#normally i put a ton of thought into plot or whatever

[kissingarthurclaus]

Tbh I don't know if I'm just tired or busy but I don't have a ton of specific thoughts to share about my ship with Luigi, I'm just rotating him in my mind atm

[slightlysaltysometimes]

latest jay post got me thinking: i went on these one depression meds and theyre the only ones who worked and i started eating more cus i felt well enough too but put on weight and immediately dropped them. or like im so busy working in the medical field and with adhd i just often dont have time, so imagine moving in with jay and he cooks for you and makes sure you now have a good eating diet instead of few snacks and ton of caffiene for the day so naturally you put on weight and he just is FROTHING at the mouth.

this ask has me frothing at the mouth. i’m going to marry you anon

reader starting to gain weight bc jay cooking for them…

(content warnings for weight gain, AFAB body but no pronouns or gender mentioned, dress used as a plot point, swearing, 2nd person POV, very suggestive near the end, pet names used: ma, sweetheart, baby)

Starting to live with Jason is a dream.

You thought he was a near perfect boyfriend before (well, at least perfect for you), but now?

He’s a househusband. You mean it in the most affectionate, positive way possible, but he genuinely insists on cooking and cleaning entirely by himself. You compromised with him by agreeing that you’ll put away clean laundry when it’s done, but he doesn’t allow you to finish any more domestic labor with your work keeping you so busy.

It’s been a long shift, being on your feet and working for almost 14 hours. So, getting home at 8:39 PM, you expected Jason to have just ordered some takeout or pizza for dinner due to your absence.

Your keys jingle as you unlock the front door to your shared apartment, yawning as you step inside and toe off your shoes. “Jayce, I’m home!” You call out, hanging up your keys and setting down your bag.

But he doesn’t come out of his office our your shared bedroom. He’s in the kitchen, an apron around his waist and a grin on his lips.

“Hey, ma.” He murmurs as you drape yourself over his back and nuzzle between his shoulderblades. “Long day?”

“You have no idea.” You grumble, pressing the smallest of kisses to his spine. “You’re cooking? You could’ve just ordered takeout earlier, you didn’t need to wait up for me.”

“I wanted to.” He replies, almost scoffing. “I’m not gonna let you eat a granola bar and call it dinner.”

You can nearly feel your heart melting in your chest.

“You really didn’t have to.” You reiterate. “But thank you.”

You two haven’t said ‘I love you’ yet, but you’re incredibly tempted. Jason is so easily spooked by love. So you show him with your actions, instead. The gentle kisses and caresses, the gentle nights and even softer mornings.

And by the way he cooks you your favorite foods after long shifts and hard days, you’d wager he’s doing the same.

Recently, you’ve noticed a small trend in your clothing.

Some of the smaller items you have are a little too tight lately. Plus, you can’t wear your bra on the tightest setting anymore, and your usual hole on your belt is a little too restrictive when you fasten it.

Jason is helping you clip your bra when he notices.

��Don’t you wear it on the other hook?” He murmurs, clipping it on the second. “I know I’ve helped you with this before.”

You hum, turning around and pecking his lips as a thanks for the assistance. “Yeah. I might be gaining some weight recently, it might be the new medication I’m on. Might need to do more cardio or something.”

Jason frowns. “You’re already doing more than you should. You are not gonna try and push yourself even more.”

You roll your eyes, huffing. “Whatever. I probably won’t gain much more weight, anyway.”

You were such a fool.

Over the next several months living with Jason, you’ve had to go up a clothing size, up a bra band size, and up a half-size in your shoes.

But every time you bring it up with Jason, he brushes it off, just reassuring you that it’s normal for hormones to cause weight fluctuations and that you’re perfect the way you are.

Finally, you’re trying on an old dress when you can’t quite fit into it, and you break. You can’t just let him ignore it anymore.

“Jason.” You sigh, calling him into your bedroom. “Come here.”

Jason is there in just a few seconds, grinning when he sees you in the dress. “Hey, baby. Feeling nostalgic or somethin’?”

You roll your eyes. “Try and zip it up.”

He quirks an eyebrow, but he does. And it doesn’t get any further than your mid-back.

“This fit me fine a few months ago.” You say, sounding equal parts confused and annoyed. “Loosely, even.”

The rest of your words fade into the foggy background as Jason’s mind runs wild.

You only notice when his hands move and he starts to unzip the dress, then slipping his hands into it and caressing your sides.

“You’re so beautiful.” He mutters, voice thick with… Something. “Look at you. You were so thin before, remember? You didn’t even eat two full meals a day. Maybe 1000 calories on a good day.”

“That’s an exaggeration.” You scoff.

Jason noses against your neck, mouthing at the soft, sensitive skin. “Barely. Fuck, you’re so pretty. Stunning. I love cookin’ for ya, you’re actually eatin’ right now. Your body is catching up. Your metabolism is slower ‘cause of your diet before, and now you’re actually getting the shit you need.”

You sigh, realizing he’s right. “Damn it.”

He frowns, biting gently at your shoulder. “This isn’t a ‘damn it’ moment, baby. Look at you.”

His hands start to wander. One caresses your stomach as the other wanders up to your chest. “Fuck. Sweetheart, haven’t you noticed? Your bra’s too small.”

You frown. “No it’s not, I just got a new one.”

He smirks, thumb ghosting over where your chest almost spills from the cups. “Yeah, it is. You went up a cup size.”

After that day, every time you tried to start a diet or new workout routine, he would vehemently disagree until you gave in.

This morning, though, he’s staring.

You’re in just your underwear, and he’s staring as you stretch and dig through your wardrobe for something to wear.

“You’re off today, right?” He asks, voice rough from sleep.

You don’t even hear him until he’s right behind you, his large hands on your hips.

“Yeah, I’m off.” You respond, suspiciously eyeing him when you turn around.

He’s shameless in his ogling, not even bothering to warn you before he picks you up effortlessly.

“Wha- Jason!” You exclaim, holding tight to his shoulders. “Put me down!”

He smiles wickedly, plopping you down on the bed and pulling you flush to him as he leans down and captures your lips with his.

“Fucking gorgeous.” He murmurs, biting your bottom lip and making you gasp. “You’re so *soft*. You know how hard it is to stop myself from practically groping you all the damn time? Your hips, your thighs, your stomach….”

You don’t even have the opportunity to think before he’s squeezing your hips and pulling back to look at you properly. “Can I have you, ma? Please? I’m hungry, baby, and I really want those pretty fuckin’ thighs around my head.”

These changes to your body are new, but maybe not as bad as you thought.

[yumeka-sxf]

My thoughts on Spy x Family: EYES ONLY Guidebook (English ver) - part 1

I finished reading through my copy of the English version of the SxF manga guidebook "EYES ONLY." There's tons of fantastic information about the series, but I wanted to share my thoughts/commentary on parts that were the most interesting to me. Since there's so much content to cover, I'll be dividing it into a few different posts. Also, rather than go in the order of the book's sections, I decided to group the content based on topic. This first post will cover Endo's comments about the characters individually, as well as information about Garden.

Endo's Q&As and comments about the characters

Loid:

I like that Endo provides a reason for why Loid wears a WISE logo pin as it's something more than one fan of the series has questioned! And I totally agree with Lin about his "lack of distinctive features." Compared to so many other anime characters, especially shonen main characters, Loid's design is so plain, particularly in his hair and clothes. At least in his spy outfit he has a gun to make him a little flashier, but when he's in his casual clothes, he literally just looks like "some guy," haha. But that also makes sense for his character.

I love how Endo gave specific numbers for comparing Loid and Yor's strength (Yor: 10, Loid: 6-7)

Anya:

I did notice what Endo is talking about how Anya's design changed over time. But that can be said for all the characters really, and it's definitely not uncommon for manga-ka's styles to evolve as they get a better feel for their characters and world.

He mentions the classical language thing that was also brought up in chapter 42. Definitely makes me think that will somehow tie into her backstory.

Speaking of Anya's backstory, there was this little excerpt about the researchers at the lab. So one thing we can say for sure about her past is that she was not treated well there at all (which has been hinted at in the series).

Endo also discussed the origin of Anya's pink hair (namely, there really isn't any origin, lol).

Yor:

Interesting that he spent the most time designing Yor, and also about the origin of her stilettoes. And his apology to the cosplayers for that bonus feature about Yor's hair, haha.

