#only the OG followers knew that but yeah still have it lmao

[theclockwitch]

I mean...

So people get mad when I comment on their stuff so NEW YEAR NEW ME NEW STRATEGY I will just scream into my own void and your voids are clear. Gucci? We gucci.

Saw a post about how or if men in a certain canon that will remain nameless bc I'm tired of hatemail every time i come on this site view themselves as male and what that means.

I am...uniquely positioned to offer an opinion on this?

LORE DROP: I actually have a PhD in gender studies and history, specializing in the Crusades.

Yes. It's true. I wrote four hundred FUCKING pages about the 12th century renaissance and how it reshaped masculinity and how men in the crusader era constructed masculinity. There was a lot of Judith Butler up in there. A LOT. And Theweleit though you might think he's out of place? He really wasn't.

After that, a lot of my work in the 2010s was about transhumanism and gender. That used a lot of Romanyshyn and Haraway and if you don't know who those are, you should read them? Highly recommend Romanyshyn's Technology as Symptom and Dream will blow your mind into about 783 different pieces. While I was mostly working on the construction of femininity in that part of my life because there were SO many movies coming out with cyborg women, it...it ain't hard to go back to my roots of studying masculinity and talk about

ya know

transhuman masculinity.

One thing Haraway asks us is how come we don't already consider ourselves cyborgs. One could argue that if we define a cyborg as someone who needs technology to survive or function, you could say an LVAD patient is a cyborg, or someone who has a limb replacement is a cyborg...but Haraway would also suggest that if you (like me) need to take a pill to get out of bed every morning...you are also a cyborg. Just because it's not metal does not make your technological adjunct...not a technological adjunct. So the first issue is...are these I WILL NOT MENTION THE CANON FOR REASONS ABOVE people considering themselves cyborgs? Or do they hold that for the people in UNNAMED CANON who do use more obviously metal adjuncts.

(She also asks us how or if we can escape the meat, but that's for next time.)

The answer seems to be...no? At the end of BOOK TITLE REDACTED a character is missing three limbs and refers to the fact that he will receive robotic replacements, without any sort of dread, as though he clearly thinks of himself as if not a cyborg, than someone who holds his humanity very lightly in his (one remaining) hand. In fact it's fairly common in Unnamed Canon that people have cybernetic augments, the same way we just...pop our levothyroxine to function and don't wonder if that makes us un/trans/bimodally human

Theweleit's big takeaway (obviously I'm glossing over a lot because it's like 800 pages of men being neurotic about WWI) is that one tenet of construction of masculinity is the idea of purity and the fear of contamination/corruption. Theweleit's hussars construct masculinity as a 'not female' in the same way modern society often creates female as the 'not male' or 'male manque'. In other words, taking one gender as the baseline and defining the other simply as...not that. Theweleit sees that the Germans post-WWI, reeling under the loss of the Great War, viewed women as, ya know, evil. Softening, Weakening. All that Victorian-era (yes I know the Victorians were British but this kind of cultural movement was widespread in the area, this was when Germany was arguing, especially with all the 'excess' female population about the 'frauenfrage' the 'woman question') (Yes I don't speak German so I probably misspelled that idc this is tumblr you're not my dissertation director). So men in Theweleit view women as the Problem. Women are why they lost the Great War, because their men weren't MANLY enough. (Fun side quest: look up the dates of the founding of the Boy Scouts and British Brotherhood of Scouting to see that this issue was not just German, but in the AIR from the early 1900s onward) So Theweleit is writing about how they strove to become MORE manly, to strip away from themselves a lot of the 'weakening' female influences, one of them being, ya know, corruption. And of course the best way to do that? Physical violence. (Think Fight Club if want a modern cognate)

Now look at UNNAMED CANON. Sex segregated, asexual (sorry but they fucking ARE and hooo boy that's the comment that's gonna get me more hate mail) and worried constantly about 'corruption' and contamination? Theweleit would praise these as ubermen.

I've got a bunch more to blather about but my shift starts soon, so I'll just put a pin in this: Do they see themselves as male.

First you have to look at how they construct what they think is male.

Then you have to add the one thing that was my first contribution to scholarship on masculinity but still shocks people when I drop it on them at conferences (gdit people read my fucking articles XD I love it when they ask for follow up and who I was quoting and I'm like *me uwu* ): masculinity is something that needs to constantly be proven. Again and again. Unlike cultural constructions of femininity, which you are for (sexist reasons that this post is too long to get into and also off topic but trust me it checks out) biology, (before you argue, that's next time when we get into Butler and de Beauvoir and Dworkin); masculinity is something that needs constant validation and revalidation. This isn't a condescending 'men need asspats' but masculinity is only as good as your last badass deed, and it needs to be constantly refreshed with...more badass deeds. Last week's hero could be a washup (I mean the basic arc of Johnny Lawrence and Danny La Russo in Cobra Kai is ALL about that). So masculinity is something that needs constant reproving, reaffirmation, revalidation. All that canon shit about 'forged in the fires of war'? It ain't a one time thing. It can't be.

Short answer, thus far, without getting into Butler (that'll be next time): Yes.

More whenever I get around to it.

[thesetrashimagines]

You’re a Curse Baby Pt.9

A Jujutsu Kaisen Imagine (reader insert)

Warnings: mentions of suicide/self sacrifice, fighting,

GIF IS NOT MINE!

Pt.8

AN: Hey guys.....so it's been 3 years....my life has completely changed since I started this fic and I'm very sorry to have paused it for so long. But I've had the urge to get back into writing. This will be the last part of the series that follows the OG storyline. I'll be going off-script and into a new timeline written by me😈. Hope y'all are ready for a new chapter (and hopefully not too many slow updates) sorry for the extreme authors note but you deserved to know lmao.

“You still okay back there?” Gojo jostled you, neither of you have spoken for quite awhile. The storm overhead was mostly gone, nothing but an overcast left to show your mood. You wordlessly nodded against his shoulder. “You wanna tell me what’s been going on?” He turned to take the path that led back to the old shrine. “I figured out how to exercise other curses.....along with myself.” The white haired man’s step faltered, “That patchwork curse, he can manipulate souls and since I can touch souls and go through memories, I thought maybe I could also manipulate souls. I was able to make contact with his soul and during our fight I could feel our energies merging so I started to use my energy to exercise him.” Gojo stayed quiet as you spoke, “He had a strong grip on me so I decided it would be best if I killed both of us. It was easy, all I had to do was turn our cursed energy into life energy and then let our souls slowly dwindle.” The older man stepped over pieces of the broken temple. “But you were unsuccessful.” You nodded against his back again.

“Yes he has much more experience with souls then I do, he was able to pull away.” You let one hand go back and rub at your sore eyes, “After the mission my body was weak, probably the weakest it’s ever been. I tried to heal myself and repair my soul at the same time.” Gojo spoke, “That doesn’t sound very smart.” You slumped against his back, “No it wasn’t. My body couldn’t take the constant rise and fall of my energy. Every piece of my soul that came back, my cursed energy doubled, and since I was using it to also heal my wounds, it would fall back down to a low level.” You looked over to the old broken temple, “I thought it would be okay since I knew I’d be here, the less energy the less I’d be detected.” Gojo slowed to a stop and turned his head back to you, “And?” You stared back at his black blindfold, “I pushed everything down, my energy came back tenfold and tore through all of the walls I put up, it made me panic and I ran into the woods outside of the event. I bumped into some low grade curses, they had me trapped and unable to move so I did the only thing I could and let my energy free again. I might’ve accidentally started a fire.” Gojo laughed and placed you on your feet, “From what I seen and heard, you’ve caused a few fires.” You looked at your hands sheepishly, “Yeah...” The sorcerer watched as your eyebrows pinched together, “But that’s not when I lost control.” Your hands shook, “My emotions....that curse said that it was there to kill you and hurt everyone else. I couldn’t stop myself from feeling scared, then I got angry, so angry.” Your voice became small and quiet, “I wanted to kill them. I was so blind with rage I almost-” Your hand smack over your mouth as a sob escaped your lips.

Gojo watched as guilt and shame over took you, your sobs echoed throughout the forest as you crumbled to the floor. It was obvious you felt bad for whatever had happened. “What did you almost do Y/n?” Your hands planted themselves on the ground as you leaned forward, tears fell from your eyes and drop to the soil, little wet patches spotted the dirt. You heaved and hiccupped, Gojo went to your side and sat down, rubbing a hand up and down your back. “I almost- I almost killed Yuji.” Your resolve had completely broken, the storm had come back loud and unforgiving, the rain fell to the Earth in fat droplets and thunder rumbled. To Gojo’s surprise there was no lightning dancing across the sky, had you exhausted yourself? He turned his eyes back to you and saw your hands covering your face as you cried, small purple tentacles played on your skin and hopped from tear drop to tear drop that rolled down your hands and arms. He looked at the hand he had on your back, the little sparks flitted about, halting themselves before getting to close to his skin. He finally understood.

“You’re scared of yourself.” His words caused you to curl further into yourself, “You didn’t kill Yuji, he’s fine.” Your head shook violently, “Gojo I almost killed him!” You finally turned to look at him, your face was wet with tears, eyes almost grey in colour and rimmed red. The blood and dirt on your face was close to being gone from your tears and constant rubbing. “But you didn’t.” Your face scrunched up and your hands lifted into the air, “Don’t you understand?! I almost killed him! I almost took his life away! Again! They were right, I’m a monster, a good for nothing curse!” Your head dropped back into your hands as you continued to ramble,  “He tackled me to the ground and I thought I was getting attacked again, I almost hit him...” You clenched your eyes shut, “His eyes, he looked at me with so much fear, he was scared of me...” The first flash of lightening darted across the sky.

“You didn’t kill him though. You were able to stop yourself.” A hand grabbed onto yours and pulled them away from your face. “And from how I saw the two of you were after the fight, I would guess he understood that you were acting on instincts.” Gojo tilted his head down to try and meet your eyes, “It’s normal to act on instincts, that’s kinda what they’re made for.” When you didn’t react to his little quip, he knew you were still shaken. “What if next time I can’t stop myself?” Your eyes fluttered up to his. “Do you want to hurt Yuji?” Your eyebrows furrowed, “No.” A smile spread on Gojo’s face, “Then you don’t have to worry about that.” He leaned back on his hands, “It’s a good thing I have my infinity on,” You looked up and realized how dry he was compared to you and the surrounding area, “Or I’d look like a wet rat like you.” You sniffled and smirked. A hand came down to your shoulder, “Don’t sell yourself short Y/n, You’re stronger than you think.” He groaned a little as he stood up.

“You may be a curse but there is a streak of humanity in you.” He bent at the waist, “How bout we train after the exchange event? Hm? Just you and me.” A small smile graced your features, “Okay...” He straightened up with a shout, “Alright!” The sun peered back down over the forest, glistening off of the rain drops. Gojo turned and started to walk away, “Come on baby curse, we still have an event to finish!” He put his arms behind his head as he walked forward, you dawdling on behind him like a baby duck. He wasn’t worried you would snap, you were too worried about keeping him and the others safe and happy. He knew why you were constantly trying to please him, you were created on the feelings of abandonment and among many other emotions but he knew you would do anything to stay with him and his students. You were loyal and you would rather die then you break it. Yes you were a ticking bomb at times but nothing like a few words helped you calm down. The bond and trust you had with Gojo and his students was incredible. Gojo knew of your attachment to the them but he’d be lying if he didn’t say he was a little attached to you too.

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“So how is it possible that you get along with a gorilla like Todo?” Nobara nibbled on her pizza. “Well the two of us got along but it was like, I mean I do remember everything but it feels like I wasn’t exactly myself at the time.” Megumi looked uninterested in Yuji’s and Nobara’s conversation, his eyes drifted over to you where you sat off to the side staring down at your lap. You haven’t said a word or moved since Gojo came in and placed you in the chair, something was obviously bothering you but Megumi wasn’t sure how to ask.

“What do you mean? Were you drinking?” The girls voice brought him back to reality.

“You seriously believe I could’ve been drinking liquor in a situation like that? That would’ve been insane.” Yuji turned his attention to Megumi, “Anyways I’m just glad your injuries weren’t too serious Fushiguro, to your health and this pizza.” Yuji took a large bite from his slice while Nobara had another small piece. The dark haired boy looked between his friends, “You guys could’ve brought me something easier to digest.”

“No complaining.” Nobara spoke with her mouth open.

“Apparently I got off easier because my cursed was all gone and Ieiri was able to fix me up as soon as the roots were removed.” Megumi saw your ears perk up at the mention of his injuries. “Oh so that’s what happened?” Yuji swallowed his food. “You should know, you fought against them too didn’t you?” The pink haired boy nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “Itadori,” Megumi turned to Yuji who paused with his mouth open midbite, “You know you’ve grown a lot stronger. Before we both said that we stood by our convictions, I still think that’s true. But then on the other hand you could we’re both wrong about all of that.” Out of the corner of his eye, Megumi saw you turn you head slightly towards him, dimly glowing grey lilac eyes watching him. “Some question don’t have any answers,” Nobara placed her face on her palm, “Don’t think so hard, you’ll go bald.” Megumi sighed, “You’re right. I know it’s just a matter of trying to accept it.” He looked down at his bedding, “But why accept something you don’t want, only weak sorcerers do that. So I’ve decided,” His dark eyes met Yuji’s brown ones, “I’ll surpass you.” Yuji let out a laugh, “You never change.” Nobara looked at the two boys annoyed, “Did I get left out of the conversation again?”

“I don’t think it makes you weak.” The trio turned to look at you, “Wouldn’t not knowing the answer make you strong? Since you are constantly looking for it, wouldn’t that make you brave? Or that one word, um...courageous?”

Nobara let out a bit of air, “Why does the curse always sound so wise.” You all laughed a little.

“There you go, that’s my brother and his friends for ya.”

You let out a yelp and fell off your chair, Todo had shown up out of nowhere at the end of Megumi’s bed. Yuji shot out of his seat and ran for the door, Todo hot on his tail. “Wait where are you going brother? Wait hold on!” The two sprinted, “Look I’m grateful for you but come on, give me a break!” Yuji jumped onto the roof.

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The sun beat down on you as you sat in the dugout. “I can tell somethings been bothering you.” You tore your eyes off of Yuji and looked at Megumi in surprise, “I mean no one was okay after that fight but it seems like there’s something else going on with you.” You glanced down at the white baseball uniform you were forced to put on, “I feel like I betrayed everyone.” Megumi tried not to let shock cover his face. “Before the exchange event I did something I never thought I could do....I almost exercised my own soul.” Megumi’s eyes widened this time, “What do you m-”

“In the moment I thought it was the best plan. Afterwards though my cursed energy was extremely low, I was barely alive. The healing process was difficult, I was using my cursed energy to heal myself and try to repair the damage I had caused to my essence. I guess the constant use of my energy to heal and for my soul to regenerate was too much for me, it was like being in a tsunami, one minute the tide was low and then the next my senses would flood and every wall I put up was being destroyed.” You took a deep breath, “The days leading up to the exchange event I buried everything down and decided I would try to deal with it later but when I was in those woods...” Your mind wandered back to when you were almost consumed by the flower curse, “I ran into some curses outside of the perimeter and I was trapped. Since I buried everything, I could feel all of it pushing against the blockades, it was like I was the storm this time.” Megumi watched you pick at the fabric of your shorts, “I lost control...” Your fingers gripped the white fabric, “Then I lost it again when I was fighting that curse. I was so angry, so filled with hate, all I felt was kill. Kill, kill ,kill, there wasn’t another thought in my mind. They wanted to hurt you, Gojo, everyone and I couldn’t let that happen.” The dark haired sorcerer stared at you for awhile then ruffled your hair, “You’re okay now, we all are. You were able to pull yourself back and that’s what matters.” You swatted his hand away which made him chuckle. He and Gojo had said the same thing, you were able to snap out of it and that makes you strong. Even with their encouraging words there’s still a looming fear that sits at the back of your mind. What if you can’t stop yourself next time? You never want someone to look at you in fear, like Yuji had, ever again.

