#some designs aren't so well-done but that's okay

[itzcherrybonbon]

For the Cookie Run fans.

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[Before I start with this ranting essay I'd like to apologize beforehand. I'm really really angry right now. So I'm gonna swear a lot and definitely sound rude. I'm sorry. It's toughness you all need, really.]

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I think it's about time someone talks about one of the greatest flaws the Cookie Run Kingdom has: The problem with shipping characters.

Now, there's no problem with shipping the characters with eachother! (as long as it's not toxic, fetishizing, abusive, minor x adult or incest, like ew, what the actual fuck is wrong with you.)

But here's the problem. Something that really pisses me off about the Crk fandom is how they're so goddamn gatekeepy of the characters and some ships in particular. Like, chill the fuck out. They're just fictional characters, snap back to reality.

For example, Espresso x Madeleine. You people have made me hate this ship with all my heart and soul. No, I won't bash you for shipping it, I'm a nice person and I respect everyone's opinions and boundaries. And I expect you to respect mine, please. Please try and understand where I'm coming from.

One of the reasons I hate this ship is because I don't see them involved in a romantic relationship at all. I only see them as close friends. Plus Espresso used to be so irritated around Madeleine, like- the guy didn't even want to be around him until later on at the end of the odyssey when their friendship started getting better a little. Espresso clearly disliked Madeleine.

Here's the part where I'm gonna sound rude.

The main reason however..is you. Yes you, toxic fans. You all act like Espresseleine is the only thing people are allowed to ship. I've been bashed a lot of times for liking Espresso x Éclair, and that alone added fuel to the fire. And now the damage is done, so next time I get bashed expect me to lash out all my anger at you :)

Hell Espresso can't even be shipped with a woman. Because you people are convinced he's gay-coded. I'm sorry? Did the fucked up Devsisters confirm it? No, no they didn't. This is just something your delusional asses made up and thought it was canon.

No I am not homophobic, I'm literally pansexual myself. So don't even try and bash me. I've actually wanted to ship Espresso with a woman before, him with Chocolate BonBon! It seemed cute to me but then someone told me "Espresso is gay-coded so nah". They know who they are. I'm not mad, just disappointed.

Again, no it isn't confirmed. You all made this up! Let Espresso be shipped with someone else other than Madeleine, goddamn! Ship him with any other character, man or woman! Any gender! Go wild! People are allowed to ship whatever they want, so who are you to stop me? Who are you to bash me??

Mad respect to the actual sane fans, you all are gems. But seriously, let people ship what they want. Don't bash people for what they like and what they don't.

WAKE. THE FUCK. UP. PEOPLE.

THEY'RE COOKIES.

C O O K I E S.

FUCKING. FICTIONAL. C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R-S.

People are allowed to ship whatever they want, who are you to start lecturing them when you don't like it? Keep quiet and respect eachother, you wild animals.

"But he's gay!" "But she's a lesbian!"

I'll believe it when Devs say "Haha yes they're gay!", got it? Because so far nothing about the cookies has been confirmed, NOT EVEN THEIR AGES.

And when a ship is confirmed to be canon, again, people are still gonna keep shipping what they want. That's how fandoms WORK.

In conclusion: Please, stop. Stop bashing others for the ships they like, and stop putting labels on the characters and act like you own them. You can't expect people to completely agree with you when you say "Espresso is canonically gay!" "Espresso x Madeleine is canon! >:(("

Like, no. Shut up. Don't act like you own them. I'm getting sick and tired of the Crk fandom, I only stick around to see where the story is gonna go, and also to continue writing my Crk Oc's and roleplaying them. I'm actually scared to interact with other Cookie Run fans, because you all act like spoiled brats when something doesn't go the way you want or people don't ship what you like.

Get a life. <3

[loves4ge]

tattoo artist!au, cw: partial nudity, mdni

choso can feel his heart stutter in his chest, bumping against his ribcage. god, who just walked in? the pen he's using to draw in his tablet clatters to the ground, though he can't be bothered to pick it up because he is too busy staring at you.

oh, you, with your lovely little dress hitching near the middle of your thigh. strappy sandals and painted nails, you have him hooked. the parlor is dimly lit and smells of ink and paper and alcohol. the kind that's used for cleaning wounds and not the one that you get drunk on with your friends on friday nights. he doesn't even hear your words and you have to repeat them.

"sorry, what did you say?" he sounds out of breath despite not doing any physical exertion. and you grin, that smile would put the sun to shame.

"that's alright. i wanted to get a tattoo but i wasn't sure if you accepted walk-ins?" you trail off towards the end in an inquiring tone. you know that they don't. it's their pinned post on social media.

he does not accept walk-ins. "sure we do, what do you have in mind?"

your eyes brighten, grinning even wider, and choso thinks he might just die and go to heaven right now. he can't stop glancing at you when you show him the designs on your phone.

"where do you want it done?" he asks at the end, opening a blank page on his tablet to finalize a design. you can't help but observe him, leaning over the counter, hair in two twin ponytails and eyeliner done to perfection.

"i was thinking my hip? like if i wore a bikini, i want the tattoo to be partially obscured by the bikini bottoms." choso thinks he may as well have short-circuited with the speed his brain is malfunctioning. you notice his delayed response and almost cooed. he's shy.

this isn't the first time a client has asked for a tattoo in a risqué position, and he's never batted an eye at nudity either. but he's entirely unsure of himself when you strip down to your panties (you ended up taking off the short dress, though you did wear a cami underneath it), and he's thinking maybe he does have a problem with nudity after all (most people call this problem an erection, but choso's not that crude).

"you're gonna have to pull it aside, or i can cut it off." he doesn't specify which part, and now your eyes widen.

swallowing thickly, you ask, "what do you mean?" you know what he means, but you sort of hope he meant something else.

"the side of your underwear, we can just cut a slit—oh," he understands what his previous sentence sounded like when he sees your face contort into disbelief and then promptly dissolve into relief.

he doesn't look at you directly, "sorry, i don't know why i said that. it's, oh god, sorry to make you uncomfort—" he's cut off by your words of understanding.

"it's my fault really. i swear i'm not uncomfortable. really, choso." oh, the money he'd pay to hear his name leave your lips again.

"…if you say so. i'll use the scissors now, if that's okay?" you nod, smiling to encourage him. god knows he needs no encouragement to cut off your panties. there's silence in the parlor except for the sound of fabric being cut. he hands you a small towel to cover whatever you need to, but you just place it to the side. you know what you're doing. choso isn't sure if you're an angel or the devil.

he makes sure his ponytails aren't loose and puts on some nitrile gloves, black like his hair. you're wondering if you should break the silence, make some small talk, put the boy out of his misery, or just let the tension simmer.

"i really like the face tattoo thing you've got going on." he snaps up to look at you, then immediately reddens. his fingers hover above the black stripe across his face.

"yeah?"

"mhm." you lift your hand, thumbing his cheek where the tattoo ends. he's still the entire time.

you'd be the death of him.

with careful hands, he sanitizes the part of your hip where the tattoo would go on. he may have taken a little bit longer than usual, his fingertips pressing into your skin with the thin layer of an alcohol wipe acting as a barrier. your skin is soft, and he wants to grip your hips more actively. without the façade of a tattooist doing his job.

you're not feeling calm anymore, and in a sudden fit of unadvised decision-making, you grab choso's wrist (this choice was not peer-reviewed by your groupchat, but at the moment you find it in yourself that you don't really care). he startles but doesn't say anything.

"i'm nervous," you murmur. he instantly softens, melts, and reaches out to grab your shoulder in a sort of platonic 'i'm there for you' way. you're not planning to be platonic.

"that's alright lovely, everybody gets nervous before tattoos. it's more common than you think. would you like water?" his voice is soothing, and the way his lips move. you know what you need. you know what would calm you down.

"i know another way we can get rid of my nerves."

"mm, how so?"

"kiss me."

he almost chokes. he looks at your dead serious expression.

he is so fucked.

[hurtspideyparker]

Emotional Support Intern Peter Parker

Tony and Peter finally arrive in the large room, polished leather Oxfords and stained-lace Converse making their way through the crowd of professionals. Tony has a hand on Peter's back guiding him, because no matter how many meetings, conferences, and office buildings they traverse together, Peter always manages to get lost the second Tony lets go. 

Thankfully Pepper is easy to spot, shaking hands with some blah blah from wee woo Industries. Her hair is the only splash of colour in the constant white black grey of everyone's pencil skirts and collared shirts. 

