#tbh we are lady parts is about this in its own way and it IS pulling it off bc the constraints they have are so much more harsh

[pulsingvoid]

killing eve 🤝 yellowjackets 🤝 kevin can fuck himself

stories about women who become aware they are stuck in a Narrative and begin fighting against their constraints that fall short of being good storytelling because the storytellers seem more concerned with depicting the futility and unfairness and cruelty of the narrative than letting these female characters do something revolutionary and break out of their narrative constraints in any meaningful and intentional and non-incidental way

[katyahina]

The 'haired' helmets are strange..

It IS odd how we get to wear the characters' hairstyles, as it is just really unlikely they're scalps! I suppose the explanation is the same as why we are able to completely change upon looking into a mirror at Roundtable's Hold; as long as the Tarnished is guided by Greater Will, they'll have its aid and be transformed into whatever they see fit to keep carrying on! So I think the implication here is that we do, physically, grow the hair of the demigods (or champions) upon trying to tap on their power! I think if GW abandons a Tarnished, or if they abandon it, they lose this 'ability', which our playable character never does, so..

I am not sure whether it is Maliketh's own long mane or also a decoration! I'd like to think the former, in which case, same logic as with hair of Malenia, Godfrey and Radahn applies! Vargram's "hair" definitely is a decoration, and specifically for the purpose of imitating shadowbeasts:

Ensha's armour goes even further and not only gives us a hairdo, but makes us a skeleton:

We even get his power of slight regeneration, similar to Erdtree's normal powers:

All implications considered, I really doubt that this is just how armour looks, especially considering no change in size. We are not 'wearing' the skull, we ARE the skull now fhhsfd And this time the NPC data inside simply exists because Ensha does use NPC code and mechanics. So, we turn into a corpse! Again, should not matter much since as long as we're carried by GW we don't need to eat or sleep or... anything, really. (I'll also die on the hill of the theory that Ensha was one of the deceased Marika's offspring whose Mausoleum crashed and what was left from him crawled out but that's another story fdhfhds)

Here are other instances of hair simply decorating a helm:

Niall is that one guy we fight in Castle Sol, so similarity in this case ALSO checks out! Also cute idea: what if decoration for the helmets of Godrick's Knights IS his own hair? ;-;

That could also be speculated about Redmane Knights, but I feel like it'd be more appropriate for Godrick's. Radahn would be stingy about his amazing lion mane whereas Godrick can not only take body parts but also give them XDDDD yeah yeah terrible whatever

The black hair on Night Cavalry's helmet can be removed, also confirming that in this case it is a decoration. This hair does have interesting flowing animation though! Maybe it IS the hair of Night Cavalry themselves, still having their shadowy energy, but cut and attached again to their own helmets (kind of like Ciaran from DS1 decorated her helmet with her own braid!)

Another case of hair not being actual hair but part of the mask; the way hair is placed, it'd had to grow from like, eyebrows level and face itself or something fdhfdsdfh Maybe this style with braids and grey hair was intended to refer at Godfrey's? Alternatively, what IF their faces are actually furry/animalistic despite otherwise human build, so the hair doubles as fur? We don't see them behind the mask, after all? A food for a thought lol

^ More of 100% 'mask' types of these

The water dancer in blue gave the sword to Malenia's teacher, the blind guy that once sealed the God of Rot himself, and these warriors in blue appear to be following the same philosophy of "ever running water preventing stagnation, so, rot itself" as him! Although this head piece imitates just a follower and not the man himself (as far as we are aware....), perhaps the sentiment is strong enough to give us the hairdo too x) Again, funny enough, it seems to resemble the Lady of the Lake fairy herself!

I suspected the case of 'sharing hair' with Cleanrot Knights too, but upon closer look I can tell it is supposed to be some fabric/rags, rather than hair or hairlike accessory! Probably more efficient to imitate the look with rags rather than something hairlike tbh, considering the lenght of the thing! So I think the design is more meant to represent Malenia's own unhappy fate, with short tuft being the "hair" and the longer tails being the "wings" :

_______________

In conclusion, it is kind of easy to deduce which hair become our actual hair for the time being because of golden grace 'reshaping' us and which hair is just decor! But it is really interesting stuff to think about all the way!

[storkmuffin]

Yunho Pop 20250411 Liveblog

If you're here for just the part where he discusses Mingi, search for Mingi Part and scroll down. For @fayet.

Preamble

We open with Yunho peering down at the screen. He's wearing colored checks with black and white stripes and I guess the pale blue collar on the striped T is supposed to be connecting the two tops harmoniously but I disagree with his stylist. He says he's arrived safely, and wants to know if the sound quality is good, and if there's no lag. The shifting around on the sofa noises are very loud.

He keeps moving the camera around trying to find the angle, because the lighting in the room makes shadows fall on his face. He finds an angle at one point that makes him go "ohh!" at his own face. (photo 1)

He tells us (but always remember, he's telling his own face, actually) that he's trying to find the optimum position. He finds another angle he likes (photo 2) which he approves of with 좋은데? that looks like the pose you'd put a First Lady into for her official portrait. But then this creates sound problems, so he takes it back in hand to lift the above him.

Photos 1 and 2

After two whole minutes of this vain (both senses of the word) fucking around, he silently accepts that there is no angle that works well with the light and guarantees sound, so he pretends nothing happened and immediately begins the discussion. (One of Yunho's rules is My Mistake Never Happened and If you Remember It You're Wrong. A corollary rule is Your Mistake Definitely Happened, and It's Both Perennial and Evergreen. see eg: 쓰러다 헤매져).

The Real Voice

He's been sick and it's taken a while to get over. But he's well now, he says. He refers to a specific instagram story (예카) that you'd only know about if you follow his insta, and says that by that point, he was mostly over the cold. Yunho amends to say he hasn't entirely recovered yet. He doesn't sound like it - his voice is altered.

The Ye-Ca Photo and Hipster Lingo

He put up a photo from inside a cafe, and used a word I hadn't seen either, 예카 (Ye-Ca) which sounded like yet another neologism: 예쁜 카페 = 예카. (Pretty Cafe = Yeppun Cafe = Ye-Ca). This is unnecessary and stupid and I'm not saying that just because I didn't know what it was until I saw Yunho use it.

The Hotteok asks, Which cafe did you go to? (예카 정보 좀 요 is the literal phrase - The info on the pretty cafe preca? pls.)

As per usual, Yunho reads the question aloud, looks away, and starts talking about the word 예카/Ye-Ca without saying the name of the cafe. He deliberately misunderstands the question because he doesn't want to answer it - she wasn't asking about the word Ye-Ca, she wanted to know its location, but Yunho's answer starts with: "TBH the word Ye-Ca? That day...."

The story that Yunho then tells about this excursion he went on during the Seoul cherry blossom season in a way that made me think he was lying. The information comes out in a very slow drip. He specifies who he went with first - An Older Bro THAT I KNOW (아는 형이랑) -then secondly, the general area of Seoul he was in - Seoul Forest, then third, why he went - to look at cherry blossoms in bloom - and then gives an additional reason why he went - in order to take photographs of the cherry blossoms before they fall. After he says a bunch of words like this that are not to do with the name of the cafe, Yunho summarizes with sudden fluency (because the first draft of the lie has been put together now??) that he told this Known Bro (who isn't a manager apparently, because when they're manager or staff they just say those job titles) that he wanted to go photograph the cherry blossoms so they went near Seoul Forest, where apparently, there are a lot of cafes. He was told about this, and the Older Bro said, "Let's go to a Ye-Ca." Yunho asked what that was, and the Older Bro replied with "You don't know what Ye-Ca is??"

Offended to be caught empty handed, Yunho said 설마, 예쁜 카페에요? Don't tell me it stands for Yeppun-Cafe?? (Contemptuous) To that the Older Bro said, 다 아는데, 요즘 사람들? All up to date people know it! Annoyed at the recollection, Yunho editorializes, "So at that point I was now excluded from all up to date people (요즘 사람들에서 제외가 된거지, 나는, 이제)."

This is the point at which I became open to believing this story about this guy going on a cherry blossom viewing date with a Known Older Bro (and not his girlfriend/wife/babymama or Mingi), because I can so imagine the joy of taking the rare opportunity to rub Yunho's face in something he didn't know, for one, and because of that snippy bit of editorializing from Yunho.

