#some of their ideas i like. some i don’t. execution on both is meh

[wlwanakin]

The big problem with the Padme trilogy is that, instead of looking for interesting things to mine character wise, the author was more interested in 'fixing' Padme and making her more of a girlboss tm

(I'd also say that the author was much more interested in Sabe as a character - as she could build her basically from scratch)

i honestly don’t know if i’d describe the queen trilogy as really “girlbossifying” padmé but it definitely felt more concerned with making her a Good Female Character than like, a character who feels interesting. and maybe ekj was more interested in sabé but even sabé felt more like the foundations of a good character than an actual good character. in my opinion these books are mostly held back by being aggressively, aggressively young adult and therefore extremely surface-level and juvenile.

it frustrates me because you can tell they’re trying to do padmé justice and trying to expand on a beloved concept and set of characters. people love padmé and naboo and the handmaidens so books in padmé and sabé’s pov centering around their relationship where sabé is actually allowed to be queer should rule immensely. but these books try to sell us the most uncomplicated version possible of it’s presenting: naboo really is as idyllic as it looks, padmé suffers in her role as queen but only in the obvious ways, her handmaidens are all her friends and she gets along super well with all of them like they’re one epic girl gang, even the juicy stuff with sabé feels so muted and despite the tension between them they always end on good terms. and i really do think a level of subconscious gender essentialism is a component to why these books largely about teenage girls are unwilling to make their relationships with power and each other complicated despite being almost entirely about a girl who was crowned queen of a planet at fourteen and her decoys who are subservient to her to the point of death.

and it’s extra frustrating because there’s something there with a lot of what it’s presenting, it’s just not really committed to quite as much as i feel like it should be. and i feel like a lot of that is how they’re written—everyone has a very bland narrative voice including padmé herself and that makes any internal exploration feel shallow. but on top of that it’s just like, these books are so largely about all the roles padmé and her handmaidens play, about the extreme lengths they go to lose themselves and each other in padmé’s personas, and all these complicated themes about power and identity and loss of self are like right there and it feels like in this whole trilogy the surface was barely even scratched. even sabé, who i think is the best written character out of all of them, seems to have far less complicated emotions about padmé than i’d expect from someone who has spent a decade devoted to her at great cost to herself, quite literally loses herself in her, and is on top of that in unrequited love with her. like there’s enough there to intrigue me and worm its way into my brain and make me post shit like this but it’s not very substantive. i don’t feel like i know padmé much better because of them, just her circumstances. and i also think a handful of those circumstances are a bit stupid.

[fanfic-lover-girl]

I hope you don’t mind me asking all these questions but I really wanted to know:

What ships do you love? What ships do you neither love nor hate, simply tolerate? And what ships do you absolutely hate?

Also, if you like Drarry, can you explain why? Was there something in canon that turned you to it or was it just some fanfics that you’ve read and enjoyed the ship in those specific stories? (If you don’t ship drarry, you can ignore this)

Hi anon!

I am assuming you just mean HP ships?

If so, there are no HP ships I love. I have ships I find intriguing, fun, funny or cute like Snirius, Drarry, Lucissa, Druna, Dreville and Dron. In most cases, I started liking the ship due to fanfiction and not purely because of canon. Because that's mainly because I am not a shippy person. I don't watch much media but I can't think of a single romance that truly wowed me, really shook me.

I absolutely hate Jily. Can't stand it. I hate Wolfstar. I strongly dislike Hinny and Romione. I can dig the premise but I don't like the execution of Hinny and Romione. Any ship with Remus and Lily in general. I tried Snupin a few times and I just could not do it. It also doesn't help that I dislike most of the characters involved in these ships.

Ships I tolerate? Bill and Fleur is meh. They seem cute and I liked Fleur's line about being pretty enough for both her and Bill when he got mauled by Greyback. But I don't care about either character much for me to actively ship them. I am fine with Drastoria overall but I am not a fan. I care little for Astoria and I hate the idea that she is responsible for Draco's redemption. Pass me on that. Percy seems to have cute relationships with his girlfriends. He was such a sweetheart with Penelope! For the other ships like Cho/Cedric, Neville/Hannah etc, I don't know much about them to care.

I want to like Dramione...but I dislike Hermione too much. Plus, I hate how Draco and Hermione are portrayed. Even if I find a Dramione fanfic writer who develops the relationship well...there's Hermione still and I don't want Draco with her. Same with Jeverus too. I do like the concept of James being obsessed with Snape and it leading to a toxic or redemptive romance, but I am not interested in James enough to read one. Plus, my tolerance for slash fanfiction is waning.

Drarry for me is very complicated. I have a love-hate relationship with Drarry. I like Drarry for many reasons.

First of all, I am a Draco fan - he's my favourite character. And the best Draco fics tend to lean towards Drarry. I got into HP fanfiction because I wanted a Draco story and it turned out to be a Drarry fic. I feel like Drarry fics tend to explore Draco's character very well and in very interesting ways. Unlike Dramione where Draco is usually horribly OOC. Drarry fics are top-tier.

Second of all, I like the Drarry meta here on Tumblr. While I do not believe romantic Drarry ought to be canon, I do feel like the story suffered by not exploring the Drarry relationship more. Draco and Harry foil each other and have such interesting and entertaining dynamics that I am very disappointed how JKR ended Draco's story in the books.

So basically I got into Drarry through fanfiction and then I learnt about canon more, and I had even more appreciation for the ship.

However, I have moments where I hate Drarry. I don't like Harry much and it would be nice to have a good Draco-centric fic where Harry is not involved. I used to like Harry well enough when I mainly knew his character through analysis and Drarry fanfiction. But as I actually interacted more with the source material...I just don't like him. I hate Harry as a protag and the thought of him with Draco makes me sick sometimes. The daily posts from my mutual iamnmbr3 about Drarry moments in HBP and DH revived my interest in this ship and I have told her that lol. She sucked me back in :')

Sorry, this took so long anon! I had it in my drafts for weeks and forgot about it. Hope my answer satisfies your curiosity :)

[badbitch-bookclub]

Week 2 Thoughts on Lost Gods by Gerald Brom

Chapters 26-50

Thot Pocket: Bomb, I think I am having a different vibe than you over Chet and I am so curious why we have different feelings about him.

Britney Smears: He’s become more interesting over time for sure.

Bomb Weasley: I feel like this story is set up to be a really high stakes mission and super important on all levels. And Chet is just some random dude who is like fumbling his way through. I think all the other characters are much better.

Hell No Kitty: What is your overall feeling about him Thot?

Thot Pocket: Personally I think the book sets up that Chet is kind of a bumbling fool because he can’t even stop being a drug dealer til Trish is pregnant. I think Senoy establishes that this is it for them and it is such a slim chance but it’s the only chance. He’s fumbling but surviving. I can’t imagine any human on that average level could handle that but because of his grandmother he is forced into it. I think him being so bad at it and still surviving is great because it’s like reading old Batman comics. Yes he will survive because he is expected to, but HOW will he. Also I think you’re right that all the other characters are interesting and I think that’s good! I think it makes us care about them the way Chet does.

Bomb Weasley: I’m not sure why but I just like super hate Chet lol.

Thot Pocket: I’ve noticed, because while I don’t love him, you seem like “booo you suck” lmfao

Bomb Weasley:

Britney Smears: I was def shocked when Ado and Coach got killed so quick. I liked them.

Thot Pocket: I think it’s supposed to make us see the reality of how unforgiving it is. Both of them have goals we want to see fulfilled and in the end it doesn’t matter. I’m just glad Ana didn’t die.

Bomb Weasley: I feel like they died way too quickly.

Britney Smears: Very much so, literally one after another and I was like are you kidding me.

Hell No Kitty: This was so shocking!

Bomb Weasley: I wish Coach got to beat up Chet a bit more just for the drama.

Hell No Kitty: Was fully expecting Coach to have more conflict w/ Chet.

Britney Smears: Same, they buddied up quick.

Thot Pocket: Yeah that was underwhelming with how fast Coach just gave up. I’m wondering if we’re going to see what happens to the souls that float into the air or if they’ll just stay stuck in the winds.

Britney Smears: I hope so.

Thot Pocket: What did you think of the champion games? I think Chet tossing the rings in an act of defiance is great.

Hell No Kitty: This made me like him more, especially because I found him so boring initially.

Bomb Weasley: I agree on the ring toss, but didn’t like the games in general. I wish they were either the main plot of the story or omitted all together. I wish the editors told the author “less is more.”

Thot Pocket: Really? I liked it because it was a gathering of gods and was in line with historical events of how emperors liked entertainment. I feel like it showed their age.

Bomb Weasley: Like I would have preferred it to be the main plot of story, like if he won he got the key back.

Britney Smears: I like the idea of Chet getting the key back after winning the games.

Hell No Kitty: I actually agree! I like it in theory for the reasons you say Thot, but it felt meh in execution. Almost somewhat unnecessary unless they bring it back throughout the story.

Thot Pocket: Like let’s get all these “tropes of hell” out the way?

Hell No Kitty: That’s exactly what it feels like.

Bomb Weasley: Like if it was the whole plot we could have had more world building and understanding of the rules and a more sympathetic villain.

Thot Pocket: See I thought of the champions as world building because they do it every year and more and more is dwindling. So without us having the full history we know that even their godly celebrations suffer because of Green coat work and fewer gods. I keep thinking a lot of Dante’s Inferno compared to this and I like how it just gives you the breaths of the other lives and worlds because they aren’t for long anyways with revolution around the corner.

Bomb Weasley: I just prefer Tolkien type books where the author describes everything in super detail. I’m also just mean to books.

Britney Smears: A quote from actual librarian haha. I like hearing diff opinions. Like I didn’t realize it till I read y’all’s messages and I’m like yea, the pacing is fast! The god blood being in the shape of a star was also cool.

Thot Pocket: We also still have to experience hell. There’s no way he doesn’t go there at least once before the end right?

Britney Smears: He must go to hell eventually.

Bomb Weasley: On a positive note, I did like the “mean while at the ranch” chapters with the crazy grandma. I wish we got a little more of that, but I get that that’s not really the journey.

