wallet, but he could not possibly be less interested in whatever form of semi-nude dancing he’s being offered.  He basically vaults over three of the dancers to follow Sand behind a curtain.  It’s all very normal and heterosexual.

Sand is lying in wait for him and wants to know why Ray is following him and why Ray doesn’t have any actual friends he could be bothering instead of being Like This. They scuffle a bit and end up dropping Ray’s bag, which smashes the little bottles of homebrew plum wine he’s apparently selling around town.

Ray was kind of hoping for something more sordid than moonshine. Sand points out angrily that we can’t all be rich boys and he needs money, and then he says something that will haunt Ray, himself, and me for the rest of time:

Fuck.  Show, why are you like this. 

The rest of this goes the only way it can - Sand tries to charge Ray for the broken wine and before he knows it he’s negotiating the price for Ray to hire him as a drinking buddy for the night.

Sand: we are literally at a strip club, if you want to buy company, go back in there.

Ray: I will give you so much money to be my drinking buddy

*****

It’s so good.  There are such good FACES and also LAYERS.  Ray is being a rich asshole but he is also being an incredibly lonely guy clinging to the only thing in his line of sight that is even a little distracting from the black hole of destructiveness he’s circling. 

Sand is so annoyed and so aware that he needs the money and he’s not UNaffected by the sexy-enemies chemistry. 

Extremely “I can’t believe I’m gonna let this guy hire me,” “You don’t have to,” “No I’m gonna” energy here.

Meanwhile!  Boston and Mark Pakin are making out up against a wall under a giant horned antelope kind of deal.  It’s very Hannibal.

So Boston sort of chucks Mark Pakin on the bed, which I guess means…is this where Boston lives?  He doesn’t strike me as someone who lives in Hannibal skulls-everywhere splendor.  But I have no time to think about this because I’m busy watching Boston just absolutely maul and rail Mark Pakin.   Bless.

He then immediately rolls out of bed to get dressed despite how absolutely cute Mark Pakin is being, but does offer to take some sexy photos because he has some film left in his camera and *truly* Mark is being very attractive right now.

Mark’s not the most into pictures but he wants as much of Boston’s attention as he can get and also is fully melted by Boston switching into more-intimate-pronoun gear with him and telling him that he only takes photos of his favorite hookups. 

Oh no, this FACE.  Mark is going to get his life ruined and his heart broken and I’m so sad for him.

Mark does want to see the photos immediately and to decide whether Boston can keep them, so they head into Boston’s darkroom.  Which he has in his house.  Okay, I take it back, if he has a darkroom he is also a guy who would have skull displays. Probably somewhere in this house is a harpsichord.

So they have a little chat while the film develops about how they both would like to be doing creative things but are instead going to be working in the family businesses.  Boston is doing casual post-hookup chitchat but Mark Pakin is fully heart-eyes “we are BONDING”, oh god, it’s like watching the lead-up to a car crash.

But the photo is done and it’s good and sexy, and Mark Pakin abashedly admits that he hates to have his photo taken because as a kid he had really curly hair and everyone made fun of him, and he doesn’t think he’s cute.  Boston pats him on the cheek and tells him he wouldn’t have hooked up with him a second time if he weren’t cute.  Augh.

*****

Neo is doing such good work in this show but I want to shake his character by the collar.

Speaking of careless rich boys, Ray and Sand have arrived at Ray’s big fancy house to drink the plum wine, which Ray thinks is not bad.  A lukewarm endorsement.  He drags Sand off to the other room to drink better booze and listen to records, because this was never about the plum wine, it was about being the center of someone’s attention even if he had to buy his way there.  Ugh.  UGH.

Sand tries to have a normal conversation about the record collection and instantly finds himself in over his head with the discovery that the records were Ray’s dead mom’s.  

What if there were a beautiful and terrible boy who bought your attention and then looked at you as if he were drowning and you might be the only thing that could pull him out of the water.  What then?

Well, then you might tell him very sincerely that you were sorry for his loss, steer the conversation away from the deep waters, and start making uncomfortable jokes.

