#sometimes those media are the same but sometime they are not

[amozon28]

#YES YES YES#like i already LOVED this part the fact he used it and was angry enough to do so while knowing exactly what it feels like was already so#good. reading a discussion about it by one of the writers makes it even better#one thing i love about callum as a hero is that the 'if i kill them/do this to them then ill be the same as them!' doesnt apply to him#if its warranted in the moment and done to protect those he loves most/himself. then hell fuckin do it. even when it comes to dark magic#hell do everything he can to avoid it but still will if needed#and also sometimes he does stuff cuz hes just so pissed off and done. good for him. i love heros who have a genuinely good amazing heart#and morally good and love to be goofy but also arent afraid to get dirty and mean if its needed in a fight#or if theyre insanely defensive of those they hold most near and dear. which is 100% callum#i know i may be saying stuff wrong about him. im not a creator for the show. but i have been watching it since 2019 and the only fictional#character in any media who i adore more than him at this point is rayla. so.#also its late. and adhd brain go brrrr. so. excuse the rambling#((also i have to say idk if yall do it intentionally but i SWEAR that lad has adhd he has SO MANY symptoms. its like looking in a damn#mirrors sometimes cuz like 'haha i do that.' had an itch in the back of my brain as to why something stuck out about him for years that#felt like 🤝 then i realized in the last like year or 2 that he has a lot of adhd s/s. especially in arc2. and like recognizes like and all#that. i dont care if its confirmed its just stuck out to me for a while and multiple others in the fandom with it agree. so. idk. dont mind#me im just rambling))#anyway cool scene i LOVED this moment. especially how when claudia tried to electrocute him and he deflected it then looked at her for a#second like 'oh REALLY?' and then immediately did this spell. knowing full well the agony is causes. and hearing the screams of agony from#rayla too. the love of his life. with that driving him up the wall to become feral#yeah. was shocked by this but it also slaps so severely. thank you for your service

Honestly one of the coolest moments in the season was the Claudia vs Callum mage fight. It was quick and instense and showed how far Callum has come, how he matched Claudia spell for spell, and that he wasnt afraid to be ruthless, using the same freezing water/blood spell used to torture him and rayla back in s5

[pureomi]

˚୨୧⋆｡🍓˚ all you want - itoshi rin.

in which: rin finds out what he is most terrified of.

themes - sfw. not proofread. gender neutral (i believe, lemme know if im wrong). rin is a loser in love so yay. | wc 0.6k

itoshi rin is an intimidating man. his tall silhouette adds to his unapproachable persona, which he embodies with a glued sore expression, almost always looking as if ready for slaughter. (he is)

rin himself has been aware of this fact; it is hard not to be after years of noticing the small mannerisms of nervousness people only tend to carry around him. he feels bad about it sometimes, but, oh well.

with such a demeanor, rin has the confidence to rarely ever think of what might spook him. truthfully, he cannot be blamed either. this man watches horror movies as a hobby, claiming "it's the only media that interests him". forget fictional horror, he isn't even bothered by realistic sights of blood, be it his own or somebody else's; a very small part of the reason why he didn't think twice before swinging at shidou during practice today.

itoshi rin terrifies everyone and is never terrified of anyone.

so why, why is he shaking in his boots right now at the sight of your stern expression?

"rin."

he held his breath, mentally preparing himself to confront the storm ahead.

"you forgot to buy strawberries."

crap. the ingredient had completely slipped his mind.

"sorry," he sighed, in transparent defeat. "i remembered your text after arriving."

"it's okay," you went back to shuffling through drawers like your usual self. except, it wasn't usual to rin. your cheeky smile he adored so much became replaced with a pout today.

no no no—please don't be sad. not over strawberries.

"i'll go back and get them right now," he shuffled in his trouser pockets for his car keys, determined to get you those red little troublemakers.

your hand clutched a flap of his jacket before he got moving. "rin, it's okay. really."

"i'll be back shortly," he glared daggers into your hand restricting him—conflicted if he is in a position to remove any willing touch you provided him at the moment.

he hoped you would just let go—which you did. but now, it wasn't just a hand clinging to him. it was your entire being.

"you don't have to," you hugged him, murmuring sentences with the same look from before.

itoshi rin sighed, his second time today, but this was out of pure endearment. "then stop looking so upset, dumbass."

though his words carried a harsh stream, his tender hands cupping your jaw contradicted all the possible roughness.