I had to chuckle when he said they can't measure her strength because she keeps breaking the instruments! Also the fact that she hasn't learned how to make a single successful meal since the stew…Endo is such a savage sometimes, lol. But keep in mind that this book was originally published over a year ago, and obviously we know from recent chapters that her cooking is improving. I also like that he mentions that she has left witnesses to her work, like in Extra Mission 2. I wonder if that will be a bigger plot point somewhere down the line.

Like Anya having pink hair, Endo expresses some regret about making Yor an assassin (but his laugh makes it clear he's not terribly hung up about it!)

Bond:

I know some people are bothered by the fact that Yor is Bond's least favorite. But I think Bond's (initial) dislike for her originated from the chapter where he assumes he would have died from her cooking. Also the fact that Anya put the idea in his head that she would "murder" him if he did something she didn't like, like shun her food (which is obviously heavily exaggerated). But again, this book was published over a year ago, and the most recent chapter revealed that he definitely doesn't dislike her even if she's not his favorite. It's perfectly normal for pets to have family members they prefer over others for whatever reason.

Franky:

I love that Franky does charity work. I hope we'll see that in a future chapter.

Fiona:

It's interesting that he ranks Fiona's combat ability so low, especially when you consider what she did to Wheeler in the recent arc. But to me, that wasn't so much a display of combat prowess as it was totally raw, uninhibited willpower.

Yuri:

I love his blunt answer about whether Yuri has other interests besides Yor. Also intriguing that he mentions Nightfall when discussing Yuri's combat ability…maybe those two will meet eventually?

Information about Garden

Since Garden is still such a mysterious entity in the SxF universe, I tried to gather everything about them that the book mentions.

It's interesting that Yor sees Shopkeeper as her mentor since he taught her survival skills in her youth. The book also raises the question about how Yor found Garden in the first place…maybe something Endo will expand on in the future?

So the information Franky gives us about Garden is exaggerated? Gah, that just makes them even more mysterious!

The above was a cool bit of trivia...so it seems like the secret police might know more about Garden than WISE. Perhaps Yuri will find out about Yor's real identity before Twilight?

Continue to Part 2 ->

[notafragilething]

911: Tommy is mentioned in the synopsis and why I think it's important.

I was going to save this for the update to my ramble tonight but I decided this deserved it's own post because I think this might be another sign Tommy's sticking around / is a bigger part of the next episode then we think? If you haven't seen the synopsis for next week's episode please check it out:

The 118 and Tommy are presented with the Medal of Valor for their work on the cruise ship rescue. Meanwhile, Hen and Karen encounter an unforeseen hurdle in their foster care journey, while Eddie’s emotional affair develops further.

So I immediately noticed Tommy was listed, which isn't new information (we saw him in the promo), but something immediately screamed "this seems important that he's named." And I couldn't figure out why.

Because obviously Tommy's been listed in these before, right?

Wrong.

I went back and looked at all of this season's episode synopsis and looked at who was listed by name in them. I made main cast bold, re-occurring regulars like family and love interests italics and everyone else normal.

Abandon 'Ships: Athena, Bobby

Rock the Boat: Bobby, Athena, Hen

Capsized: Athena, Bobby, Hen

Buck Bothered and Bewildered: Athena, Harry, Buck, Eddie

You Don't Know Me: Hen, Karen, Eddie, Marisol, Buck

There Goes the Groom: Maddie, Chimney

Ghosts of a Second Chance: Maddie, Athena, Hen, Karen, Mara, Eddie

Step Nine: Bobby

Ashes, Ashes: Tommy, Hen, Karen, Eddie

Out of the many names listed, there are only two other characters who aren't part of the main/re-occurring cast that got listed. Most of the time they were vague and descriptive if another character was featured.

Such as referring to Tommy as "someone else," Mara being referred to as "a new addition to the family," and Amir as "a victim of the apartment fire."

So let's look at those two other names and the roles they played in their respective episodes.

We have Marisol getting her name in the summary for episode 5: You Don't Know Me. She doesn't necessarily appear a ton in this episode but is pretty significant in the plot since Eddie's storyline revolves around finding out she was a nun and how the impacts him. She was in 3 scenes and talked about in multiple others.

Mara was named in Ghost of a Second Chance, which was her second appearance. This episode had Karen and Hen's storyline focused pretty heavily on her and reuniting her with her brother.

So the fact they name dropped Tommy? Would only happen for one of two reasons.

He's going to be in multiple scenes this week or important to the plot.

They know people want to see him and are listing him to pull in viewers.

Both are fairly good signs for people who want him to stick around.

I also want to point out that Marisol, Mara and Tommy all have something in common. They're three characters that have the potential to move into a more re-occurring longterm role in the series next season.

Mara has the potential to become family (assuming they get over whatever hurdle is happening next week) which would put her in the same category as the other children in the show.

Marisol and Tommy both have the potential to be re-occurring role as a longterm love interest like Karen.

I was convinced Marisol was going to be gone but the fact that they are referring to this as an emotional affair and Ryan has made comments about how Eddie could see himself long term with her and loves her? I could see it going either way on whether or not they keep her since they might try to make the case he didn't physically cheat on her (even though I really hope she's gone soon simply because of the actress).

Thoughts?

[cripplecharacters]

Hi! I had two quick questions about one of my characters.

She lost one of her eyes as a child (she had it removed as a child due to cancer) and now she wears an eye prosthesis. She's a very friendly, outgoing, funny person and she's a fashion designer.

Question 1

I know a lot of people like to customize their canes/wheelchairs/etc. and have them in fun colors, put stickers on them, etc. and since she loves making and wearing tons of fancy, cool outfits, I thought it would be fun if she had customized eye prosthetics.

I've seen ones that look like gemstones, funky patterns, and even smiley faces and that seems like something she would love, but I'm not sure if that would be bad in some way?

I guess I just don't want it to come across as me saying disability aids need to look super cool and crazy or else they're boring? She does have a normal one that she wears most of the time, but sometimes she just likes to have fun with it and wear a wacky colorful one, especially when she's dressing up.

Question 2

She's a very funny person and she loves making jokes and pulling pranks. I know a lot of people with prosthetics like to make jokes with them (for example I've seen one of those "this outfit is super expensive" videos but the twist was that most of the cost came from their prosthetic arm, which they proceeded to swing around inside their shirt).

She's absolutely the kind of person to make those types of jokes, but I want to make sure it doesn't go too far or come off as offensive or rude.

One of the jokes I was thinking about is her pretending to sneeze, popping out the eye, and then going "omg I sneezed so hard my eye fell out!" only to reveal that it's a prosthetic.

Another one would be someone asking her to keep an eye on something and she goes "Yeah man I got this" so she pulls the prosthetic out and sets it down on whatever she's supposed to "keep an eye on".

(Don't worry she's going to clean the prosthesis after setting it on stuff lol).

Hello!

Having custom prosthetic eyes is completely fine and, at least in my opinion, doesn't imply that they need to be cool/fashionable/fun/etc. It's just another way for your character to express herself!

Something to consider, however, (Especially if you're going for realism) is that prosthetic eyes are expensive and, depending on your character's circumstances, her insurance would likely only cover one (And a fairly simple/basic one at that). Custom made prosthetics are always going to be a lot more expensive and a lot less likely to be covered by her insurance.

You mentioned that she's a fashion designer, however... if she has some connections in the fashion community, she may have easier access to those kinds of prosthetics than other people would. Maybe she knows people that make them? Or maybe she can trade favours/designs for them? Either way, it could be a solution or even just an interesting plot avenue to explore.

In response to your second question, writing characters making jokes about their disabilities is fine but you want to be careful about how you go about it -- especially if you're not disabled in that way yourself. It's a bit of a balancing act to make sure your character isn't being written to be the comedic relief (Which is, unfortunately, something that happens with a lot of disabled characters).

Although the jokes seem to be in fine taste, I do have some logistic concerns with them.

For the sneezing one, I'm not sure she'd be able to pop it out that quickly and, if she can, it wouldn't be the best idea. Popping the eye out quickly is a great way to drop and damage it and, as mentioned, they are EXPENSIVE.

Taking the prosthetic eye in and out frequently also increases the likelihood of causing damage to the eye by irritating the socket or turning the eyelashes inward which, trust me, is NOT comfortable. You would also want to be careful with setting it on random objects. Because the prosthetic eye is going directly into the eye socket, you really don't want it to be dirty when you put it back in and if they're out and about, it may not be possible to clean it properly right away.