And then the beautiful terrible boy might tell you that he just wants you to sit and drink and listen to music with him, because he’s tired of being alone.  And you might just stare, and drink, and wonder what you were getting yourself into.

*****

And now, for a complete tonal shift, it’s the next day and Mew and Top and Boston and Cheum and Cheum’s girlfriend April and Ray are, uh.  Wakeboarding?  I think?  I don’t know.  Some sort of waterskiing-esque sport involving shirtlessness and being wet. 

The point here is that during this wet-boys-doing-sports montage, every time Top and Mew cheer each other on, Boston and Ray continue to make hilariously bitchy faces about their respective crushes.  The grapes are SO sour, even though every time someone refers to Top as Mew’s boyfriend Mew clarifies that they are *not* boyfriends, he’s declared a restart to their whole situation.

Also, Boston cannot stop eyefucking Top’s bare torso and Top isn’t exactly unaware, or mad about it.  

Cheum falls off her wakeboard and hurts her ankle, and Top pulls her out of the water and fusses around getting her an icepack.

Mew, in his confessional with his little checklist, checks off “loves and respects my friends.”  

Apparently the first time they hooked up was in a photo booth (...really?) and the shower stall is reminiscent enough to get Top horny enough to at least consider a re-enactment.

While everyone else sits around having drinks and resting Cheum’s ankle, Top heads off to the showers and Boston follows him.  Like, really follows him right into the shower stall to see if Top might be convinced to change his mind about fucking again. 

*****

Alas for Boston, just as he’s getting somewhere, Mew appears in the changing room.  But by the time he gets to the showers, the boys have scrambled and Top is all alone in his stall, ready to flirt with Mew while Boston hides in the next stall over.  Left unclear: Did Boston manage to rescue his swim trunks during the scramble or were they still lying around where Mew could see them? 

HM.

So we’re back at Mew’s putting together furniture, which is unironically my idea of a great date.  Furniture assembly >> wakeboarding or laser tag.

Mew: I brought you cookies to eat while you build this table for me!

Top: I think you should hand-feed me, I’m so tired from all this table building.

Mew, some sort of virgin sex maniac: New offer: I hold the cookie between my teeth and you bite half of it out of my mouth.

Top: *horny AWOOGA noises like a cartoon character*

Top promptly eats the cookie out of Mew’s mouth and rolls half on top of him in the process.

I’m shocked these aren’t product-placed cookies, this could have rivalled the Kinnporsche sex bread if only the Manager of Thai BL Product Placement had been allowed to work on this scene.

Top tries to go in for a kiss but apparently Mew’s boundaries are currently “you may eat cookies out of my mouth, but no kissing.”  Sure! Fine!  We love a boundary-holding king.

Top then tries to bargain for another chaste cuddling night in Mew’s bed, but is relegated to the couch.  This is so good for me.  

*****

Meanwhile: Boston and Mark Pakin, who I’ve actually decided I’m willing to refer to as Nick now because I’m so worried about his fragile little heart, are back in bed.  Or no, actually they’re lying next to each other on the floor jerking off together.  

Oh.  Oh no.  Nick tries to start a Defining The Relationship conversation but Boston is fully still fuck-drunk and barely processing this.  But he gets it together for…okay.  So.  You know how sometimes advice about dealing with little kids is about giving them two choices that are both acceptable so they don’t clamor for the third thing you don’t want them to have?  That’s fully what happens here. Boston does not want to have the “let’s be boyfriends” conversation so instead he steers very smoothly into a conversation about how they could be EITHER fuck buddies OR friends with benefits, each of which comes with some different terms about how much they hang out when not fucking, and Nick can pick which one he wants!

Or, if Nick is developing actual feelings, they should stop because Boston does not DO feelings or drama.  (Boston is a liar.  What is drama if not climbing naked into your friend’s semi-boyfriend’s shower stall to try to give him a semi-consensual handjob?)

Nick backpedals as fast as he can to reassure Boston that he doesn’t have FEELINGS, yuck, he was just CURIOUS, so they can keep on being fuck buddies.  

Augh.  The problem with a show for, by, and about messy queers is it’s so RECOGNIZABLY REALISTIC about the ways people make terrible choices.