"Hi Ms. Potts!" Peter greets as soon as the woman turns and spots them. 

"Hi Peter—Tony. I told you to stop bringing the kid to these things. No offense Peter."

"None taken! You look lovely, did you get your hair done?"

Pepper's hair cascades over her shoulder in perfect curls, splayed out over her white button-up. 

"Yes actually, a trim and some highlights. I think she went shorter than I asked though, because I always get half an inch, and this does not look like half an inch."

Peter steps a bit closer and squints at the piece of copper hair she's holding out. 

"I think it's just because she curled it. You usually get it blow dried after."

"Hm. I think you're right actually."

Tony rolls his eyes, "I'm so glad you guys are having such a great slumber party. C'mon kid I have to avoid that senator and he's starting to glance this way." He tries to head over to some tall plants that happen to be great blind spots. 

"Ah ah ah Tony! We are talking about this. I told you to stop dragging Peter to all of your work responsibilities. I'm sure he's bored to death with these meetings and work events."

"Pep, he's an intern, he's supposed to be bored and taken advantage of. Besides, if you take away my emotional support intern then I simply wouldn't show up! So."

"You aren't even paying him for his time!" Pepper says at the same time Peter mumbles "emotional support intern?"

"Um excuse me, that 3 million dollar suit he stuffs between his math homework and Go-Gurt begs to differ. And anyways, I pay him with experience. I brought him to that seminar in LA on Saturday, and he's following me to Tokyo for that week long conference in July. I highly doubt he's complaining," he squeezes the boy's shoulders, Peter looking up and beaming at him and Pepper. 

"I'm really fine with it Ms. Potts. Besides, the more of these things I go to the more lab time I get!" Peter pipes in.

Pepper glares at Tony. "Really, bribery?" 

"Okay well, if us grown adults don't want to be here how else am I supposed to get a 15 year old to talk about environmental reform to people who don't even believe in climate change." 

Pepper and Tony hold each other's stares.

"You mean he spoke to Mr. Ellis about the generator you designed for his carbon plant, and it didn't end with him calling us a pansy corporation and you calling him a decrepit geezer who's business is the only thing that's going to die quicker than he is?"

There's barely stiffled hope supressed under Pepper's professionalism. 

Tony smirks. "Yep, I think Mr. Ellis even smiled. The kid's got charm! Who knew."

Pepper glances at Peter in consideration. 

"Peter have you ever considered pursuing anything further in business? Engineering is great, but if you really want to be successful it's incredibly important to build interpersonal skills, leadership, and even current market and finance knowledge. I mean you might want to sell your designs one day, or start a company." 

"Oh, I haven't really-"

"You could shadow me! I mean interning with a CEO is a once in a lifetime opportunity, it would give you a glowing resume, and I know a lot more about this stuff than Tony. He didn't even perform his executive duties when he actually was the CEO."

Pepper has that gleam in her eyes, the one she gets when men call her sweetheart, or when Tony isn't even dressed for their reservation that started ten minutes ago. 

It means she's already had the argument in her head. 

Peter is still stuttering, flustered with this side of Pepper. Her business face isn't usually directed at him, and it's a far cry from the woman who sends him home with leftovers from dinner. 

"Wait wait wait, are you trying to steal my intern?" Tony asks incredulously. 

"If anyone even needs an intern Tony it would be me. I have to babysit you and the company, meanwhile you just need him to hand you wrenches. Competent help is hard to find these days and you're wasting his talents." 

"Um, excuse me, he's the only thing keeping me together. You already have your fancy day planner and Excel spreadsheets, I need him to get me out of the house. He's the only thing keeping me a responsible adult, if you take away my emotional support intern then I will not attend a single meeting for the rest of the quarter." 

"You are such a man child!"

"La la la la can't hear youuu," Tony says with his fingers in his ears.

"Um, guys, I think people are staring."

Peter tugs on the corner of Tony's sleeve to get him to unplug his ears, glancing nervously at the groups of people sending them judgemental stares. The three of them give a wave and pleasant smile, most of the crowd continuing to move along on the grey carpet at the sight of their unsettling synchronicity and false turn of the lips. 

Pepper speaks through her teeth, a grin still presented at passers-by. "Fine, you can keep him, but only because he's doing half my job for me. The only person you can emotionally regulate around and it's a teenager. I'm glad you finally found someone who can keep you entertained." 

"Love you too honey," Tony says while putting a hand on the small of her back and kissing her cheek. He sighs, looking around the room at all the government officials who think these tech companies are spying on them. 

Apparently a surveillance state is only cool when they do it to manipulate their incarceration numbers, rig elections and lobby votes, and not for data mining and targeted ads. 

"I say we hit the cheese and crackers, take an awkward amount of sips from those tiny water bottles, and then speak to some old ladies till we have to do our presentation."

"Sounds great Mr. Stark. Will you make sure they don't grab my face again? I smelled like old lady perfume at school and Flash started making fun of me for stealing people's grandmas."

Tony looks into Peter's eyes questioningly and finds nothing but sincerity and resignation in them. 

"Well. Not my fault your cheeks are so gosh darn cute. But I'll do my best," he wraps an arm around the shorter and starts heading through the room again. 

The weight is comforting. Peter used to get anxious at these events, but Tony never leaves his side and is always looking at him like he's the Michaelangelo in the center of every room. He became accustomed to being Mr. Stark's favourite part of the event. While that may not seem difficult, especially considering the droning lectures and snooty company, it always feels special making jokes about people's ridiculous work jargon, and comparing the staleness of crackers at conferences. 

"Emotional support intern huh?" he says smugly. 

Tony glances at him, but instead of scoffing or denying anything, he just speaks with honesty. "You and Pepper are the best, most important things to this company. And to me. I'm really glad you're here kid."

Peter doesn't know what to say. The words stick in his throat while Tony hands him a water bottle with the lid already cracked. 

Peter has super strength; It's completely unnecessary to open his bottle for him. He doesn't point this out. Tony will do it at the next meeting, just like he did at the last one, and Peter will never mention it.

[allhailthemightyquattro]

While we're on the topic of good acting in Bridgerton, I want to make a shout out to both Luke and Nicola for one of my favourite scenes:

The dream sequence is so well done! Not just the acting, but set design and directing.

But let's focus on the acting. Because this is a very different scene for Luke and Nicola; they are not playing Colin and Penelope here. They are playing a fictionalised version of those characters (fictionalised within the narrative) that Colin has dreamed up. In his dream, he is the dashing hero of a romance novel and Pen is his beautiful heroine. And considering that the whole show is taken from a romance novel like the one Colin is dreaming of, it just goes to show how good Luke and Nicola's acting is that we can tell the difference.

The dialogue is a lot more formal, their voices and accents a bit posher. It isn't until Penelope is whispering Colin's name that she sounds like herself. These characters both are and aren't Colin and Penelope, and it takes some great acting chops to show that.

And when you compare it to the carriage scene, you can see the difference. The carriage scene is a lot more awkward and far less dashing. But it's real.

Colin starts off unsure, but from the moment he kneels down on the floor, he knows what he wants to say - he's replayed this speech in his dreams a dozen times - but now he's got to figure out how to say it. There are moments of doubt and moments where he gets into his stride, and it's just a brilliant mix of different and similar to the dream scene.

And Pen, of course, is very different. In Colin's dream, she instantly admits she feels the same, but in the carriage, she is much more human. She's confused and surprised and needs a minute, so she starts by pointing out that they are friends.

You can see the heartbroken acceptance in Colin's eyes as he backs down. This is not how his dreams ended, and now he's back to reality. But then Pen catches up, and admits the truth of her feelings, and suddenly the dream is back on.

Okay, so this post ended up being about two of my favourite scenes, but the comparison between them is just amazing.

[cloudraker]

Oh hello! I've seen that your requests were open and I was wondering if you could write headcanons for MTMTE, about a sleepy human reader (platonic) accidentally falling asleep on the minibots during movie night (swerve,taligate,rewind) Thanks!!