“Kugisaki snapped! It’s a free for all!” Yuji’s voice brought you out of your thoughts.

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You were playing outfield, furthest away and closest to the tree line. The first few plays went well but then there was another home run. Hit straight into the forest behind you, of course you wanted to win so you ran as fast as you could into the woodland. You could just see the ball soaring through the sky, smacking into leaves so hard they detached from the branches and fell to the ground. Your neck strained as you stared up at the flying sphere, you were right underneath it but then your sight was filled with brown then green then blackness. Your foot throbbed just a tiny bit, lifting your head up from the ground you noticed a tree root had tripped you up. Letting out a groan you pushed yourself up, "Stupid tree." Standing you looked around the forest for the ball. There was no sight of the white sphere.

"I lost it..." Pouting, you continued to walk around the trees in search for the baseball. In the distance you could hear leaves rustling, thinking it was someone on your team you called out, "Hey! Did you find it?" Running towards the noise, you pushed some branches out of the way and ended up in a small clearing. The sun peaked through the treetops and shined down on a large mass hunched over. It had large shoulders, the flesh stretched over muscle, the bones of its spine poked out from under it's skin, it's thighs were as large as you were, maybe even bigger, covering it was tattered pieces of a dirtied pink fabric. From where you were standing you couldn't see it's face, it's hunched over form obscured whatever you might've seen of the front of its body.

At the sound to your voice, the creatures head shot up. Long dark brown hair flinging around wildly before settling on the creatures big shoulders. It didn't turn towards you, just sat on its haunches, back stiff straight. A small voice came from the creatures direction, "What's wrong Mama?" A little pale blue boyish face peeked around the creatures large knee. Big round eyes gawked at the sight of you, and just when you made eye contact, the little boy disappeared behind the creature again. "Mama someone's here." The young voice wavered a bit. The long brown hair shifted forward and fell down as the creature looked down at the small boy then the creature let out a chuff and whined. Clenching your hands tight in nervousness, you spoke, "I'm sorry for scaring you, I promise I'm not here to hurt you. I've lost a ball and I need to find it." The large creature flinched at the sound of your voice and curled it's massive arms around, what you could only assume, the little boy in front of it. Despite the grip on the boy, he managed to wriggle to his way above the large forearms and looked at you again. "This ball?" He raised his small hand and in it sat your baseball. You nodded, "Yeah that one! You found it! Could I have it back?" The large round eyes filled with tears, "But I don't wanna give it back." The boy started to cry causing the creature to swaddle him and, for the first time, you saw the creatures face as it threw a glare over it's shoulder at you. She had a light brown eyes, a large brow bone which was furrowed as she glared at you, a button shaped nose, and a pair of pink lips which were set in a deep frown.

You swallowed, "Oh, um....I'm sorry but I need the ball to play my game" The little boys blue image fazed out and reappeared out of the large creatures arms a couple feet away from both of you. The small boy had a giant smile on his face as he let out a laugh and waved the ball in the air, "If you want it, then you're gonna have to catch me!" And with that he turned and sprinted in the direction you came from. You threw a quick glance towards the creature and she stared dumbstruck just like you did, both of you in disbelief over the child's rebellion. You looked back to where the boy once stood and made the realization, "he's running towards everyone..." The creature next to you whipped her head and stared at you wide eyed, she knew what you meant, the boy was running to the field, with all of the humans. In a second she was gone, her large form lumbering through the trees and shaking the ground as she went. You didn't wait too long after before you also took off to catch the boy.

"Wait! Please! They'll see you!" You yelled ahead hoping the creature and the little boy would stop, but neither of them did. If anything, the little boy ran faster. The creature let out a loud vocalization, something between a yell and a grunt, you assumed it was her way to communicate with the boy that he should listen and stop running. "It's dangerous! Please I just want the ball back!"

"No! Your stupid ball is mine!" A childish giggle sung out into the woods.

You groaned and doubled down on your speed. Your body ached a bit from the excessive use it had already been put through, but you knew if this boy or his 'Mama' were seen by any of the sorcerers, they'd be eradicated.

You could see the edge of the treeline coming up quickly, the creature in front of you must've seen it too cause she pushes off her haunches and leeped forward, grabbing the small boy and skidding to a halt. You caught up to them, you and 'Mama' huffing. "Please, please can I have the ball back?" The little boy wriggled and started whining, "No! Mama let me go! I wanna go!" His little feet dangled in the air as the creature held him above the ground. "Its dangerous out here, there's people who'll make you go away, forever. It's not safe to run around in these woods." You tried to reason with the little boy but was not having it. "You're lying! You're just saying that so I give you the ball back!" Once again his corporeal image fazed out of the space, the creature let out a loud yell as she turned 360 for her little blue boy.

"NA NA NA NA YOU CANT CATCH ME!"

Off in the distance, out in the baseball field, stood the child spirit. The cursed creature put a fist into the ground to push herself forward but you were faster.

"There you are Y/n!" Yuji's voice rang out as you broke out the treeline and ran straight towards the boy. Everyone stared as your knees hit the ground and curled your arms around an invisible body. You ignored everyone as you could feel the ground shaking from thundering steps. You let out the tiniest bit of energy to tether the little boy to you.

A loud yell is heard behind you, so close your hair flies about from the air expelled. Mama was not happy. "I've got him! I've got him, look, look" You turn and show the cursed creature the little boy in your hold.

"Y/N!" Multiple foot falls start approaching you. Whipping your head around you see Yuji rushing over to you. "No! Stay back, everything's okay!" The creature raised a fist and slammed it into the ground next to you, the little boy curled further into your arms and started to wail, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just wanted to have fun....I never get to play with anybody!" His little body shook with the tears and 'Mama' only got more angry. Her large fist was raised and ready to strike you, seeing as now you have officially become a threat. But before she's able to strike, Yuji is able to slide between the two of you and punch her. "Yuji don't!" You gasped as the creature stumbled backwards. Yuji advanced, "Don't attack her!" Your arms tightened around the little boy as his cries only grew louder.

"MAMA NO! MAMAAAA!"

You unwrapped one arm from the boy and shot a purple bolt out, aimed at Yuji.

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Hey, how y'all doin'?😗 so ye, here part 9. I'm so sorry if it's shit and not the updated you wanted. I've had a huge change in my life and writing quickly got put on the back burner. I really am hoping I find the motivation to continue and finish this story. Let me know you liked this chapter! Much love <3

[galactic-rhea]

it's so delightful to see someone who knew nothing about sw but got into the fandom... with no previous knowledge??? i loved reading your story/reaction post about all of the craziness that followed.

(also, happy to see your opinions on anidala/anakin/padme - i think everyone is entitled to their own opinions of course, but objectivity, i think most people truly don't get them as characters nor their story...)

Hahaha thank you!!! Yeah, sometimes I think back of...just five months ago?? and how little I knew lol

Like, I made this blog when I was already starting season 3 of Clone Wars, but yeah, I still knew nothing about the movies and honestly I think is a type of experience that can't be repeated 😆

These two will always be my favourite moments ever, because I swear than whenever he showed up in the show I would just say jokingly "Anakin kill him" and my partner would just...laugh LOL

The way I didn't know he would be the main villain...the way I didn't even know about the emperor in the OG trilogy (i thought Vader was the leader of the empire lol) just...good memories, good silly ignorance lmao

also my reaction to Anakin being a slave, i couldn't believe they really went there but it made so much sense xD

And regarding Anakin and Padmé....well, I suppose that's because first of all, I really didn't have the chance to be bitter about the prequels or the characters nor to see any discourse about it (I just knew everyone thought the movies were bad and I was expecting Padmé to have no personality at all and being terribly written), so I guess my expectations weren't great?

Besides, I relate to Anakin a lot (not because of the anger though lmao), and the both of them not only have the deeply trauma that's fun to analyze, but also they give me queer vibes, so of course I overthink their characters a lot sdfnjdfsnkjs

[berrypass-de-murdler]

2 - 20 Gathering the Suspects

To anyone who read my previous post, thank you dearly. I was scared to write the message because I didn't want to come off as cruel but I feel a lot better now that I've finally publicly got it off my chest. I genuinely hope to avoid any more drama within this fandom, and continue to post my work normally <3

Following the serious post comes an extremely dumb episode-

I didn't know how to lengthen it, and then I tried, and then it got really bad fast lmao

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE SQUISHY...

You will never get away from squishy grandmaster rose.

DON'T READ THE EPISODES WITHOUT READING THE BOOKS!!

VIOLET: Huh? What is it? Logico?

The only two others who showed up in the sitting room are Aubergine and Marble for some reason, even though they haven’t killed anyone (this series).

AUBERGINE: Logico! Buddy! Where are you??

Logico loosely creeps from the darkness with a glowing eye.

LOGICO: I know your secret. 

They all scream and throw things violently!! Once they stop, they look down - and Logico has been sliced to bits! They scream even louder.

VIOLET: LOGICO WHAT THE FUCK?!??

Aubergine tries to piece him back together.

VIOLET: THAT’S NOT GOING TO WORK OH MY GOD-

Logico chuckles as he steps out.

LOGICO: That wasn’t ME. I knew you’d freak out, so I made a decoy just in case. You could say… a Logi-Faux. AUBERGINE: WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! LOGICO: Would you rather me have actually died? SUSPECTS: … 

Logico giggles. Before he reveals the lore, he must solve this ‘murder’.

MARBLE: We… all threw things. AUBERGINE: Yeah, does it even matter? LOGICO: QUIET, I NEED MY MURDER TIME!

Everyone rolls their eyes. Violet flutters over to the couch and sprawls out. Aubergine kneels by the fire and stares at it. She’s hiding something for sure. Logico is very blissful as he pads around.

VIOLET: So… how long is this gonna take? MARBLE: Wouldn’t all THREE of us be the murderer here? LOGICO: Can I please have my thing.

Marble’s face goes cold as she bathes in the dim light of the candelabra. 

LOGICO: Oh… what happened to you?  MARBLE: Many things happened to me, my child. And the more you knew, the more you’d want to stay away.

Logico grimaces. He doesn’t care about this person at all, must less want to blackmail her. He’s much more focused on Lord Violet. A painting of the animal is on the floor, probably used as a weapon. Lord Violet’s existence of being a completely feral beast always gives him the chills.

Drawling on as long as he can, Logico smells the false body.

LOGICO: OH! Like a tiny rodent. 

Irratino is so proud back home. Logico really listened to his ‘Logi-Faux’ idea! But he still has a lot of concerns.

LOGICO: All right, all right. The ‘real’ killer was Lady Violet. VIOLET: You’re blaming me for- oh, forget it! ‘Killing’ a decoy is not a crime! LOGICO: Attempted murder is a crime! VIOLET: I wasn’t trying to kill you! You scared the crap out of me! LOGICO: All right! Everyone sit down. It’s time for me to explain my theory. AUBERGINE: Need your tinfoil hat? LOGICO: Fuck you.

The end!

Without Irratino, Logico seems to be fading back into his og asshole self...

WHO WILL RESCUE HIM??

Also sad fact is, since Lord Violet and Beryl are dead, they won't be getting standard official artworks, which sucks cuz I put a lot of effort into their designs

I'll still definitely draw them though

The power of Goat Lord compels you!

See you next time murdlers!

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Since you were talking about games, I know you're also a Dai Gyakuten Saiban/Great Ace Attorney fan (so am I! I followed you originally because you're into both it and BSD hehe), and I'm curious to know your thoughts on it! 💖 Who are your favorite characters/relationships/cases/parts? (My fave character is Benedict/Graydon. Yes I have a tendency to become obsessed with minor characters no one else cares about, oops) Did you play it with the Chronicles version (I assume so, like most people did) or are you an og who followed along with the fan translation like I did? One of the best/funniest parts of getting into that duology was coming across Souseki and being like "if I had a nickel for every time I've encountered a piece of media that had an anime version of real-life author Natsume Souseki, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot but it's weird that it happened twice" lmao 😭

Since they're two of my favorite media, sometimes I try to imagine how a BSD/DGS crossover would work, and which characters would get along, though granted the only things they really have in common are detective work/mysteries, an old-fashioned aesthetic, and some similar themes lol... I just really love both of them a lot 🥹💖 Ryuunosuke and Atsushi being the exasperated straight men to the genius comedy duo that is Sholmes and Dazai? lmao (also Iris and Kyouka and their bunnies 🥹)

I need to play Hatoful Boyfriend. I've played lots of visual novels but that one is still on my to-play list (I don't know how seriously I'll be able to take it with bird sprites instead of actual human facial expressions, even though I fully trust that it is as good as its reputation says it is, but I'll just have to see for myself lmao)

Hsjfdnvskdf ok so I don't know what keeps happening to me with TGAA because I love it so much but I can't seem to write proper meta on it so. I just keep reiterating how much I like it lol. I got into it a bit later - I knew it existed almost since it came out in Japan but since I hadn't played original Ace Attorney, I avoided it for a long time. Then I saw a playthrough of the fan translation Case 1 and was hooked. By that point, I knew there was going to be a full English release so I waited for that because I wanted so badly to play it through! It's such a good game.

Oh, Graydon was interesting. That case was really fun, if it weren't for the fact that I figured out the key evidence really early and I kept trying to present it too soon aojsbsidhb. Graydon as a character was great because he's exactly as he appears but then there's just that bit more that fleshes him out and made him the slightest bit more sympathetic while not detracting from his actions. He was cool. (I actually had an idea for an after trial fic with him and the Skulkins but I don't think I'll ever get around to writing it :/)

Oh yeah I flipped out when I saw Natsume - my whole brain stopped (this was before my BSD obsession btw so this was very strange to me lol) and I shrieked out "NATSUME SOSEKI???" and my mom from the other room was just "???". yeah. And then he showed up again in BSD and I just said "...hi Natsume".

My favourites are the Mikotobas! Both Susato and Yuujin! They're such sweet people aghhhhh they deserve the world. But I really love all the main cast tbh. Ryuunosuke is such a dork but there's real personality to him, Sholmes is the perfect adaptation of that character, Gina should get all the puppies and friends she wants, and though I have some mixed feelings on him, I hope van Zieks gets a fucking break at some point (or just keep friendly tormenting him. I think it's good for him actually. unlearn your prejudices and relearn how to smile, you edgy vampire man.). Kazuma's arc was excellent and I wish so badly we could've gotten a true reunion scene with less of the baggage... actually, thinking about Kazuma for too long makes me ill. You essentially watch him break in the middle of court and it sucks. It sucks man.

And Iris was a standout character to me because her archetype could've so easily been bland or annoying but instead she's a realistic kid who happens to be a genius and she's kind and gets sad and angry and has depth and I would give her a big hug.

In terms of case specific characters, I liked Haori/Rei a lot, just because her dynamic with Susato was so silly and she's a cool gifted forensics student! She's awesome! I want to see her again!

However, my favourite was Olive. OLIVE. I adore her and I adore the twist with her. God she's so passive aggressive. Like damn. Have I mentioned that I adore her character? If Olive has only 1 fan then I am that fan. I wished we had gotten to consult with her again, even though that wouldn't have made much sense... just because she was interesting to me and I would've liked to have seen her character more fleshed out.