Along with 예쁜 카페 (Yeppun Cafe- YeCa) there's an accompanying neologism, 분위기 좋은 카페 (분좋카 - Cafe With Good Vibes, abbreviated to Boon-Joe-Ca). Yunho didn't know any of those, he says, voice rising again, so he continued to reject the neologism, by saying, 별-다-줄 이네요.

Sidebar Korean lesson: Apparently he was trying to say 별걸 다 줄이네요. What a weird (read: unnecessary) thing to abbreviate. Which, ironically, has been itself abbreviated to a 3 syllable neologism Byul-Da-Jool.

But this attempt to go head to head with this Known Older Bro with this hipster lingo turned out to be another failure, because now Byul-Da-Jool is out of date. The compulsive abbreviation-neologism making in the Korean spoken language is no longer merely a trend but a norm, I guess? The Known Older Bro pressed his advantage, and Yunho starts to check the chat, to see if he really was out of date.

It turns out the people in his audience don't know Byul-Da-Jool, but because Hotteoks have a "Protect Yunho" rule, and also are well trained by him to know that Yunho only acknowledge them if they're being sweet, someone make a very saccharine pun out of 별다줄 (byul-da-jool) to transform it into 별따줄 (byul-dda-jool) ( the change is between 다 to 따) which is a truncation of 별도따다줄: "Will Even Pluck A Star Out of the Sky To Give To You."

Sidebar Korean lesson 2: That's how compressed Korean can get by the way. 별도 Byul = Star. 따다 Dda = Pluck, or Pick, as in fruit. 줄 Jool = bring to you for purpose of giving). 5 syllables completes the description but in English you need 13 words (you're on your own counting the syllables).

Yunho really likes this. He's so delighted.

He runs with it. 별도 따다 줄 윤호. 에이티니라면 별도 따다 줄수 있는 윤호가 별따줄입니다?? Speaking of himself in the third person OR of the entity "Yunho the Idol," he says, "If it's for the Atiny, Yunho is the one who can even pluck a star out of the sky." He's very tickled.

Then he goes back to chatting about the state of his health, that he slept too well on the plane, almost in a dead faint.

The Mingi Part

Unable to endure any more of this waffling, which has gone on for 5 minutes and 10 seconds, a very patient Hotteok asks for "an explanation of that Instagram post."

And he does this thing, that makes me insane, and I had assumed that it made everyone insane and that's why he did it but I now think that I may react this way because I'm a Hotteok (goddamn everything to hell why whyyy) - he

1) looks away shyly, demurely, in apparent refusal, but only just enough to make sure you can see his pretty smile

2) pretends he doesn't know which post but then

3) makes sure to turn back to the camera looking like the cat that currently right now has a mouthful of cream in its mouth and know you can't do anything about it so you can know you're supposed to go feral in the comments about that photo. That he knows and knew it would make everyone go nuts.

The explanation he offers goes like this:

Oh you couldn't sleep that night? Really? Oh it's just - that day I took the photo to show the Atiny. I was living the hotel resident life, so I was in a gown and taking photos - giggle giggle - and then.... I'm sorry, I won't do things like that anymore. [Pause, shifty eyes back and forth, voice is so warm] Should I do things like that or should I not? Just tell me that. [Reads.] You liked it? [looks away] Even so - isn't it the case that I don't really show a lot of skin? At this level? [runs a forefinger along the collar of his t shirt to remind you what he exposed in that photo that he hasn't acknowledge existing] It's not? I mean, nevertheless, the reactions on Fromm and things, the reactions - heehee ha ha - were so overheated. And the members' reactions too. And I found myself thinking, is it really that big a deal, to get everyone so worked up about? [writer's note: UNSPEAKABLE WORDS ARE MAKING ME BITE HOLES INTO THE INSIDE OF MY CHEEKS] You were shocked that I put it right on Insta? [looks away, looks back] Mingi keeps demanding that I get his permission. He's the one who throws down and peels off his clothes. Without a single care. What's even worse- what was it - it's not even about permission! Even on stage! Whenever he feels like it, he just exposes skin. He did it that one time too - we were all alarmed. When we were at the Akaraka festival, at Yeonsei University? He just suddenly ripped off his clothes, in the middle of performance! Roughly! Just spontaneously! He ripped his clothes. So he does things like that, goes there, like that, but then he constantly says I'm supposed to get HIS permission.

There's an RPF shipper way of reading this whole saga with Mingi. Several other excellent Tumblrinas do this already, so if that's what you need, go there. I do RPF a different way - this is a competition to the death for attention and clout between these guys - all of them and also between Yunho and Mingi.

Mingi posted a shirtless (implied) in bed photo, and I assume that melted the internet, so Yunho did an almost exact replica of that photo, but he has the face and demeanor to do coyness a bit better than Mingi, so I think they both agreed that Yunho won that round. Mingi's way of one upping this was to not comment on the quality of the photo in the way that San or Seonghwa did but to build a narrative into it that would make the RPF shipper types have a wonderful day - "Get my permission." This is "Steal Your Thunder, Pull Focus" behavior, where it suddenly becomes something different from having Yunho who stays very buttoned up showing a little bit of skin causing a meltdown, to Whatever IN the World DID Minig Mean BY THAT?

It's actually kind of rude, no? A little bit undermining. A lot competitive. Typical Ateez where they will fight each other to the death with as much enthusiasm as they will play at being hot n heavy to make the girls scream.

Yunho's reaction to his particular fans demanding an explanation etc was to be immensely pleased about the attention it was getting him, get more coy, and up the ante even further, by pointing out a time when Mingi got truly very wild, in the Korean context. Mingi wasn't supposed to do that, and it was actually high risk behavior in a high stakes environment. I suspect that Mingi actually was given a sort of yellow card warning for that stunt.

The people who get into Yeonsei University are not likely to have come from families that permitted them to stan Kpop Idols or participate in any way other than the most indirect in this kind of immersive popular culture, because it gets in the way of studying with the focus and intensity you need to in order to achieve admission to a SKY university (Seoul National U, Korea U, Yeonsei U). Undressing by ripping himself out of his clothes in front of this Yeonsei crowd is in line with the outlaw wild-boy kind of artist that Mingi wants to be, I think, and completely counter to the clean-cut, sweet-and-wholesome niche that Yunho keeps working on. I don't know how it was received, but it clearly wasn't rehearsed, it was a high risk move, and it pulled focus in a direction that Yunho did not want. And maybe, just maybe, he wishes he could do that too.

Korean language sidebar: The word that Yunho uses, 깐다, about revealing skin/ getting undressed is I think the roughest language I've seen him use on these Lives. I can't tell if this is a deterioration of the Korean language as a whole where this is now acceptable to say out loud in mixed company, but for anyone who cares: 깐다 is about fruit and other non human items that needs to be peeled. We make distinctions in Korean between body parts and verbs that can be applied to animals/on-humans as opposed to humans, and generally 깐다 doesn't apply to humans. (That's why it's low language). This form of 깐다 comes from a truly horrible phrase allegedly spoken in the men-only environment of military conscription. The original phrase is this: In the army, if your superior officer tells you to peel a chestnut with the tip of your dick, you peel it with the tip of your dick.

Apex Aegyo, Done Seriously, and Very Well

A smart Hotteok picks up the thread and says, "If you're going to expose yourself, you need to get permission from me."

Yunho is all about this game. "What's the proper way to get permission?" he asks, and then immediately goes into roleplay where he asks for permission.

"I'm - perhaps -[puts hand demurely over his mouth to cover the blatant words he's about to say] - I am going to expose myself so - what should I- Is that all right?" He shifts position to 'drop out' of the roleplay.

"If I do that though, you're going to say I can't," he says. Then, "You want to put it to a vote?" he says, reading. There must be some sort of disapproval going on in the notes, because he goes on to say, "Oh I get it~" in the most conciliatory, sing song way. He starts offering 'excuses.'

"You know I don't do it that much. Overlook it just this once~" He puts up a finger to indicate the 'one time' and presses it cutely to his cute cheek.

This is real aegyo by the way, done properly. Not the sarcastic, aggressively uncomfortable, macho by pretending it's not thing that Wooyoung does to freak out the members (that everyone who isn't Korean totally misreads as his actually being a feminine creature). This quiet, persistent appeal with the little gestures and little sing-song vocalizations and making your voice soft and sweet.

This is real aegyo. This is what it's like when you're really trying to get out of minor trouble with a romantic partner. That's what he's doing. This is so real. Accordingly, I am so angry I can't even speak and this is a totally normal reaction to have NOBODY LOOK AT ME STOP READING.

