#possibly a very niche audience for this one but

[butchtwelfthdoctor]

OK OK BUT HEAR ME OUT. doctor who episode the companions are river, jack harkness and missy. river, jack, and missy spend the entire episode trying to one-up each other while twelve silently has a breakdown in the background cos they need to stop the planet blowing up again but the three of them cant stop making 'fun and sexy' plans to stab each other

[disappearinginq]

I hate that people on a whole don't understand a narrative. Like...your English/literature teacher should've flunked people over this.

Probably the people who understand it best are the ones marginalized in life, because hey, we see ourselves in those characters. Other people have the luxury of just going "eh" and moving on.

But when hugely popular shows and movies and even books keep killing off their marginalized and suffering characters as the "only way this could've ended" I want to reach through a screen and choke them out because stop telling me the world is better without me in it., Or I will take you with me, and we'll see who's mourned.

It's not even just Bury Your Gays. In Outer Banks, they kill of the kid who is told from season 1 that you'll never make anything of yourself. You will always be poor, homeless, unloved, and alone. And then spend three and a half seasons showing you that this character absolutely will beat his own narrative - he finds friends that are his family, he finds a life he loves with the people he loves and they love him back, and then - they kill him. BUT THE RICH BITCH FUCKING PSYCHOPATH GETS A REDEMPTION ARC? I don't care how good the actors are, the narrative has now wildly swung from 'you can make it if you don't give up' to 'don't even bother - life will find a way to beat you down to where you belong' and airing two days after the catastrophic American elections - where the billionaires and greed and hate win?

The Umbrella Academy had three seasons of fun, quirky, broken people who tried so hard to fix their mistakes, to fix what they broke, and canonically, are representing marginalized groups that never get the happy endings. But dammit, this family tried. They didn't always get along, they were dysfunctional, but they still came together in the end, and loved one another despite the bad they have done. And then - the narrative again spins a wild one eighty and the story ends with "the world is better without you in it - die". Which is a very real narrative a lot of us live with.

The MCU - kills off Iron Man/Tony Stark, one of the very first popular characters who suffers from extreme CPTSD along with an alphabet of mental disorders; Loki, who is the adopted child and queer across the board, loses absolutely everyone and everything; Steve, who while he isn't dead, his character most certainly is because he goes from the one who does sacrifice everything to making a selfish, personal decision that winds up fucking over everyone; Bucky, who again isn't dead but he is openly blamed for the things he did while he was a prisoner and a mind-controlled assassin for the bad guys against his will by his mental health professional. And the narrative is "no, you should sacrifice yourself so the rest of us who treated you like shit can live a better life."

The stupidity of wanting to punish your audience who is punished enough in the real world often enough we don't need it or want it in fiction is just...mind boggling. And when those are the real words used by writers to justify their shit decisions?

I hope your death serves a narrative purpose, since you seem to think that is the noblist way to go.

[simpxxstan]

svt + nerdy y/n!!

a/n: this is absolutely self-indulgent. i'm sorry if i'm writing slower than usual, i'm trying to get back on track!

sfw content. gender neutral reader and established relationship.

very mildly suggestive (pg13 audience only!). nerd here refers to anyone with academic interests or a general high level of interest in uncommon/niche topics. i've tried to make the concept of nerd as inclusive as possible.

seungcheol

not a nerd himself but will encourage you 100% to be a nerd- buys you new pair of glasses when your eyesight worsens, new documentary CDs and even membership of a hundred foreign journals.

defo has a sapiosexuality kink- you can guess how attracted he is to your intelligence. but he's the smarter one on the streets, so he'll take care of you in every way possible while you stay in your little geeky bubble.

it's always baby let me recharge your phone bill for you; baby please eat your meals on time; baby you can't stop drinking water because of exam stress; baby if you're pulling an all-nighter, call me over, i don't want you to stay up all night alone.

jeonghan

loving jeonghan involves so much cuddling and lazy time when you both just lie under the blankets, his head is on your stomach and your fingers in his hair. it's at these moments that he encourages you to read out for him and he hums along whenever you pause to check if he's fallen asleep.

but jeonghan draws the line sometimes. he is supportive- but only when you're not trading off your time with him for the sake of peering into books.

you can sit with me and solve bivariate normal distributions or whatever you have to do, he whines into your ear. but you keep tickling me and i mess up the calculations! he laughs at this, i can't help it if you're just so ticklish, baby.

joshua

three years ago, joshua would've laughed if someone told him he would be more interested in the latest discoveries of astrophysics than in who's winning the la liga matches. but here he is- successfully converted into a nerd entirely because of your influence.

joshua was ridiculously easy to convert. all it had taken was the shiny, lovesick look in your eyes when you'd ask him if he wanted to watch a documentary on alternate universe theories with you, and he'd said yes in a heartbeat. and then it had just been a spiral into the metaphorical black hole. and he does NOT regret it, as long as he gets to spend time with you.

josh is this getting too boring? you'd quietly ask after an hour of the documentary, guilty for being too absorbed in it to even look at your boyfriend and see how he's faring. but joshua is melting at your concern, so even if it was a little bit boring, he'll reassure you sweetly, not at all baby! this is so new and interesting!!

jun

yes he may be from china, but clearly you know more about his own roots than he does! whenever you're watching news, jun loves it when you fill him up on some quirky background info that he didn't know about, but adds so much value to the context of the news.

in awe of your academic capabilities and keeps bragging about you to everyone. feels so proud when he can contribute to something you're passionate about too. he CANNOT fathom why someone as nerdy and intellectual as you should want to be with him.

junie, you're so smart! you praise him after he reports a profit he's making on a stocks investment. he shyly giggles, not like you, baby. you shake your head, i may be book smart. but you're street-smart!

soonyoung

hyper and calm partners!!!! he used to get annoyed with how you would pore into your books all day and how focused you were on your studies, but now he sees the charm in it all. it makes you happy, and in turn, he gets to wrap himself around you and be as clingy as he likes.

he really tries to follow with your nerdiness, his enthusiasm is there he swears! it's just not his fault that his attention span is so low and he ends up staring at your lips more than actually listening to you.

baby are you even listening? you ask, pouting. it drive him even more insane and he ends up giving in to his instincts and kissing you. yes baby! i heard everything!

wonwoo

WILL BE GEEKY WITH YOU! i imagine the two of you sitting next to each other at a table, him focused on his games and you're focused on your studies, your feet in his lap, and you're both sharing the same cup of coffee.

he loves collecting pretty little diaries for you, because he knows you write little poems and trivia in those diaries. whenever he's out on tour, he's bringing a locally-made diary for you, and if possible, he customises it with your name imprinted on it too.

wonwoo, there's a new adaptation of pygmalion getting shown in the theatre! do you want to go watch? i want to take notes from this adaptation and write about it on my blog... you need not even explain so much, wonwoo bought the tickets already when you began to talk about it.

jihoon

feels so giddy when he comes home from work and the first thing you do (in between his kiss attacks) is tell him a new fact you learnt today in whatever is your latest obsession.

jihoon loves his personal space, so when he's found you who's equally fond of your personal space and interests, it's literally a match made in heaven. they say it'll put distance between the two of you, but it really does quite the opposite!

jihoonie, can you help me learn this table? maybe ask me randomly and i'll try to answer. jihoon wants to tell the table to self-destruct from the entire world because you're near to tears trying to mug it up. but he doesn't. instead he says, love, how about i make a song for you which simplifies this? like a mnemonic but nicer.

seokmin

man was too desperate to get out of school to understand why you choose to be a nerd. but it's hella cute, so he doesn't need to understand. he's obsessed with your quirky habits- the way you bite your lips when you're finding a topic difficult, the way your glasses slip down your nose and you irritatedly push it up again, the way you crave the hot chocolate he makes when you're under exam stress.

admires your smartness so much! WILL brag about it to everyone he meets. WILL bring up the fact you told him yesterday, in today's conversation with his members just to show off your smartness.

posts stories about you being so cute while working hard for your exams but it's just you with oiled hair, acne breaking out like hellfire, and cramming notes at breakneck speed (you don't talk to him for an hour after this, but he doesn't get why you're so embarrassed, he only sees cuteness.)

mingyu

another one who WILL be nerdy with you. mingyu's always been a curious boy- even as a child, he would be drawn into new ideas easily. nothing is different now, and mingyu sits with you often when you're studying, his hands often wandering to your shoulders to massage them, and bringing you a regular supply of ramen and snacks.

you have a habit of repeating to yourself what you read, so mingyu steps in and asks you to talk to him and explain the topics to him as if you're teaching him. safe to say, he gets VERY turned on after such mock 'teaching' lessons and eventually loses focus on what you're saying.