*****

SPEAKING OF, Sand is wrapping up a night at YOLO, where he has met a probably perfectly nice young woman named Amm and they’re getting ready to go back to his place for drinks and to see his new monstera.  Because he doesn’t have a cat so he has to invite women back to his place by offering to show them his houseplant.   Perfect.  No notes.  I lured my current partner up to my room twenty years ago by offering to show him my housemate’s ferrets so I can’t throw stones at anyone else’s glass house here.

The monstera line is on the verge of working when Ray materializes, wide-eyed with glee at the discovery that Sand has PICKED SOMEONE UP and is trying to GET LAID.  He immediately inserts himself into the proceedings by suggesting they both come back to *his* place where the booze and records are better than at Sand’s and there’s a pool.

Oh my god, Ray, you can’t just invite yourself into someone else’s one night stand.

Except Ray thinks maybe he can, at least if he’s willing to give Sand even more money than he did the previous night.

Sand points out that Ray fully passed out drunk last night and didn’t even notice him leaving, what on earth does he want a reprise of that for?

Well.  Ray is lonely and horny and pretty pretty please won’t Sand come over and be his paid friend?  

So: Sand drives Ray home, and Ray is having SO much fun being a gleeful pest about being chosen over Amm, and questioning Sand about whether as a bar singer he gets picked up a lot, and singing along with the radio.  Sand would like to be more annoyed by this than he is, but it’s hard not to be charmed, and he absolutely is reluctantly charmed.

Sand stares at him for a minute and then informs the girl that sorry, he has to take care of his drunk friend.  He does NOT invite her to the pool party.  RIP Amm, I’m sure you’re lovely but who can compete with Khaotung saying please so sweetly?

*****

At Mew’s place, Top is tossing and turning on the couch.  Yes, he DOES have That One Thai BL Gridded-Print Blanket.  He gives up and fetches a pill bottle from his shirt and starts popping pills, which is when Mew wanders out in to the living room and wants to know what the pill situation is about.

Apparently it’s the designated episode for tragic backstory, because Top’s story is that he has insomnia and can’t sleep well alone.  He’s got PTSD from surviving a late-night house fire as a kid and falling asleep alone sets it off.  But he’s seeing a doctor about it, he’s got the meds, it’s fine!  He’s fine!

Mew is a li’l skeptical but also thinks all of this honesty deserves a reward, and offers to sleep next to Top after all.   Aww.

There is absolutely no reason for them to squeeze onto the couch instead of going back to Mew’s bedroom together, but that is what they do.  Mew reminds Top that they are definitely just going to hug and nothing more, Top agrees, and in the confessional video Mew checks “respects me” off his boyfriend checklist.

*****

Darkroom time for Boston again.  This time he’s developing photos from the wakeboarding hangout.  He lingers over one of the photos of two people but I can’t honestly tell which two it is.  It...might be him and Mew?  Or Ray and Mew?  Unclear.  This is mostly just Boston’s contractual one scene where he’s not actively fucking.

*****

Okay, so from now until the end of the episode I am doing feral howling at the moon.  Let’s just establish that now so I don’t have to go on about it.

Ray is serving up the good booze back at his place, and Sand is once again poking gingerly around the edges of Ray’s damage - where are his friends from the bar?  The guy with the glasses?  Ray grumps about his friends being in RELATIONSHIPS.

Sand pokes him one more time about being a sad rich boy who needs new friends but then softens and declares that he’ll be Ray’s friend if he needs one that badly.  No hiring needed.  They could just…actually be friends.

And now we are once again on a path they’ve set themselves on and couldn’t get out of if they tried, circling around each other and what exactly it is that they want from each other.  What *is* Sand’s type?  Why *does* Ray’s description of what he wants in a friend sound like he wants a dad?  By the way, uh, does Sand’s type ever include men?

(It does.  It does sometimes include men.  Sand is more vibes-based than gender-based in his attractions.  Ray circles a little closer and asks wordlessly for another chance at having Sand light a cigarette for him. Sand lights him up off his own cigarette. We're past the intimacy of a lighter flame and into something else here.)