"i'm not upset," you claimed. "you're pouting," he swiped a thumb across your slightly fluffed up lips to prove a point you seemed to be missing. "well, i just wanted to make those cupcakes."

the stoic man's heart clutched again at your painfully adorable wish. slowly, he leaned to press his forehead against yours. "so, let me get them."

at his adamancy, you chuckled, a sound that melted away the tension in the room. "baby, you really don't have to go back for strawberries. i can survive a night without them."

"i know you can," he left a quick kiss on your lips. "but, i want you to have everything you want. especially the little things."

perhaps you grew accustomed to his physical affection, but his verbal love still held you captive after all this time. long gone were the sweetly sour fruits from your mind, all it consisted of was itoshi rin.

"what if i want something not so little?" you tip-toed to reach your boyfriend towering over you.

immediately, getting your cue, he grabbed on to your figure, bringing his lips to align with yours passionately.

"can give you that too."

10:30 am.

the next morning, as sunshine spilled through the kitchen windows, you found a crimson surprise awaiting you at the counter. three full containers of strawberries had been neatly arranged in a column and residing beside them were a pair of oven mitts. the last thing he left for you to spot was a note attached to the thermal gloves.

"for your cupcakes. don't burn yourself." — rin itoshi.

[archives-of-a-hidden-writer]

Something Else

Thanos / Choi Su-bong X Nonchalant!Cold!reader

》Typing... |

》 [Entry No.003 - Something Else]|

》 Loading Archive Entry "Something Else" |

》 Location of Entry: Archivial's |

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》 Summary: Sometimes, being too calm at intense situations and gaining a bit of attention, even if it's from someone who is too high for this bloody game.|

》 Warnings: Spoilers for Season 2 of Squid game until at least episode 3-4, occur during and before the 1st game, reader's number is 457 & choosing 'o' later on, implications of drug use, flirting, murder, blood, swearing, Thanos flirting with ji-woo before going after you. |

》 Archive Entry Loaded ◇

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

You thought everything was messed up, as you had somehow gotten yourselves into this so-called 'Squid Games'.

You wake up in an unknown place filled with people you barely recognize. Although some gave a sense of familiarity, you didn't delve deeper into this feeling. You don't know what was happening after all, all you remember was playing ddakji with some salesman who definitely did not give you a suspicious feeling and gave you a weird card after the game, and then all of a sudden, you're here in this children-themed place. Now, you are being told to sign a waiver before playing a 'game'.

As everyone lined up to sign the paper, the one in front of you, who's number is one lower than you, seemed to be slower than the rest, seemingly actually reading the written rules before signing it.

Shrugging the man's intentions off, I signed the paper with a quick glance at the rules. It might be useful to me in the future, keyword, might.

As I finished signing mine, I walked off the line to go somewhere in the room, or the called dormitory. As this occurred, a ruckus was happening on the sideline as a purple-haired man attempted to punch another guy but was stopped by his friend.

You somehow recognized those two from social media, one known for making his fans invest in a crypto coin and the other being a rapper.

I just silently tsked at them before moving along, not noticing the gaze that followed me from the purple-haired dude, but it was soon averted as took noticed another girl.

■■■■

"Everyone please line-up one at a time," the announcement echoed through the labyrinth of a room as people, now called players, each took their turn standing in front of the monitor and taking a pic.

As you waited for your turn, another scene occurred with none other than the rapper from before as many approached him and started mentioning how much of a fan they were of him. He then called all of them to group-up and take a picture together, followed by the man calling the braided girl that you now noticed as player 196, but she rejected him. The whole ordeal was soon stopped by a pink guard nearby.

■■■■

As you reached the end of the labyrinth of stairs of a room, you and the players reached the seemingly 1st game.

An announcer soon welcomed you all before saying to wait as the game starts, Red light, Green light, the game is said. Everyone scoffed and snickered as the said game was a kids' game, but one man wasn't having it as he ran to the front and started screaming of how they would kill you if moved.

As the man screamed, you just raised an eyebrow at the player's antics, what a weird guy, but it wouldn't hurt to d whatever this crazed man says. But it seems a few were still snickering and joking at the man.

Soon, the game started, the child-like doll then started to turn and chanted 'Red light, green light'. Everyone started to move until the doll stopped speaking and turned its head at us. The man earlier screamed to freeze, no one moved.

The same thing repeated until mostly everyone reached the halfway mark.