gyu do you remember that paper i wrote last month? yeah, it got selected for a journal. you say it so nonchalantly that any other person would think you're showing off. but mingyu knows how much it means to you, and you're only downplaying it because you think mingyu won't think it to be a big deal, as most academic snobs tend to do. but lucky for you, mingyu knows exactly how precious an achievement it is to you, so he shows his appreciation to you instead of merely saying it (by showering you with kisses that make you tingle all over).

minghao

OH oh. will listen to your rants with the sweetest subtle smile on his face. will buy encyclopedias and reference books for your mini library. will take you to speaker sessions, workshops and other such informative events across the city, even places you've no idea about.

the most ardent supporter you could have asked for, he is in awe of your mental capabilities and your intelligence. you both have a lot of quality time where you're just sitting together and doing your things, but minghao values it like no other activity in the world.

hao? there's a new parcel at the door. you call him when a delivery arrives and he's at work. open it. he may not be around to see your reaction, but he can sure imagine the grin that's bursting out on your face when you squeal his name into the phone on seeing the hardcover special edition version of your favourite collection of essays.

seungkwan

lots of wide-eyed wondering at why you would want to stay rooted at a spot and read books over playing badminton with him. he wants to complain that you've chosen your academics over him, but that'd be a lie, so he can only half-heartedly whine about it.

comes around to your point of view as soon as you start showing him documentaries (on animals living in the Himalayas, as per your latest obsession). it begins with him finding the animals cute, to eventually finding you cute when you animatedly talk about them. and once he's totally converted, it's fairly easy for you to convince him to help you with exams.

expect eye rolls, smug smiles and hair being brushed back nonchalantly when the questions he had asked last night from your texts actually matched with the ones asked in the exam. i told you, baby, he whispers in your ear. now i want my reward, you've been drowned in books for way too long and not paying any attention to your boyfriend.

vernon

it was a surprise to him as well when he realised he's got a massive sapiosexuality kink. as someone who's run as far away from the education system as he could, he doesn't even know why he finds it so attractive when you're being nerdy. but, well, he does.

he loves hearing you talk about whatever it is that you're learning lately, and sometimes something or the other catches his attention. and then, you know he'll dive right deep into it to know all about it, until his curiosity is satisfied.

nonie, what's the video you sent me? you ask him when you return home from uni. i wondered if you've watched this one. it explains the theories of why the harappan civilization disappeared so well. you can only smile at his enthusiasm, i bet you've been looking at conspiracy theories again, nonie. the guilty grin on his face says it all.

chan

chan listens so well, but you can't really blame him if he doesn't retain the information. he's elated simply to have you wrapped in his arms as you talk about what happened in your classes today, and his nose in the crook of your neck so he can smell your lovely scent. intermittently nods his head (just wants to rub his nose on the soft skin of your neck) and hums in agreement of what you just said (suppressing moans when he can feel your heartbeat quicken when he presses kisses to your neck too).

it doesn't matter what your new niche is, but he's indulging it. he admires your ability to stay focused in a field as demanding as academia, and he's all for you to go ahead with your interests and education as long as you want to learn.

you wake up to post-its on your forehead every day when chan has had to leave early for work: get out of the house and get fresh air. shampoo hair today, interview tomorrow. practice the introduction speech again. drink water and take vitamins. STOP DRINKING COFFEE. and you giggle at each of them, because they're all things you've tried to remember for yourself and forgotten, so chan reminds you like this, but his cute handwriting and the little XOXOXOs he's drawn all over make your heart melt.

[charcubed]

I have soooooo much I want to write about Doctor Odyssey and if I keep waiting for the perfect moment to write something PROPERLY GOOD AND COMPREHENSIVE then I’m simply going to explode. So instead I’m going to write a messy little post on my phone when half asleep and try to keep it to one main topic.

Yeah yeah the throuple had a threesome (and I’m foaming at the mouth over it) but can we talk about the THEMES!!!!

This show is for crazy people (me specifically). Once again, I have a lot to say, but for now let me just focus on the wedding episode itself. That threesome is informed by the context of the rest of the episode in a way I simply CANNOT get over.

Let’s look at our passengers: the bride, groom, and best man. We find out all of them are being unfaithful to each other in various ways, miserable in their silence and unhealthy relationship dynamics. They all went to school together and were once close, but things went wrong somewhere along the way. The best man’s speech implies he has feelings for the groom, the groom is a sex addict who’s had multiple partners (possibly the best man included) because he feels trapped in a lie, and the bride and best man are having sex with each other. And none of them are communicating about it, and the groom who had preexisting mental health struggles commits suicide.

What happens to the three of them is a tragedy and it is absolutely a result of heteronormative monogamous culture. That culture was passed down from the bride’s mother to her too by example and societal influence.

I’m not exaggerating. It’s not subtle!!! At all!!! Everything explodes for those passengers because monogamy and repressing bisexuality wasn’t working for them.

They’re a dark mirror and cautionary tale. (Bonus points for how Avery’s sad backstory is that she was betrayed by her longtime friend / brief husband who cheated on her with a mutual friend as well, which is why she’s definitely hesitant about love now.)

By comparison, Avery and Max and Tristan have been avoiding some similar big pitfalls: they know they’re into each other and it’s not a secret, rivalries keep being squashed with effort, and no one is pressuring anyone to choose (so far).

This is what our beloved main characters have on their minds before what follows. And again, let’s not even get to the sex part yet… THE BUCKET LISTS!!! I’m losing my Goddamn marbles!!! The way all 3 of their lists intersect? Holy shit. Off the top of my head: Max and Tristan want to fall in love and have kids, Avery and Max want to see the world, Tristan and Avery have niche interests outside of medicine that they want to explore more… We were given itemized lists to show how the 3 of them balance and round each other out perfectly.

It’s not about any 2 of them because it won’t work with just any 2. It’s ALL THREE — just like all the framing and blocking of shots is consistently all 3, they walked down the wedding aisle all 3 together, the first sex scene for any of them that WE as the audience see on screen is all 3 of them together, a “bad threesome” is defined as 2 people getting too wrapped up in each other and the 3rd being an accidental outsider, we often see that if one duo gets a couple-y moment then the other duos get similar moments later as well, etc etc. Sorry. Let me not continue the summary list here and now so I don’t get too sidetracked but there’s A LOT.

But like, my current point? That wedding episode is a goldmine and the threesome explicitly happening doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Far from it. The themes are themeing in the whole show, of course, which is part of what I want to write about elsewhere at some point too: this show is repeatedly very deliberate about making sure heterosexuality or monogamy aren’t framed as the default or only correct options, and queerness is sprinkled everywhere. But this wedding episode specifically… the themes were nearly the ONLY PLOT. Nothing else — it’s basically only that, and it’s very focused. The failures of monogamy are on full display. And that’s why and how we get an explicit threesome right after it, which will lead us into how things will continue to develop for our trio.

Now, as for why the threesome happens so relatively quickly? My hot take on that is that general audiences can be stupid and so the creators wanted to put the throuple explicitly on screen fairly early to get people to start Noticing. Show them how the characters need to be together… and that sets us up for the possible angst and tension to follow as they have to accept it emotionally for themselves too. Now, as an audience member, you’ll more strongly know what to root for. You’ll know what’s right because you’ve seen it and you’ll want them to get back to that place, come what may. (If you’re not a puritan.)

It’s so fucking good. Insane silly show for insane people. Are we seeing the vision??? I need everyone to lock in.

This ramble is probably a disaster and I apologize for that but ohhhh man I had to put SOME words down so I wouldn’t explode. Suffice it to say I’m having a ball up in this bitch and I cannot believe this show exists. I couldn’t believe my eyes and my brain cells in the pilot, and I REALLY can’t believe them now.

What a time to be alive!!!!!! Polycule “love fest” on a cruise ship, baby!!! The world needs more love, all kinds of love, as the Captain says!!!! Onward to gay week!!!! LET’S SEE THOSE BI MEN KISS

[beesgav]

So, in Bionicle, when we start off with the Toa Mata, all their masks have, like... fairly "standard" powers. There's a shield, super speed, x-ray vision, etc. Very basic superhero level fare, and that isn't a bad thing.

And then, as you get further into the story, the mask powers start getting a bit more intricate- invisibility, telekinesis, mind control- they're still pretty obvious powers to have, but they feel a bit more advanced and situational, which is fitting since they were introduced at the same time as the first run of masks but weren't expanded on fully until a few years into the series.

Then you start getting to the next lines of masks and they start getting a bit esoteric, like. The ability to act at 110% your physical peak for short bursts. The ability to aim perfectly. The ability to separate your soul from your body and possess people. Which are all, like, cool, the Calix has literally my favorite mask power, but it's starting to get very esoteric.