Sand pauses to draw a neat little line - he isn’t *actually* willing to let Ray hire him for sex even if they’re both enjoying the frisson of considering it.  When he fucks people, he does it because he wants to.  For free. 

And then they’re very abruptly at the still center of all the circling, and all the questions have been asked, and there’s nothing left to do but kiss about it.  Or, well, something messy, halfway between shotgunning and a kiss. 

Sometimes friendship starts like this, Ray says, and Sand stubs out his cigarette and draws one last desperate “okay but we are DEFINITELY not going to develop feelings about this” line and flings himself across it like an absolute fool.

*****

Shirts come off. Tattoos get kissed.  What if an awful beautiful boy who could have anything decided that what he wanted was you.

Final round of confessionals.  

Ray, extremely cheerful: Mixing sex and friendships doesn’t have to get weird at all!  Hearts and dicks are totally different things!  It’s fine!

Sand, completely aware that he’s making some real Choices here: I mean, sure.  It can be fine!  If you don’t catch The Feelings.  

And then he sort of dissociates lightly for a while, so we can cut back to Ray climbing into Sand’s lap so they can have some absolutely strings-free sex that will not involve feelings in any way.

First and Khaotung’s faces should be illegal.  That is my final thought on this episode.

[growup-thatbeautiful]

Pretty Girl | 2. lover, you should’ve come over

1. Pretty girl | 2. lover, you should’ve come over | 3. been on my mind | 4. last goodbye | 5. hold my hand

A/n: more group chat shenanigans on this one!

taglist: @rosiahills22

——————————————————————————

Instagram

y/n.username added to their story

——————————————————————————

Messages

bagman: you’re in nyc??

you: yeah! i live here now lol remember

bagman: the fuckin’ chances

you: you’re in new york too??

bagman: yes ma’am

bagman: we could’ve been in the same flight

you: i slept the whole time

bagman: you always do

bagman: well if we’re both here

bagman: how about dinner?

you: that’s how you ask girls out?

bagman: no

bagman: that’s how i ask you to dinner

you: right

you: i would love to go to dinner

bagman: great

you: if you also take me to central park

bagman: you’re high maintenance

you: i’m afraid it’s a deal breaker

bagman: okay, but why?

you: cause i’ve never been

bagman: you’ve been here a million times

you: yeah but i’ve only ever been in the park for shoots

bagman: oh

bagman: then i’ll happily meet you in central park sweetheart

bagman: coffee?

you: i know a good to go place

you: the usual?

bagman: yep

——————————————————————————

Instagram

liked by hangman.jake, thereal_javy, delilah.seresin, and 500,000 more

y/n.username nyc babyyy i’m backkk

view 50,000 comments

username omg brown hair girl

tasha.trace GIRLL

tasha.trace i love you

tasha.trace why didn’t i come to ny with you when you asked :(

-> y/n.username because you’re stubborn

-> roo_bradshaw because you’re stubborn

halo_cal_bass okay but you could have taken those in san diego too

halo_cal_bass JK YOURE GORGEOUS I LOVE YOU

username okay but wasn’t jake in new york too??

-> username wait no way

thereal_javy ny state of mind

-> y/n.username real

-> username billy joel wrote it about her

fanboy.garcia gotta start vacationing like you

-> r_paybackfinch literally

maverick.mitchell Come back and visit!

-> hangman.jake soon

-> y/n.username i just saw you

amelia.a.benjamin san diego misses you!