As everyone froze, the few silent seconds were disrupted by a girl's scream as she spun around and moved before being followed by a gunshot and a thudding of a body. It was soon followed by another scream and gunshots as everyone who panicked and moved was shot and killed with the man from earlier screaming for everyone to not panic and freeze.

The real chaos and hell began.

■■■■

A few moments after the wave of deaths, everyone stood close to each other, lining themselves into lines to hide from the doll's detectors.

The plan somewhat worked, with a few getting detected and shot as they either failed to hide or accidentally moved.

It was once again disrupted as the purple-haired man had killed at least 3 players as he pushed them while the doll's head was still towards everyone. You scoffed at the man for killing others, but did you even have anything to say as the two of you met gaze before you looked away from him, focusing on the game at hand.

As you focused on the game, Thanos, the purple-haired man, couldn't remove his eyes from you. Unlike the other players, you were somehow a bit calmer than them, more eased at this as if it doesn't phase you one bit. It didn't help that he was, at this moment, had already taken his little candy and is over his own head. You were really something.

■■■■

Soon enough, mostly everyone got through the line, and now everyone can finally have a breather as they survived.

Everyone was then brought back to the dormitory, pretty shaken up by the game given to them. Well, everyone but you and some few players, you were pretty shaken up as well, but not to the point you looked like you just went to an actual war field.

As you do your own thing on your bunk bed, Thanos had his gaze on you from the other side. 'Player 457... You're...' "Something else..." he muttered his thoughts as his pupils twitched, looking around before seemingly coming back to you. His looked over to him and asked if he was alright. He answered that he's alright in english, earning a confused look from his friend.

Despite barely meeting nor talking to you like what he did with player 196, he seemed to be just as smitten at you. But could he even manage to muster his hyped feelings before the games take his life?

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

》 Archiver's Notes: A short something for someone, @sukratyaropia24 , as a fellow squid game watcher and heavy on Thanos aka T.O.P. Had to skip the majority of what happened during the first game. Apologies for that.

[yoursinisforgiven]

REDAMANCY ──

pairing: isaac x reader (pickel) 

cw: philosophical themes, story likely takes place after episode 12 of isaac’s series, kisses.

you are responsible for your own media consumption.

The soft hum of the dryer fills the room as you lift warm, fragrant clothing from the hamper to fold. There's something oddly soothing about the ritual, a peace that feels almost sacred in its simplicity. People often talk about domesticity in the context of relationships—shared spaces, shared duties—but isn't it possible to find that same kind of harmony within yourself?  

You’ve always loved doing the laundry: the softness of freshly cleaned fabric, the faintly floral or citrus scent that lingers in the air. It feels like a small act of care, a moment where the chaos of the world is folded neatly into order. Isaac, of course, doesn’t understand this.  

“You know,” he’d said yesterday, stepping into the laundry room with an incredulous look, “you don’t have to do this yourself, right? We have people to do this for us.”  

You glanced up from the pile of clothes in your lap. “I know.”  

He crossed his arms, leaning against the doorway. “So why do it? You’ve got a million other things you could be doing.”  

You shrugged, smoothing out the wrinkles in a shirt. Isaac raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue. Instead, his gaze shifted to the shelf above the washer. “We’re running out of detergent,” you said, cutting him off before he could comment further. “There’s maybe enough for one or two more loads.” You folded another shirt and set it neatly on the growing pile.  

He nodded. “I’ll pick up more this week.” Pushing off the doorway, he headed back toward his study.  

Now, as you tuck the last folded shirt into the basket, you think about his words. He hadn’t meant to be dismissive; it was just how his mind worked. Efficiency over sentiment, delegation over personal involvement. For Isaac, laundry was a task to be outsourced, not a moment to slow down and breathe.  

As you reach for the next item—a dress shirt of his, soft and faintly smelling of his cologne—you pause. You think about the countless ways people express care, sometimes in direct, obvious gestures, but more often in the quiet, unnoticed details. Folding his shirt feels like one of those moments—a small, unspoken offering.  

The dryer buzzes, breaking your thoughts. You glance at the clock. Isaac will be home soon, and you wonder if he’ll notice his freshly folded sweater neatly placed in the drawer. Probably not, you think, but that’s okay. Some things don’t need to be noticed to matter.  

──

The next day, you step into the laundry room, your gaze almost immediately drawn to the shelf. Something catches your attention—a new addition you hadn’t expected. Isaac had gotten laundry detergent. But not just any kind; it was the expensive brand.  