And next is the level of both "holy shit what a cool power" (ability to use the abilities of any creature you currently share an element with, ability to reanimate the dead) and "holy shit in what situation would this possibly be useful aside from the very specific ones in which they're used here" (ability of echolocation, ability to summon a random creature, but it's not necessarily on your side, you've just brought a random beastie to your location)

I don't even want to get into the Makuta masks or the unique masks because for one thing they mostly just become "mask of [vague concept]" or "mask of [impossibly niche ability that only really works if the character is based around that power]" and I don't really think they count because they're, like, meant to be unique one-of-a-kind things, and not something just anyone can make/obtain given the right tools

From a storytelling standpoint it makes sense just in terms of like. Always going bigger and upping the stakes and making things more intricate once you've got an invested audience who can keep up with the rules. You have to keep adding new things because the old ones become boring and played-out.

But all of this is to say I really want to see a rewrite of the Mata era where they have the weird endgame masks right at the beginning. Make Tahu Mata deal with an Arthron. Give Lewa a Zatth and just let him go. Let Kopaka have an Iden so he can well and truly Fuck Off when he's annoyed

[brown-little-robin]

story ask game: send me numbers and a story I like!

what got you into this story?

describe it in one or two sentences.

quickly list 3 things you like about the story!

assign this story a hyper-specific genre name, e.g. "inspirational religious semi-horror sci-fi western" (yes, that's Trigun)

do you have a favorite character? who?

do you have a LEAST favorite character? who?

how does the story compare to your initial impressions of it? has it surprised you yet? how?

what questions are or were you most excited to learn the answers to while experiencing the story for the first time?

give the most UNHELPFUL and/or SILLY summary possible.

if you made an amv about this, what song would you set it to?

if you were put in the main character's position, how well would that go for you on a scale of 1-5?

assuming your loved ones would be there, would you want to live in the world of the story?

tell me an out-of-context piece of worldbuilding or lore!

how likely do you think this story is to break a reader's heart? If you're not done with the story, just guess.

what time are you most likely to be found reading/watching this story? (time of year, time of day, season of life, whatever makes sense to you)

do you think this story has broad appeal, or is it meant for a very specific audience? if it's more "niche", what kind of person would most enjoy this story?

compare this story to your usual tastes. how does it differ from what you've already enjoyed?

compare this story to your usual tastes. what parts of it are exactly the kind of thing you've always loved?

pitch an idea for a sequel or spinoff novel for this story!

what's the WORST thing about this story, in your opinion? (feel free to be positive, e.g. "it's not longer", if you want!)

based on this story, would you be interested enough in the author to read their other work?

FREE SPACE: say anything you want about the story!! <3

rules: feel free to reblog this and specify what story/stories you're into right now! the amount of spoilers you want to give is up to you ;)

[bisexualiteaa]

No Life Queen

Alucard X Fem Reader

SMUT! MDNI

CW: vampires, established relationship, secrecy, reader is a vampire, reader has hair, brief mentions of canon typical violence/gore, cursing, pet names, praise, biting, brief mention of alcohol, bl00d drinking, mentions of bl00d, p in v, unprotected seggs, cream 🥧, mention of 0ral (fem receiving), reader works for Hellsing Organization, slight ooc Alucard, smut with fluffy ending, p0rn w/o plot, p0rn with feelings, possible grammar or spelling errors, HEAVILY proof read

A/N: I know this will likely be for a niche audience, but in my opinion there isn’t enough about this lovely man on this app I don’t think. In the spirit of Halloween (and for being down bad for him for an entire decade) I felt it was appropriate! I hope you all enjoy. Happy spooky season to you all! ♥️

The sounds of your joyous laughter and sweet voice could be heard from the dimly lit lair, resonating from deep within the winding depths of the vast Hellsing estate as you laid next to your vampiric lover. Your body lay bare, save for the silk red sheets wrapped around you to afford you a semblance of decency and warmth from the bitterly cold air. He had no need for a bed, he spent so long sleeping in the dank, dark depths of the basement which he calls home, or within the confines of his well built, ornate coffin but it was a luxury you loved, so without hesitation he had one placed there for you. All under the guise of him simply “being curious” as to how modern beds feel. He knew well how they felt, he’d taken on his fair share of lovers in the past, and those nights where he would sneak into your room to be with you during the fleeting beginning stages of your budding romance. So he wasn’t ignorant to how they felt, but he felt it was a good enough excuse to give should anyone dare ask why. Your hair sat pooled against the well-decorated pillowcases for the pillows he only kept around for you, freed from its usual ties whilst on duty. You hummed lightly and happily as your hand rested against his broad chest, looking up at him with all the love in the world as a smile danced across your sweet, kiss swollen lips. You regarded Alucard with your whole heart, and never anything less. You knew well that your lover was a man that possessed unfathomable amounts of power, and harnessed the capabilities to slaughter those whom he wished in the mere blink of an eye. Yet with you, he was anything but those terrible things that others knew him for. With you, the vampire king was no longer the monster others claimed him to be. With you, he was no longer a creature to be feared, no longer a servant to exercise his master’s bidding. With you, it was the closest he’s ever felt to being human again in centuries because in your presence, he was nothing more than a man who was so emphatically in love with the woman that was lying before him. And in your eyes, you could never see him as anything less than perfection, for he’s never afforded you anything less.

He delighted in the sensation of your soft, gentle touch that only you could offer him in such a pleasurable way. Longing to feel your much smaller hands pressed against his cold, pale, and unblemished skin. Yearning for the way your fingers stroked through his long, raven black locks with such affection that left him like putty in your very hands. He enjoyed how your hand, despite its now cold nature compared to the warmth you once held when you were human, would cup his cheek with such gentle serenity. How you would handle him as if he were made of porcelain, as if he was the one that was easy to shatter. No one had ever held him in such a gentle way before, touched his skin with such feather-light placidity, knowing only what it’s like to have held others in such a fashion but never had the sentiment been returned to him in kind until he’d met you. He was downright addicted to the tender caress of your thumb stroking his jaw, as if tracing his edges like he was chiseled from the finest but most fragile stone. You looked upon him like a work of art, as if he were crafted skillfully by the hands of a master artisan then given the gift of life. He was breathtaking, and to think that you were the one lucky enough to have enthralled him, to have captured his heart, was truly remarkable. He would argue however that he was the one truly fortunate enough to have earned your respect, to have earned your love and praise. He needed it from no one else aside from you, anyone else’s thoughts or opinions be damned. His servitude may be to Integra, but his true fealty was to you.

Your crimson eyes stared into his vermillion ones as if he were the man who hung the very stars that freckled the night sky. He cherished you, adored you, worshipped you even. You with your undying love and most pure of affections. You were unreal to him, ethereal almost. Like a goddess who descended the heavens and was somehow captivated by such a pitiful creature such as himself. Granting him such unwavering kindness, such unrelenting generosity that he felt as if he did not deserve. He could hardly believe at times that someone as kind, someone as gentle as you existed in a world that had always proven so cruel, let alone that you could ever fall in love with a fiend like him. Someone who held so much bitterness towards the world, someone with such an affinity for danger, violence and gore. You were polar opposites, yet strikingly similar all the same. He would never take it for granted however, because even on his worst days, you were always there. You were always the comforting light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. The grounding anchor to his ship that sailed an unrelentingly raging sea. You were his peace, his serenity, sitting with your arms outstretched for him to rest between, and ever ready to listen and share in his burdens whatever they may be.

No one knew of the romance you and the vampire king shared, not even Sir Integra herself knew about it. It was a well guarded secret that lay only within the confines of his room, and the rare but fleeting moments you were granted when you were alone and away from any prying eyes or ears. Your meetings always started out the same, and even remained the same to this day. A routine of you sneaking off from your room and into the halls at night, under the guise of delivering to him his meal. No one ever suspected it to be a rouse. Much less an act to allow you to get closer to your lover, using the sanguine nectar as a means to spend time with him where you would have the utmost privacy. In fact, the guards who were normally placed on that duty thanked you for taking their place, unable to bring themselves to make the cold, unsettling trek down to the depths where he resided. Therefore you had no one to send you questioning glances, or overhear any suspicious whispers. To them, you were a vampire who simply wasn’t afraid of him or his capabilities. No one else dared get close to his chambers however, some even going as far to tell tales of those who never made it back alive from the treacherous journey, or of his ravenous hunger to scare anyone who may be new to the estate and don’t quite know of him yet. Many complained that they felt as if there were eyes in the very walls surrounding them, watching as they made their descent into the darkness that was his place of rest, or even just through out the day during their shifts and as they would wander around through the vast hallways. He struck fear into the hearts of many, especially into those of mortal kind, but to you, he was just Alucard.