Thot Pocket: Agreed! I feel like we’re only getting “Trish is sleeping and Trish is not sleeping” but it’s still interesting enough that I’m like “MORE”

Bomb Weasley: Maybe she’ll put up more of a fight in later chapters.

Britney Smears: I’m ready to have Gavin and Lamia explained more.

Bomb Weasley: Me, too.

Hell No Kitty: I really need it explained more haha.

Thot Pocket: I want them on Maury.

Bomb Weasley: Can you hit a ghost with a chair?

Thot Pocket: “The DNA test determined… that was a lie. You are in fact a Lilith” queue Lamia running back stage with a camera following her.

Britney Smears: Someone HAS to run backstage lmao. Like why are these bitches so messed up?

Bomb Weasley: I have a feeling it’s gonna be a little misogynistic.

Thot Pocket: Same. Women are evil etc etc. like the more it goes on the more I feel like we’re going to get justifications for Gavin and 0 for Lamia.

Bomb Weasley: I’m willing to hear her out lol.

Thot Pocket: Same. She could be like “he didn’t compliment my new hair cut” you know what, you go girl. I stan a queen.

Bomb Weasley: I bet Gavin kinda deserved it.

Thot Pocket: Oh yeah. Especially since he “saved her.” It automatically makes her indentured to him.

Bomb Weasley: Exactly. Maybe there will be a plot twist and there’s some Adam and Eve thing going on idk.

Thot Pocket: Maybe they’ll both suck balls and we just root for murder/suicide.

[chirpsythismorning]

I don’t really want it either 🤷‍♀️

Not that it bothers me that other people want it, but I do think it’s the sort of thing that people like the idea of, but the execution of it feels like it could be something very hit or miss to me.

It could be great and improve the story a lot, but even in that case it’s just reenacting a scenario we already had recounted to us. There’s also the possibility it could visually look very bad, with it ruining the sentimentality of the original mention we got in the first place.

I get that they used VFX to make El look young for the massacre and that they’re planning on doing it for Will in the opening of s5 for a flashback of him in the UD, but that’s only going back to when they were 8 and 12, not 4-5 years old. Not to mention, in Will’s case they’re pulling from footage already taken from him on the show, mixed with him now. And for El it was slightly more difficult given they didn’t have footage of El at 8 years old, but did have her with a buzz cut in s1, so they could make her just slightly shorter than s1 and make it work. Though even in her case at times it looked a little meh. Which is fair. And so taking it even further seems like a huge creative risk to me.

I do get the appeal of it of course, and tbh if it happens and is done well I probably wouldn’t have any problem with it. But just thinking about all the ways it could look weird CGI wise, it’s just not worth it to me.

I’m not gonna rule it out, especially bc I do think the memory will be re-contextualized, along with the memory Joyce shared with him in that same scene, which sort of combines both instances as having some sort of association ie. the playground + rainbowship. It all very well could hold some deeper meaning related to memories and I imagine there would be some overlap and dual meaning related to what is yet to be revealed.

Can I say something. I don’t think a flashback of Will and Mike meeting on the swing set is going to happen nor do I think it’s necessary… we already know all we need to know about that and it was honestly better through Mike’s retelling. An actual flashback would be flat in comparison. That scene was special because we were tuned into Mike’s feelings. All of those memories were about how they felt about Will and how he changed them for the better, not the actual events.

It could be referenced in a memory recovery sequence, but I honestly think it should stay as it is, especially with how Will is going to be growing into himself in the final season.

[ddarker-dreams]

FINALLY SOMEONE SAID THE TRUTH.

I admit that i enjoyed act 3 but it feels like really rushed i have so much complain with that.

The build up until act 2 was so good it give us so much premise but the final blow si meh. Sorry that i want to share thing long rant with you

1. Why the final talk is with yae, no offense to her but we need ei to explain not to mention she witness khaenriah downfall so she can give us more information, i feel like they do it for the plot armor so they can just keep dragging this

2. So many things that quite inconsistant, the shogun is show no mercy to anyone that even did a little thing outside what she think its right, how come she can still have a talk with signora, when sara is falling like that, and also there is no clarification about sara right now.

The traveler was so done at first they refuse to help thoma and ayaka at the beginning. But they seem so happy and forget everything how come they are not RAGE ( okay maybe this is to bias and personal) when this nation provide nothing about our siblings information and also why they are not mention anything about their problem in ei stroy quest. Its nonsense! She is right in front of youu, ask about your siblings, ask about khaenriah, ask about ukmown god!!. How come they can just forget like that. Also mihoyo really waste the potential about twin things i thing ei will give us so much help bcs of the sympathy that we both rn lost our twin but noooo.

3. Kokomi seem lost some brain cell, she make a very succesfull grand intro but she become meh in act 3, how come a great strategist like her let the sus sponsorship slip just bcs they are desperate, not to mention her screen time is really small and her role seem so unsignificant and it feels lile she is a plain npc.

4. The awesome world quest that we have done doesnt get any mention at all! Inazuma owe us so much with cleansing sakura, thunder sakura, tatarigami, obarashi quest. It has so much potential that yae or ei or anyone else aknowledge what traveler has been done but nooo.

cracks knuckles... i suppose it's time for my promised dissertation. interestingly enough, you touched on a lot of the main issues i had with chapter III.

i think that if i had to pin the main issue, it's a lack of overall cohesiveness? we were jumping all over the place without the chance to ever flesh things out. inazuma is a smaller cast, but i feel like we didn't get to see any of them shine. since i'm most interested in the genshin characters, i'll break down my problems by going over everyone and their (lack) of impact on the story.

was ayaka not questioned or placed under suspicion for being close to thoma before his escape? i wanted to see her broken up over her duties as they relate to the yashiro commission, paired with having someone she genuinely cares about in danger. it would've been an interesting struggle if she was forced to choose one or the other. instead she just kinda took a back seat.

speaking of thoma, i don't even have anything to say, because he just... was there? for .0001 seconds. said "lol this sucks ig" and that's about it. i know we're going to get a story for him in the future since he's a 5* but i'm not getting my hopes up 😭 then in the raiden shogun's character story, man is peachy keen! be upset with the raiden shogun! have some inner conflict! even if it's just using loaded language because he's under surveillance for going against the raiden shogun, that'd be so cool. saying something like,

"Traveler, what's with that expression? Oh please, there's nothing to worry about. We're under the Statue of the Omnipresent God's protection. Nothing bad has ever happened here." *wink*

i also don't know what to say about gorou. he was... there....... i think. what is he fighting for? what are the stakes for him? what makes him place so much trust into kokomi? i'm out of things to say about him because i don't remember anything he did or said.

kokomi... oh kokomi... i was so hyped. so excited. i thought that maybe we could see a foil to the raiden shogun. that she'd have a moment where she's forced to realize, just like her opponent, sacrifices must be made that will hurt people who will never understand why she made them. or maybe something to show her military prowess. but instead she just accepts a mysterious patron's help (?), sees her people aging like the grateful dead from JJBA, and goes oh well. that sucks. what can ya do. oh bye traveler i guess, good luck with that. ????????????? HUH... similar case to thoma where she's gonna get a character story but like. she won't be the leader of the resistance anymore. that was her whole shtick. they took her shtick away. also she forced me to interact with more NPCs whose names i've already forgotten so i'm tilted about that still.

KUJOU SARA... AN INJUSTICE. A DISGRACE. a slap to my woman loving face. the build up was there. yae miko's comments about sara probably knowing the tenryou commission is involved in shady dealings, but is choosing not to think about it. sara being forced to confront reality and challenge her adopted father with the truth. being able to blaze a new path for herself in the process. when she started running to the raiden shogun i was ultra hyped up. sara, a devotee to the shogun for so long, was about to see her god interacting with the same people who led inazuma to this awful state. how would she react? would she stay ignorant, like yae miko so coyly said, choosing to look away in favor of following her god's footsteps? or would she be forced to recognize the raiden shogun isn't as divine as she once thought, and challenge her belief system?

we open the door to see the raiden shogun. the loading screen ensues. the camera pans to the ominous room, clouded in darkness, hinting at the ominous confrontation that is to come. the music takes a serious timbre. and then...

well fuck that potential character arc i guess. (we still don't know what sara made of any of this since she poofed out of existence from the story at this point)

kazuha also was handed a similar treatment. we've been with him for a while longer now. he is our introduction into inazuma, the one who first gets us emotionally involved by regaling us with the bittersweet tale of friendship that led him to becoming a wanted criminal. a kind soul who loves nature yet was dealt a cruel hand by fate, forced to watch his home nation turn into a hostile place, where his dear friend ultimately perished as a result. we get the scene with his friend's vision lighting back up. he parries a block from the raiden shogun, in the same area where his friend was killed by her. the parallels. the drama. except this time, he wasn't too late. he protected the traveler where he "failed" to protect his friend in the past. did he feel redemption at this? or was it a bittersweet reminder of what could've been?

WELL i guess we'll never know because we didn't get to talk to him again 😭 idk who got a bait and switch worse, him or sara. jesus christ mihoyo.

then we have signora. why is the raiden shogun talking to her? does she know about the gnosis being taken, and if she doesn't, what was her plan to get it from the archon? what does she think about scaramouche? and oh, okay, we're fighting here now. good fight + god tier music. pog pog. okay, now we've beaten her up, and raiden shogun wyd— wait no not signora her lore is still on CUPS not YET raiden shogun and— ah she's dead. okay. non nerds who didn't read artifact lore are going to know nothing about her. signora has such an interesting story, and yet... well. ok.

then we get raiden shogun redemption (?) arc. i was hype for this as well, though at that point, idk why i bothered being hype. i knew they were gonna do a cute power of friendship something or another, and i'm good with that, so long as it's executed well. what i was envisioning was like seven different buffs to correspond with the seven different visions, the dreams of those whose ambitions were stolen serving as the spear to penetrate the raiden shogun's heart of stone. maybe a hydro vision giving us extra healing for a time, with the voice acting over it being like,

"Even if the rest of the world forgets us, let our will carry you through this one final time. Succeed where we couldn't, Traveler."

so on and so forth.

but instead we got— you get the idea at this point. why bother spelling it out anymore.

at that point i was surprised the raiden shogun didn't go "oopsie woopsie!! we made a fucky wucky!!!" because that was the vibe i was getting. i love ei, don't get me wrong, but i wanted to see her challenged with what she had done to inazuma in the past year. maybe meeting NPC #2345259 who lost her sister to the vision decree or something, reminding ei of the love she held for her sister... being forced to come to terms with the extent of what she's done in pursuit of eternity.

anyway. please for the love of god mihoyo hire better writers for the main story. that is all i ask. thank you.

