#some of them are so overused and cliche

[supercantaloupe]

yeah yeah it's cliche to call beethoven the father/master of the symphony but name me another composer whose symphonies, all of them, every case, genuinely lives up to or exceeds the hype around them

[ashtcnirwin]

🌻

[nyxiswrites1200]

💚𝑺𝒂𝒎 𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒏𝒔💚

Sam Winchester x GN!Reader

Warnings: NSFT, MDNI, Early seasons Sam (spoilers S1-3), Romantic, Mentions nightmares, Mentions of sex, fingering, This is my opinion based on Sam's character and what I've watched so far

An: I'm so insane guys, I just had to dump out all my Sammy thoughts <3 I'm working on the Leon thing but I hated it and started over :( anyhow, enjoy my insanity.

----

Sam is a gentle lover, his nature alone is naturally gentle. He doesn't see the world in black and white but rather shades of gray. He doesn't like lying or doing things he considers unnecessary.

I feel like Sam doing things irrationally comes from being pushed to the edge. He gets put under so much stress or such a drive to save someone that he does stuff that isn't like him. Even then, he tends to have a plan of what he's gonna do.

I personally think Sam has nightmares. Between the psychic visions he would have and all the tragedies he's witnessed. I especially feel like his mom, Jessica, and Madison are recurring ones. I would say he takes sleeping pills but I also think maybe he's too on edge to make himself that vulnerable.

It would be hard to get Sam into another relationship. With all the tragedies of the other girls he fell for, he'd be worried to indulge in someone else..

Sam smells like pine trees, very earthy I can imagine. If you've ever walked into a motel room, it's freshly cleaned, that kind of smell is something I also associate with him.

When thinking of products he uses specifically. He definitely has some good smelling shampoo and conditioner for that hair. Also thinking of maybe old spice products such as deodorant (not sure why, it just feels right.) Maybe it's something Jessica introduced him to and he's always stuck with it now, not wanting the trouble of changing it. That is if he has the option of choice, free motel products are probably the norm for him.

Imagining a sleeping Sam in those plaid pajama pants and a gray T-shirt, or no shirt preferably.

But if he did allow himself to be with someone again...

Sam is a gentleman. We see him opening doors and comforting people all the time in the show. He would open any door for you, hold you, comfort you, whatever you needed.

Sam is a big baby at times! Sometimes he is so pathetic and I mean that in the most loving way ever. He definitely loves cuddles and not having to sleep alone, especially if he has nightmares or visions. It helps having you there to comfort him, just knowing he isn't alone.

Imagine giving Sam a bracelet or anything he can wear honestly, he'd wear it all the time. My first thought being just some simple bracelet you think would suit him, he'd never take it off. Pulling his jacket sleeve over it during hunts to make sure it doesn't get damaged.

If Sam was worried about your safety in a situation, he'd keep you so close. If he could, he'd hold your hand or keep his arm around you. Beforehand, he'd definitely try to make you stay at the motel and wait.

Sam seems like he'd hold his jacket over you if it suddenly started raining. He never cared if he got soaked by the rain. But you? He'd go the extra mile, or he'd just give you his jacket if you looked cold.

But also kissing in the rain?? Stupidly cliche but maybe after a day of researching with him you get caught out in the rain. However, you don't mind as you drag him into a kiss, tangling a hand into his wet hair. Who is he to deny you?

After stressful hunts, you and Sam will curl up in the motel room together. Sam laying face down between your legs, his head resting on your stomach or chest. His arms wrapped around your waist or rubbing your hips/thighs.

---NSFW---

You love to mess with his hair and he loves when you do. Just running your fingers through it brings him a sense of calm.

Pet names he would call you would consist of baby, sweetheart, sweetie, lovely. He'd love calling you affectionate names but wouldn't overuse them.

Sam is definitely a dominant person in bed. He likes the sense of control he can have in this situation when he loses control of everything else in his life.

He's a soft dom though. Lots of praise and making sure you're okay with everything. He wouldn't wanna push you too far or hurt you. He prefers it to be an intimate moment with mutual pleasure and care.

His favorite positions are anything where he can look into your eyes or see your face. He likes holding you in his lap, facing each other, while you ride him. Just so he can lean in and kiss you when he wants or just press his forehead against yours. A good old missionary is also fine by him! Just being able to hold your hips and see himself thrusting in you, it makes his cock twitch.

I have this image of Sam lazily fingering you. Sam's arms and hands are so attractive (the veins!!). He's got you stretched out on two fingers as he slowly pumps them in and out. He's holding you, back pressed into his chest, and his free arm around your mid-section.

He'll make you cum multiple times, at least two if you're willing. Whether he's got you stretched on his fingers or his cock, he knows exactly what you like.

"Does that feel good?" He coos into your ear, his fingers moving faster inside of you. "Doing such a good job..." He praises into your ear before kissing your temple. "Can you finish for me, sweetheart?"

Aftercare is a must! Sam always does aftercare. Whether that's just praising you and making sure you are okay before you both fall asleep or giving you a nice shower/bath. He always makes sure you're taken care of, even if it was only a one night kind of deal, he wouldn't just up and leave.

Anyhow, I just think Sammy is amazing and he'd be such a good boyfriend <3

[aanoia]

A Little Cliche

Below is a little teaser of a short (or long) story to be. That is, of course, if I actually decide to write it. The basics of the idea is a little cliche, and overused, but I believe I'd be a good addition to the trope. It's basically the reader (Y/n) is transported into the Marauders universe after falling asleep while reading Harry Potter: The Marauders Saga (totally made that up. If you like the idea, and the teaser, I'll be collecting people for a taglist so like this post and you will be added! If you have any ideas go ahead and comment, DM me, or post a submission! Enjoy!

“Don’t forget to do the dishes,” A woman said with a sigh.

Y/n smiled at her, “I’d never.” She lied before shutting her bedroom door. After a long week of school, chores, and a part time job, all Y/n needed was some reading time and sleep. She happily grabbed her current reread, Harry Potter; The Marauders Saga. 

The girl remembered the reveal. Two years ago, she was eating her breakfast when she saw the announcement on Instagram. Y/n danced with excitement and immediately preordered it with the money she had gotten from mowing my neighbors lawn the week before. 

Four long months later and the beautiful book finally arrived. That day no one in the L/n family saw the girl. She was in different positions all over my room, reading the book in a single day, and then rereading it the next. She had annotated it until it was unrecognizable. This was Y/n’s book, she loved it. 

As Y/n read, she felt the fatigue of the day catch up to her. Before she knew it, sleep had overtaken me. Y/n sat comfortable on her chair, the book open in her lap and the ink swirling around on the paper. 

“Y/n, wake up! The train leaves soon!” A deeply accented voice called from the bottom of the stairs.

Y/n stirred slowly and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She was in her bed, curled up with her blanket whilst the sun shone brightly through her window. She squinted, throwing her arm over her eyes to protect them. 

The door to Y/n’s room opened and her mother walked in, she sighed, “Y/n, why is your trunk not packed? We need to leave soon.”

Y/n thought she was imagining things. Last time she checked, her mother did not have an English accent. “Leave for what?” She asked, and was surprised to hear an accented voice come from her lips. 

Her mother threw clothes into the empty trunk, “For the train, obviously. Your owl has already left, she shall meet you there.”

Y/n sat up, rubbing her head, “Meet me where?”

Y/n’s mother paused to look at her daughter, “Did you hit your head? Hogwarts, of course.”