“You are a most delicious sight like this, Draga mea” he praised as the sheet you lay beneath began to slide down just a tad, revealing some of your bare frame to the frigid air of his den. His eyes raked across your body each time as if it was the first time he was seeing you, making you hum appreciatively at the compliment and the term of endearment spoken in his native tongue. You felt as his large hand began to glide along the curvature of your hip and the dip of your waist with a feather light touch, sending goose flesh to raise along your skin. “If you wish to feed from me, you know you need only ask” you teased with a grin, knowing his compliment came from a genuine place, but your romance was built on humor and trust. He knew better than to think you’d only regard his words in a manipulative manner. “Well if my queen is offering herself to me, how could I say no to such kindness?” He quipped in return, making you chuckle as he placed strategic, searing kisses along the column of your neck, being sure to strum each sensitive spot before kissing down your shoulder and trailing down your arm. You giggled softly as he made his descent, grabbing your hand in his much larger one before turning it over and placing a soft kiss to your wrist just above your pulse point. “Is a whole bottle no longer enough to sate you, my dear? I can have them procure more for you, you need only say the word” You asked, half teasing, half genuine. Your tone filled with concern and playfulness in a harmony that only could ever come so blissfully from you. A melodic language only spoken between the two of you and the two of you alone. “Shall I frighten them with the tales of your insatiable appetite? Perhaps that would persuade them to donate more” you volunteered, making him give a hearty laugh in reply. “How I cherish the thought of you frightening them with such a tale” he responded, making you giggle as you pictured the horrified facial expressions and terrified trembles you would receive in reply. “But in truth, bottle proves nowhere near as appetizing to me when compared to the taste of you at the height of euphoria. The adrenaline coursing through you, the sweetness of its taste is better than any wine could ever offer. Even the most decadent ambrosia pales in comparison to you, Draga mea” He continued, sweet talking you in that deep, baritone voice that always left your heart racing and a fire dwelling within the depths of your core. He always knew just the right words to say, both a blessing and a curse in its own right. His response earned a hum of amusement from you. “I was too caught up in the fire that was in your gaze to have gotten a taste of you. I was afraid should my attention falter, the beast within you would relinquish” he added, his lips finding their way to the column of your neck, his nose brushing against the sensitive spots there to rise gooseflesh to your skin, his lips just barely ghosting where your pulse would typically reside. You tilted your head to the side to allow him better access, allowing him free rein of your throat to do as he pleased. “Suffice to say, our shared feast left me quite…distracted” he finished, laying more searing kisses to your neck, making you hum and moan softly in approval, telling you all of his reasons why you should allow him to feed from you. His eagerness made you giggle as you recalled the way you were seated on his lap just moments ago, warming his cock and soon riding him as you both shared in feeding one another glasses of the sanguine liquid that once filled the now empty bottle. Your hands found their way to the back of his head and neck, keeping him in place as a show to continue his ministrations as your eyes fluttered shut with bliss. “Perhaps I should speak of your insatiable hunger” you teased, making him groan and chuckle into the crook of your neck as he kept himself pressed tightly against you.

“Have you another problem needing resolved already, my dear? We’ve hardly had enough time to enjoy the afterglow yet” you teased, making him grin as he detached himself from you to defend himself. “I hadn’t heard you complaining whilst you were seated on my tongue, or how quickly things carried on from there after I brought you to such dizzying climax twice from it” he bit back playfully, his fangs peaking from his wide, cocky grin. “And why ever would I? There certainly isn’t anything to complain about” you replied, flashing your fangs in a grin that mirrored his own making him hum in reply, satisfied with your response but amused all the same. How cute those fangs looked nestled into your already gorgeous smile. Something so perfectly wicked entwined with someone so preciously sweet. How it brought him such joy that you now carried a piece of him with you wherever you went, and would for the rest of eternity. Knowing that anyone who dare step to you with harmful intentions, would see a bit of him in you. That they would see his power radiate from you, feel his threatening aura travel along side you like an omniscient deity. He couldn’t help the pride that swelled within him to know that he was not only your lover, but your protector. How it pained him to know that you would have to share in his agony of having to watch those around you that you cared about parish while you remain the same, that you would outlive those who held no super natural persuasion to stop the onward marching of time. Yet a slightly twisted, much darker side that resided deep within him, felt almost prideful in the way that his dark corruption snuck within you, tainting the otherwise pristine purity you usually carried. Like a white dress being stained red from the scarlet shades of blood pooling beneath its fabric, one could argue you were tainted, besmirched, ruined even. He would argue that you were even more beautiful than you were before. His perfect little love.

His no life queen

“You may indulge in me, but only if you ask nicely” you replied playfully, making him grin at your response but he would always heed your word for he never wished to displease you. He was a gentleman after all, where were his manners? “Would you kindly allow me to have my fill of you, dearest?” He asked, making you hum as if you had to actually give it any thought. You never did. The answer would *forever* be yes. “You may” you responded kindly, a giggle leaving you as you leaned closer to him, your noses brushing together before turning your head to allow your lips to intertwine once more. Your hand came to cup his cheek tenderly, in that oh-so-loving manner you always did. He could truly never get enough of you. Your lips danced upon each others with sensual warmth, tongues tangling together, fangs nicking lips with playful bites. Before long, his mouth descended upon your throat once again, his nose ghosting the sensitive skin and catching whiff of your intoxicating aroma before his tongue glided along his favorite spot. You tilted your head back to allow him more access, your eyes falling shut blissfully as you felt his tongue circle the junction between your neck and shoulder. The sheet by now had slipped from you fully, revealing your bare chest to the gelid temperature of his chambers, feeling your pebbled nipples pressed against his bare chest as your hands weaved into his hair. You waited for that moment with bated breath, for the icy prick of his fangs to pierce your skin, but instead were greeted by the distraction of his fingers diving down to your aching cunt. The pad of his finger worked slow, rhythmic circles against your clit, making your eyes roll to the back of your head as a sweet sigh left your lips. “Alucard…” you moaned, making him groan deeply in response, the sound almost feral as it rumbled within his chest. He found himself salivating at the prospect of your flavor, at the overwhelming scent of your arousal mixed with his distinct musk. His hunger was hitting a fever pitch, finding it harder as the moments passed to contain himself and play with you to the full extent he wished to. You are his most delectable treat after all.

He groaned as your nimble fingers tangled within his long black hair, moaning and squirming from the pleasure being brought to you by just one of his fingers alone. It was pathetic almost, the way you were rendered to such madness, such utter hedonism with so little being offered to you, but it was nearly overwhelming all the same. “My precious queen, how deliciously sensitive you are for me” he remarked, a deep chuckle and a grin following his words as you gasped from the feeling of his fingers dipping inside of you. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head once more, mouth agape in a silent wail as the tips of his fingers located your most vulnerable spots with practiced precision. “Alucard…” you sighed blissfully as he leaned down to capture your lips in a sweet, intimate kiss. You moaned into it, your fingers dragging along the sinew of his back leaving behind angry, red marks that you knew would only remain for a very short period of time. He groaned into your shared kiss, working his fingers into you with practiced expertise, being sure to tease that bundle of nerves deep inside of you with the pads of his long, nimble fingers. As his fingers would curl against your walls, his thumb was rubbing tight, methodical circles along your clit to bring you even closer to your release. “Fuck…” you moaned into the kiss, feeling that knot in the pit of your stomach begin to grow tighter with each stroke. Your hips began to buck against his fingers, riding them, chasing the euphoric friction that sent shock waves of pleasure through you. “Doing so well for me, fucking yourself on my fingers” he praised, looking down at the sight of you spread on his digits, listening to the sinful sounds of your slick granting him access to your very core. “Feels…s’ good” you managed to get out, making him chuckle at your pathetic reply. It didn’t take much to reduce you to near delirium, whether it be from his fingers, his tongue, his teeth or his cock, he was quite skilled in the many areas of your pleasure. “Cum for me, Draga mea. Sing for me” he encouraged, his lips once again finding that spot on your neck that always sent you reeling, waiting for the perfect moment to sink his teeth into you. Waiting for the telling signs that bliss was just around the corner for you.

Once his sharp fangs finally sank into the tender flesh of your neck, it was electric, sending you toppling over the edge into the most intense, nearly all-consuming orgasm. Pain and pleasure melded together in a wonderful memory of what it had felt like the first time his fangs pierced your skin, gulping down your sweet essence as he turned you. Electric pulses soared down through your spine, lighting your every nerve ending on fire in a sadistically sensual way that you only craved to feel from him. His eyes rolled beneath shut lids at the taste of you, gulping down your dulcet ichor yet remaining mindful enough to savor its flavor. He groaned into you at the taste, feeling the ache between his legs throb with vigor as your orgasm pulsed through your body. How he craved you so desperately in this moment. To be intertwined with you, lost in you and the woes of passion that entwines you. It appeared that he could wait no longer.