[fanimesenseiwrites]

Ok, I know I just gave you a request before this, but I actually would love to see how the brothers + the Angels (and the Succubi 😏😂) react to an MC that ACTUALLY HAS BDE, and is a total fucking Dom down to their core (No submitting for this bitch, they literally can’t without being severely uncomfortable and that’s not sexy at all 😤)

I really love this idea so much actually.

And it's not that I love this one more than your other one, but this one felt a little easier to write to me.

NSFW-ish : nothing explicit but mentions of bdsm and sexy times

Everyone's Reaction to a Dominant MC:

Lucifer:

Before he comes to like the MC he HATES their dominant personality.

To him it comes off as defiant and bossy (talk about the pot calling the kettle black)

But after he gets to know the MC and grows to love them, he finds it incredibly attractive

The problem is that, he's normally the dom...

He's a bit conflicted.

MC doesn't like being dominated at all and he's only into it every once in a blue moon

So they end up being more of kindred spirits, and exchange "advice" about dominating their partners

Mammon:

He thinks the MC is kinda bossy, which he'll say he doesn't like, but he actually kinda likes it...?

But when MC praises him? That's what he really likes.

He'll do anything if MC will praise him for it

It doesn't even have to be sexual, he'd stop stealing if MC calls him "my good boy"

Well, he says he would. He can't help himself sometimes...

But if MC doles out the punishment? He won't even run.

He can't quite figure it out, (he's a fucking sub he just won't admit it) but it's not so bad when MC punishes him. And it's not because MC goes easy on him.

Leviathan:

Both him and the MC are in for a bit of a surprise when they're getting onto him about his messy room one day

It's really not unusual for his room to be messy. But for whatever reason, MC is really upset about it today.

"... you lazy, pathetic shut-in...!"

"Ah... don't stop..." Levi whines.

MC is taken off guard at first, even blushes a little. "Wait... so you want me to call you names?"

Levi goes red as a cherry. "Y-yeah... I mean, if you want to..."

MC grins. "So you want me tell you how pitiful and filthy you are?" They run their hands over his shoulders teasingly.

Levi nods. Did he get even redder??

MC grins mischievously. "Okay... but you gotta clean your room first."

Levi frowns. "Wait..."

"Do it or I'll compliment you."

"Don't..." he begs softly.

"Levi, you're so smart and handsome and good at video games..." MC teases.

"No! O. M. G. Shut up!" He immediately starts cleaning up.

MC is grinning like the Cheshire Cat after figuring it all out.

Satan:

Satan only likes MC's dominant side when they turn it on Lucifer. He just finds it entertaining as hell.

But he absolutely does not like it when it gets turned on him though. Because, well...

They remind him of Lucifer when they're like that.

Also, he tends to be more of a dominant personality himself so...

MC will be nice and not act like that with Satan, but they can really just be friends in that case

Asmodeus:

MC being dominant is really really sexy to him

Asmo isn't so much of sub as much as he'll kinda just do whatever to get off

But Asmo is definitely bratty, he thinks it makes it more fun if MC has to work for what they want

MC doesn't mind so much, they like to play too

They're also an excellent brat tamer 😏

Beelzebub:

Beel doesn't mind MC being dominant if that's what they like

He really does prefer them being on top anyways

MC can't bring themself to do anything crazy with Beel though because he's just such a good boy

They'd feel bad even if Beel says he's cool with it

And he really is cool with it, he's really chill as long as they communicate

(Which you should be doing anyways!)

Belphegor:

This man is the definition of brat energy.

It's just so much easier to not do something than to do whatever MC wants them to do

Belphie is a little torn about how he feels about MC being so dominant

On the one hand, he loves fucking with them and he likes that MC wants to do all the work more or less

But on the other hand, they get pushy and bossy and then they remind him of Lucifer

Definitely not sexy to think about your older brother, whether you like him or not

Diavolo:

Ya know those CEOs, etc that spend all day being in charge and so every once in a while they just wanna let go and be dominated? Yeah, that's definitely our crown prince

He's such an obedient little sub, he'll do anything the MC tells him to do, he's just so happy to not be in charge for once

MC is really good about being respectful to Diavolo in front of folks, but as soon as that bedroom door closes... 😏

Barbatos:

He loves MC being dominant as long as it's being used for keeping the brothers in line or helping Lord Diavolo relax...

But when MC is dominant towards him... ehh....

He's really more of a switch himself, and even then he's not into anything... hardcore.

While he doesn't hold the same status as Lord Diavolo, he still is a person who is very much in control and sometimes he needs to let go and relax

But he also likes being in control.

So if he can't ever dominate MC, he's more than happy to just be friends with them

Solomon:

Solomon is... an interesting case.

We all know this man radiates brat energy. Like all day long. To everyone.

And MC kinda loves it, but they also hate it.

At this point in his life, Solomon finds having power kinda... meh

I mean, when you were once a king and have been the most powerful sorcerer, at some point having power just isn't interesting

So he likes playing the part of the (bratty) sub

But its Solomon, and he likes to push the envelope...

He tried to do something domineering with MC ONCE, and it caused him to be defenestrated.

Solomon is decidedly not a brat for a long time after that.

Simeon:

He finds it amusing how the MC bosses the brothers around so easily

But when they want to do... things with him, he's a little unsure.

It's not new territory for him in terms of knowledge, but it is in terms of practice.

MC is fascinated by the idea of dominating an angel. In a way, it feels like they're corrupting him.

Well, Simeon's willing to try (almost) anything once.

MC is gentle with Simeon, even if their words aren't

Simeon actually likes it. And he'll never be into impact play but he enjoys being tied up.

Luke:

Luke is LIVING for MC bossing the brothers around.

It's only what they deserve (so he thinks)

But sometimes, MC will say something bossy and their voice sounds different, lower...

Then Simeon covers his ears.

He doesn't know why Simeon keeps doing that. He really wants to hear MC boss the brothers around...

Succubi:

They're astounded. They're in awe. They're horny af watching MC boss the brothers around.

They talk amongst each other about MC so much.

"Do you think they're really a dom or are they just bossy?"

"Do you think the brothers like it or is MC just like this all the time?"

"... do you think they'd... with me?"

They all think that. They all hope for that.

And they really really wanna ask but... well they're all subs, god demon king bless them.

A couple of them get the courage to ask but then they get nervous during the execution and MC is not exactly the sharpest tack...

So MC literally has no idea how many demons want to fuck them....

Until Valentine's Day that is.

Dom MC is not easily overwhelmed. But the sheer amount of presents they get... and how many of them are from succubi that want to be dominated by them...

MC is really flattered but also wildly embarrassed. They lock themself in their room for a few days while they think of the best way to easily let down a bunch of horny succubi.

It goes better than one would expect saying "no" to a bunch of demons would... but it is not without disappointment and more embarrassment.

MC locks themself away again after having to do all that.

MC will be okay, but they might need some mental aftercare from their favorite boy afterwards

[redrobin-detective]

Crawls out from the Pit

Alright so after about 2 and half weeks I have finished all 8 seasons, 80 episodes of Ben 10 Omniverse. I’m a little sad to be done but also glad to have my free time back (also if I have to hear that motherFUCKING opening theme again I will actually cry). So it was an experiencing one that was both super enjoyable but also infuriating. Let me break down my thoughts (with some spoilers) under the cut.

Things I liked

- From the very first episode I was, and still am just fascinated by the basic world set up. Ben Tennyson is known across the entire universe as a hero and wielder of the Omnitrix, everyone he meets knows who he is. Coming off series with locked down secret identities Ben’s status as a universal celebrity had both pros and cons and was simply fascinating to watch.

 - Aliens are common in his hometown of Bellwood and there’s a thriving populous under the city. Watching aliens and humans interact with awkward moments and periods of adjustment was damn interesting, great world building in there too.

- The Plumbers being intergalactic peace keepers of sorts (again with all the good and bad that come with essentially being space cops) and having a presence on earth and beyond. Ben’s status as being part of the organization but not a true member, one who really answers only to himself was intriguing.

- For all that I nitpick Ben and Rook’s relationship (stilllll not seeing shippers sorry) I loved Rook Blonko as a character, he was delightful. I also did like Ben and Rook’s relationship bc their individual prejudices and problems kept them from becoming actually close and reliant on one another and while it came close at times it never really resolved which I’m okay with.

- Love the time travel shit *chefs kiss* Professor Paradox my beloved. Also I would die for No Watch Ben. And why is Ben 23 so popular? He’s a lil bitch.

- Genuinely did love the cartoony artstyle, I was obsessed with how green Ben’s eyes were. My personal fanon is the Omnitrix has slowly made them green and glowy over the years. Also the flashbacks to 10-11 year old Ben, baby diagnosed. Such a cutie patootie. 

- Speaking of which, loved the frequent callbacks to the original series (my first and favorite). OV felt way more connected to that Ben that I first fell in love with than AF or UAF.

- Ben, when his character was executed right, was wonderful. A big hearted teen who has way too much power and responsibility just doing his best. He covers his fear of failure with jokes and a deceptively casual attitude. While he can be lazy and overconfident and doesn’t think things through, he is dedicated to what he does not for fame but to help people and his determination and adaptability always see him through. 