You pause, blinking in mild surprise. On the rare days you went out to run errands yourself—not without Isaac insisting you check in and assuring him you’d be safe—you always bought the cheaper option. Practical, efficient, and easy. This, though, was different.  

Your brows furrow slightly as you walk closer, reaching up to take the bottle in your hand. The sleek design, the bold lettering touting “eco-friendly” and “sustainable,” feels like a deliberate choice. You turn it over, inspecting the label. Plant-based, cruelty-free, biodegradable.  

Isaac must have done this on purpose.  

You trace the edge of the cap with your thumb, trying to decipher the message behind the gesture.  

“Isaac,” you call out, raising your voice slightly so it carries to his study. Moments later, you hear the sound of his footsteps—slightly hurried. He appears at the doorway of the laundry room, a curious look on his face, glancing at the bottle in your hand.  

You hold out the detergent toward him, your expression skeptical. “Why did you buy this?”  

“You said we were running low,” he replies simply.  

“I never get this brand,” you counter.  

Isaac hums in acknowledgment, studying your reaction. “I know, but it’s more eco-friendly.”  

You let out a breath, shaking your head slightly. “It’s expensive, Isaac. Almost double the price of what we usually get.”  

“Money isn’t a problem—it’s never been,” he says, his tone genuinely puzzled at your worry.  

“That’s not the point,” you say, setting the bottle down on the counter. “It’s about being practical. We don’t need to spend extra just to feel good about ourselves.”  

Isaac folds his arms, his brow furrowing slightly. “But isn’t that the whole point? Making choices that align with our values, even if they’re inconvenient or cost a little more? Isn’t that what you’ve been saying about sustainability?”  

You’re quiet for a moment, his words hanging in the air. He’s not wrong, exactly, but the simplicity of his reasoning grates against the internal calculations you’ve been making for years. “It’s not just about values,” you say finally. “It’s about balance. We can’t fix everything by throwing money at it.”  

He nods slowly, considering your response. “But if we don’t act on the small things, how do we build the habit of tackling the big ones? Isn’t this where it starts?”  

You cross your arms, leaning against the counter as you mull over his words. “I get what you’re saying, but sometimes it feels like... like these choices are performative. Like buying the ‘right’ detergent isn’t really going to change anything, not in the grand scheme of things.”  

Isaac steps closer, his tone softening. “Maybe not. But it’s not just about changing the world—it’s about changing us. How we think, how we act, what we prioritize. Isn’t that worth something?”  

You meet his gaze, and for a moment, the debate quiets. He’s always had a way of making you see things from a different perspective, even when you don’t want to.  

Finally, you sigh, a small smile tugging at the corners of your lips. “Fine. We’ll try it. But if it doesn’t work as well as the cheap stuff, you’re doing the laundry.”  

He chuckles, stepping closer until he’s standing right in front of you. “Very well then.” His eyes soften as he leans down, brushing a kiss against your forehead. You tilt your head up, catching his lips with yours for a brief, tender moment.  

As he pulls back, he grins. “But I think you’ll be surprised.”  

You laugh softly, shaking your head as you set the detergent back on the shelf. The small kiss lingers in your mind as you start the next load of laundry, the gentle hum of the washer filling the room. Maybe he’s right. Maybe the small things matter more than you realize.

──

author's note: a small drabble compared to a fic, the requested was quite vague. though i don't like the finished product, i did enjoy writing fluff.

[goddessinnerglow]

Become Your Best Version Before 2025 - Day 26

Personal Development Tools and Resources

Yesterday we talked about creating accountability plans, and today I want to build on that momentum by sharing some amazing tools and resources that have genuinely transformed my personal growth journey.

Think about the last time you scrolled through your phone, looking at all those self-improvement apps you downloaded but never really used. We've all been there! Today, I want to share what's actually worked for me.

The Simple Tools That Work Wonders

First up, journaling! But wait, before you roll your eyes, hear me out. I'm not talking about writing novels every morning. Sometimes it's just a quick brain dump while having coffee, or a few grateful thoughts before bed. (Quick tip: if you're new to journaling and self-reflection, you might want to check out my free Self-Worth Mini Workbook, it's got some really gentle prompts to get you started!)

Digital tools have been game-changers too. I absolutely love:

Notion for organizing my entire life (seriously, it's like having a second brain)

Insight Timer for meditation (the free version is amazing!)

Goodnotes for digital journaling.