"Understood!" he says again. Then again, "Just this once!"

HE STARTS CRACKING HIS KNUCKLES ONE-HANDED AS HE READS. (@minjoongism why did you open my eyes to this?!? I can't unsee it now oh NOOOO) WHAT ARE THEY SAYING to HIM THAT I CAN'T SEE? (I refuse, REFUSE, will NOT, get toktoq no no no nonooo)

"I usually go around very properly dressed," he says, his voice getting sweeter and lighter and softer all the time. Again the finger comes up in the 'Just this once' motion, and he finishes it off with a little tiny kitten hiss.

"I got it, I got it," he says. Contrition at 100%, audible irritation at 0%. And again, "Just the once!" Teenytiny soft voice, the cute upraised finger gesture.

He sees a different comment. Seeming genuinely curious, he reads it out in the form of a question before answering it. "Only put up images like that were it's just Atiny that can see them? But I put it up for the Atiny to see! Who else would it be for? Any photo I put up is always for Our Atiny. ... Make it so it can't be seen? Oh by anyone who isn't a Hottoek? Because others can see!" Understanding what they're saying now, he agrees with the sentiment, because it's the right answer: "It should only be the Atiny who look. Even right now - it's all Atiny and no one else in here, right?"

More reading. "Understood. I'll try to figure it out so that to the maximum extent possible, it's only the Atiny who can see [things like that]." The goddamn aegyo gesture again, the forgive me this one time for my naughty transgression because oh I agree I have been so naughty. "All right?" Then he changes his voice to do another level of conciliatory aegyo. "Don't tell me off too much," he 'begs.' He covers his mouth to giggle, then says, "Thanks" then "I understand."

Then it's OVER and we're off to the next book.

The Neverending What did you eat discussion

How do these guys put up with this, with being endlessly being asked, what did you eat? Yunho talks about his favorite Korean ramen, and that he didn't eat anything on the plane.

Chrome Hearts

A Hotteok who must find it as boring as I do to hear what this guy ate this day asks if he likes the Chrome Hearts sweater he received as a gift from Wooyoung, which he also posted on instagram.

Right back on form, Yunho doesn't answer, and instead lobs a question right back: "How did you find it? Does it suit me?" Then he says, "Wooyoung gifted it to me. It was my first time wearing something from that brand. I liked it too."

What was he going to say if she said she hated the brand? We'll never know.

"All the members wear a lot from that brand. Wooyoung is the one that got everyone else to wear it - Seonghwa hyung and Sannie enjoy it too. But I wasn't sure if it would suit me? Oh, you're right, Jongho too. So it was my first Chrome Hearts clothing. It has a really style and color that's attractive. People who love dressing in black are especially going to love it. Did I bring it with me?"

That last one, he read from the comments. I guess not, because he doesn't answer, and he thinks the answer "no" would not please.

Someone tells him that Atiny enjoy wearing black. (As an Atiny I can attest).

"Oh do our Atiny like black clothing?" he asks. "But I"m not wearing anything black right now." He points to his hair. "Black clothing?"

Gently Funny Story About His Fashion Fail

He explains that his ivory pants have a lot of little design elements in the form of unexpected and irregular patterns that look exactly like he's dribbled food on himself. The other band-members kept trying to 'rub off' the offending spot for him. The hotteoks comment, "Oh because you're all so affectionate," which he reads out with approval. Someone else says, "I also was about to rub the spots off the pants for you," He laughs at that too.

Tell Yunho he's Handsome, Get Acknowledged

He is getting tired, perhaps, so he lifts the camera higher to look down at himself. He just stares.

Then he sees the type of comment he always reads out:

Oh, a face that brings clarity and mental well being.

He says, Thank you, then give you a Catholic looking benediction, offering clarity, because he accepts (what the hell) that he has that effect on people. Which. Like. OK so like. SPUTTERING. Are there any Stays here? Can you imagine saying this to Lee Know or Hyunjin (who have extraordinary faces) and have them just run with it like this? Lee Know especially I've seen just collapse when he is told things like this when he's not doing the rockstar thing on stage. I want to kick Yunho so badly my toes are itching.

Then Yunho just waits for more compliments. Blank face, corners of his lips tucked up in that giseng 18th century courtesan smile that gives you nothing. That's literally what this tall little bitch is doing. Waiting for the idiot Hotteok to get the hint that we are in the Pay Yunho Compliments portion of the Pop. I actually went back and counted the seconds. Twenty four. HE WAITS TWENTY FOUR SECONDS WORTH OF COMMENTS TO GO BY until a good enough compliment comes up.

"Your voice is so gorgeous that it's lulling me to sleep, because I've been listening to you while I eat."

He says that his present lower register voice is his actual voice, but when he does things with Atiny he gets excited, making his voice go higher. (So it's really the Atiny's fault that they don't get to hear his relaxed register.)

"You're extremely serene today," is another comment deemed worth reading. He agrees. "It may be because I slept well."

Hotteoks have found a new vein to mine- complimenting him on his voice also works!

"Every now and then I love hearing this unfamiliar voice from Yunho," someone says. Then someone asks to be hear the absolutely lowest possible sound he can make.

He says We are Venom in ... a low voice, and he starts to giggle at his own silliness as someone comments, "Someone confiscate Youtube from him."

Yunho launches into a whole explanation of what the YT algorithm has been showing him as of late - a beatboxer and Venom. He's asked if he's ever tried to imitate the famous beatboxer. Out comes the typical Yunho Persona answer: Admit to being bad at something if he's actually not great at it, but name something he's good at first before he makes the admission. In this instance: He says he's great at doing impersonations/impressions of people, but he's not skilled at doing beatboxing. But he can do some of it, so he starts making mouth sounds. I don't know what he's referencing, so I'm now watching this pretty boy make really strange noises with his mouth as he keeps bursting into laughter.

Someone comes knocking on the door, so he says he has to go eat. He's sorry to leave abruptly. He thinks everyone is waiting for him. He will be back after dinner. He does the beatboxing thing again, and he doesn't forget to do the Heart-U 하튜 thing either. Perfect MC as always.

[hazshit-hotel-hater]

Niffty Redesign! (3/7)

Holy shit was not expecting to finish in the same day much less in like… under 4 hours??? IDK IM HAPPY WITH HER THOUGH!!!!

My biggest inspiration this time was lovebugs and specifically this LPS lovebug

Yes im colour picking Niffty from a littlest pet shop. Who is gonna stop me? Hasbro? They don’t even own LPS anymore!

Im making Niffty a bit tanner because while I see it a lot in other fandoms, I don’t ever see tan asian people in the Hazbin fandom, tbh this place seems like its allergic to melanin in general. There’s also a lot of stigmatisation around POC women in Hazbin like I’ve mentioned before. I plan on having Niffty deal with a decent chunk of stuff later on, a lot of it relating to obessions and romance and learning how to manage feelings like that and keep relationships with other people.

I wanted her socks to be cute but also held up by a garter belt so you can gather she’s got something going on. People seem to stray away from the topic of Niffty and sex or romance because they see her as a child or have infantalised her in some way. Yes ik I talk about this all the time but like GOD it pisses me off.

Her maid dress is actually a much darker shade of hot pink to the point its not really hot pink anymore but it is I promise

Niffty’s main sins are lust, wrath, and envy, seeing as she is a lovebug and also her current backstory is killing a lover out of jealousy. The redder pink parts are supposed to be a mix of lust and wrath so I hope that comes across well?

The same thing can be said about her clothes and all that. With her dress and the reddish hearts it’s supposed to be like “in one sin there’s another” but idk how well I pulled it off. The stitched up heart is also supposed to represent her hopeful/eventually redemption. I’d like to give Niffty more character than just “crazy small lady” so I’ll be trying to balance being somewhat like that with also being a bit sensible. I think it definitely could be done but I have doubts Viv will do much with it.

It really sucks that the POC characters and especially women they just get reduced to one or two traits and then thats it. Viv already is terrible at writing women and I think writing Niffty for her is just boring because, again, she cannot write women. 90% of this rewrite is me saving the women/hj

There will be more indepth Niffty content from me eventually, as of now this is my backbone for her design and overall story. Btw I think her rubber gloves are cute but make really annoying squeaking sounds 24/7. No idea if I’ll pull off another fast design like this, but we shall see!🐐

[dreamwreaver]

godamnit those fans are also getting pissy about a fanart of Verosika x Charlie on Twitter. Goes to show *any* ship of Charlie that isn't Chaggie is apparently bad and not canon so it shouldn't be made according to these people🙄

they're only proving your point tbh cuz normies are sucking all the fun out of shipping

If you're talking about the one deerly depart did then I just have to laugh. Because 1. It's fabulous art and Gin always does fabulous art. And 2. I mean... have you SEEN some of gin's other stuff? That charosika piece is one of the tamer ones. Also, someone paid for it?