For sure, thank you for requesting! First request I've done in a while so apologies if it's a bit messy

MTMTE Minibots with a Human Falling Asleep During Movie Time

Under the cut :)

No matter what movie it is Swerve will talk through it. It's a skill to be able to commentate on anything that's happening and it's a skill he has mastered. It rarely adds anything to the story but sometimes the joke is good. Everybody gave up shushing him after the second movie

Swerve is also the one that usually suggests what movies to watch- he's got a whole list of movies from Earth he wants to see and he is going to see them

If Rewind doesn't have the movie then they use like. Space torrent or something they find a way

Rewind is the designated projector. He doesn't mind because that means he has to be invited and also he gets to keep the movie file after

It's during movie night when some movie you've already seen four times is playing that you start to nod off. You don't mean to, you know you should stay up to watch the movie but your work on the ship has been rough lately and you've already seen this movie so surely it's okay if you just close your eyes for a second

Tailgate is the first to notice, almost waking you up with the noise he lets out at the sight of you just conked out next to them. He has to stop himself from touching you- he doesn't want to wake you up

Rewind shuts the movie off as soon as he realizes what's going on. He's got the movie on file already so he doesn't need to see the whole thing and now there's something to record and he's already got like four photos from very slightly different angles

Swerve is.. conflicted. On one hand he really wanted to see that movie and it was just getting good but on the other hand. Well. Hardly fair if you miss out on the movie (he is watching you sleep like and is enraptured. he is fascinated)

Whoever you fell asleep on (or nearest to) is NOT allowed to move on threat of being banned from movie nights. Yes, this includes Rewind.

It's like when a pet falls asleep on you. You aren't allowed to move it's illegal it's a crime

The three minibots huddle around you, making sure you're covered and able to sleep soundly enough. Anybody who comes in is very quickly shooed out as quietly as they can

They talk quietly while you sleep, Swerve doing most of the talking while Tailgate mostly listens and Rewind films more content like a normal guy

When you do wake up again it's so over for you. Tailgate and Swerve are going to be talking about it for a while and Rewind has photos that he shares with Chromedome who shares it with Brainstorm and now the entire ship has seen it

If it ever happens again they start a collection of photos, all stored in chronological order. Rewind has a digital copy of everything saved in his database. May or may not be making a montage of awkward sleeping positions you've been found in just for shits and giggles

[tgcg]

fond regards

… OKAY? AND WHO IS SAYING THAT? WHAT THE FUCK?

I -- ACTUALLY, WHO THE HELL JUST TOLD ME THIS INFORMATION? I'M COMPLETELY ALONE RIGHT NOW. ARE YOU SEEING THAT?

ARE YOU WATCHING ME RIGHT NOW? BASK IN THIS OVERWHELMING PRESENCE OF NEGATIVE SPACE. THE ABSOLUTE ABSENCE OF AIR SURROUNDING ME.

THERE IS FUCK ALL. NOT A THING.

NOT EVEN SOME KIND OF SEATING APPARATUS FOR ME TO STAGE THIS INTERVENTION FOR YOU ON. I GUESS I'LL HAVE TO "RAW DOG" IT OR WHATEVER THE FUCK DAVE WOULD DESCRIBE THIS AS.

I -- I MEAN… FIRST OF ALL. SHIT.

THANKS, I GUESS… FOR DOING THAT?

LOVING ME.

WHATEVER YOUR VERSION OF "LOVE" IS.

OKAY, ENOUGH BULLSHIT.

… LOOK. I DON'T KNOW WHO IN WHAT UNIVERSE IS RECEIVING THIS MESSAGE. NOR THROUGH WHAT KIND OF TENTH-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE PROCESSING PLATFORM OR WHATEVER-THE-SHIT DEVICE IT IS BEING DELIVERED.

AND FRANKLY I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF A FUCKING WEEK ALREADY TO BE DEALING WITH SOME POSSIBLY HIGHER LEVEL OF BEING THAT JUST "LOVES ME".

I WAS FLYING WAY PAST THE THRESHOLD FOR BEING ABLE TO GIVE A FUCK ABOUT EXISTENTIALISM BY TUESDAY AT THE LATEST.

SO SURE, THIS MIGHT AS WELL HAPPEN.

BUT IF YOU'RE STILL LISTENING TO ME RIGHT NOW: I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THIS IS WHAT YOU'D CALL A "PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIP", ASSUMING YOUR UNIVERSE HAS ANY CAPACITY FOR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS BEYOND BASELESS QUOTE-ENQUOTE "LOVE" OF THOROUGHLY UNLOVABLE INDIVIDUALS. HONESTLY, NOT A GOOD SIGN THAT YOU CHOSE ME OF ALL PEOPLE TO HEAR THIS, BY THE WAY! THIS IS NOT A GREAT LOOK FOR YOUR SUPPOSED NTH-DIMENSIONAL GODLINESS!

THE FIRST THING A TROLL WOULD FEEL TOWARDS YOU RIGHT NOW IS PITY. I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT.

AND THERE'S NOTHING PARASOCIAL ABOUT THAT WHATSOEVER, BECAUSE APPARENTLY WE'RE NOW MUTUALLY AWARE OF EACH OTHER.

I LEARNED ALL ABOUT PARASOCIAL BULLSHIT FROM ROSE WHEN I WAS TELLING HER ABOUT TROLL WILL SMITH, SO I'VE BEGRUDGINGLY BECOME KIND OF A MASTER ON THE TOPIC.

WAIT, FUCK. DOES THAT MEAN YOU AREN'T BEING PARASOCIAL TOWARDS ME ANYMORE? HOW MUCH DO I HAVE TO TALK TO YOU BEFORE IT STARTS JUST BEING A REGULAR RELATIONSHIP? WHAT ARE THE BOUNDARIES HERE.

DON'T GET THE WRONG IDEA BY THE WAY. I DON'T HAVE A PARASOCIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH TROLL WILL SMITH OR ANYTHING. THAT WAS JUST A CLASSIC LALONDE "MASSIVE ILLOGICAL REACH IN CONJECTURE THAT IS COMPLETELY OFF-BASE AND GENERALLY ONLY DONE TO MAKE FUN OF YOU IN A SNIDE AND INSUFFERABLE WAY, INEVITABLY LEADING INTO AN HOUR-LONG DIATRIBE ON PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY TO FUCK WITH YOU".

SHE JUST DOESN'T GET IT. HE'S COOL AS FUCK AND THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT! THE AMOUNT OF BULLSHIT THE DERSE HUMANS CAN EXTRAPOLATE FROM THE SIMPLEST OF SPONGEDEAD NOTIONS IS MIND-BOGGLING TO ME. IT'S AS INCREDIBLE AS IT IS MONUMENTALLY FUCKING AGGRAVATING.

ANYWAYS, SINCE WE'RE APPARENTLY IN THE REALM OF SHARING COMPLETELY UNFOUNDED SENTIMENTS WITH PEOPLE WHO POSSIBLY DON'T EVEN EXIST, I HAVE SOME ADVICE FOR YOU: IMPROVE YOUR STANDARDS. MAYBE LOOKING INSIDE YOUR OWN DIMENSION WOULD BE A GOOD START. AND I'D SUGGEST SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T WASTE HIS TIME TALKING TO THIN FUCKING AIR IN VAST WHITE EXPANSES LIKE THIS ONE.

JUST A THOUGHT.

JEGUS, TALKING TO NOTHING IS HARD. I FEEL LIKE I'M JUST SPUTTERING COMPLETE INANE GARBAGE IN CIRCLES LIKE A DELIRIOUS WRIGGLER HERE. IS THIS HOW DAVE FEELS ALL THE TIME? THIS IS HORRIBLE.

WHERE'S THE EXIT?

[nabi-unveiled]

Flipping the Characters in Futtara Doshaburi

This show is a vibe, and I'm vibing with it. I'm loving everything about these two lonely people desperately seeking intimacy. Watching episode four in the car while the rain poured around me only added to the vibe. That said, being in the car means I can't do my normal screenshot process so semi-relevant gifs it is.

We start with Hagiwara descending into the depths. I mentioned after episode 3 that he still had a more positive outlook on his circumstances. But he's now on his way into the hole where he won't be able to gloss over his unhappiness. Sei is already in the hole. He has been there for a while, he knows he's there, and he's somewhat resigned himself to it.

This change in Hagiwara's attitude is reflected in our aesthetics too. While Hagiwara's home had bright and warm elements last episode, the door to his house is cold and dark after their dinner. It's no longer welcoming. The restaurant is where the warm colors resided.

However, the truly interesting thing to me about this show is in how much this show has flipped the character expectations.

It's flipped the idea of "good guys" and "bad guys" - particularly in a drama that's definitely leading towards cheating. It's pretty standard fair in a cheating drama for the partners to be painted as not caring or evil. But as Hiragawa and Sei make clear in their exchange after the meal, nobody really is in the wrong (yet). It's really unfair to all of them. I actually think Sei's partner has the shortest end of this stick thus far, but that's a different discussion.