In the blink of an eye, the sheets were ripped from your grasp, exposing your body to his view once more. He needed you, and it was evident by the ever growing wetness in your core that you needed him too.

Once he’d had his fill he released his jaws from you, cleaning up the mess of your shoulder, and his lips, the best that he could with his tongue alone. You watched as his long, almost pointed tongue cleaned the remnants of your blood from his lips, but what he hadn’t noticed was the small trickle that cascaded from the corner of his mouth. Your fingers grasped his chin softly, allowing you to tilt and move his face as you needed. You smiled at him before you leaned up to collect the trail of crimson that dripped from the corner of his mouth onto your tongue. You hummed pleasantly before pulling him into a passionate kiss, wishing to taste more of your sweet decadence from his lips. You felt the grin rise to the corners of his mouth before you could see it, but upon drawing back, you saw the smeared red mess left behind. “How succulent you are” he stated, breaking the silence between you. “Only the finest for you, my king. Would you grant me an indulgence of you in return, dearest?” You asked, lying on your back beneath him now, making him laugh at such a meek question being asked in such a seductive tone. “As if I could ever deny you, my love” he replied, lining himself up to your entrance before slipping in slowly, allowing you to acclimate to his size. He watched your face twist with both pain and pleasure as he sheathed himself within you. It didn’t matter how many times you would share intimacy with him, his sheer size alone always left you with that bittersweet stretch as if it were your first time taking him in. He adored how your hair fell around the pillow beneath your head like a halo, how your chest rose and fell with each labored breath brought about by the pleasure he brought you once a pace was set. You were ethereal. He swore it. Perfect in ways he thought were impossible. Yet here you lay before him, scarlet eyes gazing up at him with wonder and lust but above all else;

Love.

His hips pistoned into you as he lowered himself to hover just above you, his large hands splayed out by the sides of your head. He watched you litter his skin with feather light kisses as you ascended up his arm to his neck, soon hovering over the same spot that he enjoyed feeding from you so often. His hips seemed to roll on their own, almost desperate, accord as your tongue dragged along the favored spot, leaving him to shiver with anticipation of when you would take from him. Much like Alucard, you had a tendency towards playfulness, enjoying the delightful shivers, and hedonistic groans as you would tease him, working him up to the blissful moment. One might say you like to play with your food. Your eyes flit to his own that rest behind shut lids, basking in the tightness and wet feel of your cunt wrapped so snuggly around him. You gave a grin before finally you sank your teeth into him, feeling his girth twitch and throb within you at the sounds you made as you fed from him. “That’s it, take from me. Take from me everything you need, my love. I am yours as you are mine” he rambled through his groans of pleasure, rutting into you deeply and reaching those spots within you that left your head spinning. He groaned at the mix or your moans that lay in harmony with the feral sounds of you feeding from him only working to further turn him on. The searing pain of your sharp fangs buried into his neck, mixing with the pleasure of your delicious cunt wrapped around him so perfectly left him nearly delirious.

Once you had finally detached yourself from him, he understood the appeal of the sight he had graced you with before, finding himself following your previous actions. His tongue traced the small stream of his blood that leaked from the corner of your lips, collecting it all before tangling his tongue with your own in a frenzied kiss. His hand grabbed at your thigh, propping your leg up against his hip to reach deeper within you. As if he wasn’t deep enough already, his tip bullying the apex of your cervix with each thrust. Had you a fertile human womb still, you’d worry about leaving his chambers pregnant from just how often you found yourselves tangled together within his sheets. “Draga mea…” he whispered lovingly against your lips as you gasped and moaned, your mind hazed and nearly blank as the sound of skin slapping against skin filled the depths of his chambers. He watched as you writhed beneath him in ecstasy, how your breasts bounced in time with his thrusts. He simply couldn’t get enough of you. “You are perfection, my sweet” he praised, making you whimper as the familiar feeling in the pit of your stomach began to grow tight, already so sensitive and worked up from him playing with you before. “Cum for me, my love. Delight me with your ecstasy” he cooed, watching you bite your lip and your face contort as you reached closer and closer to your breaking point. It was as his fingers reached down to toy with your clit, rubbing circles into the sensitive bundle of nerves that pushed you over the edge. Your body arched against his, a cry of bliss leaving your lips as your climax washed over you mercilessly. Your every nerve ending wrecked and body alight from the pleasure as you dug your nails into his back with a cry of his name. “How delicious you are” he replied, watching as your breaths grew labored, your chest rising and falling in tandem with each deep inhale then exhale as you made your descent from cloud nine. His movements began to lose their rhythm, signaling to you that his release was just around the corner. You smiled up at him, hand resting delicately on his cheek as he looked down upon you. “I love you” you whispered in declaration, earning a smile from him before causing him to lean down and take your lips in a heated kiss. He groaned into it as his seed painted your walls with each thrust, his hips moving with much more softness now than they had before, much slower, as he worked to bury every last drop within you, effectively marking you his. “I love you too, my queen” he replied, making you giggle happily as you shared in the intimate moment and passion filled kiss. You wrapped your arms around your vampiric lover, keeping him as close to you as possible, wishing to revel in the sacchar of your still conjoined bodies.

You couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled from deep within you as he collapsed on top of you, his full weight baring down on you. You wriggled and fought to free yourself of his weight, yet try as you might, you also couldn’t help but find comfort in it. Peace in knowing that he felt safe with you to be this way, that he could be vulnerable and playful with you in ways he has never shared with anyone else. You ran your delicate fingers up and down the expanse of his back, effectively granting him a moment of much welcomed tranquility in your arms. If there was one thing in this entire world that he wished for most, he wished only to spend the rest of eternity this way, with love in his heart, and you to share it all with. With you, forever no longer felt so bleak. With you, eternal life felt as vivacious as mortal life, and he wouldn’t dare to dream of it any other way now that he had you beside him.

[prokopetz]

Thought it might ammuse you my brain parsed “ Palladium” as “ Philadelphia” for a second

(With reference to this post here.)

I'm not aware that there was ever a tabletop RPG adaptation of Philadelphia, but there was definitely one of Dallas.

(For all that it resembles a parody of contemporary niche-audience indie games, this one came out way back in 1980, and was only the second tabletop RPG based on a licensed IP, after Heritage Models' 1978 tabletop RPG adaptation of Star Trek. Interestingly, it's very possibly the first tabletop RPG ever to include a robust "social combat" system, anticipating the later popularity of such mechanics by some twenty years. Its publication bombed so hard that it's been cited as one of the reasons its publisher went broke two years later.)

[thenightshadowqueen]

Divorces and Teddy Bears—Watchthrough Thoughts

I’m not sure if anyone likes reading these, but I do, and I figure I can’t be the only one, so here we go. (Plus, they’re fun to make.)

The little card and “beginning-middle-end” editing is amazing

The presents in the title card being addressed to “Peter Steven”, “Priscilla”, and “Johnny and Janae”??????? They know their fanbase; I died

I love this stage

Also captions!!!

I love Luke being so confused at the beginning and just going “Oh!” when he gets it

“I was dressed as a sheep” ah, taking lessons from Sam, are we?

AJ’s sassy walk!!!!!!!

Okay I love Mrs. Claus holy shit

“Leave the keys in the sled, yes. So I can start the engine of the sled.” I love it when Sam points out logic flaws without even breaking character (although I also love it when he breaks character too)

Poor Snowdrop, being assigned as the child of divorce and forced into the middle

Also Luke’s hair???? He looks amazing

The camera quality is great as well

“We feed directly on your emotions. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner.” Luke????

Congrats to Luke for finally getting his diagnosis!

Also Luke directing the audience to cheer for him and then to stop is amazing (reminds me a bit of that clip of him getting the room to be quiet in that recent Genre game)

Tom changing the scene just to crouch behind the chair… This caught me so off guard (in the best way possible)

I know someone already said this but Little Krampus has huge Scottish Robin vibes

Also I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: how the FUCK does Tom move like that?

Tom stroking at a strand of Luke’s hair like that is so weird and I’m here for it; Tom’s character choices are always top-notch

I think “sassy women who fly to warm places to cheat on their husbands with men called Javier” is my favourite niche sub-genre of AJ character (insert that thing about nickels and things happening twice) (shoutout to Tracy) (also I know that Tracy didn’t canonically sleep with Javier but like… she totally did, right?) (or with a different Javier) (there are always plenty of Javiers available in the SFTHverse) (and she has been fucking everyone (direct quote from her))

I love it when AJ fucks up some tiny, barely-significant thing and Sam just CANNOT let it go and it becomes an actual plot point

AJ’s passport photo poses are gorgeous

“The most wanted terrorist in the North Pole” Jesus Christ Sam

Also tangent but can I just say that AJ wearing friendship bracelets is everything (and am I right in saying that I think those were the ones made by fans? Or am I misremembering? Because if they are that is so fucking sweet)

Now I really want to learn more about the Great Battle

Sassy Tom!!!! I love sassy Tom

The Sam and Luke elves remind me of the Oompa Loompas from West End Big Boys

I love Luke’s determination to climb on Sam and Sam’s determination to prevent it

“~Rudolph motherfucker~” have I mentioned that I love AJ?