[stirthewaters]

Twenty Dollars

SUMMARY: Dared to make Wednesday flustered by Enid, you try your best to flirt with her, unaware of the fact that she knows far better how to break you instead.

WARNINGS: None, this is pretty much fluff.

______________________________________________________________

Nevermore in the afternoon is probably the favorite part of your day. Once school is over, you can hang out with your girlfriend and your friends, and typically even though you don't really do anything other than chat, it's pretty fun.

Unfortunately, your girlfriend, the Wednesday Addams, prefers to stay inside and maybe watch a movie or discuss philosophy rather than chat with your friend group.

So instead of hanging out with Enid and your friends in the quad, you're with Wednesday in Ophelia Hall, trying to get her flustered as part of a secret bet.

Earlier, Enid had bet twenty dollars that you couldn't make Wednesday flustered or blushy at all. Confident in your amazing skills as a girlfriend, you accepted, and now you're hanging around the raven haired girl as she types at her novel.

Clearly physical touch isn't her soft spot, since whenever you try to hold her hand, her expression doesn't change in the least. She hasn't blushed once in your relationship, so the bet you've accepted has started to become a personal goal.

"If nothing lasts forever, will you be my nothing?"

"Are you a triangle? Cause you're acute!"

"Excuse me, but I think I dropped something. My JAW!"

The cheesy pickup lines you're currently smothering her with seem to do little to no damage as she frowns.

"If you say another nauseatingly cliche pickup line one more time, I'll tear my ears off as well as yours," Wednesday deadpans, not taking her eyes off of her typewriter.

"Hey, it's not my fault that you're so pretty," you shrug, smirking a bit. "Come over here so I can compliment you to your face."

Wednesday rolls her eyes.

"Your frivolous attempt at flirting is as transparent as the glass I'm considering cutting you with. If you're trying to fluster me, it won't work."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," you scoff, wrapping your arms around her neck gently. "Come on, admit it. My flirting skills are actually pretty decent."

"If by finding somewhat nauseatingly overused lines on the internet, then yes, you're somewhat above average," she turns to glare at you, which is clearly an awkward position since you're arms are wrapped around her neck. "Now take your arms away from me or I'll dislocate them."

Somewhat hurt, you pull away.

"Whatever," you sniff, folding your arms. "If you think that my flirting skills are trash then I'd like to see what you've got. From the way you're dismissing mine you must have some pretty nice ones, hmm?"

"Is that so?" she deadpans, eyes still fixed on the typewriter. "Or are you sure you're just not disappointed you can't ruffle my feathers?"

"No, I'm serious," you say, leaning against the desk so you can look her in the eye. "Surely the great Wednesday Addams isn't being a chicken?"

Wednesday pauses to look at you, her gaze challenging with only a hint of murderous intent. "Are you sure you want to go down that road, Y/N? Because if I make half the effort you do in flirting, you'll be wishing that you will physically incapable of blushing ever again."

You shrug. "I'm not seeing any effort, actually."

Wednesday stands, walking over to you. Even though she hasn't been your girlfriend for very long, she knows almost everything that can fluster you, from the slightest bit of physical touch to the right words that will make you blush. The observant Addams has carefully kept count of every single time that your cheeks have gone red or you've fidgeted with your shirt, without fail, and with a smirk, she knows that you'll be a mess after this is over.

"Is that so?" She murmurs, standing opposite you. She wraps a hand around your waist to pull you closer to her, staring you down.

Your breath hitches. It's as if she's been planning this. Realizing that this isn't a battle you're going to win, you curse under your breath, as she begins pressing all the right buttons.

"Because I think that in reality you're weak," she says, takin the other hand to tilt your chin upwards, forcing you to look her in the eye as her powerful gaze holds you captive. "And I know perfectly well how to break you."

Unable to speak, your breathing accelerates as she pulls you even closer, stroking your hair as she begins to smirk.

"And it's clear here that you've picked a fight you can't win." She whispers in your ear. Her hand on your jaw is sending goosebumps down your spine and it feels like you can feel everything there is to feel. You sputter a protest, but she shushes you with that same smirk she continues to wear; fully knowing of how much this is affecting you. Unable to pull away, she closes the small gap as she kisses you, eyes fluttering closed as she kisses you softly but firmly.

Heart pounding, your eyes widen as you hesitantly kiss her back until she pulls away. You're blushing now. Obviously. Your face is one whole shade of red.

"There it is. Now admit that I was right, and maybe I'll kiss you again," Wednesday says, a bit mischievously. Stammering and caught in her arms, you realize that clearly you've lost the bet at this point. With a small sigh of defeat, you lower your head.

"Y-you were right."

"Mhm. And don't ever forget it," she smirks again, cupping your face in her hand as she goes in for another kiss, using the other hand to accept the twenty dollars that Thing sneakily delivers from Enid.

[crow-aeris]

Okay, so for my reverse robins wing fic, "To Rest Upon Benign Feathers", we still need names for the batfam vigilantes :,]

I have some thought out already, and i want them to be spirit/ghost themed. Right now, i'm trying (and failing) to decide what to call Damian, and i have two chosen. I also want them to be meaningful, like how Duke's gonna be called Seraph because 1) He's literally a dove, and 2) Seraphs are angels, and angels are creatures of the light, and Duke patrols during the day.

So back to Damian, we have Nightwing and.... literally anything else.

I know nightwing is pretty overused and unoriginal for a reverse robins damian, but like.... Nightwing/Flamebird parallel between Damian and Jon 🥺 i'd like to think that jon pestered damian into becoming the Nightwing to his flamebird, and im.....

but i also dont wanna fall into cliches, so literally anything other than nightwing 😭😭😭😭

and if you choose the second option- literally anything else- then pls comment/lemme know :D

[the-irreverend]

Why the Third-Act Breakup in Nimona makes the film better (yes really).

If you've watched enough modern animation you know that the Third Act Breakup has been one of modern animation's most notorious cliches. I mean you know it's an overused trope when Kevin Temmer writes a whole song about it. But what if I told you that the way the Third Act Breakup is used is Nimona is not only forgivable but actually benefits the story. And I tell you why...

Reason 1: It doesn't happen for no reason.

One of the biggest issues with T.A.B.s in other animated films is that they usually happen for reasons that are contrived and arbitrary, all while damaging the characters doing said Breakup. But in Nimona, the Breakup doesn't feel so contrived because the characters have understandable reasons for becoming at odds with each other. Take Ballister, for starters. While he may be disillusioned with the director, he sadly has not become disillusioned with the foundations of that system she's in charge of: the legend of Gloreth's crusade against Nimona. And when you also consider his experiences with being deceived and manipulated by those he looks up to, it's understandable why he would be fearful that he's been manipulated by Nimona. Speaking of which, Nimona has plenty of understandable reasons for being at odds with Ballister as well, especially when you consider all the betrayal, hatred, and persecution they've endured. Just like with Gloreth, she watches another friend of theirs turn on them despite all the care, support, and kindness they've shown. As a result, the Breakup not only makes sense from a character standpoint, but it also ties into the themes, messages, and commentary of the film

Reason 2: It doesn't pretend the moments they had together didn't happen.

Another reason that the Breakup is done well here is that even though Nimona and Ballister turn against each other, they don't COMPLETELY turn against each other. When their distrust and fear toward each other reach its peak (when Ballister draws his sword and Nimona bears their fangs), they immediately stop, looking at each with shock and horror as they both realize what they're doing. Not only that, but they don't even split apart on their own volition but rather because of circumstances beyond their control. The reason this moment's important is that it shows that despite everything, they haven't forgotten the bond they forged with each other; that even though their friendship may be down, IT IS NOT OUT.