Creating Your Sacred Space

Something that's really helped me is creating a dedicated space for personal development. It doesn't have to be fancy, mine's just a cozy corner with:

A comfortable cushion

My favorite journal and pens

A small plant (because why not?)

A few inspiring books

Speaking of books, these have been life-changing:

"Atomic Habits" by James Clear

"The Mountain Is You" by Brianna Wiest

"You Are a Badass" by Jen Sincero

View the full list here

Making It Work For You

The key is finding what naturally fits into your life. Maybe you:

Start with just 5 minutes of morning reflection

Use your commute time for personal development podcasts

Set up a simple evening routine for goal review

(By the way, if you're ready to dive deeper into creating sustainable personal growth practices, my Inner Glow Bundle has some amazing tools for this, but let's focus on getting those basics down first!)

The Power of Community

Never underestimate the power of connecting with others on the same journey. Some great ways to do this:

Join online communities (like this one!)

Find an accountability partner

Share your journey on social media

Participate in group challenges

Remember This, the most powerful tools are often the simplest ones. Don't get caught up in thinking you need the fanciest apps or most expensive programs. Start with what you have, where you are.

What's one tool or practice you're excited to try? Let me know in the comments below! I love hearing about your journeys and learning from your experiences too!

See you tomorrow for Day 27!

♡ ☆:.｡ Keep glowing, babes! ♡ ☆:.｡ With love, Goddess Inner Glow.

[chillenby]

It's 2 am so um sorry if this doesn't make much sense..

I know a lot of people hate Jimmy and rightfully so. I mean he's a bad person, raped Anya, was too much of a coward to face his own actions so he decided that he should write a tragedy, then fails at it, only to be the reason why everyone died one by one and then finally killing himslef and giving Curly extra 20 years to be saved to once again avoid conciquences and to be the 'hero' he so much wishes he could be. He is selfish, greedy, a bastard and genually an awful human being. I understand that fully.

And yet, he is my favorite character along with Curly (and I don't mean only the pre-crash 'hot' Curly, but also post-crash Curly). You know why? He's so complex and interesting to think about. From psychoanalysis to just trying to figure out how he would interact with characters outside of what we see in the game.. it's all interesting. And it doesn't help that he is the reason for what happens in the game and I cannot explain how much I love the plot (the best way to describe it is that Jimmy is the core of this game, he is connected to everyone and everyone connects ro him, so in my mind, if I want to appreaciate this game fully, I need to extend it to that asshole, because we out him there would be no plot or those hard hitting messages). I love him as a character, I love how fucked up he is, I love that we play as him, I love his dialoge scenes and lastly I love his delusions because I love metaphores and I love that he is one of those characters that makes me think.

I know people shit on him and you know what? Fair. I sometimes do that to characters that've done nothing wrong, but I think they're cunts. But it sometimes just saddens me how people just ignore him or just make stupid jokes like 'sorry you had ro draw Jinglebells'. I know they are jokes, but I don't know, I'm tired of seeing them everywhere and being fed a lot of 'I hate Jimmy' stuff.

I mean there are Jimcurly fans which have amazing art and they sometimes get one thing correctly (in my tastes, this is all a personal opinion and I just want to yell it out into the void called internet) is that it hurts. Jimmy hurts people and hurts Curly, and in a lot of fics and art Curly just lets him. And I like that, as much as usually I like silly and wholesome stuff, for this game specifically I want it to hurt. I hope it hurts. Because that's the theme of the media, it's hard to consume and it hurts, it's dark and fucked up, it talks about our society and the people in it.

...

Also the aus and stuff can be fucking wild. Like there are amazing ones like surviviors au comic where instead of crashing the crew is stuck in a wormhole (I love it so much, genually can't stop thinking about it and rereading it, so beautiful and so good, didn't knew that was exactly what I needed until I read it) and like anti-tulpar (which I'm just receantly getting into and it's odd but in a good way, it's funky). But one the other side we have like lobotomy au and hypno au (the hypno au I read is like on the fence of being uncomfortable and not too bad, since the hypno used makes Jimmy docile and truthful, but on the inside he is still the same person, and like I read a smut and I was left wondering is it rape or not..). I just found out about lobotomy au and as much as I like fucked up shit that to me feels like crossing the line especially since I heard that it's usually used in a sexual manner(I don't have twitter so luckily I managed to escape most of it, but I heard a few things and I have certain opinions I just want to yell out, but if my info about this is wrong feel free to inform me :)). On that I have only one opinion, what is wrong with people? Like I get it, he is a bad person and has done awful things, but to do something to dehumanize him to the point of not being able to have deeper thoughs and not being able to take care of himself, then put him in a sexual manner where he gets practically raped since he can't consent? Why? Do people actually find this attractive or is it some type of letting out your anger? I think it's fucked up