Things I Didn’t Like

- So when Ben was done right it was great but my biggest peeve was how they changed his personality, maturity, competency level episode by episode. Sometimes he was capable of complex negotiations, sometimes all he could do was complain and eat junk foods, sometimes he he could sheer climb walls, other times he was pathetically weak without his Omnitrix. Needless to say I was really irked by the dangerously immature & reckless, rude to the point of being mean, willfully idiotic moron version of Ben who didn’t care about anything.

- When I first started someone said the first half of OV was good and the rest was not. They were right, loved S1-4, 5-8 had good episodes but overall was either cringing or rolling my eyes. S5 in particular aggravated me with Ben being at his worst. I was pulling my hair out at Ben yelling about how ugly and monstrous the citizens of Anur Transyl were like Ben... you regularly turn into those aliens.... your whole deal is being able to see from other’s perspectives...

- Just, the lack of taking itself seriously or following through on some damn interesting storylines. Like Ben being put on trial for recreating the universe? And being found guilty not just of that but misusing the Omnitrix??? That’s good shit right there but they waved it all away with some trial by combat bullshit and well back to normal. I know its a cartoon but that episode infuriated me. 

- Gwen and Kevin... didn’t care for them much here. Their characters just felt flat and shoved in whenever it was convenient with no real meaningful interactions between the supposedly close trio. They really were thrown under the bus to make room for Rook and the whole Plumbers thing.

- Kai *long groan* Honestly any attempt to address Ben’s love life was so nightmarishly bad. Everyone who says that Ben is Aromatic is absolutely correct. Boy hardly showed any interest in dates and tried to get out of most of them and yet he was ‘destined’ to be with a girl who was shown only to care about his transformations and not him? And that he didn’t really respect back? Hell no.

- Most of the villains were kinda Meh. Maltruant was cool but underused, we hardly got ANYTHING interesting out of the series big bad Vilgax, Albedo was... still don’t know what to think of him. Malware was cool tho, the whole Feedback thing was painful.

So overall the good outweighs the bad but I liked it far more at the beginning than I did the end. I’ll rewatch some of my favorites but probably won’t do a full binge again. Still, I love the idea of this particular universe and really did enjoy most of my watch!

[maria-chan5863]

Not a simp in the slightest, just thought this would be funny.

1. Green. Might not be the right shade, though.

2. I am female and come from a family where both sides are notoriously too fertile for their own good at times (my mom is the youngest of 11, and there would be more if my grandmother didn’t finally give in and use birth control behind my grandfather’s back).

3. Genetically engineering for appearance is just, no.

4. On little kids to prevent losing them or them getting hurt is one thing, but the older the kid the less acceptable.

5. Ignoring the villain part, I would not want to be stay at home long term, but doing so until the kid(s) are old enough to be in school and then taking a job based around what works with school schedules would be fine.

6. Again ignoring the premise, I am open to adoption, especially with this being a scenario of caring for a family member.

7. Not a great cook, lol.

8. I obsessively read a story and then either catch up to what is out so far (if the story is not finished) or get distracted most of the way through, and then never come back to finish it.

9. Ties or lack thereof are something I don’t particularly care about.

10. The series is not my style, so I don’t have a strong opinion.

11. It is not possible to love them too much, but it is possible for you to express your love wrong.

12. Ignoring both the kidnapping and the Nomu creation, I would be okay with looking after orphans.

13. Good at his job, does not seem like someone I would get along with too well due to personality clash, though.

14. I like distinctive hair because I have mild face blindness and distinctive hair can give me a trait to latch onto. Spikey in particular is not something I care about beyond that, though.

15. The idea of a vault to store valuables in amuses me. However, I disapprove of the fact that obviously AFO would consider his family valuables.

16. 5? The general concept isn’t wrong, but there are some significant faults in current execution.

17. If the younger person is over 30, I would say that it would be B, but someone in their 20s (like me) is frankly a lot weirder because they are still quite young and do not have enough experience at adulthood.

18. B, probably. 

19. All of the options are horrid. Discipline is necessary but physical violence is not.

20. Yoichi is fine as a name itself, but don’t you intend to resurrect your brother? Wouldn’t having them have the same name get confusing?

21. Probably point out where he is making up faults in All Might and then comment on where the real faults are for a while. Eventually I might put on clothes and walk away though.

22. Potentially hot, depending on the quirk.

23. B in reality.

24. Ignoring that I didn’t select C, all black gets a little meh, but something like black pants and cardigan with a colored or at least grayscale patterned shirt underneath looks fine (plus I already own multiple outfits worth of clothes under that description).

25. Do they resurrect as they were before, or does the resurrection change them?

26. Nah.

Since the All for One in Walk A Mile Another Shoes is single, do you think I have a chance of getting him to marry me? (I can cook just as good as Inko btw)

Actually, yes, "Walk a Mile in Another's Shoes" is single and seeking a partner to be his baby incubator/child minder for a replacement Yoichi. He would like you to fill out the following questionnaire and get back to him.

What color are your eyes? (Green is preferred in order to produce a child with green eyes. Do not try to trick him with contact lenses. He will check.)

Do you have a fertile womb? If not, will you let Dr. Garaki experiment on you for the sake of producing a child between you and All for One to be a replacement Yoichi? The good doctor is confident in his abilities to create a child with the genetics of any two people regardless of their gender assigned at birth.

What are your feelings on genetically engineering a child to look like Yoichi? It would not be necessary for you to have green eyes if you are willing to genetically engineer eye color.

What is your policy on tracking devices and cameras planted on unknowing children?

Are you willing to be a stay-at-home parent to support a career-oriented villain?

It is currently unknown to "Walk a Mile in Another's Shoes" All for One if there is a vestige of Yoichi inside One for All. However, All for One has plans to resurrect his brother using a Nomu, clone, or preserved corpse as a mainframe and the memories inside One for All. If he succeeds, then would you be open to adoption? Additional biological children could be discussed between the two of you. All for One would not be adverse to a biological child with you so he could finally have a family member join his evil empire, but he would also be willing to stick to one child if you prefer to focus on brainwashing Yoichi.

Excellent cooking is a huge plus. Can you cook both Japanese and Western meals?

Do you prefer to finish stories or always stop before the last chapter/episode?

Do men look better wearing ties?

Who is better, the Demon King or Captain Hero?

Is it possible to love your family too much?

Are you willing to temporarily look after any orphans that All for One might kidnap? They will not impose on you for long before being moved to the orphanage or turned into Nomu, and you are welcome to kill them if they get on your nerves. Except for Tenko Shimura, who is important to All for One's plans and thus must be kept alive.

What are your opinions on the blond oaf, also known as All Might?

What are your opinions on people with spikey hair?

The ideal home should contain: A. No bank vaults; B. One large bank vault in the basement; C. As many bank vaults as possible.

How would you rate hero society on a scale of one to ten, with one being a crumbling failed relic and ten being mindless All Might worship?

Do you believe that relationships with age gaps of more than a century are: A. Creepy; B. Not necessarily bad between consenting adults but both parties should be wary of a potential power imbalance; or C. The younger person should unconditionally obey the older one, who is much wiser.

If your future child wanted to become a hero, then would you: A. Support their dreams; B. Gently attempt to dissuade them; or C. Stick them in a bank vault?

Children should be disciplined: A. Very harshly with physical violence; B. I don't believe in any discipline, spoil them rotten; C. Vaulting is always the solution.

Which of the following is the best name for your future baby: A. Yoichi; B. Yoichi; or C. Yoichi.

If All for One started trash-talking All Might for two or more hours in a moment of postcoital bliss, would you: A. Put on your clothes and leave; B. Make him sleep on the sofa; or C. Enthusiastically join in?

Quirks in bed: hot or squicky?

If you discovered that your husband is a supervillain would you: A. Call the Police; B. Flee; or C. Support his world domination efforts?

If you selected option C, then do you look good wearing black as potential dark consort to the Emperor of the World?

Marriage should be: A. Until death do us part; or B. If your loved one dies, then resurrect them from the dead.

Optional: you may attach an essay describing why you love All for One.

...Seriously, Anon, don't do it. No amount of money is worth this walking red flag factory.

[dystopiandilfs]

I find it interesting how each Feral boy is with DreamSMP lore and how they approach it if they do. This is also some ideas and improvements. This is all my opinion and you don't have to agree or disagree.

Disclaimer this will be me using comparisons as it makes it easier to explain. This isn't me saying one person is better than another. Some might be negative points, some will be positive so no critical tags sorry. Even with me once again expressing my strong negative opinions on Tales. The idea is good the execution is not.

This is based off of multiple things; Character story, Character traits, Lore?, Plot holes, Fan theories, General enjoyment, Viewer impact, Clear goals etc

Dream seems to enjoy it the most as he offers to join everyone's lore as well as helping when he can and also trying to include others into "main" lore He also has managed to create a character with a full storyline without not once streaming from his perspective. He's very good at doing things that may seem small at the time but ends up having a huge impact. He manages to have a full storyline and a complete character but still leaves room for theories and headcanons for people to add on (Dreamon my beloved 💕). Because we don't see his perspective we don't know his intentions or goals so he's made his character detailed but mysterious which is actually quite difficult as he's the main character (Sorry Ranboo but it's true)

When it comes to acting he's very good at staying in character even when things get a bit scuffed obviously there's a few moments of breaking character but they're not him trying to get others to break character with jokes and voices they're genuine fuck ups (Accidentally blowing himself up and breaking character to both clear up confusion about it being canon and to switch from a tense atmosphere to give the audience a break for a bit and breaking character to say his Twitch handle after accidentally breaking TOS so George didn't get banned)

Dream said he's got a storyline from his perspective and it's all prerecorded which I'm excited for as I think it's going to be a bunch of flashbacks which could expand both character backstory but also create more storylines for people to bounce off of. For example if he did a flashback with some of the OG members they could build from that. It could give more of an explanation of why he changed. Essentially Dream's lore could be a bunch of behind the scene clips giving more lore for characters like him discussing the egg or prison with Sam, him and Punz talking more about the deal, him and Techno , him and Puffy, him and Ranboo. Dream is the main character because literally ever other character can do a flashback scene with him and build a whole storyline from it. For example Dreamon Hunters can be bought back in which already was linked to the Egg by Fundy. To sum it up Dream's lore from his perspective can not only made way for multiple new theories and headcanons but also is the easiest way for other characters to have more dimension even with a 20 second clip. And it gives more context to Dream as a character. Disclaimer this isn't me saying people can only be dimensional characters because of Dream I'm saying that Dream is the easiest way for someone to start a storyline that they can then work on if they want.