——————————————————————————

Messages

♥️🖤birds of prey 🖤♥️

tash: NO FUCKING WAY

callie: WHY DIDNT YOU TELL US

you: ??

tash: don’t play coy

callie: jake

callie: fucking

callie: seresin

tash: bagman.

you: guys

you: it wasn’t on purpose

you: we just happened to be in ny at the same time

tash: bullshit

callie: no way

you: i swear

you: we weren’t even together the whole time

tash: and he made your insta post.

callie: we see those converse of his

tash: ^^

you: it was a fun afternoon

callie: boooooo

tash: boringggg need details

you: fine

you: we went to central park and walked around until too many people saw us and he took me back to his hotel WHERE NOTHING HAPPENED except for dinner and conversation

tash: you’re withholding

callie: more

you: jfc

you: idk it was nice? i mean, you know how jake is

tash: annoying

callie: rude

you: funny.

tash: i guess he’s a good guy

callie: yeah

callie: if there’s anyone who’s good enough for you i guess it would be one of our guys

tash: awh

tash: “our guys”

callie: don’t tell them i said that 

you: they don’t need bigger egos

callie: tru

callie renamed the chat get bagman in the bag, man

you: halo what the fuck

tash: lmao

——————————————————————————

Instagram

liked by y/n.username, tasha.trace, roo_bradshaw, and 623,400 more

hangman.jake new york, new york

view 53,786 comments

thereal_javy following someone?

-> hangman.jake 🖕

tasha.trace wow so aesthetic 🙄

-> hangman.jake i know

username did he really slip in that last photo like we wouldn’t see it?

lillibet.rose_seresin where’s your texas pride??

-> hangman.jake in my heart

->lillibet.rose_seresin ew

-> hangman.jake you literally asked

y/n.username the big apple 🍎

y/n.username you’re practically a new yorker

-> roo_bradshaw can’t take the texas out of a man 🤠

-> tasha.trace roo don’t use that emoji 😭

-> roo_bradshaw 🤠🤠🤠

halo_cal_bass good trip, bagman?

-> hangman.jake you know it

-> username BECAUSE SHE WAS THERE

delilah.seresin little bro, big city

r_paybackfinch dude why are you taking a picture when the sign says to walk

-> hangman.jake because i wasn’t going that way?

——————————————————————————

Messages

mavs + bestie

roo: there’s a traitor here

roo: two, actually

bobby: agreed

fanboy: how could they

payback: vacationing without us…

callie: side eye

javy changed the chat name to there’s a traitor in our midst

roo: thanks coyote

jakey: c’mon guys

you: it wasn’t on purpose

tash: yeah you accidentally went to dinner and took a walk

you: yes

jakey: yes

you: that’s how it works nowadays

jakey: we did nothing wrong

jakey: phoenix, y/n, and halo go on vacations all the time without us

callie: that’s different and you know it

bobby: that’s because the rules don’t apply when the three of them are together

bobby: especially when their zoomies line up

fanboy: their what

payback: dog zoomies?

bobby: when they briefly go crazy together for 45 minutes

roo: oh yeah

roo: fun times

javy: we’ve gotten off topic

you: i like this topic better

callie: doesn’t matter

tash: spill

roo: spill

bobby: spill

jakey: we get it

you: there’s nothing to spill

jakey: yeah

fanboy: sureee

tash: whatever you say

——————————————————————————

Instagram

y/n.username added to their story

——————————————————————————

Messages

roo: this isn’t over

bobby renamed the chat to we will find out your secrets

fanboy: we will win.

javy: you can’t trick us by posting a non-hangman insta story

bobby: ^^

payback: consider this an investigation

you: why does this group chat exist

javy: uh

payback: i don’t remember

bobby: you lost a bet

you: i don’t remember that at all

javy: none of us do

roo: yeah i don’t either

bobby: you were all shitfaced

payback: checks out

roo: anyway

roo: we will get to the bottom of this

you: should be easy because there’s nothing to get to the bottom of 🙃

——————————————————————————

*you sent a screenshot*

you: call your friends off 😭

jakey: they’re your friends too

jakey: they care about youuu

you: they care about drama

you: and i think they’re more worried about you

jakey: why would they be worried about me?

you: i don’t exactly have crystal clear history jake

jakey: don’t say that

you: it’s true

jakey: it’s bullshit

you: yeah but it’s also true

you: it could hurt your reputation

jakey: i don’t care

you: you should

jakey: i don’t

you: jake.

jakey: sweetheart.

jakey: i don’t really give a shit if some guys you date call you names online

jakey: or that you’ve publicly thrown them out of your apartment

jakey: i actually like the second part

jakey: also, the guys trust you

jakey: definitely more than they trust me

jakey: they’re not worried about you breaking my heart, they just don’t want to loose one of us

you: yeah

you: i really don’t want things to end like they usually do

you: not with you

jakey: they won’t

jakey: not if i have anything to do with it

you: if you don’t that kind of ruins the whole thing, don’t you think?

jakey: smartass

jakey: what’s your address?

you: why?

jakey: you don’t trust me?