This isn't to say you can't do this. It could be funny once or twice but doing it regularly could have some not-so-ideal consequences so it's good to keep this stuff in mind.

You didn't ask about this but I'd just like to mention: Be careful about writing self-deprecating jokes about her disability. It can get VERY uncomfortable for your readers very quickly, especially if you don't have that/a similar disability. Honestly, I'd advise that able-bodied writers avoid writing these kinds of jokes for their physically disabled characters in general.

Overall, your character sounds great and very well thought out! I'm glad to see more characters that are blind from illness/medical causes rather than the usual traumatic incident.

Cheers,

~ Mod Icarus

[pruneunfair]

COBYB shit list (Rage post).

This isn't really an actual analysis or anything like that. Just a vent post to get out the frustrations of how willfully ignorant COBYB stans are.

It's all being a "girls girl" until it's this shit

When a woman wants to act obsessive and the man doesn't reciprocate, the woman is a creepy bitch who needs to go while the man is comforted by the audience and celebrated for rejecting the stalker (as it should be)

When a sexy man wants to be obsessive and abuse a girl to get out his frustrations of being in lust with someone who can't say no to him, she's just "rejecting her true feelings" and the man just doesn't know how to show his love in a normal way.

knowing damn well that this story would be treated as the psychological horror it truly is if Matthias looked like Marquess Sergev from I thought my time was up. Pretty privilege is so real right now.

"Oh he chose to do nothing against his bitchy mom! Kyle isn't deserving of Layla for being such a coward!"

"Matthias on the other hand buys Layla gifts even when he hurts her because he really does love her! It's the nobilities fault he's like this! He apologized in the end didnt he? 😢 he just doesn't know how to properly show his love!"

Be real: Everyone would adore her for "protecting her fiancé" and would sympathize with her if she was the lead of a basic isekai or regression.

Bro will meet this girl when she's 12 and get bliss out of torturing birds knowing it makes her cry and you still have people diagnosing Layla with BPD and absolving Matthias of all blame.

Hey guys, is this the look of a pleasured young woman after a so-called "fun night" in the woods?

You tell me?

Matthias can do whatever the hell he wants and it's just "He's a red flag but I'm color blind 😏" but GOD FORBID I defend Ari.

What? I thought you people LOVED toxic relationships as long as the guy is conventionally hot?

Layla gets coerced into being a mistress against her will so her uncle Bill will be safe and people STILL claim that it was not SA because she "consented" after her only remaining family members future was held as leverage.

"Who does she think she is? Kissing Matthias right in front of Layla 🙄"

His fiancé? And don't give me that "it was an arranged marriage" crap because we all know the manhwa community doesnt give a damn as evident by OTHER manhwas.

Plot twist: The ending wasn't actually Layla getting lobotomized by the plot to love Matthias. She just knew that man was never going to quit until she either accepted or he takes a page out of the song Sarah from Tyler the creator.

Yall know that "Grandma, you little victim." Meme that originated in tiktok? That's basically the best way to describe Laylas future when she grows old.

"If you don't like it, don't read, you're just justice farming for views 😒"

First of all, would you believe me if I said I got a basic summary of what happened thanks to getting a ton of COBYB related posts on tiktok and Instagram videos that were being extremely vague and gaslit you into thinking it was romance? (Yes, I did find the rest of the chapters to read so I could actually make a verified post but to begin with, I already knew a basic idea of what was happening.)

Second of all: if this were just some random 🍇 and degrading fetish comic on a porn site with little people defending it, I wouldn't feel the need to care. (EX: I don't make any abandoned empress posts because everyone already hates it so there's no need to say what has been said a million times already) this is a gross porn novel that was put on a site mostly inhabited by 10-16 year old girls that makes stalking and 🍇 look sexy thanks to the artstyle and the ML being a buff BTS blow up doll and instead of it being called out, you got THOUSANDS of people tarnishing the name of dark romance so they can justify a grapist while pretending to be girl's-girl's instead of coming to terms with the fact that the comic with a beautiful artstyle is grade A garbge.

[mikailys]

MCL NewGen Ep 8 Commentary

Ik it's late and that several days have passed since the episode's release, but I wanted to wait a bit to let my thoughts simmer and write my review with a cool head. I need to rant about it so sit tight 'cause this one in particular is though lol.

As it was advertised, the whole episode revolves around Roy and a peculiar hobby of his: skinny dipping. Thomas is the one who spills the beans -as always- and everyone is curious about it. Roy explains that he only does it after the swimming pool closing hour and you know what: that is fine by me. Is it weird? Yes, but I'm not supposed to care what my co-workers do in their freetime so I personally don't mind.

And, unfortunately, that's all. To sum up, the plot is "co-workers try to go undercover to spy on their other coworker while he's skinny dipping :|

Since I don't like Roy, the premise of this ep didn't really appeal to me at all. But, weirdly enough, it had the opposite effect 'cause I've spent its whole duration feeling sorry for him. He gets the possibility once a month to train alone in a professional pool, and the six of us -which I recall you are his co-workers and his boss- have nothing better to do than to go spying on him? Just because they thought he subtly implied he wanted them to come see him?!

One. It is false since during the whole workday they kept "catcalling" him and joking about it and he wasn't really pleased to say the least. He put on a brave face, endured the working hours, and then left the office asap.

Two. You're adults, fully grown adults that are acting like literally teens. It's not normal for grown-ups to feel excited, see Elenda and Thomas, to play spies to see your co-worker naked. It is weird and creepy.

I'm glad at least I wasn't the only sane person to comprehend this was wrong and absurd on so many levels. Paradoxically enough, the only one I found myself agreeing with was Amanda, a character I couldn't stand until now, she gained a tons of points in my eyes + she's also a girl's girlie so gg.

Also, special mention to the hint of peer pressure put on Candy and Amanda by the quartet. I didn't like it at all and it shouldn't be even a thing considering the context.

No is no, even if Roy supposedly enjoys voyeurism, I personally do not.

This is really a shame cause they butchered so many characters with this unnecessary sketch, Thomas being the worst of them in my eyes. I'm not sure if my perception of him was wrong from the start, but I don't recognize this character at all. Silly jokes, creepy hobbies, and an immature, teenage-like attitude were never traits I would have attributed to him. I know I keep repeating myself but it's truly a shame that such poor writing has impacted the perception and development of the characters, which now seems clearly different from how they were portrayed in the beginning...

Going forward, I made then the choice to leave with Amanda and warn Roy about their ambush. It was nice to have that option tbh. The whole scene afterwards, sneaking into the public pool and hiding in the lockers, was utterly embarrassing because it’s not the kind of behavior you’d expect from people in their late twenties, but whatever the problem it's the whole context so I can't complain about it too much.

Then Roy catches the sextet and pulls off his counter-prank. After snitching on us, we all decided it was a good time to play with water guns. Again, the idea was fun and silly in a good way, but context-wise mmh...

Now the long-awaited moment I've been patiently waiting for: the encounter with Jason.

Look at him I love him sm nsgsg

I had no idea how they would include him in the episode since he practically had nothing to do with the Devenemential gang. And honestly -unpopular opinion- they probably should have left him out of this messy episode because the reason they gave for his involvement didn’t fully convince me, and the special scene was disappointing.

Apparently, he also has deals with the guards -worst security protocol ever if you ask me- and he goes there once a week to train. And here I was thinking that the CEO of a famous and well-known company would have a private pool or the means to rent one lol. Looks like everyone's feeling the pinch these days. Good job Jason, saving money like the rest of us poor unfortunate souls, such a relatable boss.

Fun fact, it appears one of his dreams is to defeat Roy? In a swimming competition?? Like, okay? I'll gladly be there to root for you the day you actually succeed then dear.

Well maybe not everyone shares the same hobbies as you and Roy, Candy. Besides, why would he know about Roy's interests?? He's not as deranged as Thomas, who keeps tabs on his colleagues' private lives...

ANYWAY. Candy feels cold and needs to get out of the pool if she doesn’t want to catch pneumonia. Jason offers to help her by closing his eyes, but she’s not fully convinced. Again, NOT EVERYONE IS A PERV, CANDY. You're just the unlucky girl who's got to work with them. In fact you should bring him to Devenemential to have him teach your colleagues the art of not being crazy maniacs, I'm sure that could be of help.