I'd really love to see a lot of these characters again. I've seen some people talking about Kazuma Asougi Investigations but tbh I'd really like to see Susato Mikotoba Investigations with Haori and Yuujin helping out! It'd be neat to see more Meiji Japan and Susato continue to grow as a character in her own right, since she started that journey in Chronicles. Oh well. I know that's a pipe dream but still.

Omg omg so Iris and Kyouka was such a sweet mental image that I had to doodle it!

I bet Kyouka would really find Iris's inventions fascinating and love to listen to how they work and stuff! I think they'd get along tbh. The idea of Sholmes and Dazai ever interacting terrifies me. Keep them away from each other. Please.

As for Hatoful, I am biased but I'd say it is well worth a playthrough. Given you like both DGS and BSD, I'd say you'll probably like it. My mom (who has also played it) and I were chatting about it recently and thinking that weirdly enough, BSD gives us a lot of the same vibes... like it's nowhere near identical, but that kind of desperate darkness where the characters are not who they appear to be at first and everyone has a different motive for doing what they do, but it's also not taking itself too seriously and it's still kinda silly... yeah. Same feel. It's better to go in with no expectations but I'm thinking of making a post later about why people should play that game... it's still one of my favourites of all time.

About the stock bird images: I know it's weird. I know it's weird that they're birds. But the best part of this game - to me, anyways - is that for as much as it is a gag, the story leans into it so heavily that you will quickly realize the main plot only makes logical sense if the main cast are birds and the player the only human. Like, it literally would not make sense otherwise. Please play it. It's wacky, it's zany, the characters have a good amount of depth, it's mildly traumatizing, it's one of the best things I've played and I feel it's become an inscrutable part of my identity. I am still obsessed with it many years later. That almost never happens to me. It's that good.

Agh this was long. I hope it wasn't overwhelming haha. Actually I'm curious: did you like Olive too? And/or what do you like about Graydon? :D

(Also if you ever decide to start Hatoful, please let me know your thoughts!!!)

[thedegu]

2 & 10 for Ida, 23 & 7 for Rossien, 24 & 30 for Madea

Ida

2. would your character carry around a tiny bath and body works hand sanitizer? if yes, would it have a specific scent?

yes, but i don't think the bath and body work ones. tbh I think she'd go for unscented. hand sanitizer is already smelly enough don't need perfume on top of that for her delicate nose lol

10. does your character have tattoos? were they alone the first time they got one?

I think Ida probably has a little sick-and-poke on her ankle. something simple a flower or the like. She probably got it at a party when she was younger so no. she doesn't really remember who gave it to her just that it happened. she likes the idea of getting more but its low-priorty

Rossien

23. what’s the pettiest thing your character’s ever done?

ohhhh, probably took something precious during his divorce just so that his ex couldn't have it. a painting, Rossein didn't really care for it but he knew his ex loved it. made his ex choose between two things he loved just so Rossein would have it and not him. Rossien probably threw it out or sold it not too long after.

7. what’s the first thing your character’s eyes are drawn to on a map?

Large cities and waterways. mountains too as those are the only major issue for his travels. he notes roads but they're only a suggestion.

Madea

24. what made your character the angriest they’ve ever been?

oh that's a hard one, she's baseline like 9/10 anger at all times so having an upper limit blurs most of them together. Probably finding out who her bio father is and what he did to Freddy. though all of those feelings are combined into a rage-filled spicy soup. alongside the loss of the relationship with her sister and just all the fuckery going on in the campaign.

but yeah, finding out your dad isn't only a cop, but he's also the cop who murdered her bf is a lot. but she's going to kill him wich will make everything better :)

30. how has your character’s first impressions of their party members changed since they met them? have they stayed the same?

ohh boy, this is a lot lmao

Glau: "this guy is weird but seems harmless. 3/10 threat, need more information" -> "this guy is weird, has drugs and can fuck shit up. 5/10 threat, stay on his good side."

Dunrich: "he's quiet, but seems competent. 8/10 threat, killed a harken worshiper more or less in cold blood; keep a watchful eye." -> "on the level, chill and a softy inside (gross) can marginally trust. 4/10 threat, do not move against will kill me if pushed."

Llewyn: "Quiet and on the level (crime). Knows how to get shit done and business-like 6/10 threat" -> "all previous statements are still true, will work with me for money and does not ask unnecessary questions. 9/10 threat, will most likely move against me if paid enough. Keep my eye on her...."

Corvus: "lmao what a nerd. 2/10 threat" -> "ah a nerd with a sword, dragon and axe to grind. 4/10 threat."

Bea: "Oh gods she knows who I am??? oh, she knows (og) made, that's both worse and better. follower of the Harken, hm, hard to tell. Goodie-two-shoes gets her nose into things it does not belong but is hesitant to action. 4/10 threat, while she might act against me, she would not have the balls to do anything rash." -> "lmao what a nerd, not with the harken but still not to be trusted. asks way to many questions but does not have anything to back her up if she gets pushy. 2/10 threat (derogatory) like a small dog who thinks she's bigger then she is."

[wtf-amiru]

please tell me how amiru/thancred/graha came to be i need to know

OH BOY

Explaining these three is gonna be basically explaining the whole damn thing so buckle up, lets gooo

So this game doesn't let you start as a rogue huh

Thancred's known A'miru since pre-ARR stuff, he caught her pick pocketing as and young teenager and after a fairly lengthy chase he let her go with a few coins and told it'd be bad if he caught her again. Well guess who made a habit of pissing off the one and only person who ever gave her a second chance. After a hat debacle he was tired of her shit so he dragged her to Jacke in Limsa and finally got her out of his hair...until she came back a while later for the ARR stuff. Done and dusted for those two for a while, aside from being someone she knew she could trust he was like a big brother figure to her for a long time.

A'miru was extremely cold and distant for most of ARR and probably would have stayed that way for a good long while if it hadn't been for a prank playing archer.

Wanna know how to piss off og A'miru? Pull a fucking G'raha and prank her ass in the middle of a job. But then turn around and be an innocent little baby with big dreams. G'raha was the complete opposite of A'miru at the time; full of passion and a hunger for adventure, A'miru was there because it was her job. Her crystal tower prog happened over a long period of time for me so she had plenty of time to reason away her feelings, get pissed off when oop there they are again as soon as she was back and such. G'raha bullied her into her first real love, but like in a nice way.

When he left she fully broke and that was when I started fully inhaling the game lmao so it was a rapid spiral from that into the banquet and over to Ishgard where things got real dark for a while. Without anyone around to direct her outside of poor Alphinaud she spiraled hard into alcohol and it was just a real bad time for everyone involved. There's a lot of drama that happens here with Aymeric and Estinien but that's for another time.

She finally finds Thancred out camping and once he's back it's not long before he knows something is up with her. She's not sleeping, not eating right, drinks all the time, is never home; it's a bad time and she has to admit she might have a problem. Thancred becomes captain of the keep a'miru clean squad followed up closely by Estinien, who has, on several occasions, literally thrown her back in the house (he's the mean dad).

After that and getting clean she kinda threw herself at the liberation in a way that was probably not very healthy either? With little regard for her own well-being. And then the scions started getting called away and BOY OH BOY was she starting to panic bc oh no not again.

You cannot tell me A'miru wouldn't have recognized that voice calling her, you just can't. We didn't hear him talk during the crystal tower quests but he still is talking in game, by that last time she had to have been absolutely sure that was his voice. Exactly none of it made sense though but after all the bullshit with Ishgard and the liberation I think she was ready to just fucking bulldoze through to figure it out and BOY OH BOY was that ever a wild ride.

yadda yadda she got her cat back and inflicted more chaos than usual with him back much to everyone's dismay.

It took her coming back from Elpis and G'raha straight up asking her if she had feelings for Thancred for her to realize that yeah, she probably (read: definitely) did and hadn't recognized them bc they were so different than her feelings for G'raha. There's a whole paragraph in the fic relating to this where G'raha straight up put money on her having feelings for Thancred bc he's a very attentive boy and A'miru maybe gets a little caught up in her job sometimes lol They're kinda just figuring shit out together

Anyways these are my children and I love them very much haha

[shinwhoohoo]

hi! do you know what's going on with rbwm? i saw wm had to let go of a lot of their trainees who had been with them for years. does this mean they will only have omg and possibly shinchan promoting until onf gets back? are any of the og wm board left? i saw a pretty recent video where onf referred to wonmin as 대표님 but idk. this acquisition feels so messy i hope wm's remaining artists and trainees get the promotion they deserve. will omg ot7 even renew their contracts next year? it sucks

unfortunately, I don't think any of us know at this point until some actual, official statements are released.

I've been (trying, lmao) to do this thing where I don't go off on these wild ass rants like I used to when there isn't anything official to go by, but yeah... things seem to have been getting a bit messy the last month or two now.

The WM girl trainees seem to all be gone, minus Chaeyeon. And possibly the boys? Def not the best sign. The only statement I've seen that seems to hold up as possibly factual is because of the contract terms between RBW and WM following the 70% acquisition... no new artists deals can be made following three years after the acquisition. So they just decided to let 95% of them go. Not a smart move on their part. Not to mention optically it just looks really, really bad.

So yeah, as far as the WM Ent. subsidiary is concerned, they only have OMG, B1A4 (with Sandeul obviously not active until he comes back) and ONF (but again, they'll all be gone in a matter of weeks.... which makes me speculate if they knew shit was going down behind the scenes, hence them wanting to just enlist now vs. sticking around for this mess).

As for the main guys from WM Ent., (Wonmin as their old CEO, Jimni as their main Director, etc.) kinda tough to say. Paperwork was released a few weeks ago that no longer listed any of these guys as high ups. I definitely found it odd, though it seemed the focus at that time was more on the fact that Gongchan was listed as 'discharged' from military service. But the fact that none of the WM Ent. managers/higher ups were on the publically released papers didn't sit right with me. Who knows, maybe Wonmin is still partially active in some aspects, and either way I'm sure the ONF members would just refer to him as that out of closeness and respect, whether he was or wasn't.

AND lastly OMG... as far as I have heard, there is still speculation of Mimi and Jiho not having renewed their contracts. Lord knows honestly it's all a mess and I'm just trying not to get too upset over it in my old age lmaoo. It's been so great following them since debut and seeing them overcome and succeed... I just wish the best for them.

I was never happy about RBW acquiring most of WM. It never sat right with me, nor did it even make sense from a financial standpoint. At this point all we can do is wait for more information to be officially addressed, and hope that all of this gets sorted out somehow. Though unfortunately for the trainees, it's too late for them. I can't imagine how they feel, all that time at WM now wasted. I really feel for them. 😔

[littencloud9]

hello here's part 1 of my satoglad headcanons because i love them and i can

| gladion’s taller than ash and constantly steals his hat to hold above his head

| ash steals gladion’s hoodie ALL THE TIME

| gladion’s ticklish but only ash knows that

| he’s also touchstarved as hell and ash is happy to provide for his needs

| ash introduces him to the og kanto gang and surprisingly gladion gets along best with gary

| they both blush around each other, but gladion’s more obvious. ash’s ears and neck usually turns the reddest

| lillie was totally the no. 1 satoglad shipper

| wicke and burnet would also gossip about them during work

| kukui thought ash and lillie would end up together but burnet bet on ash and gladion (she obviously won)

| umbreon was the first to notice something going on between them, closely followed by silvally and the two lycanroc. idk i feel like pikachu would be just as oblivious as ash. and torracat’s never really around gladion so

| they took forever to start dating. everyone knew they were dating except them

| they still have a hell lot of pokémon battles

| every year they’re always vying for league champion and most of the time it ends up as ash vs gladion for the finals. it becomes the most exciting battle because everyone in alola knows there’s always a hell lot of tension. there was once kiawe won the league but he decided he was more suited for kahuna

| pikachu and silvally bitch about their trainers together

| solgaleo and lunala randomly visit sometimes because why not. there was once satoglad had a battle with ash and solgaleo vs gladion and lunala and it was wild

| ash totally plays with gladion’s earrings

| and gladion plays with ash’s hair

| neither of them are very good at cooking. gladion can do basic recipes but ash is a disaster. that doesn’t mean they don’t try tho. and usually the kitchen ends up in a mess so most of the time they grab food at nearby malls or at mallow’s restaurant

| the alola gang are always trying to get them together. they purposely sit in a way that forces them to sit next to each other, or walk in certain formations, or split off into different groups on purpose. neither of them caught on because they’re oblivious as hell but they’re doing their best

| both of them are amazing with kids

| the first time they kissed was on accident. i’m not sure how or why but ash definitely did it and shocked both of them

| speaking of which ash loves to kiss gladion’s cheek randomly. he likes seeing gladion get embarrassed even after dating for years

| their favourite date idea would be chilling on the beach at night. they have a thing with being alone at night

| gladion can definitely play the guitar. he plays and ash sings and it’s enough to make anyone tear up

| stealing this one from paige but gladion (and lillie) totally have kalosian blood. or maybe galarian, but yeah

| neither of them are very materialistic. ash’s love language is prob quality time/acts of services while gladion’s would be physical touch or words of affirmation. they’re always trying to outdo each other with christmas gifts

| gladion literally lives at kukui and burnet’s. they now have two sons

| whenever they had another ultra beast mission, these two will flirt like hell to cope with the anxiousness. everyone is sick of their shit

| but they’re also a power couple and i stand by that (like, the two strongest in alola teaming up? unstoppable)

| both of them can and will kill you if you say anything bad about the other. they are protective™

| i like to think that at some point ash caught an eevee and it evolved into espeon so not only do they have the double lycanroc, they now have the double eeveelutions (and with the sun and moon themes too!! ksjdksdjsk)

| ash cannot dance but he tries for gladion anyway. they somehow have the waltz down decently

| they are the literal definition of red and blue gays i do not take criticism. ash’s fav colour is blue and gladion’s is red

| when they start dating and see each other more often, gladion and torracat (or incineroar but shut up i love torracat and lowkey wish it didn’t evolve ahsjddhshdjs) become super close. it’s like burnet and torracat. no one understands how it never scratches him, ever

| ash and silvally become best friends™ too

| the first few months they were dating, gladion would always give ash that Fond Smile. it only ever happens in private too, and ash melts everytime it happens

| they don’t really argue, but when they do, it’s always super serious like that nebby argument. they wouldn’t talk for like a week cause they’re both stubborn too and it worries everyone

| both of them always scold the other for not taking care of themselves even though they do the exact same thing

| lusamine is a 100% the oblivious parent that had no idea they even liked each other

| before they started dating ash is approached by a few ppl because he’s the champion and he’s fun and kinda attractive, same goes for gladion. they both don’t understand why they feel upset when it happens and it frustrates lillie to no end

| SPEAKING OF WHICH gladion definitely gets jealous more easily but ash is always there to assure him

| every time they battle they just yell compliments/tease each other. the sexual tension is so THICK you could cut it with a knife

| ash always tugs on gladion’s hoodie string when he wants him to lean down for a kiss

| this is literally in the ship name but the trust they have in each other is immaculate. they’re both insanely loyal and they know the other would never betray them and it makes me cry thank you

| gladion hates swimming because he doesn’t like his hair getting wet, so he usually hangs around the beach with torracat, the two lycanroc and rowlet. ash plays in the water with silvally, pikachu, zoroark and melmetal while he watches with an adoring smile

| also he totally got embarrassed seeing ash shirtless the first few times LMAO

[snkpolls]

SnK Episode 65 Poll Results (for Manga Readers)

The poll closed with 318 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Please note that these are the results for the Manga Readers’ poll. If you wish to see the results for the Anime Only Watchers’ poll, click here.