*you sent an address*

you: it’ll probably change soon cause my landlord is shit

jakey: thanks

jakey: do i need to do something about him?

you: my landlord?

jakey: yeah

you: no he’s just rude

jakey: okay

——————————————————————————

Instagram

y/n.username added to their story

——————————————————————————

Messages

amelia bedelia: did jake give you that necklace

you: not you too 😭

amelia bedelia: dw

amelia bedelia: my mom + mav are oblivious

amelia bedelia: i, on the other hand, need to be caught up asap

you: there’s nothing to catch you up on

you: we’re friends

amelia bedelia: uh huh

amelia bedelia: that’s why you had a romantic dinner in new york

you: how the fuck do you even know that

amelia bedelia: bradley comes over with mav for dinner sometimes

amelia bedelia: and he’s promised to keep me updated on all the tea

you: you’re literally 12

amelia bedelia: i’m 16

you: same thing

amelia bedelia: you’re dodging

you: maybe i am

amelia bedelia: come on.

amelia bedelia: just tell me

you: there’s nothing to tell

amelia bedelia: :((

you: don’t do that

amelia bedelia: :((((

you: damn it

you: we had a good time

amelia bedelia: you already told callie and natasha that

amelia bedelia: i want more

you: picky

you: fine

you: i’ll tell you something new

amelia bedelia: YAYY

you: you know how we both grew up in texas?

amelia bedelia: yeah ofc

you: well

you: we might be making a road trip back there

you: together

amelia bedelia: WHAT

amelia bedelia: AS…?

you: friends?

amelia bedelia: nk fh ming wag

you: wtf

amelia bedelia: no fucking way

you: yes way

amelia bedelia: can i be a bridesmaid

amelia bedelia: i think i’m too old to me a flower girl

you: girl.

you: calm down.

——————————————————————————

Instagram

y/n.username added to their story

——————————————————————————

Messages

tash: have you been kidnapped?

you: no

you: is this one of those times you’re in a shitty situation and need me to call you

tash: no it’s not <3

you: okay so what is this then

tash: you’re with him again

you: ah

you: i am

tash: where are you?

you: texas

tash: at home?

tash: please tell me you’re not at home

you: i’m not at home

tash: you’re at hangman’s home?

you: want pictures of his nieces and nephews?

you: they’re very cute

tash: there’s no fucking way

you: i was going to go home anyway

you: we just decided to go together

tash: cute

tash: he better not be fucking around

you: he’s not

tash: he better not

you: i’m a big girl

tash: yeah but you’re my girl

tash: and he can be an ass

you: he hasn’t been

tash: men usually aren’t when they want to impress someone

tash: then they’re just stupid once they’ve got you in love

you: roo?

tash: he got soup all over the microwave again

you: classic

tash: he’s a classy guy

——————————————————————————

Instagram

liked by y/n.username, roo_bradshaw, bob.bob.floyd, and 829,292 more

hangman.jake road-tripping back home 🛣️

view 73,7281 comments

username they are not beating any allegations or rumors with this

-> username fr

roo_bradshaw it’s okay it’s not like i wanted to be invited

-> tasha.trace you look really sad rn roo

thereal_javy as long as you say hi to your sisters and mom for me

-> hangman.jake weird

-> delilah.seresin love you javy

amelia.a.benjamin and you said nothing was going on

lillibet.rose_seresin uncle jake more kicking in

bob.bob.floyd skipping a few relationship steps there buddy

-> hangman.jake i have no idea what you’re referring to

y/n.username just pals being pals

-> username yeah right

-> username not buying it

fanboy.garcia howdy partner (get it because you’re from texas)

-> r_paybackfinch clever

halo_cal_bass this can’t be real

halo_cal_bass also my fomo is kicking in

penny_benny finally

-> username PENNYS IN ON IT TOO?