Audience to the rescue!

“Initiating micro-space” AJ???

Javier having basically all of his buttons undone… Xavier flashbacks, anyone? (Also, Tom having basically all of his buttons undone… he definitely remembers the latest DnD livestream)

“I was expecting a sexy lady with a big beard” hell yeah, bearded women!

“Is [having your shirt unbuttoned] the local custom?” “No, only when we are awaiting a lover. Which, again, you are not; you are two children.” I love that Tom has to remind Sam to not unbutton his shirt because… it’s Sam

“My manservant was surprised” one, of course Javier had a manservant, and two, they need to stop making me think of BBC Merlin because it kills me every single fucking time

Luke just casually telling this random man that he’s 2000 years old… god, they really do never leave the North Pole, do they?

“Tell me a little less” I love Tom

“I’m definitely the receiver in the relationship” TOM (but also good for Javier)

AJ oh my fucking god

“That’s how it works up there” god I love Sam’s very specific “suspension of disbelief” voice

“That looks like a plot point that’s almost been abandoned” Tom is amazing

Oh, Luke, you’ve just set yourself up for another Pocket scenario

“I just wanted the pussy” Tom

“You know it’s casual” does she? Because she’s moving halfway around the world for him

“Wow, that sounds very transactional to me” I mean… yeah. Yeah, it does

“Hey, let’s not blame someone with a disorder, shall we?” I love Sam holy shit

Tom singing!!!!!!!!!!!! He sounds so creepy??????? He’s doing an amazing job

“~I just realised there’s no cable on this mic at all~” Tom has been freed!

Oh my god I love seeing Tom so happy

Tom’s villains are always amazing for a lot of reasons but especially his physicality???

Tom is having so much fun

AJ’s expression when Tom puts their faces close together is amazing; it’s like, “I have no idea what the fuck you’re doing but I’m going with it”

“Poor little teddy bear Christmas man.” I love Tom trying to bring back the title (“I have so many names and that is not one of them”)

LUKE!!!! (his Little Krampus movements are amazing)

Also Snowdrop :(

AJ just staring blankly into the camera is so fucking creepy

Luke good fucking god

Thought we were going to get a kiss for a second there…

Sam singing!!!!

I love the audience singalongs!

AJ singing!!!!

Holy shit I love this play

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates!

[yuurivoice]

Saw a goofball post about ASMR Roleplay, romantic plots, narratives, etc. and so on.

Let me share some of my philosophy with you as someone in this game for 7 years, 150k subs on YouTube, and who turned this into a lucrative business for himself. I say all that not to flex, but to assure you that maybe I know a little bit about what I'm talking about.

Audio Roleplays, ASMR Roleplay, etc and so forth is not some sort of rigid, strict thing. If you believe that content in this niche has to adhere to strict rules, structure, and expectations, you've already entered into this with strange expectations because there is such a vast array of ways you can go about presenting this content.

Some of it is slice of life moments in time with an assumed relationships between character and listener. Before narrative audios started to pick up steam, or rather, a handful of folks (myself included) developed followings centered on original characters and stories, the vast majority of creators in this space were just doing snippets of experiences. And, in case you were unaware, that approach is wildly successful. Boyfriend Experiences, audio smut, etc. has a much wider appeal at this time because a listener can drop right in and enjoy it.

If you have somehow deluded yourself into thinking that every audio has to adhere to strict narrative rules, be defined by conflict, or things happening beyond whatever the vibe calls for, you're willfully putting yourself and the niche in a box. Which is fine, but seeing people piss and moan about it is strange.

My approach has been to blend narrative series along with one-shots. One-shots serve as super self indulgent audios that aren't tied to the narrative and allow listeners to engage with some of their favorite characters they fell in love with in the narrative without furthering the plot.

Sometimes I play the game, explore tropes and clichés that are popular for the sake of taking a crack at it. Because it brings in new listeners who then become fans of my narrative work and creates genuine supporters of my passion projects.

And ya know? It fucking works. It works really well. I can drop a very straightforward, stripped down comfort audio with Alphonse like I did today and move listeners to tears. And then we can continue on with BitterSweet when I'm good and ready. It keeps the channel running, keeps the audience engaged, and keeps me working.

The bigger point here is that creators should be able to approach their work as they see fit, without concerns about goofballs with strange expectations and standards dictating to them what is and is not valid. You wanna know what's valid? Creating shit that you like, that the people who support you like. However you achieve that is all good in my book.

Having some goofy ass superiority complex about how people play pretend with pretty voices is strange behavior. I'm proud that my community has never flung that kind of nonsense around, and I'm speaking on it to affirm that kind of stance for the folks who rock with me.

If you're a listener who has recently stumbled into this niche, I implore you to explore, listen to others, find what you like and enjoy it because you enjoy it. There are countless people making audio content these days and there's no wrong way to do it, never has been. There's something for everyone, and if someone tries to tell you otherwise, be wary.

I'm not about negative nonsense, not about tribalism or putting down one person over another. Lift up your faves and share why you appreciate them and their style. But petulant bickering and shitting on others because of something as trivial as audio content? Nahhhh. If I catch anyone spouting nonsense like that in my name, I try and snuff it out as fast as possible because that's not how my shit is built.

If you are someone who fucks with me and my work but has had some opinions like that, I implore you to chill because none of this has ever been that serious. I want people to enjoy what they want to enjoy because for the love of fuck, life is too short to try and grandstand over this silly little niche. Or please get all the way away from me and my people.

Deuces. ✌️

[queerly-autistic]

I've seen some concern about the fact that the BBC has double-billed the last four episodes of Our Flag Means Death and bumped it up later in the schedule - concerns that this means it's not doing well for the BBC - and so I'd just like to allay some of those fears, if possible? To start with, it's important to recognise that the BBC does this all the time. I was in EastEnders fandom for many years, and nonsense schedule changes were a regular annoyance. When I shared OFMD's schedule change with my little group of friends from that fandom, everyone rolled their eyes and went 'oh yeah, typical BBC shenanigans'. As an example: the BBC was really pushing EastEnders last year, they'd been hard-marketing towards the big iconic Christmas episode since February, and then, around comes Christmas, and the BBC inexplicably sticks it on at 10pm (when it's usually broadcast at 7.30pm).

So this isn't unusual. This is extremely common. There's often very little rhyme or reason to the BBC live broadcast scheduling. To try and accurately read between the lines of this is like trying to analyse the written output of a cat walking across a keyboard.

But another big thing to remember is that Our Flag Means Death is a streaming show. The BBC dropped all of the episodes in one go because they know that it's the streaming audience where the show is successful. It's the same with What We Do In The Shadows - we know that the show does well for them, because they keep renewing their contract to show it, but because it does well specifically with a streaming audience the live episode broadcasts are perpetually bumped to a weird time (sometimes one in the morning!!).

The BBC is under contract to do a live broadcast of these shows, but that's not where the audience is. And that's why the episodes get shuffled around or bumped to a late timeslot or double-billed together. Them not necessarily getting spectacular overnight live broadcast ratings is not a big barrier to potential pick-up - streaming numbers is the important metric. And, just yesterday, the BBC dropped a card for the show over the credits of House of Games, a very popular (and mainstream!) afternoon gameshow, asking people to go stream it on iPlayer. if you haven't seen it, I managed to screen-record and post it on Twitter here (subtitles included): https://x.com/QueerlyAutistic/status/1762913455051325888?s=20. This is a really, really good ad to get - a very mainstream slot that potentially brings attention to the show from new audience demographics. The fact that they put an ad-read for the show in this particular slot is more indicative to me of the fact that the show is doing well for the BBC than any predictable shenanigans around live broadcast times. They advertised the 'niche' queer pirate comedy to a very mainstream middle-of-the-day audience! That's not nothing! And the fact that they were specifically advertising it as being on iPlayer - not the live broadcast - indicates to me that that's where it's doing well: that's where they know their audience is, and they don't care about the live broadcast, because the streams are where it's at. The live broadcast is probably just a contractual obligation at this point.

Our Flag Means Death is still regularly listed under 'trending' on the iPlayer website, and the Parrot Analytics for the show in the UK are excellent. And that's what we want. That's what we need to convince streamers. Remember: the YouGov survey about the show specifically asked questions about it in the context of streaming services. Overnight figures are lovely to have, too (so keep tuning in!) but this is a show made to stream. It was all dropped on iPlayer first for a reason; they're specifically pushing it on iPlayer for a reason. And, at the end of the day, it's streamers we're currently trying to convince to pick up the show, not broadcast television networks.