--

RATE THE EPISODE 309 Responses

Overall the episode was a hit with viewers, with the majority ranking it a 4 or higher. Over half of all respondents rating it a solid 5. The hype is real!

I thought this was a great episode. A lot of hype moments and the CGI worked for me, for the most part. Looking forward to the next episode!

All around exceeded my expectations if mappa keeps this up this will go down as the best anime in history

Chef's KISS!!! 10/10 episode, i was extremely hyped the entire time. 

It was amazing and I hope MAPPA keeps up with the same quality for future episodes

Amazing episode really hype

I thought the voice acting was amazing! :)

Great episode, not perfect but neither was WIT. No adaptation is perfect. This was fantastic.

It was pretty good just maybe good have been done better but I’m just happy it was done at all.

I’ve lowered my expectations to rock bottom at this point

An enjoyable time.

I think it was great! I was very excited and left me wanting more tbh

It was a very good episode!! I'm so happy to see the survey corps again!

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOMENTS WAS YOUR FAVORITE? 310 Responses

Mikasa’s reintroduction to the series takes the largest piece of the pie, with 31.6% enjoying the scene the most. In second comes the coordinated attack from the Survey Corps against Porco, with 14.8% feeling that scene really brings the hype. At 10.3%, Levi’s first appearance in the season takes 3rd place, and with 9.7% is the overall fight between Eren and the War Hammer Titan.

Ackermans ran this episode as they should. They're on a whole different level. 

Why isn't the Sasha-Gabi moment in the list of favourite moments? That's my actually favourite moment. Gabi seeing Sasha through the fire and smoke, Sasha's reflection in her eyes...chilling.

THE CGI CONTINUES TO BE A POINT OF CONTENTION. BE HONEST, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE EXECUTION OF CGI SO FAR THIS SEASON? 309 Responses

In general, the fandom appears to be understanding of MAPPA’s usage of CGI, with 38.2% being completely unbothered by it, 20.1% feeling that while it’s not ideal, it could be much worse, and 18.8% not particularly caring for it but not faulting MAPPA for it either. A handful of people just wish that there would be more appreciation that it’s getting animated at all, while others continue to be a bit salty about the usage of CGI this season.

Did people forgot the god-awful Colossal titan's CGI from WIT? Well, I didn't so I wasn't surprised by the same level of CGI in Eren's scene (thankfully just one of them). I rarely have issue with CGI in SnK except for truly awful looking ones so like couple of times in the season, usually. 

I honestly wouldn't even know there's CGI if everyone wasn't complaining about it. I honest to god can't see where they use it.

It's mostly fine

I thought the war hammer titan looked AMAZING, the only CGI that looked odd was the scouts in the background, but that’s really it...?

A few sore spots (e.g. Erens titan looked kinda off this ep), but it's not season-ruining yet. 

CGI Titans >>>>>>>> CGI Survey Corps

It works fine for titans that already look somewhat mechanical (Armor, Jaw), but it looks incredibly awkward for the others, to the point of taking me out of the story. 

Sometimes great sometimes shit

Maybe I've been spoiled by studio orange and the previous seasons, but I know for a fact that they can do better. This is not a new anime, this is the final season of one of the greatest anime of all time, so yeah I expected much better CGI, it was poor and unecessary.

i think it’s gr8/unnoticeable,,,,,like we all put up with the colossal titan in s1-3 lmao

Some Titans like Eren and Beast look a little weird but I just really like how they made effort to make it blend with the art style. Maybe if they had found a way to cut the animation down to 12fps it might not look so bad? Anyways I think it’s good for what it is, MAPPA is doing their best!

I barely noticed it. The animation looks BOMB. Top 5 episodes of the whole series for me and BEST action episode of AOT easily.

I'm always going to prefer 2D but I understand why they're using it. Still sad about what could've been if they were given enough time to work on the season. Definitely going to lower my expectations.

My dumbass wouldn't even notice, I just want to see the pretty people

I think the CGI for the Titans is completely fine. It's the CGI for the Scouts that was a bit off putting for me. Still, not enough to ruin the episode. And if we continue to get animation of this standard I will be fine with it. 

At this point after episode 7 onward eventually AOT CGI is going to be worst than EX-arm's CGI 

I love it because it makes the titans scarier and more eerie? I also miss the 2D ones because they feel more natural. Overall, I think it's fine!

I think the CGi is well executed (for the most part), I just don't like that they had to use it so much.

It's a great job. They manage to execute it very well and go to a normal animation when it's needed. It doesn't bother me tbh

HOW WAS EREN’S ROOFTOP SWAN DIVE? 309 Responses

Eren’s dive in the anime was a bit different than in the manga, but it seemed to get a few laughs out of the fandom, so we asked you all to rank it. 58.3% felt it was the most beautiful dive to have ever dived, while only 5.5% think Eren really needs to work on his form. He did his best.

WHICH RETURNING CHARACTER’S ENTRANCE WAS YOUR FAVORITE IN THIS EPISODE? 310 Responses

Mikasa stole the show this episode, with 53.5% enjoying her entrance the most. Levi wasn’t too far behind though, with 29% of respondents hyped over his return. 11.6% were very happy to see Sasha again, while smaller chunks were glad to see Jean and Connie.

They massacred my Jean-boy’s entrance 🥲

WHICH RETURNING CHARACTER HAS THE BEST MAPPA-STYLE GLOW UP? 304 Responses

We got a more colorful and evened out pie for this question. Overall the largest chunk, at 24.3%, are enjoying MAPPA’s take on Eren’s iconic “hobo chic” look. 21.1% think Sasha looks the best out of all of them, while Mikasa trails just behind her at 20.1%. 16.1% are grateful for Connie’s design, leaving 9.5% favoring Jean, and smaller handfuls appreciating MAPPA’s take on Levi and Floch.

Chubby Floch

Here I am watching the trailer all over again because that's probably the only way to see Jean animated handsome and with his actual manga face. MAPPA what happened?

Levi has a thicc ass

I’m a big fan of all the time skip character designs, it was hard to pick just one favourite :) 

Jean looked stupid... Floch too but that's not important.

OG characters designs feels a bit off to me. I understand why they use CG for some parts and I have mixed emotions about it. I hope they won't rely on it too much on the upcoming episodes.

#ITSTIMEMIKASA WAS TRENDING ON TWITTER BEFORE THE EPISODE AIRED. ON A SCALE OF 1-5, HOW MUCH DID IT LIVE UP TO THE HYPE? 304 Responses

One of the most anticipated scenes of the Marley arc was the return of the Survey Corps and the way Mikasa paves the path for their reintroduction. The fandom appears to be very happy with MAPPA’s execution of the scene, with 60.9% of respondents rating it with a 5, with 27% rating it a 4. 

EEEEEEEEEEK MIKASA

Mikasa! Mikasa! Gosh love her!

im so glad mikasa is back owfejgrnrkdfs

MAPPA INCLUDED FILLER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EPISODE OF WILLY HESITANTLY DEPARTING FROM HIS TEARFUL FAMILY. WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE ADDITION? 310 Responses

The series isn’t known for having too much filler, but typically what filler does exist seems to be appreciated by the fandom, and this was no exception. 56.8% of respondents were happy for a little more fleshing out of Willy’s character (also learning that those kids were his!) and being able to sympathize more with him. 19.7% appreciated the more sympathetic addition until they remembered he was willing to throw Liberio under the bus for his plan. 13.5% are appreciative of any and all additional Willy content. A small amount didn’t like the filler and would rather have had MAPPA put their effort into other things. 

I liked it. Got to see more of his fine ass. lmao

Don't add extra 2d animation if You can't even handle what's in the manga

It would've been better to show before he was dead. Fleshing him out after the audience already know he's dead doesn't hit as much imo

Wasn't one of the scene itself, but then again I'm always interested in scenes I haven't seen yet.

I am so grateful, willy for is one of my favourites and omg we got to see his family and how is he a lovely papa 😭💕 I can't ask for more bless you MAPPA🤘

fuck them kids

Why should we feel bad for him? He tried to unite the world against Paradis. He got what he deserved.

this was a benefit. as manga readers, we had time to know willy. anime onlies will only ever have these 2-3 episodes and it was very humanizing

How is that possible that Tybur little kids in few seconds were louder nad more chaotic than THE WHOLE CITY DURING THE ATTACK??

It's very regrettable he left so many children fatherless because of what he chose to do. Really saddening..

I’d have rather seen more of the manga animated 

I knew why they added it, but I (personally) think willy is crud. Not mad it's there tho!

He did his duty as a Tybur to the very end. Honestly I wish he could have lived longer, he’s a really compelling and interesting character.

I feel like some viewers have carelessly misunderstood Willy because of that scene in the carriage. They're like 'wow, he really hates and shames his own people huh?' but at the beginning of the episode we all saw his abundance of children. Would it not have been extremely contradictory if he had truly wanted the extinction of all Eldians and then at the same time did the complete opposite by mass-reproducing a small army of Eldian children? Maybe that's why that scene was added to the start of the episode, to keep people away from mischaracterising him. Unfortunately, this may have simply been missed or overlooked by some. 

they should had polish the damn episode instead of fillers.

Loved it! Mappa is killing it with the episode additions 

Reading the manga, I truly didn't even consider the possibility that these were Willy's children because he is so obviously a ~*bachelor*~. Like, it didn't even cross my mind that those children weren't his little nieces and nephews because he is suuuuch a Theater Gay. Nothing can change my mind.

Wait a minute, are these the kids in that ending slide from season 3?

IN THE ORIGINAL CHAPTER 101, MAGATH IS THE ONE WHO ADVOCATES FOR KILLING EREN INSTEAD OF EATING HIM (IN CONTRAST TO HIS SUBORDINATE KOSLOW) AND NOTES THAT “THE AGE OF TITANS IS OVER.” IN THE ADAPTATION, MAGATH INSTEAD ADVOCATES FOR EATING EREN, NOTING THAT KILLING HIM WOULD ONLY PROLONG THE PROBLEM. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE CHANGE? 305 Responses

A minor dialogue change didn’t seem to have much of an effect on nearly half of respondents, with 47.5% saying they’re indifferent to the change. 43.3% like the change much better, feeling that it works a lot better with future story developments and makes more sense. A handful didn’t care for the change and felt it tampered with Magath’s overall characterization. 

I think the change was logical and more consistent with the story, but I'm naturally skeptical of any AOT manga-to-anime change.

I forgot this.

It ovewrites the flaw of Magath's original plan. Even if I think its unfitting of him, it makes sense.

I'm not sure what I feel about it. Kinda like how they added Falco having a dream back in episode 1. For now, let's just see.

I suppose the new change is a little contradictory because Magath dislikes Marley’s reliance on Titan power and rather just wishes th ey had prowess in other ways. 

Realistically eating him makes more sense for them to eat Eren so they gain control of the Founder but I think Magath accepting the age of Titans is now done for is more in character.

It obviously makes more sense logistically, but I think it's important for Magath to stand opposed to Marley national policy on this front, like, symbolically.

BETWEEN UDO AND ZOFIA, WHO WOULD YOU HAVE LIKED TO SURVIVE TO RECEIVE MORE STORY IN THE MANGA? 304 Responses

Though they are minor characters, the anime seems to have made some of the fandom a bit more fond of them. Still, 38.5% wouldn’t change anything about their fates, stating that they were necessary for Gabi to develop further as a character. 28% would rather neither of them died and are curious about how they would have developed if they lived to see another day. 23.7% say if they had to pick only one of them, it would be Udo due to his relevant commentary. A handful leaned toward Zofia, wishing they could have learned more about her. 

Udo. But at the same time Isayama can barely handle all the characters that are still alive so Udo probably wouldn't get a lot of screen time anyway.

Zofia. I didn't care about her while reading the manga, but in the anime she was more unique. I liked her stoic voice a lot. Zofia and Gabi should have switch the places. 

None cus i don't like Gabi

Both or neither. One would be just a third wheel to Gabi and Falco. I would love to see more of Udo and Zofia but I think their deaths were important

Udo and zofia's deaths hurt so bad. I didn't particularly care for either of them when reading the manga but i grown attracted to them in the anime. Udo's in particular breaks me. He was such a energic kid and he... got trampled to death. I'm just...

Neither. Both were serving an enemy nation and deserved what they got.

They weren't important to me so I don't really care

OPINION ON HOW THE ATTACK ON LIBERIO WAS PORTRAYED? 306 Responses

47.1% of respondents didn’t want to pick sides, stating that the attack was tragic in both mediums of the story-telling. 25.8% felt that it was much more devastating in animated form alongside the sound, music and voice acting. 18.3% felt a bigger impact while reading the manga. 

Both versions are devastating, but Manga hit harder bc I just was so confused and couldn't stop trying to figure out wtf Eren was doing and why. Watching it knowing what I know made it somehow more devastating and yet also more palatable (bc I have a better understanding.)

It was more devastating in the manga. Especially Udo's death scene 

I think I have to wait until the battle is over. So far it's alright.

Loved it

It gave me more emotions in the manga. 

They got what they deserved

It was far more devastating in trailer 🙄

WE FINALLY HAVE A NAME FOR LADY TYBUR - LARA! THOUGHTS? 307 Responses

One of the few characters left with no name after the large guidebook released a few years ago, Lady Tybur was all we could call her (aside from fan-given names). Now she has an official name! 26.7% found it neat that we finally got this official detail. 25.4% feel that now they can finally sleep at night. 17.6% are forever grateful for the name drop and hated waiting so long for it. 15.3% don’t care at all and 11.7% feel this confirms that Isayama is a fan of Tomb Raider.

Not what I was expecting and wasn't expecting her to get a name. At least people can stop calling her Emma or those other dumbass meme names.

Cool. Next up: names for the Blouse kids, right? Right right?

I'm not kidding when I say I literally jumped up and screeched "SHE HAS A NAME!!!"

she didn't need it. she was the mysterious lady t. 

Lara was more lucky than Traute, who got more panels in the manga but her name was mentioned only in the guidebook. 

Still died

WHICH SCENE FROM THE PREVIEW ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? 306 Responses

Of all the shots in the preview, 45.1% of respondents were most looking forward to Levi’s staged attack on Zeke. 17% favored seeing Mikasa assist Eren, 15% were most looking forward to seeing Falco emerge from the basement to see the carnage outside. 10.1% were stoked to see Pieck enter the battlefield. The episode has aired as of the publishing of these poll results - we hope these scenes lived up to the hype (even though we guessed one wrong lol).

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE?

I enjoyed the episode very much. I felt that the CGI was handled fairly well given the time restraints. However, there were a few instances where it was a bit jarring like Eren eating Willy, Eren pulling the WHT's cord, Mikasa landing on Eren, and Jean climbing up on the roof. Also some of the CGI models looked a bit weird for the scouts. I'm hoping some of these issues can be improved on in the Blue-ray version. Overall, these issues were noticeable but didn't take too much away from my enjoyment of the episode.

As much as I don't like the CGI, episode was great.

Just that it was fantastic and I can't wait for the next one!

The music is top notch. I love it. Especially the new version of XL TT near the end

After re-visiting the trailer we got for this season, it's just....saddening. Everyone was wondering how Mappa was gonna animate AoT and after seeing that trailer, all that effort by the animators, I thought "it's in good hands!". Now that we're getting the episodes and it's underwhelming. I don't blame the Mappa animators at all and cgi is unavoidable at some moments. But whoever are the higher ups who said "animate this in the shortest amount of time" ARE the assholes. It's so upsetting for this anime and the workers of it to be brought down like this :'(

Continuing to enjoy the pictures on the page come to life in the anime.