Quackity can do lore if he puts his mind to it. However it also has to rely on multiple things. Who the lore is with?, How serious is it? And What's the vibe? Basically if Quackity is with people who don't do serious lore or people who crack jokes often then his lore won't have that good quality lore I know it can be. For example Quackity's lore with Sam and Dream couldn't be replicated with most other people on the server. I can't even imagine if Karl and George were trying to do the prison lore. Even in Quackity's big stream you can see this difference Schlatt's bit dragged on and often got derailed because whilst they were both interested in the lore they weren't invested. The bit with BBH was a bit all over the place because they were both talking over each other and you could sort of tell it had little to no script or end goal but this was also partly down to them both being very into lore. They both tried to stick to their pre-existing character traits which clash Vs the Prison which had a clear script even if it was vague. Go to prison, convince Sam to bring weapons, Go torture Dream. Sam, Dream and Quackity are 3 of the most mysterious characters who have no clear plans, you can't predict their moves which is why any lore with them is good because they don't have a character personality that they have to stick to. For example Dream is known to adapt for each person so he could be nice one minute and demon child next.

Once Quackity has broken character he used to completely lose it. The vibe was gone however I was highly impressed with how he and Sam managed to keep the vibe when the prison broke. Previously Quackity would have lost his shit and derailed everything. I do think Quackity's strongest lore point is going with other strong lore members or just being on his own.

George and Sapnap I'm going to sort of link together. They both seen to be a bit meh on lore. I think it genuinely depends on what mood they're in. I also think that they'll both be much more comfortable doing lore that's prefilmed Vs live on stream.

Sapnap is very good at bouncing off of people so I think he'd be really good at lore with most people. I think Sapnap could definitely capitalise on the angst of being the abandoned one who is loyal to death but doesn't have the same in return. Like Dream both Sapnap and George are good at voice manipulation meaning if they want sad angst they can sound upset. Sapnap seems more tempted to do on the spot lore so he can't back out so that's another option. Like Sapnap has multiple headcanons handed to him and I know this bitch can act his little yeehaw soul out. Even if it's short clips talking to people like Punz or Sam who he seems closest to.

George has this strange ability to kickstart ideas for lore and then let's others build from it. (Also his ability for all of his lore to have a LGBTQ subtext like pack it up Dean Winchester) I genuinely don't think it's intentional however I think with a bit of thought he can have a general well rounded character. I know he did that lore the other day and has started to build up a character background however I think he's better with less serious lore people as I don't think he can do serious mood streams like Dream or Ranboo but can potentially hold it long enough for a bit like Techno or Phil. I think George's weakness is he'd rather someone else guide him through lore instead of doing it himself. Man really doesn't like being the main character.

Karl seems to want to do lore but doesn't have the ability to create it. He has all these ideas but can't form a proper story about it. I used to have this issue where I had all these cool bullet point ideas but I could never form a cool idea with them and I think Karl has the same issue. In my opinion if Karl does want to continue with Tales and bullet point ideas I think he needs help formulating a bit more of a story. Once again like Sapnap and George I think he excels in prerecorded lore however it's also either heavily scripted or he's having his hand held through it. Which is fine but that's why a lot of people can't connect Tales to DreamSMP as his streams are the only ones that are heavily scripted and it gives off a different vibe. Karl is also too bubbly to crack down on serious lore which is fine not all lore needs to be serious and angsty however he tries to make it deep. I personally think that Karl should capitalise on this uwu soft boy persona he has. No deep lore. Obviously choosing memory loss time travel involves serious moments but I think he needs to split it more between dark angst and wholesome Karlnapity moments. What I mean is that Karl on DreamSMP and Tales Karl seem like 2 completely different characters that just so happen to share a name. I think the prerecorded bit at the end needs to begin to add his DreamSMP personality a bit more.

TLDR: Dream is strongest lore, Quackity works best with serious lore with people invested or on his own with a bit of direction, Sapnap and George will probably be better off doing prerecorded lore as it seems more comfortable for them, Karl struggles to put his ideas into a storyline and would benefit from doing less heavily scripted pre recorded lore to make his storyline cohesive Vs a bunch of one shots.

To sum it up Dream is Hot and should bring back Dreamons, Quackity needs to work more with serious lore people, Sapnap should Capitalise on his loyalty trait and constant abandonment for maximum angst, George should cry on command more, Karl needs spend more time writing instead of paying for builds.

[solarwonux]

Why I haven’t been posting...

Long story short, apart from working two jobs and feeling just super meh about writing. I’ve been trying to spend time with my friends and family as much as I can. 

I’m moving to a different country in November. Honestly, it was a huge surprise to me and to everyone around me, as I wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon, but it did. It’s a scary realization when you come to terms that you’ll be living on the other side of the world and leaving behind everything you have known your entire life. Especially because this is something I am doing for me and by myself. So yeah, I am scared, nervous and excited and a little bit stressed out. I am so tired lately and no amounts of sleep makes me feel less tired. So I’ve been trying to just take it easy and not force myself to do things. And right now writing isn’t so easy, and believe me I have so many ideas but I can’t find a way to execute them. 

Also with getting my documents in order as well as working two jobs and trying to spend time with my family, I just haven’t had enough time to write. But when I do, when I find these small pockets of free time and try to write. I absolutely hate everything that comes up. Or I end up getting stuck as some part and can’t find my way out. 

I miss writing and posting so much, but I also don’t want to post just to post. I want to be sure that what I put out is something I like as well. 

Hopefully as the day gets closer to my move. These feelings starts to dissipate, but I also know that while I am stuck in my apartment for two weeks. These feelings will be amplified for the most part. Which is why for now I am trying to take as much time as I can to myself so that the isolation doesn’t hit me to hard. 

I hope you all understand and are a bit more patient with me. I promise I haven’t forgotten about this blog or anyone who has been so lovely and welcoming throughout the year. Things are just changing to fast and are a little hectic that I need to keep up. I’ll be back. I promise .xxx

For the mean time, here are both of my masterlists and my latest work: 

PAYMENT DUE! 

SVT M.LIST

BTS M.LIST 

Laura <3

[rottingmanifesto]

Discussion/Ramble of post-9/11 AU

If you’ve read On Leave already, you’re aware of my American Idiot AU which is simply just Mafia 3, but post-9/11. Music plays a huge role in this as well, hence the title being one of the most politically scathing punk albums of the early 2000s. (What can I say? I’m a die hard pop punk and punk rock fan. I’m in the top 0.5% for Green Day and top 20% for Dead Kennedys, so that should say something.)

American Idiot takes place in a post-9/11 America and follows Lincoln Clay and John Donovan on their bumpy roads through (pseudo)-recovery, emotions, and pop culture. It’s essentially a semi-modern universe with punk music and it’s just one kid writing it instead of numerous people.

Here’s the ideas/WIPs I have at the moment:

American Idiot: The main “fic”, which is most likely going to be more of a timeline and general overview of the plot. I’m still undecided on how I want to execute this frankly.

City of the Damned: stories of Ellis, Danny, Giorgi, Lincoln, and Nicki (pre-Lincoln joining the Army). It’ll most likely include their reactions to 9/11 and domestic terrorism, so be warned.

Holiday: I honestly forgot, but probably just some small stories of Lincoln with his family/community.

Unnamed: A peek into John’s backstory, mainly his teenage years.

Novacaine: Lincoln smokes and talks with a war buddy while back in the states temporarily. He doesn’t go back home, for a myriad of reasons.

Coming Clean: Lincoln discovers that he’s not straight.

Know Your Enemy: John meets Connor Aldridge in the 90s (pre-9/11) and somewhat admires him. That gets destroyed after the events of 9/11, and the fic starts (or ends?) with John holding a gun to Aldridge’s head.

Letterbomb: Roxy is pissed at Lincoln for working with known racists (and a CIA agent, just look up the history of what the US government has done to the black community for details on that one), and loses her temper on him. That passion that Lincoln loved backfired on him.

I’m struggling with how Sal gets the money plates or if he should do something else, as the money-plates was heavily era-specific, but I’m open to ideas! Speaking of which, I probably will try to explore potential disorders that the characters have (I am not a professional, please don’t treat me as one lol) and how it manifests now that there are labels.

There’s more but that’s the basics for the actual verse!

History Ramble— Lowkey Important to ‘Verse

So I keep mentioning how a post-9/11 America directly mirrors the Cold War, and though it’s complicated to explain fully, I want to try to convey the basics of it. Warning for mentions of n@zis and general war/bad shit.

Note: this will be long, so click below to read!

Let’s start with WWII. USSR and US kinda hate each other, but meh, the n@.zis are way worse (well technically they took inspo from both other nations but that’s for later) so they shake hands and spill blood. Yay. The war’s won, which means we can now properly fistfight— well not really, because nuclear warfare is in its infancy, Europe is just fucked, and the US’s men are now boinking every broad they see, leading to the baby boom. No one really wants to have a WWIII, so the USSR and US stew. USSR develops (further) into an industrialist coalition of unwilling nations, and the US does its own imperialism and development. The next decades get… sticky, so bear with me.

1950s: The first hydrogen bomb is tested in 1950, the Korean War is a proxy-war for the USSR (North Korea) and the US (South Korea), and both the Space Race and Vietnam War begin, with SR being in ‘57 and VW in ‘59. The important thing here is the cultural change— modern ideals of ‘traditional’ are solidified here.