Reason 3: How Nimona and Ballister make up.

What ultimately justifies the inclusion of the Third Act Breakup trope is the way that both Nimona and Ballister make amends with each other. It's not some little sidequest that happens before the climax, IT IS THE CLIMAX!!! A BEAUTIFUL, HEART-MELTING CLIMAX THAT LEFT ME IN TEARS! As a result, the film justifies Nimona and Ballister's conflict, because the steps back they've taken are used to make a bounding leap forward! Ballister finally forsakes his doubt towards Nimona and his faith in the system that persecuted her, and Nimona destroys the very foundations of that system by saving the people from the person who was responsible for controlling it (the Director).

So in the end, while Nimona does have many familiar tropes you see in other animated films, what ultimately matters is that it uses those tropes in a way that's actually effective, and in doing so, helps make Nimona one of the best animated films to come out this year.

[ceilidho]

Sorry to dump this here, but no one in my immediate and/or accessible circle reads as much as I do and this conversation came up at the right time.

I don't read a lot of romance and I started reading some popular ones last year to ease my way into it. I feel like such a snob to say this, but the plot and writing are never fully fleshed out nor are the characters. None of the romantic actions I see people swoon over are ever explained well enough for me to understand the hype. A scene in which there should be an emotional inner monologue is shorted to a paragraph and if the character is toxic (I understand a lot of people enjoy toxic/dark men, but romance books never write them well enough) and destroys the other character's life/says a relationship-ending lie/any other cliche, there is never enough explanation, justification, groveling, or any thought process behind the reconciliation.

It's always just one half-written and half-baked trope after the other.

Again, apologies for dumping it here, but I think there are such damning consequences for women (the main demographic of romance readers) who read things like this and don't give constructive criticism or thought when facing these problems.

no but you're 100% right. i mean, this is one annoying bitch's opinion (mine LMAO) but trad publishing is in the absolute pits right now. that's not to say that there aren't still some good books coming out because of course, every now and then you're going to get a gem. but i think the environment has become outwardly hostile to good writing.

i mean, i know this has been discussed a ton, but the "fast fashionization" of books has become a huge problem. every time there's a new microtrend or whatever, every author rushes to push out a book to meet the demand (see: the hockey romance trend). this, obviously, means that the editing time is severely compressed and you get books published by like harper collins and penguin with typos, grammar issues, and more.

i got some flack for this when i posted about it on twitter ahah but i honestly do not understand why the sequel to "fourth wing" came out so soon (not even getting into the messy qualities of the first book). sequels used to take a year or more to come out to allow for the book to go through several rounds of editing and fine tuning! what happened??!!

i think authors now feel compelled to get their books out as soon as possible out of fear that booktok/readers will simply move on after the initial hype and they'll lose their reader base. there's like an anxiety about being left behind in the current publishing world.

this is kind of in line with what i was talking about the other day with Bo actually - writing romance and smut is actually way harder than people think. you can't just use the same 5 recycled porn dialogue lines and call it a day. you have to care a little about the story you're trying to tell, not just churning it out to make a buck or to make people pay attention to you. i'm not saying belabour every single action and decision made by your main character or go crazy on description (i still think the sweet spot for a published book is between 250-300 pages, and maybe more if you're writing a genre specific book that involves a lot of worldbuilding), but as a writer you need to want to be writing that book in the first place.

no one who's legitimately excited about what they're writing is going to resort to cliches and overused tropes - they might lean on tropes they like, but there's inevitably going to be something original and exciting there.

also my lil controversial opinion about the state of trad publishing lately is that i think it's 100% influenced by this weird pervasive strain of purity culture that's on booktok where people feel like any enjoyment they get from reading a particular thing has a direct reflection on them as a person and their values. rather than it just being a book.

(by the way i actually completely agree with you that even dark romances are as bad as everything else we've been talking about - that's another conversation lol. i also kind of agree with the idea of more romance books coming with content warnings on the front page - this hasn't really caught on yet except with some dark romance authors but i think it's a really good idea)

i don't think there's anything wrong about people getting excited about books on tiktok and instagram and youtube btw. i think it's a fun way to share recommendations, commentary, and interests. what i think is the big problem is that the publishing industry has almost become beholden to trends and online perception because they've seen how much profit they can generate by catering to it, and i think that's why books now just feel bland and soulless. they're tapping into a FOMO on both the authors' and writers' side, of either being left behind and not being able to make a living, or missing out on what everyone else is reading and talking about.

[autistic-ben-tennyson]

Benlie: Why I love these two

A lot of people in the Ben 10 fandom don’t really like this ship these days. Even back when UAF was airing, most were gushing over Gwevin and there was very little Benlie content like AMVs, fanfics or fanart. Many view Julie as a bland character and while she could have been fleshed out more, I think that’s a bit unfair as well as the idea of her being controlling, toxic or abusive. On the flip side are those that view Ben as a misogynistic incel who only saved Jennifer, Elena and Eunice to get in their pants, when he did care a lot more about Julie than some say. I am aware that there are overzealous stans who treat Benlie like the greatest romance in history and usually do it to drag down Omniverse, but many of us who still ship or enjoy it do so because we wish it could have been done better.

I like these two as a couple, partially because they’re a nice contrast to Gwen and Kevin. Gwevin was the “bad boy and smart girl” opposites attract, angst filled romance people loved. Ben and Julie by contrast are people with similar interests and personalities like Sumo Slammers, horror movies, sports and can be pretty headstrong while having a more compassionate side. Both also used “you’re not a monster, you’re better than this” to get the Dragon/Ship to come to their senses, ironically both incidents involved the Forever Knights. Friends to lovers can be overused or cliche but it can also be wholesome.

One other thing I love about these two is how they bounce off each other. Julie is someone besides Gwen who can remind Ben that there’s more to life besides being a hero, something the original Ben 10,000 struggled with and who pushes him to reign in his jerkass tendencies. Sort of like Robin and Starfire in Teen Titans. She brings out the best in him and he is aware that he’s not a great boyfriend, but he does better than most give him credit for. No hate to Benkai fans but they really brought out the worst in each other while Julie got the short end of the stick from the writers.

I also really like how she’s the one that saved him from being corrupted by the power of Dagon, keeping him from letting the power go to his head which is a nice parallel to Azmuth and Zenith. She was kind of the fourth member of the team before Rook, having helped Ben during Big Chill’s pregnancy, and helping stop the Highbreed war, Ultimate Kevin’s rampage and Ben from abusing the power of Ascalon. She also saved him twice from Elena and as well as when he got his hand cut off and was trapped in the Null Void and reassured him when his identity was leaked.

As stated above, many of us Benlie fans ship it because of its missed potential. The show should have really fleshed out their parents more as we never see them interact and Julie’s dad was shown to hate Ben in his only appearance. Julie could have staged an intervention with Carl and Sandra after the Ultimate Kevin incident and over their concerns about Ben’s fame as that arc needed more consequences. I think Julie would also have been fun to see interacting with Rook as well as the other characters Omniverse introduced.

One other reason I really like Benlie is it has a similar vibe to some of my other favorite ships like Hodaka x Hina or Connverse and it feels very animesque, which makes since as the series is quite similar to a magical girl anime. They genuinely care about each other despite their ups and downs and have a very cute vibe. I headcanon both as bisexual or biromantic given Ben’s “crush” on Nemesis and his interactions with Rook, Rex and Kevin. Julie also seems a bit queer, coming from a strict family, keeping secrets like Ship and slowly breaking out of her shell, realizing what she wants out of life.