I mean this also happened to another artist just a few months ago. This one was I guess a known ra shipper, or at least known for their ra art rather. They've since come out as a multishipper on bsky and are very nice so I always try to give them a like and a boost where I can. Anyways, someone commissioned them for a charlastor piece and it, was, GORGEOUS! It was a nsfw piece but my god there's no denying the sheer talent. Unfortunately, two assholes felt the need to bully them on bsky about it and the piece was taken down. Thankfully the shipping communities on bsky are actually far more civil because I had actual ra shippers in that person's replies saying the same thing we say, "Block the tags and move on this is pathetic"

It was honestly very refreshing. Those shippers I respect, even if because of the ones I don't their ship gives me visceral squick. Not their fault that toxic people are into the same thing. But back to the Charosika piece, like... it's still gay; they're two hot ladies, what's the big fucking deal? It's not gay enough for them now? Or is it just that they're made that yet again; someone saw the chemistry between two characters who have NEVER interacted instead of the chemisuck that their oh so precious canon ship is? And again, I feel like the anger I tend to let out in the asks gives the impression that I hate chaggie. I don't. I really, truly don't. I hate CANON chaggie, I hate the way that the main fucking couple is so watered down you could air hazbin in Russia essentially all unedited. You couldn't do that with the owl house or Steven universe, and Hazbin is a fucking adult animated cartoon! I hate the fact that chaggie content in the fandom is honestly hard to find because I've run the numbers and more than half the fics tagged chaggie are actually stories about other ships that have Chaggie tagged even though it's just a background pairing at best. I hate that a lot of the people who might like Chaggie well enough on its own but have another otp use it to shit on others even though they're pushing a canon sapphic ship yo the side because "Ooh toxic yaoi!" And infantilize one half of a grown ass adult couple! I hate that Viv is now trying so hard to backpedal on how bad the show fucked them up in the first season by going overkill with the chaggie pda when what's really needed is to either fix the writing in their dynamic or let the fucking relationship end because from a solely writing perspective it feels so, so FORCED. Like Charlie cent let go because it's a comfortable if not perfect relationship and vaggie can't let go because this is the literal person who saved her fucking life and being with her means everything even though doing so strips vaggie of literally all character agency and personality!

Deep breaths, side tangent over. But no, my assessment that normies who know nothing about fan culture and don't care to learn because it's trendy are the reason for the rise of fandom puritainism and the obsession with the "it's canon" part of it. And fucking hell I hope they get over it soon.

[eleanor-bradstreet]

Thoughts on Bridgerton season 3

No one asked, but putting it out there. (Written after viewing part 1.)

The Good

Polin - it’s their season after all. There is plenty of them and a lot of scenes pulled right from the book. I don’t think Colin/Newts is all that charismatic or great at acting tbh, but Pen/Nic is carrying the season. Seeing through her eyes, there is a compelling story of self-acceptance, struggle and romance. I was whooping whenever she got steamy with her man.

Debling - wonderfully acted and such an interesting addition to the ton, I love this character. He is so kind and honest, he deserves the world.

Francesca & John - Hannah Dodd is doing a wonderful job. We get to see the one and only shy Bridgerton, which is novel. Her odd chemistry with John is magical and I am already fucked up about them. I’m more invested in them than Polin 😅

Eloise - we are seeing more facets of Eloise which is wonderful. That she is willing to look deeper at peoples’ true character - including Cressida and Pen, though the reconciliation with Pen isn’t finalized yet. Cressida also makes Eloise check herself, her assumptions and privileges which is crucial for her development. She’s growing this season.

The Cowpers - redemption arc for Cressida incoming! We are learning that her bitchiness stems from a competitive nature, which she feels she must have to secure a good match thanks to pressures from her awful parents. This is interesting in its own right but please please please have Sophie also being mistreated in their household. That would be the bow on top.

Marcus Anderson - hello handsome! He is wonderfully acted and immediately has a warm spark with Violet. The mystery is built as to why Lady D is so aggravated by him. What has he done in the past that makes her wary of him?

The music - great instrumental covers of on-point pop songs and revisiting a few tried and true Bridgerton original themes.

The Bad

Kanthony - But only for part 1. I'm guessing they had to work around JB's busy shooting schedule, but it sucks they found a lame way to essentially write them out of episodes 2-4. I'm happy to see from the trailer there will be more of them in part 2.

Benedict - for fucks sake, he does nothing. Season 2 might as well not have happened. Not only is he not sad nor frustrated with Anthony about art school, he has no introspection or personal development in part 1. He’s just shoved in the background again, making sassy little comments and fucking a random lady. Where is this ‘crucial role’ the showrunner mentioned? What ‘comes to a head’ for him as Luke keeps alluding to? All of his material must happen in part 2 because there is nothing in part 1.

The fucking Featheringtons - I know the entail is a plot line set up by season 2, but getting into microscopic detail about the sex lives of the elder two Featherington sisters is not the comic relief the show thinks it is. It actually makes me nauseous. The whole ‘race to produce an heir’ could have been a single line explanation from Portia and screen time with the Featherington couples could have been spent on more Benedict.

The sex - part 2 better be mind blowing because Nicola’s claim that Polin has ‘won the steamy battle’ is unfounded based on the first four episodes. Okay we’ve got Anthony and Benedict each with a scene between the sheets kissing ladies but not a single Bridgerbum to be seen. The claims of ‘threesomes’ and ‘lesbian sex’ are extremely generous. It’s 5 seconds of Colin kissing sex workers and them peformatively kissing each other. I know we have the mirror scene coming in part 2 which threatens to blow the roof off anything Saphne and Kanthony did but thus far, I am unimpressed. It feels more buttoned up than ever.

Now, I have also watched part 2 in its entirety. Without spoiling any details, see below the cut for a general note.

Part 2 contains some MAJOR twists that I feel are going to fracture the fandom. Brace yourselves.

[sketching-shark]

It is wild to me that Monkie Kid is like… “Sun Wukong, you goofed around during a serious ceremony and fucked up the Samadhi Fire ritual. 🖕🖕🖕 for a thousand years. Find the nearest lake and drown yourself. We are going to beat you verbally and in at least one instance physically over the head with it.”

And then turns around and says “Macaque, you intentionally released the Samadhi Fire in a bid to spare your own life, by holding a young lady hostage and threatening to murder her violently. It’s time to give you an olive branch, upon which no one will care about your violent, cruel, and spiteful misdeeds ever again.”

“Anyways, time to scream at Sun Wukong again.”

tbh anon I'm not sure if a guy who's general thoughts about JTTW retellings are usually along the lines of "there should be more body horror in this" would the best to comment on a silly goofy lego show, but here's me whining about a cartoon under the cut so as usual avert thine eyes if you don't want to read all of that lol

ha. yeaugh. full disclosure anon especially because maybe things have changed, and I'm in full realization that I'm probably blowing things out of proportion, but I did not see the most recent season because at this point Monkie Kid just makes me feel sad. Basically I went from being excited for the adventures to hoping Sun Wukong would get to be at least quasi-competent to just feeling depressed that all MK really seems to have gotten from being SWK's tudi at the end of the day is one horrific trauma after another all while the monkey king himself stumbles around with good intentions but in practice usually making everything 1000x worse than it had to be.

Like yea of course we can talk about the actions of the obvious villains, but there is this pretty awful connection between all of them from the Demon Bull King to the Lady Bone Demon to the Azure Lion that they only were as successful in committing their horrors as they were specifically because of things that the Monkey King did or failed to do. (In particular its kind of wild that the Azure Lion got stuck by Sun Wukong in a torture scroll for like 1000 years before his body and soul were obliterated like god damn it would have been kinder to just kill him the first time around. This lego show sure is good at making literal former warlord og classic Monkey King look good in comparison asfgrefaw).