It was pretty amazing, I was waiting for so long to see this part animated! Aaand I'm so happy I got to see again the scouts! (expecially Connie, my personal fav)

Erwin should had lived instead of Armin, so Erwin can nuke Marley dropping from a blimp

I really liked it! I don't understand all the critics about the animation. It looks really neat and smooth

the SC backlit in that final scene was sickkkkk

It was different from the manga, but all the differences just improved the storytelling and fleshed out the people in Marley. Well done, MAPPA!

aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

I’m just grateful Mappa actually gives a shit about adapting the story properly. That alone makes this season a 9/10 for me cause that’s rare to see in the anime industry these days.

THE OST WAS FIRE

Gabi's voice acting was amazing this episode ! Also, it feels good to hear the ODM gear sound effect again. The CGI didn't keep me from enjoying the fight, we got awesome camera movements and good choreography, I'm very hopeful for next episode ! Also best boy Onyankopon might appear soon ?

I seriously do not know why people are complaining. It was amazing! Can't wait for the next episodes, it's going to be action-packed and intense!

I don't know if I liked the episode or not. I usually prefer manga so even episodes I like I prefer their manga versions but there is something in off with the episode and usually, Titans fight are more excited but this one Nah it was not at all. War hammer was great in animation it served a better understanding of its powers but the fight, in general, was like boring?? idk maybe because I am a manga reader so the titan power/character's introduction was not as thrilling as they were when I've read the chapters. anyways, there is still more of the attack on liberio in the next episode so I'll give my final thought when we conclude the arc

I really enjoyed and the CGI doesn't bother me.

I think the reason Attack Titan looks a bit off is it looks a bit thinner! Warhammer looks amazing because it's a true copy of the manga. If Attack Titan was a bit buff, I think nobody would have that much of a problem. Overall the chapter is amazing!

as much as i adored everything else i must admit... what is wrong with the character design? what happened to everyone's jaws?? i think jean, mikasa and pieck were the worst drawn. in the manga, they look flawless. 

I just hope we would get actual discussions in the sub instead of circle jerking or bitching about the cgi/ost etc.

The soundtrack was epic as hell

Mappa is doing a good job, with the little time they had. But sadly, they had the capacity to do way better and I will always regret this situation. And the Jojo memes on Mikasa are on point: in that specific panel, she looks ugly and unlike her cute face in the manga. For the rest of the episode, she's well portrayed

I think this episode is a taste of what is to come. It’s one thing to read still, silent pictures of complete devastation, and it’s another thing to hear the explosions, the screaming and crying. Seeing the blood painted red instead of black and white. When Eren rumbles the world, more people will realize how evil it is, how completely irredeemable. Less people will be #teameren once they get to see it in the anime. I can’t wait to see what MAPPA has in store.

So many nice details in the battle that weren’t there in the manga, the war hammer animation was particularly great

I feel bad complaining, but this was the first episode of the season that has disappointed me at all. Every other episode I feel has elevated the manga. I don't want (and never expected) to be that person, but the CGI, especially on the humans (WHY??) was so awkward it was distracting. We also lost a little bit of expressiveness from Eren, which is kind of a big deal when there's so little from him to begin with. 

Soundtrack was lit!!!!

It is what it is. But after I finished the episode I went back to watch the trailer and got sad that the season just isn't going to look like that. It's not bad by any means and I understand that these are people, not robots working on this with an extremely tight schedule. This entitled fanbase is super embarrassing with it's behavior and harassment of the people working on it. I kind of hope the final arc doesn't get animated now because these people don't deserve it. 

Awesome! I was a bit distracted how the pacing was, cutting a bit weirdly from one episode to another, but I really enjoyed it!

That closeup of Eren's Titan after he nom'd Willy is NUTS. 

It was emotionless and almost boring. The sound director keeps fucking up big time. I didnt feel anything close to the hype I felt watching the Armored/Colossal reveal animated. There were no exciting goosebumps, or tears. Nothing. Also the CGI was terrible. There were good things, but I expected much more for suck a climatic episode

It was a good episode after all, graphic was ok but i think that if they continued with the same titan 2d animation of first episodes and maybe changed a bit some sound it would have been waaay better. Still a good episode imho

The episode was very average. I'm not trying to complain, I know that the anime is mostly for anime-onlines, while we have a manga, but I expected better. I imagined the titan fight to be smooth, but in reality both - WHT and AT - moved like two, fat elephants. In the manga I felt that WHT was fast like a wind. In the anime Lara was slow, she looked like she had a hard time to even hold her hammer. The moment between Eren and Mikasa was disappointing. In the anime when Mikasa was upset about Eren's actions, he was completely unfeeling, while in the manga we see him being full of emotions and almost crying. I know he will turn into a cold bastard but MAPPA shouldn't dehumanize Eren so much now. I was surprised by Connie's glow up. MAPPA has done better job with him. In the manga he still looks like a kid, while MAPPA made him more mature-looking and masculine. That's good for underrated Connie. I'm grateful for the scene between Willy and his children. This way he feels more sympathetic and isn't ""just a guy who declared a war and was eaten by Eren"". 

I really like how the warriors and Marleyans seem to be getting a somewhat equal amount of screen time as the scouts have gotten after they've come into the picture. I hope this helps to make clear for the anime-onlies that understanding the experiences, emotions and the development of the other side is just as important as understanding those of the scouts/Paradis.

WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES? 279 Responses

Thank you again to everyone who participated!

[zims-left-shoe]

Dance of Doom (Zim x Female Reader)

LMAO I edited the title on mobile and the ENTIRE fic deleted itself but luckily I still have a og copy somewhere

"Hey, Sara-”

"Absolutely not, Dib. There is no way I would go to prom with you, even if you were the last person on Earth." With a final swish of her long blue hair, Sara walked away, leaving Dib to stand there with his finger still in the air, eyes slowly narrowing in disappointment.

"I was just trying to borrow a pencil." He sighed, sitting back down at his table. Naturally, he was the only one there. All the other students wanted to be nowhere near him, for fear of the contagiousness of his supposed craziness. From the other almost completely empty table on the other side of the room, a green boy sat, calculating eyes not leaving Dib for a second. Despite the years that had gone by, Dib was still hated by all of his classmates. But, there was one student in particular who hated his guts more than anyone. Said student rose from his own seat, meandering over to Dib, trying to look casual.

"Dib-stink. What is this...prom...that everyone is speaking of?" Both gloved hands gripped the table desperately.

"You're kidding, right?" After seeing the intense expression not fading from his enemy's face, Dib looked to him incredulously. "Zim, you've been in high school for almost three years now! How do you not know?"

"Silence! You will tell Zim all he wants to know about this...prom." Zim's eyes narrowed to almost slits as he leaned closer to Dib, trying his best to intimidate him. Sure, he had grown a bit. But that was only because he devised a serum to increase his height once others were beginning to grow suspicious that he wasn't hitting his growth spurt. He still wasn't tall by any means, only barely reaching 5'7" in his heeled Irken soldier boots.

"Fine, whatever. It's this stupid school dance that upper classman get to go to if they can find a date."

"Is this date required to be admitted?" The Irken was intrigued. He had been in a bit of an evil plan block recently, so any event was something he would consider.

"Well, no, you can go with friends, but last time I checked, you don't have any of those either." Dib snickered, only to earn a swift kick in the shin. "Oh, and I guess there's that whole prom king and queen thing. That shit's stupid." Dib looked bored, just waiting for the lunch bell to ring.

"King?" There was a new gleam in Zim's eyes, and behind them a plan was already forming.

Yes, if I can become king, then I can finally rule this school with an iron fist. And then the earth! He thought, letting the beginnings of maniacal laughter slip out.

"Tch. You need a queen to be king, genius. Good luck finding one of those. You're just as hated as I am!" Just after his final word, the bell rang, announcing that lunch was upon them. Dib snatched up his things, leaving Zim standing at the table with his thoughts.

"Oh, I think you'll be quite surprised, Dib-stink. I have the perfect candidate in mind." More maniacal laughter followed his words, a plan brewing.

(more under the cut)

-

Truth was, Dib did have a friend. One single friend who didn't think he was crazier than your local crackhead. That friend just happened to be you. You believed in all of the spooks he ranted and raved about. You were new to the school this year, and although you had only been friends since September, by April you had already been on several adventures together. Many of those adventures revolved around Zim, your alien classmate who was trying, and let's face it, failing to take over the planet. You knew what he was from day one, your suspicions being confirmed when you snuck into his base one night with Dib.

Now, although you would consider Dib your best friend, you had very different attitudes when it came to Zim. Dib viewed him as an evil space creature that needed to be annihilated. You, on the other hand, saw him as virtually harmless. He got in his own way constantly, so you didn't think there was much to worry about. Why not have some fun with him? It's not very often you get the chance to kick it with a being from beyond. Dib, however, would never let you befriend him. As you carried your lunch, on your way to your usual table with the Membrane kids, you were pulled from your thoughts by colliding with someone in front of you. Luckily, your food was still clutched in your hands.

"Geez, I'm really sorry. I was spacing out."

"It's quite alright, Dib-Slave." Zim showed you a sharp-tooth smile, and you were having trouble deciphering if it was genuine or not.

"I have a name, you know. And I'm not Dib's slave, I'm his friend."

"There's a difference?" The alien legitimately seemed confused by this notion. You sighed, trying to step around him. "WAIT!!" Zim screamed, grabbing you by the arm as you were walking past him. You whipped your head around, a slightly panicked look on your face.

"What?!"

"This...prom-dance-thing. It is Saturday, correct?" You quirked an eyebrow, not sure you were liking where this was going.

"Yes?"

"Excellent." A wicked grin spread on his face, his clawed hand not releasing your arm. "You will be Zim's date."  You couldn't help the laughter that escaped you.

"I thought you were supposed to ask people to prom, not tell them to prom." After laughing some more, you shook his arm free. "No. Now, maybe if you ask me, I'll consider it. See ya, Zim." You left Zim behind to mutter Irken curses under his breath, weaving through the lunch crowd to sit down across from Dib.

"What took you so long?" His eyebrow was raised as he fixed you with a suspicious glance.

"Yeah, the craziest thing just happened. Zim asked me to prom. Well, more like demanded me to go with him, but obviously I said no." Taking a spoonful of the disgusting substance this school called food and putting it in your mouth, you watched Dib's expression morph from confused to panicked.

"I knew it! He's up to something. I just don't know what." His hand instinctively clenched into a fist, gears in his mind turning to figure out a strategy to stop him.

"Maybe he just wants to go and knows I'm the only other loser here besides you." You chuckled, brushing a few stray strands of hair behind your ear.

"Just look at him!" Turning around to see what Dib was gesturing at, you were greeted by the sight of Zim furiously typing on some alien device, then scratching notes on another. After a few more moments of this, he stood up and left the cafeteria.

"Okay, so maybe it is a bit suspicious. But when has Zim ever succeeded at anything? I'm sure it's fine." After a beat of silence, you tapped Dib to get his attention. "You know, going to prom might not be so bad." A slight smile graced your face, hoping your prompt had landed. That maybe, just maybe-

"You're joking. I mean, prom with Zim? He definitely has some sort of agenda, and-"

"Christ, take the hint, Dib." You muttered, decidedly not hungry anymore. Dropping your uneaten garbage in the trash, you walked out of the cafeteria. However, it seemed you had someone waiting for you. "Oh, great, you're back." Not only was Zim standing in the hallway staring at you expectantly, GIR was sitting next to him, dog suit and all.

"Dib-Slave! Er, I mean, Y/n!" The Irken waved frantically, hoping you would approach him. Deciding that you had nothing better to do, you allowed your feet to lead you to the terribly disguised alien.

"What now?" You groaned, just wanting to mourn the stupidity of your best friend in peace.

"You said I must ask, not tell. So, Zim has prepared something very special for you. Be honored!" You felt a chill run down your spine. Whenever Zim said he had something special for anyone, it usually ended in pain and misery. Zim made a motion of pulling something out from behind his back, and you screwed your eyes shut, preparing for something horrible. A loud cannon sound echoed through the hallway, causing you to jump, but your body soon relaxed as all you felt was something like flower petals raining down on you. You peeled your eyes open to the sight of rose petals strewn everywhere on the ground, GIR's head open and filled with more of them. You took another glance around, watching GIR grabbing petals and stuffing them into his mouth, eating them.

"They taste like marshmallow!!" The tiny robot screamed, although you doubted that to be true. Raising your eye level, you saw Zim holding a sign, smiling proudly.

"Will you be the schneeblywoop to my zeegleblorp?" You read aloud, not having anything clarified. "I have no idea what that means." You had a hard enough time trying to decipher Zim's terrible handwriting without all of the unknown space knowledge.

"It doesn't translate very well from Irken." Zim mumbled, looking to GIR for help as he shuffled his feet.

"Tell her how you feel!" GIR whispered, although it was more of a quiet yell.

"Oh, this should be good." You smirked, ready for Zim to scream about how useless and stinky you were, and then he would eventually get all frustrated and run away.

"Human, you are much less disgusting than every other wormchild in this PITIFUL excuse for an academy. And while Dib is annoying, you are, erm, tolerable." He played with his fingers, not enjoying the position he was in.

"Okay, well if that's all, I'll be leaving-"

"NO! I mean, uh...there is more!" He looked borderline desperate at this point, every feature on his face pleading with you. Obviously he really wanted to you accompany him to the prom for whatever reason. "You saw through my INGENIOUS disguise right away, which proves your intelligence. Consider yourself honored, you have impressed an Irken elite." GIR shoved him in the leg, letting him know that was not the thing to say. He jumped, switching tracks immediately. "I mean! I would be..." Zim exhaled through gritted teeth. "...honored..." He grumbled, as if acting humble to anyone but his Tallest was a chore. "...if you would be my lovepig at prom."

"Lovepig…?" Your expression was mixed, surprised that he was trying this hard, because, for Zim, this was definitely trying, but also slightly offended that he called you his lovepig.

"DATE!! I mean date." He waved his hands frantically, throwing the sign down. "Please?" Dropping down on his knee, he kneeled at your feet. He really wanted this bad. Plus, he almost never said please.

On one hand, there was the fact that he was an alien hellbent on destroying mankind (although he was very, very bad at it), but on the other, it's not like you had a date. You thought back to your subtle yet failed attempt to get Dib to ask you to the dance, and had your answer. Why not? Besides, a horrible half-baked plan for doom might be fun.

"Fine, Zim. I'll go to prom with you." Zim seemed beyond pleased with your answer, jumping up from the floor immediately.

"YES! VICTORY FOR ZIM!" He pumped his fists in the air, a grin spread wide on his face.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Just pick me up at seven on Saturday." Had you made a mistake? It was quite possible. You supposed this meant you had to scramble up some clothes by the end of the week.

-

"Computer! Tell me all that you can find on this Earth event, prom." Zim sat down in his base, red bug eyes gazing intently at the humongous monitor above him. The computer sighed heavily.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes!" The Irken hissed, antennae flattening against his head in irritation.

"Fine. Prom. An Earthling high school formal dance where boys typically wear tuxes and girls wear dresses. There's no point in it really, just something supposed to promote fun. There's also a king and a queen, usually a couple, that are voted on by the school."