The partners of our leads are caring. They cook for our leads. They clean up for our leads. They are kind. But they offer companionship, not sex. This makes them "cruel". It's cruel to be kind.

Our leads actually have only shown minimal considerations towards their partner. Sei sprayed perfume and Hiragawa goes to his girlfriend's social events, but they aren't the ones doing the major acts of service. The have mainly shown care to each other, not their partners. And they mainly want sex (and intimacy, but...the dialogue keeps saying sex) from their partners. In most other shows, our leads would be the "bad guy". The boyfriend who is obsessed with sex and has you do all of the work. But this show is clearly demonstrating that while romance may be in the little things, the little things cannot fill the empty hole. And it's okay to want that hole to be filled.

The characterization of our main leads has flipped as well. The initial setup in episode one depicted Hagiwara as a bit of a bumbling oaf. He sent an email to the wrong address. He forgot to pick up his ID card. Sei, on the other hand, was initially portrayed as the fastidious one handling a business need and admonishing Hagiwara for wearing an id tag that wasn't company issued.

But we have learned that those were false impressions. Hagiwara is good at his job. It's made clear that he's good at planning the company outings. He's good at sales. He's the responsible one gathering and returning the umbrellas. He's the "picky" one at the grill making sure the grilling is done correctly. Sei is the one who stands in the rain and acts a mess. We now know he likely reacted to the id tag because of his complex feelings about who designed it, not because he actually cared about the rules. It's an interesting switch up.

There's also some interesting flips in that Hagiwara is a gregarious guy who talks a lot (he's in sales after all). He not only goes to social events on the regular, he plans them. But he never says what he actually wants. That characterization is more common, but it's still an interesting dichotomy. He is tumblr - only saying his deepest thoughts when writing to a stranger.

Meanwhile, Sei says exactly what he wants. The man is crude and rude, but he's also open with his thoughts. Many taciturn, loner characters are blunt, but few are as open as Sei. He just lays it all out on the table. I wish I could catch the linguistics of Japanese to know if he's actually using rude speech patterns as well, but that's outside of my skillset.

Being a prickly porcupine, Sei is used to people being put off by him. He said earlier that he wasn't nice. And he's not. But we still LIKE him and we still FEEL for him. And that's incredibly difficult to pull off in a show that clocks episodes in at under 25 minutes.

Sei fully expected that Higawara would back off and only give him courtesy greetings once he found out his identity. His friend from college did just that this episode. A few courtesy greetings followed by "Oh you don't have LINE. Guess we won't talk then. Bye." Fujisawa is the only one that seems to have put up with his personality. But Higawara, as bad as he is at expressing his own thoughts, feels comfortable with Sei. He keeps reaching out. He reached out through e-mail. He reached out with an umbrella. He reached out with an invite to treat Sei for helping. He reached out with a dinner invite. And unlike his partner, Sei responds.

For Sei, whose desire to talk keeps getting shut down by his partner, this invitation explicitly to talk is a lifeline. He always responds, taking any hint of Hiragawa reaching out to initiate an entire, probably way-too-honest conversation. After all, the hole is deep.

By the end of the episode, Hagiwara has fully descended into the underground thanks to our pregnant friend spilling the tea. In a bright environment with a lot of light no less (enlightenment I dare say?). He's reaches out to his partner in a final attempt and gets shut down. So he reaches out to Sei. And, Sei does what he always does. He responds. He welcomes someone joining him in the underground. At the end of the day, they both crave the intimacy this connection is providing. But as the storm glass predicts....rain is coming.

How did they fit that much meaty stuff in a 25 minute episode?!

[nerdlvr]

then if its okay with you can i request something with haechan, like you’re obsessed with best friend! haechan hands and you’re always looking at them thinking nobody notices but he did, he always does

easyy cause i'm already obsessed with his hands LMAO. thank you so much for waiting, hope you enjoy! <33

you weren't always this obsessed with your best friend's hands. it just so happened that one day you had asked him to help you bake, and watching how he used his hands to knead and roll out the dough, you suddenly felt a subtle attraction towards them. well, subtle is what you thought you were, but clearly haechan had caught on to your not so little infatuation with his hands, doing things that he knew would have you drooling over him.

"y/n what do you think of my rings? this ones new!"

he pointed to a shiny silver ring on his middle finger. but that ring was the least of your concerns. haechan flexed his hand to make the rings shine, veins becoming more prominent. you gulped,

"uh, yeah, they're nice hyuck."

as you quickly averted your eyes, hoping haechan hadn't caught you staring at everything but his rings. he'd suck his teeth,

"you didn't even properly look."

𖡼

then there were times where haechan would send pictures of him holding things out of the blue.

as you opened his message an image of him gripping his pillow popped up on your screen. you eyes widened, quickly clicking on the image, zooming in on his hands, veins on full display as he tightly gripped the fabric. you clicked out of the picture reading his message, got some new pillows! couldn't he just have sent a picture of them on the bed? you responded with a quick, nice 👍 closing out of the messages app before you actually lost your mind.

𖡼

haechan sighed as he read your response to the image he had sent you. was he being too obvious? well, he couldn't be more obvious than you. he had caught you time and time again staring blatantly at his hands, quickly looking away when your eyes met his. whether he was holding a cup at some party, or opening a package, your eyes were always on his hands, watching every move he made. so why wouldn't you just admit that you thought he had nice hands?

he even went out of his way to get his nails done, occasionally letting the nail artist draw on a little design on one of his fingers. and of course, it always made you stare, but never for long enough that he could accuse you of liking his hands. he was running out of options.

𖡼

like every other sunday, you and haechan were sprawled out on the couch, a random show playing on the tv as you both scrolled through your phones.

haechan glanced past his phone looking over at you. you were laying down, phone on your chest as you scrolled with one hand, the other resting on your face as you nibbled on your nails. he sat up pulling your finger away from your mouth.

"what the hell donghyuck?"

he sat there confused by his own action.

"oh, uh, don't, don't bite your nails. it's bad, look"

he showed you his fingers,

"i bite my nails all the time, they just make your hands look ugly."

you put your phone down, sitting up to grab his hands.

"you hands aren't ugly hyuck,"

you turned his hands, examining them. your voice was soft, barely audible as you began to ramble,

"they're really nice actually, you don't even have to take care of them. they're just naturally nice, and your veins look nice too when you're holding something."

you lightly traced a visible vein that started at his wrist and led up to his ring finger. haechan grinned wide, making a fist to accentuate his veins,

"think my hands are nice huh?"

you looked up to see him grinning down at you, a sly smirk on his face. he laughed as you rolled your eyes, pushing his hands away.

"shut up donghyuck, i don't think they're ugly, i think they're super ugly!"

he chuckled, knowing that you were lying. he extended his hands forward, showing them off in your face.

"if they're sooo ugly then why are you blushing hmmm?"

you reached up to touch your cheeks, and just like he said, they were abnormally warm. he whined as you slapped his hands away, bringing your finger up to point at him.

"i swear if you use this against me lee donghyuck."

he smirked at you as he hid his hands behind his back,

"of course not!"

𖡼

after that haechan would didn't let you rest, bringing up his hands in almost every conversation, finding any excuse to make you look at them. and if he didn't find a way to fit it into your in person conversations, you'd 100% receive a pic of his hands later that night as you got ready for bed captioned, cleaned them just for you <3

[digitalagepulao]

My sincere Black Myth: Wukong review

Full disclosure! This is from a recent but earnest fan of JTTW as the original novel, as well as all the social, cultural and religious layers of it. I've seen my fair share of adaptations and derivative media, from shlocky to silly to grimdark to cutesy. I'm a bachelor in visual arts, with an interest in the field of game development since high school. I am also, white and brazillian, and have talked with other jttw fans, both Chinese and not, on this game. If any of these are for some reason motive to not read further, then fair enough. Hope you have fun and continue to enjoy the game, do not let me or my opinion stop you!

Now to the review proper <3

First things first, let the obvious not remain unsaid. This game, is supremely gorgeous. In every sense of the word, and I mean this fully, it's a work of art. The sound design, the character concepts and execution, the animations, the voice acting, the visual effects, the UI design, the cinematography, the 3D scanning of actual historical artofacts and heritage sites throughout China, and everything beyond and between, are phenomenal, full stop.