I won't spend too many words on the next scene since I've already made a whole ass post ranting about it and sharing my headcanon. However, regarding the mistress scene, I will say that yes, it was poorly executed. But if the entire episode had followed this direction I would have gladly signed off on it because, all things considered, it’s not even remotely comparable to the plot we've endured so far.

Now for the special scene I am conflicted. Ngl I really thought for a split second that we actually managed to kiss him, but I quickly snapped back to reality when I realized it was just Candy being delusional and I am just as much as her. She must have ingested way too much chlorine to be having such a mental trip lol. Anyway, I didn't like it very much because it was clear that BV didn't know what to come up with. The fact that they managed to incorporate Jason into the plot was something, but asking for a well-written special scene was apparently too much.

On a side note, I’m DEAD TIRED of having to endure the worst humiliations in every single episode when we’re on Jason’s route. It's pretty embarrassing, and, at lest for me, it’s not easy to move forward without cringing every few minutes. Moreover, it always seems like he has to have the upper hand in every situation. When is our Candy going to stop acting like a fool and step up her game??

And that's all, the episode ends with Candy leaving the pool, wondering if she and Jason will ever stop meeting in the most weird way spoiler: you won't i assure you.

Now for the next episode I fear we’re in for another ‘fun’ plot since it’s called A Child at Heart, but honestly I have no idea what these interns will actually get up to. Maybe the theme will revolve around generational differences, since they seem to be Gen Z while our colleagues are more on the border of being Millennials? Idk but I do really hope the writing will be better than in this ep.

All things considered, I still have faith in BV. I know they have the ability to write a good story with a solid foundation when they want to—it’s just that I don’t know what’s happening with this series in particular. As other players have pointed out, it feels like this plot was originally conceived when NG was still set in a high school, and now they’re trying to repurpose it in a more 'adult' way. The problem is, it’s just not working.

The Halloween event is approaching, and let’s hope it can alleviate some of the discontent in the community. Hopefully the upcoming episodes will be better since they’ve addressed the topic in the forums but we'll see.

[dullanyan]

i watched all of higurashi gou and the end of sotsu. i will post my review

(HIGURASHI SPOILERS, NOT JUST FOR GOU/SOTSU BUT FOR THE VN AS WELL)

these are my thoughts after watching gou, just copy-pasted from discord.

i think the actual worst thing abt gou is the fact that its not unwatchable. it does have some interesting parts, and i am a huge sucker for the antics the main crew gets up to. but in general its disrespectful? like to satoko especially. i can believe that her and rika drift apart a bit at st lucia, but rika is too committed to making sure everything is good forever, i really doubt she would just like not talk to satoko sure i can see satoko being like no im fine i dont need any help but rika knows her. she would know thats a lie and they'd talk it out overall its very dedicated to making satoko be really dense.

and the same for sotsu

honestly, i think the loops/eua didnt need to happen at all. in fact, in my head, none of it was canon. even the ending felt pretty dumb of like "oooohhh, we're the only 2 looping entities, we gotta avoid each other foreverrrr" like man shut up. its trying to hard to be toxic yuri but it just sucks bc its 2 characters that shouldnt be going thru that. what i CAN believe is like. either satoko and rika going to st lucia, getting into a physical fight over it, coming to terms with the fact satoko doesnt like it and its hurting her so she transfers from there to the normal high school the others went to. OR them getting in a fight over it beforehand and agreeing to go their separate ways to 2 different schools. eua felt completely pointless honestly. the loops were so... nothing. also i feel a little weird abt the teppei redemption. not that he cant change and stuff but yknow............................ also they literally remembered satoshi so last second and threw him in there HNFDKHDFNK "oh im awake now!!! :D" its been 4 years man the fight scene where they go thru different loops was pretty cool i guess. kind of felt waaaay over the top though when they went super saiyan miko mode. its cool for what it is, but also, it feels so excessive based on everything else in higurashi. honestly gou/sotsu probably wouldnt be.......... horrible? if it were its own anime and the vns didnt exist. but they do and so these just kind of.... really tarnish them imo. which is why i dont consider that shit canon. also its just weirdly abusive to hanyuu for no reason. idk what thats all about. she literally only got to have 1 good moment the whole fucking series. wadda hell man. the only good things i think gou brings to the table is a peek into their futures a bit, like what happens after w their middle/high school lives. the rest of that stuff didnt need to happen though im thinking abt it all and how little the main cast really got to talk to satoko and rika thru all this shit. when it came to that plot, its like the rest of them didnt even matter. you're telling me rena wouldnt pick up on satokos feelings and talk to her abt it??? how they wouldnt like try to figure out whats going on at all? its stupid. it focuses way too much on rika and satoko, neglecting the importance of the others. ultimately, i know why this anime was made and what its purpose is. i know its to appeal to the much larger audience of higurashi fans anime onlys that were in it for the cute girls killing each other. it was trying to do stuff for the vn readers as well, but it just fell flat bc in the end none of that shit needed to happen. i know its stupid to criticize a story on what should or shouldnt have happened, but you know. knowing what i DO abt the characters and how the vn stresses the importance of talking to your friends to work out your problems... it just, sucks that they threw that all away in favor of a ton of gore. at the end of the day, im not like, mad or insulted this exists. its whatever. plus it puts some higurashi merch back on the market so not everything is ultra rare 20 year old figures for $700. it doesnt really exist for me, as a fan of the vns. i dont even think its horrible, it had some enjoyable parts to it. its just not good, is all. thanks for coming to my higurashi essay.

those are my discord ramblings. now i ramble here.

for sotsu, genuinely it felt like i didnt need to watch the first 11/12 episodes. yeah, it provided new perspectives and included how things got that way, but... i read the summaries of those episodes and got the gist of it all. if i had more respect for the plot they were going for, i might've watched em. but i dont like it! it was a really weird character assassination of satoko.

i can believe her behavior to some extent- not wanting to lose her best friend but not wanting to subject herself to constant misery in an academy she cant keep up with. again, i feel like eua didnt need to exist, and they couldve actually worked it out from there. especially if they let anyone else like... matter? let them talk and reason with their friends?

tl;dr if you like the vns, generally gou/sotsu isnt for you i'd say.

[koiifiishy]

since i've had a little longer to play the game and read through some discord stuff + general fandom thoughts, i wanted to try and put my own disorganized thoughts into a post:

to start, i wana get the obvious outta the way: yeah, its a porn game. there's a ton of sex and for a lot of people that's the draw. i think the smutty bits are fun too! but if it was 100% mindless porn-no-plot i wouldn't have kept playing. i also try to play as close to "in character" as i can to whatever kind of pc i make for these kinds of games -- ie, eris himself isn't sex crazed, so a lot of the game's smutty content has yet to be seen by me. i'm more so interested in the world state / background and character dynamics, as much or little as we've been teased with. the cool thing about DoL is that this is an updating game so there's a possibility for more lore drops in the future! the fact that we can learn that the crazy amount of horniness isn't actually normal and that there's freaky shit happening because of. . . (speculatively, some kind of failed ritual done in the past? its vague for now but that just makes me wanna know even more!!).

anyways - with all of that said, obviously play the game how you wana! there's no wrong way! but i just wanted to explain my own approach first :>

i agree with the few people i've seen say "DoL could be considered a horror game", i love the idea of the psychological horror (i say, as thats one of my favorite genres haha) and the setting/characters lend itself to that when you dive deeper than surface level. since i've been focusing on the church, the supernatural influences, and eris' relationship with sydney - those are the things that i wana talk about in this post!

the church is pretty flat out suspicious. i think we can all agree that there's some funky shit going on with it, and although it can offer respite to the player, i really don't think their intentions are all that good. i think back to kylar's parents and the scene with the dark figure explaining (very vaguely) what happened to make them monsters. unless i read it the wrong way, i'm pretty sure it was the church that did it, as a means of punishing them? if that isn't the case, it's still sketchy that they've known about the manor and haven't done anything to help a kid in need. in regards to eris and his playthrough, he only really began going to the church for their monthly allowance and the chastity belt; he stayed because of his deepening relationship with sydney and the desire to know more. too many things didn't add up for him to be content with not digging into the church's business - and it's clear that by digging there, you'd probably learn more about why the town is the way it is.