"Yes! And once Y/n and I get voted king and queen, we will rule the world!"

"Um, I don't think that-"

"I must find fitting attire! Thank you for your service, computer!!" Without listening to whatever reason the computer was attempting to speak, Zim shot up to get clothing from who knows where.

-

Ripping a brush through your h/l h/c hair for the final time, you took another look in the mirror. Your dress wasn't fancy, in actuality it wasn't fitting for a formal event at all. It was a simple f/c skater dress, but at least it had pockets. You were sure that Zim knew nothing about prom, and wouldn't be surprised if he showed up in his Irken invader uniform as he did everyday. You didn't have much more time to wonder as the doorbell rang, sending you flying down the stairs, calling a quick goodbye to your parent(s). Opening the door revealed a sight you thought you would never see. Zim stood on your doorstep, clad in a dark pink suit jacket and matching pants, a black tie tied around the collar of a lighter pink dress shirt. He thrust a small bouquet of flowers into your arms, and almost immediately you were suspicious. Sniffing them showed that they were not poisonous, which you had sort of expected. They were normal, untampered with, earth flowers.

"Who are you and what have you done with Zim?" You spoke cautiously, still following him down the sidewalk regardless.

"Silly Dib-Slave. I am Zim!" He looked like he just suddenly remembered something. "I mean, Y/n!"

"Right. This is just...so not like you."

"What are you talking about? Of course this is most definitely like me!" Zim just seemed to take notice of your appearance as well.

"You look..." He trailed off, and you rolled your eyes.

"What? Adequate? Sufficient? Not as stinky as I could be?" You were preparing for this to be a long night, already bracing for whatever jabs would be thrown your way.

"Pretty. I was going to say pretty." His tone wasn't exaggerated, or strained to any degree. He seemed genuine, or as genuine as Zim could get.

"Oh. Thank you." You cursed yourself for the warmth you felt rise to your cheeks. "You're not so bad yourself." After walking in silence for a bit, Zim was the first to speak again.

"So...I know this is a dance, but what are dates supposed to do at prom? Like, specifically." The alien looked to you expectantly, hoping for answers.

"Do you not have dances on your home planet?" Quickly looking around for any eavesdroppers, Zim shook his head.

"Not really.”

"Okay, well...obviously you dance, but usually the pair that goes together does...I don't know, couple stuff."

"Couple stuff?" The Irken wore a mask of confusion.

"Yeah, like..." You took hold of Zim's hand, intertwining your fingers with his own. He just about jumped out of his own skin. You let go, wondering if you had offended him. That gesture could have been a war instigation on Irk for all you knew.

"I didn't say let go." He grumbled as he swiped your hand up again, eyes trained on the sidewalk. The rest of the walk was mostly quiet, with some small talk and jokes being cracked here and there, mostly about nonsense. Surprisingly, Zim could be quite humorous when he wanted to be.

Once you had stepped inside after paying for tickets (which Zim complained about), the situation you were in finally began to sink in. Normally, schools would rent out some other building to hold prom in, but your particular school had zero funding for the school activities department, or so the staff said, so it was being held in the gym. Everything was dark, save for a few lights with thin colored paper over them to try and create some ambiance. There was a snack table with punch, but you were a bit afraid to try anything considering what the lunches were like. The punch didn't look horrible, save for the strange bright purple hue. Now that you thought about it, it would be better suited as a substance in Zim's lab than a drink at a school dance. There were several students dancing, groups of friends and couples included. The music was loud, and the students were thrashing about wildly, some dancing and leaving zero room for Jesus.

"That's dancing?" Zim asked, his tone filled with both wonder and disgust as he pointed a single claw to the mass of teenagers grinding on each other.

"Welcome to American public high school." You sighed, cringing as the collective horniness was almost palpable. "But no, see?" You gestured to some kids on the fringes dancing to the music as normally as you could ask for.

"Hmm, yes...let's dance! Since that is what normal human worm babies do at these functions."

"You know, it would really help if you wouldn't refer to all humans with weird names." A sigh slipped past your lips as he dragged you to the dance floor, on the edges with the tamer kids.

"Ugh, gross, Zim's here. Let's go." The group of teens that had been gathered dispersed, some moving closer to the epicenter of the dance pit and others to snacks.

"You should be honored to dance near Zim!" Your date screamed after them as you simply shook your head.

"Forget them. We're just here to have fun."

"Yes of course. And also to take the crown and rule over this place of filth as king with you as my slightly less mighty queen!" He began cackling at the top of his lungs, earning looks from a few, but most didn't even bat an eye, as they were used to it.

"What? Oh, you must be talking about prom king and queen." Your words were broken up by your own laughter. "That will never happen. That shit's a popularity contest, and last time I checked, everyone hates us."

"Says you. Everyone loves us!" As if to prove his point, Zim waved to Torque Smacky who was dancing with Jessica. "Hello, Smacky!"

"Go die, you green freak!" He called back, moving deeper into the mass of children to disappear from Zim's view.

"See? My Tallest say that to me all the time, and they love me!" A grin split his face, and you couldn't help but smile too.

"Yeah, okay, whatever you say." Before you knew it, the two of you were dancing together in your own little corner of the dance floor that everyone else seemed to evacuate. Zim was doing strange little jigs that GIR had most likely taught him, while you were more swaying to the beat of music and moving your feet in time. To your utter amazement, Zim seemed to be having the time of his life.

A bright and exciting song faded out, and the song that faded in was slow and mellow, the couples around you already joining together and swaying to the music.

"Um..." Zim stopped dead in his tracks, unsure how to proceed. You hadn't slow danced much, but you felt okay about bullshitting your way through it.

"If you want to skip it, it's fine. There's always that punch back there that's probably just Kool-Aid mixed with rat poison." A giggle fell from your lips, and Zim seemed to perk up.

"No! Zim shall conquer this...uh..."

"Slow dance."

"DANCE OF SLOWNESS!"

"Riiigghht." He shuffled closer to you, staring at you and looking as if he was doing complex math equations in his head. "Ugh, here." You took his hands and placed them on your waist, hooking your arms lazily around his neck. He was incredibly tense, his fingers digging harshly into your skin. "Loosen up, would you?" You winced in pain until he lightened up with his hands.

"Now what?"

"Now you just...you know."

"No, I really don't-" Cursing under your breath, you took the lead, slowly swaying with him like the other couples. "This is what qualifies on Earth as dancing?"

"I guess. It's kind of boring, isn't it?" You asked, finally making eye contact with him for the first time since the song started. "You can move closer. I don't bite."

"I knew that." Zim shuffled closer. Now there was barely any space between you, although it never seemed to get awkward.

"Well, I guess I can scratch dancing with an alien off of my bucket list."

"Dib-stink is missing out." Zim smirked, seeming proud of himself. Now that you thought about it, you were having much more fun with Zim than you thought you would with Dib. No offense to your friend, but if you brought him, he would have been solely focused on whatever Zim was, is, or would be scheming. Zim had even appeared to have forgotten about whatever his obsession was with prom king, and gave the impression of being fairly distracted by you.

"You know, I actually am having a surprisingly good time."

"Yes, yes, Zim is great." Despite the words themselves being supercilious, his tone was quite passive. For once, his massive ego didn't seem to matter to him. The soft melodies of the slow song faded out, the energized tunes resuming once more. You brought your arms back to your sides, waiting for Zim to take his back as well. A few more seconds passed by until your staring appeared to register with him. He quickly removed his hands, clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Don't worry about it." You dismissed his very out of character nervous behavior and began to dance again, the Irken following suit.

A boy approached the two of you with a paper on a clipboard, pen in hand. "Hey, do you guys want to put your names on the ballots for-"

"SILENCE, STINK BEAST! Can't you see that we're having, what's the word...FUN?!" You couldn't help but laugh. You did feel sorry for the kid, he was just trying to do his job, whatever it was.

"Okay, sorry! I guess you guys don't want to be on the ballots for king and queen."

"BEGONE WITH YOU!" Zim violently shooed the boy away, who ran screaming towards the snack table. Clearly, Zim was not listening to what the kid was saying. Perhaps he changed his mind about the whole thing after all.

After some more dancing, the king and queen were announced, and while those who got it were irrelevant to Zim, he was still pissed. You decided to drag him outside before he hurt someone, most likely himself on accident.

"Argh! Stupid human popularity!" Zim kicked at nothing as the two of you stood outside the school in the dark, a light breeze blowing. You sighed, leaning against the wall of the building. For a minute there, you saw someone who wasn't just some evil alien invader. You saw someone who you thought was having genuine fun. All it took was one look at your disappointed expression. "Don't make that face. It makes my insides feel all...squelchy." Zim decided that the best way to cheer you up was to start rambling. "Don't be sad, soldier. I know being the absolute rulers of the filth hole would have been great, but perhaps they aren't deserving of our GREATNESS! Besides, on the bright side, I think I have a new mission! I already tried to study human courtship a long time ago with Tak, and it went horribly, but that was only because she was secretly an Irken bent on eradicating me. But, maybe it's time to..." Zim trailed off, which was quite alright with you considering you had stopped listening the second he had called you soldier. He had his eyes trained on the many couples walking out since the dance had just officially ended. A few were saying goodbye and walking in separate directions, but before departing, many would plant a kiss on the other's cheek. Zim seemed to be fascinated by this.

"Sorry, you were saying?" You doubted he said anything important, but you figured it would be rude if you didn't at least ask. However, you received no response. You continued to stare forward, about to call it a night, when you felt a strange sensation on your cheek. It almost felt like Zim's weird little alien tongue licking your cheek. It was gone as quickly as it presented itself, so you turned your head to look at the alien beside you.

"What? That's what they're doing! It's NORMAL." He was getting all defensive, huffing and crossing his arms, puffing his cheeks out as if pouting. You giggled, shaking your head a bit. He meant well. He really did.

"I think it's more like this." You pressed your lips quickly to his cheek, pulling away twice as fast. He blinked rapidly, then shook his head as if trying to reboot his brain.

"U-Uh, yes! Thank, thank you, Y/n! I will note that." He coughed once into his hand, staring out and just above your head. "Good work.”

"What, no Dib-Slave?"

"No Dib-Slave." You smiled, because although he wasn't looking at you directly, he wasn't insulting you, or trying to destroy the earth. He was just...being himself. An absolute dork, yes, but himself. Not Invader Zim. Just...Zim. Crazy, stupid, Zim. 

[messiisgodibeliveinhim]

Just Another Rant

Okay, so why do NCTzens have a hate boner for Taeyong??? It's so f*cking weird, it doesn't make sense.

Taeyong has been under NCTzens' microscope since his debut. Everything he does is dissected and twisted into something its not. No other member of NCT or any group (except maybe Jennie from Blackpink) is treated this way by the group's fans. NCTzens want Taeyong to be the villain so bad, that they're willing to stoop as low as dehumanizing, body shaming and wishing d3ath on him. NCTzens dislike him, some even hate him and they're not very subtle about it.

Now, I'm not saying all NCTzens are TY antis. I have moots on Twitter who dont stan him, but are incredibly respectful towards him and acknowledge his talents and hardwork. If you're one of them, then this rant is not about you. But i will say this, if it isnt all NCTzens who anti Taeyong, it's most of them.

It started with Lines and Screentime distribution for NCT songs and mvs. Now, i agree that Taeyong used to get a little more lines and screentime than the others at first. But instead of calling out SM, most of you targeted Taeyong saying he deliberately stole the said lines and screentime from his members so that he'd get to shine more..... Really???

Next, when he was announced as a member of SuperM, NCTzens were clearly upset it wasn't Johhny or Jaehyun. Do you wanna know why??? No, they didnt talk about talent. Instead, they wanted Jaehyun/Johhny instead of Taeyong because SuperM is a group targeted at the western audience and Jn & Jh knew to speak English better than TY..... Okay.

And it keeps getting worse.

-NCTzens saying that TY goes into the recording studio to record his solo songs, by LOCKING OUT the rest of NCT, so that they wont get to record their solo stuff.

-That TY is SM's Golden Boy cuz he 'gETs a LoT of SoLO pRoMos anD cENter TiMe', completely refusing to understand what 'SOLO PROMO' means or see how overworked and mistreated he is by his own company.

-When TyongFs praise TY about anything, NCTzens always, ALWAYS insert their faves in the post. Like, go make your own post maybe???

/Trigger Content

-NCTzens saying that TY dances like he has a sq*irrel in his pants, raps like d*g, looks like a skeleton etc etc. And these are just mild stuff i mentioned here. NCTzens are so much worse when it comes to body shaming and dehumanizing him. And when we call them out for it, thay have the audacity to say that its a JOKE and we're STUPID for not having 'A Sense of Humor'....

/End of Trigger Content

-NCTzens saying that TY's main dancer/main rapper/main visual/leader/center positions should go to their faves cuz their fave 'iS So mUcH beTTeR aT TheSe pOsiTIOns'. Yeah.... sure..... NCTzens rarely talk about the positions other members have , but are really obsessed with Taeyong's.

-NCTzens still denying that Taeyong is NCT's leader and that he's really good at it. Just yesterday, a Wayzennie (also a TY anti) started spewing sh*t about Taeyong's leadership. And their arguement??? That they have 'lEAdeRsHiP eXpEriEncE iN UnI, WoRk aND ouTsIDe wOrK' and that makes them an expert about leading a 23 member global kpop group, who had a rough start what with their controversial 'unlimited' concept and experimental songs. Sure, Jan.

(Also, the thing where some Wayzennies are still not accepting that TY is the leader of whole of NCT, cuz Kun is WayV's leader..... Seriously, though its not that hard to understand. Kun IS and WILL remain the leader of WayV, a 7 member group. That's a fact. But when the subunits (127, Dream and WayV) come together for projects (ex: NCT 2018 and NCT 2020), Taeyong becomes the overall leader. But since these Wayzennies are still on their WayV not being part of NCT agenda, they're simply ignore this. Go figure.)

- Oh, but when some other member in NCT messes up, it suddenly becomes Taeyong's responsibility cuz 'HE'S THE LEADER'. Funny, how NCTzens change narratives quickly. Also, weird how, according to NCTzens, NCT members suddenly can't think for themselves even though they're grown adults and need Taeyong to take the blame for them. Haha.....

-Also, NCTzens guilt tripping TyongFs from canceling NCT Beyond Live tickets when they got to know that he was injured and wont be participating in the concert a little too late, cuz "Taeyong, as a leader, would be sooo upseeet that his group wont be getting TyongFs' money and he'd feel sooo guiltyyy that y'all are getting refunds of your OWN money that YOU CHOSE to spent and its not my business at all. But damn, y'all are sooo selfish!!!!"

-NCTzens posting about how overjoyed they are that TY is injured cuz that means their faves get to shine..... "Look how MY FAVE killed TY's part" "MY FAVE ate Taeyong up" "Should've put MY FAVE in the OG line up instead of Taeyong" "MY FAVE made TY's part as his own" "Thank god, MY FAVE got to show off his talents, now that Taeyong isnt here". God, if i were one of the Neos whose fans say sh*t like this, it would've felt like a slap to my face. Honestly, tell me, do y'all really think so low of your faves? Do you really think they cant shine even with TY being on stage? They absolutely can, but you're focus is not on them, is it? Way to embarrass yourself.

-NCTzens blaming Taeyong for NCT's slow rise to fame because of the false rumors/allegations pinned on him by nasty people. They say Taeyong was the sole reason for NCT not being liked by many, not because of their confusing/complicated concept or the music. Yeah, you heard me. NCTzens are not above victim blaming and pointing fingers, cuz they are not ready to accept the fact that Taeyong was the one who carried the group on his back all the way.