But yea.. if anyone reads this thanks I guess? I just needed to spew out all my thoughts and make them make sense. Form them into proper words and ideas instead of unprocessed junk

So as a closing thought, please apreaciate Jimmy more and make more complex jokes. (Or at least don't like hate on this post too much aand don't post those stupid jokes under this post too much, I'd make my day if none of that would happen)

[rtfics]

People believe Lydia wanted Beej to change??

Lydia wants Beej exactly as he is.

Sure, he bugs her sometimes, pun intended. She's a kid. She's a good kid. She doesn't seek to not fit in. But her innate, authentic self unintentionally rankles the Norms. So while on the one hand she wants to get back at those who bully her, she's trying to keep Beetlejuice under the radar in the living world. She wants him to tone it down when others are around. Otherwise, as she says, her parents wouldn't allow her to see him again (they'd actual call a fucking exorcist). And in the Neitherworld he might end up in jail or Sandwormland.

Sometimes he's over-the-top when she's in a situation that could screw up her school life -- she wants good grades. Even when he's trying to help he can mess things up. She's 12, of course this annoys her now and then.

But that's not the same as her wanting Beetlejuice to behave.

For those not old enough to have been around then, the early 1990s was full of assholes who wanted to police, control, and censor all entertainment media. The term was "Family Values." There were several highly prominent Conservative Christians and organizations: Jerry Falwell; the Christian Coalition; Focus On the Family; Pat Robertson; Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker; the Moral Majority, etc. They were a powerful political lobby, and they pressured Congress to create rules to limit the amount of sex and violence on TV, in movies, in music, you name it. The Democrats weren't any better: United States Attorney General Janet Reno said even Law & Order was too violent, and wanted children's programs to be cleansed of even cartoon "violence."

So 80s kids shows became squeaky clean commercials for toys: Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, and more.

The Beetlejuice cartoon was a reaction to that. For the early 90s it was subversive. Not only was it intelligent -- puns galore -- but its protagonist was a Goth little girl -- Goths were all thought to be Satanists back then -- and a literal dead guy. A very gross dead guy. By contrast to Care Bears and Smurfs, Beetlejuice was total anarchy. It mocked the Conservatives. Parents and teachers hated the show. Kids loved it. It was a smash hit and ran for four years, outlasting some of the Evangelical Christians who wanted it canceled.

The whole POINT of the series was Lydia being weird by "normal" standards and her soulmate being a dead guy who loves her for her weirdness, who's even weirder than she is. Lydia couldn't survive without him.

The series is Tim Burton's valentine to kids who didn't "fit in."

I'm just going to be loud and right

Anyone who thinks that Lydia from the Toon would want to change Betelgeuse at any point that they have known each other is not watching the show at all.

Even as she grows up, she would not change him.

She'd never want to change him, it's the first thing established in the show. It's always been established in the show. There's so many things the show tells us that a lot of newer people just seem to ignore.

But the one universal thing that's been told to us is that. Y'all act like people can't get annoyed with someone because it automatically equals to hate or not liking the person.

Loud and wrong.

You can be annoyed with your husband, friend, parent, sibling. It's natural it happens. It's nature. So just because there's some scenes where Lydia gets annoyed at him, doesn't mean she suddenly hates him or wants him to change. She's just annoyed. There's actually a lot more I want to talk about, because I'm an actual Animated Series connoisseur, but I don't have the spoons to at the moment, so instead you get a dumb simple little ramble until I've got my shit written down and post it up.

[getinthehandbasket]

Cishet men don't seem to understand how IRL people can "growl" and "purr" things into someone's ear. Allow me to elucidate: Tom Hiddleston purrs. Henry Cavill growls.

[doomedclockworkdotmp3]

heeyyy gaaanggg

the pose and the background of the album version (left) are based on oingo boingos only a lad album art. not cause i think he has anything to do with it but just cause ive been wantin to draw that pose for like. weeks and i didnt know who to put there. so why not my latest bug man.

[scificrows]

Okay, my brain refuses to think about anything other than Murderbot, so I looked at every use of the word "friend[s]" in TMBD and... created some pie charts. Normal human activities.