it seems like the supernatural is... known, though not accepted, in DoL. a lot of things seem to be made more pronounced if you have a high awareness, which i think the average townsfolk probably don't have so they wouldn't see as much as a high awareness pc - but it's obviously there and it feels like it's not supposed to be. when you have a high awareness and you've begun to dig into the church's affairs, things really begin to get even fishier. i think your typical pc probably isn't going to be focused on "getting to the bottom of things", given there's plenty of human related issues to focus on and bailey's rent to pay. i feel like most pc's probably just accept things for how they are and roll with it, because what else are they supposed to do? i'd be surprised if there wasn't some level of disassociation there too. i think eris himself finds things unbelievable and at times disassociates from the constant trauma being thrown at him - but there's still that insatiable drive to dig deeper.

i'm also approaching these topics with more of a "psychological / paranormal horror" first and "freaky sexy smut" second mindset haha. the game's obviously very zany, especially if you have ALL of the smut toggles on (i turned off parasites and vore, they squick me out too badly) - it's pretty easy to view the game as just silly then. i also acknowledge that everyone having it out for the pc is probably just a way for them to directly interact with the pc and move the story (and sex scenes) along, but i think its fun to think there's some kind of paranormal reason behind that too. and maybe there has been something mentioned on the discord from the writers that i missed! but from the breadcrumbs i've nibbled thus far, with the IW's first abduction scene, i'm leaning towards the pc having some kind of "past life" ties to the initial ground zero of the world's initial shattering. i'm really trying not to be caught by BW or eden so i haven't been exploring the woods too much HAHA,,, but i do recall the old temple sight and the random cultists that can nab you after you escape the wraith. i bet there's more info there.... damn you wolfie and eden lol!! being confined cuts into my lore finding time so i really dont want them to catch me!

as for the topic of sydney, since i've seen my fair share of posts going around about them (mine is male, so i'll be referring to them as "he/him" from here on out!) i also wanted to write a little: firstly, eris didn't set out to corrupt him. their romance was a loooong slow burn in game and sydney's fall from purity was also equally slow. the fact that you can still do "everything right" - build up the relationship from friends to more, agree to be bound, don't overstep or force him, etc - but still end up "corrupting" him simply by flirting with your church approved boyfriend... i think it's a little shitty that people seem to point at the pc and blame them for sydney's corruption? eris as a character is somebody that never wants to force himself upon someone, because he doesn't want people to do that to him - he understands the feeling of being helpless to another's perverse desires and he cares too deeply for those close to him to do that. but even with all the care in the world, sydney still tipped into being corrupted because eris flirted and messed around with him.

i agree that sydney is a character that the player/pc can mold (to a degree). he has little backbone when it comes to himself, and would rather not rock the boat by standing up for himself. but to say he's completely ... incapable of choice? feels like a misreading of his character. he's definitely easily influenced by those he deems important to him, but i don't think he's so much of a pushover that he's incapable of taking some accountability for his own actions.

my own interpretation of sydney is thus: i think he's probably one of the most mature of the LI's. he's calm, he's forgiving, and although he isn't quick to reprimand people for disrespecting him, he's very quick to be protective over the pc. i don't think he's as much of a pushover as i've seen people call him -- it's just that he seems to have little regard for himself. even with kylar, although their friendship is strained, he stills cares about him and shows that in game. he cares enough about his responsibilities in the library that he doesn't care if he comes off as annoying to the other students and writes on them. i wouldn't call sydney meek so much as i'd say he's uncertain when it comes to his own worth/personhood if that makes sense..?

as i've played and see the changes from his "pure" to "neutral" to "corrupt" personality, i think of it less as sydney really falling from grace than it is just him growing as a person and getting more comfortable with himself. i recognize the posts that say corrupt sydney is just acting the way he thinks the pc wants him to, but i don't really adhere to that thought process 100%? there could be an aspect of that there, but i wouldn't really call it pretending so much as i feel like he's just gotten comfortable enough with the pc to show that "bad side" of himself. he doesn't really act that way towards anyone else. he even gets flustered and acts like his "pure" self when people that aren't the pc scold or tease him. he's still the same character at heart! it just seems to me that he's more genuine. especially with a pc that isn't as sex crazed or 'corrupt' as most of those posts assume - there would be no need to 'match that freak', since there wasn't much of a freak to match in the first place.

circling back to eris specifically; he's not a prude by any means, but fallen sydney flusters the hell outta him lol! he may still flirt with him, but if eris goes an inch sydney is the one that's going an entire mile. he's his promised and his boyfriend, so he accepts the sudden eccentricities as just, normal sydney behavior after having opened up more and accepting himself, but i really don't think eris fits the common idea of a pc who willfully pushed sydney into falling. more than anything, he just wants him to be safe and happy! and if being a cheeky little flirt puts a smile on his face, then eris won't stop him. that's not his "ideal", that's not how he "wants" sydney to be: it's just an acceptance that this is how sydney acts at this point in the game. i think of it less as "The pc made sydney the way he is" and more of "no matter how he turns out, eris will always love him". dunno! this may just apply to my own thoughts and my own sydpc dynamics, but it was beginning to bother me how unaccountable people were making sydney out to be! he's a pretty interesting character with more subtle facets than some of the more extreme personalities in the game, but that's what makes me really like him! i think sydney is capable of introspection on a level that other characters in the game aren't, and i think he's smart enough that saying he just does what the pc wants is a little insulting!

tl;dr, i want to dissect this town and see what's really making it tick & i love sydney he's such a fun character <3

[walkawaytall]

Now that I finished reading (and reviewing) Collateral, I thought I'd come with some questions, if you haven't answered them before! This was the first fic you posted, but was it the first HxL fic idea you had? How did you come up with this particular take on the Ord Mantell mission? Are there any subtle Easter eggs that you had fun including?

Ooh, thank you for asking! Other than a vague idea I started to write down as a preteen that essentially amounted to “Han proposes to Leia the night after the Battle of Endor and I’m sure I’ll come up with an actual plot later”, this was the first fic idea I had. I had written for another much, much smaller fandom in high school, but hadn’t written or read fanfic in probably 15 years or more. I was in severe professional burnout toward the end of 2022, had just sort of re-embraced Star Wars after avoiding it a lot post-TROS, and decided to start reading for my original OTP. I had also been working on a novel for quite a long time and it was driving me insane, so after blazing my way through a ton of Han/Leia fics on FFN, and later on AO3, I thought I might try writing some fanfic just to have fun with writing again since the novel was making me miserable.

I remember coming up with the idea for the Committee first — the intent with at least part of the fic was to suggest that a lot of the stuff Leia and Han say to piss each other off in ESB are kind of low-blow-type callbacks to private jokes or things they had discussed previously. I also remember reflecting a bit on their relationship and how it’s portrayed at the beginning of ESB — how some people have interpreted that to mean that they spent three dang years griping at one another, but somehow fell in love in between verbal jabs. I think I mentioned this in an early author’s note on Collateral — I had a friendship that was mostly verbal sparring and stupid arguments about things neither of us cared about and it stops being fun after awhile. Eventually, we both just kind of started acting normal around one another. And I just kind of figured that, even if Han and Leia started out picking each other apart, there’s no way they’d go from that to romance in a few words, so I felt like they had to have a friendlier history than what we’re shown. (Plus, I may be reading too much into it, but the way Carrie and Harrison play those parts in that movie, it doesn’t seem like two people who just hate each other to me; it seems like two people who’ve been deeply wounded by one another and aren’t sure what they’re supposed to do. And you have to care about each other somewhat to be wounded by one another, ya know?)

I wanted a fic that was limited in scope for my first fic so I wouldn’t get too carried away with trying to add to a meandering plot or whatever, so I decided on the couple of weeks before ESB starts. I had read a handful of fics about Ord Mantell or referencing Ord Mantell and decided I wanted to do my own take on it. I didn’t know a ton of Star Wars lore, so I remember having to research on Wookieepedia a ton. I do believe my initial intent was for Han and Leia to start their romantic relationship on the trip, but the characters misbehaved while I was writing and Leia kissed Han in her room instead, and I ended up going with that.