1960s: Ideally, Mafia 3 was a decent overview of general (and mildly romanticized) history, but during this era, the Vietnam War was in full swing (basically Korea part 2: the commies win), Civil Rights became a national debate, Cuban Missile Crisis and Bay of Pigs, and the USSR dropped the largest atomic bomb known to humanity. By the end of this era, the threat of MAD (mutually assured destruction) and increasing costs of outright feuding between both superpowers caused a lull in tensions for a while. Basically like WWII— “fuck you, but I’m broke and not crazy so I’m not gonna nuke you.” “Same.”— and now it’s time for…

1970s: Economic crash right off the bat for the US. Hell, there was very little economic prosperity on either side, and the 70s saw far less public tension than the past 20 years. But ‘Nam dragged on, people became far more restless, and the CIA (and FBI) was head-on against the KGB. Going to be honest, not a lot happens in regards to the Cold War in the 70s, but you know what does happen? The CIA peddles drugs to underfunded and over-policed neighborhoods, specifically the black community! Who would’ve guessed. (Yes, I’m being sarcastic, fuck the US government. Sorry Donovan, that includes you.) Also evangelism takes a hold on the former 60s hippies, and would take America in its clutches. It would actually lead to Ronald Reagan’s popularity in the 80s, but that’s its own can of worms.

Side note: Ronald Reagan funded the Taliban ( AKA the CIA did it and used Reagan as a front man) during the time periods 1979-1989. I will DEFINITELY discuss this in American Idiot! because John will have an… interesting response to discovering his president and coworkers funded one of the largest Afghani terrorist organizations. Anyone who says John would like Reagan is absolutely wrong and doesn’t understand John nor the history surrounding it. Anyway, back to the timeline.

1980s: Whoo boy, there’s a lot. But here’s the main things:

1981: Ronald Reagan is elected president of the United States. Find out how he radicalized American politics here!

1989: the Berlin Wall is destroyed in one of the most monumental moments in modern history

Also 1989: USSR withdraws from Afghanistan after Operation Cyclone

1990s: The USSR officially crumbles on December 8th, 1991, after 45 years. Boris Yeltsin becomes leader of the “Commonwealth of Independent States”, but I don’t know enough about that to say how that affects anything.

Now to 9/11! Again, warnings for terrorism (including wh!te supremac!st domestic terrorism) and general war discussions, as well as islamaphobia. School shootings will also be mentioned.

Late 1990s: With the USSR no longer a threat, the US seemed to prosper until a little something known as Jihadism reared its head. During the dispute between the USSR and the US, numerous extremist groups such as al-Qaeda rose to prevalence in a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. During this time, both domestically and internationally-fueled terrorism occurred, the most notable being below.

Right-Wing Terrorism

Oklahoma City Truck Bombing (1995), one of the deadliest terrorist attacks on US soil at the time. Left 168 dead.

Eric Rudolph’s many acts (1996-1998), namely the Centennial Olympic Park Bombing, killing two and injuring 111.

Columbine School Shooting (1999), two teenagers, affiliated with neo- n@zi beliefs, shot up their school and then killed themselves. 13 people died, 12 students and 1 teacher (not including them).

Side note: General Ku Klux Klan actions were occurring alongside the other attacks, but as per usual, the federal government did barely anything to combat these hate crimes. To no one’s surprise.

“Lone Wolf”

The Unabomber Ted Kaczynski (1970s-1990s), mailed his targets more than a dozen bombs that killed three people and injured many others.

Jihadist

New York World Trade Center attack (1993), a failed attempt to bring down the trade center that left six people dead.

Attacks on Kenyan and Tanzanian US embassies (1998), more than 200 left dead after the simultaneous attacks.

2000s: This decade became the catalyst for the new McCarthyism— fear of “who’s a terrorist”. It’s a hectic, loaded decade with political turmoil, some of my favorite albums/songs ever, and a push for social equality much like the 1960s (albeit it would be far more prevalent in the 2010s-20s.) Here’s some of the key events.

2001: September 11th, 2001. The twin towers in New York City are destroyed by two planes, one plane crashes into the side of the Pentagon, and the last lands off-course when the passengers fought their captors (sadly, ending their own lives in the process). This becomes the biggest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, and leads to a boom in nationalistic fervor with many young adults joining the military. Bush’s response of immediate attack also caused much of the modern perception of this era, but that is too long to explain in a Tumblr post.

2002: France openly criticizes the United States’ response to terrorism, causing a spike in hatred against the French/Western Europe (that heavily would affect meme culture in the late 2000s-today). “French fries” becoming “Freedom fries” is frankly pretty stupid in hindsight, but it goes to show just how common it was to hate anyone who disagreed with the government— this can be seen strongly during Trump’s presidency.

2008: Obama becomes the first black president, and the Recession occurs. The Recession mimics what 1970s America faced, with rising gas prices and an outdated federal minimum wage.

2010s: It’s impossible to really summarize this era, but here is what I’ll say: the radicalization of the right due to the alt-right pipeline (online spheres), as well as Jihadist recruiting via social media, heavily resembles mid-60s tensions and late 70s/early 80s evangelism.

2020s (thus far): The United States after 11 years officially withdraws from Afghanistan on August 30th, 2021, directly mirroring the USSR’s withdraw post-Op Cyclone. Right-wing terrorism and “satanic panic” rises again through right-wing online platforms such as QAnon, and we’re right back to where we began. Turmoil, a divided nation of ideals, and the CIA being cunts. Truly, a second Cold War.

Personal anecdote: QAnon’s effect on baby boomers could very well lead to a resurgence of the KKK. Just saying that makes me unbelievably pissed, but unfortunately, those who denounce history for being too “woke” are doomed to become the villains to the next generation. I could go on about how the political right wing uses fear tactics and strawman arguments without ever truly acknowledging any beliefs outside their own, but meh, that’s its own topic.

All sources not already linked:

Cold War

Missile Museum

PBS.org

Modern Terrorism

CNN

New America

US Department of Justice

————

I’m going to discuss how these events affect the characters/ their personal timelines in a later post, this one is getting way too long. If you stuck around this long, have some history memes for your patience.

[moreespressoformydepresso]

Reaper is 100% giving the threatening big brother look but Felix was already planning on getting Dill medication for the tuberculosis because movie Felix seems pretty nice and no one can look at Dill and not want to help her without being an absolute monster. I’ll say Clemmie is out of the hospital already and isn’t turning into a snake woman because how would that even work? Also one snake managed to kill Treech so why would it give Clemensia snake characteristics? So I’m ignoring that bit.

The housing situation will definitely be very shitty for kids like Facet who drew the shortest of all the short straws that were drawn, but a big thing is that all the mentors started off with the same attitude Livia did aside from Sejanus. The difference is that Facet died before she could get close to him, Lysistrata only stated she became fond of Jessup after the bombing although it must have been a growing feeling. I think, if Facet hadn’t died, Livia might have started to care for him by the time the games rolled around. Brandy is still dead because that happened before the arena bombing, and thus Arachne is too (fuck her), so that’s a possible roadblock for the tributes, but all of them end up at least civil with their mentors. Yeah Arachne would absolutely do something like that to Brandy, so our favorite butcher girl gets to keep her “Imma drag your ass down to hell with me and watch you burn” moment.

Festus would probably be… meh. The games are still technically on so he needs Coral to be in the best shape possible. In the book he had a truly disgusting suggestion for how to force the districts to watch the games (execution of everyone who didn’t) and was okay with the idea of betting on the lives of children to “liven things up” so just like everyone else he was prejudiced against the districts, but he did call Clemensia heartless for not giving Reaper food during the games so we can infer he at least started to see the tributes as people in some capacity. Even though he changed his mind when Reaper tried to show other tributes respect. Because of this I think he’d go from “We have the same goal here, despite very different reasons, so lets be civil” to actually starting to care for her and have a moral crisis like most of the other mentors (and families).

The difficulty with Panlo and Sheaf is that we don’t see anything of them, really. We know Gaius Breen was a nice dude who always had a joke to brighten the mood, but given that he made prejudiced jokes about the districts he’s clearly just like everybody else in that city: nice to “their own” and horrible to the district people for reasons that are no longer justifiable (since the capitol has done far worse things than the rebels ever did by this point). Given that he is a nice dude I think he too could start giving a shit if given the time. Androcles… we know absolutely nothing about him, so we can make our own judgements and for the sake of the fix it I’ll say he’s less of a dick about the districts than Gaius. Not great, because capitol, but not as bad as he could be.

I hate Snow, but I think an important thing people miss is that he chose to be the way he is. Especially because people try to blame Lucy Gray for not loving him out of his ways, but those people seem to ignore that A) love will not magically fix mental health issues or bitch disease, both of which Snow suffers from, and B) Lucy Gray loved and trusted Coryo until the end of the story… after he confessed to killing Sejanus. He betrayed Sej, who he did seem to care for despite how much of an unreliable narrator he is, and shot Mayfair (for purely selfish reasons) even when Lucy Gray did what some people insist she should’ve kept doing. Snow going evil was a choice, one that became inevitable after he murdered Bobbin and took his own actions as confirmation of Gaul’s theory (which is a whole new level of failing the self-awareness check) and since that never happens here I’ll take the creative liberty to say that him having to show someone his living conditions and them not judging him is what pushes him over to becoming a better person. I really think having someone to talk to about his hardships would’ve done him a lot of good, and Lucy Gray lives in district 12 so I think if he’d talk to anyone about it it’s her.

Tigris is a queen. She becomes the tributes’ guardian angel? More likely than you think!

Sej and Marc reconciliation would be awesome and adorable that is 100% canon for this AU. I have thoughts on specifically Treech’s turbulent stay on Vipsania because I have many thoughts on their dynamic (both canon and not) but I’ve babbled on for too long already so I’ll cut it off for now unless you want me to type it out 😅

More TBOSAS fix-it food!! Instead of bombing the arena, the rebels bomb the capitol zoo while the tour is happening. Because throwing kids in a zoo enclosure is kind of fucked up actually, and it’s just as much a symbol of the capitol’s rampant dehumanization of the districts as the arena where the yearly underage death match takes place. Thanks to this, the kids obviously can’t be placed back in the zoo because, you know, it was destroyed. So what now? Well…

As I’ve stated in previous posts, I’m convinced the mentor program was an attempt at stopping the games in the long run that backfired horribly. Seeing that not enough progress is being made, dean Highbottom decides that the tributes should stay with their mentors. Peacekeepers will be around to make sure no funny business occurs, of course, but despite the outrage of some mentors (cough Livia cough) and all the mentors’ families the plan goes through. As much as I think the tributes dying was necessary to truly drive home the horror of the games for the mentors, it clearly didn’t work and the kids deserve to live so this is the next best thing.