This was never a debate, I'm sure, but I don't think I can in good conscience not praise them for their work. It's no news that Asian talent, not just in China either, have been often hired to supplement projects on the West, and we can all agree it's about time they got to shine in their own AAA project. My issues with the international game industry notwithstanding, I hope this brings some much needed acknowledgment and appreciation for Chinese culture and arts, both traditional and modern!

Now, from this point on, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS, so proceed with caution!

(word count: +1.8k)

I also deeply enjoy their choices in arcs to revisit. Some like the Flaming Mountain arc are classic picks to adapt but still a very good match to the whole Six Senses throughline. I don't think you can do a JTTW 2 electric bogaloo without bringing up Niumowang and his family in some way (um, put a pin on that), but the other arcs like Yellowbrow or Black Wind Mountain aren't as explored imo, so it's nice to see them being given a bit of a spotlight.

(speaking of the Yellow Ridge arc, whoever made the executive decision of Lingji Bodhisattva being a Xaanxi singer is, genius!!)

I'm also kind of in love?? with Bajie's design and role in the story overall?? Gameplay wise he sticks around just enough to not feel lonely, but not too long to be a nuisance or overstay his welcome. He's no Atreus (GoW) or Ellie (TLoU) of course, but he doesn't need to be, and most importantly, he isn't trying to be, which I feel is admirable of the devs. Given the visible inspirations from the recent God of War games, it would have been easy to lean a bit too hard on it, but I'm glad they didn't overreach.

Him having a more complex love life is also a nice touch imo. It explores more his womanizer ways in an interesting way, and I appreciate it. I love when people complicate the pig! Also, the way he treats Xiaosheng (Destined One) like a nephew?? The scene on the Huaguoshan throne??? I'M GONNA CRY!!!

I think, I've run out of positive things to say.... time for the spicy takes.

I, kind of detest the premise by default. I'm not a big fan of "Superman is Dead" plots, cus it's usually either done for shock value, or taken so lightly that the weight is totally lost. I have such a love-hate situationship with the introduction cutscene because of this. On one hand, it's phenomenal cinema, and seeing Wukong stand up to the Heavenly armies in glorious 4K high fidelity graphics is delicious. On the other hand, the whole debate they are having has me going "?????", not because I don't get it but just, why?? Why did this have to be the premise?? (put another pin on that)

Also the set up and call to adventure is kind of blergh.

Now is as good a time as any to talk about the gameplay. It's, okay. If you enjoy trying to figure out the most stylish combos, or to mash buttons, then you'll definitely have fun. I was sorely disappointed that I pretty much have been going through the bosses rather easily. Chapter 1 it was mostly the struggle of learning the controls, but I never stuck to a boss for longer than seven tries (Whiteclad Noble, the snakeman that you are). Chapter 2 I only struggled on Tiger Vanguard, because I was sorely underleveled and had missed a pathway to explore before him. After that I second tried him. Chapter 3, I have and I'm not joking, gotten halfway through first or second trying every boss.

Mind you, this is not being some godtier gamer or whatever, I'm pretty average and only a recent player of soulslike games too (maybe playing Lies of P made too OP, but I sincerely doubt it lol). No, this is me saying that if you do explore the game and not rush through it, you won't struggle nearly as much as some people have and still are. Most of the final chapter bosses can be trivialized with the chapter's Obsession Realm gimmick artifact, which isn't in itself a bad thing, just feels like an odd choice personally.

Which leads me to, the level design. So far? Preeeeetty lame! It's very pretty and fancy, but so chockful of invisible walls that it feels stiffling and discourages exploration. I can never tell what is meant to be a path or just fancy scenery, and I never know when a jump will get walled or send me to my death by fall damage. When it's not being confusing, the level design is either a bunch of looping circles, or straight lines. And so far, besides a few interactables and loot, there is not much else to look at. That is, bad level design, plain and simple.

Also, the animations are glorious, but what is the point if I can't see the enemy?? That camera is my true nemesis, and I mean that. the fact that a boss can be beyond my field of vision at ANY POINT when I'm locked on and it strifes sideways, is dreadful. GameScience, FIX IT. It is also, very hard to tell what parts of a boss will damage me if I collide with them or not. The Kang-Jin Long fight was baffling on a design point of view, same for Captain Lotus-Vision. Some clearer hitboxes would be swell.

This is the point where I say my main issue with the game lies: it's very pretty, and adoringly crafted, but it lacks substance design wise. I feel like it needed to cook more, the level design polished more so I wouldn't get lost every five minutes, and clearer.... well, everything. Mechanic explanations, level progression, gimmicks, etc. It all needed to be less murky and convoluted to understand.

It also needed more meat in between bosses. I have yet to run into common enemies that give me actual trouble, so it ends up being just a jolly waltz from boss to boss. Boss rushes are fun and great, but not as the base game experience (for me at least). I had to stop one boss away from completing Chapter 1 cus I was just so exhausted. And I had been playing for like, an hour and a half?? That left a sour taste in my mouth, I'll be honest.

Okay, I'm gonna pick open those pins now.

#1 the Flaming Mountain Arc. I'm gonna be very real here chat, that was so cringe. What do you MEAN, Red Son wasn't Demon Bull King's biological son, and Princess Iron Fan was forced to drink from the Childbearing River??? And Red Son hates him????When I watched that cutscene, I had to pause and walk away for a moment, legitimately. This plotbeat is SO WILD to me, I got nothing to say. Just, why??Soooo bizarre. And that the Flaming Mountain Keeper has such a presence in Iron Fan's life is also, weird?? Not bad weird, just Weird, but that's like a nitpick more than an actual criticism. Ping Ping is fine though, I like that Bull has a daughter with Princess Fair Fox, that's cute and interesting. Wish she was in a better plot and adaptation but lol

And #2, the premise. Now we are getting to the meat of it all.

The underlying premise of the whole plot, including the true ending, is flawed by default. The premise runs on what is sometimes called as a "conspiracy theory plot", as in, "what if the gods were bad actually??". It's reddit movie theory content in very short terms, and while it had a place during the 00s grimdark years pre-Marvel, it's become quite a jaded and boring take nowadays. Now you may say that it comes from a genuine desire to show distrust and critique to insitutions and the powers than be, and I can see that.

There is a hiccup in that though.

In JTTW, Wukong is the Mind Monkey because of the religious text and subtext of the stories. Its interwoven in the whole thing, and makes it cohesive. It still offer critique and mockery to institutions, without entirely invalidating their foundations. Not only for genuine fear of prosecution, but because, shockingly, religion and belief is a major component of human society in general. But going back to my point, JTTW is *already* a critique of institutions and the power that be. Adding further layers into it feel like angst and edginess just for the sake of it, and that feels hollow to me.

To go further, this intent also clashes with their own plot. See, they bring up that Wukong's Mind, his Sixth Sense, died. Thus they need another Mind to guide his other senses and reform him, so that he may be reborn.

For one, that is such a convoluted way to do a reincarnation plot, it feels complicated just for novelty sake. Secondly, Wukong being the Mind Monkey, as I said, implies a tie to the underlying themes of the Journey as a person's path to enlightenment. If enlightenment itself is flawed because the gods are flawed/evil, then both themes are clashing. By making a "what if the gods were evil all along" plot while also going by the laws and order of said gods, then what are we even fighting against? What is the point of this whole rebellion between Erlang and Wukong??

my friend @ryin-silverfish said it best a while back, and I'm paraphrasing here (do pitch in or correct me if needed! <3), but the issue with these conspiracy narratives is the inherent anti-religion of them. They don't believe in anything, and thus they cannot properly retell the story of JTTW through a postmodern lense, because they refuse to engage with the religiosity that runs throughout the story.

It also leaves a sour taste in my mouth, because this game will likely be many people's first genuine experience with the JTTW mythos and story, and I tend to be concerned for how much this will "sour the pot" in the conversation. The novels are sadly innacessible enough as it is; the sheer size of them scare many people away, not even to mention the amount of underlying cultural context you'll miss out without proper footnotes and commentary. Most people will not engage with them directly, and certainly not most gamers.

While the narrative of someone embodying Wukong's spirit is not new in itself, I do find that it coexisting with such a poor premise and spin on it will be a sore first experience for new fans, and I can only hope that them meeting fans of the OG novels won't cause much friction in the fandom (we have enough as it is imo).

It also concerns me that, sadly, people and gamers in particular, get too swept up in the ooh-aah beauty of flashy sfx and highly detailed graphics, and fail to notice some of the underlying issues in game design. As I said, this game is a work of art, but it has flaws, and I don't think people are speaking of them enough. No, the issue is not "lack of diversity" or whatever the hell.