Even though I knew most H/L fans would be expecting Ord Mantell to go poorly, I wanted to repeatedly put people at ease, at least in theory. The gang isn’t even worried about Ord Mantell, so why should we be? Everything’s going so well! Han and Leia go on a cute date and everything is fine! Basically, if someone went into the story not knowing about the infamy that Ord Mantell has gained in H/L circles, I wanted them to wonder if anything was actually going to go wrong.

As far as Easter eggs go…I wrote Han with the “Han Solo is mildly Force-sensitive” fan theory in mind. It’s not blatant, but it’s there. Some of the conversations they have reference Leia, Princess of Alderaan and From a Certain Point of View (Leia knowing Huttese comes to mind), and I do assume people catch this, but just in case someone didn’t, the final big conversation that Leia and Han have in her office occurs the afternoon before ESB picks up. The sensors she talks about are the same ones he and Luke are placing at the beginning of the movie.

Oh! Wait! I forgot my favorite one. I never come out and say it, and I don’t know if I even ever implied it, but in my mind, the reason the Falcon is in such rough shape at the beginning of ESB is because, after Leia and Han’s interactions go entirely sour, she stops helping with background repairs, which means Han and Chewie have more to do with just the two of them.

This was incredibly long! Hope that’s okay 😂

[ribombeee]

star wars and star trek for the ask game?

reverse unpopular opinions

star wars:

I LOVE LUKE SKYWALKER. truly one of the most well written transitions from idiot baby teenager in a stupid hat to the guy with the most responsibility in the world galactic legend Luke Skywalker or whatever. u would hardly notice he’s changing but if u were to finish return of the jedi and loop straight back to a new hope he’s so changed….. i love u luke mwah

also star wars original trilogy has some of the best set/costume/prosthetic/puppet design of all sci fi. extremely immersive worldbuilding that no star wars since has been able to capture. i feel like a lot of sci fi reeeeally struggles with the type of environments star wars thrives most in, which is like. normal people settings. rural farming towns. random ass bars. etc. as opposed to super epic or grandiose or technologically impressive places. the people of the original trilogy seem very integrated with the technology they use. 10/10

star trek:

if ive said it once ive said it a million times i love when star trek characters stare directly into the camera and say shit like if ur racist ur not only evil but also stupid and embarrassing urself. the extremely earnest bleeding heart social justice warrior snowflake nature of star trek is so crucial 2 its nature and i love it and its great. i love the optimism but also thoughtfulness and caution of star trek. there’s a lot of work being put into conceptualizing a future earth society that has vastly improved since our time, but also a lot of discussion of ways that society might be limited or its failures and downsides. no matter how fanciful or dreamlike a piece of tech is they almost always consider the kinds of new problems it could cause (take the elevator and come out two people etc etc)

as for TOS i love the campiness the experimentality and the creativity. yes there are many episodes of TOS that are batshit insane and notttt in a very good way. but thats because almost no two episodes of the show are the same/similar. dozens of sci fi writers contributed to this show that was, timeline wise, still pretty early on in the existence of our modern definition of sci fi. they were throwing shit at the wall and seeing what stuck and thats why it ended up creating so many foundational sci fi concepts!! and also. wheeeee shapes and colors. they had a ton of plywood some felt an eyebrow pencil and a dog in a hat. and a dream. and it looks so beautiful and silly. nothing will ever top the TOS mini golf course ass planets

as for TNG i do genuinely like that every episode has like 17 simultaneous plots. they never ever take the easy way out with TNG plots and most episodes end in a way u could never have predicted from the first 15 minutes. as a show its very averse to simple solutions and easy answers and i like that the characters are frequently making decisions that are difficult-to-impossible. but mostly i like all the silly outfits they put them in. now see them as detectives now see them as cowboys now see them in macbeth. a dozen 45 year olds that all value amateur improv more than their own lives. now see them play poker. now see them ride horses. these people genuinely work like 3 hours a day and spend the rest doing fuck all i love it. re: a society that has vastly improved since our time. we should all be doing tons of improv basically

[ashlingiswriting]

the nations favorite writer - offer us any advice? going through a writers block rn

oh god i’m so sorry this took me so long, things got crazy for a second and i forgot 😭 thoughts below!

here (1, 2) are a couple posts that seem pretty helpful, but now i’m just gonna talk about what helped me with my last bout of writer’s block because i can still remember it in detail

again this is all just my own observations about myself because that’s kinda all i have—i’m no expert

i had too many other things going on and i did need to cut down on other hobbies a bit (in this case, i had to cut down on rp) because those other things all were...relatively small tasks and they took less time, so my brain would often go “hey what about this short and rewarding task vs this long and intimidating task?”

which goes hand in hand with training your focus—i think my phone really does impact that in a bad way. reading books helps with training focus, as does muscling through. i know muscling through goes contrary to a lot of advice, but it helped me. because a lot of times, i would start writing a scene and go, ‘wow, i hate this!’ but knowing that i didn’t have another idea of what to do, i just kept going until i realized why it felt wrong. and there were like...four or five different breakthroughs like that when i was writing my latest chapter. just ‘OHHHHHHHHH’ moments that i got to only after writing like a thousand or more words that i would not end up putting in the fic. it is NOT always like this but if you’re really blocked, sometimes it’s just cause you’re writing a genuinely emotionally complicated and crucial bit and your brain has to go down the wrong path a few times before it figures out the right one

part of that is figuring out what you feel about your current scene? like, sitting down and writing a certain scene, i would go, ‘no, this feels wrong, i don’t like it, i hate it’ and sure enough my instincts were right. it WAS bad. it was bad because it focused too much on the logistics and details of a side plot when i didn’t want to waste all that precious real estate and audience attention on something that was not connected to the core of my story. but i didn’t fully realize that till i was done. it was still good that i’d written out the long version, because it laid out all the information i needed (plus a bunch i didn’t, but still). idk. i love editing more than writing on a blank page. i love cutting more than i love creating. this may be a me thing.

could also be something went wrong earlier on, like your actual scene idea is quite good but you didn’t lay enough emotional or plot foundation for it to hit as hard as you want it to? reread your previous bits of fic and see if you can find the problem there?

i think peer pressure and/or friendship are huge for this—i don’t mean peer pressure as in ‘silly anti-drug advertisements where all the cool kids try to make you do weed’ i mean ‘hanging out in a community of writers & artists and/or with friends where there’s an atmosphere of people lowkey always working on their craft, whatever that may be’. because truly i think it helps keep writing top of mind & sort of normalizes the emotional struggles. plus the camaraderie is really nice! 

my current home of choice is the narcos fandom discord (which is only about 25% about narcos fandom at this point lbr) but i know there’s a ton of different places out there to be a fic writer in community with other fic writers, so take your pick. i will say that not every community is perfect and i think the ideal community strikes a balance between participation & low stress—that is, people support each other but they don’t feel like they have homework-reading they have to do that they’ll get penalized for not doing? yk? i’m rambling whoops

plus, getting a friend that is willing and HAPPY to talk through the fic with you—an editor, a beta reader, something like that—is a godsend. truly without bellinitini/narcolini i would literally not have even published chapter one of my current longfic. but the key is to find someone who genuinely is interested or who is willing to do a bit of a swap; you help them with theirs, they help you with yours.

and then there’s the audience for longfics, which may or may not apply to you. cannot lie, rereading comments, even for previous fics that are unconnected, is extremely motivating! maybe that’s just me! (i don’t think that’s just me) on that note, if you’re feeling real desperate you can always reblog ask games about your WIPs so that you can interact with your audience a bit?

you could always try to take in more art—that’s usually pretty refreshing for me. canon review is great, but taking in other stuff (fictional books especially) can make your brain start thinking in different ways, especially if your brain is a bit spongy like mine and tends to absorb little bits of other writer’s styles if you chug a lot of them. you could try to find books that deal with the same setting, the same themes, or the same relationship dynamics.

so for example, i read colorless tsukuru tazaki and his years of pilgrimage by haruki murakami in prepping for my next chapter of richiefic because richie references it in season 2. and genuinely, reading it made me understand his character a bit better. but i also have a character going to prison, so i have read some of the works of george pelecanos (the novel drama city and several short stories), because pelecanos deals with the justice system in a way that i think is admirably clearsighted, not melodramatic, very honest. i’m fixing to reread some of the parade’s end series because ford madox ford is, to me, one of the greatest of all time when it comes to complicated conversations where two characters are completely legible to the audience—completely understandable—while struggling through emotionally complicated conversations with each other. and i am about to try and get some more books set in women’s prisons + books set in modern day chicago. reading stuff with the context of “i’m about to write something related to this” is such a good way to read stuff, too. just feels really good and sometimes you need a positive feeling when you’re struggling through the depths of depair i mean writer’s block.