-> username someone tell mav

[odinsblog]

@my-honest-thots NO, we are not going to do this. That is antisemitism you’re espousing. “Jews” writ-large are not evil, even if the Jewish people in the IDF indiscriminately bombing noncombatant Palestinian civilians, are —and ANYONE who has a problem with that statement can go on and block me.

JFC, there are literally pro-Palestinian Jewish people protesting against Israel. Like, a lot of them. Including, but not limited to, people like Jon Stewart. There are even Jewish people who lost their loved ones on October 7th, who are advocating for peace. And obviously, all Jewish people everywhere aren’t Israeli citizens. And even in Israel there are some Israeli citizens begging and pleading with Netanyahu for peace with Palestine - and they are straight up catching hell and getting assaulted and beaten up by hardline Zionist police and even some of their neighbors for their compassion. And yes, there are even Palestinians being bombed in Palestine who are also Jewish.

And because I know that people often have their own personalized, non-standard definitions for what “Zionism” means, I have included several links to posts about Zionism throughout this response to make myself crystal clear.

Look, I’ve already blocked OP and deleted their comment, but I’m replying because if you’re a pro-Palestinian supporter, it is super important that you do not allow yourself to engage in antisemitism where “all Jews are evil.” We aren’t doing that because eventually it becomes “all Black people,” or “all Muslims,” or “all LGBT people,” and so on. We’re not doing that. Nobody needs to resort to antisemitism to support Palestine, okay? That kind of thinking always leads to Islamophobia, anti-Blackness, white supremacy and white nationalism, and I don’t want any parts of any of that bullshit.

Some reminders:

The Holocaust happened

Antisemitism is real

Islamophobia is real

Jewish ≠ Israeli

Hamas ≠ Palestine

Criticizing Israel ≠ antisemitism

Pro-Palestinian ≠ antisemitism

Israel is committing war crimes, ethnic cleansing and genocide against Palestinians

May the memory of Hind Rajab be a blessing 🇵🇸

tw: child death

The body of a six-year-old Palestinian girl, missing for 12 days after an Israeli tank targeted their family car in Gaza, has been found along with the bodies of two medics dispatched to look for them.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and the family of the girl, Hind Rajab, confirmed on Saturday that all seven people inside the car were killed, with the Palestinian relief organisation saying it lost crew members Yusuf Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun in the Israeli attack on civilians in Gaza City.

Family members found Hind’s body along with those of her uncle and aunt and their three children near a roundabout in the city’s Tal al-Hawa suburb, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Another of Hind’s uncles, Sameeh Hamadeh, said the car was peppered with bullet holes.

“The occupation deliberately targeted the ambulance upon its arrival at the scene, where it was found just metres away from the vehicle containing the trapped child Hind,” said the PRCS statement.

“Despite prior coordination to allow the ambulance to reach the location to rescue the child, Hind, the occupation deliberately targeted the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance crew.”

(continue reading)

[lannisterdaddyissues]

Hiyah! Im sorry to interrupt you for a while, I know this might come strange but I just wanna ask for some help if you can maybe possibly take a look the post I pinned for my lil cat, we’re in desperate need of help so a reblog/boost might definitely help us a ton! I hope you’d consider but if not, its okay and I do understand! Wishing you good health and stay safe! Pls send me a msg for a response or answer the ask privately. 🙏

jfc if it wasn’t bad enough that i get porn bots i’m now getting scams in my inbox too?

[castudies]

Ok the number of times I’ve seen that post “how to study when you’re tired” on my dash is genuinely concerning. Please don’t force yourself to study when you’re tired. Go to sleep. Take a nap. Close your eyes. I assure you that is the one and only correct response. If you’re tired, your body quite literally needs you to listen. I can promise you that following any advice which prioritizes productivity over basic needs like sleep will cause you so much more harm in the long run than it’s worth

[wish-ful-thinking513]

Can people, like, stop derailing posts that express attraction to men, even as a joke? You’re only causing harm, especially to queers.