So, don't read too much into it. We're still doing good, UK crew!

[eerna]

I would love for you to share your thoughts on Barbie. My problem with it is same I have with Greta Gerwig, I always end up wanting more than what was presented in her movies. I liked lady bird, little women was okey, but I feel like Barbie was a lot and nothing at the same time. I did not hate it, and though it was funny but it was just okey. Also the feminism of the movie felt very superficial.

No prob~ Aside from Barbie, the only Greta thing I saw is Little Women, and lemme tell ya, watching that movie by myself at a cinema and crying my way through it was a formative experience. I think it's because that movie specifically spoke to my experience with romance SO perfectly. Having someone who is your other half, but in a completely platonic way (and how difficult that can be), rejecting any chance of romance that you encounter with anyone, regretting it years later because suddenly you are all alone and can't help wonder what could have been (not out of true romantic interest but shattering fear that you will die unpaired), having to conform to romantic ideals of everyone around you, but still holding onto your own beliefs... Oh man. I think the amount of "JO SHOULD HAVE ENDED UP WITH LAURIE" people in the comment section of every instagram reel I get rec'd shows that it's a theme that is not often presented in media, and one that is niche enough for most people not to understand. It shows the imperfection of one specific female experience that is difficult to understand for some. If you get it, you get it. If you don't, the movie won't beat you over the head with its point.

Barbie is the exact opposite. Its main goal is glaringly simple and universal for women, but it won't shut up about it and beats you over the head with it. I agree with you, it was a funny movie, but any and all attempt at heartfelt honesty were insanely bad. I disagree with the counter-criticism that it shouldn't get dragged just because it's a Feminism 101 movie, because it is a BAD Feminism 101 movie that is a terrible introduction into feminist thought. And the reason for that is CAPITALISM!!! See, the movie is incredibly aware it has to be marketable to as many people as possible to make a shit ton of money, and every single decision made about it conforms to that. That's why the feminism is incredibly surface level and inoffensive ("Women can be sad! Women don't have to be perfect all the time!"). That's why it glamorizes the role of consumerism in the female experience ("The CEO of Mattel is just a himbo doing his best to make women like themselves! If Barbie didn't exist and little girls couldn't buy 10000 differently clothed versions of the same doll, they would never have the imagination to make their dreams come true! Seeing yourself in purchasable products is what creates your idea of your identity!"). The radicalization of men and the male-female dynamic doesn't work because the movie is completely unaware that the Ken uprising plot makes no sense because they are the ones who resemble our society's idea of women more closely - they are both caricatures of housewives and trophy-partners, but also the oppressors who accept patriarchy out of nowhere, without any real discussion of WHY it happens to men or women. It's not a coincidence that the audiences responded the best to the Ken characters - they are simply way more engaging and interesting that the Barbies.

So yeah. My thoughts on the movie can be summed up as "A movie can't be both feminist and a defense of capitalism".

[aroaceleovaldez]

I've been listening to hank green explain (at various times with various contexts but most recently during a vlogbrothers video on Bree Sharp's David Duchovny) how "nothing lasts on the contemporary internet" and I wonder what that might have to do with your analysis on fandom infrastructure... like IS it even possible for BNF/public AUs/OCs/fandom events to exist at the same scale in the new internet? I also have to wonder if rr is similarly operating in this new (awful) way with the knowledge that the old books could last longer as cultural moments while the new books are kinda just... there to trend for a hot minute and then fade away into nonexistence within the fandom canon. or maybe i'm just coping bc I miss old tumblr

I absolutely do think old-style fandom is possible on the modern internet! some of the oldest pillars of fandom are from BEFORE the internet was popularized! Plus, there are still plenty of old-style fandoms that are active in those same ways!

You mention "at the same scale" and i think that's interesting because, yes, a lot of those old-style fandoms that are active are smaller. The thing is the scope of old fandom we're used to when we think of classic examples are outliers who were MASSIVE. PJO was a fandom GIANT back in the day, at least so far as book fandoms went (and still is!). The major thing that's changed is that "fandom" has become mainstream - or at least, the concept of fandom.

The thing with mainstream modern fandom is it gets conflated with general audience a lot. A lot of people trying to engage with fandom when they're new to it don't understand how it's different from just being a normal fan or audience member of a thing, and so just treat them as equivalent and this causes a lot of problems. The main one being the reliance on source material - which causes a lot of newer fandoms to die out whenever there is no new source material - comparatively to old-style fandom, which is inherently self-sustaining.

Some examples of old-style fandoms that are still plenty active are furry fandom (obviously), a decent number of anime fandoms (particularly older ones or less mainstream ones cause the communities are smaller/closer-knit, also their fandoms aren't as strictly western-leaning), and Hermitcraft/associated fandoms is one particularly that I'm in that's VERY active and old-fandom style. They're constantly engaging with material that's long over or series that have ended (Evo, older Life series, older Hermitcraft seasons, etc). They have fandom OCs/AUs/concepts that are shared, they have a TON of projects happening constantly (a recent massive one that just finished is the Hotguy Comics zine! It's an incredibly cool project). Hermitcraft fandom is pretty much the closest new* fandom to old-style fandom that I've found so far (*it is technically 11 years old but it had a recent boom during the MCYT surge in like 2020).

But yes! Old-style fandom absolutely can still exist - and does! It's just far less common because the mainstream image/concept of what fandom is that has become popularized differs from it in practicality. People are being introduced to fandom as just being equivalent to a general audience and are interacting with it as such, when it should be interacted with as a niche, very passionate community. The core of old fandom is always community.

I guess i would describe it as like, passive fandom versus active fandom? Passive fandom being the "new fandom" type format - near complete reliance on source material, usually some attitude of entitlement towards fanwork creators because theyre viewing it as another source material to passively engage with, large lack of headcanons or hcs being equated to theories, shipping is restricted almost exclusively to canon pairings (and ships/headcanons are treated more as things you want to become canon, not explorations outside of canon), etc etc. There's no community or creation happening, only a focus on consumption and maybe at best how to streamline consumption (the only sorts of hubs we see form in this type of fandom are update accounts and official social medias). Basically no proper community has formed and there is little to no engagement with the material outside of the source media. (I also have a theory that this format leads to some New Fandom behaviors that have become more commonplace comparatively to Old Fandom, such as a LOT more trying to directly interact with writers/cast/crew or reliance on them as secondary source materials during hiatus or similar - we see this now with PJO TV and a lot of people downright literally stalking the actors - and almost a refusal to make fanwork of their own. You see a lot more of "omg somebody write/draw [concept]" or trying to pitch ideas to source material writers because they only want to engage passively, not actively, or genuinely don't know how to engage actively.) Big Name Fans can absolutely exist in this sphere, but it's a completely different environment (for PJO, Velinxi is a good example of a new fandom BNF - ive found in this format of fandom, BNFs are almost exclusively fanartists, because fanart is one of the easiest fanworks to find and passively engage with. This also often results in the community being extremely entitled towards larger fanartists).

Active fandom, comparatively, is focused on community and creation. This is where you see fandom projects, engaging with the media beyond the source material, things of that nature. There is actually a structured community.

This post got long but I have more points regarding the second half of your question and my thoughts for why the new books are so. Like That. so I'm going to move that whole ramble to a second post which I will post momentarily.

[part 2 here!]

[ninadove]

As a (very niche portion of the) fandom, our collective attention has been captured by how much Felix adores Kagami — which is true and good and beautiful and pure. But we’ve been sleeping on how much she loves him, and today, I want to shine a spotlight on her side of the most beautiful love story ever written.

Before we begin, let me get the obvious out of the way: yes, she did try to crush his skull with a chair in Pretension, and she was iconic for that.

HOWEVER.

This is only how their relationship started. What truly matters is how the story unfolds from then on.

And boy does it unfold fast. By the end of the episode, Felix has shaken Kagami’s worldview so much that she:

Stands up to her own friends and fellow heroes in an effort to not only protect him, but also ensure that he can keep the Peacock Miraculous;

Actively challenges her mother’s teaching that emotions (in this context, romantic love) are a weakness that should be eradicated from the face of the Earth;

Is planning secret dates with Felix, even though as far as she knows Tomoe has her amok (because you can’t tell me this little genius didn’t figure out the entire Sentilore in the sewers);

Trusts Felix with said amok despite his extensive criminal record, as illustrated by how quickly and firmly she takes his hand — with a little sigh if happiness, might I add. This is especially significant compared to previous instances of hand holding between the two, when he had to make all the effort while she remained completely limp.

And then Representation rolls around. And oh, boy.

Kagami instantly calms down from her TV-induced rage upon seeing her boyfriend on her balcony — a major improvement when you consider how big of a role anger and frustration play in her akumatisations.