People use them arguing or Ben screwing up as a reason it was toxic but I like seeing characters work out their issues and succeeding. They got together in AF and were fairly stable. Then conflicts arose in UA when Ben became famous and Julie began her own career in tennis, but they appear to have reconciled by the finale. Then OV could have had them as partners with Rook, having worked out their issues. Regardless of whether you like them as a couple, fans can all agree that Julie deserved better from the writers and isn’t as bad as the fandom makes her out to be. I’m aware that they were not a perfect romance but they don’t need to be for people to like them.

[genericpuff]

it's legit been a hot minute since i've read an LO episode from start to finish so I decided to read the new free episode

wow i'm really not missing a dang thing am i, jfc

I've talked about it before how the dialogue in these comics really feels... non-human, but now I'm at a point where I wouldn't even be surprised if I find out the comic was being written by one of those script bots or some AI Chat GPT tool. It's just so stupidly clunky with very little context or build-up to what's being said, the characters feel like they're just talking at each other rather than with each other, if you know what I mean. It's giving Shenmue 3.

But let's have some extra fun with this and go through it panel by panel.

I'm not gonna talk about the Apollo scene, not yet at least. But I DO want to talk about the dialogue exchange between Persephone and the demigods she's chosen to be judges.

First off, we get this cut to Persephone saying "Thank you so much for coming today." But the stuff that follows really feels like these guys have no idea where they are or why. Like, the first thing the guy on the left has to say is "you're a woman", why is he making this observation now if they intentionally made the decision to join her? If he's supposedly sexist on that line alone (which is what a lot of people in the discussion circles assume) why would he even join her on the boat in the first place if he wasn't willing to listen to a woman?

Oh, okay, so they HAVE had this conversation already, great exposition, Rachel! But again, it still makes no sense why he's making this observation out of nowhere if he already knows he's going to be working with her and chose to come along with her on the boat ride. Why is he repeating what he's already said? Why not just have this conversation happen organically instead of doing the whole sitcom "cut to the middle of what's happening and explain it matter-of-factly for the audience to catch up so we don't have to actually show the entire conversation???" bit?

It's such a cliche overused tactic to try and skip informing NPC's of what the audience already knows but that only works if we, the audience, know what's going on. Such a tactic is meant to benefit the AUDIENCE, not the characters. It's a pointless waste of time for everyone involved if they're doing it the other way around where the NPC's know but the audience doesn't and the characters have to re-explain everything they already know for the audience. It's clunky exposition.

And then of course, we get Persephone acting all high and mighty with people who, again, don't even seem to know what the fuck is going on, they don't even seem to be functioning at full brain capacity with how repetitive and pointless their dialogue is (especially the "I'm a son of Zeus" guy but we'll get to him later). If Persephone's thankful for them joining her, why is she being such a bitch? This isn't a power move, she's not being a "boss babe", she's being that bitchy manager that complains about high turnover rates completely oblivious or uncaring to the fact that she's the reason people quit the job in the first place.

"It's listening to the Queen of the Underworld time", bitch you have done NOTHING to earn that title or demand for respect. NO ONE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE. Anyone who DOES know her only knows her as a consort of Hades from that one tabloid pic from ten years ago. So... yeah, literally no one knows her. Even if they saw her in that weird broadcast during the Kronos fight (which, why would they, everyone was asleep as we were told and that news chopper was from OLYMPUS), she has done nothing to organically earn the respect and admiration of the people. As far as anyone's concerned, she's just this weird pink thing rolling into town and the only reason she has power at all is because the King has a flower nymph fetish and wanted a replacement for the girl that "got away" and married his brother.

IDK if this was an attempt at a joke but I feel bad for this guy because he clearly has no idea where he is, why he's here, or why he's going to work for the Underworld when he's a son of Zeus and would maybe prefer a job in Olympus somewhere. Look at him, those aren't the eyes of a man who knows what's going on.

"RAWR, I'm edgy and in control, shut your whore mouth while I'm speaking, peasant!"

She doesn't even look intimidating here, she looks severely constipated.

This is also legit just a copy paste of the Hera/Apollo/Echo scene from S2 which just further drives home how Persephone is an emotional replacement for Hera and a physical replacement for Rhea (while also satisfying that aforementioned flower nymph fetish).

Again, Persephone has done nothing to earn the admiration or respect of her people (unlike, y'know, Hera) and it's bullshit that she pretended to be all thankful at the beginning of this only to then treat them like shit as soon as she was able. Like, again, she seems to have just kidnapped these guys and they undoubtedly have questions and instead she's steamrolling all over them for zero reason beyond stroking her ego. If she's so bothered by the first guy being a sexist, why is she hiring him in the first place???

girl he's literally trying to escape from your bullshit, why are you treating him like a toddler or a hamster who can't control himself

it's painfully clear now these guys absolutely did not sign up for ANY of this and even if they DID sign up to be judges for Hades, they clearly were NOT aware it would include being berated and snipped at by his moody toddler of a wife, she's the ONLY one here who has zero self control or qualifications. push her in the river, please. put her in the hamster cage.

so yeah, it's not "thank you for coming with me today", it's "thank you for shutting up and being good little hostages so mommy can play pretend ruler, if you even THINK of ignoring me i'll have my daddy Mads Mikkelson- I mean, Hades chop your balls off, teehee!" seriously can SOMEONE please push her in the river, she's got like 50 pounds of hair, she has zero chance /hj

"i found a way for my husband to do even less work than he already does, like a good little billionaire!"

ms. brian griffin, no one knows what elysium is

we, the audience, haven't even seen elysium

no one knows what you're talking about and no one has anything to thank you for because so far you've spent the majority of your time in the underworld since the time skip dicking around and acting like a Karen

literally sit down and eat your oatmeal

we don't even know what 'nu-tartarus' is, who wants to bet rachel watched sci-fi the week she made this with the 'nu' spelling, jfc

what did she do to warrant the 'nu'

in fact, is tartarus even accessible right now??? what happened to Kronos locking himself up in there and refusing to let anyone in??? Did they seriously dig a hole in the ground and call it "Nu-Tartarus"? Fuck off.

Hermes, pal, you're seeing this shit, right? How can you sit there and watch her act like this??? This ain't the girl you used to make out with in the mountains.

"My husband serves in the military, you know! You'll regret not giving me that 2% discount!"

for those of you in the audience who don't know this, this is what we call panel filler. i.e. pointless repetitive panels that RS uses to fill her panel quota each week. LO always has at least 2-3 of these per episode. Go ahead, fact check it yourself, I'll wait.

Diva Plavalaguna wore it better, honey.

(also why do her ARMS look the same as her hair, they look like sausage casings 😭)

Such a weird cut though, from her making that "lol can you believe the things I put up with ????" face to her just WALKING AWAY FROM THE MEN WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHY THEY'RE EVEN HERE.

what- um, why are we cutting to this? I get that it's RS still trying to exposit instead of write organically but Hermes literally didn't ask and he should probably already be aware of what's going on if he's ON THE BOAT WITH HER. Also why are you explaining to him what a demi-god is? Again, it's Rachel trying to do the "and that's my plan" shtick not understanding that only works for OTHER CHARACTERS who aren't "in on it", NOT THE AUDIENCE. When you try to have your characters explain things JUST for the sake of the audience, it makes them all look stupid and it wastes the audience's time.

Like, never mind the fact that Hermes himself is technically a demi-god in LO as his mother is a non-god.