Some Thoughts™ I had while putting this together (under the cut):

In All Systems Red, Murderbot notes that the PresAux crew are all close friends (twice! and goes on to explain their internal relationships which I think is very cute). This is pretty much the only use of 'friends' in ASR, except for when Murderbot says that SecUnits can't be friends with each other.

It seems that this may be one of the first times Murderbot has ever really been around a group of friends before? Murderbot notes that this is not the norm for its contracts and admits that the fact that they are all friends and the way they interact with each other make it actually enjoy that contract (before!!!! the hostile attack, so it already enjoys this contract before they start seeing it as a person etc ghghhhh). [Inference: Friendship seems enjoyable.]

The first character that calls Murderbot its friend is ART in Artificial Condition. Murderbot immediately refutes this (and then goes on to call ART its friend to its clients for the rest of the book). [Inference: Maybe ART is Murderbot's friend. And maybe that is... agreeable]

Rogue Protocol has more than twice as many instances of the word 'friend' as any of the other novellas. Why? Miki. Friendship and its implications for non-humans are a central theme because Miki is friends with everyone. Murderbot initially scoffs at the notion that Miki and Miki's humans are friends. At the end of the book, after witnessing how desperately Don Abene tried to stop Miki from trying to save them, and her grief after its death, Murderbot has to admit that she had in fact been Miki's friend. [Inference: Humans can be friends with bots and can sincerely care about them]

In Exit Strategy, Murderbot tentatively uses the word "friends" for its humans for the first time (several times actually). It questions whether it can actually call them its friends or not and later realizes that it had been afraid what admitting that the humans are its friends would do to it. At the end of the book, Mensah tells Murderbot the PresAux crew are its friends, which is the first time a human has directly said that to it (at least on-page). [Inference: Humans can and want to be Murderbot's friends]

In Network Effect, Murderbot seems to be more habituated to the word 'friend', confidently calling ART and Ratthi its friends, like it is no longer just trying the concept on unsure if it fits. There are many instances in which other characters refer to MB as ART's friend or the other way around and Murderbot's humans refer to Murderbot as their friend several times. Generally, there seems to be less hesitancy, because yes, all of them are Murderbot's friends, why wouldn't they be. [Inference: SecUnits can have friends. This SecUnit has friends. They care about it a lot.]

Conclusion: The Murderbot Diaries tell the story of a construct that does not seem to consider the possibility of friendship for itself and is fine with that - until it accidentally starts caring a little too much and suddenly more and more people annex it as a friend (ew) to the point where it can no longer deny that this is happening and has to begrudgingly admit that yes, it has friends now and maybe that is actually not a bad thing.

[lugarn]

Before we dive in to the meat of your reply I have to just start with the idea that fix-it fic means fixing the problematic elements. It reminds me of the way modern fandom treats 'gay panic' like you're in a panic because you're realizing you're gay. Real history has been forgotten here! I am also interested in genuinely picking media apart! It's fun, but I want to do it with love for the media and what it was trying to do (Ebert-style) rather than with disappointment from what I thought it should've been.

Back in the Supernatural days I wrote a lot of meta! Not just about stuff I liked, but as part of the larger conversation about the things that the show lacked in terms of female characters (or any other regular characters) and how that was both an asset to the storytelling and a failure to imagine women and minorities as part of the world. It was fun as hell and I was part of a group who beta-read each others' metas and would make excellent points that would then make the metas even better. There was a thriving meta community and no matter what analysis we held we all knew that the other people weren't saying that the show or its fans were unworthy of love due to the media's flaws, or that people who chose not to see the flaws were inherently less than.

I also like a lot of shows that got into super heated levels of criticism! The main one was Playboyy, where the criticism veered into speaking over/ignoring sex workers' opinions of how the show handled sex work. I'm very familiar with the ways that tone-policing queers in BL have decided that something is bad and thus the people who like it are bad.

It's terrible, but like you, I focus on what I want to make. I focus on running events and writing fic and sometimes even editing vids. But I feel pretty alone, in the end, because there are so few people doing it alongside me. Fandom's not supposed to be a place where those of us who make and post things feel increasingly alone, but here we are.

As far as belonging, I think you're probably right. An adjacent issue is that there's not a real queer community online the way there is offline. Things were smaller and tighter-knit in the past, and I think that constant organizing around HIV/AIDS was part of what kept throwing people together to form more and more communities. I don't know how to fix it.