And sure, you could say that that's all part of this overall lesson that it's bad and self-defeating to think you can tackle all of the world's problems on your own, but it's been clear for awhile now that when it comes time to yell at someone on team good guy it's primarily SWK who gets any flak for his actions. All while he never gets to say anything to defend himself, because there is no defending anything he did. And a lot of these writing choices seems to be to frame Macaque as a monkey who, by direct contrast, never did anything problematic, or at least nothing so terrible it's worth dwelling on. Sure, he repeatedly beat the living hell out of MK and threatened Mei's life, but it's obvious that as far as the plot is concerned none of that matters at all. And when Macaque blamed SWK for everything that went wrong between them, called him a terrible teacher, said he was a lazy jerk who only ever makes things go from bad to worse, well gosh darn if the show didn't go out of its way to confirm all of these accusations. So while the end result is the obvious fandom and canon meow-meow Macaque being fully exonerated and a firm member of team good guy, it also means that it's difficult to understand why any one of them would even want to be around SWK at all at this point, given the extent to which he badly hurt them all and helped to put the entire universe in danger repeatedly.

tbh, at this point it's kind of hard NOT to feel like every member of team monkie, especially MK himself, would be a lot better off if SWK had just left them alone.

:(

[akaikali]

TMAGP EP 16 REACTION (SPOILERS)

CELIA HOLDING ALICE HOLY SHIT MAN THE SAMALICELIA POLYCULE IS GOING SOMEWHERE I also think this might be Celia's instinct to comfort from being a mother maybe??? BUT ALICELIA FEELS. My God their ship name could be a palindrome. Insane.

DEAR LORD DID ALICE SEE HER PARENTS DIE???? MY POOR GIRL.

Tape recorder is gone??? And yeah I suspected that the woman had been dead the whole time. Something was using her as a mouth piece, maybe something relates to ep 11 with the deep??

I think Celia and Sam saying they believe Alice is gonna bring them closer. I know people are sus of Celia so it could be a ploy to get closer to the OIAR employees, but I don't know, with her disliking Lady Mowbray, I'm more inclined to trust her.

The fact that Alice says "paid my horror dues" makes me think she knows more about said horrors and is working at the OIAR specifically to avoid it. Were her parents killed by The Horror?

"I think there's plenty of it go around at the moment" Yeah she's talking about Lady Mowbray. Seriously, I have respect for Celia, she really stood her ground last episode.

Man the fact that we were like "omg what if Alice's phone call ends up being a statement!!" In a serious way meanwhile Alice is like "yeah no Freddie will probably spit out in a few days so nothing to be concerned about". What if. Tho. Gwen ends up hearing the phone call. That would be interesting. Speaking of, where is our corporate girlfailure.

Sam you awkward little bean I love you. I'm sure Celia and Alice just gave him the fondest, "You're such a dumbass" look.

SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER TIME????

OH NO. OH NO FUCK AM I GOING TO FALL IN LOVE WITH INK5OUL. THEIR VOICE.

I'm sorry I now understand what Alex meant when he said this episode was social-cringe-horror. The misuse of AAVE is actually so accurate please help my I'm on the floor screaming this should not be this funny-

Damn so does Ink5oul tattoo....pain or something? I don't have a tattoo myself (yet. I'm gonna get one. As soon as I stop being squeamish about needles. Oh. Needles.) But I don't think they're meant to hurt THAT much???

...I genuinely SHOULD NOT like Ink5oul this much. Please. You cannot do this to me I cannot have a Michael Part 2.

OH MY GOD ITS A YOUTUBER DRAMA VIDEO IM GOING TO FUCKING DIE I CANNOT BE LAUGHING THIS HARD.

I'm sorry THE SITUATIONSHIP FUCKING SENT ME YOU'RE TELLING ME INK5OUL IS IN A SITUATIONSHIP WITH A GOTH GIRL INFLUENCER PLEASE RUSTY QUILL I NEED TO BE SERIOUS I CANNOT DO THIS.

OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD I CANNOT DO THIS I HAVE PAUSED 7 TIMES NOW JUST BECAUSE I WAS LAUGHING TOO HARD TO KEEP HEARING. INK5OUL IS HOT AND A GOTH CONFIRMED.

Shut up. SHUT UP. NOT FUCKING DIG. ARE YOU SERIOUS. NO WAY.

Also let me add all the video sound effects are taking me out I LITERALLY cannot do this PLEASE-

OH MY GOD. WAIT. IS THIS WHEN INK5OUL WAS LOOKING FOR THE BODY WITH THE TATTOO FROM EP 11. HOLY SHIT.

"Hell no i ain't gonna call it in" girl by making the video you are basically calling it in what the fuck

THE YOUTUBER DRAMA IS TAKING ME OUT PLEASE THIS IS SOME NICOCADO AVODACO VS STEPHANIE SOO TYPE SHIT (Stephanie Soo all the way honeyyyy).

So...Does Ink5oul have the ability to make people feel pain through the tattoos they do? It's seeming like that's the case.

"The views are cutting me" HUH???? THATS. LIKE. THE EDGES ARE CUTTING ME??? WHAT IS HAPPENING??? HELLO?????

IS SHE DYING. THATS HORRIBLE RN WHAT THE FUCK ALICE LITERALLY JUST SAW SOMEONE DIE NOW SHE HAS TO HEAR SOMEONE ELSE DIE????

Okay wait now that Sam has let go of his "be professional" bullshit I'm back on his track SAMALICELIA LETS GOOO

THERE SHE IS THE CORPORATE GIRLFAILURE

Ohhhh Lena. Oh boy. I can understand her tbh, Gwen has no idea what's happening and she's just doing her own thing. Whether she's evil or not, Lena still knows better what's going on and can avoid unnecessary risks. Especially since Lena does seem to care if other employees get hurt.

I SEE HOW IT IS GWEN. SO YOU'LL BE HORRIFIED BY MR. BONZO BUT NOT OF THE CANNIBALISTIC HUNTING WOMAN BECAUSE SHES A LADY OF THE ARISTOCRACY. CLASSISM AT ITS FINEST. I HATE MR. BONZO BUT AT LEAST HES A WORKING CLASS...CLOWN MONSTER THING.

Okay so the Externals are like. A Thing here. Kind of like avatars? I'm not saying in the sense of fears, I mean they're beings that are not human anymore and possibly dangerous.

Wait but I understand Gwen though "You can't take this away just because I did something you never bothered to tell me not to do" this happens to me so much Gwen my babygirl you are So Autistic.

I saw someone say that Gwen needs to be dommed. I cannot say I disagree, especially when Lena tells her to sit down. Anyway we're gonna move away from that thought.

I am not joking. I paused a total of 17 times throughout this episode because I started laughing too hard. I think I have a new favorite episode.

[animeandfilmotaku]

烏は主を選ばない-[A Raven Does not choose its master]-Intrigue and Insight.

In my normal regular brain, this is honestly my reaction to this series via a meme

But I am a serious film review writer, and I really really need to gush one of the best anime series I have watched in recent years, so shall jump into the world of Yatsugarsu.

I may come late to the court drama genre party, thanks to Apothecary Diaries (薬屋のひとりごと) [FYI I really highly recommend this, if you love strong female characters and intriguing plot twists), so unfortunately I have to wait til February 2025 for Season 2 (I should read the novels too, as I heard it is also good), but it would be another show that I will recommend. As for now, I need to talk about this series 烏は主を選ばない [A Raven Does not choose its master]

So it started simply about Yukiya, a country boy from Taruhi who has unexpectedly cross pass with Prince Wakamiya (the true Kin’u), to be his aide (Though Yukiya has his sassy ways when dealing with his antics). So for the first half of the series- we deal with the 4 consorts vying for Wakamiya’s hand in marriage. I said it was great, it was cool, the intrigue is amazing with every plot twist from each consort having its own affairs and personality-all vying for . Not going to spoil for one of the biggest twists for that arc, but not all that it seems in the courts, that even Yukiya-an observer be like I am too old for this shit with these delulu nobles.

I would say Hamayuu is my favourite among the consorts, because she radiated intelligence and wit that every time I see her, I be like QUEEN, I love you so much 😩

However I wanted to give the shout out to the next part of the series that totally solidify the series for me as a whole, so after the selection process of the consort is officially done (With oh course revelations of our lovely consorts, again no spoilers), trouble seems to brew at the countryside as there are mutated yatsugarasus and killer were-monkeys (These things scared the shit out of me TBH) prowling through the villages, killing the residents- which Yukiya is pulled back to the Prince’s side, to investigate these horrors. I guess that is how Game of Thrones fans feel like with the plot twists they watched, because Raven’s plot twists are muah Chef’s kiss. Like every time I be like ‘This so-so is SUS” and the same time, did not expect the unexpected with the motivations. Like from the intrigue on who shall win Wakamiya’s hand, now it become like there are drugs???? There are evil monkeys???? Gang pacts????? Quoting that Lady Gaga Meme;

You can say it makes you want more of its twists and turns in Yamauchi’s inner worlds.