It runs deeper than that, and it's an issue I've come to see in recent movies as well. I'm aware it might just be different cultural expectations of the pacing and span of a story, and it may as well be! But I think if there was more care given to the bones of a media, it would bring much needed longevity and weight to these wonderful artworks.

All this said, I wanna see what acolades this game gets and see what the devs are cooking up with the DLCs (they said at one point the game was supposed to have 12 chapters and my god, that game would be TOO LONG. So glad it didn't get like that!), and further more see how this ripples in the eastern game dev scene. While this is a flawed game with a flawed story, it can be the first on a genuinely wonderful wave of new creations, not just by GameScience, and overall I'm hopeful for what might come next!

[dicenete]

I repainted his face more times than probably necessary but something always caught my eye and still does, but it is done. is done. It's fine. xD IkePri Tagteam:

@scummy-writes @goustmilk @solacedeer @m-mmiy @mxrmaid-poet

@pawnkyyy @ludivineikewolf @violettduchess @floydsteeth @wistfulwanderingone

@sh0jun @lorei-writes

A little bit of rambling of him below the break, spoilers (Keith's route, and little bit of Nokto's route) and such :0 so you have been warned.

TL;DR: I enjoyed the route despite its questionable elements. MC is too forgiving at times, but other than that, romanctic route was cute. Licht, the third wheel, was funny but sad.

Okay first about Keith's visual design: I really love how his design is the most asymmetrical from the suitors. Like the jacket and the vest he has. The jacket is very interestingly layered, almost like you aren't sure which part is the main thing and what is the accent. The green or the gold? The host or the alter? : D Same with his vest. His duality is battling in his clothing too hahaha

Keith's route was interesting. I had heard lots of differing opinions about it and I had my own reservations.

One mainly about the portrayal of DID and how the route does it. First things first: I'm not an expert at all. I won't even humor the idea that I had any say in anything regarding it. But overall, it could have been worse? Of course it might be very extreme in the way Alter Keith is hostile towards Host Keith. And of course you shouldn't take this as the only way the alter systems work. But as I said: I'm not an expert.

I had heard that the dramatic route follows Alter Keith and romantic route host Keith. I picked the romantic one. I had my personal reasons for that tho. But aside from that, it was nice to be with Keith that who struggled with self-worth. It was nice to see him grow as a character and find that strength to stand up for himself. (The fact that the host Keith seems to think that he is inferior to Alter Keith and that people would prefer the alter over him. The amount of stress that will bring. )

Keith's uncle was your very generic villain/antagonist without any real depth. He was a spoiled noble and so on. But since this was more about Keith inner journey I thought it was fine that it was like that.

The drugging scene… Well. That's a… a topic. Hmm… Host Keith himself felt very guilty about it and was full of remorse. Not that it was his choice to do it. Alter Keith well… He might justify it because he was gathering information about a rumor that might endanger his home country and people if it were true. I kinda can see where he is coming from, but also...IT CERTAINLY WAS DESTROYING OF TRUST. Like that time when Nokto "accidently" gets MC drunk. but hey ho. Since there is limited time frame for the chapters, I do understand they can't really jam all the things there, but I wanted Belle be more angry with him with Alter Keith for longer.

Maybe that's what bugs me sometimes. That Belle/Emma/MC is sometimes too forgiving and too much of a doormat. It works in routes like Yves and Licht (from the routes I have played, Leon seems like the most respectable gentleman too), because they are not being insulting towards her. I would even think that she works with Clavis, tho I would love to see him with someone who shares his chaotic gremlin energy. But with characters like Chev, Silvio or Alter Keith the their "power" doesn't feel balanced. MC seems to be completely on their mercy even if they stand up to them in some way. (Gilbert is another can of nasty things.)(With Chev's route, well, that is also a rambling for another time. But I haven't finished his route yet. so I will keep my ramblings to myself for now.)

Is Keith's route more about acceptance then? Accepting the good and the bad of a person? Possibly. I would think that is a good way to put it. Both Keiths have good and bad sides. And it seems that they are working on them.

[al1fers-haven]

Adam x Innocent Sinner Reader?

Like, a reader who is a sinner but only because they went to hell on accident or the sin they did was so minor/they were forced into it?

Adam finds them during an extermination and they're just trying to calm down some kids and he's just like "aw, I can't hurt you 🥺"

They totally don't remind him of Eve, totally not

Sorry if that's a bit much >-<

AHH (as much as i hate Adam, they designed him way too good) ; 0 ;

I am so sorry about how long this took and how short it is, Adam is harder to write for since I don't see much of him in the show. but I hope this did well!

Adam x Sinner! reader You hadn't really done much in your life, let alone your death. You tried and tried to stay away from trouble when you were alive. And the only thing you could think of was stealing a couple things as a teenager. But everyone made those little mistakes, right?

The sound of the sinners running around in the streets and screaming was as evident as the smell of blood. The angels flew around the streets and killed many of the inhabitants in the area. You looked back at the group of children behind you, panic flowing through your body as you pushed them back towards the classroom corner, staying as far away from the windows and the door. "M-Ms.L/n. What's going on?" The little girl tugged on your jacket, letting out a sniffle as she hugged onto your leg. Your eyes widened a little as you sighed. Turning around and leaning down in front of her. "Sweetie....you remember how mommy said at the meeting that she was worried about that extermination thing? Yeah! Well- that's happening right now.." The little girl nodded, a couple of the children letting out yelps and screams as the door to the classroom slammed open. A couple of holy-looking beings wearing helmets and masks run into the room. "There! Look at those-" You stood up, shielding the students behind you with your body. The larger demon with a golden face looked towards you, laughing a bit. "You see this shit? Am I seeing this shit, Lute?" One of the exterminators shaking her head no. "You stay away from them! They have done nothing!" Adam looked towards you giggling, letting out a loud groan as he stared at you and the group for a bit. "Fuck! You're making it really hard to kill ya' hottie. Doing this selfless shit in front of me...." He looked you up and down, his heartbeat speeding up as he saw you now. Your bright blue glowing eyes and the more human-like features reminded him a lot of his second wife. Your black hair went down to your waist and you shielding the children reminded him a lot of how Eve had shielded their song, Cain. "Fuck!!" Lute blinked a couple times, looking over Adam's shoulder with a quirked brow. "You...you aren't going to hurt us...?" Your stance weakened a little bit, looking confused as you kept one of the children from looking out. Tears flowed from many of the students. "Awh! No, I could never babe! Damn, I have a soft spot huh? Gotta work on that shit. Hey! Lute! Danger tits, write that down in my log. 'Work on marital problems'." The woman nodded, walking over to the door with a notepad. "What are you doing here? Peter mess up?" Adam walked around you, huffing a little bit as he sent his little angels away. A couple of children walk out from behind you. "Im...I stole a bit. That's all. I'm glad to be here- so I could help these children--" Adam hummed, nodding. seeming not to care that much anymore as he sat in your desk chair. "Yeah- uh-huh. Sure. Okay miss virtue, You got boring. Tell anyone I spared you and I'll be back quicker than you want." He pointed at you, patting one of the children, and walked out of the door yelling for that woman.

"...what the fuck?" You quickly covered your mouth, looking down at the gawking 5-year-olds.

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Mammal bias is esp rampant in the pet community. I've had pet reptiles and spiders/tarantulas since I was about 10 and being told right to me face that the animals I cared for and cherished were gross and weird and some even "jokingly" staid they would gladly stomp on.

Nothing against dogs and cats but if you wouldn't say that about someone's dog or cat why would you say that to anyone who loves their pets?

Yup yup yup. Honestly, I've always known mammal bias was a thing, and when I majored in biology it was shoved down my throat, but I kind of figured its scope was limited or not really that damaging until I got my pet birds.

Apartments list themselves as pet friendly, but they only ever mean cats and dogs (and good luck trying to find ones that have other pets listed as okay online - same for temporary lodging)

Vets are usually only trained in cats and dogs, and it is impossible to find vets for other species close by - sometimes, at all - fish literally are done a major disservice alone

Homes and group living areas like townhouses, apartment buildings, etc. are not built with the safety of non-catdog pets in mind. How many have linked ventilation systems, which would endanger birds to emissions from other homes?

Service animals can only be dogs. Because dogs were literally bred to be our obedient servants. Never mind that other animals are more intelligent, and can also be trained. Just dogs.

Heck, cats and dogs even form a binary! Are you a cat lover or a dog lover? If you say neither, you get weird looks, and are accused of hating animals! Even though that's only two animals out of the billions!