At first, the tributes don’t have a good time, because the families they’re forced to stay with treat them like animals. Worse, actually, because most people don’t go out of their way to make things as unpleasant as possible for animals. However, it doesn’t take long for at least parts of the families to warm up to the tributes. Who stay jumpy and mistrustful and scared out of their damn minds because one wrong move means death, but hey they’ll live. The peacekeepers got a free hand to dish out whatever punishment they wanted so long as the family the kid’s staying with approves, which turns out to be in Highbottom’s plan’s favor because now capitol citizens get to see firsthand just how cruel and inhumane capitol punishment is in the districts. These families have private doctors too, so while at first the veterinarian responsible for the tributes is working overtime her work slowly diminishes. The mentors’ families are so influential that the initial denial of medical care is quickly retracted.

By the time the games are supposed to happen, the president has grown such a soft spot for Dill that he makes up an excuse to postpone them, and when the new date rolls around the tributes have spent enough time with people even outside of their mentor’s family that they’ve endeared themselves to all the important people in the capitol. The games weren’t popular anyways, so the president doesn’t feel a risk to his career when he cancels them.

I may post little tidbits of plot ideas I have floating in my head for this AU, but for now imagine Felix sitting in one of the massive living rooms in the presidential mansion, showing Dill some cool capitol stuff as she looks on with doe-eyes full of curiosity, while the president loses his mind in the background as he suffers a severe moral crisis.

[cozymochi]

I already know this, but it’s worth asking-

What are elements of the soft retcon you love and what elements do you still prefer from the original continuity?

AFTER OUR BINGE, I noticed a lot of things.

but im too scared to blast this to the masses cuz it involves some tinfoil hats on my part so 😭 It’s kind of long and dumb.

The soft retcon stuff I like is definitely the design overhaul. I dunno. I really like the more saturated and bright look. Both for the aesthetics and the characters. Though I’ve seen people rly hate that. …Not my problem though!

A BIG THING I LIKE: I think I like the soft-retcon Membrane family waaaay better.

After watching the main series’ I kinda noticed how much harder it was to root for Dib, or how kiiinda flat the other members of the family were. Don’t get it twisted, I liked ‘em fine as they were. They just didn’t really do anything for me. It’s definitely evident that JV and co didn’t quite pin down what they wanted for them yet. (This kinda thing is pretty normal for anyone I think, sometimes ur characters are just gonna be wips for a while, and IZ was cut off really fast)

The overhauls in the soft retcon (primarily in ETF) such as making Dib’s general motivation more personally driven, or making the family dynamic a little better (and cooler in some cases) I think makes them all a bit more palatable as characters? I dunno. Lol. I just like seeing more positive things. (I don’t view this as in-universe “character development” tho that’s kinda weird imo, sometimes it really just is easier to say that somebody just changed their mind). The Membranes in ETF definitely feel like a fleshed-out culmination of stuff that was getting rolling in the comics.

Even if the gainax ending in ETF punches me in the face.

(And believe me i got a myriad of issues with the comics, but those guys aren’t really one of them) 

The stuff I prefer in the original continuity though is pretty much everything and anything having to do with the Irkens and other aliens.

BECAUSE THAT STUFF WAS PRETTY GREAT and I think it got shafted pretty badly in the comics and ETF. I can see why though. I read some JV interview from 2015 (I think on IGN? Idfk. I should’n’t have been on incognito), around the time the IZ comics were getting started. Long story short, he wanted to use the comics as a means to address all the problems he had with the Membranes in the og series and kinda… revise them. Which, gr8 yay, they needed it imo

As for Zim? He said Zim wouldn’t change.

Call it my tinfoil hat moment, but I think that that mindset was exactly the issue… Zim and co. were VERY defined and fleshed out by the og series end (as wack as some later eps were gonna be), but I think just leaving them to the wayside like that as characters that don’t need change (i.e. that much attention) is exactly why Zim, The Tallest, and much of the other space-centric stuff kinda got warped and flanderized. Or, hell, not referenced altogether. Zim got dumber, the Tallest got dumber, and a lot of the other space things specifically involving ID2 kinda… phased out.

Sometimes what you remember a character being like, wasn’t what they were like at all. And if u don’t reaaally work with them, ur gonna exaggerate or even forget whole things. The Membranes were worked on with the intent of fleshing them out and reworking them to what we end up seeing in ETF.

Zim? He wasn’t. He was just considered fine as he was, and while I agree with that on principle, in the comics execution he doesn’t quite feel the same. He feels more like… maybe a caricature is too harsh? But. Definitely weird. I’m just not nearly as invested. :( (There are a couple exceptions, but. Meh)

But I should also mention in that same interview the point of the comics wasn’t really for lore or continuing setups from season 2, but just random anthologies and a sandbox to fix up some characters *cough* the membranes. Unfortunately, that didn’t include the titular one. Meh. What can ya do.

SO YEAH. ORIGINAL CONTINUITY ZIM AND CO? Yes. They WERE more fleshed out and defined. But plz, that doesn’t mean nothing else can be done with them! ya gotta actually work with them! Character expansion happens naturally. …Eh. What would I know? I don’t have a dang series.

This is kind of an aside: But I really don’t like the idea of trying to make the soft retcon retroactively fit into the old continuity yet have both things play out in the exact same way. Sometimes it makes sense, other times it just makes something get framed a whole a lot worse unintentionally by trying to deem it as “unseen character development.” Trying to tie everything together under a single path is kinda dumb imo. There’s no way to do that without making something a lot more FUCKEDDDD. Or way more complicated. IZ was workshopped waaay too much in it’s run to do that jfhfhchv

And, personally, I don’t really like making things more complicated tbh. Sometimes— as dumb as this sounds— not looking into stuff is much easier to swallow than trying to make everything work as a single unit.

All a soft retcon is is just: “things pretty much are setup the same they just played out a bit differently.” You may as well call ETF a soft retcon of Zim Issue #1 /s There’s just no way, man. God forbid this go into anime territory with “HERE IS A DIFFERENT TIMELINE” OH GOD NO!!

It’s ok guys really. Sometimes… things just be like that aight…

and that’s why at the end of the day we hand-wave it by not getting too deep, or pick and choose what we like and head out :DD

and let’s be real despite what i praise i don’t enjoy everything from the soft retcon, if my zim rant wasn’t enough. Like how i don’t enjoy everything from the comics or OG series. And despite my wording I actually don’t take all of this that personally.

…But it’d sure be nice if i could have all the good stuff from all of it mushed together. Gimme the alien lore from the og series, gimme the membranes and earth from ETF, and—

…

well idk wtf i’d take from the comics lmaooo maybe the Gaz plots.

[skullsandwineglasses]

My Girlfriend is an Alien Review

I don’t normally review modern romance dramas because first of all, I’m more or a xianxia/wuxia/historical drama kind of person so I don’t watch too many modern dramas in the first place, and second, when I do watch modern dramas, I choose the simple, fluffy kind, so there’s not much to critically review anyway. I mainly watch them between dramas to cleanse my palate. 

But I finished MGFIAA yesterday and I have thoughts, mostly good ones. 

1. First Impressions

I was really skeptical about this drama at first. It’s a rich guy CEO/poor girl drama, and I normally hate that trope. The last CEO dramas I watched were Boss and Me and My Sunshine 6 years ago, but that was because I wanted to watch Zhao Liying and Tang Yan respectively. 

But, after reading comments on reddit about how people thought MGFIAA was Wan Peng’s best comedic work so far, I decided to take a leap of faith and gave this drama a shot. I went into the drama mostly blind and had no expectations. I had just finished You Are My Hero and My Little Happiness, both dramas in which the FL and ML have different careers (which is a dynamic I really like), so I wanted to watch something completely different that would prevent me from comparing it to these last 2 dramas. 

The drama starts of kinda meh. The FL uses her alien powers to save the ML from a car crash. The ML is a stereotypical alpha male CEO. Nothing too surprising or enticing yet. But the scene that sealed the deal for me was when the FL starts stealing and trying on clothes while window shopping at the mall. Wan Peng was just gorgeous and glowing in that scene. And then the next scene that confirmed it for me was when the FL freezes time, but the ML is unaffected by it and he sees her for the first time but is unsure if he’s hallucinating or not. After that scene, I decided to stick with the drama to see what all the hype was about. 

2. Simple, sweet, no-non-sense plot

There’s only one plot line in the drama, which is the romance between the main leads. There are no supporting couples or subplots. All supporting characters are either helping the leads get together, or are plotting against the leads, so everything directly relates back to them. I really like this because it makes the story more focused on just one storyline and one couple. 

This is different from most dramas where it’s common to have a subplot with a supporting couple. My Little Happiness had a supporting couple whose plot line was completely separate from the main leads, while You Are My Hero had two supporting couples, which dragged out the drama. 

I suppose this is because Wan Peng and Hsu Thassapak were not that popular at the time, so the plot could be more focused on them to promote them. On the other hand, when you have a drama where the leads are already popular, the production team will try to leverage that popularity to bring attention to lesser-known up-and-coming actors in the supporting roles. I remember how Yang Zi and Deng Lun had less and less screen time towards the end of Ashes of Love, and Tang Yan and Luo Jin also didn’t have much screen time in The Way We Were, and Yang Mi used Eternal Love to help promote the actors under her agency, like Dilireba (although Yang Mi managed to keep the drama mostly focused on her storyline). 

3. Comedy

Despite being a sitcom comedy, this drama didn’t make me laugh out loud like some scenes in my Little Happiness and You Are My Hero did, but there were a lot of scenes where I couldn’t help but grin like an idiot because of some of the adorably awkward antics the FL and ML did. They also mock the CEO romance genre in some scenes by exaggerating the trope, which was amusing (but still cringey) to watch, but I guess that was the point. 