Not to mention, I love the world-building that it is not jarring at all, but rather it serves you like a 9 course Michelin meal, which its politics, surroundings, mythos and livelihood interweaved so beautifully. I admit I am jealous how it is written, as I cannot even pen these worlds so intriguing and yet so brutal, which could be similar to real life.

As David Lean, one of my heroes said ‘I'm first and foremost interested in the story, the characters.’ and it really shined through the series, with the relationship between Wakamiya and Yukiya, who lived different lives; Wakamiya burdened with the destiny of protecting his fellow crows and Yukiya, a witty kid who learns that the world he lives is not what it seems and yet bonded by loyalty. They propelled the story through their observations and interactions with their allies, enemies or conspirators.

On the side note the endcard after every episode done by Natsuki-sensei (The illustrator for the Yatsugarsu series) which are so gorgeous by itself (I saw an online website where you can buy the postcard set itself, which I am jealous as it is expensive)

I am quite upset how this anime flew by the radar, with the more popular ones, but if you love court intrigue, refreshing world buliding and complex characters, this series is for you,and I hope you enjoy the ride as I was

I am hoping to get my hands to work on the novels by Abe-sensei itself so I can read it by itself, because it is just amazing

[coqvttes]

What's your favorite part about being a woman?

I'm trying to find some middle ground I am losing my mind being a girl is so traumatizing why can't we just be angels with and have talking animals : (

gosh nonnie my love i understand u completely! it’s so hard sometimes and i honestly wished every night that i was a fairy and didn’t have to worry about taxes and walking home. i think about my girlhood a lot and it’s honestly eating me up. it’s nostalgic and so sad but it’s very dear to me, and of course to i think all girlies. not having to worry about walking home or just being so carefree as a child, it all changes when you grow up and it sucks so i honestly try to think that ill always have that little girl inside me forever because she’s the one who comforts me honestly.

— my top favourite is romance. i love romance so much. i love reading and watching romance. it’s not my favourite genre probably because there’s lots of bad romance books or movies out there that put me off LOL but yeah i love it. when it’s a healthy romantic relationship between a woman and a man i just feel so comforted for some reason. i just want to be loved and i want to love. i especially love period romance. one of my favourites is far from the madding crowd. it’s a gorgeous story with such a tender love story between a lady and a shepherd. it’s so lighthearted and i just find comfort in characters like this how i would love to be loved by an honest shepherd who wants to marry me?! like it just takes me away from reality for a while and that’s why i love reading and watching films so much, i honestly haven’t thought about that as much till now but i really recommend it if you’re struggling to like being a girl. far from the madding crowd is a great film and book by the way i recommend it just because it’s so beautiful. 💘

— and girly things. i just love being able to obsess over something niche just because its girly. like i had this obsession with lockets, i collected them for years i still have a little box for all these lockets i hunted for. i just loved them so much and i collected them purely because they were hearts and you could put pictures in them. i always wanted to get a boyfriend so i could put his picture in a locket but that hasn’t happened yet but it will guys dw. its also sweet because i once got a locket from an old charity shop and it was quite old considerably old tbh because im pretty sure the picture of the boy in the locket was a soldier in uniform. i think back to that often and its so touching for me, it probably belonged to a girl who loved him very much and he most likely went away for war. its just little things like this honestly. i also love tops that have little flowers on them, not saying that men can’t wear flowery shirts but to me its a girly thing and i love it so sosososo much.

this turned out long i think but honestly it’s hard to love being a women sometimes and that’s understandable the world is pretty fucked sometimes especially for women. i’ve had many instances i’ve truly despised being a girl and the common reason being men, unsurprisingly. but just know that you’re not on your own my love.

[prentissluvr]

i like to think spencer reid always has a hair tie on his wrist, whether it’s for his hair or his partner’s

we know he went through the jesus phase so i feel like before cutting his hair, he’d own colorful hair ties and rotate between them everyday! maybe have a few extras in his pockets for him or his girl friends…

even after chopping that beauty off, he’d have the hair ties on him out of habit, like it’s part of him now!!!

def learned to do hair styles like braids and whatnot, but that’s for no ones’ eyes but his 😭😭😭

i also feel like he’d either have the most complex hair routine or the plainest one, no in between (leaning more towards the complex, though)

- 🧺

hehe i completely agree bestie!!! i can literally envision it on his wrist right this very second !!!!

jesus phase haha i'm laughing at him rn BUT YES!! i loveeee the idea that he rotates the colors omg that's so cute. and absolutely he keeps extras in his pockets; his own colors, other colorful ones for garcia, and black for em and jj and any other lovely bau lady or his other friends!! and if you have hair that you like to tie up, he carries whatever type of hairtie that you like + that fits your hair type!!

hehe i loveeee the idea that he learned how to do braids and stuff, bonus if it's you his lover who taught him hehe. very adorable and then its for his and your eyes only <3

mmmm that's something i'd never thought about!! i very much see what you mean. i can't tell what sort of routine i think he's had tbh 🤔🤔 like even if it's on the simple side, its very specific either way. it bothers him when he can't do his exact hair routine!! i can definitely see if leaning towards complex, though he might be forced to simplify just because he has to travel so much. but i loveee the idea of him showing you the routine + you memorizing it and his favorite products so you can gift him or help him hehe <33

[finalgirlminamurray]

finished witchcraft for wayward girls and i feel like my opinions on it are basically the same as everyone else i follow who’s read it. it’s decent but: the witchcraft parts sometimes feel like an afterthought to the main story, and you almost get the sense that hendrix just wanted to write a straightforward historical fiction novel but might have felt obligated to include a supernatural horror element just because it’s what’s expected of his brand as an author (he mentions in the author’s notes that the first draft of this book didn’t have any witches in it, and tbh i’m not surprised. welcome to stephen king territory man, others have been in this position before). also the book definitely can’t decide whether it wants the witches to be evil or not and it muddles the themes. for the most part it seems like they are meant to be evil and deceitful and untrustworthy, just another group seeking power over vulnerable young women, but at almost the last minute it turns out they’re not and it was just that one lady they needed to get rid of. and there’s not enough time spent with them to make either interpretation seem fully developed.

i feel like most horror stories about witchcraft these days tend to be about how being a witch might seem empowering and feminist but actually you’re selling your soul to an equally oppressive system as whatever you’re trying to escape from and you should not believe anything they say actually. which doesn’t have to be done badly, it’s just not new. most of the time they take the “you’re just trading one patriarchal system for another” approach (robert eggers’ the witch is often interpreted this way, and it’s what i thought the love witch was doing when i first watched it at least), but in this one they’re worshiping a mother goddess figure and not the devil or a male coven leader, so maybe that’s why they’re not portrayed as inherently bad by the end? but their plan for their newest member to become the next recipient of the line of ancestors seems like it has bad consequences for whoever takes that on? but it’s really not given enough time to be explored in detail so we don’t know! frustrating.

(i know irl the whole neopagan “witchcraft” community has plenty of its own issues with appropriation and misinterpretation of pre-christian religions and indigenous beliefs, bioessentialism and gender essentialism even when portraying themselves as feminist, and general problems that come from idealizing some imagined ancient past. but most modern stories about witches don’t really get into all that and a lot of the time it feels like just another “hey, teenage girls, it’s okay to want power, but not too much!” message whether intentionally or not)

i guess maybe i expected more contrast between the witches and the explicitly christian girls’ home they’re trapped in. other people have also said that the most effective horror in this book comes from the realistic depictions of both pregnancy and the way the girls are treated by society at large, and you can tell that’s what really drove the writing of this book - the part just after fern/neva is put under anesthesia at the hospital and the narration goes into a very clinical description of what the doctors do to her body to get the baby out, only referring to her as “the patient”, is an almost too obvious example of this. on the other hand, it’s not that i was surprised by the lack of consideration of abortion as an option - this literally takes place in florida in 1970 - but the general lack of discussion of it in general kind of struck me? the most we get is rose mentioning that the commune she plans to move to offered her some herbal methods but she wanted to keep the baby. in fact it seems like all the girls we see as main characters want to keep their babies or at least wish they could - no one explicitly says she’s glad she won’t have to raise a child by herself as a teenager and can go back to her normal life after this. (and yes it’s definitely bad that they aren’t allowed to see their babies after they’re born or even meet the adoptive families, and are expected to never contact those people again and not know anything about how their children are doing for the rest of their lives, and the general shame and stigma around them having gotten pregnant in the first place. and it makes sense that many of them would feel a bond with the child they’d spent nine months gestating and went through all the pain of giving birth to even if they knew they wouldn’t be able to keep them. but idk maybe i just can’t relate to the idea of actually wanting to raise a child especially not at age 15, holy shit.) also the book references roe v wade and basically says that these kinds of homes disappeared after that, but it couldn’t have been that simple right? especially in places where abortion would possibly be even more stigmatized than teen pregnancy, and for families who would never allow their daughters to have one? even now because we live in hell world where 50-year-old supreme court decisions can be casually overturned on a whim?