This would have worked better if she was explaining who these men were specifically, like the fact that they were Kings when they were alive, or why she chose them, but no, she just starts it and leaves it at "well they're related to Zeus, so they're demi-gods" with zero lead-up or context as to why she's explaining this to Hermes of all people in the first place.

WAIT OKAY. SO I WAS RIGHT, THEY LITERALLY AREN'T FUNCTIONING AT FULL AUTONOMY. THAT'S WHY THEY'RE REPEATING THINGS OR NOT SAYING THINGS THAT ARE RELEVANT OR ASKING QUESTIONS.

PERSEPHONE LITERALLY TOOK THESE SHADES WHO HAVE NO ABILITY TO CONSENT OR UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON

AND IS FORCING THEM TO WORK FOR HER HUSBAND, THE SLAVE DRIVER.

PERSEPHONE HAS BECOME A SLAVE DRIVER.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING WITH ME TODAY" ????

"THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING GOOD LITTLE SLAVES. YOU WORK FOR ME AND MY HUSBAND NOW. WE'LL GIVE YOU BACK ENOUGH OF YOUR AUTONOMY TO MAKE YOU GOOD FOR WORKING BUT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE FREE WILL."

THIS IS LITERALLY THE PLOT OF HADESTOWN BUT IT WANTS US TO CHEER FOR HADES' POINT OF VIEW IN THE END.

Also, "Hades is going to restore some of their humanity"??? Guys, do you realize the implications of this?

If this is something he's always been able to do, that means he's always had the ability to grant the shades working for him autonomy and will, but chose not to.

Give them enough sentience and autonomy to work, but not enough to question why they're working for the system in the first place.

Great job Persephone, this is soooo much better than what Hades was doing before. You've made life so much better for the dead.

Fucking hell. I started this essay with the intent of talking about the weird clunky dialogue exchanges and as I sat on it and wrote on it longer and longer it just got so much WORSE and turned into discussing Persephone's lack of morals and how she's become the very thing she always claimed she stood against.

I say "great job Persephone" but we also have to give credit where credit is due - great job Rachel, this is soooo much better than just ending the series in the first two seasons or actually resolving the plot threads you started in Season 1. You've made your comic so much better to please the stans and spite the haters.

Christ. I'm not even done talking about everything I wanted to talk about regarding this episode but I figured I should cut it off here to at least keep it all on theme. I do wanna talk about that Apollo scene and the Hermes/Persephone conversation but I'll probably do that in separate posts.

Despite how fired up I got, I am glad about one thing - I really am not missing anything. I have lost nothing from unsubscribing from LO and uninstalling the WT app. And frankly, neither will you if you've been contemplating on promoting yourself to a non-reader. There is zero FOMO here. I get just as much if not more entertainment from just following along with the hilarious conversations in the Discord and subreddit each week, because at LEAST those are fun and don't make me feel dead inside like LO does. LO isn't entertaining, it's hardly even so-bad-that-it's-entertaining at this point, maybe it still is for you, but I'm assuring you right now for those of you "hanging on", it's not going to magically "get better", even the episodes that some people CLAIM are better really aren't because of how low the bar is nowadays. I am giving you full permission to free yourself of these shackles if you've been looking for a way out. Take this as your metaphorical key.

The LO we all fell in love with is long, long gone.

[lillifaba]

My thoughts on the Wicked movie teaser trailer... so far.

Before you pop off in my replies and reblogs yes I know, this is just a teaser trailer and not the official tralier. Regardless that doesn't give this movie a magical critique pass. Most of my critques on this teaser come from my own thoughts and some of points raised in this post. This is also just me rambling into the void. Don't like don't read lmao.

If you've been following me for a while, then you already know my opinion on the Wicked movie and casting. Surprise surprise, you guessed it... I am extremely underwhelmed and disappointed. For so many reasons.

I'll start off with some things I like.

Johnathan Bailey is hot asf as Fiyero. (even if he looks way older than Fiyero is canonically meant to be)

The set and props. I think some of them actually look pretty neat. I'm glad they didn't use a green screen for Shiz and put in the effort to build a university campus. The train from Shiz to Oz looks kinda dope. I was always wondering what it would look like and I'll probably use that as inspiration for my fics and art comms.

Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard. I won't lie, I haven't seen a lot of movies with Jeff in them so I was cautious about his casting. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much his look and his performance so far actually fits Oscar. Time will tell if he can hold up to those standards.

I'm happy a WOC is playing Elphaba. Everyone complains about Fiyero not being racially book accurate but nobody talks enough about Elphaba being discriminated against as an amalgamation for rac!sm. More women of color should play her on stage.

THE NAILSSSS. Come on people this is the Wicked Witch of the West we're talking about she should be SERVING WITH THOSE CLAWS! Although personally I would've preferred them sharp but I'm over here with almond arylics what do I know lol.

I'm happy they casted a disabled actress to play Nessa. I always wondered why they never did that.

With that out of the way, let's get into a million reasons why I hated this trailer and why I'll most likely hate the movie anyways.

Arianna as Glinda. Look, I don't hate Ari. I like some of her songs and even bought some of her perfumes because I like smelling good. At worst I just don't care about her. However whenever I see Arianna as Glinda, I'm sorry I just don't see Glinda, I see ARIANNA GRANDE dressed in last minute cosplay for a Halloween party. I heard one line... ONE LINE from her and the delivery is NOTHING like Glinda's character or cadence, it's just Ari in drama class.

The wigs and costumes. What the hell was the makeup and hair crew thinking when they selected that wig for Arianna???? It's an ashy dull blonde that brings no color or life to the character. The #1 thing about Glinda is her vibrant blonde hair, it's even mentioned IN THE SONGS. MULTIPLE TIMES. This wig looks like a botched bleach job. Then, there's the costumes. Good lord what are those glasses on Elphaba's face??? I get they're trying to be all "whimsy" and "peculiar" in tone with WOZ, but they just look silly. Why not stick to the glasses in the musical? Why overdo it? I fear how the Emerald City sunglasses will look (if they even add those in) Also why are Glinda's clothes so dull? Where's the vibrance? Where's the pink frilly coquette contrast to Elphaba's dark coquette?

The camera work and Elphaba's entrance. This is Wicked the musical. I'm expecting a huge and grandiose presentation, especially when it comes to THE MAIN CHARACTER. Showing Elphaba from the back of her head in slow motion while she's walking to the entrance is just... boring and an overused cliche. Not to mention the underwhelming reactions from the extras. The cinematography is just meh. I'm expecting better for a fantasy film. It's been done before.

Cynthia as Elphaba. Listen, Cynthia is a great singer and talented actress. I have absolutely nothing against her. With that being said I'm going to be brutally honest: much like Arianna, she is not Elphaba... at least not entirely. Like Johnathan, Cynthia is way older than Elphaba is meant to be canonically and the editing team clearly used the de-aging filter on her to the point where it looks unnatural. If this movie had been made at least five years ago or earlier Cynthia would've fit perfectly.

Continuing my point with Cynthia: the singing. I'm sorry but what the hell was that riff with Defying Gravity??? I'm not entirely blaming Cynthia for this because this has become a massive problem with a lot of musical film adaptations which I like to call the popification of songs. It happens in nearly all the live-action Disney movies and I'm sick of it. What confuses me is STEPHEN FUCKING SCHWARTZ is involved in the musical production. He wrote the god damn songs, how the hell does he not direct Cynthia to sing the right note instead of letting her do whatever she wants??? I don't think he did that with Idina, which is why this riff is so iconic. Come on, if a tiktok meme trend can do that riff better and more accurately than an actual singer can, that's just embarrassing. I'm not good at explaining myself in terms of singing, so I'm hoping a youtuber I occassionally watch does a reaction video to the trailer and does a better job at explaining than I can.