The reality is that queer folks are a small part of the percentage of the world, and while we can be powerful, in terms of viewing/buying potential, we don't really have enough market share to affect the world. (I wish we did. That would be nice.)

Media that's successful is appealing in some way to straight people. That doesn't make the media inherently worse! In a lot of ways it makes it better, the same way the analysis in my metas were made better by having a lot of eyes on them. Something that appeals to more people will also appeal to more queer people, since we're varied. It's a real win-win.

a question for QL fandom at large: when did we start only wanting media that is perfectly suited to our standards?

there has never been a perfect show, and there never will be a perfect show, because everybody likes different things and QL is run on shoestring budgets. i thought this was something we made our peace with as viewers of the genre!

so i'm just wondering at what point fandom decided that a show is only worthy of praise/fandom if it has no problems?

at what point did we decide that talking about the problems of a show is more important than talking about what we did enjoy and what kept us watching? i don't know when it happened, but it definitely has. critique is treated more seriously and gets more interaction than people talking about what they like.

it seems like a really exhausting and slightly puritan way to do things, to be constantly finding imperfections and treating them as more important than the good parts. dunno about y'all but i don't want to be unintentionally enacting puritan shit.

i want joy, i want fun, i want the spirit of camaraderie in fandom.

so, why did fandom begin to snub any media that didn't fit very high standards? and how can we steer ourselves away from that impulse?

(i am genuinely curious about why this is happening and how those of us who don't enjoy it can change, so please feel free to jump in, even if you are 'late' or think you only have a very small contribution to make to the discussion.)

[nerdy-hyperfixations]

Some Ford doodles

[wallbeatjournal]

Are true riverdale fans of the opinion it is a very good and nearly flawless show or does being a true riverdale fan mean being able to mock writing choices

it's long-running serial television plotted a season/half at a time so definitely not even "nearly" flawless.

BUT. i'm not doing combat with the writing team. i'm not actively reading against the text the way i have to in order to enjoy something like supernatural or the 90s robin comics or the fucking sopranos, which are patriarchal christiancore copworld rapeworld white supremacist horrorshows that hate their minority audiences, with like 2 good creatives involved and martyring themselves to fight the good fight on sparse rare installments if you try to approach them sincerely.

riverdale writing staff are like a favorite smart problematic tumblr mutual to me. I don't always like what's on their blog or who they're referencing. but we're in the same community and i'm interested and inspired and i trust their agenda overall, even when i see shit i wouldn't have fucking posted. but bc i'm not being condescended to or actively spited i'm not gonna condescend to or spite them, you know?

i expect rvd to age like twin peaks (another very uneven, highly referential serial juggling a couple of intensely cool metanarratives on top of its core story). and twin peaks fandom mocks twin peaks all the time. twin peaks includes some CLUNKY shit. it's kitsch. it's camp. it has a second season that is largely ASS. james is there. and on top of that it also includes some genuinely offputting-to-me stuff that just bothers me to sit through, even though i feel like i understand and respect what they're going for with it. i just don't want to watch someone sweep the fucking bar for minutes and minutes as entertainment. OK!!?

...so yeah. mock riverdale but in the right spirit. is that an answer? do i sound like i'm chugging the flavoraid koolaid fresh-aid? probably.

[writeouswriter]

People need to start understanding the difference between actually harmful or "bad rep" vs just rough around the edges but still complex and nuanced rep that doesn't quite line up with your own personal experiences or the over-sanitized ideal of what you think "good rep" should be

[nellasbookplanet]

The funniest kind of critical role "critique" is always going to be the 'they present themselves as if they aren’t rich/a company no I will not give any examples' crowd. Like what does this even mean. They start literally every single episode with informing you they are professional voice actors. They have clearly advertised sponsors. They have an entire line of merch and an animated show. The production value of the set is bonkers. They run a charity foundation. Do you want them to start every episode with a blaring siren and a warning saying 'beware! company run content! we make money!!' Are you just angry that they are friends having fun as they make a living. Do you have any understanding of how money works.

[icewindandboringhorror]

sometimes looking at like Self Help Strategies lists for the symptoms I'm having is always just like:

thing that I already do

thing I have tried 10 times

thing I already do

thing that I don't have the money to do

thing I already do

thing I've been doing since I was 10yrs old to no avail

thing that is impossible given my situation

thing that doesn't apply to me

thing that I already do

thing I have already tried

hrmm, oh wait, maybe finally- OH, yeah.. okay. thing that I already do but it was just phrased slightly differently

thing I have already done