whatever, okay, it’s still better than all those movies and such where the main character getting unexpectedly pregnant and choosing to keep it is necessary for the plot to happen but they still present abortion as an extremely undesirable option that only the most callous uncaring characters propose, because those are not as pro-choice as they think they are

anyway, i do appreciate that all of hendrix’s novels have female protagonists and that many of them focus on friendships and other relationships between women, but i also feel like the ones that are explicitly About Women and women’s issues are some of his weaker books. not that men can’t write about that but this, the final girl support group, and the southern book club’s guide to slaying vampires all had solid premises but a lot of issues i really couldn’t ignore. (i didn’t even get into the racial representation here; i can’t comment too much on that subject but i do wish zinnia, seemingly the first black girl to be admitted to wellwood’s, had gotten more of a pov, especially when it concerns her relationship with the only other black women at the home, who are part of the kitchen staff and in a very different position from the girls admitted to stay there. that could have been interesting but idk if you could trust the author to write about it. and also there are no queer characters, unless you count rose living on a “lesbian separatist” commune in the future, which might not even be an accurate assessment - this isn’t exactly an issue, and i’m actually glad there were so few male characters in the story and relatively little attention given to the fathers of the girls’ children because this book would have been much worse with a straight romance subplot of any kind. but there’s a little bit of uncomfortable equation of womanhood with the capability for pregnancy and childbirth, and…maybe i’m just used to fiction working like this, but when a character predicts the gender of a baby and it ends up being assigned a different one at birth, i’m always expecting a reveal that the kid grew up to be trans. but that probably wasn’t the intent for fern’s child because we don’t properly meet her as an adult anyway.)

all this sounds like i hated this book but i really didn’t, i just thought it had some missed potential and maybe could have used more revision. the characters are compelling, there’s some actually really good horror there when it gets into that (the effects of the curse placed on miss wellwood!), and i learned some things about a forgotten part of history. i’d definitely like to check out the nonfiction books cited in the author’s notes, though

[unnervinglyferal]

My new obsession right now is Columbo

My mom finds this very odd

I don’t understand why

I have a curio cabinet with dead things in it but she’s weirded out by my current obsession with a 70’s tv show

Although is it really a 70’s show when the first pilot episode was aired in 1968 and the last episode was aired in 2003?

That spans from the late sixties all the way to the early two thousands

If you want to include the first time the character of Columbo was seen that was the early sixties but I don’t really count that one because it was for a completely different show and he was played by a completely different actor and now Columbo is just very intwined with Peter Falk

Anyways Mom finds my obsession super weird

I can’t tell if it’s because the show was started before she was born or because both my parents have said that it was the type of show kids only watched if their grandparents were watching it

I mean like last month we had a conversation about making me a decomposition box for road kill but she’s weirded out by the 70’s show obsession

I literally walked into a water filled ditch to grab a frog today, I had to hose off the bottom of my pants after that

But somehow the fact that I know how many years it was until people knew if Columbo had a glass eye like Falk did is odd

(25, and yes the character does have a glass eye like Falk did)

This is the lady who admitted to spending hours try to figure out what type of wetland the Frog Pond is

Oh also I realized I have a screen recorder on my computer so I don’t have to fuss around on like fifty different sites trying to find good quality video files of the episodes and then fuss around for like thirty minutes trying to find good subtitles online

I can just record them from my screen

tbh weirdness is relative. There's people who would think that keeping chickens and grabbing random snakes recreationally is weird, but if something's normal in your region, it is. Nobody in my girlfriend's family considers it odd or unusual that she had a baby at 16 (despite of the average age to do that around here being almost twice that), the part they consider weird is that I'm still in the picture and actually changing diapers.

There's no such thing as normal, so don't worry about that. Also I've never seen a single episode of Columbo and have only learned about it through people making "I've been watching Columbo for some reason" posts a lot online. Which on its own is fascinating.

[anoddrock]

Ok for funsies and also the fantastic @the-one-and-only-aroace, a collection of Electric President songs talking abt no longer being human or never having been human from the start, either as a primary theme or a minor one!!

Within their first album, S/T:

Good Morning Hypocrite - has a verse about how all the organs left are machinery, with the exception of the heart, and that? It doesn’t work. Nothing about the body is what it should be!!! Overall the song is about a replacement of life with machinery, and a vast discomfort in oneself due to that.

Grand Machine No. 12 - the general theme of not being what you’re ‘supposed’ to be in a system or society that will destroy you for it(that system being the grand machine).

Hum - ‘what do you think about me now? What do you think about me now that I’ve fallen down?’ Screaming crying throwing up I swear. Just the general theme of dissonance between what you were seen as and what you now know yourself to be, and addressed to someone who you knew before and who has your past as their view of the ‘real’ you.

Some Crap About The Future - probably the closest song in the album to saying ‘we are robots and we should be humans and it is hell.’ Most solid line might be ‘you have no body-just a cage to hold your parts’ which tbh!!! The body feels like a cage of torment when dysphoria is trying to choke you out!

We Were Never Built To Last - mostly vibes tbh. They are being taken apart for scrap metal, and not with care. They are literally having their body and agency of what they are and do forcibly removed. Someone finds them and helps them get to a point where they’re people again. And then they leave.

Note: Ben Cooper, half of the band, is a huge fan of narrative music, and this album? It’s the end of all things. Apocalyptic or post apocalyptic, a world where people literally become just the cogs of a dead society’s machine. A lot of his music has a sorrowful tilt to it, but in a very beautiful way.

Second album, Sleep Well

Monsters - to me, this is at least partially about the way that being treated as a monster as a queer person is exhausting and you eventually become tired of tiptoeing around societal expectations and trying to be seen as tame when they’ll treat you as a beast regardless. Its narrative feels like the speaker is talking to someone who recently realized their own ‘monstrosity’ (queerness) but was cruel to the speaker for their own oddities. You got rid of everyone who would accept you and then realized you needed us. Too bad. You hurt me and I Will Not Forgive You. I may seem bad, but you and your ‘friends’ were worse. They will not recognize you now. They will not change for your sake. In my mind, it closely parallels Hum.

Bright Mouths - kinda a continuation of Monsters. ‘Despite your prayers you’re broke(n) like us.’ An almost bitter sympathy.

The last album (the violent blue) doesn’t have as much in trans themes, but overall still has some points that could be interpreted pretty queerly.

And lil bonus: while Electric President only has 3 albums and stopped writing in 2010, Radical Face(the artist name of Ben Cooper) is still going!! And he has an EP, Lady Covers, where he covered some well known songs by women!

While I can’t find the original EP cover, I did find two song covers!!

If I recall correctly, the Jolene outfit is what Ben was wearing in the original EP cover!

[riddleredcoats]

(hi it's me again) since i'm a curious little one so i have to ask something again

when writing your dragon age fics, do you have a sheet/doc somewhere to keep track of all the characters and your findings (and your own ideas) on orlais? a bit too in love with the way you write this country

aside from briala/celene, colombe, fleur and couteau are absolutely my favs. the way you looked at these side characters, gave them so much personalities then presented them beautifully in your works got me on a chokehold 😭 "that which shatters over and over and still beats" astounds me so much; briala thought they were reflections of celene but in the end they are briala's instead. absolutely heartbreaking 10/10 would reread and cry again. so like, i'm crawling in here asking if you have any crumbs about them that you can share for the starving peasant (i got it bad for colombe; tbh, all three of them but if i'm going to be stabbed to death like that one guy in colombe's chapter i hope it's colombe)

Hello againnnn!!! 🥰🥰🥰

I do sort of. I have a little scrivener file with some characters and worldbuilding about Orlais. What I think its the history between certain families even. It's not very detailed and the depth and variety of the subjects sorta vary on my moods. But there is such a file yes, lmao

Aw, man! Thank you so much! I do love the backstories I created for the Ladies-in-Waiting adn that which shatters over and over again but still beats is one of my favourite things i've ever written!