The acting. Like I said with Arianna, the delivery is so bland and dry. I'm trying not to judge all of the acting on a teaser trailer but if this is how the leads are going to act throughout the whole movie then I'm disappointed.

Too much CGI in some parts. I get it. This is a fantasy movie there's bound to be certain effects you can't do practically. But that's no excuse when this is a $145 million dollar movie. The flying monkeys are so painfully obvious CGI. This was a wasted chance to get Doug Motherfucking Jones to play Chistery in prosthetics. So much of this movie ends up looking like those garbage Oz spinoffs. (If you know you know) The CGI is just bad. The bubble and Emerald City buildings look so cheap.

WHY IS THIS MOVIE SO DARK? This is suppossed to be OZ! Why do I have to turn up my brightness to look into the shadow realm???

Now onto some things I'm confused about.

Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible. I'm praying to god she'll blow us away because she's such a good actress and is serving c*nt in her costumes. I haven't heard her sing (I'm dumb but unless the opera song she sang in EEAAO was her then WOW!)

The silver slippers. I KNOW! I KNOW! The ruby slippers are copyrighted and can't be thrown in all nilly willy wherever you please. But keep in mind this is a 145 MILLION DOLLAR MOVIE ALL FOR PART ONE. Do not tell me they couldn't shill a few extra bucks on signing a few contracts. AND YES I KNOW. The musical uses the silver slippers in the first act in ode to the L. Frank Baum books which I love, but don't forget, they turn red when Elphaba enchants them to give Nessa the ability to walk. Dorothy shows up after Nessa is killed and has her shoes stolen. Why aren't they red now? Not to mention most of the audience might not know the original slippers in the books were silver. This would've been a great chance to combine two different canons.

WHO IS PLAYING DR. DILLAMOND???? ifitisjamescordenandyouusecrappycgiiwillgotoyourhousejohnchuand-

Finally, why did John Chu absolutely insist on this being a two parter movie with a year long intermission? Is this shit show really that fantastical that it can be akin to Kill Bill part 1 and 2?

That's pretty much it for now but expect an update to this post with a reblog with updated thoughts when an official trailer drops. My mind probably won't change though. I'm totalllllyyy not considering pulling an Eddy Burback sneaking into Morbius for a week when this movie comes out lol.

Universal Studios and AMC theaters that was a joke please for the love of god do not send Nicole Kidman after me.

[mirisss]

Pick-up lines & Library kisses

Pairing: Jock! Sunwoo x afab! nerd! Reader

Wordcount ≈ 2.1k

Warnings: very cliche, overuse of the word ‘cute’, Sunwoo sorta kissing reader with consent, flirting, I think that’s it. 

Summary: Kim Sunwoo is a campus flirt, well known for his attractiveness, his skills as a soccer player, his extroversion, and mostly for his flirtatious ways. The man can flirt with a wall and make it blush. Though the only one he wants to flirt with is Lee (Y/n), the cute girl who spends most of her time in the library reading books, and, unfortunately, doesn’t pay him any attention. 

Note: (Y/n) is Juyeon’s younger sister. All the boys are the same age, (Y/n) is a year younger. Though you can imagine her looking any way you want, if it helps imagine them being like step-siblings or something. 

Please reblog!

Sunwoo’s POV

“Great practice today boys! Keep up this energy for tomorrow and we’ll win the match!” As the coach yelled out his points for tomorrow I looked toward the bleachers, looking for a certain someone who would probably be nose-deep in a book of some kind. “Looking for your girlfriend?” Changmin jokingly said as he came up to me. I tutted, “She’s not my girlfriend, idiot,” “I heard Juyeon say that (Y/n) was gonna be in the library with Chanhee,” Eric said as he came over to the two. “Yah, don’t be so loud, it’s bad enough that pretty much all of the team knows of my crush, if Juyeon finds out, he’ll kill me,” “Dude, he already knows, I mean it’s so obvious that you’re head over heels for (Y/n),” I pushed Changmin and Eric a little as they taunted me. “SHUT UP! You idiots,” “(Y/n)!” I almost jumped a meter in the air as Juyeon called out his sister’s name. She was jogging over to him, she was facing down to the ground as she was embarrassed, she’s quite shy, how, I don’t know. “Juuu, don’t be so loud,” “Sorry sis, did you find the book you were looking for?” “No, the system said they should have it but I can’t find it anywhere, Chanhee and I looked through the entire fantasy section but couldn’t find it,” (Y/n) was pouting as she looked up at her brother, (Y/n) loved reading and she would often sit on the bleachers reading during soccer practice to wait for her brother, I loved when she did that because it gave me more time during the day to admire her beauty and also to do this: “If you wanna live out a fantasy, I’m right here,” (Y/n) looked at me as I began talking and she blushed and looked away as I ended my line with a wink. “Watch your mouth, number 19. Wouldn’t wanna be number benched tomorrow, right?” Juyeon gave me a friendly glare while threatening me. Though I knew he would never bench me as I’m the star player, I still raised my hands in the air as we all laughed. Throughout the years of knowing Juyeon and (Y/n), I’ve always felt something special for (Y/n). (Y/n) though, has probably never taken me seriously, whenever I tried to flirt with her or do anything to get closer she would always just look away and tell me to “be serious” before she would return to her books. “Can we go home now? I have to try to find my book somewhere else,” “Yeah, come on, I just have to get my bag. Wanna start walking to the car?” “Mm, see ya there,” “I’ll walk with you,” I quickly offered before she walked off. “See ya tomorrow, Sunwooooo,” Eric said in a high-pitched voice as he blinked his eyes at me, I’m so getting him back someday. 

(Y/n) and I walked in silence for a while, (Y/n) looked literally anywhere that wasn’t me. “So, what book were you looking for today?” “Um, it’s this one book, it’s quite new, so it’s popular, but the status in the library finally said it was available, however, someone must have taken it without logging in and checking it out, because Chanhee and I searched through the entire section without finding it and the librarian didn’t know where it was either,” (Y/n) began talking about the book, telling me pretty much every piece of information she knew on the book except for the name of it. She was so excited and cute. Too soon we had reached her brother’s car and this also marked the end of our conversation, if you can even call it that. “Why don’t you try looking for the book again tomorrow? I can help you during lunch and even after classes too, I have some time before the match,” “You don’t have to help me, thanks though. But I’ll just ask Ju and maybe Jacob to help me,” “Come on, Juyeon will be busy preparing for the match as the captain since Sangyeon is sick, and Cobbie is supposed to help Haknyeon with some project, so just let me help you, I’m good at finding things,” “Like what?” “Like your cuteness or your adorable smile,” “Be serious, Woo,” “I am serious, let me help you?” “Alright, thanks Sunwoo,” “See you tomorrow, cutie,” I gave her a wink and a little wave before I walked away. 