-And how they can't stand the fact that TY gets praised by proffesionals or non-fans or locals. A dance analyzer analyzed 127's Kick It and at the end stated that Taeyong was the best dancer in 127. And what did NCTzens do. They bullied the analyzer to the point that they deleted the video, just cuz their fave was not named the best. A reactor reacts to Taeyong's Long Flight and the comments on the videos are along the lines of 'Hey, MY FAVE'S also has a solo song too. You should definitely react to that' or when they're tryna be subtle (but not really), they go 'Taeyong is soo good but you should also check out MY FAVE'S blah blah blah'

Hell, even when TyongFs say 'Taeyong is very so creative, by coming up with BDLI Jungle Gym concept and the MAW chandelier thing. He's literally an Idea Bank', and NCTzens go 'All the Neos are idea banks' in the same post.

When TyongFs say 'Taeyong is the really so handsome. NCT's main visual', they go 'All the Neos are main visuals'

Lmao, just 3 days ago, someone commented 'Taeyong is cute' under a tiktok video and an NCTzen just couldn't help but fume about it and went 'All Neos are cute'🙄

Like seriously, this is sooo annoying. Make your own goddamn post about the rest of NCT, ffs! Why do you to insert anyone else in a Taeyong tweet? Literally, can't let Taeyong have a moment for himself.

-Recently, Taeyong released 2 solo demo tracks on SoundCloud- Dark Clouds and Dark Clouds Remix (check it out here: https://soundcloud.com/eh_ovo_taeyong). And NCTzens being NCTzens started those who never even promoted Kun's SoundCloud before started promoting it under every TY tweet on the same day. Now, i don't have a problem with them promoting Kun's SC. But they could've done it any other day or made their own tweet about it. But doing it under every TY promo tweet and on the very same day? Really??? And some of them had the audacity to say that TY was getting free clout from Kun cuz Kun followed him on SC.....😑😑😑

-NCTzens have this weird belief that TY is getting solo promos and is being pushed by SM. What on earth are they talking about? Taeyong being center, main rapper and main dancer of the group is not solo promo. Him being in SuperM is not solo promo. Him opening Instagram and SoundCloud is not solo promo, but self promo- which means HE'S promoting himself, not SM. Solo promo is usually provided to the artist by the company in the form of photoshoots, accepting brand deals, releasing the artist's solo music etc and SM isnt doing sh*t for Taeyong. All they're doing is overworking him and milking him for money. That's it. And i want NCTzens to understand that.

And the list goes on and on and on. This weird hate boner NCTzens have for Taeyong is so bizarre to me. All Taeyong does is sing, rap, dance, talk cutely, take care of his fishes and play games with Baekhyun. And this somehow gets NCTzens mad. They constantly discredit him, try to make him seem less than what he actually is, insert everyone else when someone is talking just about him, make him seem like a villain by twisting his words or actions and making it into a big deal.... *sigh* Its so unbelievable how low NCTzens can stoop. And it gets tiring real quick.

N E Ways, this is everything i wanted to rant about and damn, this turned out to be too lengthy. Now, if you havent followed Taeyong on his Instagram, please do @eh_evo_nct. Stream Long Flight, his one and only solo station. And please look forward to BaekhyunxTaeyong collab on Taeyong's SoundCloud.

Ciao!

[chemicalarospec]

Genuinely Don’t Say Anything Interesting Here But I Like Talking So Thus I’m Posting This

okay I did like nothing productive today but have a ramble on youtube fanbases, specifically the new gen of mcyt. This was two posts and then I made it one so sorry when I repeat myself. I did edit it tho lol. But that means I also inserted more, so this is just all over the place now. 

me from the future: oh god. all over the place. wait wtf this is so long. I don’t even have much to say I just like writing the same sentence three different ways and refusing to cut any of them. I’m sorry; I don’t know how to edit; this is informal AF. (can I use three semicolons? at least one of those is wrong anyways lol.)

edit: I’m so sorry I forgot about having a “read more” last night laksjdflksjad. Also idk if I even agree with myself lmao.

it’s so funny how mcyt is like The Thing now. It’s not cool to like it anymore lol, cuz everybody does. (This is a me thing. I like being special lol. I also self-define “cool” so you should not take it to heart when I say it’s not cool.)

I mean, just thinking about the Dream SMP as something I *do* want to get into, it doesn’t feel like “our thing” -- it’s has the feel of a HUGE fandom. Seriously, I’m in the phandom, which ngl has been dead since 2018, and the fanbase for the SMP has a much different, bigger feel. Idk what i’m getting at, it feels imposing? looking at the Dream SMP fandom seems similar in scope and slightly in atmosphere to pre-2019 phandom, at least to me, and it’s actually making me grateful that I joined now and not all that time ago.

Also I brought up the “our thing” bit because of the mcr post that goes “funny how MCR seems like our little secret and the biggest thing in the world at the same time” and I kinda thought that was just how all fandoms worked? idk I was going to assert that the truth is different but I thought some more and now I’m not sure.

but yeah I like the “our little secret” feel and somehow the phandom has (re)gained that while technoblade (and the new gen of mcyt as a whole) is loosing it.

I mean, I’ve been watching Technoblade since the bedwars winstreak. He had less than a millions subs but most people I brought him up to actually did know who he was. He was big but he wasn’t *famous* -- we all knew about him and we all cared. Like the only person who knew who he was and didn’t care had a little brother(s?) that loved him (wait why is this all in past tense this is all still true). (Yes AFC this has become a callout post for you mocking techno lol.) (If you’re still reading my miNeCRaFT yOuTuBeR fAnBaSe MEta. cringe culture is dead tho; I don’t have to say it like that.) 

Anyways, I didn’t follow Technoblade’s Dream SMP streams and now I feel like I’d just be tagging along if I did get into it. (also didn’t watch SMP Earth lol.) This is because I’m a gate-keeping jerk. Or hate missing out. One of those two things. 

(awkward transition where I don’t know how to make my tangent meaningful and have to make it back to the original train of thought I violently interrupted)

As a long time Techno fan, I’m really proud of the growth he’s experiencing, but a little sad too as the community is being -- well, I don’t want to say “infiltrated,” as I don’t want to shade anyone who was simply late to the party -- perhaps diluted? overwhelmed? yeah, overwhelmed by newer fans, and becoming “unmanageable” in a sense; it feels like we’ve lost a bit of our sense of community with the influx of new fans -- no shade to any new fans! This is just the way fandoms work. When the crowd is larger, it becomes harder recognize each member as a person, even if everything else is the same. (”The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic.”) (look this is how my brain works deal with it)

I just really like this small community feel, and it’s a bit daunting looking at the smp fandom. 

Also the growth Dream experienced this year is genuinely ludicrous. I mean, the wide appeal of shipping is part of it, not going to beat around that bush, but there’s just so much and I wanna read an essay from a long-time fan who saw it on why he’s got so much growth. 

I really hate to shame fans and stuff, but part of it, at least for me, is that most of these new fans probably aren’t “minecrafters” like we were. I doubt the majority of them grew up on Stampy, DanTDM, and whatever the other ones I didn’t watch were. I mean, some of this is because Child. For them, the distinction is really pre-quarantine post-quarantine i guess? Really, whether they played Minecraft or not. Again, I know it’s bad to shame fans, but apparently I’m just a terrible person and I feel like it’s more shallow or disingenuous to get into MCYT when it’s popular without already being into Minecraft. 

WAIT that’s it -- Minecraft community, as a whole, is special. It’s a LARGE umbrella of fandoms in general, but that’s the thing: they’re all more communities than fandoms -- from the casual builders to the pro parkour players to those who watched the og youtubers to those who followed the Great Potato War, there was Minecraft Culture. 

And the expanded fandom that’s sprung up around the Dream SMP and possibly Dream in general (???) is more of fandom. It feels like a fandom. People treat it like a fandom, they talk about it in fandom spaces, it is fandom, a modern fandom. Not a quaint “little” Minecraft community. 

I’m not going to say it’s because of the shipping, but... I have no data but at least I can say that it certainly creates an appeal for Fandom People as opposed to Minecraft People. And then also it’s just a fandom thing so it makes the space more fandom. 

Also I realized this is all based upon a feeling, so where did the feeling come from? I was reading in-fandom texts a lot today, and I think the storyline actually might have something to do with it. Also maybe the “talking behind their backs”? I can’t be bothered to remember what I’m comparing to what at this point but that’s definitely done in a lot of other spaces I’m in, so idk.

OH FRICK I’ve mostly been *in* the fandom spaces for real things lmao. (Read: I’m 100% making up everything at this point.) 

(awkward transition because I inserted the last two paragraphs later on)

And really, I played minecraft today for the first time in months. But it’s still with me, you know? The memories of being introduced to it, growing up with it. Going to the Nether with my cousins, my uncle’s giant survival mode cathedral. Mojang being bought by Microsoft and everybody hating it. (... me, my brother, my two friends, essentially... how did we even know??)

[I had part about the minecraft.net writers here but it was completely unrelated so it became it’s own post. I should do that more.]

(With every sentence the target audience of this post gets smaller.)

What was I saying? I’ll just wrap up. 

TL;DR: Dream SMP fandom feels like a fandom and not a Minecraft community and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, I’ve realized I prefer a community feel, which makes me grateful I joined the phandom now. Also I shouldn’t be allowed to post things past 9:00pm. 

Oh my god I’m so sorry to all my mutrals. My tired loquacious reflex has kicked in. This is essentially a dan and phil stan blog, and though I know a few of you know what I’m going on about, I’m so sorry to the rest of you. 

Well, at least *I* think I’m a fascinating person with interesting things to say hahahahha. 

This is like a diary post. Should I post this? Yeah, other people should share my thoughts lol. OH NO: Late-night Tumblr fandom ramble posts are the new social-justice tirade/generally useless blog-like Goodreads reviews. At least it’s what Tumblr’s made for :P. 

[twoidiotwriters1]

Starcrossed Losers 2.II (Josh Wheeler xF!Reader)

A/N: I should’ve told you this earlier lmao but the first half of this season is heavily inspired on the show’s podcast, meaning that the plot follows the podcast’s occurrences of the last episode, if you haven’t you should listen to it, pls -Danny

Words: 2,646

Warnings: Swearing

Series’ Masterlist

Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

Listen to me!

It takes me about fifteen minutes to go back to the mall, my mood has improved and it only gets better once I see the main entrance. Josh made this graffiti of a sunrise on one of the stores' windows to represent our tribe: Daybreakers. I thought it'd be cool to make a bigger version of it and hang it outside the entrance; so that's where it's proudly hanging.

"Where were you?" Alex walks up to me. "We just got a whole box of medical stuff, we need to store them!"

"Glad I didn't miss it," I grin.

As I make my way through I get a glimpse of the small little groups that have settled on the mall and that you probably wanna know about. We'll get there, don't worry. We have time. Right now I have to hurry.

'I fell in love again All things go, all things go Drove to Chicago All things know, all things know'

Wesley passes by, he sees me and hollers.

"Our Doc is back! Any good news, Y/N?"

"Take a guess," I smile brightly. "I have to go and store some things, but I'll see you in a moment, okay?" Wesley raises a brow.

"I don't see why not," He smirks. "I have my own business to attend right now, anyway..."

"What business?" I ask.

"We had this idea for a race across the mall and it's about to start. I'm supposed to be the one who gives the green light so I gotta get moving."

When he says 'we' I know he means Angelica, Josh and him, they're always doing this fun and exciting competitions, and it's been barely a week! They're supposed to make us grow closer, we're about 80 people here, which is quite a lot. A mix of cheeramazons, gamers, former jocks, and og daybreakers. But I know pretty much everyone personally, I have to, I'm their healer after all.

'We had our mindset All things know, all things know You had to find it All things go, all things go'

"Who brought all of this?" I ask Alex while we put the little boxes on each shelf.

"Leila and Tyler, they were doing their rounds when they found this a few blocks away, they're mostly from abandoned houses..."

"Good job, Leila and Tyler," I say in amazement.

"So how did your meeting go?" Alex raises a brow.

"Oh my god, I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted from my shoulders," I sigh heavily. "Sam finally accepted our offer, but there's a few things I need to talk with the others. I still think everything's fine, though."

"I'm glad, the jocks were the only tribe that was acting up, it was about time..."

"You know it was all Maya's fault. I hate her."

"Don't we all?" He snorts. "She's still living her best life?"

"Sam still has her there with her in the Queen's office, so of course."

"Y/N!" Angelica runs into the pharmacy and hugs me briefly. "Took you long enough! How did it go?"

"A total success," I grin, hugging her back. "But you know, since you're here I'd like to talk to you about some things the jocks are trying to get. I know you'll say no, but I'm still obliged to say it."

"So tell me."

"They're asking if it's on us to provide food for their movie nights."

"Fuck no! They have a full fuctioning orchard and they want us to give them more food?" Angelica frowns.

"It was Maya's idea," Alex says over his shoulder.

"Yes," I roll my eyes, "but Sam wasn't exactly against it, so I had to ask. I did tell them it wasn't likely to happen, so it's okay, we can say no, they agreed to it anyway."

"Good, because we won't agree to that."

"Done!" Alex turns around with satisfaction. "You can go and take off those skates. God, your poor feet must hate you."

"They're used to it," I laugh. "I won't say no to a well-deserved nap, though..."

"Now that we have all of those deals with the tribes, what's next?"

I'm about to answer when I see Josh approaching with his signature grin. He gets over to where I'm standing and lifts me off the ground in a swift movement. I'm aware we're being sickengly cute, but we're still in our 'honeymoon' phase, we tend to be cheesy. I laugh and put my arms around his neck before he puts me back down.

"How's your day going?" He asks me, clearly expecting to hear about the Jocks.

"Well, dearest leader," I smirk, taking off my backpack and rummaging through the papers. "I'm pleased to announce they finally accepted. They're trying to force us to provide the snacks, though. But all you have to say is no and that'll be it. Sam will understand, she's the one growing food, she can't expect us to give away ours."

"You're serious?" Josh asks. "That's awesome, Y/N! I knew you could do it!"

He leans down to kiss me, but before we even touch Angelica yells at us.

"Hey, if you guys can keep it in your pants for a moment," I hear her beside us. "KJ's looking for you at the gamers station."

"Oh," I frown. "What for?"

"I don't know, I think there's some problem with the signal, the gamers' WIFI is slower than the one in the cave so they're whiny about it."

"That's not something I can fix," I roll my eyes. "I'll go and listen to them."

"I have to go back to the Cheeramazon station," Josh comments. "I just wanted to know how it went with the Jocks."

"And here I was thinking you were glad to see me," I tease, and he chuckles. I put the notebook in my backpack. "Oh! Before I forget..."

I tell them about the Tribes book and how they'll send a jock at some point during the week to ask about the subdivisions and all. Angelica thinks is a bit silly but she agrees to receive the jock anyway, Josh agrees with it a hundred percent, he thinks this is the final step to become a real tribe. I agree, it took us a long time to find a home, we're happy.

'I was in love with the place In my mind, in my mind I made a lot of mistakes In my mind, in my mind'

When I find KJ I see that there's an actual crisis happening. Aria and her are arguing and they only stop when I arrive, both coming up to me at the same time.

"The wifi is-"

"I think someone is trying to hack-"

"–We can barely play tetris on this shit-"

"Hold on," I huff. "Aria, you said someone is trying to hack into your computer?"