And of course there's the death threats. Whether its someone threatening to kill someone's pet tarantula, to stomp on their snake, or eat their chicken, that just comes up again and again.

Cats and Dogs are elevated to essentially human status, because they are companion animals in our society and seen as part of the family. But no one can fathom that other pets are seen as family, too, that we'd like the same level of care and respect given to them.

like take this example: many people suggest eating non-cat/dog pets on the internet, and they're hardly ever called out or criticized. "It's just a joke!" and all that. Never mind these pets are beloved animals, and not actually a threat to anyone. Meanwhile, outdoor cats are actively causing ecological collapse. But if you suggest any form of aggressive population control - not of people's pets, of feral cats - you get called a monster. These aren't even beloved animals, just the *concept* of a cat is enough to make people lose their heads. this is a blatant double standard. an actively damaging double standard.

anyways if you want a non cat/dog pet remember to research vets and housing rules for your area before you accidentally screw yourself.

I would be remiss if I didn't add an afterthought that while small mammal pets and other mammals other than cats and dogs do have better vet treatment and some other benefits thanks to mammal bias, they often face similar struggles, and this hierarchy for pets really has cats and dogs on a pedestal lording over everyone else - including rabbits, hamsters, and especially mice and rats, and all other mammal pets as well as pets in other groups.

I hate cat-dog supremacy so much it sends me into a blind rage. Like, there isn't a 24-hr emergency vet for birds within three hours of me. I either have to drive that long or wait till my (hour away!) daytime vet opens up if I have an emergency. Birds can bleed out fast. This is just negligence. And there are so many animals, not only birds, that have been bred for captivity and rely on us. It is irresponsible and cruel that we designate them second-class pet...izens.

oof, you probably didn't expect this long of a ramble, I'll leave it off there.

[insanelyadd]

ONE MONTH UNTIL LET PAPYRUS SAY FUCK DAY (June 16th)!!!

Don't forget, it's now the third year of #LetPapyrusSayFuck ! I will be making an additional reminder about it a week from the day (so on the 9th of June)

Another wonderful year to celebrate Papyrus and his ever-present ability to say fuck! Before I talk about the day a bit more and give prompts as usual I would like to thank everyone who participated last year, especially those that showed your support for the additional #BringBackTheCoolDude campaign, which allowed the official cool dude shirts a limited re-release with a new easter egg on the inside referencing LPSFD!

(Image ID: a picture of the new cool dude shirt, folded and displayed in such a way to predominantly feature the "COOL DUDE" design on the front, with the easter egg from the inner back of the shirt being a small doodle of Papyrus with a speech bubble that says "FUNK!" end ID)

As far as I'm aware there's still some available to purchase if you want!

Okay so for Prompts!!

Papyrus saying fuck or other swear words of your choice (maybe his puzzle electrocuted him, maybe he stubbed his toe, maybe he is tired of Sans repeating the same joke to him for the 38th time in an hour)

Papyrus commits arson

Papyrus as the Ambassador of Monsters is tired of human's political BS

Anything else your heart desires!

Bonus!

Include another character, from UT or anything else, that you want to be saying fuck with Papyrus (Inspired by the @let-them-say-fuck-tournament ) If you do include another character from Undertale or another fandom, I encourage you to make a #Let(character)SayFuck tag (no spaces so it's the same on twitter and tumblr)

Papyrus is encouraging others who deserve to say fuck for whatever reason to join him on the wonderful #LetPapyrusSayFuck Day! I already have an idea for what to do with this prompt, in addition to a completely normal standalone of Papyrus.

Rules:

Tag your posts with #swearing (if that applies) #LetPapyrusSayFuck (regardless of whether he is or not) as well as #Papyrus #undertale and any other fandom or character tags that may apply.

You don't need to go all out and paint a masterpiece, you can draw a shitpost-y doodle, write a fic, knit a sweater?? Whatever you want! Just have fun. <3

If you aren't able to get your piece done for the actual day that's completely fine! Papyrus can swear any day of the year, and no matter what I'll be reblogging as many posts as I can to @letpapyrussayfuckofficial (which you are free to tag in your post!)

Don't forget to join the festivities by reblogging and liking other participants art, fics, whatever they've made! This is a fun communal event and I want it to be uplifting and supportive! :>

Have Fun!

[catsvrsdogscatswin]

SO ABOUT NOCTURNE S2 EH

I kept notes as I watched through it with my sibling, so here are some thoughts, followed by the more spoilery thoughts below the cut:

*The fight scenes were gorgeous and very fluid. Richter's use of magic is inventive as fuck and slightly terrifying after seeing Sypha blast her way through Wallachia with largely straightforward lances of ice and fire.

*Deeply thankful that they managed to create a believable, nay, plausible excuse for why Erzebet Bathory is a Hungarian woman with Egyptian goddess blood. She's being used as a vessel by Drolta, Sekhmet's High Priestess, and Drolta picked Erzebet because after decades of failing amongst her own people she was like "This is definitely the most bloodthirsty human I can find. A perfect match ❤️" Like oh okay so there was a REASON Drolta was always more interesting than Erzebet. It's her story Erzebet's just telling it for her.

*Speaking of which, loved Drolta's human backstory. She was struggling so hard (and successfully!) against such harsh odds and you don't normally see that when a human faces up against a supernatural entity for the first time.

*Olrox and Mizrak projecting their relationship insecurities onto vampire Tera was definitely not what I had on my Nocturne S2 bingo card, and yet.

*Last season had me willing to be convinced that Annette and Richter would become a thing and this season had me slapping the table and going "SOLD!" like an old-timey bidding war.

*Richter struggled valiantly to make a difference, and Alucard was right alongside him in the trenches, but this season still mostly belonged to Annette. Sorry lads, better luck next time.

"We are not bitter creatures. I'm not bitter," Olrox tells Tera, bitterly, because he is bitter about being dumped. No but seriously, him insisting to her (basically a complete stranger) that vampires aren't animals with animalistic impulse control and it's just "Mmmmm-hm. Real quick, what were Mizrak's most recent words to you? 'An animal that's lost its soul'?" Like boy you ain't subtle.

Drolta's resurrection. No thoughts. Just a constant stream of MOMMY? SORRY. MOMMY? SORRY. MOMMY? SORRY.

"She's a vampire! She cannot love!" Mizrak you need to check your baggage at the door you can't just drag it into a conversation like that. 

RICHTER'S ABSOLUTE DEER IN HEADLIGHTS EXPRESSION WHEN ANNETTE GRABS HIS HAND. BOY FROZE.

Was not expecting that one chick that Erzebet munched on last season to be alive, never mind a vampire, but go her I guess.

Speaking of which, the wlws were winning this season. Drolta and the female National Guard captain, Erzebet sitting on a throne with women literally gathered at her feet… and Drolta and Erzebet/Sekhmet, of course, because their whole attack dog/master and "you are my most special loyal perfect wife minion" and Drolta's centuries of loyalty to Sekhmet are just *chef's kiss*

Also on that note, Erzebet angrily telling Tera that she would never be Drolta is very funny because. like. at no point did Tera want to replace Drolta. She literally never asked to do that, Erzebet.

I like Erzebet's human design a lot better than the vampire one tbh. Solely for the hairstyle choices. 

"I'm here to make you a god. If you're worthy." "Of course I'm worthy." NO HESITATION WHATSOEVER LMFAO THE ARROGANCE OF THE ARISTOCRACY

Okay damn I was not expecting Maria to kill her dad. And certainly not midway through the season. 

Mizrak's panicked glance to the side as Juste talks about chastity vows. Lol. 

Alucard stumbling out of the water wet and dripping after getting smacked into the Seine had me and my sibling sharing a single understanding nod because we Knew it was there to make the Alucard girlies go feral. Well done Castlevania team.

Also what I'm gathering from this season is that Olrox becomes a pathetic wet cat when he falls in love with someone. Like he has been dogging Mizrak's steps incessantly since the breakup. Literally every time he can get away with it he's haunting that man's shadow. Olrox is two seconds and a dead pseudo-Messiah away from leaving dead things at Mizrak's feet and pawing sadly at his window as he cries to be let in.

Like Olrox is so catastrophically in love and obviously unable to leave Mizrak's side that when he told Mizrak he's leaving to go back home my sibling and I instantly looked at each other and went "So that's a fucking lie."