Third person POV

A few minutes later Juyeon came up to the car and we got in and drove home. “I’m sorry I can’t help you search for your book tomorrow, I just have a lot of preparations to make for the game and I’m also working with Kevin to prepare some things for the dance on Saturday, maybe we can go on Monday?” “It’s fine Ju, don’t worry about it. Sunwoo said he would help me tomorrow so hopefully, we can find it. If not, I’ll just have to wait until I find it. Oh, by the way, how’s the dance prep going? Chanhee said that they were a bit behind schedule since Younghoon caught a cold,” “Well, yeah it’s a bit behind schedule with prepping the dance hall so Sangyeon, Hyunjae, Eric, and I are gonna help them after the game tomorrow so I can’t drive you home cause we’re gonna stay until everything is fixed,” “I can help out too, the dance committee really need to get some more members, there’s so few of them,” “No, you should go home tomorrow, or you won’t have any energy for the dance. And, yeah, you’re right, the dance committee is so short-staffed, everyone loves their events but no one wants to help them,” “Mm, I’ll text Yeji and ask if she can give me a ride, it’s on the way for her anyway,” “I don’t think she can, Yeji and the other cheerleaders are doing prep of their own for the dance,” “Oh, then I guess I’ll just take the bus,” “I could ask Sunwoo to take you home, he’s not helping out with the dance prep cause I’m scared he’ll start bickering with Chanhee and ruin something,” (Y/n) looked at her brother a bit quizzically, (Y/n) was pretty confident that Sunwoo had a crush on her and if she knew, that meant Juyeon definitely knew. (Y/n) was surprised that Juyeon would still allow Sunwoo to be close to her, last time someone had a crush on her, Juyeon literally chased the guy away, with the help of his teammates. “I wouldn’t want to bother, Sunwoo, I can just get home on my own,” “He’ll gladly do it, besides I don’t want you to go home on your own that late. Here, take my phone and text him,” “Okay,” (Y/n) took Juyeon’s phone and opened it to text Sunwoo. *Hey, can you drive (Y/n) home tomorrow after the game?* *Yeah, absolutely, no problem, see ya tomorrow, cap* “He said he’ll take me home tomorrow,” “Great,” Not long after, the two siblings arrived home, ate dinner, and then headed to bed. 

Sunwoo’s POV

I swear that time was moving slower than ever this morning. My classes seemed to take forever, maybe I was just too eager to meet up with (Y/n), I don’t know but I’m certain that the clock in that lecture hall was only moving every fifth minute instead of each second. Not a second too late the lunch bell rang and I ran out of the room to begin sprinting toward the library, where I was gonna meet (Y/n). “(Y/n)! Cute shirt,” As soon as I reached her I noticed her wearing a very familiar t-shirt, it just so happened that Juyeon accidentally brought one of my t-shirts with him home one day and (Y/n) probably thought the shirt belonged to Juyeon, but nope, it’s mine. “Hi Sunwoo, thanks, it’s Juyeon’s shirt, it was cool so I took it, he didn’t seem to notice though,” I couldn’t help but smile even wider at how cute she was as she looked down at the print on the t-shirt. “You sure it’s Juyeon’s?” “I mean I took it from his wardrobe so I’m pretty sure,” “Have you ever seen him wearing it?” We walked into the library and began scanning the fantasy section for her book without her answering my question, she looked really focused so I thought she might have forgotten about the question. “Now that you mention it, no. I’ve never seen him wear it but I think I remember seeing someone else wearing it,” “Really? Who?” She looked toward me with a somewhat embarrassed look, “You,” I tried to quiet down my laugh as I nodded resulting in her blushing like crazy. “That’s right, it’s my shirt. However, I think it might be yours now, 'cause you look so cute in it,” I walked closer to her while she covered her face with her hands. “(Y/n)?” “Yeah?” “Look at me,” “No,” “I found your book,” She removed her hands from her face and looked up at me happily, “REAL-mm?!” I swooped down and gave her a peck on her lips, “Shh, we’re in a library,” (Y/n) froze, she just stood there staring at me while one of her hands lightly covered her lips. “Why?” “Why what?” “Why did you kiss me Sunwoo?” “Because I like you,” “Seriously?” “Yes, (Y/n) I’ve liked you for a long time and I haven’t been subtle about it, I’m surprised you didn’t know already. So, do you like me back?” “Mmm, I will if you can find my book for me,” “That’s easy then, considering that I did find it,” I reached over her head and took down a book, the one she had been looking for, and handed it to her. “But, I searched for hours yesterday, how could you just find it in 30 minutes??” “I had my good luck charm with me, everything is easy when I have you with me, but, since I found it, that means you like me?” She turned her back to me as she clutched the book to her chest. “Yeah, I like you,” She tried to walk away from me but I followed after her, probably smiling like a dork because I was so happy. As we stepped out of the library (Y/n) finally stopped to look back at me for a second and then she began walking again. “Wait, (Y/n), I have two very important questions to ask you,” She stopped and turned to face me once more, her face was as red as a tomato from how much she was blushing. She’s so cute. “Alright, what’s the questions?” “This isn’t one of them but do you not want to spend time with me? You seem to want to run away?” “I’m embarrassed and don’t know what to do right now, I need to find Chanhee to get advice,” “You don’t have to be embarrassed, I like you and you like me, no need to feel embarrassed. Anyway, my first question: (Y/n), would you do me the honor of going to the dance with me?” “Yes, I’d like that,” “Great, secondly: be my girlfriend?” She took a step closer to me and leaned a little closer, kissed me on the cheek, whispered ‘yes’ and then she ran away before I could react. “See ya after school, good luck on the match, bye,” She shouted as she ran. “YESSSSSS!” I shouted and did a little dance before I walked toward my next class. Lee (Y/n) is officially my girlfriend and I couldn’t be happier, let’s just hope Juyeon doesn’t kill me for dating his sister. 

[poems-of-the-anentomologist]

hi :3

So I'm just wondering if you could give some advice on making poems? /nf (its fine if you cant lol😅)

There's been one poem I've been wanting to make (unlikely I'll share it anywhere, idk) & I just don't really know how to make poems

I tried writing the poem at one point, but it felt more like I was just typing words without anything poetic going on.

OH MY GOD I JUST REMEMBERED THIS IS IN MY INBOX I AM SO SORRY ANON

okay so, number one, do not force yourself to write, let me make that very clear. If an idea strikes you, write it down, but do not force yourself to write. With that in mind here are some tips off the top of my head:

poetry thrives in visualization, and statements that make your reader see, feel, smell, and taste things work well, the weirder and more unexpected the better

you can get really philosophical with it, or use cliche words, but according to my English teacher poems hit harder if the previous statements help you earn those statements

have fun with it, try out weird formats, do whatever you like

rhymes are a thing, don't overuse them unless you are really good at them (don't use ab rhymes though)

read, it gives you ideas

print out your poems, and use multiple storage methods so you don't lose any (I use like four)

reminder I am just a 15 year old who has been writing consistently for less than a year, so take this all with a pillar of salt

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

Okay so I recently called XO, Kitty the worst show ever on an unrelated post of mine. Let me be serious about it for a second.

That show really does deserve praise. I called it that because I hate miscommunication as a trope, but the casual lgbtq rep in a kids show was very well done. They so easily could have had the same boring old plot where Dae was fake dating Yuri just to impress her parents, so having it be cover for her relationship with Juliana was a surprising twist for me. They even doubled down with Kitty's crush on Yuri, which was a fascinating twist for me. I am a HUGE proponent for gay people and gay stories being in all types of media, even poorly written teen ones lol. A note should also be made for the straight best friend character of Min Ho being the one obsessed with his appearance and skin care and status, while the gay best friend character of Q was the jock who liked hiking and was at the school on a sports scholarship. They are such basic character tropes, and they are still cliches, but they are subverted in these little ways that made me happy. The same with the plot; cliche and overused, but subverted in these small ways. It's still thought and care given to representation, even in shitty teen shows. It's something that Netflix has always done really well for the most part.