"Not my computer, the whole net," Aria continues, pleased to see it was her concern the one I decided to talk about. "It's weird, and we're having comunication problems with the other tribes, the signal falls every half an hour."

"I'm no expert at tech," I frown. "Why were you wanting to see me?"

"She says it's my fault," KJ replies. "I helped Angelica with the set-up for the gamers division and the solar panels on the movie theater, she thinks I fucked up the signal."

"It's because we didn't let you join back into our lines, just admit it," Aria rolls her eyes.

"I don't want to be in your stupid tribe! I'm fine here!"

"Enough!" I interrupt them, "Aria, as much as we want to be good hosts while you're our guests, I must ask you to not start fights with the members of my tribe, the daybreakers will always be my priority. KJ, maybe try not to react so aggressively with our guests? Listen, I'll talk to Angelica so we can find a solution, I bet there's something we're missing here and I doubt it has to do with KJ's abilities. Give me two days, alright?"

Both girls nod, KJ glares at Aria one last time before leaving.

"We appreciate your efforts, Y/N," Aria tells me out of the blue. "I wasn't trying to be rude, it's just... even if Triumph is no longer a thing, there might still be threats out there, it's better to remain informed, and for that we need a strong internet connection."

"Yeah well, I'll see what I can do," I give her an awkward smile. "You think the cave's renovation's will be done anytime soon? Not that I'm kicking you guys out, I just... my kids are getting nervous about the lack of food and..."

"One more week and we'll go, I promise," Aria tells me. "We're working no it."

An hour later during lunch, after I tell the whole story to Wesley and Turbo, both seem happy that my meeting was a success.

'Is everyone alright?' Turbo asks me.

The cheeramazons and Josh have been teaching sign language to all of us, so Turbo's life is improving now that he can speak to more people than before. He's also healing, and if I manage to do things correctly, he might be able to speak again in a few months.

"The jocks are just fine," I reply happily. "Don't worry, Sam is taking good care of your boys and girls."

He nods, though I can see he's a little sad about being thrown away from his former home, I know how that feels like. Sort of.

"You know, Doc, I'm really proud of you," Wesley raises a brow. "You went for it, took a place in the community and slayed your demons, now look at you! You're a higher power in our youth!"

I laugh at his observation.

"I'm doing the bare minimum," I shrug.

"It's more than I ever did during my time with the jocks as second in command," He sighed. "But still, you should be proud, sister."

"I'll be, eventually," I say simply.

Before we can continue our chat Josh sits down next to me and offers me water, which I accept with a soft 'Thank you'.

"So what now?" He asks me.

"What do you mean?" I tilt my head.

"You made deals with every tribe there is, now what's the next thing on your list?"

"Keep them going," I reply matter-of-factly. "Just because they said yes doesn't mean it'll stay like that forever, you know? We gotta mantain our relationships healthy and strong, perhaps we could organize events for all the tribes to join us... like New Year's Eve, or another Prom night..."

"Woah, hold on there, Miss President," Wesley scoffs. "We gotta focus on our tribe first. Our food is lacking, so are our living space and medical supplies."

"Well perhaps is because you won't stop organizing dangerous competitions where half of our kids get injured, our supplies would be fine otherwise," I point out.

"Don't take away their joy, Y/N," Wesley says. "Turbo's with me in this one, right?" He turns to his boyfriend and the boy nods.

'Kids need the distraction' Turbo explains. 'So they don't start fighting each other.'

"I know that," I sigh. "We'll find a solution, okay? I'll think of something..."

"You look exhausted," Josh says worringly, he stands up and then helps me to do the same. "C'mon, let's take you to bed."

"Just don't be too loud, it's the middle of the day," Wesley yells at us from his place once we're halfway gone. Josh and I turn to him in outrage.

"Is not- we're not-" I try to say, but the words tangle in my head.

"I'm just walking her to the mattress store!" Josh replies, blushing. "I wasn't going to put my hands down-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," I say.

We share a look but we quickly turn away.

The thing is, Josh and I haven't had sex. We made out a couple times when we were alone, but those times are gone, more so with eighty people walking around the mall at all times. Besides, I've never had sex in my life and I'm terrified of the possibility of getting pregnant during the apocalypse, I mean, that equals to be asking for a painful, slow death.

Josh understands that, and he said he'd wait. He even said that if I never want to have sex that's okay too. But who knows if that's the truth, Josh is an eighteen-year-old. He won't be understanding all the time.

Now that Wesley killed the mood we walk in silence until we reach the mattress store, Josh puts a hand on my shoulder and looks at me, struggling to speak.

"I... uh-" He shakes his head lightly. "I..."

"I know," I say with a reassuring smile. "Wesley's joking. He knows we're not... that I'm not ready."

"I know that too," He frowns. "I... You know I care about you, right?"

"Of course," I grin. "Don't worry about it. I really want to take a nap, so is it okay if I go?"

"Yeah, totally," He removes his hand from my shoulder and gives me a shy smile.

I nod and start my way towards the nearest bed, but an arm grabs me by the waist and turns me around. Before I understand what's going on Josh's lips are on mine and he's kissing me.

It's a good kiss, firm and loving enough to relieve all the tension from my shoulders. When we part I see the softness in his eyes looking for approval. I let out a short laugh.

"What was that for?" I ask in amusement.

"Was it okay?"

"It was great."

"Good," Josh nods, still looking quite insecure. "Just making sure."

"Okay, you freak," I giggle. "See you in a while..."

When I wake up from my nap it's around 7 pm and I still feel a bit groggy. My phone rings and I pull it out to see a notification from Spotify. It's from the podcast the AV club has been doing for a while. I eagerly unlock the phone, it's a reminder that I haven't listened to the last two episodes and that last episode I heard ended in quite a confusing moment. I was afraid they'd been hurt, I'm glad to see that's not the case.

I like those kids, last time they did an episode to honor Eli's death. They also talked a bit about Hoyles but no one really ever liked Hoyles. Eli's part was sweet.

As I start listening to this episode Melissa says they're hiding from some kids in suits? And not many things make sense, why would they be following them? They also talked about their strange poly relationship but that wasn't the point.

The point is that the AV club was about to die, and there was no one listening.

I fearfully click on the next episode, waiting to hear they escape.

'I made a lot of mistakes I made a lot of mistakes I made a lot of mistakes I made a lot of mistakes'

"This isn't about spying like the germans gathering all kinds of intimate information," Melissa aka Harvard continues in a panicked voice, "and we are most definitely not being forced to do this by a tribe that has tak-"

The audio cuts there for a moment, but that's all the confirmation I need.

We have to save the AV Club.

"Josh!" I run out of the mattress store, looking everywhere. "JOSH!"

'You had to find it (I made a lot of mistakes) All things go, all things go (I made a lot of mistakes)'

"Wheeler!"

"Woah! Hey!" Josh's body crashes against me and stops with an amused smirk. "What's going on? Did you have a bad dre-?"

"We need to gather our kids now," I say quickly.

"What? Why?" He replies, stepping back from me.

I gulp, panic raising through my body and cutting my breathe.

"We're being watched."

Taglist.

@letsbe-queer​ @slythermyg​ @loving-u-3000​ @one-loud-mind​

[aurltas]

author interview tag (!)

aaAAAA ty to @backcountry-deltora for tagging me!!! much loveee <333 i haven’t been looped into a tag game for so so long and this is making me feel 10000% better about the fact that i have not written a single fic related thing in MONTHS o)-( but i love to talk about writing and myself so here we go,,

Name: i went by crystal silvera on ffn and here for the longest time so a lot of ppl know me as crystal but my Real(TM) name is dani and my ao3 name is auritas so like take ur pick haha

Fandoms: currently in mxtx hell (im a mdzs main, to the shock of no one) but my og fandoms that i am still very much attached to are deltora quest (the OG og), young wizards, the raven cycle, and yuri on ice

Where you post: ao3 alllll the way babey (but i originated from ffn and still have some stuff up there.......it’s Not Good tho)

Most popular one-shot: oh boy i knew this was gonna be a popular one bc i only wrote like?? rambly reflective thematic pieces(?) before this, my First Attempt At Fluff lmao. even then, But we’re alive (because we bleed) still exceeded my expectations by far in terms of reception, probs bc mdzs was such an up and coming fandom at the time and i posted it right on the crest of that cql wave

Most popular multi-chapter fic: obviously where the light goes, also known as my beloved CHILD !!!! i don’t write multichaps anymore but this is 2 long ass chapters so ig that’s Technically a multichap haha,,, yeah i knew this one was gonna be popular for the same reasons as the previous one + the very intentional tipping of the scale i did here with the balance of fluff and other things. like this is just pure distilled sugar it’s so so fluffy

Favourite story you’ve written so far: oh mannnn i gotta say where the light goes. especially that first chapter, just,, damn. what was i ON ?? its so good!! what the heck!!! quite proud of my metaphor work there, even if balancing prose/poetry feel is very stilted at times . in terms of that balance i think i did a Really good job with and neither did the both of us bc i went back and reread where the light goes for inspiration and i was like “oh god this is DROWNING in metaphors i need to lighten it up a little”

Fic you were nervous to post: i was nervous about where the light goes bc i had such high expectations going in, like i Knew people were craving what i had but i was like, did i do it right?? will this be my breakthrough in the mdzs fandom??? and it sort of was and sort of wasn’t, which,, fair. also SUPER nervous for astriferous bc i had written it all in like, one (1) day and it was for an exchange LMFAOOO (and you can really tell it was all written in one go......it was only when i hit the end that it got Good)

How you choose your titles: when i write fic i’m often scrapbooking a TON of different things together so titles are often just whatever it is i’m already drawing from. there are a few exceptions, like here, then, begins the mending, or and i need nothing more where a phrase popped into my head during the writing/drafting/brainstorming process and i was like OH THAT’S REALLY GOOD. TITLE IT IS

Do you outline?: usually only if it’s plot-driven, like my (incomplete for . Reasons) (ok i was being pestered bc i took it as a prompt and my promptee was. hm) YW multichap equilibrium, for which i outlined EVERYTHING. it was so annoying but i also lowkey liked it because these were MY messy outline notes and i could go as ham as i’d like

Complete: everything that’s posted !! except equilibrium ofc . that’s gonna stay where it is unless by some miracle of nature i get my momentum back for it

In progress: i am working on another jaslief oneshot!!! and for my mdzs folks i have been working on a rly long lesbian songxiao oneshot for a Very long time and it’s . mwah (i showed it to one of my friends and she lost her mind so i think i can say that with confidence)

Coming soon: probably nothing until i’m released from ochem/thesis hell hahahahahahahaaa but if anything were to come out this year it would be the songxiao most likely !

Do you accept prompts?: not after what happened last time !!!! ;o; until i’m done with school altogether, i really need writing to remain something For Me

Upcoming story you’re the most excited to write?: i wanna finish my jaslief SOOOO bad oh my god . i put in so much self-indulgence in there and used what i learned from where the light goes to make it REALLY good n thematic. like don’t get me wrong i am also so excited for my songxiao but i wrote it with some uhhhhh Influence from things i was going through irl and it feels weighty now?? idk i’ll work it out eventually,, i’ve also had oubing fic brewing in my head for literally a year and i REALLY wanna write some pynch in the barns/cabeswater content. let me write about dreamthings and nATURE

Upcoming story you’re most excited about?: bold of u to assume i read multichapters anymore HAHAHA i rotate through the same library of 100 one-shots i have bookmarked now......but back when i did read multichaps i was REALLY into the work of iruutciv + orchids_and_fictional_cities team from yoi, they were absolute LEGENDS and their fic and miles to go before i sleep changed me as a person lmao (i also did read part of their ongoing but monsters are always hungry, darling and i’m actually still in their discord for it but it is SO so intricately crafted and i fell out of the loop and didn’t rly get back in) . currently i follow megafaunatic aka etymologyplayground’s work the most closely for my mxtx fix (my fav from them currently is probably you, asleep and dreaming)

tagging: @lenawin4 and uhhhhhhh anyone else who feels like doing this?? for my life i cannot recall any other writers off the top of my head rn o)-(

[dingletragedy]

Rookie, Real and proper, Christmas ✨

rookie - top three kisses?

1 - that kiss in callum’s flat back in octobere -you know the one!!! it was everything we’d hadn’t seen from them since their first kiss, and everything we;d been waiting on. a kiss that started out slow and attentive, callum pulling back a few times to make sure things were right, before it turned into so much more. all all-consuming kiss with heat and passion and love. i really think things changed between them after that kiss and whatever happened after *eyes emoji* - callum become so much more comfortable and himself and their love, despite not being mentioned at this point, literally shone out of them from that point on.

2 - the first kiss. not just for the kiss itself but for everything that it meant. everything that it still means. and everything that it will always mean. but yeah, for the kiss itself too actually. it was super hot and intense and left us all of the edges of our seats. it was the start of this brilliant and wonderful love story and ill always look back at it with so much love in my heart!! 

3 - oh my god so many to choose from this is impossible... i’m gonna go for a completely random and seemingly insignificant one - ben kissing callum’s wrist!!! so soft and gentle and really fucking romantic actually!!! i’m a sucker for forehead kisses and cheek kisses like everyone else... but damn... wait till you hear about WRIST KISSES

real and proper - top three fluff moments?

1 - the OG CHEEK KISS AHHHHH 

(no further explanation needed, i hope)

2 - ben tlls callum he loves him and the following bed scene - cheating a lil because this is two moments but what the hell. how soft!!!!! literally everything was perfect, from the soft, low lighting, to callum not being able to sleep without ben by his side, to callum keeping his eyes closed and signing throughout his lil speech, the speech itself, the way ben is so caught up in his emotions that he doesn’t even realised he’s said i love you, to callum signing it back and ben just not being able to not kiss him there and then. and then the bed scene!!! ben stroking at callum’s face, callum stroking at ben’s face, exchanging presents,being open and vunerable and just.. so.. fucking.. soft!!!

3 - callum writing i love you on ben’s back!!! ok i think we’re learning that i’m a sucker for a love confession. literally all and any love confessions. but ones like this !!!! i Die !!!! not only had callum just spent days locked in a basement, but he’d only learnt hours before this moment about ben’s hearing - now most people had been shouting at ben, talking to fast, making stupid hand gestures (stuart i’m looking at you) - and still, without any time to adjust, callum was so brilliant and gentle and gorgeous with ben. honestly, it’s one of my favourite moments ever!!!!

christmas - top three angst moments?

1 - it’s namesake - the christmas break up for sure!!! god, it was absolutely heartbreaking - there’s no other word for it. it was one of those break ups that was bourne out of pure love, too much love. and that made it both awful and brilliant all at once. although it hurt a hell of a lot, its something i rewatch a lot and a lot as it really shows you just how much they love each other. aka so much so that they're stupid with it!!!! also this break up gave us callum’s first i love you so we have no choice but to stan! 

2 - the “i don’t want to do this anymore” moment - another very near break up, i’m sensing a pattern here lmao. but god, this scene? breathtaking! showstopping! heartbreaking! brilliant!!!! i’m pretty sure i don’t need to remind anyone how fantastic the boys, particularly tony, were in this scene. by far some of the est acting i’ve seen by the both of them!!! the shouting, the begging and pleading, the tears and that little hug at the end. fuck me up!!!! SO GOOD. 

3 - the housewarming party... damn!!! that whole episode is just Wow. from ben crying and opening up to callum about paul, to those longing, intensive stares across them room, and not forgetting callum holding ben up!!! all of it was so brilliant. that waste moment i knew these two were going to change my life (not to be ben mitchell levels of dramatic or anything).

one year of ballum ask meme!