However, I will admit that there were some outright cringey scenes that were hard to watch. A recurring plot point was the the FL’s fascination with the male body and pheromones. So sometimes, she can’t help herself and reaches out to touch the ML’s abs. This plot point works because she’s an alien who’s curious and doesn’t know better, but the second hand embarrassment you still feel is strong nevertheless. I think physical clinginess just makes me really uncomfortable in general. 

The kiss scenes were very PG, probably because Hsu Thassapak is married with kids, but there are a lot of innuendos in the dialogue and physical comedy.

4. Acting

Wan Peng is effortlessly adorable and bubbly, and the voice acting really helps sell that as well. (The voice actress, Qiao Shi Yu, who dubs her is the same one who usually dubs Zhao Liying and who also dubbed Yuan bingyan in Love and Redemption. I think the voice actress is often used for cutesy characters. Wan Peng has a much lower voice, which I already guessed when I saw pictures of her. She gives off a vibes of someone who would have a low voice). 

Hsu Thassapak has a chiseled face that looks too sculpted, and so I was skeptical about whether he would be able to emote, but he actually carried the emotional scenes quite well. Again, the voice acting also really helped. Hsu Thassapak has a higher voice than his voice actor, who I think also dubbed Luo Jin in Princess Weiyoung. 

Wang You Jun was great at playing the ML’s younger brother and love rival. I was surprised to learn that he’s actually younger than Wan Peng because his acting felt mature (even though he’s character isn’t). 

5. Story Originality

I can’t make an assessment of how original the story is because they do rely on a lot of predictable tropes, but I can say that it was well-executed. It’s not easy to insert fantasy elements into a modern drama and make it believable, but I was on board with the ridiculous premise. Not only is the FL an alien, but the ML has a type of amnesia where he forgets all the women he meets whenever it rains. And yet, I was hooked and invested against my better judgement. 

6. Overall Impression

8/10. The drama is exactly what is says it is, so I can’t really complain. The plot progresses logically, even if there are some frustrating moments, but you can understand why the characters made the choices they made. It will take you some time at first to get used to the outlandish premise, but after the first 2 episodes, you’ll be rooting for the FL. 

The FL’s character is also reminiscent of xianxia dramas where the FL has no idea what romantic love is (e.g., Love and Redemption, Love and Destiny), and slowly learns how to love. I’m apparently a sucker for that trope, so it was actually quite easy for me to fall for this drama, despite being initially skeptical about it. 

[siriannatan]

Beeduo Oneshots #1 - Scars

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31136516/chapters/76937375

Wilbur was back and alive.

Tubbo wasn't sure what to think about it at first. It gave Tommy something to do, following the former mad leader of the revolution to make sure he didn't hurt anyone. He really regretted not banning them both  from Snowchester. Luckily the mansion was done before that. Michael locked safely in his room, away from Wilbur and Tommy's undue influence.

He was supposed to be free to roam around the huge manor whit him and Ranboo and instead the three of them were hiding in the tiny piglin's room...

Wilbur was back and his sole purpose was tormenting Tubbo in his own home. Far from anywhere and anyone.

Snowchester was supposed to be safe from conflict and madmen. He couldn't even go to his secret laboratory in the basement. During the construction Tubbo managed to sneak couple secret rooms for himself and Ranboo and now regretted not putting a panic room for them. At the time he thought that Ranboo had enough of those.

Wilbur was send by Dream as a revenge for Tubbo getting married to his most useful tool, without permission? For not inviting him to the wedding which didn't even happen. They just kind of signed some papers with Eret in his castle.

Tubbo didn't deserve being confined to one room in his huge mansion and a panic attack every five seconds from fireworks exploding outside. At least he was stuck with his family.

Ranboo didn't seem to notice Tubbo flinching every time firework exploded over the bay, he busied himself with trying to teach Michael how to say dad from some book Phil gave him when he was moving to the mansion as his main residence.

It was rare for Tubbo to see his husband happy. It was rare for them to spend time like this, not having to gather resources or deny people inviting them to their countries, without Tommy pulling them around.

"We're such pushovers," Tubbo muttered squeezing one of huge pillows Ranboo insisted they get for Michael, At this point Tubbo was pretty much wrapped around it like a snake, mostly to hide how each firework blast made him jump a little.

"I guess we are, pushed into ou son's bedroom by two vagabonds" Ranboo smiled, "We should have never shown this place to anyone but Foolish and maybe Philza." Ranboo seemed to nod in agreement.

"Do your scars ever hurt? Aside when you get hurt first," Tubbo mumbled abandoning the comfort of the pillow and crawling closer to his little family, he refused to succumb to Wilbur's nonsense.

"Not really, only for a few days. Do yours bother you much?" At this point he gave up on his son' lesson, Michael was more interested in his blocks than in the big heavy book.

"Sometime... Have I ever told you how I got them?" Tubbo asked suddenly leaning onto Ranboo as more fireworks exploded.

"I don't think you did. There was never really time to talk about stuff like this."

"Remember when Quackity wanted to execute you?" Tubbo asked Ranboo just nodded, listening with care.

"Back when Schlatt was the president there was a festival. I was tasked with decorating it, and I was supposed to give a speech.  All while being a spy for Wilbur and Tommy... I wasn't w very good spy, even Fundy was better at gathering information... meh.. The point is Ranboo, Schlatt noticed I was up to something and when I was giving my speech..."

Tubbo stopped for a moment as a rather loud firework exploded over the icy bay outside.

"When I was giving my speech Schlatt and Quackity locked me in a yellow concrete box... And then called up Technoblade and ordered him to 'take me out', he did his best to buy Tommy and Wilbur time to come up with something but they did nothing and I died. In a loud colourful explosion. At least Schlatt and Quackity also died..."

"And you accepted Quackity into your cabinet? And Tommy still calls himself your friend?!" Ranboo was furious. "How bad is it that I'm friends with Techno and Phil?'

"He had a fist fight with Techno over it. And I don't blame Techno. I only blame Schlatt, Wilbur and maybe Tommy, there was nothing Techno could do at that point, he wasn't as stacked as when he was helping Dream," Tubbo jut shrugged "That's why I outlawed fireworks from L'Manburg when I became the president."

Ranboo just sat there silently as more explosions could be heard in the distance.

"You know what the actual worst part is? That it was my no good father that ordered me to be executed."

Ranboo looked at Tubbo shocked. He knew about his relation to the second president, he was probably only person the knew aside from Tubbo himself and maybe Dream, Dream knew everything going on. He had no word, "Should I punch Wilbur and Tommy for you?" he asked causing Tubbo to burst out laughing. Somehow he didn't notice they were both whispering that whole time.

"No  need, I'm fine, it's almost Michael's lunch time, we should get on that, they should run out of ammo soon... I hope."

"We can always invite Techno, they seem to be avoiding him" Ranboo proposed poking Tubbo's horns. They were starting to curl like Schlatt's.

"Invite Phil and Niki too, you can have your Syndicate, sorry 'book club' meeting in the library,"

Ranboo  laughed awkwardly at that, he had no idea where Tubbo knew about that from, he still invited them, and as he guessed the vision of Technoblade coming scared both Tommy and Wilbur away. Or maybe it was the fact that Philza was also coming to visit?

[maybesimon]

watched dune

i thoroughly enjoyed this movie. watched it in cinemas with both my parents, i don't think my mom enjoyed it much, but she said she liked how it looked. my dad had read the books ages ago, and he liked it as well!

more under the cut....

i wish i had known that this was a part 1 of X. i was like '... but the structure doesn't make sense...' and then it ended right when i thought it would end if it was a part 1 of X. so like, know that it's a part 1.

pain box favorite trope. the bene-gessit(?)people were interesting. i liked the female/male separate spheres of power stuff in the movie. lady jessica's surely up to something.

i didn't like the 'you made me a freak' thing, but i did like that paul both looks somewhat androgynous and also gets both the Voice (but is not good at it yet) from his mom, and the swordfighting/politicking from his dad. and that we didn't really get a 'ugh mom no i don't wanna do feeeeemale things'. like he's just pragmatic about it and i like that.

paul and jessica's very bad no fun mother-son road-trip/driving lesson ft terrible sandstorm and explosives.

idk i just thought paul's like, inexperience and innocence but also his perseverance and protectiveness came through pretty well. i like that he didn't want to kill, and i like that he knew some freman language.

this makes me really want to watch the david lynch version - i'm really curious what that's like. also kyle <3

the best characters were the sandworms, i was just excited every time they were on screen

the bit in the middle with the sword fighting attack stuff was a bit dumb. you have high-precision aerial weapons, just bomb the place.

fear is the mindkiller mantra is pretty good

you can tell this story is not very woke lol. having a colonizer messias sucks.

paul's cute tho. idk man i just think that actor is one of those actors that are handsome in roles where they get to roll around in the mud and get covered in blood (but tbh that's most actors).

they have stupid names tho. idaho? what is that.

dialogue was a bit obvious and exposition a bit bland sometimes. you don't have to tell me that momoa's character (he's honorable warrior guy again, can't he play a diplomat or something for once pls?) thought the fremen were honorable, i got that, thanks. and i didn't like the david attenborough-style video holograms. like come on find something more creative.

harkonens vs artreides, sure, i wish i got to see the politicking a bit more. also you bombed the spice refinery, way to mess up your economy!

edited to add: convenient dick-covering table is convenient.

ecologist <3 thought it was interesting that she was like, colonized but also imperial. wonder how that worked. is there like an academy for promising young kids on arrakis or what.

like the contrast of the rainy planet vs the desert planet. didn't like the phrase 'desert power'... sounded too american army ish.

i don't know if the fremen would like if you just turned their planet into a 'paradise'. whose paradise? maybe they like the desert!

it looked fucking beautiful. those rocks!!!! wanna climb!! dunes. vistas (unironically).

idk i thought the story wasn't that special, i just thought it was really well done. villeneu certainly made up for enemy (which i hated), and arrival (cool idea, meh execution) in my eyes.

i just enjoyed it a lot, what can i say. those sandworms were coooooool.