movies and tv are good too, though imo they’re not as helpful. i...personally avoid reading other people’s fanfic like the plague if they’re dealing with a specific pairing whose longfic i’m struggling to finish.

just putting it down and coming back in two-three weeks sometimes helps. couldn’t tell you why.

and finally. you could always drop the fic. it feels shitty for a while, but if the muse has genuinely left you for good, you deserve to enjoy the freedom instead of just like...struggling onwards indefinitely. this has happened to me with longfics before and it always makes me sad. but sometimes there is genuinely nothing you can do, and in those cases, forgive yourself <3 this is a hobby, after all

my top three recommended tactics, without knowing details of your situation, are: talk with a friend/editor, take in more art, muscle through. in that order.

i hope that helped??? i’m very sorry about your writer’s block, it’s the worst thing in the world. and i’m sorry that it took me so long, i need to be more organized

[alexissara]

Gundam: The Witch From Mercury - Quick Review

Gundam: The Witch From Mercury or as we'll refer to it as Gwitch has finally wrapped and I wanted to share my thoughts quickly in the quick review format [written in basically one take with just all the points I feel like bringing up]. This is a show I'd watch with my Gfs and my Metamore every single Sunday for a while now and that's given it an extra special flare. I was captured by the stunning animation, great fights and the blooming of some lesbian feelings.

This 24 episode toy commercial is among the best in the Gundam series and is probably one of my favorite anime. However, it is a flawed series that I feel was really lacking in a lot of ways likely due to executives being worried about both having a woman be the protagonist of their warm crime cartoon and to have queerness be a center of the season.

The shows 24 episode length feels too short to tell the story that was being told, while individual episodes don't ever feel like they waste time there was not enough space for things to have impact and Miorine in particular feels like she is kind of just an object for the plot whose feelings vary depending on what the writers want. She isn't given the time to cook up an arc for her so she ultimately just serves the plot as a "I don't think killing is good" character. Still her romance with Sulleta is compelling even if it's not the connection to Sulleta that is my favorite [Sulleta sapphic polycule all the way really].

The show has good background music but it is mostly the same song. The opening and EDs are all really great songs. The mech designs are mostly super cool and they are in fact, great toy commercials. While I would never put together a model kit, I would and very likely will, buy whatever video games they produce that put Sulleta in the for front. It set up an interesting world I would like to see more stories told in.

The fights are all really amazing but the end does include one fight between broths that really muddles the rest of the plot to sell one more toy and it sucks ass. Still the rest of the fights were really Immculate.

The series does kill off most it's women who can pilot a gundam which is annoying because we see men getting to live. While the show does center a Lesbian relationship the most explicit romantic desires outside of Sulleta are expressed by men about women. In general the show puts a ton of men in the spotlight and keeps them in the forefront. It feels like the show was insecure about women taking the center stage so the rest of the plot is mostly focused on men. Women do get to do plenty of things but it still feels like we could have had more women taking the stage in battles. For gundam though, it's a decent amount of women in mechs. Plus Sulleta does get to be in a mech most episodes.

The show doesn't have a kiss in it, there is no kisses between anyone but the lack of a sapphic kiss feels bad. Like you can say "yuri doesn't do kisses" but you would be old if your saying that because I do quick reviews of Yuri manga all the time here and basically everything I am reading has kisses, a lot also have explicit sapphic lust, and increasingly even using the word Lesbian. This show instead opts to say "Gay Marriage is normal" in episode 1 and then never show anyone being gay who isn't the main couple, there are ships but every single known romantic connection outside of Sulleta and Miorine is a man's feelings towards a woman or a woman's feelings towards a man. Queerness isn't even off handily mentioned by anyone else. Still it is really nice to have them be gay married at the end even if we're not seeing the wedding or a kiss we do know for sure their married, that's explicit and they have matching rings.

Still, the show does offer us a lot of really cute sapphic ships. It also offers us a really good cast of women even if I wish they got to do even more. Chuchu is maybe my favorite gundam character ever, Prospera my beloved I will stan forever my wonderful wife, Secelia  is a bitchy queen, and a lot more are also bangers.

Politically the show nods to leftist politics but it doesn't really fully commit to that as it keeps giant companies around in it's time skip and it seems there has just been some kind of "balance" stuck where captalism is fine again. Even though the government is evil we don't fight it really. I'd like to see a show in this world that takes on the Space Assembly League. I guess the takeaway is buy Gundams, I mean Revenge is bad.

Overall, I really enjoyed the show Sulleta is such an endearing main character she is charming and sweet and strong and she is for sure my favorite MC of any mech anime and in general one of the best anime main characters of all time. I think the show is a great piece of art but short of a master piece. Perhaps these are the limits of a show that is a toy commercial. Regardless, I had a great time and I don't look forward to my wallet running dry on prints from fan art of Gwitch and Super Robot War games and shit.

[transmutationisms]

hi! so i dont know much about 2008 finantial crisis, i think you mentioned something that succ fans should learn about it to understand economy better and all that jazz, so question;

would a good deep dive into it significantly improve the succession experience

AND

do you think the show looses its full narrative when one is watching without understanding much about anything bussiness related, or is it more of a "if you get it you get it but if you don't its whatever" kinda thing

well im biased because this is what happened to me, but i think it's impossible to study 2008 in any depth and not come away with a profoundly cynical understanding of how finance and global capital works. like the way capitalism demands the use of risky financial derivatives (because it demands increasing profits, always) means that vast swathes of the economy are several layers abstracted from any material product or process; are essentially gambling games in which owners of capital can bet either side and banks can bet both; and are consequently at constant risk of collapse and meltdown because their normal mode of operation is fuelled by bullshit and confidence. it's like when you read about anna delvey, and then you realise the way she faked having wealth was essentially donald trump's entire business strategy forever, because you don't actually need to have money to be wealthy as long as you have a name or connections and banks are willing to keep writing you lines of credit. like it makes you a little insane to think about. words are just complicated airflow.

also i think there's a degree of intertextuality between succession and the big short specifically, partly by subject matter and partly because adam mckay directed the succession pilot and is still a producer on the show. and this is not me defending mckay (bitch ass liberal) or michael lewis (rules but also sucks) but i've always thought the succession ending is going to hit a lot of the same notes as the big short ending: here is a system that is fundamentally unjust, that puts working people at risk, and that runs not on some kind of mystical business genius but on brazen greed, reputation, and wilful ignorance of economic risk; the people who are granted access into the upper echelons of this system will not face consequences for participating in it, and they will continue to make the world worse and meaner as long as they are allowed to do so, by the state of deregulation and by capital's tacit reliance on such practices for its own continued growth.

business-wise... i don't know a ton about business honestly, and i think the show does a pretty good job of conveying the plot points you absolutely need to understand. like there are maybe some nuances some viewers have a tendency to miss (the psychological ramifications of stewy being in private equity?) but i think it's possible to get a lot out of the show without necessarily understanding the intricacies of business practices. this is hard for me to answer though because i guess it really depends on what baseline level of knowledge you're coming from here. i guess i would say if something confuses you in an episode, no harm in googling?

[winderlylandchime]

Hi! I hope you’re doing well and that your trip is good and fun. But holy shit, i hope you and your partner manage to stay covid free! I’m sending some healing thoughts to your SIL since covid absolutely sucks!

Also a few things i do have to say because you need to know (most of them i was told to tell you guys): we went to the doctor yesterday and he was proudly wearing his new shirt. Everyone found it hilarious and accurate portrayal of him/his year. And then he told the whole office (2 doctors and 3 nurses) that he is now famous on the internet because i told bunch of people about him watching the show. And the doctor who is in charge of his case (the guy who did the surgery lol), looked at me, pointed at him and slowly went ‘you made him other people’s problem?’ And my brother proudly said ‘Yes, she did! *realized what was said* heeeeey, i can be quite a delight, just ask the people on the no porn site’ (yes, that is how he told them about tumblr). And my brother wanted me to let you all know that his cast has to stay on for another week, so he is very sad about that BUT the big news that he immediately looked at me (in the office in front of them btw) and went ‘you gotta tell my new homies about this’ was that in two weeks he has his final check up with his surgeon bc he wants to do all tests one last time and then if all is good which they believe will be, he can officially go home and back to his whatever tf normal life is for him. So looks like I’m losing my two roommates soon. Shit will be boring ngl.