I also have to commend them for the casual spoken Korean. I was highly impressed. I thought for an American show, they would all speak English the entire time despite being in Korea, so the amount of times they spoke in Korean with each other was very refreshing. I also love that it became a sort of plot point, where Kitty in particular wouldn't understand some of what was said in serious moments when it was said in Korean, and that was why characters chose to speak it. Particularly the confrontation between Dae and Min Ho, where Kitty had to ask Dae what Min Ho said and Dae just said it was nothing when in reality it was pretty fucking mean. It always makes my little lesbian heart happy when representation is handled well in shitty teen shows or kids movies especially.

[patiann345]

I'm gonna be honest; I don't think it's fair to blame a single game (BATIM in this case) for the state of Modern Mascot Horror...

That's giving Bendy WAY too much credit hj/

But seriously though; to say that BATIM is at fault for the state of mascot horror and that it started/popularized all the overused trends is just. really really unfair to it. And that's coming from someone who is extremely critical of the series, I WISH I could blame Bendy for everything but alas, I am unable 😔

I think my biggest issue with blaming Bendy, or really any big horror like Fnaf or Poppy, is that.. so many of those trends aren't unique to those games? Bendy takes SO MUCH from games like Bioshock, but we're not blaming Bioshock for mascot horror trends, are we? And yeah, you can say "Well Bioshock isn't indie and it's not mascot horror" but,, where do you think people are drawing inspiration? Yeah, a lotta games may be inspired by Bendy, but a lot of others, INCLUDING Bendy, are inspired by the classics before it.

To talk about some arguments I've seen; saying Bendy popularized "exploring an abandoned facility" feels almost silly considering how many popular horror games and media have done that before. It's been a horror staple for forever, so of course a lot of mascot and/or indie games would follow suit. There's the first Resident Evil, I think Silent Hill COULD count, RPG maker games such as Ao Oni.. And as for film; technically The Blair Witch falls into this category. And the same goes for "cute mascot turned scary" like.. I'm sorry but plenty of games alone were doing that before Bendy. Ever played Tattletail? You could argue FNAF has done this too. Spooky's jumpscare mansion perhaps? And if you wanna look past just games; Gremlins. And yes, I'm counting Gremlins as horror. If you don't, then consider Chucky or Annabelle (though maybe Annabelle is to a lesser extent since she's.. pretty freaky looking before the possession stuff in the film) I'm not. even going to address "free roam gameplay" because. I mean, do I have to? I should not have to go over a list of free roam horror games to tell you why that's 1. not even a trend? and 2. not.. Bendy specific.

All this also isn't considering a lot of other media you could take inspiration from; Creepypastas and ARGs and Books and so on and so forth. A lot of those have contributed to Mascot Horror, ESPECIALLY creepypasta.. Most of the popular ones do fall under the "cute-to-scary" trope such as Cupcakes, Sonic.EXE, the Tails Doll curse, and a lot of lost episodes and haunted gaming creepypastas. You can't tell me some of the big games now aren't slightly inspired.

Also also, a lotta popular mascot horror recently has followed certain tropes and trends, yeah, but that doesn't mean they're necessarily good or bad. People hear "Cliche" and think negatively, but you CAN do a cliche really REALLY well, you can put a super strong spin on it if you try and make it feel new and fresh, even if it's been done over and over before by other pieces of media. Yes, BATIM has "cute-to-scary" mascots, it has abandoned location exploration, and it released in chapters, and so on and so forth. But we're not considering HOW it uses these tropes and if they're done well. We're just saying "Well, it has them so.. blame Bendy ig" and that's, again, not fair! It's not fair to BATIM and it's not fair to other horror media, some of which has served as big inspirations and the sort of "building blocks" for modern horror.

To make something clear, and I know this may upset some people to hear; BATIM is not unique as a piece of horror media. The only thing that sets it apart is the artstyle, and even then, with the release of BATDR, we've been inching away from that rubberhose-1930s style for a more generic look and feel. Bendy is not special, and it's not special as a mascot horror, even by the standards of 2017 when it came out. There were other games doing what it was doing, and there will continue to be games that do what it did.

It is not fair to blame Bendy, and it's not fair to blame any one single game or piece of media. Tropes and trends and cliches come and they go, and whether or not you like the current state of mascot horror, if you agree or disagree that it's a problem (I personally don't think it is and don't. really care tbh?) You cannot blame a single piece of media for the problems you have with a genre.

(Sorry this is so ramble-y!! And if it's not super well structured, I just really wanted to get my thoughts out there akjagsdhljgadslh,, also, I'd love to hear other people's thoughts, if you agree or disagree or are unsure. Think it'd be cool to start a discussion ^^)

[the-irreverend]

Why Nimona's Third Act Breakup Makes the film better (yes really)

Ah, the Third Act Breakup. One of the most notorious cliches in modern animated films. I mean you know it's an overused trope when Kevin Temmer writes a whole song about it. But what if I told you that the way the Third Act Breakup is used is Nimona is not only forgivable but actually benefits the story. And I tell you why...

Reason 1: It doesn't happen for no reason.

One of the biggest issues with T.A.B.s in other animated films is that they usually happen for reasons that are contrived and arbitrary, all while damaging the characters doing said Breakup. But in Nimona, the Breakup doesn't feel so contrived because the characters have understandable reasons for becoming at odds with each other. Take Ballister, for starters. While he may be disillusioned with the director, he sadly has not become disillusioned with the foundations of that system she's in charge of: the legend of Gloreth's crusade against Nimona. And when you also consider his experiences with being deceived and manipulated by those he looks up to, it's understandable why he would be fearful that he's been manipulated by Nimona. Speaking of which, Nimona has plenty of understandable reasons for being at odds with Ballister as well, especially when you consider all the betrayal, hatred, and persecution they've endured. Just like with Gloreth, they watch in horror as their best friend turns on them despite all the care, support, and kindness they've shown. As a result, the Breakup not only makes sense from a character standpoint, but also ties into the themes, messages, and commentary of the film.

Reason 2: It doesn't pretend the moments they had together didn't happen.

Another reason that the Breakup is done well here is that even though Nimona and Ballister turn against each other, they don't COMPLETELY turn against each other. When their distrust and fear toward each other reach its peak (when Ballister draws his sword and Nimona bears their fangs), they immediately stop, looking at each with shock and horror as they both realize what they're doing. Not only that, but they don't even split apart on their own volition but rather because of circumstances beyond their control. The reason this moment's important is that it shows that despite everything, they haven't forgotten the bond they forged with each other; that even though their friendship may be down, IT IS NOT OUT.

Reason 3: How Nimona and Ballister make up.

What ultimately justifies the inclusion of the Third Act Breakup trope is the way that both Nimona and Ballister make amends with each other. It's not some little sidequest that happens before the climax, IT IS THE CLIMAX!!! A BEAUTIFUL, HEART-MELTING CLIMAX THAT LEFT ME IN TEARS! As a result, the film justifies Nimona and Ballister's conflict, because the steps back they've taken are used to make a bounding leap forward! Ballister finally forsakes his doubt towards Nimona and his faith in the system that persecuted her, and Nimona destroys the very foundations of that system by saving the people from the person who was responsible for controlling it (the Director).

So in the end, while Nimona does have many familiar tropes you see in other animated films, what ultimately matters is that it uses those tropes in a way that's actually effective, and in doing so, helps make Nimona one of the best animated films to come out this year.