FIRST COUPLE KISS INTERRUPTED BY A SUDDEN EPIPHANY RICHTER YOUR LUCK IS ABSOLUTE SHIT

Maria was such an adorable baby holy shit. And her smug little look when she snatched the apple from Richter too. 

Alucard only saying he's been in love "countless times" is a cowardly cop-out of an answer. We could have had a polycule acknowledgment! We could have meant something!

Annette's possession look is an absolute serve but really we should expect nothing else from her. Also love how intricately her religion was depicted even if I had no idea who the three-faced dude was.

Speaking of Erzebet's hair, the fact her final Sekhmet form has like an entire extra bodymass's worth of hair had me giggling. There's so much of it. We've gone past lion's mane and overshot into "electrocuted Persian." She is fluffye.

"Not the first time you've saved my life" ELABORATE ON THAT ALUCARD?!

Tera being shadowed by the entity that the Abbot dealt with in the ending scene hello yes I am Fear. Nice hook for another season, though.

[adobe-outdesign]

this might be a strange ask but what are your least favorite species of your top 5 paintbrush colors?

Chocolate:

Korbat: It's kind of amazing how little effort was put into this colour. At one point I was thinking that it was the first chocolate pet released and that's why it's so plain, but it's actually the fourth, with all three pets (Chia, Ruki, and Skeith) before it having substantially more interesting designs. It should have, like, wafer wings/ears and a licorice tail or something.

Halloween:

Peophin: All of the incredible horse-based monsters out out there and we get... a blue Peophin in a tiny cap and witch hat. Like, even ignoring the boring design, couldn't it have just been like black with a red mane or something instead of the incredibly clashy default blue design? At least it got a pet style recently, though that doesn't count for too much given that the proportions are a bit weird (too thin and the head's too small) and the shading's kind of wonky if you look at it for too long.

Mutant:

Vandagyre: The mutant Vandagyre suffers from a lack of concept, as I can't tell what it's going for or what the theme's supposed to be between the braids, bare skin, and out-of-place tentacle tails. More importantly, though, it's just poorly drawn, with weird, stiff anatomy, unnecessary tentacle gradients, and very poor shading. At least with most mutant pets I can objectively say the art is excellent even if I don't like the design—that's not the case here.

Oil Paint:

Cybunny: Oil Paint is generally a really good colour all around, so there really aren't any truly "bad" options, just "okay" ones. That said, I'm going to go Cybunny here just because while I love the Starry Night concept, I don't think the execution's that great. The way they did the brush strokes leads to some weird shapes (like the muzzle looking like it's sticking out too far), and having all the yellow on the face off-balances the colors; it would've been nice if the body also had some yellow spots, which would've been more accurate to the original painting anyway. The barely-noticeable red lines on the paws are also odd, as is the out-of-place red nose.

Faerie:

Usul: Faerie pets were mostly just pretty normal-looking Neopets with unique poses at the beginning, so a lot of early faerie pets suck (other contenders here include the Aisha and Uni). However, I have to give it to the Usul because the color palette is incredibly jarring—pink on tan with blue eyes and neon green wings. Nothing about the design is interesting, and nothing about the colors work together. Also, while it has old art, it's not really that good—I like the pose, but the anatomy, shading, etc. isn't very well done.

[prettyboykatsuki]

✮  tags ; desi-coded reader (tbh...specifically bangladeshi dkjfsdj), pre-wedding celebration, so blatantly selfship coded i might have to delete it if the shame kicks in , 18+

Night air wisps against your warm skin like thin threads of silk as you step away from the party - with the assistance of Sakura, who held the door open like his life depended on it.

Your arms are stiff from how long you've been holding them in the same position, but after upwards of three hours - all the mendhi required for your upcoming wedding ceremony has been put on.

From the tips of your fingers all the way down to your elbows and even some parts of your feet. It's the one aspect of the celebration you've always looked forward too. When you glance down and see it, its completely surpassed your expectations

Through the light of your window is your family and friends, traditional folk music and ballad love songs play as guest dance and laugh in the warm lights of your living room. Laughter bubbles through the crack letting out some air and you smile to yourself, careful not to touch anything.

The feeling of drying mendhi on your skin is nostalgic even in it's mild discomfort, a slight itch in the intricate designs covering your palms. You sniff a little from the cool air, lungs filling with the earthy, heavy scent of mendhi paste and the sharp bitterness of mustard oil.

You slip further away until you end up enough distance away for the sound to quiet. Crickets chirp and the wind blows - as if the whole world is feeling soft.

You aren't expecting Umemiya to pop out from anywhere. He must've noticed you leaving and followed you out. You try not to smile and fail when he makes his way towards you.

Umemiya grins brighter than the sun. In the dead of night and even amidst the pleasant atmosphere - nothing shines quite like him. He looks good in the clothes your extended family so painstakingly picked out for him. A panjabi and salwar to match, a pleasantly deep shade of blue to go with his eyes. Your kameez is more complicated, but the tailoring similarities of the florals and beadwork make you happy no matter how trivial. It feels a little more worth getting three outfits tailored looking at him.

He cuts a fine figure in general, you think.

He approaches first with worry. A furrow in his brow.

"You okay?"

You smile at him and then smile a little more at the way it makes him relax instantly.

"I'm good." You take a deep breath, hands stiff at your sides and suddenly itching to find his to hold. "Was getting hot and stiff sitting for so long."

"Oh, is it done finally? Am I allowed to look?"

"Were you gonna avoid looking at my arms for three days if I said no?" You tease. Umemiya's eyes fill with mirth and sincerity.

"If I had too."

Silly. You love him, you think. You shake your head. "You can look. Might be a little hard to see even with the street light though."

"That's okay." He says, and there's something deeply doting in his voice that makes you feel like you might sink. "An excuse to get close to you is always nice to have."

You hold out your arms and lift your palms gently to Umemiya. His admiration makes your heart swell ten folds. His hands are careful as they slide underneath your own decorate ones, careful not to touch the actual design but to support your forearms and wrists.

"It's so beautiful."

"Right? She did a good job. She's doing Kotoha-chans now."

He makes a little affirmative noise while he draws his eyes along the different shapes and patters. Traditional shapes of roses and marigolds along with inspired cuts. There's a mix of imagery, well integrated - patterns of cranes and cherry blossoms well woven into it as symbolism. Umemiya pauses, most certainly noticing the nuance.

"I like it a lot. You're gonna look so beautiful."

You brush past the words, unable to respond to them without feeling earnest flush. Umemiya is undeterred by this, just offers a smile and another light touch. He leans it to place a kiss to your temple before pulling back.

A thought pops into your head. You wanted to show him eventually - you thought at least after you washed it off, but now seems like a better time.

"Oh and..." You carefully hold your wrist up to him. "See?"

He squints for a long while before breaking out into an impossible grin. Hidden in the wrists of your mendhi design are the characters of his name - integrated into the piece. You can see the very moment it clicks.

"Is that...is it traditional?"

"Maybe? It's common at least. I thought it'd be more special with the Japanese characters though.”

A little nod to him and to you. He's silent for a long while, deep in thought about something. You don't know what exactly.

"I love it," He says, then looks up at you. He presses his forehead against yours, a gentle tap that still manages to catch you off guard as he does. The decorative teep on your forehead presses a little into his skin as he does it but you don't make a move to pull away from his affection. "I love you."

You tilt your head a little, pretending to wipe sweat from your brow.

"That's a relief."

He shakes his head. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Could you feed me something off the table inside? I'm hungry."

He almost seems upset he didn't think of it first. He nods. "I'll be right back. Stay put but be careful."

"I'm right infront of the house Hajime."

"It's always good to be careful. I'd be sad if my wife went missing just days before,"

“I’ll be safe,”

“And I’ll be quick,”

He pauses before he goes back through the door, turning suddenly before he smiles again. Impossibly gently, he runs his fingers through his hair before running back to you.

Another kiss to the corner of your mouth followed with one to your lips. The last one carefully place on the drying mendhi on your arms just where his name sits.

“I love you,”

You soften. “I love you too, Hajime. You can dote on me as much as you want when you come back.”

He grins. “I’ll hold you to that.”

glossary of terms:

mendhi - more commonly known as henna, a special skin safe paste used for decorative designs. commonly red or black.

panjabi - bangla word for kurta. basically a long item of menswear that stops just past the knee or above.

teep - also known as bindi. a decorative sticker or red dot placed in the center of the forehead.

** more cultural notes: in bangladesh mustard oil is often used to deepen the color of mendhi. it normally goes on after or while almost dry.