Then the other more important thing! My brother had your blog opened on his tag, but i guess he went to check out the rest of the blog because he walked in this morning and went ‘did you fucking know that they write stories?! About Brian and Blondie? WHAT IS THIS? AND THERES SO MANY FUCKING COOL GIFS TOO. LIKE SHIT TON OF THEM! I saw one where Gale was talking in that interview about Prom and Blondie from that panel and then there were gifs from the episode and behind the scenes with it! That had to take for fucking ever! Do people just make them all the time? See? when *puts out one hand* Fandom and *puts out the other hand* love, come together *puts his hands together* beautiful things come to life.’

So he is currently going through your ao3/bookmarks but i did tell him to read your other fics before the new one.. Btw he didn’t move from the couch for a few hours after he discovered it. His favorites so far are: we didn’t know we could reach the stars (he thought that one was a very accurate portrayal of what Brian and Justin would be like if the writers didnt ruin it), clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them (he really enjoyed that one btw. He especially thought the ‘not the first boy to jerk off to thoughts of Brian in this bed’ was clever as fuck and literally went ‘ooohhh shit’ when he read it)

and Youre like a tattoo (he gasped when he realized the plot and went ‘ITS REVERSED!’). And when he finally made it to your new fic he fucking lost it (he had a tiny report on it)

I did show him your replies from previous messages and here’s the message from the guy himself (read this as if youre listening to a very caffeinated person pacing up and down, for accurate pov): I was a breath of fresh air for them? Fucking hell, so this fandom is in like a hibernation, huh? I’m fucked, aren’t I? Well anyway, thank you stranger for very sweet words. I fuck with this person! I think we’d be friends. I FUCKING LOVE LITTLE EDIE! Me and (his best friends name) always quote the ‘It was quite the scandal actually. It was in all the magazines at the time’ in Jinx’s voice whenever some random shit is asked. Them and their spouse sound like they’re fucking fun to be around. Wait you gotta tell them I read the stories they wrote, i’m still reading other people’s shit, i have a lot to catch up to. But that one that isn’t done yet is fucking brilliant. I mean they all are but I read that one twice! I had to watch the reunion episode from season 3 because it made me all nostalgic when they got back together. It’s exactly how I’d like the show to be. Its nice to read and go mhm thats my bri bri, unlike in the show where it was not my bri but an imposter. I also very much fuck with older Brian who has a beard and glasses. Because he looked pretty as fuck in that little comic con video. I’m excited to see how they end it and i really really hope that they had fun writing these stories because i had a lot of fun reading them. Anyway, tell them, they’re fucking cool, their stories are fucking dope, i also really liked that one about them sharing their clothes AND THE ONE WHERE BLONDIE WAS THE SUGAR DADDY! I fucking told you that will happen..i was just wrong as to where. And im glad to see that the *lifts his cast* ally, is catching on.

PS, we both got all ‘awwww’ and a little emotional ngl, when we read your response how you’ve been thinking of us while writing. And just so you know we spent all day today discussing your fics (when he got to the cliffhanger, he went ‘i am once again being teased just like with the love confession’) and some other fics from other creators that he read and enjoyed. The man is in awe. Every time he’d read a new chapter/fic he goes ‘this is the best thing ive read’ over and over.

Hello hello hello dear sweet anon and brother anon!

Thank you for your well wishes. My SIL tested negative this morning so we are officially in the clear (and can abandon our masks). I think we did a good job being responsible within the circumstances. Luckily, my SIL’s symptoms never got bad and the cold I arrived with (was it a cold or an intense allergic reaction to cleaning my apartment and kicking up all that dust?) never evolved into anything more unpleasant.

I love that we’re not the people on the “no porn site.” And we do all think he’s delightful. I’m glad he’s recovering well and can soon live independently from you but I imagine life will be a lot quieter and less chaotic without him and feline BriBri.

Yes! Gifs allow us to relive every moment of the series, draw parallels etc. Let’s give a hand to @sophsun1 who is basically carrying the fandom on her back with her beautiful gifs.

I am absolutely floored by his reaction to my fics. Thank you so much for passing along the kind words he had. I’m glad he like the 5+1 clothes sharing fic (I have such a soft spot for it), and We Didn’t Know We Could Reach the Stars is such an overlooked fic (I forget I wrote it!). AND of course Tattoo was my beloved fic this year.

The fandom isn’t in hibernation so much as it is small and basically zero new content has been released in eons and so it is a small fandom with nowhere near the works produced that large currently or recently active fandoms have (tbh those fandoms intimidate me - I will read GO fic but joining a discord or writing fic in there? so scary!).

“It was quite the scandal really…” is the other quote I say to my spouse on hair wash / hair turban days! I like to think we *are* fun to be around. Especially if quote RPDR S5 is your idea of fun. Then we’re a blast!

I do have fun writing fics. I bitch and moan and complain, but I love writing them and getting to put them out into the world. I’m even more excited to write and post the last chapter of Fireflies now that I know your brother has read it. And I’m delighted to hear that he thinks I kept his beloved BriBri in character (if we ignore WTF happened to his character in S5).

I’m honestly a little bit emotional from your PS. I write fics because I love to write them but hearing that you’re sitting around discussing them? I love writing them but I do want an audience (otherwise I wouldn’t publish them) and there are fics out there that I feel that way about (written by other people) so for my fics to be that to someone… just, I need a moment and a tissue.

*makes fist* ally

[mamamittens]

Alright, ngl, I fully planned on writing this week but work decided it was time to do inventory again. At the literal last minute.

I. Hauled. Ass.

And tomorrow I'm probably going to be counting a fuck ton of shit sooooo RIP IG

Anyway, as a small apology lemme talk about the au of Sweet Child, Grow (now the nickname for "How our Seeds Grow"). And fittingly, I'll start with the name!

I actually didn't think too much about the name before rolling with that but it's kinda genius in hindsight because now the two read as "Oh, sweet child of mine, how our seeds grow" which sounds awful wistful don't it? And sweet. I like it. And it's very poignant considering the au is all about little reader growing up with the WBP.

Also! I did write a fair bit for the next chapter but it felt short and I thought I could more or less squeeze in a few chapters now that the narrator (child reader) is way less angsty about being kidnapped and not as observant so there's less wordage to get across here. And as I did I realized I accidentally wrote in a little plot hole in the first one.

See, reader's supposed to really love animals. But what happened to their den den mushi? The snail from the beginning? So I'm taking a moment to answer what no one has asked.

They didn't get to keep the snail until well after they returned since it's apparently pretty easy to convert them into 'phones' so to minimize shenanigans, they just withheld it until they felt they could trust reader.

And since in Grow the reader is just a scared kid, they get to keep the snail with a normal shell. Reader named him 'Cream' even though they weren't supposed to because it's not 'their' snail. It's the marine's snail. Little reader has gotten better at hiding how attached they are to their issued snail at whatever base they're on but not very well.

As a treat, here's a little snippet!

Oh! And before I forget!

I'll try to remember y'all that asked to be tagged in the next update but I make no promises! If you're super concerned about it though as soon as it comes out you can also read not only Sweet Child but Grow as well on AO3! Or maybe follow the tag for the story??? Idk how reliable that is, I don't really follow specific tags on Tumblr ngl

AO3 is currently experiencing some minor issues (8/30/23) though, so please be patient if it won't work immediately and perhaps check back later!

Anyway! Thanks for being patient everyone, as well as the fairly positive-ish neutral reaction to my new rule concerning asks for updates! It's a lot less stressful thinking about which fics to update now that I have a hard line. I'm afraid the personal clash between pathological demand avoidance and people pleasing is incredibly uncomfortable to grapple with at the best of times. And it leaves me feeling like either a raging bitch or a doormat 😬

I'm hoping to get some writing done soon but with inventory in full swing tomorrow I won't be surprised if I just pass the fuck out when I get home. Istg I opened cult of the lamb for a quick sesh and next thing I knew it was 9 (my bad entirely. I know damn well that game is very hard to put down- always one last thing I can do before going to bed but it's never just one is it???)

Speaking of which! I gotta go to sleep now lol