I do have little bits about them I suppose, but most of what I have has been or will be shown in the fic, but I suppose I do have somethings I don't think I ever wrote down.

Colombe is probably the person who has the most conflicted feelings about Celene. Even Briala is more consistent about what she feels about Celene. There's a lot of love there, from both parts, but there's also a lot of anger from Colombe - that is not, at all, misplaced. She would die for Celene, but she views it as her duty rather than an act of love. Although if pressed, she would say that she does love Celene - which yes, she does, but its complicated. She's the most romantic out of the three main ladies in waiting, and she's best at defensive techniques when she fights. Im pretty sure she shares her VA with Celene, so that's where her whole backstory comes from.

Fleur is, unsurprisingly, the leader of the all the ladies in waiting - I headcanon that there are at least thirteen ladies in waiting (10 for the countries of Thedas, and they act as spies ambassadors, and advisors to Celene on how to deal with the diplomats of the rest of the nations. the three main ones we see are the 'domestic' ones, and the onest Celene trusts the most - or rather actually trusts). Fleur really does become sort of a proto-mantillon, too; only she never does marry -she has her affairs - and she is the that is almost blindly loyal to Celene. She never really gets the hang of combat.

Couteau's siblings all make very respectable marriages instigated and organized by Celene. Couteau is, of course, the assassin and the one who coordinates the still remain assassin household that exists in the palace - tho, they all have other jobs too, Celene isn't big on letting things lie still. She's the only one of them who's married - she and husband are cordial, not very affectionate even tho Celene did try to find a love match for her. Couteau is very close to Colombe and Fleur and her feelings for Celene are refreshingly simple and straighforward - Celene appreciates that a lot about her.

man, thank you so much for the questions. I do love talking about my process and these faux-french assholes (affectionate)

[born-to-riot]

My precious gremlin, what a change it would be for you to shackle me instead! Your yappage does indeed spark joy, so I’m looking forward to the reveal and you can have me any way you want me!

Your taste in pairings are very much aligned with my own. Thank you for spilling them all out for me, it does wonders in helping me flesh out a piece that you will enjoy this solstice.

1. My characters are sluts, so I enjoy a wide range of ships, but none of them will find an easy journey to their happy ending. Azriel/Cassian, Azriel/Eris/Cassian, Azriel/Lucien, Azriel/Lucien/Elain, Azriel/Helion, Eris/Tamlin, Eris/Nesta, Eris & Elain, Helion/Lady of Autumn, Helion/everyone everywhere all at once, Lucien/Elain, Lucien/Vassa/Jurian, Elain/Band of Exiles, Lucien/Rhysand, Lucien/Tamlin, Lucien/Andras, Lucien/Tamlin/Andras, Tamlin/Rhysand, Feyre/Tamlin/Rhysand, and Lucien/happiness will all scratch an itch for me.

2. I have NOT listened to EPIC the Musical, though I assume you would highly recommend it. I’ll look it up so that I can really know what you like. What do you enjoy about it?

3. I love writing enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, happily never after, sad smut, pining, hurt/comfort, secret mating bond, unwanted mating bond, jealousy, possessiveness, protectiveness, and whump.

4. I would need to have Lucien with me if I were stranded on a deserted island. We could hunt, fish, forage, and fuck. He’d be able to provide fire and light in the dark, and he can heal. He’s a survivor.

From my understanding, you would agree with me on my answers. We are definitely a match made by the Mother (thank you, mods)!

-🎅🏼

hello my delicious Santa! I have to say your message came at a perfect time, it brought light into my day, brought wind into my sails, and brought wetness to my folds (jk... unless) (jkjk don't take me seriously) (but...you did say I could have you any way I wanted you) (ok now I'll move on)

While we've not yet had much time together, I've already decided I would ride or die for you based on pure vibes alone

I'm sure I would enjoy anything you have in mind, to be honest, I can't wait to see what your evil genius lends you! (TBH I'm surprised you've made sense of anything I have said as I have no idea what I want so kudos for that)

NOW YAYYYYY you answered my questions (which thanks for doing, you didn't have to). I tried not to ask anything damning because tbh I love a good surprise. Also you're doing a great job as I literally have no idea who you are (BUT I LOVE YOU)

oh right your answers to my questions

I love how wide your range is, faes are immortal of course they are sluts. I'll have to ask you after the reveal to rec me some pics as I admit I haven't ventured too far outside of Azris (I just LOVE them so much). Also what good is a story without any pain (don't get me wrong fluff is GREAT) but when you have characters that are so damaged and complex, there's part of me that likes to watch them break and build back up stronger. true love isn't easy

also HELION EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE is the most VALID SHIP IVE EVER SEEN

2. I do recommend it. I am and have always been a mythology fan (thank the anaeid, the oddesy, rick riordan and 6th-8th grade latin class) (fun fact: I am terrible at spelling and my autocorrect hates me). EPIC is a musical detailing a version of events of Odysseus' journey back home after the Trojan war (I think) (basically it's a musical version of the Odyssey). AND THE MUSIC IS SO GOOD, I just love the continuity with obvious themes (such as ruthlessness is mercy, sometimes you have to be cruel for the greater good, etc) and the underlying musical motifs (each character is represented by their own instrument, with the gods and monsters/magical beings having a more electronic sound compared to mortals) and ITS CONSISTENT. so long story short, if you like mythology and good music ID HIGHLY RECOMMEND. I also am by no means an expert on this musical as I have discovered it only a little over a month ago but it's just GOOD. Basically, I find details and continuity sexy.

3. I see by all your writing preferences that our TASTES OUR QUITE SIMILAR. Incase you couldn't tell, I have ADHD and so specifically the secret mating bond and happily never after made me thing of this one idea for a Beron/helion fic I wrote down a while ago. I don't think I'll ever write it but I figure I might as well share the idea with you since you seem to enjoy that type of thing: Okay so what if Beron and Helion were mates once upon a time and they never accepted the bond because of duties or something (I mean we thought Beron was bad imagine Beron’s father) but the two still did stuff right but then they love each other but they don’t enough to run away from their imminent duties as heirs so they don’t outright reject it until one of them is about to become heir right (I know the magic doesn’t work like that like they wouldn’t be able to tell but maybe it’s during a war and they’re like there’s a possibility that one of their fathers would die blah blah blah so they do it then and they can let the pain of rejection fuel their fighting in the war) and do then Beron becomes high lord and eventually Helion becomes high lord (we’re ignoring the age thjn) but then beron gets engaged to the lady of Autumn (political marriage) and like Helion and Beron meet up one last time the night before the wedding, bittersweet. But the day of the wedding, Helion is surprised because he feels another mating bond snap and when be looks at the altar he sees that it’s not to Beron but to his new wife. He is so thrown off and flooded with guilt but eventually Helion’s happy that the mother has given him another chance at love but he feels so guilty because what are the chances? And Beron? Oh poor guy he’s always smarter than people give him credit for and he knows Lucien isn’t his, he knows Helion’s features intimately, he misses them dearly and he grows bitter and hateful that his wife gets to be mates with the man he had to give up for his duty. In fact he’s so upset it drives him mad and cruel and that’s how he turns into a monster. And Helion hates him too, he hates the man that Beron has become because he knew that deep down inside there was once a good man in there and Helion had to live with the fact that it was definitely his fault in part that the evil part of Beron took over. I don’t think I’ll ever write this specific Helion/beron fic, but if I did I’d end with Helion thinking about how he hopes that once Beron passes the mother will forgive him and take away the rot in his soul planted by Helion. Maybe she would allow him to be the person he could have been, the person he would have been had Helion not fucked everything up.

idk, kind of tragic but the notion of "what makes Beron into Beron" is always a query I'm willing to ponder

4. FINALLY, question 4. LUCIEN IS AN EXCELLENT CHOICE (I know you asked me before about what other characters I'd like to be featured, so just so we're clear, LUCIEN IS WELCOME AND WANTED). I have to admit though, in regards to the deserted island, the slut in me wants Tarquin by my side. Though I'd go to Lucien's island as well

ANYWAY I feel like I've yapped long enough. Thank god my yap page brings you entertainment.

Always a pleasure to hear from you my devout Santa!

Look forward to next time!!!!

(hope you had fun with the questions)