Tangent 1:

Something similar happened in Ikari Gozen, when Mari protected Kagami from her mother, causing her to narrowly escape Hawkmoth’s influence. More on the Marigami-to-Feligami pipeline in another post, coming to your dash someday in the not-so-distant future.

Not only does Kagami instantly relax in Felix’s presence, but she laughs — something that previously only happened in the context of Adrigaminette, and we all know how that ended. Felix is the one to mend her heart and make her laugh again, for the second time since the dance.

Our two lovebirds proceed to straight up RUN AWAY INTO THE SUNSET. Kagami presumably spent the following 350 km (300 miles) cuddled up in Argos’ arms, admiring how handsome he looks in his glittery cosmic suit which we don’t get to see because budget.

Later on, they casually discuss Ladybug’s identity, while fireworks go off in the background. Let me rephrase this: Kagami trusted the person who stole the Miraculous with her best friend’s most burning secret, not because she wants to defeat Hawkmoth per say, but because Gabriel has been getting in the way of their make out sessions and she can’t have that.

Tangent 2:

Also coming to your dash in the not-so-distant future: an analysis of Kagami’s relationship to the concepts of truth and lies, and how dependent it is on what serves her and her loved ones in the moment.

Then, of course, the core of the episode: Kagami actively participates in the play, helping Felix tell his story in a way he feels comfortable with.

Tangent 3 (lots of ‘em today):

This part is extremely important to me, because I’ve seen So. Many. People. complain that the play could have been boiled down to two lines of conversation.

And like.

No???

Firstly, this is a show, not real life: we as an audience needed the confirmation to be as climactic as possible. If it hadn’t been, I can guarantee the exact same salters would be crying about the story’s “WaStEd PoTeNtIaL”.

But let’s delve into the real life implications of the Sentiplot for a second.

Abuse survivors do not owe you a brief, comfortable explanation of what they went through, neatly wrapped up with a pretty little bow.

The play is a beautiful illustration of how art can be cathartic and therapeutic, and I need you guys to understand that this sequence means something to many, many viewers — most of them children in similarly terrible situations. If I were to bet, I would say it very likely speaks to one or more members of the writing team on a personal level as well.

So you can pry these scenes from my cold, dead hands.

The kisses… All of them… During the firework show. As the sun rises to signify a new beginning. Disguised as Adrien’s parents. For context, this is the same girl who previously found a hand kiss to be too much for her broken heart to bear.

And of course, there’s the way she looks at him like he is her entire world, like she cannot understand how anyone could ever call him monstruous. Because Felix doesn’t get the monopoly of heart eyes.

Finally, in Recreation:

THE LIES CALLBACK. THE MIRACULOUS TEAM TOOK THE TIME AND MADE THE EFFORT TO PUT A LIES CALLBACK IN THE FREAKING FINALE. You guys know I’m insane about this scene already.

So what’s my point.

Because yes, I do have a point, apart from “KSSGDJDKSS Feligami SGDHDKLS 🥰🥰🥰🥰” (which, by the way, is a completely valid meta post in itself).

While we joke that Kagami is so far out of Felix’s league in every aspect — she doesn’t perceive him that way in the slightest. As far as she’s concerned, she has achieved every fourteen year old’s dream: dating the perfect cursed prince, tortured artist, evil-genius-on-a-redemption-arc combo.

She is just as enamoured with him as he is with her, and I think it’s beautiful. 🦚🐉

[clairedaring]

i mean i gotta give it to iqiyi and yyds like adapting professional body double is not easy... bc the receptions are wildly crazy like on the one hand you have non-novel readers who find it insufferable for the main character to keep letting himself be treated not so nicely by the scum male lead...

... and on the other hand you have die hard novel fans who are easily upset over the slightest change in characterization because the over the top toxic danmei ml traits like being spoiled, intense irrational jealousy and possessiveness of the scum male lead are missing...

it is definitely not easy at all to balance the interests of all fans while making a series digestable to a wide audience as much as possible. the amount of die-hard novel fans' complaints i've read over the last two weeks about how up isn't like yan ming xiu... well yea because if ming was characterized exactly like novel ymx, i doubt it will fly well with the general audience and 188 scum ml would remain a niche interest within a subsection of danmei novel fans

so glad i have a few novel reader friends who can separate the two mediums and it's just been so great discussing with them the nuances and challenges of adapting this piece of media because i genuinely think pbd is a very well-written novel and an engaging story that keeps one hooked from start to finish.

[secretmellowblog]

I hope tumblr doesn’t die because No other social media site is as good for long, thoughtful, nuanced analyses of media. Yeah tumblr is also full of dumb shallow hot takes and shitposts, but you can make dumb shallow hot takes and shitposts anywhere —-there are no other popular social media sites that let you easily format and share long essays on the media you enjoy, and then have conversations around those long essays.

Fandom on all the other big social websites just seems so utterly …shallow. And it’s not because people on other websites aren’t thoughtful or don’t have deep things to say, but because these sites’ formats do not allow for any kind of long nuanced conversations.

Tiktok? Things have to be crammed into a super short video with an attention grabbing headline, and you can’t hyperlink sources. Instagram? Everything has to be in an image format with strict limits on length, and nothing will be shown to your followers anyway because of how Instagram’s algorithm works, and also no hyperlinks. Twitter? Strict character limits, and if you split it into threads it means someone can retweet a part of your essay completely out of context, and also very little freedom with formatting.

It frustrates me so much. If I go into the Tumblr Les Mis fandom I’ll find really compelling long essays on the original novel (including essays being written for the ongoing book club) on the story’s historical context, or the parallels between different characters and their narrative foils, or the way the politics were defanged for certain adaptations, or the way Victor Hugo’s personal life and failings affected the novel. But on tiktok I’ll get the same five shallow stale jokes from 2013 over and over, or maybe the same “DID U KNO THAT IN THE MUSICAL JAVERT AND VALJEAN SING THE SAME LEITMOTIF” style of basic Intro To Les Mis 101 For Babies media analysis (which is what Tiktok considers deep media analysis), or stale “LOL JAVERT ACTS GAY” style jokes as if we’re living in the early 2000s and calling a character gay is still a funny punchline. And it’s impossible to have any kind of deeper thoughtful discussions than “DID U KNOW <x Kool Fact>” or “lol <shallow observational joke>” on tiktok because the platform just isn’t built for building niche communities around in depth conversations. it’s built to churn out bland generic content for as wide an audience as possible, which means pointing out a small detail like an Easter egg and calling it “cool” is deep media analysis, because you cant have longer more in depth conversations without alienating people. And I hate it. Bc like, it’s not because there aren’t smart clever thoughtful people on Tiktok— there are—it’s because Tiktok isn’t built for these conversations, and anyone who wants to have them has to really fight against the things the website encourages or prioritizes!

Or like, if I go into the LOTR fandom on Tumblr, I’ll find tons of extremely long analysis and fanfic, and analysis of queer readings of the story. On Instagram people will still shriek in terror if you suggest the characters are gay, and most of the popular lotr posts are stale memes recycled from like 2007. There’s really no room for thoughtful media analysis, and even if you did create it, instagram’s algorithm would make sure no one saw your post anyway.

And everyone’s going to say “the algorithm shows you what you’ve seen before so maybe it’s your fault ~” or whatever but i do look for things I want! I do! “The algorithm” doesn’t know me or what I want or value or care about beyond this meaningless surface level.

The only thing that was worthwhile about these sites was the great visual art people were creating, but now the websites are overwhelmed with meaningless soulless machine-generated AI glurge, and it sucks. It just really, really sucks.

I’m honestly confused about why people don’t use tumblr….There’s no character limits! You have freedom with post formatting, and can insert images throughout textposts to illustrate specific points you’re making beneath the paragraphs where they’re necessary! You can add hyperlinks, linking to your sources! People can reblog your entire essay and share it, and then add on with commentary that then becomes part of a larger conversation! People can find your stuff through the tagging system! Reblogging means posts stay in circulation for years instead of being dead 30 minutes after they’re uploaded! If you want to have genuinely interesting text conversations about a piece of media, there really isn’t a better social media website for it anywhere.

To be clear, I’m definitely not saying Tumblr media analysis is *always* clever and thoughtful or etc etc. there are shitposts and nonsense here too (plenty of which I’ve created lol.) I’m saying that Tumblr gives people the tools for in-depth insightful analysis to happen. Whether people choose to do it or not is their own decision XD. But the reason lengthy in-depth conversations and book clubs are even possible here is because Tumblr is built for allowing these conversations to happen, in a way other sites simply aren’t.

It’d really suck if it died, because it’d be a huge blow to…being able to easily find long insightful in-depth media analysis written by fans. I currently don’t think there’s anything that could replace it.